Merry Christmas

Gran and Grandad Burnett arrived safely after a long trip across the pond. Despite the international flight (delayed 8 hours), a connecting flight delayed 3 days (they took a train instead) and even a cancelled train (they caught a later one), they made it! Fortunately, they are here in one piece and have had a fantastic time with Callum (and us) thus far. He stayed home with them all day yesterday and had a blast! My fingers are crossed that Santa finds our house, but there will be cookies and carrots waiting so I think the odds are good. From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Cookies, Snowfall and Visitors!

As the 10th or so inch of snow falls, I'll post a little update, which may be my last before Christmas. Fours types of cookies have been baked and two more will hopefully be completed tomorrow (along with the cleaning of the kitchen floor and some other nooks and crannies). Callum helped me make Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies and Mocha Frosted Drops last weekend and then again today, but this time it was Peppermint Chocolate Cookies.

Callum also managed to get into Iain's boots, hat and one glove without me noticing him. I was alerted to his outfit when he needed help with the second glove. Too funny! He also calls Santa "Ho Ho" and keeps cracking us up with saying things like "Bye bye Ho, bye bye Ho Ho". He has yet to meet Santa but this may be for the best because he isn't too fond of strangers.

As I type, I say a silent prayer that Gran and Grandad Burnett have a safe and uneventful flight to the U.S. Yes folks, they leave tomorrow during the Blizzard of 2009 or so they keep calling it on TV. When I last checked, their flight was delayed an hour and a half although they likely don't know this since it is 3:30 a.m. U.K. time. I am hopeful they arrive without fanfare into the dreadful Newark Airport and manage to have no delay or cancellation for their flight into Harrisburg. Now whether or not Iain can make it to the airport from our house is a whole other story! He went out three times today to dig out the cars and do the sidewalk and path. Fingers crossed! We'll likely take Callum out in the snow tomorrow so I'll do my best to post some pics of that! Good luck with any last minute preparations and stay safe and warm! We'll have the kettle on for Gran and Grandad. I think they'll need a cup of tea when they get here.

Visitors and Christmas Preparations

Iain and I were fortunate to have a date night last night at the Olive Garden as well as to get some shopping done. Aunt Karen and Uncle Tedd came over to watch Callum and put him to bed. While Iain and I were spending some time reconnecting over a real conversation- not interrupted by words like "snack, juice, poopy diaper or don't hit Shuster", Callum spent some time with his great aunt and uncle. Interestingly enough, Callum has taken a great liking to Uncle Tedd. While most children, Callum included, often prefer woman caretakers, Callum spent most of last night making sure Uncle Tedd didn't leave his sight. He also made sure that Uncle Tedd read him his stories and didn't leave the room for too long. It was very nice to hear that he had such a strong connection with his uncle!

Last Sunday, Iain, Callum and I had the pleasure of a visitor, young Andrew Sloan, who came over for a play date. Andrew has a new sibling, Britt, and we wanted to give his parents some time to themselves and their new son. Andrew and Callum had a great time together playing and chasing one another around the house. Towards the end of the afternoon, they reached a point where they needed a distraction so I tuned into the assistance of On Demand Cable TV and switched on an episode of the Wiggles. The two boys sat on the couch for close to 20 minutes without a peep and watched these crazy multicolored shirted men sing and dance. And a good time was had by all...

Tonight and tomorrow will be spent wrapping and baking. I have all of my ingredients for cookies and although I've scaled down the quantity of cookies I am baking, I still have some plans for some tasty treats. I've recently lost 25 pounds by joining Weight Watchers and this time of year is very hard for me because I love baking. Baking is an activity that was big in my home with my mother so I feel a special bond to include this in my Christmas activities. But I also don't want to tack on any unnecessary weight because if it's in the house, I'm probably going to eat it. Anyway, I'm still trying to find some slightly healthier W.W. cookie recipes that might take my sights off of eating 25 Mocha Frosted Drops. If you know of any semi-healthy holiday cookies, let me know. Best wishes for a great week!

Callum Meets the Christmas Tree

Holidays ahead

The holidays are approaching and the Burnetts have been busy. We spent Thanksgiving in Uniontown with Pappy Al and Grandma as well as various aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. It was a good trip both there and back partially because of the loaned, portable DVD player which had Callum enthralled from start to finish of trip. He was amazed that the Wiggles and Elmo shrunk so small in order to fit in the backseat. We'll be buying one of those come tax return time. Many thanks to cousins Ben and Mindy for the loan. We all ate turkey, did some shopping and went to the movies which was great fun. Moving onto Christmas, we'll be busy shopping, baking, wrapping, decorating and getting ready for the season. We'll have some very special visitors this year since Gran and Grandad Burnett are making another trip across the pond to spend Christmas week with us. I think they'll be amazed at Callum's development and growth. A new and cute thing he does every morning is to sing a song with me. Nothing elaborate but I've begun singing a song "Shoes on, shoes on, time to put our shoes on" to get him to sit down while I tie his shoes. Callum now sings it too "Shoes on, shoes on". Good times. Best of luck to all of you with the madness of the season. May you have peace and joy with friends, family and co-workers leading up to the big day.

