Today I was asked "Ducky is 13 years old. Are you crazy? Indy is a sweetie, but why now!?! What could you have been thinking!?!?!"
I love both of my sons. I have loved one son for longer than I have loved the other, because he has been with us for so much longer. Sometimes I don't think about how hard it must be for him for his mom to suddenly have a new son in her life. I ran across this cartoon when looking for fun Christmas-y things and I wonder... Could this be my children? Probably.
We spent almost all of our day today selecting and putting up our Christmas tree. We had to rearrange our entire apartment to make everything fit in such a way that the Tree was visible from everywhere and yet totally inaccessible to a mobile baby. So, we pinned it into the corner behind the couch, in front of the big window. Indiana did the proper ooh-ing and aaah-ing, and a little wiggle and a little giggle when we lit the tree. He likes it so far. 
I can't come up with anything witty to say about this picture. It says everything about what is on Indiana's Christmas list. 
Indy's aunt Kathryn came home with a great gift for my sons. It was WAY WAY WAY TOO BIG for Indy's room, so we sent it off with Brother Duck. I just looked it up online and found THIS! This, is what it would have cost if Aunt Kathryn hadn't gotten it for free from her work. WOW.
It is such a nice weekend. Chris has four days off in a row! So, we are all just relaxing and making this weekend count as a "home vacation". A time to hang out together and rest, and just enjoy one another's company. Chris is getting a chance to really "bond" with Indiana in a way that the graveyard shift normally denies him. Indy is loving it.
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Brother Duck called and said that the thanksgiving on the hill was all right, although everything was "healthy" to accommodate his grandfather and his cousin who is very ill. We love Cousin Macy and our prayers are with her during her illness. As we learn more about it I will share it here with you all, and ask that you keep her in your thoughts.
Indiana drooled over his turkey; bone and all. We had a great thanksgiving, Thank you to all of you who wished us well for the holiday weekend. 
I ate Apple Pie
disks, and music on disks, and a few programs we didn't want to hunt for and wiped the computer back to factory specs. I HATE BUGS. We seem to have gotten this one from a blogspot blog. Indy's dad was cruising the blog-o-sphere using the "next blog" button conveniently located in the upper right hand corner of most blogs that are powered by blogger. He got to one that proclaimed "HA HA YOU ARE INFECTED" and indeed we were. So, be careful out there folks! And for those of you in the US, happy thanksgiving. I will be spending mine re-installing all of our crap back on to the computer instead of watching football. Sigh, Damn BUGS!
My number one son. I call him Brother Duck. That would be the 56-14 kind of Duck. The type of Duck that wears green and yellow and Quacks after each touchdown. Dakota. Him of the bright yellow rain boots, and silky blond ringlets. Him of the race car t-shirts and odor-ific feet! 
Look for your own beauty!
It's so nice to have a smoothie and just stand around smiling. I love when Indy is just happy to hang around and be a sweet heart. No crazy, cranky, screaming. Just chilling out and being a great kid.(This post is dated Sunday so it will be on top through-out the meet and greet weekend!
(edit: As some of you noticed... I am terrible at spelling other people's names! i have gone through and hopefully fixed the "double L" issue! thank you for pointing it out, i do try to be acurate!!)
Indiana is finding our holiday decorations quite to his liking. He is interested in all of the "new" things sitting out on the tables, or hanging from the windows. I am constantly rearranging things, and moving things out of his little clutches. I am really looking forward to getting the tree next week, as I KNOW he will be enthralled.
They may just call this one the fog bowl. This is the 109TH meeting of Oregon State University and University of Oregon, affectionately called the Civil War. It is being held at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.
The score at half time is: Ducks 28 Beavers 7.
UPDATE --- FINAL SCORE:
DUCKS 56 BEAVERS 14
on a side note: "Wa-Zoo" (WSU Cougars) won the "apple cup" leaving the Washington Huskies as the big losers this year! Go Cougs!
I am learning how to use our photo shop, i am still not real good at it, i notice i made his hand look funny, but i am getting better! With my usual humility, i will just say that perhaps i only think i am good at it because my subject is so photogenic and makes all pictures of him look good!
Santa's little helper was grandma's little angel today. While we were at the movie, he (supposedly) behaved beautifully for my mom. He isn't the grand-daughter she was hoping for, but I think she loves him, none the less. And I KNOW he loves her. He had a little tantrum when she left. But was soon soothed by a carriage ride to the music store.
We are off to see the much awaited Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have read all the books, and really enjoy the movies. We own the first three. I wont give anything away, I swear. My mom is coming over to baby sit for us. How awesome is that!?!?!
