2020
December
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Trick-or-treating, 2020 style

With the number of local COVID cases practically doubling day after day leading up to Halloween, I had been torn about whether or not we should go trick-or-treating.

Then on Halloween I saw that nearly everybody on our street set up a “trick-or-treat” table at the end of their driveway with candy scattered about. We did the same thing. That way kids could still parade around and get candy without having to interact with people at the door or stick their hands in a shared bowl.

With that being the case, we decided to head on out — even though both boys were already so tired out from the party earlier in the day. Jackson was super excited at first, but only made it to a handful of houses… errr, tables? Definitely a different experience this year, but fun nonetheless!

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Baby bed

Luc’s favorite spot for his morning nap is the very first dog bed I bought him when he was a puppy. It’s way too small for him now, but somehow he always manages to curl up inside.

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Ouch!

Jackson: “Daddy, would you like to join us for story time?” 

Justin: “Sure!”

Jackson: “Well, sorry. You can’t.”

(Slams door) 

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Only for dad

Came home from the dentist, and Justin said Beckham literally fell asleep on his activity mat. He just picked him up and put him in the crib, and he went to sleep no problem.

COME ON!

It’s been SO hard for me lately to get Beckham to sleep. Both at naps and at bedtime. He doesn’t like the paci any more. He doesn’t like to nurse to sleep. He doesn’t like to be rocked.

We’ve started a bedtime routine, which is supposed to help them know that it’s time to sleep, but it seems to just let him know that it’s time to scream.

I can’t figure this one out!

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Alternate message

Daniel Tiger, one of Jackson’s TV shows, has a lot of little songs and rhymes to teach all kinds of great lessons for preschoolers. One of them — meant to help the kids transition when play time is over — goes: “That was fun, but now it’s done.”

Sounds awesome, right?!

Well Jackson keeps ripping toys out of Beckham’s hands, singing “that was fun, but now it’s done!”

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1st visit to the dentist

I had Jackson’s first dental visit booked just before the pandemic started last year, but I was a spaz and missed the appointment. The re-scheduled date ended up falling during the stay-at-home order, so that one got canceled, too.

He was probably long over due, considering he is over 3 years old now, but finally we made it in.

And as if seeing the dentist isn’t nerve-racking enough, the poor kid had to wear a mask and then deal with all the people wearing face shields and loads of protective gear, along with all their regular drills and scary gadgets.

He did so great, though!

Sat perfectly, followed all their directions, answered all their questions. The dentist and hygienist were both super nice and slowly guided him through the process. All in all, smooth sailing.

And thankfully, no cavities!

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Choose wisely

One of these bowls is cinnamon and sugar while the other is cinnamon and salt.

(Jackson took the initiative to start baking without me.)

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One year ago

I was buying Halloween candy and it dawned on me that it was right around this time last year when I found out I was pregnant with Beckham!!

Of course I remembered because at that time the only thing I was able to eat was leftover Halloween candy. Specifically the Hersey’s cookies and cream bars, which would momentarily get rid of the nasty taste that was always in my mouth.

I didn’t buy those again this year. Too scared it will bring back that taste, haha.

So wild, though, to think that it was little Beckham in there that whole time! 🙂

Also very wild to think back to a normal (pre-pandemic) Halloween.

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Outside only, please

One COVID perk: Not having to clean when people come over!

(BTW, the one bare spot behind Beckham is where I was sitting. And the one bare spot behind Jackson is where I just picked up a train set that was there. And five minutes later he noticed it was gone and was asking for it.)

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Uh oh

Jackson figured out how to unlock the door to the outside. We may need to get a Michael Lock over here.

(The “Michael Lock” was a little fish hook lock we had on our front door growing up so that my younger brother Michael wouldn’t be able to escape out of the house…

We called it the “Michael Lock” and always had to remind one another to make sure the “Michael Lock” was on. )

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Stay away zana

Jackson: “You know what song is stuck in my head, Mommy?”

Me: “What song?”

Jackson: “The zana song.”

Me: “What’s the zana song? How does it go?”

Jackson: “Oh, sue zana! Don’t you come for me!”

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Step right up

Which station would you like?

We have a food station, puzzle station, dinosaur station, pumpkin station, monster station and excavating station.

This actually started from me being too lazy to clean the table when Jackson was ready for a new activity. I just kept pushing things off to the side, and then viola — the “stations” were born.

And turns out he actually loved moving back and forth between them all, haha.

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Haunted house

A little behind schedule, but we finally got the Halloween decorations up. We didn’t do the usual decor in the house this year (no Halloween party due to covid) but we did add more to the outside with new lights and a few more spiders. It turned out super cool!

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Nice try

Me: “OK, one more minute.”

Jackson: “And then after that minute, one more minute? And after those minutes, then A LOT of minutes?!”

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Who’s picking it up from who?!

Jackson will ask for something and then he always adds “or no?” at the end of the sentence. As in: “Can I have another fruit bar, or no?” or “Can I watch TV, or no?”

Justin and I realized we are both starting to talk like this now, too. Except while at work, at the doctor’s office, on the phone, etc. lol

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2 scoops. No wait, 3 scoops.

I seriously feel like I deserve an award at the end of each day for making it through.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ice cream!

Then it dawned on me… I think our family’s tradition of having an ice cream treat every night might have started with my grandma. And wasn’t I just wondering a few weeks ago how the heck she survived with six little kids?

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ice cream!

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