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Christmas

We had a really wonderful quiet Christmas. It was also fun that both Bohdin and Nyla were excited about Christmas. Well maybe not Nyla so much but she was old enough this year to open presents and enjoy what she received. The biggest present was a horse from Nana and Papa. Being a clotheshorse I bought Nyla some new underwear. Some people would not like this present but Nyla is not one of those people. She immediately put on a new pair of underwear. She actually put on two. She changed her mind after putting the initial pair on. Nyla also recieved a drum and Backyardigan videos. She loves the robot episode.



Bohdin had a Playmobil Christmas per his wishlist. He loved everything he received and has spent many many hours playing with all of his new toys. Nyla is also having fun with it when Bohdin allows. Usually he is pretty picky about how people play with him but Nyla managed to do a bit. Bohdin also received a gear toy and a shovel.



Buddy's favorite present was the subscription to Netflix. He took huge advantage this weekend and watched two seasons of Dexter with instant download. Now I can have the computer back again for a little while. Hopefully he doesn't find another show soon to watch in marathon. My favorite present was a hat that a friend knitted for me.

Tumble Bumble

We have two huge issues we need to address in the house as soon as possible. One is the kitchen which is small and awkward. The other is the steepness of the stairs. I wondered who would fall down the stairs first and last night we had a winner. Bohdin needed to go downstairs for a certain blanket but didn't want to go by himself. Nyla wanted juice but couldn't pour it. They decided to work together. Nyla would go with him to the basement and he would get her juice. Bohdin went down the stairs first and Nyla tumbled down the steps behind him. Buddy rushed to get Nyla who was okay. She was crying and saying "Me tumble down the stairs. Me not hold on." I've reminded both kids numerous times to be careful and hold down when going down the steps. Less than 24 hours later it was Bohdin's turn. I talked to him in the kitchen and he walked away mad going down the stairs to the basement. I heard a loud thumping. He went down the stairs backwards on his back. He was okay but shook up. We had already decided to take care of this problem soon but these incidents sure reiterated the urgency.

Nyla had a messy mouth last night from eating ice cream. In the bathtub I was asking her what she ate that would give her such a messy face. She answered "My chicken, Bohdin's chicken, noodles, cereal". I thought it was funny that she made a distinction between her chicken and Bohdin's chicken. It was the same chicken just on different plates.

We were driving in the car yesterday afternoon near sunset. Bohdin looked out his window and noticed that "those clouds looks like they are squeezing the sun". There was a band a clouds above and below the clouds partially hiding the top and bottom of the sun.

Christmas tree

We don't have any Christmas decorations but Bohdin wanted them this year. I thought it might be a good idea to postpone Christmas by two days so I could get the tree and ornaments on clearance. It turns out I didn't need to. We stopped and Lowes and the Christmas stuff was already half off so Bohdin, Nyla, and I all picked out a container of ornaments each. Bohdin chose first. His choice was a giant bucket of gold ornaments. To keep with the theme I gave Nyla a few boxes to choose from that would be suitable. I had seen trees on sale at Target but couldn't decide between the nice expensive ones and the cheaper ones. I waited. After we found the ornaments I went back to find that the display trees were now 75% off. I was able to get the tree I wanted at the price I wanted. Bohdin was excited and we spent a lot of time decorating it. I didn't now that ornaments didn't come with hooks so I put thread on nearly 150 ornaments. The kids are pleased with the result. I've even found wrapping paper on clearance. I had no idea so many places cleared out their stuff so early. Christmas will be on time this year which is good for Bohdin because he can hardly wait.

Pictures

These are the pictures I couldn't post the other day.

Moving

We had a lot of cleaning to do before leaving to our new house. Even with both kids pitching in it took forever. Part of that may be that when they weren't helping they were actually making a mess. I think I vacuumed one of the bedrooms three times. Eventually we did make it out. I left a little ahead of Buddy with the kids. He caught up to us in Charleston WV at a hotel. The drive that day had been pretty easy since both kids took a long nap. I guess it was easy for them. I was sick and tired. Buddy and I were more ready to stop than they were. The next day they were a little cranky toward the end but we eventually made it. When we arrived we didn't have the key. The realtor had hid it somewhere and we looked all over. Under rocks, by the light, in the planters. We were all grumpy that we had driven so far and couldn't get in. After what seemed like forever Buddy tried a window and was able to get in easily. The realtor called back soon after and told us the key was under the front mat. Why hadn't we thought of the most obvious spot?





