Jamie and Peter

"What is real?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

--Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas turns 28

Yesterday was Thomas's 28th birthday! He came home early from school so we could open presents and light candles with Jamie before we left to go on a date. Jamie was at least as excited as Thomas about opening presents, possibly more so. He kept *shrieking* with delight.

one excited baby!

Jamie was especially excited to help open the presents that he himself had chosen, which turned out to be...

What a thoughtful baby.

In the weeks leading up to my birthday, I kept laying on pretty thick hints that I wanted a particular book and would be disappointed if I didn't get it. Unbeknownst to me, Thomas had already picked out a beautiful sapphire necklace, but he caved and got me the book too though he hadn't been planning on it. So I suppose it was only karma when Thomas wouldn't stop talking about how badly he wanted the new (and final) Wheel of Time book, how it just wouldn't be the same to have to get it from the library or borrow it, how he just hoped so much that he would get it.... So despite having already purchased an electric razor for him, Jamie and I set out to Barnes and Noble yesterday morning to add one more gift to the pile. Good thing we did.

He also got some nice gifts from both of our parents. I told him to hold up his favorite presents for a picture, and this was how he managed...

This year we celebrated with some of our favorite cupcakes. Jamie put the candles in and the two of us sang happy birthday together (we had been practicing). Thomas's cupcake was red velvet.

 

 

The only thing Thomas said he really wanted for his birthday (other than the Wheel of Time book, of course) was for us to go out on a date. Our friends DJ and Lauren babysat Jamie while we went out to dinner--Mexican, Thomas's favorite--and a movie--Argo, which was excellent. It was the first time anyone besides us put Jamie to bed, but it sounds like he did all right! We had a lot of fun going on a real date! :)

Happy birthday Thomas! Hope it is a wonderful year!

an added bonus: Jamie's birthday excitement...

Edit: Thomas stayed up until 5:30 this morning reading his new book. Oh dear...

Jamie-isms

I haven't written a post of the funny things Jamie says in a while, so some of these are a little old. And as usual there will probably be too many for anyone but grandmas!

One day around Halloween, Jamie and I had the following exchange:
Jamie: A monster is coming!
Me: Oh my! What kind of monster?!
Jamie: A corporeal ghost!
(Thomas and I had previously used the phrase but it was oh-so-funny hearing it come out of his mouth!)

One day after we had been coloring, he suddenly exclaimed, "Send it to Emily!" and ran off with his picture. When I caught up to him and asked what he was looking for, he said, "a yellow thing." He meant a padded envelope, like those we had used to send Emily care packages.

In the fall, I was pointing out the tree colors to Jamie and said, "Aren't they pretty?" He replied, "Like Mommy! Mommy is pretty like the trees."

One morning we had blackberries for breakfast...
Me: Remember how Peter Rabbit and his sisters had blackberries for dinner?
Jamie: Peter didn't.
Ha ha, he was totally right.

While I was putting the dishes away one day, he said to me, "Good job Mommy for putting the things away."

Jamie got a time-out while I was making his lunch once, and I could hear him crying from the other room, "Please Mommy don't eat my food!" It's not funny when he's sad, but sometimes I can't help but laugh at what made him sad in the first place.

Jamie told me I should be a princess for Halloween....
Me: What should I wear to be a princess?
Jamie: [pause] What does a tiger wear?
Me: What does a tiger wear?
Jamie: They wear stripes!

Once he told me that "mooses" have antlers "to scare ants away."

We were reading a book that had a picture of a man "shaving whiskers."
Jamie: Why is he shaving whiskers?
Me: So his face will be smooth...
Jamie: Because he's not a kitty cat!

One day I told Jamie we needed to run over to the store, but he told me running would take too long and we should drive instead.

He frequently says, "Thank you for making that Mommy" at breakfast or dinner. It is so sweet!

He likes to pretend that his little step stool is a "tuffet," and we take turns being Little Miss Muffet and the spider. All his idea.

On one of our many long traveling days, Jamie was sitting in his car seat with Peter Rabbit, reciting Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater. Then he said, "I am teaching it to Peter! I am a teacher!"

One morning when I went to get Jamie out of bed, he had stuffed Peter Rabbit down the front of his pajamas. When I asked what Peter was doing there, he said, "He is growing like Jamie was."

Jamie: I am a doggy!
Me: You are? What kind of doggy are you?
Jamie: [pause] Clifford!

Jamie thinks all water towers are called "the sunsphere," and he thinks that skyscrapers scrape the sky, like with a scraper (sometimes he pretends to be one). He also thinks that a hammer "hams" and a lightsaber "lightsabes."

One day at dinner...
Jamie: I found sausage!
Me: You did? Where was it?
Jamie: In here! (pointing at his dinner plate...there was no sausage in dinner.)
Me: Oh my. What kind of sausage was it?
Jamie: High fructose corn syrup sausage.
Ha ha, that one about killed us.

He likes to pretend that we are "a family of bears." One morning at breakfast while we were eating our oatmeal, he exclaimed, "The Mommy bear made us some porridge!"

Sometimes he just blows me away with things he knows...
Me: Jamie, we're going to the park.
Jamie: Which park?
Me: The usual one.
Jamie: The one on Kingston Pike.
Me: [completely flabbergasted] Uh, no, it's not on Kingston Pike. But it's pretty close.
Jamie: [after a while] The library is on Kingston Pike.
And it totally is!

Jamie: I am a big boy. I am not little anymore.
Me: When were you little?
Jamie: [pause] Thursday.
Me: Thursday?! But you've gotten big since then?
Jamie: I got big on Tuesday.

