Pacifier Protocols

We have made a transition in the Chilson household. We have instituted some new pacifier protocols for Drew. First we decided that he could only have it when he is napping/sleeping, then after spending the entire day in mall traffic with Drew screaming his head off for what felt like decades, we caved on Sunday and said we would add that he could have it when he's in his car seat. He's never been a fan of the car seat, so before we embark on a 12 hour trip to Chicago we thought it was best to add in this caveat.

We tried this new and improved strategy all weekend and I must say, Drew was a champ. Yes, he had his moments, but with a little redirection he was fine. Mike was supposed to let all the ladies at school know the new rules and I hope that they stick to them!

15 months

Drew is fifteen months as of yesterday. The ladies at school revel in all his accomplishments and I light up with everything they tell me. I am a proud mama. He is such a smart little boy and a helper at his school. I always stick around for awhile when I pick him up in the afternoon so the ladies feel like they can tell me all the stories because, I, of course, want to hear every detail that I have missed. They are so good to me and treat me like I am a friend of theirs. Julie tells me of all the "tests" she gives him and how he passes each and every one of them. Yesterday she hid his pacifier and tried giving him all the other children's, to which he would not even consider because he KNEW they weren't his. She has also told him to deliver toys to other children in the classroom and he knows exactly where to take them and to whom they belong. She tells me that he likes to help put away all the books after story time and thoroughly enjoys the hugs each of the teachers dole out. When I picked him up yesterday that shared with me how he had learned to "high five". He gave Julie a "high five" before he left for the day, almost as if he couldn't leave until that had been done. For awhile, Ms. Felisa would say to Drew "How big are you?" and he would raise his hands high above his head. He is the cutest little boy.

He is walking everywhere. I try not to carry him to the car in the afternoons because he prefers to walk. He knows he is supposed to get in his seat and buckle up before we get on the road. His newest thing is begging for the car keys, just so he can do the automatic locks. He knows which button locks the car and when we get home and we are walking to the door, he continuously will do the "lock" button forcing the car to make the beeping noise over and over again. When we get inside he knows that the keys are hung on the hook and he hands me the keys to put away.

Drew still gets very frustrated, almost irritated when he either is not allowed to do something or he physically can't do something. He has awful tantrums with a very sad face, but we just have to let him be frustrated. He will have to work through those issues on his own. There will be times in his life where he will not always get what he wants.

I am dreaming of the day where he does not have the pacifier anymore, but I'm struggling as to when to take it away. It really needs to happen during a week I have with him at home so that the school folks do not have to endure the nastiness that is sure to come from this decision. I thought maybe over christmas, but we will be traveling and spending time with family and it's not fair to make grandma and grandpa miserable along with the rest of us. It may have to wait a bit longer. He is an addict for his pacifier.

He still really loves reading books. One of my favorite things is when he will pick out a book, hand it to me, and ask to sit in my lap to read with him. He lays back and relaxes while we go through the story. He is understanding so much more than he did a month ago. He can point to more things and share with me what he is thinking. I still cannot wait for him to begin talking.

I am out of school until January 3rd. I have two full weeks of bliss at home. We are traveling to Chicago on the 22nd to see Mike's family and I am really looking forward to the trip. It should be a very fun time. This will be Drew's first trip to the Windy City. We are also planning a trip to Charlotte for New Year's Eve. We'll see Melody, Troy and Trevor for that trip. We'll have to take lots of pictures because lately, I have fallen down on the job.

The only new pictures I have of Drew are from this morning when we were playing in bed. We were doing "Drew sandwiches". He loves this - being smooshed between two pillows. He also loves calling Grandma on a cell phone (he doesn't know it doesn't work anymore!). He's so innocent. I promise to take more over the next two weeks and share with everyone. He's still cuter than ever.

Here he comes! Gotta go.

Scary Santa

Would this sweet old man scare you? Perhaps if you were a 14 month old mama's boy. We did get Drew to at least not cry for one picture when mom sat with him next to Santa, but we thought this picture was classic Drew. And, at least it's honest. We stood in a long line with a lot of other children waiting their turn to tell Santa what they wanted for christmas. It was over an hour and we knew that as soon as it was Drew's turn this was the exact face we would get. I love this face.



Hopefully Santa won't leave him a lump of coal in his stocking. He really has been a good boy this year.



Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanksgiving

I am a little late posting about our thanksgiving adventures - but here ya go!

This is Mike & Drew playing in the woods at Hard Labor Creek State Park - thanksgiving destination 2009.

My family has had the same thanksgiving tradition since I was very little - probably about 30 years we've been doing basically the same thing. The only difference is that our family has expanded exponentially! Each year we go to a state park on Thanksgiving day. Everyone arrives on their own schedule so that the day can be spent elsewhere. We usually get there on Thursday and have our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. We spend time hiking, playing football, goofing off, watching all the "rival football games" and enjoying each other's company. It is by far my most favorite holiday. I get to see all my aunts and uncles, my cousins, their kids, my immediate family - it is so nice how we enjoy spending time together. It's not about the money spent, it really is about the time with each other. I appreciate these moments more and more each year. The food, too, makes it memorable. We bring lots of appetizers and dips, too many casseroles to name, and the most wonderful desserts.

This year I really wanted Drew to be able to enjoy this Thanksgiving. He normally is a fairly cautious little boy. He gets overwhelmed easily. However, I was so proud of him being the newest member of the Smyth clan. He held his own with all the little kids. They were sweet with him and would steer their running around him as to not knock him over when playing hide and seek. He joined the family adventure nicely. We went hiking, which Drew thoroughly enjoyed. He loved Uncle Dutch's sweet potatoes (as did I!). He had two helpings. He also found his love at the children's park. His favorite activity is the slide...not the one that goes straight down, but the one that twists around. He got very skilled at going down the slide the right way with his feet facing forward. He knows exactly how to position himself down the slide. He loves it. He does not, however, love the swing. I thought everyone loved the swing, but not our boy!

This thanksgiving Drew enjoyed the company of his 6 great aunt and uncles, my endless amount of cousins, and their 11 children, his immediate cousins - five boys. And, the family is still growing. Here is a picture of some of them hiking. They are all so sweet and innocent!


Friday night I noticed his eye was a little red and by the end of the night I was certain he had pink eye. By Saturday morning he had it in both eyes and when we returned home and went to the pediatrician it was determined that he had a sinus infection that had leaked into his tear ducts causing the pink eye. Despite all the health issues...he was a real trooper! Now that he has been on antibiotics for the past couple of days, our happy boy is back in action!

Even with all the health issues, Drew was happy and content to be around family. I loved seeing my family and truly being thankful for all that we have. We are a fortunate bunch!

Happy Gram

Drew recieved his first ever Happy Gram this past Thursday. This is appearently a note from the teachers explaining how wonderful your child is...as if we didn't already know that. It does surprise me though that this is his first Happy Gram and he's been there more than a year. They obviously don't hand them out willy nilly. Yea Drew!