First the Snow, then the Cold

The 1-2 punch of massive snow and bitter cold is not making me a happy camper. My every-season-but-winter-loving self is exceedingly glad to be headed to Mexico next month, if only to get away from all the snow surrounding us.

Front yard, pre-blizzard

Backyard, pre-blizzard

Front yard, after the clean-up

Backyard, post-blizzard

Felix and the Deck Snowdrift

Felix: 19 mos

Go Pack Go!

It feels surreal that our beloved Green Bay Packers are going to the Super Bowl. It's been a wild ride of the season, with the first and second halves of the season having the same win-loss pattern. I love extra Packers football, and this is just fun.

We've been coaching Felix to fine tune his football watching skills. During the last game, I taught him First Down (with the arm motion), and he can occasionally do it with a "fuhdown". He's taken aback when we jump up and down yelling Touchdown! when it happens in real time, but he'll do the arm motion and say "tot down" once we've settled down. We've been working on getting him to identify a Green Bay logo ("Gee!"). Now if only we can get him to boo when he sees black and gold (also handy when facing Iowa)...

And along those lines, Felix's new favorite word is Wisconsin. He doesn't have all the syllables yet, pronouncing it "Condin!", but he surprised me this morning by identifying it on the license plate of a car in front of us. Add that to Bucky, W, Badger, and we've definitely got ourselves a Badger from Birth and the brainwashing is nearly complete. :o)

And bonus fun - see how big Felix has gotten:

January 16, 2011 (18 months)

August 2, 2009 (3 weeks)

Felix: 18 mos

18 Months!

Felix turned 18 months old yesterday.  I look back at a year ago and remember a little baby who smiled a lot but couldn't sit up, was babbling, and about to start solid foods.  Two years ago, we were just getting ready to tell people we were expecting.  Wow.  Time sure files.

This morning, Felix signed "love" to me.  Nick said, "Tell Mama you love her" while I was holding Felix.  He then put his fists up to his neck, the closest he can come to making the sign for love.  It was the first time he's done that!  Aw!  And last night, Nick's birthday present came in the mail.  Because he can't say two-word phrases yet, I got Felix to say happy and birthday ("buhdee") separately.  It cracked us all up. 

Felix is also showing us a different way to look at the things around us.  He's latched on to moon shapes, and sees them everywhere.  Sometimes this confuses us.  The other night, he pointed at a coaster with a stylized drawing of a pilsner glass on it and said "mun!"  It took a minute for me to find that there was in fact a little moon shape within the drawing.  And this morning, he said "mun!" several times to the large poster we have in our dining room.  There are no moons in the picture that I could see.  I picked him up and asked him to point to the moon.  He pointed to the letter R.  It took me a second to realize that he meant the empty space in the upper part of the letter that did look like a moon.  I'm sure this is just the beginning of our sharp-eyed, smart little boy showing us a new way to look at the world.

Felix: 18 mos

Post-Holiday Update

We hope you and yours did have a splendid holiday season!  We certainly did, getting together with both families on Christmas weekend.  Felix got a lot of great presents (as did we), and we're having fun playing with them.

Nick and I left Felix for the first time just before New Year's.  We were going to the Rose Bowl, but knew that bringing him along would make the trip far from the relaxing one for which we were hoping.  We sure didn't like leaving him behind, though.  Despite weather delays and uncertainty, we made it to Southern California at 9:30 pm local time on New Year's Eve.  My parents were out there already and picked us up from the airport and got us to the hotel, where we promptly fell asleep. New Year's Day started out fun, going to the Rose Parade until the TCU band had passed and seeing friends from far away, but we all know what happened in the game.  Argh.  We had a quiet night when we finally got back to Anaheim.

The 2nd was rainy and cold. We drove to Santa Monica and found a bar near the UCLA campus in which to watch the Packers-Bears game. Thankfully, the Packers won, because we were worried that no one would be left alive in Wisconsin if they hadn't. The folks dropped us off at our next hotel near LAX, then took themselves off for Vegas. 

The 3rd was also rainy and cold, which put an end to any hopes Nick and I had for going to a theme park. We took public transportation to downtown LA instead. We ate marvelous sushi in Little Tokyo, walked though incredibly sketchy areas, got over the scare with sake, then took the bus/train back home. An adventurous day, to say the least.

