After four straight days of opening presents (we get around during Christmas), Walt became so accustomed to having new things to play with every 24 hours that when he uttered the above phrase, I had to explain to him that the presents would not continue forever. No, there would be a drought of three whole weeks . . . until his birthday. Thanks to all who made one little boy's Christmas very merry indeed!
Please visit the "Christmas 2007" photo album for more scenes from the holiday that was.
I really planned on the previous post being the last one before Christmas, but this is too good to sit on. Walt had his first Christmas program at school today and "sang" six songs with his classmates, three of which were in Spanish! I'd been told by his teachers that during rehearsals, he was the loudest kid up there, but he was apparently a bit star struck by the flashes going off all over the room because he mostly just waved and played with his jingle bell necklace. Which is pretty much what you expect from a not-quite-three-year old kid during his Christmas program, so we were charmed nonetheless.
This picture, taken by Kate, catches one of his rare (quite exuberant) singing moments. That's Meredith in the cute plaid dress on the front row. She actually did quite a bit of singing, just not in this picture.
You know, over the course of my life, I've seen a lot of little kids standing on risers singing at Christmas and have always found them cute. However, when your own child spots you in the audience and starts wildly waving and saying, "Hi, Mommy!" before joining in a chorus of Jingle Bells . . . well, let's just say it's a different experience altogether.
P.S. For those of you studying this post very closely, you might be confused by the fact that in the still photos Walt is on the back row (in the red argyle sweater vest) and in the video, he's on the front row (same sweater vest). It involved some stage maneuvering that I, for one, one would have been far too chicken to attempt with that many children under the age of four. But they're pros, those nursery school teachers!
Wishing everyone a wonderful, magical Christmas.
Love,
Josh, Ginger & Walt
If you're a faithful follower of this here weblog, then you know that at the end of November Mommy and Daddy took an extended vacation away from the site's star. It seems impossible that come January we will have been married for ten years. If you know us, it's not quite so incredible that we would take a vacation to celebrate. And so we did. To Mexico.
For some really lovely photos of the event, check the new photo album to the left. For some photos of what you really came to see, look below.
Well, yes there was a Part II to Walt's vacation, however Walt's Nana is not as punctual as Walt's Gram. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all on the second part of Walt's vacation. His greatest interest at the Opryland Hotel light extravaganza was most assuredly not his prediction of our upcoming president (see previous post). It was, however, the humongous Christmas tree of lights outside the hotel, not just the tree but trying to get up close and personal with the tree. As we approached and he saw that it was fenced off, he exclaimed, "I've got a great idea; let's go under!"
Secondly, Walt enjoyed a trip to see Great-Granny Dever, or maybe "enjoyed" is not the correct word. He is always very intrigued by the fact that Great-Granny has the ability to remove her entire set of upper teeth, thereby keeping a very guarded distance from her when she threatens to show him her teeth.
Of course, a good game of checkers is always fun . . .
And a drawing session with Putty . . .
Before we're off to Memphis for a "pirate" birthday party for one of his school buds . . .
Where Putty helps him prepare for full headgear . . .
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST our final stop, Memphis International Airport . . .
where a joyous (and loud, which is on video, but sorry, Nana is not technologically equipped for that) reunion was celebrated . . .
Yes, you can learn a lot from an almost-three-year-old when you spend a few days with him. For instance, DeeDaddy is a doctor, the moon is NOT orange; it's white, and be assured that Walt gets the royal treatment whether in Nashville, Murray or Memphis . . .
While decorating the Christmas tree:
Daddy: Do you know what that is on that ornament you have?
Walt: I don't know [holding a White House ornament].
Daddy: That's the White House. It's where the President lives. Do you know who the President is?
Walt: I don't know.
Daddy: It's George Bush. Can you say 'George Bush?'
Walt: George Bush.
Daddy: Good. Do you know who the first President was?
Walt: I don't know.
Daddy: George Washington. Can you say 'George Washington?'
Walt: George Washington.
