Oskar Gags on Jello, Imminent Doom for Dorisa's Favorite Sweater

Oskar makes faces now. It's great.

We met a friend for dinner a couple weeks back. Dan was especially pumped because we were going to have Chinese food. Dining with out with a toddler is not easy in our family. We trade the work of cooking a meal for the work of dealing with Oskar. The previous night we had gone out and Oskar was so good. He was a little antsy at the end of the meal, but considering he is 2, he was spectacular. I thought we had turned a corner. The next night, dressed in my favorite sweater and over-confidence from the success of the previous night's dinner out we headed into the largest Chinese buffet I've ever seen. Oskar was excited to see his plate, which included french fries, mandarin oranges, and wobbly red squares. I thought the jello squares looked a little big, but he handled the first one just fine, so I let it be, trying to ignore the voice in my head telling me to cut them smaller. Five minutes later, he gagged on some jello. It cleared pretty quick, but it still frightened him and he whimpered a bit so I gave him a hug. He had gagged once before this, and it was followed by an episode of vomiting. I did not know that this would become a "thing" of his. Hug, you're okay Oskar, pat pat pat, vomit. Mostly on me, his sweater of course is fine. Dan was wearing a sweatshirt so I was able to change but the smell lingered on my pants and the stain set on the sweater slowly freezing in the car. I was still hungry, so I tried to eat, but I was unsuccessful. It will be a while til I am able to go to a Chinese buffet again. For my part, there was no gagging or tears, but an utter deflation of spirit. Defeated by vomit. I was doomed to chase a toddler, who was crazy as ever despite the previous day's victory by the way, smelling like vomit, with crusty vomit hair, hungry but not hungry, and beyond frustrated. Dan helped chase too, no worries. Let it be known that even a vomiting toddler can't ruin good company, for without her the evening would have been a total loss.

The end of a well timed yawn, and the lock screen on my phone.

I generally don’t condone drinking alone before 11 AM on a Sunday, but Oskar whacked me in the butt with a spatula he grabbed out of the sink the other day, so I took the opportunity. In my defense we eat lunch crazy early around here, so I was drinking with a meal. I don't condemn drinking alone on a Sunday before 11 AM either. It just isn't something that comes up very often.

It may look like he's praying, but no, he is mooing.

Our guest room is painted! Come visit us! There is a bed and everything. It is very exciting.

Yes, that is my Alma quilt. If you don't know what that means don't worry about it.

Are there any other parents out there that would like to give Raffi a high five AND punch him in the face? The dude has crazy catchy songs and they do not leave your head. Oskar is absolutely in love with "Baby Booga." Listening to the whole CD over and over again isn't too bad, there are just 2 things I dislike a bunch. This includes the nonsense at the end of Biscuits in the Oven and the line "Nothing can go wrongo I'm in the Congo" from Joshua Giraffe. Wrongo is not a word and I'm sorry, but you are in the Congo- EVERYTHING can go wrong.

Smile Oskar! No. This face.

Oskar got really excited about running in Macy's the other day and took a significant multi-stage tumble. Knees then belly then face. His hands got trapped under his stomach so they couldn't prevent the face plant. The lack of coordination is definite evidence that he is the child of Dan. The mouth bleeds a lot. I was certain that he would have a loose tooth or be missing one, but they are all there and he was fine about 3 minutes later. He is very good about getting over getting hurt. I wanted to get a picture of all the blood, but that clearly wasn't a priority. I kind of got a picture of his fat lip afterward. It stayed poofy for about a day and then the poof retreated.

Poofy lip.

Trying out the toys.

He found his old chair in the basement. Then Dan carried him upstairs in it.

During dinner, the phrase that is repeated most often around these parts is "Oskar, sit down and stop conducting." Anyone else have this problem? No? Just us? Great. When the choir sang one Sunday, he stood on my lap and conducted them from where we were sitting- on the opposite side of the sanctuary. I just don't get where he got this from. He has seen plenty of conductors in his life, but not a crazy amount- definitely not a daily or even weekly occurrence. He is very strange. Our day care provider said he has a wonderful spirit about him- or something like that. This was nice to hear. She also said that he has never thrown a tantrum while in her care. This made me happy and hugely frustrated.

We got our first real sized Christmas tree this year. It was a little scary because we didn't get to see it because it comes all wrapped up since we got it at Costco, but it is one of the fullest trees I've ever seen. To water it, we have to use our baster. A watering can might work, but I'm not confident enough to go out and actually buy one. We had to cut the end ourselves when we got it back (so it was like chopping it down, right?) and this would have been easier if we had better saws. Even with that hassle it was worth the savings in price. We are very happy with our tree and Oskar has been so good about not touching the ornaments.

Photobomb. How dare I take a picture of anything except Oskar.

Official 2 year picture

We celebrated Oskar's 2nd birthday partially on Thanksgiving and partially on his birthday, December 7th. Dan and I had had a crazy weekend so we were not at all prepared for a party, even a small one. We were going to run to the store after church and get a cake, but luckily for us there was a funeral out at Split Rock the day before and they had lots of leftover cake. Yes I know how that sentence sounds and I don't care. Candles were provided by grandma and grandpa and Oskar blew them out. Twice. The church sang Happy Birthday to him and then we sang during cake time at home and then he initiated it once more before bed. I think he likes when his name is in a song. He also fully understands opening presents now, so Christmas should be extra fun.

Oskar has officially and successfully transitioned to his twin size bed. He has only fallen out twice and once was when he was trying to get down and got tangled up in the sheets. I do have to go in before I go to sleep though and adjust him around a bit. He doesn't usually move in his sleep, but when he does it is in a big way. Observe:

I'm thinking he was trying to make his escape and fell asleep...

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Thanks for reading and sorry I'm such a slacker with posting. Maybe posting more will be my unrealistic New Year's resolution.

See ya.