Happy Holidays!

So much going on, so little time to get a post up! Christmas was fun, as usual, this year and was also a little more laid back thanks in part to spreading out the visits. We did Martinson Christmas on the Sunday before Christmas and then went to Seth's parent's for Christmas Eve and my parent's Christmas Day. Alistair was definitely more into Christmas this year than last. He understands opening presents yields something for him and was very anxious to get the ball rolling on that activity everywhere we went. Once he got something that really piqued his curiosity, the remainder of presents was more like pulling teeth to get him to open. He understands Santa, kind of. We didn't explain the whole milk, cookies and chimney thing, but he knows his new race track came from Santa! Alistair and the tree. He did well not touching it, or only touching ornaments with one finger. The novelty of touching the tree wore off after a day or two. He tells the tree lights goodnight every night before he goes to bed. I don't know what he is going to do when we take the tree down soon!Alistair got a new race track from Santa. He is really into racing. In addition to that, Jeff and Michelle gave him the Helmet Heroes Racing Helmet. He will wear that while playing with his race track or while we play Mario Kart!Grandma and her grandchildrenMy parents gave Alistair a play kitchen for Christmas. They put together the BBQ so he had something from it to open. He spent the rest of the day making cheeseburgers and hot dogs for everyone!

In addition to the excitement of Christmas, we had the "excitement" of snow to contend with. All in all we got 15 inches total at our house over the course of numerous snowfall. Our neighborhood, aside from the bare street where they finally paved on Friday, still looks quite snowy. We have quite the snow boulder field outside on either side of our driveway and down the street where the snow plow and accompanying tractor put all the snow the scraped off the street. Alistair enjoyed the snow in small increments, but he wasn't obsessive about it. Usually he went to go play in the snow if we suggested it. Sadie LOVES the snow! She is like a kid. She goes out and runs and rolls and tosses her ball and tackles it. It is quite amusing to watch!Alistair's first snow angel!

What terraced retaining wall?

Tis the Season to be Jolly...

Happy Holidays to everyone! Hopefully the season is going well for you so far and isn't stressful. We are finally fully engulfed in Christmas at our house. We have the tree up and decorated, the house decked inside and out and the Christmas cookies have been made...although a few more might be made later on. Christmas shopping is even mostly done!

Alistair went to go see Santa last week. We walked up to his area at Northgate fully expecting to look at Santa and turn around and leave. I had no expectations of getting a photo this year and I certainly wasn't going to torture him! So we looked and asked him if he wanted to go say Hi and he said, "No." So we said, "ok let's go" and turned to walk back down the mall. Alistair leaned out of his stroller, gesturing behind him, "No No No No!" "Do you want to go see Santa?" "Yes." So we turned around, parked the stroller and let him out. There was no line and one other kid that was visiting Santa. After she was done, we walked into the corral. Alistair was staying glued to Seth's leg and eventually wanted up. Santa suggested we kneel next time him so he could read a book. So Seth, Santa and Alistair read a book together. Then Alistair got down and wandered around a bit, pointing out the tree lights, etc. Then Santa asked if Alistair wanted to read another book with him. Seth and I were flanking Santa, about 3 feet back or so. Alistair walked over to Santa and proceeded to rock back and forth on his feet at a distancre close enough to see the book, but not next to Santa. Every once in a while Santa would ask where something was in the picture. Alistair would think for a minute and then rock his way closer to Santa and point in the book. Snap went the camera. So we got 3 shots of this and that was good for us! It was as close and civil as Alistair was going to get. We spent probably about 20 minutes or so with Santa, he was very nice and patient!

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we headed out to Cox's Tree Farm out by Northwest Trek for our Christmas tree. My parents, Seth's parents, Ann and Bob and my brother and family all came. We practically had the place to ourselves and the pick of the litter. Although this is the second year we have been and it took everyone no time at all to find our trees. It is a bit of a drive to get there, but their selection is great and there is no wandering around for hours only to settle on something just to not feel like you totally wasted your time! We've done that in past years! Having a walking little child in a tree farm requires many pairs of eyes. He had fun though and of course his favorite cousin was there, so anything is more fun when Natalie is around!