It took less than five hours for Bohdin and Nyla to get the bedroom to the level of messiness they prefer. What's funner than throwing clothes out of a suitcase, right?


We have everything unloaded now and are in the long process of unpacking. Most of the toys are out and that's about it. We've made headway in the kitchen. We're mostly just getting used to our new house. It's so big and that has been the biggest adjustment for me. We all used to be steps away from each other. Now we can be on entirely different floors. I can't hear what's going on at all times anymore. Bohdin will be able to get away with a lot more now. He never realized that I knew so much because I could hear everything. One of the best parts so far is the deep whirlpool tub. That has seen some extensive use. I think the playroom will be nice also. We have room to unpack toys that have been packed for months. The kids were excited to play with so many "new" toys today.

We have spotty free internet service right now because we haven't called for installation yet. We're having trouble deciding if we want cable tv. I've been on the internet for about 30 minutes now and I only lost the connection once and it was when I was trying to upload the blog pictures. I've failed twice on the pictures so no pictures today.

Loaded up

We hired some men to help us load up the box truck that was dropped off on Friday. Unfortunately due to the size of the box it had to parked about 40-50 yards from the front door. It was definitly a good idea to hire that out. They stayed for about 3.5 hours on Saturday and came back again on Sunday after we had boxed up a few more things. We also had help in the form of an old friend. She, her husband, and daughters came to visit and help. Bohdin had so much fun playing with the girls who are 6 and 8. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Nyla on the other hand was uncharacteristically shy. It was wonderful to see them and their help was invaluable. Thank you.

Buddy's original goal was to leave Tuesday morning but it is now Tuesday morning and we are not ready. There is still a few hours of cleaning left to be done. We'll probably all leave tomorrow morning since snow/rain is forecasted to the west for this afternoon. It's 10:30 in the morning and we have yet to really get out of bed. Bohdin woke up this morning and brought us breakfast while Nyla showered us with hugs and kisses. We have a little time to take it easy today and we're taking advantage.

The kids have had a fun time in an almost empty house but by the end of the day they are bored. Yesterday they played bus, orange delivery man, and ran in circles but without many toys or a tv they ran out of ideas by night. Somebody moved in below us Sunday so loud games are generally out in the evening. The computer has been comandeered by the kids at times.

Way behind

I forgot to mention our visit to the thrift store last week. We went in looking for cheap blankets for the move. Since Buddy dropped us off while he ran some errands on post we had a lot of time to kill. We looked at the toys. They didn't have the big car that Nyla had liked on a previous visit but there was a doll stroller. She grabbed a doll and was pushing the thing around. I had her bring it with her when I looked at the blankets. That wasn't an easy thing to do since the store is very small and very very cramped. We finally went back to the toys and an older lady approached me asking if I was going to buy the stroller. It was $3 and pretty banged up so I said no she was welcome to take it. She didn't take it though. She wanted to buy it for Nyla. She gave me $5 just in case Nyla wanted the doll also. It was very odd and I just tried to graciously accept it. If she hadn't been a stranger I would definitely have said no. So Nyla came home with the stroller that both she and Bohdin have been enjoying. It's apparently not so rickety that it won't hold Bohdin although we always tell both him and Nyla that it is not for them.

Wednesday we went to N-'s house for probably the last time. We met him soon after we moved here. Neither Bohdin nor N- really made any other friends here. I think both will be a little sad. Bohdin cried in the car a bit on the way home. He knew it was the last time and was a little frustrated that N- wanted to watch tv instead of play at the end.

Nyla has been singing and dancing quite a bit lately. She normally doesn't let me record or sometimes even watch but recently she did.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-mAYqUf21o

She's a boy

Nyla complained twice last week that her penis was huring. So the other day I asked her if she was a boy or a girl. She said boy. She also thought I was a boy. When Bohdin heard he told her that she was a girl since she didn't have a penis. He then dropped his pants and underwear to his knees to show Nyla what a penis looks like. He covered up again quickly and told Nyla "Come into my room and you can see it longer".

It snowed all day Saturday but the accumulation came to less than an inch. Bohdin and Nyla went out Sunday morning to play in the slushy snow. They became too cold to last outside long. Crocs are not good snow shoes. I'll have to get shoes for them both this week.





Nyla likes to play sleep and she convinced Bohdin to come to bed with her on the floor.