Daddy: [getting clever] Good. Do you know who the next President is going to be?
Walt: Santa Claus.
Walt will be appearing on MSNBC tonight with Keith Olbermann to discuss the politics of electing an ageless elf to the office of the President of the United States. Personally, I think there are some residency requirement issues at the least, but Walt seemed quite certain that it's possible.
My apologies to the Walt's World faithful. When the "A Team" is away soaking up sun in Tulum, Mexico, things go to pot when it comes to posting! Walt has also been on vacation...in Murray, Ky from last Sat. until today and is currently roughing it with Nana and Putty in Nashville! Let's just say I appreciate the time it takes to create all of those wonderful posts...while keeping up with a two (almost three) year old!
Things I have learned this week because Walt told me!
#1 Following a visit to DeeDaddy's office so he could meet and greet his adoring public, Walt said, "Gram, did you know DeeDaddy was a doctor?" Yes, Walt, I've known that for a while now!
#2 When asked where Mommy and Daddy were, Walt replied, "New Mexico". (Gram) No, Walt, not New Mexico. (Walt) "Old Mexico?"
#3 Walt noticed some backyard utility buildings shaped like little barns as we drove through Jackson, TN last Sat. (Walt) "I might need a barn...in case I get a cow!" (*I thought Mommy and Daddy should have a heads up on this one.)
#4 On Gram's THIRD trip into the bedroom to tell Walt to stop talking because he needed to go to sleep... (Walt) " But Gram, I have a mouth!"
#5 Two year olds can operate DVD players while their grandparents are on the phone! As I was changing movies the phone rang. A few minutes later I returned to find Walt watching Happy Feet, which he placed into the DVD player and pressed "Play". (* Why can't grandparents figure out other people's equipment???)
Other Highlights
Since the first two days were rainy and cold, the plans to go to the park and to play golf and tee-ball in the backyard were scrubbed...What to do???
(Walt) "Gram, are they ALL Santa Claus?' (Gram) "Yes, Walt, it's Gram's Santa tree!"
*Walt felt that groupings were the most effective presentation...
Walt discovers Aunt Harriet's wooden shoes from Holland...he decided to stick with his tennis shoes!
The sun finally came out and we headed to the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) to look for buffalo. No luck spotting any buffalo but we found LOTS of elk and Santa's reindeer resting up for the big day. The ones with the big antlers were hiding in the trees but we found several. Rudolph was not among the group...unless he camouflaged his nose.
Walt helped to cheer the Murray State Racers on to victory over Arkansas State Monday night but some of the fans were cheering a little too loudly so Walt wisely protected his ears!
Well, there you have it... Gram and DeeDaddy loved having Walt visit. He will be very happy when Mommy and Daddy get back from "Old Mexico" but he will have lots of stories to tell them about his adventures in Murray and Nashville. I hope he doesn't tell EVERYTHING...the parents may not approve!
It seems that we neglected to post on what should be an obvious subject for every baby blog . . . Halloween! Well, no matter. Walt remedied that situation today by making his first (and certainly not last) demand of the day: that he be allowed to wear his pumpkin ("punkin") costume to school. I started to issue the automatic refusal, but instead, I stopped to think about it. Why shouldn't a two-year old be allowed to wear an orange sweatsuit with a jack-o-lantern face and green stem on the hood to school on November 12th if he likes? It's not like he had an important presentation to make or a business dinner to get to pronto after naptime. Why not? So, after a healthy breakfast of a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich, he joyfully donned the pumpkin costume once again.
Sure, we got a few strange looks from the other mommies and daddies during drop-off, but we paid them no mind. Walt was happy and I had a peaceful start to the day.
So now that Walt has created this natural segue back to Halloween, I'm going to use the opportunity to shamelessly post two-week old pictures.