Alistair "helping" Daddy cut the tree down.

The official Christmas Card pose
Cousins!

In other news, just to follow-up with some stuff mentioned in the previous post, Alistair is going to have surgery on January 12th. However he does not have a hernia, but a hydrocele. This is similar to a hernia, but the hole is much smaller and the swelling comes from fluid in the area and not bowel protruding. Usually if boys get this before 2, they let it go because most times it will close on it's own. But because Alistair is now 2 1/2 (!!!) there is a less likely chance it will close up on its own and it needs to be done surgically. The procedure is an outpatient one - it seems to be minimally invasive and his recovery time will be short. Next week he has an appointment with the anesthesiology department to have a complete physical to be cleared for surgery. It is a little complicated since Alistair has his heart issue. But to me, the fact that he is so active and healthy and is not on medication tells me he would be fine. But I guess we will find out next week. They will also evaluate him post-op to and decide to either let him go home or stay over night for observation.

November Events

Since the last post, we have had some news and happenings as well as a trip to the ocean! The first bit of news we received came on the 6th. I had an ultrasound and amnio done to rule out the chance of Down's we had discovered on a previous blood test. Everything came back normal all around on the test and we found out we are having a GIRL! So we will have one of each and we are pretty excited! Alistair is even coming around on the idea of a baby. He will point to my stomach or pat it and say, "baby." We keep asking him about babies and if he wants one around and he keeps saying yes. We will see if that answer is the same next April! To lessen the chances of having a spontaneous miscarriage following an amnio, they suggest you do nothing or next to nothing for 24 hours after. Seth took Friday off and Seth's parents took Alistair for 2 nights. So we had some time to ourselves at home. It was a really nice break but I glad to see Alistair when we picked him up! David and Judy took him to a farm in Yelm. From the photos she sent, it looks like they had a grand old time!

That weekend we headed off to Cape Disappointment State Park with my parents for 3 nights. We had a yurt and they parked their trailer on our site where there are hook-ups. It made it really convenient for eating as the rain was never hard until the day we left, but walking around with food from site to site in some kind of rain isn't fun. My parents brought a card table and chairs and we put it up in the yurt for a bit more space to eat and hang out. We drove to Astoria and Seaside on Sunday. We hit up the local outlet mall and then found lunch in downtown Seaside. It was a real Washington Coast day (ie soaking rain), so driving around and staying warm and dry was good. On Monday we got up to blue sky and sun. It was gorgeous that day. We drove out to Ocean City and browsed through Jack's Country Store which has just about anything you could need and then walked around Long Beach. We hiked up to Northhead Lighthouse and it was beautiful - no wind, sunny and dry. We spent the remainder of the day enjoying the weather and being able to sit outside in November. We got up Tuesday to a complete down pour, which is always fun to pack up in!

This past Monday (the 17th), Alistair he had his cardiology appointment. Everything looks the same, no changes. That is good, change would mean it was getting worse. Dr. Lewin wants to see him again in 6 months and if everything still is the same, he thinks we can go to yearly appointments instead of every 6 months. Alistair did really well this time and I think it was fun for Dr. Lewin to have the interactions with Alistair that he did. Then at the end of the week (this past Friday), we found out Alistair might have an Inguinal Hernia, which is a hernia in the groin area. It doesn't bother him, but he gets swollen on the right side. We are going to get in touch with a pediatric surgeon this week about a consult to see if that is indeed what he has. If he does, it will be an outpatient surgery, at least for most. For Alistair it could be inpatient because of having to be anesthetized for it - he may need to be observed over night because of his heart condition. We will see. We aren't overly worried about, but it is weird to think a 2 year old has a hernia!

