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We're home from Thanksgiving again. We had a wonderful time in fellowship with family and friends, even if a large percentage of it was spent in the car! I'll post pictures and activities soon this week (I hope).

John is already moving on to Christmas! We will start putting up the Christmas tree tomorrow after Tony gets home from work. It will sure be a QUICK three weeks until our yule travel!
Fa la la la la, la la la laaaaaaa!

18°

This morning it was 18° when it was time to take Keats for a walk. Here are pictures of all the layers.
I took pity on the kid and didn't make him strip to his undershirt. He also had two pairs of socks and a shoes a size too big to accommodate them.
Who knew it could get this cold in Sunny South Carolina!

Virus number 263

Feiste diagnosed John today with tonsillitis. He had fever all weekend, topping out at 104.2. Called the on-call pediatrician (Nurse Susan) and she said alternate with Motrin and tylenol every 4-6 hours and come in on Monday if he doesn't improve. He didn't, so we went it. Feiste gave us an antibiotic to protect against the virus creating a bacterial condition. John stayed home from school today and will stay home tomorrow (got to be fever free for 24 hours), but hopefully he can go back on Wednesday.

Every time I think I have "it" figured out, there is a new variation... that oughta teach me.

At least I didn't panic this time.

Toddler v. 2.5, appendix

Here are the things that Tony and I have learned are immediate triggers:
Putting the spoon into his bowl of cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt
Not filling up the sippy cup to the top
Unzipping his jacket
Helping him climb out of the car
Helping him climb up or down from the changing table
Helping him climb in or out of the bathtub

There are, of course, hundreds of other incidents each day, but they are less regular and predictable.

Here are the things he is practicing the most right now:
Take off and put on his pants
Take off his socks
Take off his shoes
Wash himself in the tub
Clean the table after he has eaten

Toddler v. 2.5

Well, we are in the REAL terrible twos. It started this past weekend.

According to an article in "Parents" magazine, toddler mood swings enter the "rough patches" at the half-year. John is not quite at the half-birthday stage (Dec 23), but he is definitely "bossy, demanding, and indecisive," which apparently comes with being 2 and a half. He wants to do EVERYTHING himself, and if he can't do it, he cries. If we help, he cries. If something is the wrong color or size, or isn't full enough, he cries. We are in meltdown city. There is very little in-between, everything is tra-la-la fine, and then BOOM, tears and yelling and lashing out. We have genuine, directed temper tantrums, with hitting and throwing things. It's definitely a phase, I just hope we are able to develop effective management techniques before the holidays!

Our best method right now is to immediately remove him from the trigger situation when it starts to break down, and either let him calm down on his own or sit with him while he calms down. We encourage him to use words, and he always ends up calming down (after 1 to 10 minutes) and clearly articulating what he wants. It's just a long road between those two points. Once he starts the calming down process, he is very good at stating his regaining of control, "I'm calm"; expressing remorse, "I'm sorry I throw my bowl"; and expressing his desire, "I'm ready for my yogurt now."

The journey into the meltdown is rough, but coming out into the sun is always sweet...

Our son, the comedian

I asked John if he wanted peanut butter and jelly in his lunch today and he said "No."
I said "What do you want?"
And he said "I want jelly and peanut butter," then cracked a big grin.
It doesn't sound as funny here as it did this morning, but I guess you had to be there.

(The pictures don't have anything to do with the story. This is the pumpkin John and Pa carved together last week.)

Halloween

We had many Halloween events last week, but I didn't get pictures of many of them. Here's John in his costume, just so that everyone can see... It was lovingly (and skillfully) fashioned by Pa (Grandpa John).






It was hard to convince John to wear the "head," but once he understood that people would give him candy if he wore it, he was sold!
We went to the Pendleton "Trunk or Treat," (trick-or-treating out of the backs of cars on the town square in Pendleton (we went out of costume, this was our "practice event."
Wednesday was Halloween at our friends' church, Fort Hill Presbyterian. Chik-fil-dinner, a costume parade, then games in the church basement. Very fun.
Friday was trick-or-treating with his school class at the business offices and library at Southern Wesleyan University; trick-or-treating on "Main Street" in downtown Clemson (obligatory fire truck present!); and Friday night was trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. We only went to about 4 houses, because it was late and mommy was tired!
Overall, a fun Halloween week! And now there is WAY too much chocolate in the house!