Thanksgiving Greetings

Hi everyone. I'd like to share some Thanksgiving Greetings in advance of next week as well as give an update into recent events. Callum is doing very well. He turned 18 months November 2 and, like always, has been lots of fun. His vocabulary has exploded and his first simple sentences are flowing. My personal favorite was "You Bad" which was directed to me when I wouldn't give him something that he wanted. I was blown away by his comprehension of this sentence that I burst out laughing, which in turn, made him laugh. He's also started jumping or at least doing his very best to get off the ground. Normally one foot stays planted but it is so funny to watch him do these little hops. Another quark of my small son is his hoarding behaviors. To deal with his separation anxiety, every day he will select one item to take with him to daycare. This item changes every day and some days is more ideal than others. Good items are cheap plastic toys, an old calculator and his new gloves. Bad items are his large plastic rake, his new Percy the Train and the baby monitor. When we get to daycare, I usually have to pry these things away from him because outside "toys" cannot be brought into the classroom. I really don't care about the bad items because if they get lost or broken -who cares? The good items I actually want taken care of. The daycare staff now know this behavior and help me every day to distract him from his beloved possession. This is why they will be getting some really awesome Christmas presents. Callum has also taken to longer stories like "I Love You Stinky Face" and "Slinky Malinky". We've tried a few of the Mister Men books but they are a bit long given the fact that he wants them read 4-5 times before bed. His energy is never ending and his laps around the house always make us laugh. I'll try to post some new pictures soon. Callum also survived his second haircut yesterday as well as his family photo on Sunday. We'll be well into December before we know it! This year I am incredibly thankful for all of the blessings we have been given in the current state the economy. We are both thankful for our jobs including some recent good news on the job end for Iain. We continue to be thankful for our health and the health of our family and friends. Finally, the Burnetts would like to wish health and easy arrivals to the new babies that will join our families in both November and April. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

The past couple of weeks have been very busy to say the least. October and November are very busy times for me at work and we've been keeping busy on the weekends. Callum also went through a phase of about 10 days of getting up before 5:30 a.m. There was even once when I had to coax him back to sleep at 2 a.m. by laying on the floor in his room because he thought it was time to get up and go watch Big Bird. This was pretty painful but we've pushed bedtime back by 30 minutes which has been helping him sleeping through the night until at least 6:30 a.m. I have no idea how tonight's time change will screw up his sleep pattern but we'll see how it goes.

Last weekend, Jen, Jeff and Dante came to visit. Dante and Callum had a great time playing together as well as enjoying the annual Shippensburg Halloween parade on Saturday night. Although Dante is almost a year older than Callum, the two of them hit it off and loved chasing one another around the house as well as sharing the 'ol Mickey rider.

The borough of Shippensburg designated Thursday as the night for goblins and ghosts so we took Callum Trick or Treating for the first time. He walked happily to at least a dozen houses and very willingly accepted candy into his pumpkin. After making a round up and down our street, we returned home to hand out candy for an hour. Callum loved having the kids come up to the house and watching Mommy and Daddy give out candy. He also had his first Smarties and M&M's (that we know of) to eat as his evening snack. That definitely won't become a regular part of his diet at this age but I figured he deserved at have at least one taste of candy from his efforts walking around town.

Callum also had a party at daycare and came home with more candy than any child should ever get at age 18 months. Iain's volunteered to be the family taster and tackle this feat. As long as the weather holds out, we're going to a fall festival at his daycare in about an hour. This will be our last little bit of family Halloween fun. It's been a great holiday, and after Callum goes to bed tonight, Iain and I plan to watch some horror movies- we have the Birds and the Omen on DVD all ready for tonight. Happy Halloween!

