The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far… A Trip To See Santa...

Our spur of the moment trip last year may be turning into more of a planned tradition. Last year, we planned a spontaneous trip to Frankenmuth as we backed out of Uncle Rob and Aunt Lynn’s driveway. This year, mommy wanted to take me there again because I am really enjoying seeing Christmas lights, decorated trees, etc. So, mommy, daddy and I took off early Sunday afternoon for our potentially new tradition to Frankenmuth the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

The trip would not go without some fun in the snow. I started seeing snow, well sort of when we left, but definitely once we got up to about Big Beaver Rd. I wasn’t worried though because I know that daddy has a little experience with driving in the snow. We gett up to Great Lakes Crossing and came to a stop in the road, though. It was snowing harder than it had been before. I could tell that the roads must be getting a slippery because daddy was slowing down a bit. We ended up seeing a truck on its side in the ditch. I got a good view of it because it was on my side of the road. Mommy and daddy talked about continuing because we were getting close to half where there (on a good day). Mommy really wanted to go and daddy said that he would do whatever she wanted because he had the next day off and could recover. So, daddy said that we would continue to go and we would just take our time. I stayed awake the whole way up there because I didn’t want to miss watching the snow. I’m not the best at counting yet, so I could only count 5 crashes, but I know there were quite a few more on the way there.

Finally, we made it to Frankenmuth. We stopped by the Santa desk right away to get me a name tag. Everyone needs to get a tag so that you can see Santa. My tagname was Nutcracker. We roamed around checking everything out. There was a dancing Santa that was big and pretty neat and I loved seeing all of the lights and stuff all over the place. I think mommy and daddy thought I was pretty funny pointing and grunting at everything I liked. I sure wished they would have let me out of the stroller because they wouldn’t always let me stay where I wanted or let me go where I wanted to.

Wouldn’t you know it; we were completely on the opposite end of this store when our nutcracker tag was called for Santa. So, we quickly made the trek over to the other end and waited in line for quite some time. I was okay with it for the most part because there were trains circling above. I loved it when daddy raised me up to get them, but I was never close enough to them to play with them myself. Right before it was my turn, I was getting really nervous about seeing Santa and decided I would try being fussy thinking that maybe I could get out it. Then, I was thrown behind a snowman and asked to find daddy. This was fun because I looked through this hole and there he was.

Whoosh!! Before I knew it, there was this guy called Santa. He looked familiar from last year, but for some reason, much scarier this year. So I was doing everything I could to stay away from him. He did try to bribe me with a present, but I was tired of waiting and just wanted to be done. It worked, but I still had to listen to him about being good and that he was watching me, etc. Mommy was holding me so I knew I was okay for now. After we left there, mommy and daddy said that it was okay to be afraid. They were both afraid of Santa Claus when they were little like me too.

After seeing Santa, we did some more shopping and then I got to run around a bit with daddy while mommy was in an ornament line. It was fun, but then it was time to go. The trip back hope was much slower than the drive up, so I decided to just go to sleep for the night…

A Chip Off The 'Ol Block

During the Holidays, we headed up to Grandma G.'s for a family gathering. We were hanging out at the table while Jacob was cruising around the house looking for things he would like to play with. He stumbled across Grandma's phone which happens to be cordless in the living room. Lately, Jacob has been very much a go getter and giver of things to just about anyone. So, Jacob came over to me and handed me the phone.

Jacob asked to get up on my lap as the phone was on the table. It wasn't long before Jacob hand the phone in his little hands and was punching buttons. There were a lot of 3's and 6's being pressed. There was no way this call would go through if "Talk" was ever pushed, so no bothers were to be had. Then, all of a sudden the phone rang and no one was there, so we hung it up. A few seconds later, I answered it and said, "Hello." With this I heard on the other end "911 Emergency, we just received a call from this number and there was a hang up. Is everything okay?" The little stinker called 911!!! Of course, now that daddy had the phone that he so desperately wanted, he was crying while I was trying to hear what the 911 operator was discussing like who am I speaking with, who called and why...

After the phone call and things settled down a bit, we now get the story of the phone and how Grandma remembered and didn't know how or if the emergency feature worked. Well, let me tell you, Jacob knows... ;)! Apparently, Grandma's base and cordless handset all have a button that you can push regardless of how many numbers have already been pushed and 911 is called directly. Needless to say, that phone was put up and out of reach of little fingers.

Chip, you ask? Well, when Jacob's daddy was pretty little, but old enough to talk, his mother went out to get the mail and wasn't gone very long. Upon her return, Jacob's daddy was saying fire dept., fire dept. into the phone. Jacob's Grandma was like, there is no way you called the fire dept., but did listen to the phone and sure enough, the fire dept. was one the phone with which she promptly hung up the phone.

I guess looks aren't everything that Jacob has off his daddy's...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Please don't mind me, I am watching balloons and stuff at a parade.

Hallways Are New Found Fun

Oh how Jacob is getting bigger and bigger. With every little bit of growth, he becomes increasingly more mobile. This also makes it more and more fun and challenging at the same time.

