11/23/21 – I Can’t Find My Journal

When you woke up, the first thing you said was “I don’t want to go to school today!” I reminded you that you are on Thanksgiving break so you don’t have to! I told you I have a surprise for you and we were going to go stay in a hotel. You were so excited you immediately ran to get dressed. While I was getting ready for work, you came into my room with a book from my birthday bag and said “Mom, I can’t find my journal, can I use yours? It’s beautiful!”

We had to run in and do a quick closing, before leaving for your surprise. I took you to Legoland and when we pulled in you were sooooo excited. You kept saying this was the best surprise ever! The park was decorated so cute for Christmas that I took a ton of pictures and you kept complaining lol. It was way busier than I expected so the lines were long which you weren’t jazzed about. We went into some of the stores and you found 4 horse stuffies that you wanted. I let you get them (ridiculous because the last thing we need is more stuffies) but every time you didn’t want to take a picture, I was like, hey…stuffies, and you gave me a great smile lol!!! We still had so much fun despite the lines. We left around 5p and headed to the hotel. The Legoland hotels were ridiculous because there was only one room left so we stayed at the Hampton Inn nearby and you weren’t buying that when we walked into the room. Too plain lol. We talked to Daddy, played with your stuffies and then went to dinner. When we got back to the room, we talked to Daddy again, ate some ice cream and watched Disney+ on my phone for about an hour. You fell asleep in my arms while watching around 9p. What a fun day!!!

I love you so much!

11/22/21 – I Know You Are Gonna Want To Take My Picture!

This morning, we had to get up and ready early. You insisted on wearing a fancy dress today. We had to drop Harry off at the vet to get his stitches out finally. I had to do a quick closing at 9am then you wanted to get a donut from Dunkin Donuts and a hot chocolate from Starbucks. You wouldn’t try the hot chocolate at Dunkin Donuts lol. I had some things I wanted to return at Macy’s so we went to the Starbucks there. Everywhere we went you were brushing your hair and checking it out in your mirror. I was cracking up! We walked through UTC because it was decorated pretty. You even said, “I know you are gonna want to take my picture!” We headed downtown to get pedicures. You worked on math problems that you made up in the car on the way there. You were so excited that we could get matching toes. You sat still through your service and chatted up your nail girl. I love your confidence and ability to talk with grown ups so easily. After nails, we picked up Harry – thankfully he got his stitches out and looked so much happier. We went home & played with your train until Daddy got home from work. I got dressed and left for the Giants vs. Bucs game with Lisa Sessa. You kissed me and were telling me to have fun at the game. You even dressed up in your Giants gear to cheer for them!! I didn’t get home until midnight, so I didn’t get to kiss you goodnight, but I kissed your forehead when I got home.

I love you so much!

11/21/21 – Ready In Four Minutes

This morning when you woke up around 7:30a, the first thing you wanted to do was play with your train set. We got our all the animals and everyone got to ride. It took a little cajoling to get you dressed for tennis. I had to bring your clothes and dress you while you were running the train lol! You wouldn’t even stop for breakfast.

When we got to tennis you were in a good mood. You started out strong and did several rounds of volleys with Coach. It was one of your better lessons, but then you missed a few shots, got really mopey and got really rude with him. You told him tennis is boring. We immediately packed up and left. Before the lesson, Daddy told you that if you were not listening at tennis, the train would be closed when we got home. You cried the entire way home super upset about the train. When we got home, you wanted to put up your tent so you could “be alone” but not in your room because your room is scary. Surprisingly, you recovered nicely and handled the train closure really well. You played with your Rudolf people and helped Daddy in the garage for a little bit. You did keep coming to me asking me to reopen it because Daddy didn’t lol. You went with me to Whole Foods and when we got home, Daddy surprised you and reopened the train. You were so excited! I hope you learned your lesson!