Alistair is also showing signs of wanting to potty train. He has already sat on his potty chair or the big toilet a few times and gone. But it has to be his idea, although the past few days we have gotten him to do it after heavy suggestion. He has also tested the toilets at a co-worker of Seth's house, Children's Hospital and Lowe's. So obviously public bathrooms are not a concern for him. He isn't consistent about it yet. He will go days without doing it and then will want to do it a bunch. It might be a longer process, but I think doing it when he is ready is better for everyone, knowing his penchant for being stubborn! ;)

Eating Adventures with Alistair

We had Mexican food tonight for dinner. Seth made a Turkey Enchilada Casserole and with it we had chips and salsa. Anyone who has ever had salsa at our house in the past years knows about the Martinson salsa. My parents make and can their own salsa and it is awesome. They will shrug their shoulders and say it good but I don't think they quite understand the manner in which it is regarded, at least among our friends! Well they made some this year - it has been a few years. We went down to help and now have our own little stock of salsa. Alistair likes chips and salsa so much so that he took the bowl of salsa from me (I was holding it over for him to dip his chip) and proceeded to bathe/baste his chip in the salsa with the spoon and also occasionally just eat it from the spoon. Eventually I got tired of handing him chip after chip and just handed him the bowl of chip bits. He worked on those for a bit and then when it became too cumbersome to dip each chip bit, he just dumped them into the salsa and then proceeded to eat them with the spoon! If that isn't an endorsement for how good the salsa is, I don't know what is! (:

Alistair also has taken a liking to eating, or attempting to eat, lemon and lime wedges. My brother got a good shot of his pucker when we were in Disneyland and I got a decent shot tonight of him with the lime wedge from my pregnancy-friendly cocktail. He always ends with a "blech!" and hands it back to me...but when he sees another, he wants to eat it. Glutton for punishment I guess! (:

Happy Halloween!

Alistair had a busy Halloween. We started off by meeting Grandma and Grandpa H. for breakfast where he received his trick-or-treat bag - which came in handy for the remainder of the day. After breakfast we cruised past Nana's office for all her co-workers to ooh and ahh at the cute dinosaur and give him candy. Then we were off to Burien to Papa's office. We did the circuit there which resulted in some candy, some animal cards and a Curious George DVD from Papa. Then we went to Daddy's office for our final stop. After a break there, we went to lunch and then dropped Seth off at the hospital and came home. Later in the afternoon, before the official trick-or-treat time started, we went to the neighbor's houses on either side of us and then across the street later on when she got home. I think he might grasp the concept of trick-or-treating more next year, it seemed to be lost on him this year. However, he did like carrying the bag!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Last weekend (Thursday through Sunday) we ventured to Disneyland and California Adventure with my parents and my brother, Michelle and Natalie for Natalie's 6th birthday! It was a big surprise for her and overall she enjoyed her first time to the Happiest Place on Earth - although that line was not always true! (: Being pregnant and having a 2 1/2 year old in tow poses some challenges as well as limitations on being able to experience the full meal deal of both parks. But I think we all had a good time and certainly enjoyed the 85+ degree weather we experienced everyday! We arrived late morning on Thursday and once we got to the hotel and checked-in, we were off to Disneyland for what turned out to be some quality time in Fantasyland. We started out in Tomorrowland and quickly learned that none of the rides there were really geared for Natalie. Alistair went on the Buzz Lightyear ride, but got upset and then didn't want to do anything and eventually passed out in the stroller - but he needed the nap since he had been up since 5:45am. He kind of came around on the Fantasyland rides, but even those took some convincing that they were pretty tame! (: My mom arranged for a van for round trip service so we didn't need to have a rental car. They greeted us outside security with a "Welcome Natalie" sign since it was her birthday! Natalie thought Alistair's leash was pretty cool. I think she forgot Alistair wasn't a dog sometimes! He used it some, but was more content than I thought he would be to ride in his stroller. They say 6 people can fit in a tea cup. I am wondering what their definition of people is - maybe 2 adults and 4 kids? We did 4 adults and 1 kid - it was quite cozy. I had to stand on the seat to close the door before I could sit down. It was quite comical! We are the teacup in the background by the way...the pink one per Natalie's choice! That night at the restaurant there was a guy making balloon objects. Miss Natalie got a birthday crown. She wore her birthday button all weekend and milked it for all it was worth! ;) Alistair got a money in a tree with bananas. That was a favorite toy in the hotel room!