It seems like whether he is trying to get away with munching on a shoe, or trying out our new dance pad, or trying to play the piano, or even trying to eat the receipt for that dance pad, he is always active and busy busy busy. I wish I had just a tenth of his energy. This group of pictures was taken in a ten minute time frame. None of these photos were staged! Some of them I called to him and he ignored me, continuing to play. Some of them I called to him and he looked up, guilty. He knows he shouldn't be eating my shoes or paper! 
We got out the snow suit and headed outside to start hanging the holiday lights! We hauled out and hung up three packages of blue icicle lights, and two packages of regular small string lights (the red strand has a bulb out... I have to go through them one by lousy one to find out which one is out. That should drive me crazy in short order...) The wreaths had to be hung and some "rope style" tinsel inside the window, too! Indiana seems pleased with the whole thing, or at least with the excuse to hang-out outdoors in the cold!
Here it is midnight-thirty. I have just had my epiphany. Everything is so clear. I am the grown-up. Not just an adult. A GROWN-UP. So many things pointed me that way. The fact that I couldn't drink my body weight in booze anymore. Heck, two fingers of brandy makes me sleepy. That's a clue. The fact that I say to my sons "Because I said so" and feel perfectly okay about it. Yeah, another tip. But, the thing that made me really see it... I am mourning the loss of a beloved cheese grater. The plastic frame long ago broke away, leaving just one stalwart blue piece on the end. I told myself "one more burrito. Its good for one more quesidia." One more is past. It has shredded its last bit of Tilamook Colby Jack. It has presided over its last "taco salad night buffet". Now I have to replace it, my beloved shredder that has been with me for so many years. Being a grown up sucks.
Has it really been seven months since this moment?
It is that time of year again. In the US we are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving in just eight more days. And then just a month after that we have Indiana's first Christmas! Today we broke out "The Christmas Box". I started going thru lights, tinsel, stockings, boxes, gift bags, Santa hats, millions of holiday decorations, ornaments, candles, and cards. Indiana, as always, is incredibly helpful. Well, perhaps not incredibly helpful, but incredibly cute, none the less!
I think that Indiana has forgiven me for my role in his shots today. I was the lucky one that got to hold him down. His dad claimed that he had been the one to do the dirty work last time, which made it my turn in the sharing of parental duties. I wonder if I can use that line next time I smell a toxic Diaper!?!
That's right, we got SHOTS today!
Playtime is important to any kid. Indiana is getting to that age when playtime is all the time. Toys fascinate him. Rubber Spatulas fascinate him. Plastic cups fascinate him. Anything shiny... You get the idea. But, happily for me, he will occasionally take a moment to smile up at the camera, or as in this picture, look up at me and yell! He loves to hear the sound of his own voice, and will happily yell at his toys for hours. If I am not sufficiently impressed, he will then yell at me with the look of "hey mom, look over here and see how wonderful I am" upon his face.
Today is my brother Michael's birthday. 
Indiana has to be right in the middle of the action, all the time. If we sing, he gets to, too! So, Indiana and his daddy settled down for some serious Karaoke Revolution Party time! They had to do something to raise their spirits after Stanford took out their beloved Beavers 20-17! At least the beavers are consistent. Sure, its constantly BAD, but it IS constant! heheh GO DUCKS! (Gee after all that trash talking, I have to really hope the ducks win tonight or I will be eating those words!)
Indy has taken to "singing" into his microphone. Actually this is the microphone from PS2's Karaoke Revolution volume Three. It broke, we don't know why. However, today we bought Karaoke Revolution House Party, and got another mic like this one. We also have a headset mic for playing solo. Anyways, Indy inherited a microphone and a controller, as they ceased to actually work when plugged into the ps2. Now they work as dangerous baby nooses... We watch him when he has them, honest, so we aren't actually trying to kill him.
I don't feel real well today, so I don't have anything to say, just another cute picture to share. He was yelling at his toy, and I grumbled about not feeling good and for once could he be quiet and he smiled and drooled up at me. He went right back to yelling, but at least he is cute about it! So, anyways, I may be a little slow in posting and visiting in the next few days until I get feeling better. 
Indiana Jones
Occasionally, we do get a bit of peace and quiet. Of course, even then I get a little nervous. Today, Indy took a header into the coffee table. He used the gator to climb and stand up, then the little monster LET GO. He stood solo for about 30 seconds. Then he went down... Head first. There was a big CRACK, a momentary silence, then a WAIL unlike any previous wail. He has a mild bruise and seems ok, but every nap he has taken today made me think concussion.
I just needed some beauty in my life today. 
