On the Road Less Traveled

Wy's First School Photo

The Great Destructor

I haven't mentioned our four legged family member in a while and I am sure you are dying for an update.  He is settling in quite nicely although we are noticing a lot of neurotic tendencies.  This dog is OUT OF HIS MIND.  I have my theories about why he is such a neurotic dog.  Maybe he was separated too early from his mother.  Maybe the puppy place didn't treat him so well.  Maybe he ate some poisoned dog food. Maybe he just lost too many brain cells.  I'm not sure but whatever the reason, something is not all there. Here's the proof:

1. He will eat anything.  I when I say anything, I mean everything.  Steak, mac and cheese, lasagna, and then not so normal stuff like carrots, cardboard, stale bread thrown in the backyard for the birds, blankets, underwear, sticks and Wyatt's toys.  I actually took a video of Pup jumping on the arm of a chair to take a carrot out of a bowl.  I got a box of chocolates for Dad's birthday and left them on the kitchen table.  We passed each other on the road, less then 1 minute way from the house.  Pup ate the entire box then puked for the rest of the night.

2. Along with the eating comes the begging.  He is  CONSTANTLY begging.  Inching closer and closer to the food source until he is literally on top of you watching you eat like a tennis match.  He chases Wyatt around the house jumping after whatever Wyatt is holding in his hand.  He attacks Wyatt when he gets down from the table, licking his pants, hands, shirt, and wherever else food has landed.  Mom decided that he just needed to be fed more and he is not only still begging but now he's fat.

3. Thats all fairly normal I guess but in addition to his food fetishes, he needs to be very close to you all the time.  Like living on Mom's lap and when sleeping on the bed he inches closer and closer until he is on a pillow breathing into your face.  When I am playing on the floor with Wyatt, he has to sit on the legos or puzzle pieces.  When he's sleeping on the couch while I am watching TV and he will get up to come to the bathroom with me.  He waits outside the bathroom door while mom or I are showering.  I can't quite do this justice because it is really something you have to see to believe.

4.  He is abysmal at walking on his leash.  Just the sight of Wyatt putting on his shoes or jacket sends the dog into hysterics.  He runs and barks and barks and barks.  Oh God the barking.  And after the barking its the running around everything he can find; tangling his leash and himself around trees, lamp posts, or parking signs.  Its a nightmare.  You would think he would get better the more walks he went on (we tried this theory; a walk everyday and running around with the neighborhood kids in the afternoon) but no, he got worse.  And he pulls, like ripping your arm out of its socket pulls.  The worst is when he runs around Wyatt and tangles his legs.  They don't make a leash short enough for this dog.  If they did, I would buy it.

Wy and Pup in my laundry.

5. He has an insatiable need to lay in the clean, hot laundry.  Need I say more.

6. He has a sick fascination with our cat, Delilah.  He chases the poor thing all over the house.  But she has learned, the coy little cat.  She taunts him.  She will sit perfectly still as he charges for her.  Then he chickens out and stops, as he is usually met with her sharp claws, absolutely dumbfounded on why she isn't moving.  Then she usually starts rubbing all over him while purring.  It drives him crazy and sets him barking and running in circles sliding on the kitchen floor.  Their love/hate relationship is hysterical to watch.  Delilah likes to hang out on the porch roof.  One early morning, while Delilah was casually sunning herself, Pup caught a glimpse and decided to jump through the slightly open window.  6 in the morning Pup and Delilah running circles on our roof, Mom yelling for Pup to come inside, for all the casual dog walkers to see. I would have paid good money to see that.

Pup Garbage Destruction

7. I bought this dress for my 10 year reunion.  I LOVE this dress.  I gingerly took it out of the box and spread it out on the floor to admire it.  Pup ran over, sat on it, then started to drag his butt on it.  Really!?! Do I have to say more?

Most of the time its endearing.  I guess you could say he fits right in with the family.  Bear was a neurotic dog as well but she was also a REALLY good dog.  Pup (I am praying) is still in his mischievous puppy years and will eventually grow into a really good neurotic dog.  When I was in college I bought a fighting fish that looked like he was the loser in about 1400 fights.  No one could understand why I would buy a fighting fish that had all its fins bitten off.  But I did.  Just because I didn't think anyone else would.  Maybe I saw some of that in Pup too.  That we needed to save him.  And besides aren't we all just a little neurotic.  When he's not eating the garbage or my underwear he really is very sweet.

The Sheriff

33 Months

My Love,

You are the big man at pre-school and it is the cutest thing on the planet.  Your teachers call you and three other boys "The Inseparables."  Hugh, Charlie, Chase, and Wyatt.  You play together on the playground boat everyday.  When we walked in the other day Charlie was sitting on Mrs. Schwalb's lap, when he saw you he called "There's Wyatt!" Then jumped down and ran over to you.  Mrs. Schwalb said that Charlie was upset when he walked in and you weren't there yet.  It is so comforting to know that you have surrounded yourself with friends and love going to school so much.  I am 100% positive that you have fun every time you go.  I know that not everyone sticks with their pre-school friends but I have and I hope the same for you.