While I was cooking, you came over to help. It’s been a little while since I could really hold your interest in the kitchen. Lately, you prefer to write or draw rather than cook. My heart was flipping out!!! Cooking with you is one of my very favorite things! You chose the fresh oregano at whole foods and decided to put it in the mushrooms and it was delicious. When you were eating you were going on and on about how fantastic it was! Before we ate, you were talking about all the things you are thankful for. You said “I’m thankful for my family, my dog, my friends, all the people I know and for my family. The thing I want most for Christmas is my own Polar Express train that can’t be closed!” I about died laughing. I told you it was better if you are just good and your things won’t be closed!! After dinner we had ice cream, watched Rudolf and played more with your trains. We headed to your room to read around 8:15p. We read a bunch of Christmas stories and you drifted off to sleep about 20 minutes later. I’m proud of how you recovered today. I hope you learned a good lesson. I hated to close the train, I know how much you love it!

I love you so much!!!

11/20/21 – Santa’s Arrival Parade, Kinda

You woke up at 7a, which is early for you, but considering how late you went to bed last night it was even crazier! You came to the couch to snuggle with me. We watched a few animal ER episodes and then made breakfast. When Daddy got up we brought the Christmas decorations in then went to meet Ms. Marcela for lunch and to go see the house. You wanted to see Ruby the dog at the jewelry store but she didn’t come today & you were bummed.

When we got home you helped me unload the Christmas boxes and put away the regular stuff. You unpacked and set up the Christmas stuff and kept commenting how careful you were being not to break anything! You wanted to get to your Rudolph toys and your train. You were so happy once Daddy set up the train.

The Santa arrival parade was at UTC tonight and I thought you would want to go. I was concerned because you were tired and grumpy all day from staying up late. Don’t get me wrong you had fun today but it was filled with emotional highs and lows. At first you didn’t want to go because you wanted to stay and play with your train but then you decided to go and come back as soon as it was over to play with the train. Once we got there, we found a spot on the parade route and you wanted to get a Kona Ice. I ended up holding you and you fell asleep in my arms at 5:45p. You woke up about half way through the parade and wanted to go home so we did. The good news is we beat traffic lol. We played with your train and Rudolph toys until we went to bed. We headed that way early because we were both tired. We read Christmas books and I feel asleep with you before 9!

I love you so much!

11/19/21 – Last Sleepover With Grandma Noot, For A While

I expected you to stay home from school today because of your strep throat, but you didn’t want to miss the pie party Ms. Wolleon and Ms. Nicholas were having!! You woke up singing and dancing. Even though your throat looked worse! I was expecting to keep you home but you wanted to go and Aunt Deb thought it was ok so I let you go! When I picked you up, you wanted to go downtown so we grabbed pizza from Il Panificio and headed to my hair appointment. You were so cute and chatting with Chelsea and coloring cards for her. The plan was to go for ice cream after but you decided you wanted to go home so we did!

    I made dinner. You watched a little TV, colored and danced with Daddy to “Last Christmas” your new favorite song! We stayed up until almost midnight because it was Grandma Noot’s last night here. When it was time to head to bed you proclaimed you were starving and brought an entire bag of chips to bed!! Grandma Noot read you a Frozen book and you fell asleep during the book with all the lights on! I hate that she’s leaving. She’s been so good to us and she loves you so much. You have so much fun with her and she’s always surprising you with something cool! She will be back soon, but her absence will still be felt very much.
    I love you so much!

    11/18/21 – Donuts With Dad

    This morning you had the Donuts With Dad party at school. You were excited to show Daddy around the playground. He was excited to walk you back to your classroom because he hadn’t gotten to see it since Meet The Teacher. Ms. Wolleon let you guys watch a replay of last year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade so you would know what to expect.

    I picked you up from school and we went home to play. You snuggled with me on the couch and we did some iReady lessons. Daddy came home & I went to dinner with the FUPPAs because tomorrow Grandma Noot is moving to Arizona. I left with Marina and you were telling Daddy that your throat was burning. Daddy called Aunt Deb, because he didn’t want me to worry. She was suspicious you might have strep throat but Daddy gave you honey and you were looking happy again. By the time I got home, you were asleep, but he said you had gotten worse through the night. A few minutes after I got home, you woke up and you were crying. I got you back to sleep and then went to pick up a prescription that Uncle Dali called in for you. When you woke up about an hour later, I got the first dose in you. I slept with you just to be sure I was there if you needed me. You slept well the rest of the night.