The best part about the high chair is that Indiana can sit in it and enjoy" dinner time" with us. He is learning to feed himself (which doesn't seem hard since everything goes in his mouth anyways). He loves his little crackers, biscuits, and banana flavored baby puffs. He also likes to have a spoon in his hand when I give him stuff from a spoon (if I let him try eating with the spoon that has the food on it he ends up looking like an "extra" from the animal house movie food fight scene!) It is just wonderful not to have to eat in shifts anymore. ("here you eat while I entertain the baby, then I will eat and you can entertain the baby"... I had two hot meals in the first 6 months!) Sure, I TRIED to arrange meals around nap times, but he was HUNGRY, he smelled food in the house and he wanted to share in the experience, even from the earliest days, even if he was totally one hundred percent asleep. My dad says Indy gets that particular trait from him.
I have heard conflicting reports, but it sounds like as many as 23 people have perished in a massive tornado in the southern part of Indiana. I have tried mightily, all day, to refrain from making jokes about our Indy being quite the little tornado. I just want to say that my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones due to this years amazing number of natural disasters. We have been fortunate here in Oregon so far (knock on wood). No major earthquakes, and we haven't had a bad flood in a while. I guess i am starting my "thankful for" list early (which thanks to Telfair Douglas i will be making that list soon) 
Every now and then we have the privledge of meeting a real lady or gentleman. I had such good fortune long ago, unknowingly. But this year we have renewed our acquaintance. I hope she isn't offended by this, but i asked my mom before i posted this. I told my mom that i had great respect for this woman. My mother concurred with me, and said she, too, had great respect for this woman who was so kind to my sons, my husband and I, when she really didn't have to be. And honestly, i never gave her a reason to be. , Some people are just good people, and She is one of those rare people. I want to publicly say thank you to Wanda. My dad married her several years ago, she helped him raise some wonderful kids (my four brothers that i mentioned in a previous post), she sends cards when we are sick and for holidays. She buys gifts for both of my sons, one of whom she has never even met. (and i hope he remembers to send a thank you note because she bought AWESOME gifts!) She is kind to us, and makes us all welcome in a family that i never really knew. I don't know how to thank her for allowing me to join into the ranks of her family at this late date. I don't know how to say thank you for being the great lady that she is. I feel priveledged to have her join the ranks of my parents, even if i am all grown up. I am proud to have her as one of "the folks". 
What is wrong with this child!?!?! It is midnight. He woke up, hungry, he consumed an entire bottle, and fell asleep in my arms. i carted him back to his bed, plopped him in, and wandered blearily to my own bed. Within minutes i hear IT. The little whimpers that imply a big scream is in the making. Sure enough, WHAAAAAAAA! grrr. He will not be rocked back to sleep. He wants to be UP, playing and chatting with himself, me, his dad, and/or any nearby toys. He started yawning and rubbing his eyes. I KNEW he was tired. i hauled his little behind back to his crib. Ran to the bathroom. When i came out a moment later, all was quiet. I crept into his room to cover him with his blanket, and instead got a nice smile for the camera. Sleep, i need SLEEP!
It really is weird to have a holiday dinner this early in the season, but Chris's office party was today. It was the closest to Christmas that they could book the room at Spirit Mountain Casino ! Dinner was all right. We won a door prize, which was fun. The bosses gave away gift cards to the employees for gaming. Our girl Jessica was there with her boyfriend (yes the Daniel and Jessica relationship seems to have worked out fine!), and we actually ended up giving them a ride home. Indiana stayed home with his grandma donkey. It was a nice break for us, and some quality grandma time for her. So, all in all, as strange as it is to have Christmas dinner on November 5th, it was a pretty nice day!
Sure at nap time i put him in the crib, and say nite nite and walk away. Sure after about 30 seconds it gets really quiet. Well, i always thought he was asleep. Today i crept in to put a toy away that we had left out. What to my surprised eyes appears? A little boy, playing with all his toys; cheerfully chewing on three things at once.
He spots me after just a moment. Perhaps he could hear my stunned silence!?! He grabs a rail and struggles to his feet to "chat" at me. I get much daaa-daaaa geeee-geeee and a few girlish squeaks. I suppose if he is going to play quietly, alone in his crib, who am i to argue. For this one, i think i am going to just count my blessings and move on! Peace and quiet, no matter how it comes about, is too rare to quibble over!
The piggies had finally been thrown out, the apartment was finally empty next door. The new property manager asked me, if i heard noise coming from that apartment, to please call the police. Last night the people who used to live in that apartment kicked the side door in, and i called the police. within ten minutes the police were here, and both the old neighbors were in handcuffs. It took about an hour, but they were hauled away for breaking and entering and burglary! I only wish I could post thier mug shots. Kharma baby, its all about the kharma! 
