It was bound to happen...

And this weekend it finally did. Considering how often Andrew falls while running at top speed, I am surprised it took this long.

It all started when we went to Home Depot on Saturday morning. Adam is building me a new desk (yea!). So, while he was picking out wood for the desk, Andrew and I went to get the other things we needed. After we had picked up everything we need, we started back over to the lumber department. Now, Andrew being the boy he is, he does not stay right with the cart. It's more like the cart is the sun and he is a planet in orbit around it (and not a very stable orbit at that). But as long as he remains within a few feet of the cart and isn't knocking things off shelves, I am okay with it. He has got to get that energy out some way.

So, we are heading down the big main aisle of Home Depot. We have spotted Adam at the end of the lumber aisle. When we are about 15 feet away, Andrew takes off to establish a new orbit around his dad. He gets about half way there and trips over his own two feet. Lands on his knees and slides across the floor face first into a shopping cart (yes, it looked like it hurt). He turns and looks and me and then bursts into tears.

I picked up my poor baby up and checked for injuries. And it had finally happened.

Andrew had broken his nose. Well, I should say he has all the signs of a broken nose. His nose swelled up and bled. Fortunately, it wasn't a bad break, my child is not going to have Owen Wilson's crooked nose (thank goodness!) And in fact, he didn't fuss about it long at all.

It is amazing how an offer of lemonade and M&M's can make a kid feel better.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

As we all know, you have to watch what you say around kids. For the first couple of years, you can pretty much say what you want and not have to worry about it. But after that, things you say have a tendency to come back and bite you in the butt.

For example, every night at dinner we encourage Andrew to talk about what he did that day. You typically here about things like his trip to the grocery store with Mom or playing with his friends at school. But not always...

Adam: So Andrew, what did you do today?

Andrew: Drive Mommy crazy.

At least he's honest. Or for example, this past week. I sprained my knee last week and have been babying my knee. Andrew was crawling up in my lap and I cautioned him to be careful.

Andrew: Why?

Me: Because my knee hurts.

Andrew: Oooohhhh. Mommy's knee is old.

Me: What?!

Andrew: Mommy is really old.

That little @#^&$!

Starting Over Again

Adam and I are pretty strict parents. No snacks between meals (other than the regularly scheduled snacks), limited sweets, and "Don't you tell me no!"

One of the decisions we made early on and strongly enforced is that Andrew sleeps in his own bed, he does not sleep in ours. The only time the rule is ever relaxed is when we are travelling. It is hard to keep him in his own bed when he is sleeping 3 feet away in the same room. But every time we travel, we see the wisdom in our decision...because Andrew kicks in his sleep. When Andrew sleeps with us, Andrew is the only one who gets any sleep.

We live in a two-story house, the master bedroom is downstairs and Andrew's is upstairs. Ever since he moved out of his crib and into a bed, we have had a handle lock on Andrew's door. The lock made it difficult to turn Andrew's door handle. Any adult come open the door from inside the room when it was locked, but Andrew could not. The possibility of Andrew navigating the stairs in the dark and half-asleep made the lock necessary. It also meant that when Andrew was ready to get up in the morning, he had to call down to us and wait for one of us to come open the door. A significant advantage for us parents.

Last week, about 5 am, I hear a sound in Andrew's room over the baby monitor. I didn't hear anything else, so I rolled over to go back to sleep. Imagine my surprise when two minutes later Andrew tumbles into bed next to me. "What the heck are you doing here?" "I ready to get up Mommy." Great, just great. The handle lock was no longer an obstacle.

So for a week now, Adam and I have been woken up every morning by Andrew crawling into bed with us, sometimes as early as 3:30 am. That is awfully early folks. We are trying to figure out how to keep him in bed until at least 6:00 am and how to keep him from coming out of his room after we have put him to bed.

Basically, we are starting over on the whole sleeping thing. Any suggestions?

On Second Thought

Adam: Andrew and I are going to Toys R Us to get more Legos.

Me: Okay. Have fun.

Adam: Aren't you going with us?

Me: I prefer to stay home if you don't mind.

Adam: No, you don't need to go as long as you don't care how many Legos we buy.

