Xmas n New Years n Sledding, OH MY!

What a last month+ it's been! j had a bad cold towards the beginning of december that was just improved enough to allow for 2y/o shots as an almost birthday present at the check up... growing right along... the cough persisted... which would come back to haunt us during special mtg time... I, of course, ended up with a cold after j... because you can only be snotted on, sneezed on, coughed on so many times before your immune system throws in the towel. my xmas present was the noro or rotavirus... now that's some quick weight loss.... arrgh.... somehow j n sz managed to avoid that one... kudos to chlorox wipes, is all i can figure out...

J made quite the haul on xmas presents... many of my pics are on my celli... so the limited pics in no way indicate no one loves him or was thinking of him!!!

we had a total blast with our friends rctr in central oregon for new years... j had his first sledding experience x 2--1 with mommy as the sled dog... and 1 with his buddies on a sled down a real hill! he did NOT want that to end!!! it was awesome! oh so much fun back at the rented "ski chalet" with food and games and toys and stairs and remote controls of so many shapes and sizes... i blissed out on the sunshine, single digit early morning temps for perfect winter running, snow, blue sky, sunshine, dry air, did i mention the blue sky, clear night sky and stars???? yeaahhhhhhhhh! great time with mck's for sure!

special mtg rolled around and the afternoon of our potluck, j woke up from his nap a little warm... within 2 hrs, he had a raging fever, his cough had tripled and he was sicker than a wet noodle... or rather, so sick he was a wet noodle... his symptoms were indeed scary, but after some key phone calls to places like pdx's best ped hospital help line, we waited to take him to urgent care until he woke up in the morning... O2 sats were down and signs/symptoms indicated a chest xray was needed... "small amt of pneumonia" in his left lung. CRAZY!!!!! not suprising given the symptoms, but sure had no idea it was coming.... which they said was typical at this age... fast hitting... so... a week later after antibiotics, the bonz is sleeping like a champ, appears to be going through a growth spurt, and the cough is truly disappearing this time... unfortunately, again, after getting coughed, sneezed, snotted, and snorted on for a week, i'm now sick again with a cold. ARRRRGHGHGHGHGHGHGH! ENOUGH with the sickies!!!!!

so there you have it! we're having some sunshine, blow me away, and i am jonesin' to get out there and just lay flat out on the grass and soak it up... but then i'd start sneezing and wouldn't be able to breathe... so for now, i'll stay upright, with my sunnies on and a wad of kleenexes in my pocket, as j plays happily in the sand... after he wakes up from his afternoon nap. ;)

some j'isms:

-loving his tools... fixes our broken bathroom scale with his screwdriver... told me "mama, i need to fix my neck"... i said, "what's wrong with your neck?" and he answered... "i need a screwdriver!"... and proceeded to get his and hold it up to his neck, twirl it around a bit, and conclude "all fixed!" i guess i didn't learn that technique in PT school... looked pretty effective tho!
-loves to help me make tookies... and would eat the dough by the fistful if allowed.
-loves "brown sugar in my hand pleeeease"
-still big into legos, his blue egg chair, his red and black little ikea chairs, his 'puter from gma/gpaz stash, cords, hair dryers, helping grind coffee and use the press, helping unload the dishwasher, sorta helping set the table???... vacuuming... etc.
--fav hymns now include God is faithful, God is here, We have found him, and some others...
--he still hooks up cords to a few legos for his "mic" and "speaker" so he can sing, pray, and sing some more... sometimes the hymns turn into twinkle twinkle or thumbkin.
--he enjoys giving hb her treats in the morning
--he likes to go running... and even takes a water bottle sometimes... which usually has his "move it guy" in it rattling up and down singing "i like to move it move it... i like to move it move it"... whatever motivates ya, i guess!
--he thinks it's funny when i come back from a run with mud all over my legs (mama run in the muuuuuuuuuuuud!)
--he likes to wear a skirt... as in, one of his blankets clipped around his waist with a chipclip... and also his babysammy blanket around his shoulders with a clip
--he likes to "pounce" on daddy... and he likes to "nuggle" with mama
--he's taken to calling me "mom" sometimes... especially when it's at the end of a sentence... or when he's asking me something. what is he, 13y/o?
--he LOVES listening to violins/fiddles or any other music when out in public = he stops, looks/listens, and starts shaking his groove thing.... pretty much whiteboy moves, but some key clappin' and booty shakin in there for good measure from time to time! LOVE IT!
--library story hour, more importantly, the songs sung there, continues to be a fav.
--breakfast is no longer almond butter toast every single morning... we're now in a cereal rut... although he has had french toast the past few mornings... we're also making "moothies in the blender" about every other day... we make enough for the in between days and keep them frozen 'til the next day. he is the button pusher.

i'm sure i'm forgetting things... but these are on the top of my mind at this point. his chin can almost rest on the dining room table and his head now scrapes the underside of the "bar" that sticks out from the kitchen counter! he can ride his horsey himself as well as get on/off... and rody is getting bounced around a lot more.

skyping is one of his fav things... tho the person on the other end wouldn't necessarily know it as he's often the most quiet when the camera's on... but it sure is an awesome way to keep in face-to-face touch across the miles. he still plays his little piano and sings along... the tune played and the song sung are always completely different... must be a sign of extreme intelligence... ;) ha ha ha!

come see us! i'll chlorox wipe everything down before ya get here...

we're quite sad that we now have to pay for the extra airplane seat now that j is 2... poor us. ;)

cheers!
skjhz