Someone loved Christmas...

Not just Dain. D did too.


He got some great gifts - including a talking Spiderman, piano floor mat that plays (ala the movie Big), a HotWheels bathtub ramp, bucket of army men, Thomas laptop, Batmobile, tent, etc. etc. etc....

It was so fun to watch him enjoy the holiday. We may need a bigger house for all the new stuff...but it was totally worth it!

Getting Ready for Santa, etc.

What has happened? No I haven't fallen in a hole in the earth...I've just been busy getting ready for Christmas, working and doing theatre business.

I don't really have a bunch of pictures to post (still on the camera) or theatre posters to share (next event is NYE @ GUP - no poster needed - but if you are looking for a fun New Year's activity - it's available!).

I did want to share that I'm becoming what I NEVER wanted to become - a crazy toy-shopping mom!! I just can't handle all the cute stuff that I know D would love. But on the other hand - we realize this is probably the last Christmas D isn't going to have specific requests (besides "car for Christmas") so we've capped the amount of gifts we get him. But I tell ya, I could've bought out the internet! I just kept finding more and more ideas that I know D would love. So, I'm adding things to my mental Easter list for him...

I don't want to reveal what we decided on - I'll have pictures later in the week I'm sure. I'm just so excited to see D's face on Christmas. He's SOOOO excited by so much these days. Christmas is going to blow his mind.

In the meanwhile we'll continue to sing Jingle Bells, Batman Smells - and wait for Santa.

Pom-mas

We can't stop singing the Thomas and his Friends song. D was even singing it to himself while he was bored waiting for me to find him shoes in the store last week. He'd watch this video over and over and over.



And if you sing it up to the part with the introductions - D will yell out their names and wait for you to do the description - although he knows those too! He can pretty much sing the whole thing.

Sing It

I love The Sing Off.
Seriously - love.

Last season was good. But last night's opener for season two was phenomenal. And the group "The Whiffenpoofs" (acappella group from Yale) was my FAVORITE by a landslide (though I did love several others).

They immediately took me back to watching "The Other Guys" - a similar type group that is at U of I that I saw while my sister was a student there - and my parents have since become huge fans of - even owning CD's. I expected something like what I'd seen in the past. I did not, however, expect to hear one of my favorite songs done in such an amazing way.

Granted, if you were not familiar with the song "Grace Kelly" by Mika - you may have been a bit confused or thrown off by the performance. I was stunned and thrilled simultaneously. I LOVED what they did with it. I've watched the video a ton of times, saved my DVR'd episode mostly for this performance, and have shared my love for this on Facebook.

I can't help but share the full performance here as well. Maybe it's my theatrical background. Maybe it's my love of offbeat music. Maybe it's my appreciation of music and arts. Maybe it's my love of Mika. Any way you slice it - it's love. I LOVE this performance.

Photo Update

Yes it's been since D's birthday since I gave you some cute pics to look at...I'm the worst. So - here's a few to make it up to you!

Here's some pics from our birthday trip to Legoland:




Halloween - with his buddy Ruby, and just being a gorilla:



Playing outdoors:



Out of Town Cousins in town for Thanksgiving:

Where Am I?

I'm crazy apparently - no time to upload new pics, no time to write about the Every Little Bottom program, no time to update you on the theater or D or life in general.

However - new pictures and updates are coming soon. We've been busy - but I still want to keep this thing from falling through the cracks.

CHRISTMAS?!?

Really? No - I'm just updating you on the next show coming to the theater - a children's performance. It will be amazing - and tickets are selling fast!

Let me know if you want to come!

Cover Boy

Get over to www.GoWestYoungMom.com (click the logo/link on the side of my blog) and see who the new cover kid is!!

Also - just check out what an amazing site this is!

But seriously - D is super cute.

Mattie

How is it that in my short-lived (in the grand scheme of things) blog, I have written three tributes to three different dogs? Today is no different.

Mattie Meyer - my in-law's family dog - passed away today at age 15 (yes, a 15 year old Golden Retriever).

It's odd for me to think that Mattie won't be at the Meyer house, wagging her tail and following Dain Sr. around the house the next time we go there. Mattie has been in that house every time I've gone there since Dain and I started dating. I remember so much about her...