    I love you so much!

    11/17/21 – Downtown Dancing!

    Daddy took you to school and I took Harry to the vet. You didn’t want to go in and leave him. After school we walked out with Kaiwen Chen. You asked him if he wanted to play on your iPad and you shared so nicely. We picked up Grandma Noot and you wanted to take her on a date downtown. We ran by the lot then went to dinner at Patrick’s. There was live music outside so you were dancing and having so much fun. We were going to grab ice cream, but it was getting late, so we headed home to read books and jump in bed. You were snoring by 9p after just a few minutes.

    I love you so much!

    11/16/21 – Sit For A Minute

    We were running behind this morning. You made Ms. Wolleon a card, brought two Cheryl & Company cookies and 35 cents to give her. You couldn’t find the money fast enough and we had to run, so you were upset that you didn’t grab the coins. Even though we literally ran to the gate, we were one minute late.

    I picked up from school. You asked me to walk back in the shell path “so we could have a longer time together. Just us!” Then you sat on a huge rock and patted your hand on it asking me to “sit for a minute” and you told me how much you love me. What a beautiful way to spend our first few minutes together!

    We picked up Harry from the vet. You were excited to call Daddy & Grandma Noot to let them know that Harry lost 10% of his body weight. You said “he needed to lose a little weight but not 10% of his body!”

    You stayed with Daddy while I went to dinner with Marina and Grandma Noot. When I got home, we read your new Bucket Filler book and you were out in no time!

    I love you so much!

    11/15/21 – I’m Going Back To Sleep For 5 More Hours

    You slept until a little after 8a this morning. 12 hours and you still didn’t want to get up. You pulled the covers back up & told me “I’m going back to sleep for 5 more hours!” You actually got up quickly and were drawing me pictures that said I love you on your board. It was so sweet!

    I had an early closing, so Daddy took Harry to the Vet, you to Dr. Mac and then to school. Dr. Mac said you have some molars in the back that are coming and your top front left tooth is loose. No cavities of course! I’m so proud of you!!!

    When I picked you up from school, you told me all about how you voted that you “didn’t want to be a Wampanoag kid” because they wear bear skin slippers and had no electricity. You were on fire so I caught a cute video. We had to go get Harry from the Vet, then we came home to relax. We had dinner and watched Meet the Robinsons. We went to the mailbox, saw Ms. Moe & chatted with her. You rode all the way around the block standing out of the sunroof lol. We did an iReady lesson then read for a bit before you were out again shortly after 8p.

    I love you so much!

    11/14/21 – I Can Feel The Sports In My Body!

    I woke up this morning before you and Daddy. You slept in until about 8:30a and snuggled with Daddy for a few minutes, then ran out to the living room to snuggle with me wearing my shirt from yesterday. After a few minutes of snuggling you wanted to play on the floor with the garage floor and closet samples so we did. I kept trying to make breakfast, but you preferred to keep playing.

    Your tennis lesson wasn’t until 9:30a today so we were able to take it easy this morning. It turned chilly overnight which was perfect for you. You had a great lesson since it was so cool. You even stayed after and overlapped with Rafe for a little bit. When we were walking to the car, you asked to hit more tennis balls. You said “I can feel the sports in my body!” I love that you are loving tennis so much!


    You wanted to go to fancy breakfast but the line was crazy long so we went to Anna’s Deli instead. We had to swing by Grandma Weezies to help her move something in her house then we went shopping. You wanted to buy everything in sight at home goods, especially a big sleigh that you could sit in! At the checkout group shouted in the middle of home goods “my mom loves flamingos so most of the stuff you are gonna see is flamingos because she’s a FUPPA”.

    When Olivia woke up from her nap, we picked them up and headed to Siesta Key for the Crystal Classic to see the sand sculptures. You and O had so much fun playing and checking things out. The drum circle was going on and you guys were dancing like crazy. We headed home, stopped for a quick slice of pizza to go because you guys were starving, took a bath, played with Daddy, worked on i-Ready and read books. You were asleep by 8:15p!
    I love you so much!