Ongoing October

I've finally managed to find a Halloween costume for Callum. I bought one a few weeks ago but it turned out to be slightly too small and I figured that he wasn't going to shrink between now and Halloween so best to take it back. I went back to the local kid's consignment store and found a bear costume that fits much better. I'm a little worried that the material that lines the costume is a bit too itchy but we'll just see what happens. Given the hideous weather we've been having in South Central PA, it should be plenty warm enough for the annual Halloween parade and daycare party as well as Trick or Treating. I'm not 100% sure Callum will Trick or Treat this year but we'll see a bit closer to the time. We may just make a trip to Aunt Karen and Uncle Tedd's house and to a few of their neighbors. Since the last post, we hosted Pappy Al and Grandma and the three of us, without Callum and Iain, ventured into D.C. for a tour of the city. Despite the spiting rain, it was a great day out. Callum also demonstrated his love for his grandparents the next day by throwing a holy fit when they left. I've never seen him behave that way when leaving anyone other than me or Iain so it was a bit of a surprise. But it's nice to see the bond! We may take them up on babysitting a bit more often when we make it into Uniontown. Callum's add some new words and phrases- yes phrases!- to his vocabulary. He refers to Elmo from Sesame Street as "'Mo" and "Appy" for Big Bird (don't ask). Today, Callum said "Peek A Boo" and also regularly says "Bye bye, Dadda", "Bye bye Shuster". It is so cool to hear him put these things together! He's also taken to animals and their noises. He can meow like a cat, bark like a dog, and roar like a lion when asked. I'm sure his development is on par for any other 17 month old but I think the progress children make is just so amazing. Our all time favorite saying is "Goal!!!" in which he raises his hands over his head to cheer on his soccer team.

September

So far so good for this autumn. We've been enjoying the company of friends and family while watching our little guy grow and learn, learn, learn. Callum appears to be part child and part sponge. His vocabulary has taken off and he's able to catch on and repeat words constantly. Today he learned "please" which is always nice to hear! Some challenges we have faced include biting, as in Callum bites others, as well as long days for all of us. We had a week when Callum was being sent home with a note almost every day which addressed his biting of other children. After three or four days of this, we finally got a note that Iain and I both reacted to in the same way- "Thank goodness- someone bit him". Funny enough we haven't had any notes since someone else's kid bit Callum- maybe the repeated time outs and someone else's fangs turned him off to biting. Of course, he's still biting at home but it's usually when he is very angry or very happy to see me. Callum's current favorite things to do are pushing his toys around the house, feeding the cats, reading books and playing outside. We went to Stoner's Dairy Farm for an outing today and Callum had a blast. He rode a pony, pet animals at the petting zoo, picked a pumpkin, and walked his balloon dog. I was impressed with his patience while waiting in lines as well as his desire to spend time with all of the animals. Iain and I are really enjoying this aspect of parenting. He's definitely at a fun age- despite the random biting and occasional tantrum. We'll be planning now for visits from Pappy and Grandma as well as Jen, Jeff and Dante in a few weeks. Then, my second favorite holiday, Halloween! YAY! We need to figure out a costume for Callum but we'll figure something out. Hope you enjoy the rest of this gorgeous weekend!

Labor Day

Callum's incorporated some new words into his vocabulary over the past three weeks. Some of them include shoes, Shuster (our cat), off/on, and Pappy. Pappy came to visit last weekend and Callum very quickly caught onto his name which was cool. That particular weekend we spent time with Pappy, enjoyed the Corn Festival and went to a BBQ at Aunt Karen and Uncle Tedd's house. I also went into work on both Saturday and Sunday since the semester had just began and there was student programming to be done. The work week was long because I worked all last weekend, but we've managed to relax quite a bit this weekend while also spending time with Callum and doing some DIY. Well Iain did DIY. Callum's recently started getting into Sesame Street and he has one favorite episode entitled "Singing Day". The Muppets sing throughout most of the show so it keeps his attention. It's a relief to have a way to distract him especially early in the morning when the last thing you want to do is push him around on his Mickey rider. He's also taken to several of the songs and dances around when they come on. Callum's also caught onto some sign language from the show. I wish we had more time to do that sort of stuff with him, but I know he's learning and developing just fine. He's now running more than walking and understands pretty much everything we instruct him on. Iain also taught him how to feed the cats kitty treats and they had great fun doing that yesterday. I was worried that Callum would eat some but he really enjoyed throwing them for the cats. It has been a good weekend and now we have a short work week to look forward to. The weather's even starting to cool off so we'll officially be into my favorite time of year- AUTUMN. YAY! My fall decor is going up as soon as Callum sets off to bed tonight.

Summer Wrap Up

Summer is coming to a close for me as of tomorrow because the semester at work unofficially begins. New students move in on Thursday and student workers return tomorrow. I am thrilled for a new year to begin.

