Merry Christmas!

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Wylie, the flirt

Tonight the four of us ate dinner with Granny, Jim, and Kathy at the Island Cow.  The wait for a table grew as we kid-toting early birds dined happily on the front patio.  Wylie's high-chair was fortuitously positioned with the view of the sidewalk and all of the people waiting for their table. 

Our little man entertained himself for the entire meal, in between stuffing his face, by flirting with cute, young girls loitering nearby.  I swear he had one girl's attention for a good fifteen minutes.  He would grab a bite or two and fill his little mouth with chicken or beans.  Then, he'd cock his head and smile, do his latest little "groovin', groovin" wiggle-dance move, maybe wave, or really flail his arm.  Always the charmer, the girls would laugh and smile back and he would grab some more food and continue his flirty ways.  A riot!

(As I'm writing this, Jason and I are enjoying the quiet, or semi-quiet, of our half-empty King's Crown condo, odd without Grandma and Grampa.  I'm savoring the last of the Christmas Bailey's and hearing traces of Finn singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," as he falls asleep.  Flipping channels I come across a lot of kid-friendly programming, considering it is 9:00 at night.  Polar Express is on and I pause for a moment to laugh with Jason at how many times we've seen this movie just this week.  A minute later, Finn is lurking in the hallway, perplexed because he heard Polar Express and went on to explain which scene it was.  That boy!)

Bike Ride on Sanibel

Jason, Finn, and I were so happy to hop on bikes and ride down to Sanibel's lighthouse.  And, we really enjoyed huge ice cream cones at Pinocchio's on the way back!  Wylie enjoyed his time with G & G, but Finn told him we'd bring him along next year.

Finn, Commander in Chief, Shell-Finding Expedition

This year Finn is interested in finding seashells.  Actually he wants to find starfish, too, like Grandma has in a glass jar in her bathroom back in Schaumburg, but today he was contentedly set on a shelling mission.  And, it turns out, in his mind, shelling is a competitive sport.  He and Grandma were one team, with a large orange bucket. Finn designated Jason and my dad as another team with a small green bucket.  Wylie and I were the third team with a very small red bucket.

Our mission was well orchestrated, by the four-year-old, as we brought with us two essential items:  a kite--flying in the air--and a chair, which Finn carried (until he passed it off to Grandma), in case he "needed a rest."  And we set off down the beach, picking up shells and putting them in our buckets, slowly deducing the willy-nilly rules of Finn's Shell-Finding Expedition.  Big shells were best, but colorful ones did garner some attention and/or possibly points.  Any sort of seaweed, coral, sticks, or other beach debris (as my Dad frequently tried to introduce) was strictly forbidden and were to be thrown straight into the water.

We paused, at one point during our expedition, to dig holes.  Random holes that may or may not lead to China.  In the end, Finn disregarded the shells and took up a new digging project, but overall was beyond happy to be hanging out on the beach! 

 

Wylie getting used to the sand, mostly by ingesting it.

Seems he doesn't like crawling in it, so he honed his bear walk.

Cruisin'

Yesterday, our first day on Sanibel, Wylie figured out how to "cruise."  He wanted Grampa's sunglasses, so he made his way down the coffee table and got them.  Today, a toy truck motivated him to do some more cruisin'.

Christmas Card Bloopers

And we're still on the Polar Express

Walking into our room this morning, Finn said, "This night I didn't sleep."

"Why, what were you doing?" I asked, knowing that he really did sleep, or else Jason and I would not have slept.

"I had to work, work, work."

"Why did you have to work?"

"Because I'm a conductor."

Yes, the holiday season has begun and in our house that means we are on a non-stop train ride to the North Pole!

Wylie at Ten Months

December already and Wylie is changing so quickly.  He is now crawling like a mad man.  It is a riot to see him motor from the living room, through the play room, and pop into the kitchen, seemingly proud of his new-found freedom.  He pulls himself up easily now and is just about to start cruising along the furniture.  Here are some glimpses of Wylie at ten months...

Trying to get a close up look at the Christmas tree, but where is Wylie?

There he is!

Look, my head can go this way.

Starting to figure out this whole waving concept.

Whistling Finn

All of a sudden Finn can whistle.  Not only can he whistle, but he uses his new skill to entertain himself while he's trying to fall asleep.  So far that's the only time I've heard it, wafting down from his room.