Five

The first thing Bohdin wanted to do yesterday morning was open his birthday presents. He opened two right away then one a few hours later and another that evening. He had already opened some prior to his birthday. He was really excited by them and played all day. He wanted a castle birthday cake so we made a scene with his last present, knights and an attack tower. While he didn't enjoy the wait he did like that he could play with it right away. I may put together his toys for Christmas beforehand also. Bohdin requested pink and orange icing for the second year in a row. The design of the cake pan doesn't really allow much icing but Buddy did the best he could. Most of the cake is already gone.




I forgot to mention that Nyla did well without diapers on the trip. I put on her at the airport once but she was able to hold the pee long enough to find a bathroom. She has had some pooping accidents the past few days when we don't make it to the bathroom in time. Overall she has done wonderful.

Thanksgiving

We made it back from Texas yesterday in our first uneventful time at Dulles. Everything actually went as well as it could. Our plane landed 30 minutes early. The mobile lounge left just after we stepped on. The shuttle bus was waiting outside and we were the first ones off. Traffic moved quickly and we were home within 2 hours of landing. It was late when we arrived but Bohdin wasn't ready for bed. When I mentioned it he said "But I haven't even had a chance to play!". He did have a few minutes with his toys prior to sleeping.



Group shot


Bohdin talking his cousin's ear off. He had so much seeing them both.


Saturday we went to a game/pizza place to celebrate Bohdin's birthday early. This is his excited face for the new Playmobil cannon he received from uncle and family. He also received a webkinz llama which he was uncertain about until Buddy made it talk in the car. We'll set up the account after the move.

Shadow

Connor had to go back home yesterday. His entire visit here Bohdin was his shadow. Bohdin hardly left his side. I'm surprised Connor was able to go to the bathroom by himself. As soon as Bohdin woke in the morning he dressed to go upstairs to Connor's room. He wouldn't go to bed until Connor was going to bed. I'm not sure of everything they did in that time. They played outside a little bit. I think they set up track. They watched some tv. Nyla was a little left out during this time. Bohdin told Connor to slow down a few times and even that was much too fast for Nyla to keep up. Bohdin had a long nap yesterday afternoon to make up for all of his lost sleep the past few days. Eleven year olds don't need as much sleep as four year olds. When he woke up it was almost time for daddy to arrive. We'll see Connor again tomorrow. I was impressed by his patience with Bohdin. It's not fun to have a younger tag along at that age.

Last night I noticed a large scratch and several smaller scratches on the coffee table upstairs. Next to the biggest scratch was a screw. That's where Bohdin and Connor had been spending most of their time. I asked Bohdin what happened. He said it had been scraped. I asked what could make that kind of scrape and he guessed a saw. When I saw the screw I asked if that had been used. He said he didn't think so. I dropped the subject for a few minutes then brought it up again. I wanted to know if Bohdin was responsible for the damage. Bohdin has been lying a bit recently about candy consumption so I can't trust him completely. I told him he would be in even more trouble if I found out he was lying. He said he though he did do it with the screw. We were both crying as we talked about what he did, why it was wrong, and what he would have to do to fix it. We were talking for more than 5 minutes. When Papa came upstairs I thought Bohdin should show him what he had done. Bohdin didn't want to and I pointed it out. It turns out that scratch has been there for a long time. Bohdin did not do it and as soon as Papa said that Bohdin agreed and said he was right. Bohdin said he had been confused. I suppose he only told me what he thought I wanted to hear. It was surprising how easy he could be led to say something that wasn't remotely true.

Texas

Too early this morning we woke up to drive to the airport. Buddy flew to Louisville via Chicago to report to his new job and to close on the house. Later this week he will join the kids and I in Texas. Our airplane was small with only two seats per side. Since Nyla is two that meant one person would have to sit by themselves. Luckily the plane was empty enough that we had an entire aisle. The kids probably would have preferred if I was the one to sit by myself but instead it was Bohdin. That gave each child a window seat. Bohdin took advantage of his by either barely being buckled or being completely unbuckled. It is unfortunate that he is too short to see properly out of the window without sitting on his legs.

I put some Backyardigans songs on Buddy's mp3 player and Bohdin spent a good amount of time just listening to music. He looked so grown up sitting by himself with earphones on. It felt like a long flight even though it wasn't. Nyla eventually settled down to sleep and didn't wake up until it was time to deboard. Everybody thought it was really cute or funny to see her catching a ride on the suitcase. She had to trade off with Bohdin at times because he likes to do it also. That's how she learned to do it in the first place.