Iain and I had a blast in D.C. celebrating his birthday in the rain that soaked the city. We attended a MLS game and fortunately had seats which were just under the pavilion so we didn't end up drenched. We did throw back a few drinks and cheered on any player that did anything remotely exciting. The level of play in the U.S. isn't quite as exhilarating as the European soccer that fills our house every Saturday and Sunday from August until um, the following August. Or so it seems like. The game wasn't the most uplifting event ever but when anyone made a bit of an effort, we all cheered. The stadium was about halfway filled and the D.C. United fans were a lot of fun. I did see David Beckham. He did get a lot of cheers from the crowd but I also heard a lot of catcalls like "Pretty Boy!" Mean people.

On Sunday morning, we walked around a little more checking out the American History Museum and some other random sights. I personally loved the exhibit on the American presidents and first ladies. Pretty amazing stuff. We also stopped at the Smithsonian Castle and saw the "pile of stuff" from the movie, Night at the Museum-Battle at the Smithsonian.

Callum had an awesome time visiting with Aunt Karen and Uncle Tedd. He played, slept and ate well. They went on walks, in the jacuzzi and spent time with cousin AJ and dog Megan. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family members to keep our little one on occasion! Callum's recent 15 month check up went very well. Dr. Kauffman was very pleased with his health and development. He now weighs in at just under 25 lbs and is 31 & 1/4 inches tall. He's even had his flu shot so hopefully no more appointments until his 18 month exam. The nurse complimented him on his lungs after she took his height and head measurements.

On a final note, a big THANKS to the anonymous sponsor of my new, red, Paula Deen griddle! I was able to make the boys French toast this weekend. It was worth all 7 points I had to give up in order to enjoy it. I hope to make many more delicious breakfasts and grilled cheese sandwiches with it!

I hope you've had a fantastic summer and that you manage to squeeze some fun in before Labor Day. I'll be welcoming exchange students, helping with new student Welcome Week and running a midnight BINGO extravaganza. Can't get better than that! Heck, I'd attend if I could to win a Wii.

Happy Birthday Iain!

I'm taking 5 minutes between packing and laundry to wish a big Happy Birthday to my hubby. He turns the big 3-2 tomorrow. When I asked him how he felt about the year, he said "Good! 32 is my favorite number!". Works for me! Happy Birthday Baby! We love you.

The two of us, sans Callum, are off to Washington D.C. tomorrow for an afternoon/evening away to see D.C United MLS Team take on L.A. Galaxy. Iain's excited for the game; I'm excited for the possibility of seeing David Beckham in the flesh. Callum's excited for a swim in Aunt Karen and Uncle Tedd's jacuzzi. It should be a great day!

Sweetest Place on Earth?

The Burnetts have been busy with trips, travels and adventures. Some better than others. On the positive note, we were able to spend the weekend in Pittsburgh visiting Jen and Jason Koisor. Callum managed to stay awake on the car ride there despite our attempts at the bath and pajama routine. When we were 25 minutes from their house, he passed out. It was a quick assembly of the Pack 'N Play and he was into dreamland. Dreamland abruptly ended at 6 a.m. the next day. On Saturday, while the boys ate and drank at a restaurant that is named after owls, the girls and Callum ventured to a REAL mall. We don't have these in South Central PA. I like South Central PA a lot. But I Miss Real Malls. You know, the kind with at least four department stores, 10 shoe stores, a merry-go-round, a food court, elevators (elevators = more than one floor), masses of people, bad parking, but GOOD SHOPPING. Where you see a clearance rack in Macy's that has shoes that are marked down from $275. There is nothing in the Chambersburg Mall that does not plug into the wall that costs $275. But I digress. The girls and Callum ventured through the mall including a brief stop at Victoria's Secret in which Callum fell in love with the Pink Dog.

He was thrilled to find a dog his size that he could pat and pull its tail. Geno, the Kosior's dog, wasn't as receptive. After bonding with the Pink Dog, Callum pulled some tank tops on the floor and we quickly exited.

That evening we had a fiesta dinner and caught up on girl talk. The boys came home late. On Sunday, we hung out, drank coffee and then headed out at lunchtime. This time Callum did sleep. The week ensued and on the following Friday, we made an attempt to visit Hershey Park. I've come to appreciate who Callum is as he is affectionate, funny, loving and rambunctious. He is also determined, often focused on one thing and hard to handle. But we love him. Callum did not do well at Hershey. The weather was 83 degrees and in total, we likely walked close to 10 miles. I do not over exaggerate because a friend just went, wore her pedometer and walked 9. During our 10 miles, I held Callum for approximately 7.5 of them. He didn't want to walk or ride in his stroller, but rather have Mommy carry him. He also didn't want Mommy out of his sight for a second. This made is hard to even go to the bathroom without a major meltdown. By the time we left the park at 6:45 p.m., I felt like I had run a marathon. We won't be taking Callum to an amusement park again any time soon. The highlight of my day was his second nap. See pic.