One morning he was too busy fixing cars to change out of his pajamas, so I told him he needed to change into his mechanic clothes. He asked why, and I said he couldn't fix cars in his pajamas. He said, "That is ridiculous!"

One morning he said, "I like Dr. Seuss when he writes books so we can read them."

Another day he said, "I love the tortillas but I can't let the tortillas stay out of my mouth!"

When we were staying with my parents over Christmas, Grandpa was coming up the stairs pretending to be a monster. Jamie told him, "You are just a grandpa really. I know you are a grandpa."

One night he started saying "I want Mommy" after I had already put him to bed. I usually don't go in unless he's crying, but I did that day, and he said, "I just wanted you to know how much I love you."

A conservation we had in the car one day:
Jamie: I wanted to see out of my window more easily.
Me: Oh yeah?
Jamie: So I wiped my eye. To see more easily.
Me: Was there something on your eye?
Jamie: There was a piece of an acorn or something.
Me: There was??
Jamie: There was a little piece of bark or something.

One day he heard the name Oscar Wilde and decided that Oscar Wilde was his best friend ever and wouldn't stop talking about him. Quotes from that day:
"I saw Oscar Wilde in England!"
"He is blue!"
"He is green! There is a blue Oscar Wilde and a green Oscar Wilde and an orange Oscar Wilde. They are my friends!"
"He gave me a hug!"
"My very own Oscar Wilde!"
"I will ask him if I can be his. Oscar Wilde says, 'Okay, you can be mine.'"
"I just love him!"
"I will put Oscar Wilde right here so he can't fly away!" 

One day he said something kind of rude so I told him he needed to say some nice words to me. He gave me a kiss instead and said "kisses are words."

The other day Jamie told me he wanted cheese for lunch. I told him no because we were going to have some cheese at dinner. He told me, "Cheese is more of a lunch thing." Apparently Thomas had said that to him one day, but I didn't know at the time.

When we were playing in the snow a couple days ago, he kept saying, "My nose is a cherry!"

Last night while I made dinner, Jamie sat in his room by himself "reading" books. He would get one off his bookshelf, flip through all the pages, and then pull down another one. He did this forever. He almost never plays by himself so we were amazed. He only stopped because it was dinnertime, and then only under protest!

Christmas projects

Because I was so busy writing my thesis and traveling for my thesis defense this fall, I didn't quite have the time to make as many Christmas presents this year as I did last year, but I did manage to find time for a few. Thanks to pinterest for helping me gather these ideas. :)

I made a couple cute bags for my sister-in-law Emily. She is pretty much my favorite person to sew for (except possibly for Jamie) because she has really fun taste and I love picking out fabrics I think she'll like (I only hope I'm right!). I made her this boxy pouch (tutorial found here):

 

And this reversible bag (tutorial found here). This one was extremely simple to make! Next time I'd probably figure out a way to add some kind of clasp or tie.

 
 

Since she is currently teaching in Korea and was unable to be home for Christmas, I also made a Christmas stocking to send in her package (tutorial found here).

When Emily left for Korea, I made her a travel organizer (featured in this post, tutorial found here), and my mother-in-law loved it, so this year I made one for her as well! I love this combination of fabrics. This time I added some interfacing to give it a little more structure.

 

 

I also made a couple of gifts for Jamie: a hooded towel (which I apparently don't have a picture of) and this apron (tutorial here):

He chose the fabric himself. I had found a really cute dinosaur fabric, but Jamie saw this one and absolutely insisted on getting the one with "the trucks" (even though he didn't know what it was for!). He wears it each time he helps me cook now. I LOVE this pattern because of the elastic around the neck and the velcro on the strap. He can put it on and take it off entirely by himself. Easy to put together and so useful. This was probably my favorite project this year.

a Knoxville snow day

The rain we've been having for four days straight turned into snow this afternoon. I have to admit, when I saw "heavy snow" on the forecast this morning, I didn't believe it, but for once weather.com was right. We got more snow today than I've ever seen in Knoxville! Of course Jamie and I had to go out and make a snowman. We didn't expect to be using the snowpants and boots Grammy bought him once we got home, but they sure came in handy today! It was *perfect* packing snow, though we weren't really prepared with accessories for our little snowman so he looks pretty silly. Jamie learned about catching snowflakes on his tongue, and he loved it. He kept doing it over and over again the whole time we were out.

 

gotta catch more snowflakes!

On the down side, Knoxville is completely unprepared for snowy weather. After unsuccessfully attempting to make it home early in the afternoon, Thomas gave up and is spending the night with friends who live near campus. Bummer!

Christmas break fun

Tomorrow we will finally be heading back to Knoxville after 3 full weeks in Missouri. We have had a great trip, especially because for the first time in his life, Jamie did not get horribly sick over the holidays! We have had so much fun with our families and friends, much of which has already been documented on this blog, but there is even more that hasn't made it here yet...

Grammy organized a trip to the fire station for Jamie.

 

We celebrated with family friends.

Christmas party at the Woehlks'

 

New Year's at the Davises'

 

We read many stories...

 

 

and played countless games.

Jamie discovered Guess Who? (or rather Qui Est-ce?). He can actually play it, with help of course.

Bang!

a victorious renegade

progressive rummy

speed scrabble

chess

 And we also played...

...with the manger

...the guitar

 ...in the snow

Jamie found this "jackhammer."

Thomas finally got Jamie to make a snow angel!

one last snowman!

  ...and with many toys, old and new.

 
 

 

I am the only one who will find this picture funny, but it makes me laugh oh so hard.

We have had a wonderful time. It is going to be hard to go back to our normal routine, especially, I think, for Jamie, after having so many grandparents and uncles at his beck and call. We look forward to when we can all be together again.