Christmas Elf

The week of Christmas festivities at the Sloan house has begun with a wonderful weekend of celebrating Christmas in Eastland this weekend. Robby could not have been happier there with dogs to play with, golfing to do, and leaves to crash about in.

Pahpah and tah gave Robby a Robby-sized table and chairs which he loves. We spent all morning getting in and out of the chairs.

Tonight, we celebrate Christmas at our house, and then we will go to Houston on Christmas Eve.

It is an exciting time, and in honor of it, I thought I would post a couple of pictures of Robby getting into the Christmas spirit.

Let it Snow

A week or two ago it snowed at the Sloan house. I know what you are thinking...but it hasn't snowed in North Texas yet this year. Well, this snow was not outside but in my kitchen. It might not have been freezing, but to my son it was wonderous. He received a package of goodies from my aunt and uncle in California, but the goodies themselves were of no interest (at first). What he liked was the box full of styrofoam popcorn. He didn't just like it. He loved it! I will say that after he exhausted himself and went to bed, Mommy and Daddy did not enjoy Project Snow Cleanup, until I came up with a brilliant (if I do say so myself) idea. I used Clingwrap to pick up the pieces, and it went so smoothly after that. All those little pieces that had eluded me in my sweeping efforts clung to the wrap and did not stray again, so if you get a Christmas present with popcorn in it, that is my hearty recommendation.

On a side note, Toby and Lori, you guys are brilliant gift buyers. He LOVES the Christmas book. The last two pages have 25 flaps that he can open, and most of them are Christmas ornaments on this huge tree. He loves to open that page and open all the "balls." He sits and plays with it forever saying "ball" over and over again. I kept the LeapFrog toy in his closet until this week, but it too is a huge hit. He gets frustrated when he can't get the letters in, but he loves to make it sing to him. Way to go on the presents :)

Other recent Robby accomplishments: jumping, somersaulting (seriously he can do a full somersault on our bed), tiptoeing, and saying cup.

Christmas Music!!

Okay, so I have not yet decorated my house (anyone in need of a bunch of gords, cause I still have them), and I haven't wrapped any presents, and I had not started the Christmas music...until about half an hour ago. My friend Minda made me a Christmas CD, and I put it in as I wrote this afternoon, and suddenly a world that was overwhelming in how much I have to do suddenly became full of cozy happiness. I always forget just how much I love Christmas music! And, this CD has a wonderful version of "Baby It's Cold Outside," which I think is hard to find. I am now ready to decorate and get this holiday started!!

Yay to Minda! I guess what Buddy says is true--"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear" :)

Robby's Last Checkup

So, we took Robby to the doctor for his 15 month check up and latest round of baby torturing shots last week. He is, as ever, doing wonderfully. He remains, at 33 and 1/4 inches in the 90th percentile in height, and he is right at the 50th percentile in weight at 24 pounds.

The doctor spent most of her time talking to us about handling his newfound sense of pushing boundaries, which he promptly displayed by repeatedly trying to play with the trash can liner (see, Mommy lets me play with plastic sacks at home!) and then walking over to Mommy at one point and calmly smacking on her face (hitting is a normal part of our routine, Dr. Audrey--see?) Both times I firmly told him "no" only to be notified that the only way to correct this type of behavior is to pretend that it does not exist. I was raised in a household with a firm belief in the concept of using the word "No," and I think that No! is the best course of action for certain situations, just as is ignoring him when he is acting out. So, we took her advice but plan to use it as only one suggestion among lots of other valid suggestions on the best course of disciplining a toddler.

However, the visit did end on a positive note when the doctor was about to leave and turned around to say, "He really is very cute isn't he? Most babies his age are scared of me, but he did very well." Then she told him to come visit her any time. I like to think that it is a high compliment when a pediatrician who spends her whole life looking at children notices your child's particular brand of cuteness.

I thought I would add a couple of pics of some of my favorite Robby parts taken by my very talented uncle on a recent trip to California (and the beach!). There will be more pics of that trip later.

Two Kinds of People

So no pictures of Robby this posting. Instead, I am going to kick off the holiday season by presenting a question of culture, a question of Christmas tradition, for you. I propose that Americans can be divided into two kinds of people: the explorers and the revolutionaries. I just want to say upfront that I and my family are not newfangled revolutionaries, nor will we ever be. We are explorers. I know many of you fall into that other, much less harmonic, much more awkward camp.

I want to hear from you--so tell the truth and tell it loud (like respond with a comment and tell which side you are on.) When it comes to the end of the song, who will he go down in history like--Columbus, or, that much more cumbersome and harder to spit out George Washington?