Me: Good point. Gimme just a few minutes to put on my shoes and coat.

Ouch!

So, we set down for lunch today, Adam and Andrew eating their pizza and me eating my Lean Cuisine (yippee.). Andrew of course asked why I was eating something different which led into a discussion of how much weight Mommy and Daddy have gained in the 11 years we have been together.

I said it was my fault. Adam said it wasn't. So I asked him "In the 10 years we have been living together, who has done most of the cooking?"

And my husband, without missing a beat, replied "McDonalds."

Ouch.

The Holleys Take on 2009

I usually send a letter with my Christmas card, kind of a look back at the year. But thanks to my bout of the flu right after Thanksgiving, I found myself with too many things to do and not enough time to do them all, so the Christmas letter was jettisoned. But now on the far side of Christmas, I feel the need to sum up the year. So without further explanation, I give you the "The Holleys Take on 2009."

This was a pretty good year for us. Adam continues to work at IBM and received the highest employee rating from his manager for the fourth year in a row. Even though I have no idea exactly what it is that he does (even though he has explained it to me), I am very proud of him. For pleasure, Adam spent many late Friday nights shooting zombies and other things on his X-box 360. Again, I don't understand it but if it makes him happy....

Andrew turned three years old this year. He continues to delight us and, also, drive us crazy, usually at the same time. He loves to sing and dance and play with his trucks and tractors. This fall, he began a soccer program at school and is very good at kicking the ball (not sure he needed any lessons to learn that one).

We bought season passes to Six Flags Fiesta Texas in the spring and visited the amusement park many times. We all had a great time and we discovered that Andrew is an adrenaline junkie. He was tall enough to ride his first big roller coaster on our last visit. He rode it with his hands up and immediately demanded to "go again," which we did 3 times.

In September, we went to the beach for a few days. I was a little concerned because Andrew hates getting water in his face when we wash his hair. Apparently, that only applies when it's fresh water, salt water in the face elicits a laugh. He loved digging in the sand, running in the waves, and chasing any seagull that came within 10 yards of him.

This fall, we took our first camping trip. We decided to take Andrew to the Renaissance Festival in Plantersville and then camp out overnight. We had a great time at the Festival, we rode the elephant and the camel, went for a ride on the giant swing, and Andrew bounced on the bungee jump ("I want to go really, really high" -- that adrenaline junkie thing). Afterwards, we roasted hot dogs over the campfire for dinner and made s'mores. It was a great camping trip and one we intend to repeat next year.

Finally, we went to Michigan at Thanksgiving to visit Adam's brother David and his family. It was great seeing David, Kris, Davney, and Nixon. We had a great time with them at the Michigan v. Ohio State game and Andrew loved playing with his cousins. We miss them so much and wish they lived closer (hint, hint).

The end of the year finds us all in good health and happy, I don't think I could ask for anything more. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Holleys

Random Things from Michigan

We went to Michigan last week for Thanksgiving. We drove. I know, I know. What were we thinking. But it was a great trip and we really loved seeing David, Kris, Davney and Nixon. I don't really have any stories to tell just a collection of random thoughts, quotes, snippets to share.

1. There is absolutely nothing in parts of Arkansas and all of Missouri which is why your child will choose that spot to announce he has to go potty "right now!"

2. Favorite quote "Uncle David, you stink. You need to take a bath."

3. Andrew has decided a highway flyover is similar to a roller coaster. So when we are going over one we throw our arms into the air and yell "Wheeeeeee!"

4. I am so thankful we do not have wood floors over a basement in our house. When your 3-year old runs over those types of floors it is really loud.

5. Least favorite moment, Andrew leaning over me at 4:30 in the morning and whispering "Mommy, I ready to get up now." Most mornings it happened at 5:30 but on the way home he was thrown off by the time change and it happened at 4:30....uuuugghh.

6. I am also thankful Andrew does not sleep with us. Not only do he and Adam hog the covers but he also is a bed hog.

7. Finally, I would like to add that 24 hours in a car with a 3-year old is not for the weak. In the future I will remember to pack Valium...for both of us.