This was Walt's first-ever real trick-or-treating experience. We walked next door to the Kovariks' house, where Walt stopped mid-way up the sidewalk and just stared at Paula holding the bowl of candy like, "What are we doing here?" We told him to say "trick or treat", which he did, but then just continued standing there. Finally we urged him closer to the porch and told him to hold out his bag, into which Paula deposited several pieces of candy. He turned and grinned at us, and then turned back around for another shot at the loot . . . "Trick or treat!" She was more than happy to oblige his second request.
As he and Josh were walking back from visiting the houses down the street (I was at home giving out candy), I heard this exclamation before I could even see the little candy fiend: "Let's eat it!"
Walt proved to be just as enthusiastic about giving out candy as receiving it. He stood on the front porch with fistfuls of Nerds and peanut butter cups yelling at the various kids walking up and down the street, "Hey, you! You want candy?"
My brother David (aka Uncle Chi-Chi) used to have the month of November all to himself when it came to family birthday celebrations. Then I had to go and marry another Scorpio and Collier decided to make his grand entrance three years ago in time for turkey a few weeks later. So now, it's becoming a tradition to gather in Murray during the early part of the month for a joint birthday celebration. It was a lovely weekend and we have the pictures to prove it. Here are but a few . . .
Collier and Walt turning their brains to mush (tv not pictured).
Fun with decaying organic matter.
Kids love Pagliai's! (And so do their mommies, much to everyone else's chagrin.)
Wrastlin' in the pak n' play.
With their respective lovies -- Slicky (Walt) and Silky (Collier).
"You gotta be kidding me, ref!" (Gram and Mommy are clearly very into the game.)
Did I mention we had some birthdays to celebrate?
Happy Birthday, Birthday Boys!!
We're in Murray if you're scoring at home. Tonight we went for sushi (insert joke about sushi in small Western Kentucky college town here) with Gram. After noting the striking similarity to drumsticks, Walt immediately demanded a set of chopsticks of his own. Once he figured out that his percussion talents were not going to be fully realized at the dinner table, he set out to tackle the plate of noodles in front of him with said chopsticks. Then, he helped himself to some of the sushi. How very cosmopolitan.
Special thanks to Gram for picking up the sushi tab and to Verizon Wireless for Daddy's new phone and an amazingly seamless transition from phone to blog. It should also be noted that the sushi is actually really good . . . for catfish.
Last Sunday afternoon was a beautiful fall day, which we enjoyed down by the river with a soccer ball and a ridiculous little black and white dog. And then the sun decided to go on a little trip away from Memphis leaving us with five long, gloomy, drizzly days. And a major case of cabin fever.
Just when we feared that it would never return, the sun decided to grace us with its presence again. Saturday dawned bright, crisp and cool . . . perfect Spickler family weather. So we loaded up the car with Walt's tricycle and headed out to enjoy the day. We went to the farmer's market, the arts festival, back home for a quick nap, to Rock 'n Romp, and finally to a Halloween party. It was a busy day that left us all exhausted by 7:30, but was definitely a welcome respite from the gloom of the previous week.
If we were the type of people who put music on our website, you would be hearing U2's "Beautiful Day" right now. But, well, that's annoying. So you'll just have to hum it to yourself as the soundtrack to the photo album at left. (Hint: It's the one titled "Beautiful Day.)
We made our first trek to the new site of Camp Nanaputty as a family this past weekend. The house is beautiful, but my favorite part by far is the back patio with the fireplace. The weather was delightfully nippy and we spent some quality time soaking up the warmth of the flames. Some of us, however, had a little trouble leaving the 21st century behind to just sit and enjoy nature. And one of us thought the popping of the fire was too loud and refused to remove his fingers from his ears -- even to take a drink from his sippy cup.
The rest of us had no problem kicking back.
What can I say? It's been hot and the kid's been whiny -- not much material recently. However, the weather seems to have broken and things are definitely looking up. We went to the zoo this morning in jeans and long-sleeve shirts and didn't even break a sweat. That's what I call progress. It was even nice enough for Daddy to take Walty outside this afternoon for some baseball and "strukshun quipment".
Despite all the whining as of late, he's still our sweet boy.
And we're all very happy that it's finally fall.