Jacob has made a couple of visits in recent days to the hospital where his grandma has now been for over a week. Upon our arrival, he was fine with playing in the room on the floor and was pretty content. He would watch people walk by in the hall and back and forth by him (for the lady next to his grandma) and was okay. Then, there were many visitors stopping by to see Jacob and say hi because they thought he was so cute. I think this intrigued Jacob, so had to venture to the door and check out where these people were coming and going from. He hung right by the door as he likes to see his mommy or daddy to know they are right there…

It didn’t take Jacob take long to figure out that these nice people looked like they were having fun walking in the hallway, so he had try it too! After all, he doesn’t have any hallways like this at home and there was plenty of room to roam. It was time for Jacob to start getting exercise up and down the hallway by playing chase. Of course, Jacob was the one getting chased. He would look over his shoulder to make sure you were there and giggle so hard at times that it would cause him to fall. This kept him occupied for quite a while and he was being very good. Then it was time for daddy to get a drink from the fountain and this changed things… Of course, Jacob wanted to get a drink too, or so I thought ;)! Little hands began playing in the water which was fun for him. So much fun that he didn’t want to leave the fountain. This is when the walks in the hallway stopped at every fountain that he found. This was coupled with it being nap time, so we decided it was time to go.

Not to be outdone, Grandma G. had to get into the action too! She walked to her doorway and watched Jacob fly (as fast as a new walker can…) down the hallway toward the elevator. A quick look over his shoulder and wave to Grandma G. and onto the elevator we went…

FYI – We are hoping that Grandma G. heads home tomorrow. As long as the oral medication works, she will be out of the hospital for Thanksgiving.

A "Little" Mystery

Recently, I received a text noting how the washer was not draining and that Jacob’s coat was in it because it was in desperate need of being cleaned. There were a number of texts that flew back and forth, did you do this, did you check this, what sound is it making, etc. Nothing seemed to be working…

Upon inspection, there indeed was water in the washer. After an attempt or two of running the washer, yup, the water is not pumping out. Uh oh! What’s this, water on the floor… Better check the basement, yep, water there too! Are the hoses hooked up? Check! Are the hoses dry? Check! Hmmm… Looks like the water flows over the sides when it is spinning. This is strange, I thought, but not the issue at the moment. After tearing off the front of the washer, I noticed a belt was about to fall off and wouldn’t you know it, it was a belt that included the pump. Must be time to replace it. So, a quick check online resulted in finding the cost of a new belt and also a location in the area to pick one up. This would be a good errand for Amy and Jacob to do.

Now we have the new belt. Let’s try putting it on. No problem! Let’s start the washer. Yeah!!! The pump is working as I can hear the water pumping. Let’s walk away so that it can finish the cycle… Okay, that’s long enough, let’s see if the water is all gone… NOPE!! Pretty still all there! Hmmm… What seems to the problem (also thinking, this can’t be good…)?!?! The belts move clockwise easily and the belts move OOOUUCCHH!!! That’s hotter than #@%&!!! and sticky. Better wait for the belt to cool down…

Hours later… Okay, so the belt moves easily clockwise and now counterclockwise (without getting burned this time). The motor turns, the pump did pump water, no screeching noises that Amy talked about. This sucks!! Well, I guess it is time to really start thinking about getting a new one, but it might be worth a shot talking to a repairman.

After the parade and since Jacob crashed upon getting in his car seat, we decided now would be a good time to run in to Maytag for some conversation. We talked about a number of different things and one of them being a small adjustment that is uncommon/doesn’t happen, but might work. There was also discussion of bearings, etc. and a potential $300 bill, which would mean just getting a new one for a little more. So, back home we went and check all the belts, etc. again. I started moving the pump belt in both directions again and it seemed to be working great in one direction and not so great in the other (as noted by the repairman or so I thought). Then I noticed the white component that I could see through the plastic top would stop in the same spot in either direction. I noticed this white before, but just thought it was a paddle that moved the water out and was there for a reason. Upon closer inspection and trying to figure out whether this needed to be there or not, the proverbial light bulb went off… AHA!! Amy, who was in the kitchen said did you figure something out? I replied with yep, I think one of Jacob’s socks is in the pump. With a little maneuvering of a screwdriver, VOILA! There was Jacob’s sock, with which Amy noted, I have been looking for that sock… Mystery solved!!

Jacob Goes To A Parade

On the coldest day of the year, or at least one of the coldest of this winter season, Amy and I bundled Jacob up and ventured to downtown Royal Oak for their Holiday Parade. Jacob wasn't too keen on the bundling part, but he eventually settled down and allowed all of the layers to be put on him.We loaded up and headed downtown. Upon arrival at a prime parking space, we unloaded the stroller and then started unloading Jacob only to realize that we forgot Jacob's coat. We decided all of the layers would keep him warm until we got there. So back in the stroller went and Jacob was locked back in so that we could make sure our child would stay warm...

A quick stop at home and back downtown again with still plenty of time before the parade started. However, we did lose our parking space. Oh well, we ended up finding a spot just as good.