Now we are here at Nana and Papa's house with Connor. So far Bohdin is having a fun time with him. We saw Brody, Angie, and Donovon earlier today and will see them again later this week. It's good for Bohdin to spend time with an older male but Nyla gets left out. Hopefully she'll find a way to hang out with them together.

My thing

Last week Nyla was crying for "my thing". I had no idea what she was talking about. Every item I could think of was not it. Eventually she found it. She was referring to a Playmobil teddy bear. She has an orange one and a yellow one. She prefers the orange one and it has been renamed "orange thing" so as not to confuse it with the vastly inferior yellow one. She really likes to hold this tiny thing. She has taken it in the car with her but I make her leave it in the seat when we get out. As soon as she is back in the car it's back in her hand. She even likes to hold it while going to sleep. I wish she had found a larger item to love. She puts the bear down from time to time but will not look for it. She comes to us and insists that we look. It's so tiny though that it could be anywhere. It has disappeared for hours and even now is missing. She's crying right now but I have Bohdin looking for it.



Nyla has started asking why questions. I've already been through this with Bohdin and have no desire to experience it again. I saw a crane while driving and mentioned that I saw one. Nyla asked why. I told Bohdin to answer her questions.
Nyla: "Why?"
Bohdin: "Because she just does."
Nyla: "Why?"
Bohdin: "Because she just does. I already told you that."
Nyla: "Why?"
Bohdin: "Because she just does. Why do you keep saying why?" A few moments later Bohdin sees the crane also and then excitedly says "That's why! There is a crane out there."
Nyla: "Why?"
I had to chuckle listening to the exchange. I still remember Bohdin asking the endless why questions. Now he has at least moved on to more interesting questions like "What would happen if the rain fell up?" "If this bug was as big as the earth would it have to live on Jupiter?"

We've been scouring craigslist for used furniture before we go but it's tough work. Tuesday night I found some Playmobil stuff. We went to pick it up and paid a great price for a small castle and a barn. Bohdin and Nyla have been playing with both. Last night we went to Arlington to pick up a dresser. On the way back we stopped at the Lincoln Memorial. Buddy has never seen the monuments at night so I thought we should stop. Bohdin had not the slightest interest in the historical aspect of it. He has been asking lots of questions about the Revolutionary war so I thought the Washington Memorial would illicit at least some sort of response but that was not the case.

Diaper Free

We slowed way down on the packing this weekend. In fact I don't think one box was completed. There are two reasons for that. We're running out of boxes and packing is boring and tedious. That's part of the reason we started so soon. We have a good start.



I don't know how I forgot to mention that Nyla doesn't want to wear diapers anymore. She has been completely diaper free for over a week now. Prior to that she would wear diapers out of the house usually and at night although she didn't need them then. There has only been one accident so far on the very first day. Since then we've gone out several times and she's done well. I have to ask her often if she needs to pee since she doesn't always tell me. She has also agreed to sit on the potty prior to leaving the house and anytime we are in a public bathroom whether or not she feels like she needs to pee. I'm not thrilled with the timing. We have a lot of travel coming up and I would rather she waited until we moved. Maybe she will let me use diapers sporadically.

Busy

Before we move we want to pick up some used furniture in this much bigger market. It takes a lot of time sifting through all of the listings. It's at least 1000 per day. We've found a few things we've liked so far but as usual with Craigslist it's hit or miss. Some people don't respond. Sometimes we're too late. So far we have only picked one thing up. We're supposed to pick up a coffee table today but the guy is not responding. Maybe he sold it out from under us. Who knows.

Nyla came down with a stuffy/runny nose Wednesday night. By Friday morning it had cleared up so we went to a demo Music Together class. Friday was day 3 of rain and the turnout was pretty poor. In fact we were the only ones there at one time. Neither child seemed to really like the class. Bohdin was bored and Nyla was just fussy. The real reason for going to the class though was to see the musical instruments. I want to get Nyla a drum for Christmas and thought a few other small things might be nice also. We were able to try out everything after class. It was okay but the real winner was the drum. They had the exact one I wanted to get. Bohdin loved it. I liked it also. It's not a huge drum but I think they'll be able to share it. I may look into additional mallets, a bigger drum, or an additional drum. Bohdin also liked the bongos but not as much. They didn't make a rich deep sound like the cool drum.