His 15 month check up is tomorrow so we'll find out his stats but the child must be 25 lbs. at least. His two new words, that no one but Mom and Dad would understand, are "again" and "Big Bird". He likes Sesame Street which is a bit of a relief some evenings!

Haircut

Callum wiggled and squirmed through his first haircut but everyone involved managed to make it out of Shear Delite unscathed. Julie, my stylist, gave him two thumbs up for his behavior so I guess he hasn't won the award for "worst child". That'll be next time perhaps?

Weekend Recap

Our weekend consisted of relaxing, some DIY around the house and more relaxing. It was a nice time because we were tired from the week post-vacation. Iain managed to get the grass cut, hang our new blinds and curtain rods as well as getting rid of junk that had been around the house and desperately needed to go into the bin. We did make an impromptu trip to the Shippensburg pool so that Callum could play in the water. His most recent obsession is water which I believe stemmed from the trip to the lake. He must be the first child whose mother has ever told him that it was time to stop washing his hands. Callum had a great time at the pool because the baby part had a little section of running water flowing from the ground up and into the air. He played there for a good 20 minutes until his little lips started trembling. It wasn't that cold but cold enough for his body to issue a physical response (no mom, I'm not cold). Another new behavior in Callum's life, not positive, is hitting. Yes, my child is 15 months old and he hits his mom, dad and apparently other children at daycare. I warned his teacher today about the behavior and she mentioned casually that he'd been put into time out the previous week for the same thing. It's hard to hear those kinds of things but I'm glad they are correcting his actions. Callum only had two timeouts at home all weekend and so far, they seem to be doing the trick. The question you may have is- how do they get a 15 month old to sit through a time out? Well, he goes into his highchair facing nothing exciting (we're out of sight) and we set the microwave timer for one minute. According to my toddler behavior book, one minute is for one year olds, two minutes for two year olds, etc. It also said that its important for children to hear the buzz of the timer signaling the end of time. It has helped and we only do it if he has repeatedly broken rules AND we've counted to 3. He's actually reacted to the 1... 2... 3... and lessened bad behavior. Oh the joys! Our next adventure will be his first real haircut on Thursday. We're taking him to my stylist and I'm anxious to see what she can do with his bad-do. He's had two home haircuts that have thankfully grown out but all in all, he looks like the kid who just needs a haircut. Hopefully we'll all survive. You can kind of see his wild baby mullet below:

Relaxing in VA

The Sloan Family, including some Burnetts and a Schuessler, ventured to Lake Anna Virginia for a week away from the world. The trip was very fun and included some awesome meals, good wine, great company, sun, sand, a ride on a boat and some sleepless nights/early mornings for Iain and I. There appeared to be a rooster outside of the window next to Callum's Pack N' Play which tapped on the window at 5:55 a.m. every morning so he'd pop his head up and get one of us up. His naps were also pretty short due to a new environment and slightly more sounds than usual- although his cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents were great at keeping the noise to a minimum. On the way home on Sunday, he slept for 2 hours and 40 minutes so I knew he was exhausted. He also slept until 7 a.m. the past two mornings but I am guessing that by posting this, he will be conscious tomorrow at 5:55 a.m. Callum especially loved the sand and lake water at the local state park which we visited three times during the week. At first, he was a bit afraid but then he played, played, played in the sand and also in the water. We managed to keep him sans sunburn even though both Iain and I had charred backs by Sunday. Lake Anna was a unique place and our rental property was equally different. Don't get me wrong, Lake Anna was gorgeous but there was absolutely nothing to do for like 45 minutes of a drive. Relaxing but kind of boring for those of us who are reasonably active and desiring a trip out of the house. Our rental house was amazingly huge with tons of space, furniture and things to do (hot tub, jacuzzi bath, PlayStation 2, TV's, 4 grills, screened in porch, etc. etc. etc.). However, it was strange in the sense that it was filled with stuff in all of the wrong places- excessive blankets and boxes in the bedroom closets, random dishes and junk in the pantry, random stuffed animals in the bedrooms. Very odd compared to every other rental property I've ever stayed in. Regardless of the strangeness of the house, we had a great time and probably could have stayed a few more days easily. Unfortunately there was nothing but houses, fishing boats and lake for 50 some miles so we opted to head home. We would definitely take Callum on a similar trip again though because other than the early mornings, he did extremely well traveling. Our next major adventure will be a trip to Hershey Park sometime next month. Until next time, enjoy the pics!