Jacob had plenty of fun playing in the street before the parade started. This was only after a few trials and tribulations in his new "A Christmas Storyesque" attire. He definitely needed an adjustment period to wearing all of the layers and boots, etc. He never did get cold...

The parade kept sleepy Jacob's attention as he watched the parade pass him by while he was tucked away in his stroller. He was probably the most intrigued by the bands and definitely the Shriners in their little cars. The parade finished off with real reindeer and of course the guest of honor for the parade, Santa and Mrs. Claus.After the parade ended, it was a slow stroll past the Fox 2 News team on the back to the car. It didn't take long for Jacob to crash in his car seat. I don't think we even pulled out of the parking space. Getting up at 5:30 am obviously caught up to him as he crashed hard at 11:00. I think Jacob is already looking forward to having another parade in his future.

Anyssa Plays Ball!

This news is a little old, but still great news to share. Anyssa triied out for the Freshman girls basketball team last week and found out that she officially made the team last Friday. It looks like she be starting at guard and will be a back-up forward. We are very excited and very proud of her for trying out and making the team. She is very excited to be a part of the team and has been working her butt off to get in shape for their first game in a week and a half or so. She will be wearing the number 21 for the Ravens. This is not her 1st, 2nd or even 3rd choice of number, but the jerseys are colorful and classy and she will do the jersey justice!

Jacob will now have one more sport to be able to watch and work to understand. I'm sure his basketball hoop in the basement will start getting a little more action as Anyssa steps through her moves and shows Jacob how to do it.

Look out Raven opponents, cuz here comes Nyssa!!!

Meal Time

Jacob is getting to be a better and more independent eater. He still has a ways to go, but he really wants to feed himself now. Not with his hands he says, as he wants to use a fork or spoon just like his parents and big sister. If he doesn’t get to use a utensil, a tantrum you will see. He still does use his hands, but for rice and chicken and many other things, he wants to be a big boy. Of course, one of his new things is to sit on your lap and eat off of your plate too, or if you are having a dessert (cookies, muffins…) he REALLY enjoys grabbing bits and pieces of those. We don’t understand why, but it seems that Frankie is hanging around Jacob a lot more, especially when he is eating… ;)! Okay, so maybe we do know and we also know that she has always known where her bread is buttered… sometimes literally… ;)! Frankie is also surprisingly very tolerant of getting her tail pulled, patted and not petted although Jacob is very good at petting too, along with getting her leg(s) pulled out from under her. Frankie does get cornered on occasion and does get fed up, but for going on 15 years old, she is very tolerant of this new littler person in her life.

It's Been A While

It's been quite a while since anything has been posted. Guess Amy should try and get back into it to cover for me... ;)! With the slowing economy, rumors of "census reductions" echoed in the halls at work. Unfortunately, the rumors were true and the census reductions were reality. I am very happy to say that I was not part of the reductions this time and feel very fortunate.

So, now it is back to enjoying life again. Jacob is back home after spending the weekend with his grandma and grandpa. He is really becoming quite the young lad and getting better and better on his feet. Now you see him, now you don't... While he was away, we added a pint-sized rocking chair to the living room just for him. We weren't home long as we sat down to watch the final NASCAR race of the season that Jacob quickly climbed in the chair to watch with us. Of course, his stay in his chair was short lived as he was down on the prowl again.

Sorry this post will be short too as he is now getting a bath and is DEFINITELY tired from the weekend and ready to go to bed...

Beep Beep Beep!

Jacob's new thing is to back it on up! He thinks it is hilarious that he can crawl and slide backwards on the tile or the carpet. Amy took Jacob out of his high chair and backed it up all the back to the stove with a grin from ear to ear on his face.

Great Day To Be Outside

After getting a call in the early afternoon from Amy that she had a migraine and was fighting it for hours, I was on my home to help. The weather was great and since Jacob hasn’t been outside much lately, I decided he should go to the park and play. So, I changed him out of his pajamas and we were off to enjoy the remainder of the day. Unfortunately, Amy had to stay back and take care of herself. For those of you that have lived a migraine, you know what she went/is going through… For those of you that haven’t like me, I/we can only imagine, but do know that it takes a lot out of a person.

After Jacob and I along with Anyssa (she got home from school right before we left) went to the park, we decided to hang out in the back yard a while. We were hoping to let Jacob play in the leaves, but all he wanted to do was play in the rocks or the dirt. We did get him out on his 4-wheeler too! It’s funny because he had a lot more room to roam and he didn’t really keep the button pushed. When he is inside, it is hammer down for Jacob when he keeps trying to drive through the furniture, walls, etc. We must have really worn him out because he wanted me to keep reading books to him (part of the bedtime ritual) so that he could go to bed. I really tried stretching not going to bed as long as I could, but he was either going to fall asleep in the living room or I was going to feed him and put him to bed early… We were able to stretch it out until about a ½ hour before his regular bedtime. After all, we didn’t want him to be up in the middle of the night rested and ready to go for the day…

Amy is feeling a little better, but still has to rest and get some more recovery time in...