We got back to our little man on the 4th. He hasn't quite figured out how the telephone works, so calls to him each day were a bit one-sided. I know it was a sign I missed him so much when I seemed to notice toddlers everywhere.

Now that we're back, things have returned to normal. Felix's vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds. It's especially entertaining trying to teach him a word he can't quite say (Packers is "kohpa"). There's the flip side of him latching on to a word he knows and can say, and he says it over and over. His latest is "body." He will grab his chest and belly when you ask him where his body is, too. :o)

Felix: 17 mos

Happy Holidays!

The holiday season is upon us, and we've been enjoying it immensely!  Well, kinda.  My company Christmas party was on the 11th, the same evening we got about 9 inches of snow and lightning.  Natalie was watching Felix that night, and was unable to leave because of the heavy snowfall.  We were snowbound until Sunday afternoon when the plows came and dug us out (again, kinda). 

To keep Felix from going stir crazy like the rest of us, I put together his Christmas present - vaguely called a "fold away climber".  The large plastic contraption has a platform, a slide, a basketball hoop, and a goal to kick balls into.  Felix so far LOVES it.  He will spend minutes (really big deal) shooting baskets, then going down the slide, then shooting more baskets.  He'll stop to cheer for himself now and then, before taking another shot.  He points at the basket and says "mit".  I'm not sure, but he may be saying "made it" or "missed it".


We are very excited about the holidays this year, because Felix is getting older and is starting to have an idea what's going on (he enjoys the tree, looking up and saying "dars!" [stars], touching all the "emmets" [ornaments] he can reach, and getting excited when he sees Christmas lights).  We are also going to the Rose Bowl!  Steve and Vicky are equally excited about having several straight days with Felix.

My decorated cube (I didn't do it!)

To all, whether we get to see you this holiday season or not, we wish you the very best for you and your family.  Enjoy the company of those you're with, and travel safely.  Have a wonderful rest of 2010 and all of 2011!

Felix: 17 mos

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I am most thankful for my wonderful family! Nick and Felix are my world, my comfort, my joy. I am so thankful them, as well as my parents and sister, in-laws, and extended family. Without them, where would I be?

Felix's new tricks include saying "mutz" for "button", saying please ("pees!") or doing the sign (yay!), attempting to repeat everything we say (careful!), naming all the things he does know (this rainy evening, everything outside was "wet"), throwing things crazy hard (well, not so new), and claiming everything as "meine" (he's got a little German in him :o).

Felix: 16 mos

Say What?!

Felix's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, and he understands much more than he says.  (I've started cautioning Nick on his language during sporting events because of it.)

If you happen to find yourself around Felix anytime soon, please use this handy Fel-ish-English translation guide:

• "Ah Dah" = All Done
• "Ah-puh" = Apple
• "Ai" = Hi!
• "Bah" = Ball
• "Bock" = Box
• "Book" = Same
• "Bubbuh" = Bubble
• "Buppy" = Bucky (He said only once. Now he just calls him "Buh")
• "Bye" = Same
• "Go" = Same
• "Kah-kah" = Cracker
• "Kok" = Sock or Clock
• "Luka" = His friend, Lucas
• "Muh" = More
• "Muk" = Milk
• "My" = Mine
• "Nah-Nah" = Either banana or his friend Alana
• "Nek" = Neck
• "Nuk" = Pacifier, one I was hoping he wouldn't pick up on so quickly
• "No" = Same
• "Row" = Roll
• "Uh-Oh" = Same
• "Up" = Up, On or Off (haven't quite determined which, or else it might mean Light)
• "Wawa" = Water
• "Wock" = Watch (as in wrist)

He also attempts a quacking noise like a duck, but it sounds like he's clearing his throat.  Kid's got some German in him. :o)  He says "Rawr" when you put a puppet on his hand and he shoves it back in your face.  He raises one arm to mimic an elephant's trunk.  He will spin around and make himself dizzy if you say "spin".  I'm amazed that at this young age he understands a request like "put it back".  He likes playing with his little doctor kit, and actually attempts to use each item correctly.  His favorite book right now is the Go Badgers, My First Wisconsin Words book (probably because it has two pictures of Bucky in it).  He will give kisses when he's in the mood.  When I put him down for bed, he immediately turns over and points at the humidifier, my cue to plug it in.  My little, wonderful, amazing man.

Felix: 15 mos