12-26-10

Sledding!!! Sledding!!! Sledding!!!! I was a happy kid today. Matt was a happy kid today. AND Grandaddy and Mema were happy kids today. There aren't too many things in life that bring out our inner children. This morning we took Corbin out to build a snowman and have a snowball fight. Next we had some hot chocolate and took a slow drive to Chapel Hill to visit Mema and Grandaddy. All of us bundled up and hit the hills of the golf course on some sleds. It was the most fun I've had in a while. The sky was amazing today with a silver cloud cover and a dull sun peeking through. The dim golden rays were shining down on the snow-covered branches. The best part of the day was seeing the excitement on Corbin's face. All afternoon he would just hop on the sled with whichever adult was doing a "run." He was the little sled mooch. Thanks to my coworker, Farrah Scodius, he had a sweet little snow suit. It couldn't have been any more perfect for him. I'm so glad Corbin loves the snow as much as I do! He would randomly say, "We're in snow. There's lots of snow. I'm sledding and I'm not scared. I'm the snow-bot. It's fun!" So,so,so precious. We had a very Merry Christmas and I'm loving every minute of having time off with Matt and Corbin.

Pyro! We definitely have a boy. Corbin really enjoyed playing with sparklers at Mema and Grandaddy's house over Thanksgiving break. I'm starting to post things out of order lately. My apologies! I'm just going through photos from this year as we approach 2011, and I have found a few that bring back great memories. Now, for a completely unrelated and not-so-great memory: two days ago I woke up to find Corbin smearing poo all over the bathroom. He was standing on the floor with his pants around his ankles, hand towel in hand, and a worried look on his face. He looked up at me and said, "Uh, oh, hi, Mama. I'm just cleaning up. I pooped. I'm not done yet. Just cleaning it up with a towel." I couldn't get made at him because he's just so sweet when he knows he might be in trouble. Poor thing was trying to make it better. Ah, the joys of parenting. When he realized his efforts were futile, he handed me the towel and said, "now it's your turn. K? Oh, clean up that too, Mommy" (he pointed to more on the floor of our laundry room). From now on when he is quiet much past 7 a.m., I will know that something isn't right. :)
No more poop talk.
This weekend went by so fast. A blur, really. I did a painfully long run on Saturday with a very talented Army athlete named Emily Potter. She basically handed me my butt in a sling at the end of it. Two hours of 10 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy through "horse country" was her long workout, and I tagged along. She seriously hammered me hard, but I felt really proud of my efforts. I haven't run that long or hard since the marathon in March. I'm paying for it today with some sore muscles. Friday night we took Corbin to the E.R. at around midnight for croup, and thus, we were kind of floating through the weekend due to lack of sleep. We all finally got into bed around 2 a.m. So, I was a little impressed with myself that I actually showed up for a long run the following morning. :0
I'm getting so excited for my family's visit in January! I need to figure out what kind of goody bag to hand out at Corbin's party. Aaaaaaand what kind of cake or cupcakes to bake. Decisions,decisions.
Now I'm just rambling.
But, one more thing- Matt's Christmas gift to me is a set of super nice knives for the kitchen. I sliced an orange today like it was butter. Oooooooooh, ahhhhhh. I'm excited!

Corbin and Matt on a trail in the Uwharrie National Forest back in October. That was such a perfect day!!! Matt had just gotten home from a deployment, the weather was awesome, Corbin was a total sweetheart, and the leaves were beautiful.

Tis the season to be jolly! I have been baking,baking,baking. Last night's foray was a gingerbread recipe. I was singing Christmas carols along with Pandora while Corbin stirred flour onto every counter surface in the kitchen. For such a small guy, he can make a BIG mess. I'm usually not one to be proud of my finished product in the kitchen, but my gingerbread men were sooooo tasty. Honestly, I have had four today and now feel sick. Totally worth it. In other news, Corbin pooped on the potty today! He actually said, "my tummy needs to poop," and then he went to the bathroom. It was perfection! If you don't like poopy talk, tough. This is my blog. I danced throughout the house chanting, "Poo Poo in the POTTY" (think cha cha or conga line) with Corbin following closely behind me.
Okay, now, because this is my blog, I want to rant about the fact that I can't get an accurate story from the televised news. The talking heads speak over each other like clucking chickens and I want to pull my hair out. I'm on the couch right now typing this and I'm trying to get the story straight on the "Dream Act" which the house will be voting on this month. Are illegal immigrant students going to be privy to state and federal tuition assistance or not? Come on people, tell the story. One at a time.
Ugh!!!!!!!
Okay, I'm back. I love our Christmas tree. It's so beautiful, and Corbin's little homemade ornaments are precious. He painted a sun catcher at school. He also met Santa Claus at school today. I heard from his teacher that Corbin was first in line to speak with Santa:)
When I asked him what Santa had to say, Corbin goes, "oh, um, he said Merry Jingle Bells"
TOO CUTE!

Everyone should have a sweet face like this one helping out in the kitchen! We were listening to Christmas music tonight via satellite radio, and Corbin was precious. He was singing "Jingle Bells" and putting sprinkles on cookies that I iced. He desperately wanted to eat more than one, but we each allowed ourselves one treat. After the cookie baking extravaganza, we headed to the bath tub. As I was drying him off with a towel, I said, "you've got the cutest buns!" Corbin replied, "A hot dog bun." I laughed and said, "you have a hot dog bun bum?" He then said, "Yea, from Coney Island."
I nearly fell down from laughter! How does my child know Coney Island is famous for hot dogs? I inquired. He stated very matter of factly: The Wonder Pets.
And this is why allowing your toddler to watch a little television every now and then is actually rewarding. I had a great laugh. Anyway, we're in the Christmas spirit. I was worried because up until this past Sunday, I wasn't feeling the holiday charm at all. I normally am super pumped when Thanksgiving rolls around. Matt suggested buying our Christmas tree on Sunday. Every year he puts the lights on the tree and I hang the ornaments. It's our tradition. This time we had a little "helper." He broke (and ate) a candy cane from last year that we were planning to use as an ornament again this year. He successfully broke a glass ball ornament, and commandeered another as a toy. Corbin did manage to hang three ornaments, albeit very low on the tree:)
Where he lacks in tree-decorating he totally makes up for in good looks and charm.

Sad day

Tonight my heart was broken. Corbin told me he didn't want to sit in the rocking chair to hear the bedtime story. Not only that, but he picked out a book and said, "I want to read it. By myself. You can sit over there and listen, mama." I fought the tears back. I pleaded: "but Mommy really loves to read stories to you. I cherish it. Can I please read to you?" After he recited two stories (which, by the way, is so impressive that he has memorized them) I asked again.
He relented. He let me rub his back and he listened patiently as his mommy went through a ritual that was begun about 30 months ago; she's not going to let go of it very easily. Maybe it was just his mood tonight. Or maybe not. He might want to do his own "reading" from now on. What will I do then?! I guess I'm just going to have to be proud of the fact that he wants to read all on his own. But, if he tries to tell me he doesn't need any lullabies, I may just have to throw my own temper tantrum. SLOW DOWN, Corbo! You're way too big these days. Sniff, sniff.