I remember the early days of hanging out at their house and Mattie nosing her way in between Dain and I on the couch - and setting her paw on Dain's leg - as if to tell me to "back off". :) Dain claims that Mattie was wild and crazy until age 4 - mostly when I'm complaining about the hyper state of our 5 year old Golden - however I don't remember her being out of control or jumping up on anyone. I remember being impressed that she knew her limits and didn't go past her "line" into the formal living room or upstairs. I remember always seeing her wag nearly her whole body around my father-in-law, husband or brother-in-laws. I remember her having her "one toy" Nylabone that she would get once or twice a year and carry around to show you, but would never share it. I remember her rolling on her back on the carpet. I remember her "dinosaur bone" that she had in the backyard. I remember when we brought 8 week old Penny over on her first day with us, and them running through the backyard, Penny thinking Mattie could feed her, Mattie running away, and Penny tiring out after just a few steps. I remember Mattie being so good when we brought baby D over to their house hauling his monitor and car seat, stretching him out on the carpet or passing him around and Mattie not even batting an eye or trying to get involved. I remember one of my favorite pictures of D, laying grinning on the floor at about 9 months old next to a grinning Mattie. I remember D getting bigger and giving Mattie treats with "boo-pa", and checking on Mattie outside to see if she needed to come in. I remember seeing how the "man's best friend" idea of a dog was truly personified between my father-in-law and Mattie.

She was truly a wonderful dog. And she will be missed.

Gorilla

What a hoot. CUTEST. GORILLA. EVER.
(seriously these pictures don't even do it justice)



Hope everyone had as happy of a Halloween as D did!

Wow Wow

We had a Wow Wow Wubbzy family birthday party last weekend for D's big second b-day and it was great. I wasn't sure about the theme as Wow Wow Wubbzy isn't as well-known and there's not anything at your local party store as far as "stuff" goes - but I love creating something from nothing. It got my creative juices going - and since it was going to be mostly adults - it didn't matter anyway!

Here's some pics:

The cake I made...


The food table - and the only officially licensed Wow Wow Wubbzy item - a tablecloth found on Amazon.com


My homemade banner and balloons converted to Wubbzy faces :)


The activity table - and some decorations...


D in his walking-decoration shirt I made him


D and his cousins - Adam and Amelia - enjoying the food!


Will - the only one who would wear the Wubbzy tails I made for all the kids!


Him loving the cake...but confused why everyone was singing to him!!


It was a great party - D got some wonderful gifts and had a great time with family. Happy #2 again to D!!

WHO'S TWO?

I can't believe my little baby is two. Dain claims I can no longer call him a baby, but that part of me that's still clutching my newly-released-from-the-incubator-newborn-on-a-monitor will call him my baby probably until he's 40.

He's an amazing two year old. He knows his letters. He can say just about everything you can, only with a cute accent. He counts along with numbers, chimes in on the ABC's and sings TV theme songs. He's got an attention span longer than my 31 year old husband - sitting to read books or play with his cars and trains for an hour with not even the blink of an eye. He is a true sweetheart, giving hugs to anyone who will take them. He's quiet in a crowd, loud at home and plays wonderfully with other kids. I'm lucky just to know him, but the fact that he's mine is the best feeling in the whole world.

I will post later about his Wow Wow Wubbzy birthday party, trip to Legoland, and pics of him with his gifts that he loves. But for now, I just want to say Happy Birthday to D. It's been the best 2 years of my life and I'm excited for what this third year has in store.

This Fall...

We went back to Sunny Acres a few weeks ago with Uncle Evan and Aunt Marcy. We had a great time. I just wanted to post a few comparison shots...

Here's D circa 2009:

And 2010:

He's getting so big!

Walked for Hope

Sorry for the delay in posts...don't know what the problem is. Life is busy. Planning D's 2nd birthday party, getting his Halloween set up (spoiler alert, he's going to be a gorilla!), and work, etc.

Also we had the Walk for Hope this past Saturday. It was amazing. There was a HUGE turnout and the Team Andrea group seemed to have grown quite a bit as well!


I'm so proud to report that Dain & I raised $347.00! We beat our last year total! All in all the Team Andrea group raised more than $2400 for Mutual Ground. What an amazing effort. I'm still waiting to hear the final tally for all the teams. But I will keep you all posted.