If you know not of what I speak, just think these hints:

"like a light bulb"
"like Pinocchio"
"like Monopoly"




Okay, so the pic gave it away, didn't it? :)

Adventures in Bedtime

I hear horror stories about how hard it is to put little ones to bed, but at our house, we have been lucky so far in that putting Robby to bed usually is not too hard, and once he goes to bed he generally stays there. Sometimes, the time right before bed is the best time of all to have really good laughs with Robby. A few nights ago, he started just climbing into and out of his "Robby" chair until the sleepies hit too hard. Here are some cute pics:

New Face of Huggies Baby Wipes

So, the other night Bryan and I were getting Robby ready for bedtime while I took care of a few household necessities, like unpacking the box of baby wipes we had gotten at Sam's that day. For whatever reason, Robby took an immediate interest in the box and planted himself squarely inside of it after his bath. As you can see, clothes were optional for this adventure. He thought it was hilarious to hang out in the box, and he took lots of rides around the upstairs in the box before the night was said and done. He was smiling and laughing like crazy, so we took a bunch of pics. Here are three of my favorites:

Molars Hurt!!

As I mentioned in the Lion with Blue Shoes posting, we went through a rough couple of weeks where Robby was cutting several molars at once. During this time, eating and drinking did not interest him, and we were desperate to find something for him to try. So, we came up with the idea of chicken noodle soup, deconstructed. So, we gave him a pile of noodles and then spoon fed him the broth. It was a big hit and got the first smiles out of him in forever. And, in the midst of this fun, we got a spirited game of peek-a-boo going too. Here are some of my favorite pics:

The Lion with the Blue Shoes

So, a few weeks ago we wanted to take Robby to Boo at the Zoo. This event had been planned for several weeks and my parents came up for the event. Unfortunately, this was the same weekend that Robby was so miserable because he was getting in several molars at once. We waited until the last minute to make a decision, but then we decided that the best thing was just to go play at a playground instead of spending all of the money to go to the zoo where he may or may not have had a good time. Sad for me, but there it was. We decided to dress him up in his lion costume for PahPah and Tah anyway, and he agreed but insisted on wearing his blue Crocs. I know it is supposed to be girls who love shoes, but Robby LOVES his Crocs. They stay by the front door next to Mommy and Daddy's shoes, and he knows that to go outside he has to have his shoes on. So routinely, he brings us his shoes and sits down with his feet in the air to have them put on. The assumption is that once he does this he will get to go outside. But, he has become so attached to them that it is not unheard of for him to go to bed in his Crocs. One of my favorite moments with him ever was this past week when I was finishing reading the paper after breakfast one morning. Robby went to the backdoor because he wanted to play in his sandbox, and he was banging on the door and making it clear he wanted to go outside. So, I told him that if he brought me his shoes, he could go play in the sandbox. Without hesitation, he went into the other room, found his shoes amongst the pile of shoes by the door, and brought them to me. I did not have to point or cajole or do anything other than say what I needed, and he understood. It was a tiny moment in time but a big moment for me. Here are some pics of the little lion with blue shoes:

I guess he thought he should trick or treat at his own door. Of course, PahPah was there in just a few minutes with his magical raisin to M&M converter pocket.

Retiring SloanCentral

For anyone out there who has tried to keep up with me through SloanCentral.com, you may have noticed something conspicuous lately--namely, that I have not been there for over two months. Those of you close to me know that I have had much to deal with in the past few months in terms of personal loss and sorrow. Somehow, SloanCentral has become tied to that for me, and it was too hard for me to post there. Whatever I posted, it would feel like I was avoiding talking about what I was really thinking about or feeling about.

So, in the spirit of renewal and moving forward, I have decided to move to a blog format. The upside to this is that I can post from anywhere, anytime as long as I have internet access, while before I could only post from one specific computer (and it was not a laptop, so no mobility). In theory, this means that I will be able to post more often than I did on SloanCentral. I hope I will.

I have, of course, lots of new updates and pictures of Robby who will be fifteen months old in just a week! I am going to save that for my next post though, because I want to be able to add the pictures that are on my home computer to go with the update.

So, for an update on me. I am doing really well right now, all things considered. I have a job that has grown to really fit me (or maybe I have grown to fit my job). I live in what I consider to be one of the greatest cities in the world. I have a husband who lights up my world. At lunch today, I told a friend that even if something awful were to happen to Bryan, I honestly do not believe that I would ever experience love again the way that I have experienced it with him. And, that is the truth. I have a furry, lovable, constantly meowing cat who keeps me company when I work from home. I have a son who makes all things better in my world. I have true friends who have stood by and let me cry on them or let me be as needed without abandoning me. I have family who love me for who I am and support me in whatever I do. And, most importantly, I am always growing and learning more about my Lord who will sustain me through all things.

I am going to Reno for a conference this weekend, which is a state I have never been to (I like adding new states to my list of places I have been). My sister-in-law to be (yay Jenna and Curtis!) asked me to be a bridesmaid last week, so I am very excited about that. And, I have won the last two games in fantasy football in what has been a very sub-par year for me.

And, very exciting, Bryan bought me a new collection of Paula Deen and Calphalon pots and pans from Linen's and Things' going out of business sale. I am more motivated to get in the kitchen now to play with my fun toys, and so I have cooked lots of things lately.

Okay, I think that is it for now. I am going to post in the next couple of days on Robby, so watch for that!