We received this lovely Target toy catalog which has become your new favorite book.  You love reading it on the toilet for hours.  No, thats an exaggeration.  More like 30-45 minutes.  You sit there on your throne (after usually going in the first 5 minutes), going over each page.  You want Santa to bring you EVERY SINGLE toy in that catalog.  And for some reason you actually think thats going to happen.  I told you that Santa only brings a few toys if you are really good then Gammy, Auntie B, Dada, and the rest of the family will get you something.  But you are adamant that he will bring you everything.  We chatted for a while about how Christmas is not about getting gifts, it is about giving gifts and showing people you love them.  You said you would buy me a beautiful shirt, just what I always wanted.

I was putting you to bed the other night (you were in a million question mood which happens quite often and is absolutely my most favorite time of day) and asked me "Gammy is going to sleep with Pa?" A pretty intuitive question for a 2 year old and one that I was mildly stumped by.  I went with the first answer I could think of which I knew was going to lead to more questions.
"Well, Gammy and Pa are married."
"What is married?"
"When two people love each other sometimes they get married.  They live together and make a home.  Sometimes they have children and they have dinner together and care for each other.  They're a family."
"Are we married?"
"No Bud.  We're not married.  But we are a family and I do love you very very much."
OK, so you have to agree that you are the sweetest little boy on the planet.  And I am sure you can see how it would be confusing.

You are started showing interest in having your own bed.  You picked out a quilt set that is actually really cute and that you will be getting for Christmas.  I think I am going to re-do the whole bedroom upstairs for you.  I am not sure it is going to work but if you are interested I feel like I have to give it a try.  It is bittersweet for me.  When you first joined my bed, I knew it was going to be hard to get you out but I also knew it was a temporary situation.  A 7 year old is not going to want to sleep in his mothers bed.  Selfishly, I enjoy having you with me at night.  I still wake up and listen to you breathe and talk in your sleep. Last night you woke up from a bad dream and yelled for me that there were snakes in the bed.  And I was right there so you just snuggled back into me and were back asleep in a heartbeat.  It is nice to be able to provide that kind of comfort for you.  Its something that I will not always be able to do.  I know it is not right for all families but having you in my bed was wonderful.  I wouldn't have given it up for the world and I will be sad to see you go.  But you must know you will always have a warm spot right next to me no matter where you go or when you get there.

I love you everyday,
Momma

The Winter White is Coming!

Wyatt had to try on every hat to make sure it fit for the winter.  We got this electric fire place thing at the St. John's fair.  It looks comically fake but some how makes the living room feel warmer.  It was an excellent find.

The Dump Truck

In September, I bought this incredibly well made, hand crafted, cowboy costume from the St. John's Fair.  It had real suede chaps and a little vest.  I had planned for Wyatt to go as Woody and I would be Jessie (probably trying to get Pup to be Bullseye) from Toy Story.  I showed Wyatt the costume and he seemed OK with the whole idea.  I patted myself on the back and crossed Halloween costume off my list.  Then about 3 weeks ago, while explaining the logistics of Halloween, I asked him if he was excited to be cowboy Woody.  He looked at me kind of puzzled then responded with "I want to be a dump truck."  "A dump tuck?!?"  "A dump truck."  And it was settled.  He wanted to be a dump truck and I could throw the Woody costume out the window.

Looking at pumpkin guts.

I tried not the think about it, hoping he would change his mind.  But he didn't.  Everytime someone asked him, he was being a dump truck, which got rather funny looks from other parents.  Then I asked him what color dump truck he want to be.  "Pink."  A Pink Dump Truck.  OK, I though, this is going to be interesting.  Honestly, he could be a tye-dyed dump truck for all I cared.  I guess I was just waiting for him to change his mind on the costume.  Toddlers change their minds so often I didn't want to dive into making it just for him to change his mind 10 seconds later.  So, I waited some more.  It was a pink dump truck for about a week.  Then it was a purple one for a few days.  Then he settled on yellow and I was running out of time.  But he was unwaivering.  He wanted to be a dump truck.  I brainstormed with Gammy for a bit, established a game plan, and decided to give it a go.

We thought a box with suspenders would be the easiest.   Then he could be a construction worker driving a dump truck.  Once the box and lots of yellow poster board was purchased, Gammy and I got to work.  Of course, once our creative juices started flowing we had to out-do each other.  Gammy found this aluminum roasting pan to create a bumper.  I decided I needed to photoshop a NY license plate that Gammy brilliantly thought should read DUMP4U.   Then Gammy took a pink (!!) toy sand sifter to bolt to the box as a working steering wheel.  Then I picked up some tap lights for some working headlights.  It really took on a life of its own.  Lizzy thought we were a little obsessed with it.  Wyatt was extremely excited once it was finished enough for him to run around the house in.

Wyatt winning his trophy!

On Friday, there was a costume contest at a local church.  Wyatt was so excited to show off his costume.  And honestly, I was going to be pretty disappointed if he didn't win something.  But the thing was, Wyatt was SELLING this costume.  He thought it was awesome, driving this truck around, turning the headlights on and off.  There was another little boy as a matchbox car, whose costume was much better constructed, and while up on the judging stage they were driving around together.  When he didn't want to wear it anymore he parked it in the corner.  All the other kids quietly whispered what they were into the microphone and Wyatt proclaimed his dump truck costume loud and proud.  He won first place amongst the preschool kids.  Both of us were thrilled.  Wyatt proudly displayed his trophy on the coffee table and is still talked about it.  I have no idea how we are going to outdo ourselves next year or what Wyatt will dream up next.