In the spirit of awareness for domestic violence, I wanted to post a link to this amazing lead article to a series of features on domestic violence awareness through the Aurora Beacon. In this article, Dain's aunt Patty was interviewed, and she left us all with some very powerful words.
Click here - Domestic violence: Their words, our awareness - Courier News

Bull-ony

Maybe it's because he got the book "Ferdinand" from my mother-in-law recently, which we read daily. Maybe it's because he loves basketball slam dunks in the living room. Probably it's because Dain gets him pumped up for this.
I've watched this video with D seven times already this morning. On repeat. He loves "buhl-buhl".



It's adorable - at the beginning he holds his hands out and says "where da buhl-buhl?". Then cheers for them later. It's pretty stinkin cute. Looks like we'll add a Bulls jersey to the b-day list...

Morton Arboretum

A few weeks ago we got the amazing free passes from the library Museum Adventure Pass Program to go to Morton Arboretum.

I am sad to admit that it was my first trip (who can believe this from a huge tree hugger like me?!?) to the arboretum. It did not disappoint. What an amazing place - and I was totally impressed with the Children's Garden. Wowza - I want to move there. D loved every minute.


In the little tiny play house that my giant had to duck to get in and out of...Crawling through the tubesHamming it up on the way up to the tree top viewsWalking across the tree top bridges made for older kids...that didn't stop D!Enjoying a picnic lunch...

Navigating the toddler hedge maze - mostly just chasing me in circles...
I can't wait to go back!!

Thanks

Thanks to all who have donated to the Walk for Hope. Just over a week left to donate. See my next post for the link to my fundraising site.

And a side note of thanks to whomever taught D to stick his finger up his nose and say "pick".

Walk (Again) for Hope

On October 16th Dain, D and I will be participating, for the 2nd year, in the Walk for Hope to benefit Mutual Ground - a shelter that provides free services to victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

Both Dain's family and my family have been affected by domestic abuse. We are walking once again with "Team Andrea" a group formed in memory and honor of Dain's cousin who lost her life as a victim of domestic abuse.

Please see the site below where I'm managing my fundraising efforts, which also includes further information on Mutual Ground. Any donations are tax deductible and can be made on the website - or I can accept cash/check donations as well.

http://www.firstgiving.com/mariemeyer

Please do not feel obligated to donate - I also just wanted to spread the word about this great place that could possibly be a safe haven to someone you may know that may also be affected.

Photo Update

I don't have time/energy for a full-blown post. But I will throw some much overdo photos from the past month or so on here...

Enjoying the last sprinkler/backyard pool day of summer...

Having fun with Spiderman (he calls him "pie" which I think is adorable/hilarious)

At the breastfeeding group's BBQ to celebrate the babies turning 2 (they're all within about 6 weeks or so of eachother - so some turned 2 already)Smiling at Rainforest Cafe - probably realizing how much that place was going to cost us!Modeling Dain's hat - he wears it around the house about every night...and showing off the black eye that his best friend Thomas the Train gave him...and all his teeth

Playing with the fold-up Hotwheels ramp I got for $2 at the Western Ave School sale...and laying down on the job

And my new favorite photo of all
Coming soon...a post about our trip to Morton Arboretum...and maybe even a video if I can get the stupid YouTube account to work...

The Latest Fave

Here's D's latest favorite commercial.

We've seriously noticed that he L-O-V-E-S piano music. He will stop dead in his tracks for anything with a piano music bed in the background. Hello Rhapsody, I will be updating my iPod tonight...

Oh Man...another option!

I can't help myself...this is tooooo cute - and he loves gorillas!


I'd say it's down to this, Mickey Mouse, or the Hulk. However I realllllly like this. Thoughts?

(PS - looks like R2D2, the Hulk and the dinosaur were a three way tie for first in the other poll).

Nope - Not Done

Here's round #2...a few more costumes to consider.

People have asked me what D would like to be - which would 100% be Spiderman. However, as my mom pointed out - we have YEARS of Spiderman in our future. That being said - Dain mentioned that it's important that D look in the mirror and get excited about who he appears to be!

That being said - - here are the costume decisions (and a new poll to the side) with D in mind. Vote at your leisure.

(Results of previous poll - Ewok won, followed by the Boxer and Woodstock - D would recognize exactly zero of these, although he likes bears, and he'd probably think the Ewok was a bear!)