I haven't been giving Bohdin additional money but since he's been saving for a long time and the Egypt stuff is on sale at ToysRUs right now he was able to afford the two things he's been saving for. He set it up last night and he and Nyla have been playing for hours this morning. I bought a new cd player for the bedroom after the old one had been broken for months. Bohdin doesn't like to play in a quiet room or so he says. Maybe it's just his excuse for having the tv on. We've been listening to a lot of music in the car and luckily my car cd player broke. Now they can still listen to music at home and I have my radio back in the car.

Frisbee

The warm weather continued Monday although by the time we made it outside it was overcast. Bohdin wanted to take the frisbee and we threw it around while Nyla was on the swing. He is getting better at throwing it. His accuracy will surpass mine in no time if it hasn't already. They also went down the slide together again. I think Bohdin has more fun with it than she does. I made dinner upon returning from the playground and could hear the kids playing in the living room. When I went to check I saw Bohdin swinging Nyla way too hard in the baby swing. They were taking turns but Bohdin was too heavy for Nyla to push. It's amazing that thing didn't break. They went on to play some sort of train game where one was the engineer and the other a passenger.





Bohdin helping Nyla with her shoes. He was going to take the sword outside but changed his mind thank goodness.


Yesterday we went to N-'s new house. He moved last week to a nearby town to an actual single family house. It was a foreclosure in rough shape but there is plenty of room and a great backyard. It's not in the best section of Maryland but that is what makes it affordable. As I was taking the tour N-'s mom asked if if was making me excited for moving into my house. It certainly was. They have way more room than they used to have in their townhouse and I knew soon we would also have room to spread out. They boys had a lot of fun playing together. Bohdin's favorite part was playing in a raked up pile of leaves outside. The two of them spent a lot of time kicking, laying, burying, throwing, etc. They also played outside with a digger and watched N-'s dad play video games. He is leaving Sunday for a 5 month school in Florida. That was the best time they've ever had together that wasn't away from a house.

We had to stop at the library to pick up a cd that was on hold for us. Bohdin asked why the library couldn't just mail it. That would be pretty cool.

Packing

We're packing and moving ourselves this time due in part to Buddy's horrible experience with the next computerized system last month. He didn't want to try and schedule another move for us after many many hours trying in October. Buddy and Bohdin picked up boxes in Baltimore Saturday morning and we went to work. Saturday evening I had to stop at the store for more tape and eggs. I couldn't help but notice the difference between my child and the one next to us in line. When we go to the commissary Bohdin helps to unload the basket. This time he also grabbed the full bags and loaded them back into the basket. The girl next to us was sitting in the basket crying. I can't be too smug though since someday I could have one of those also. The girl appeared about three and I'm just a year away from that. I was proud of Bohdin though. He is very helpful and considerate.

The commissary was out of tape so we walked to the PX. They had one roll left so I grabbed it. The lines at the checkout were sort of long so I picked the absolute worst one. The checkout guy was incredibly slow and it appeared there was a problem with each person that went through the line. Bohdin and Nyla looked at the candy and piddled around until it was our turn. After a really long wait it was finally our turn. The cashier told me to wait a moment while he opened a new roll of pennies. Nyla could have opened that pack faster than he did. While he was doing this the previous customer came back and said she had been double charged for an item. He sent her to a manager I guess. The customer returned with the manager (the cashier was still working on those pennies) and they tried to figure out what happened. After at least 5 minutes it turns out that he rang up one item twice and skipped one of the items. She owed the store 24 cents. Now it was finally my turn. The pennies were out of the roll and there didn't seem to be any more surprises. While I was waiting Bohdin and Nyla were playing with a hanger they found on the floor. Each grabbed onto one end and they were pulling each other with it. On the way out I commented to Bohdin that it had taken a really long time. Bohdin didn't mind and said "at least I got to play with Nyla". Soon after we came home I found out that I had left the tape at the store. Bohdin and I went back to retrieve it.




The weather was beautiful yesterday so I took the kids to the playground. It was the busiest I've seen it since last summer. Bohdin only wanted to play with Nyla even though we saw a boy there he had played with before. They went down the slide together with Bohdin wrapping his arms around her neck to start with and then her chest after I corrected him. They also rolled down the hill a few times. They will move on to other friends in time but for now I'm enjoying watching them have so much fun together. It reminds me of me and Paul when we were younger.