On Friday we went to California Adventure and made a misstep by taking the kids to see the 3D movie "It's hard to be a Bug" by the characters in Bug's Life. It probably wouldn't have been that bad for Alistair, but it was SO loud and he is very sensitive to noise. Natalie was fine until it got a little scary and then she had had it. So we headed over to the more carnival type rides and Natalie enjoyed that. Alistair didn't come around until we got on Neptune's Carousel while my dad, Jeff, Michelle and Seth went on the roller coaster. After a break and a cold treat, we headed to A Bug's Life playground. It was full of rides for younger kids, perfect for both Alistair and Natalie. There was a little train, spinning ladybugs and flick's flyers. They both had fun on those rides and it was a relief to finally see Alistair having fun on a ride!For some reason Alistair likes to "eat" lemons. Jeff finally got a photo of his face while eating, he makes the best pucker faces.We forgot to pack any kind of hat for Alistair. I wasn't thinking of sun protection since it was so cold and up here. So we swung by the World of Disney store in downtown Disney to get him a hat. If it were up to him, he would have bought the pink Minnie hat he is displaying above! Here we are having a good time on Neptune's Carousel. My mom and I took the kids while the big kids rode the roller coaster. Natalie rode a dolphin and Alistair was on a fish. Right before the roller coaster (California Screamin') takes off, it pulls out and stops for 30 seconds and then counts down. It is a good time to get a photo of the anticipation of the riders!A glimpse of Alistair SMILING on a ride. The Bug's Life area was his speed completely and he had a good time!After spending time at the Bug's Life area, we went back to the rooms to nap and then headed to Disneyland after dinner to get a seat for the parade. We sat for over an hour to save our front row seats on Main Street USA for a 20 minute parade. The things you do at Disneyland - it truly is a magical place! ;) Natalie brought her Snow White dress my mom made for her and wore it for the parade.

Cousins waiting for the parade to start.

Jeff and the kiddiesMickey and Minnie were at the end of the parade in their dress whites. Sleeping Beauty's Castle

After the parade Jeff, Natalie, Seth and Alistair waited for 40 minutes to ride the Flying Dumbos. Then we got family photos taken in the stationary one.

Our last activity for the evening before departing the park was riding the carousel one more time. We spent more time on carousels this trip than I think I have ever have in my lifetime! I am sure I am in store for many more trips around the carousel. But between Disneyland and CA Adventure, we probably rode 6-7 times!Saturday morning we went to a character breakfast in our hotel. I think Natalie really enjoyed it. Alistair wasn't interested in any of the characters except Pluto. He was scared of everyone else, but for some reason a really tall dog with a huge long nose posed no threat to him! We spent the morning in Disneyland and started off with Finding Nemo and the Autopia. Finding Nemo is the old submarine ride reconditioned to host Nemo characters and storyline. Natalie didn't care too much for it and we thought for sure Alistair wasn't going to like it after a while since it got so loud and kind of scary at certain points. But he loved it and wanted more when we got done - we waited 45 minutes, so more was kind of out of the question. He has seen Nemo so many times that I don't think it was scary because he recognized everything. Autopia was fun for everyone. Natalie liked driving her dad around the track, quite crazily I understand. And Alistair thought it was pretty cool to ride with Daddy in a car - he is still talking about it! Once we got done there we headed over to Toontown to meet Mickey. I got Alistair to stand next to Mickey for a photo, I didn't think it would happen! After our visit, my mom, Dad and I took the kids back to the hotel to swim and rest while Jeff, Michelle and Seth got some adult riding time. They hit most of the big coasters as well as some other fun rides. We met up with them later on for dinner and then went to California Adventure to get in a few more rides there before they closed. Then we headed back to Disneyland to do a few more rides and do some souvenir shopping. Minnie was the official greeter when we arrived.Alistair willingly walked up to Pluto for a photo. Any other character and he would cling to me!

The seagulls from Nemo - Mine! Mine! Mine!Alistair and Seth taking off on their driving adventure.Natalie keeping her eyes on the road and posing for a photo at the same time!We got to see Mickey!!Another carousel ride!Jeff got to ride the humpback whale!

Mmmmm...Ice Cream!!

It was a fun trip and something hopefully both kids will remember. I am sure Natalie will have more memories than Alistair, but he is still talking about some of the things he did, so he might remember some stuff!