Bye-bye binky!

Just thought I should announce that today we officially ended Josh's love affair with his binky.  He's always been a binky boy, and it's actually been really nice for Ryan and me because it's always seemed to calm him down.  When he was around a year, though, old we decided it was time to drop the binky but didn't really do much to make that happen.  We did get to where he would only use it for nap time and bedtime, but being the loving mother I am, there were times I would give it to him when he asked for it during the non-nap/bedtimes....:) Anyway, we wanted to drop it when he entered nursery (at church), but that was around the time we took a loooong road trip to Virginia, and I wasn't about to go on a car trip with out his binky.  Then right after that, Josh got sick, and I don't know about any other parents out there, but that's about the last situation where I would want to take away a comfort item.  Then we went out to Utah for the holidays, and once again we didn't want to be without the binky. 

Now that we're home and adjusted back to New York time, we figured now would be a good time to take care of business.  Today we, or rather I, cut the end of the binky off, like so many wise parents suggested, and when Josh asked for it, we told him it was broken and showed it to him.  I was surprised how hard it was for me to cut it.  Haha, I felt like such a mean parent, like I was cutting up his favorite teddy bear or something.  When he saw it, he was pretty distraught, and kept saying "broken.....fix it", and then looking to me and saying, "help"!  He was basically pleading with us to save his binky, but we sadly had to tell him there was no going back, the binky was gone.  He was sad for a little while, but later had fun playing around with the maimed binky.  At bedtime he asked for it about 72 times, according to Ryan, but once Ryan stopped replying to Josh's pleas and was simply quiet, Josh came to terms and fell asleep, all in about 5 to 10 mins.

I know this is a lengthy post for such an odd topic, but the parents out there who have binky babies will understand how exciting and scary this event truly is.  I know I shouldn't be celebrating yet, since Josh went down only 1.5 hours ago and this is the first night of his separation, but I'll take any small victory we can get.  I'll keep all you eager readers posted on how Josh does through the long haul.  I'm hoping for an easy read...I guess only time will tell. 

Where Do I Start?

When you go this long without blogging, you're bound to have a lot to talk about. Let's talk about what's at hand. As I sit here during halftime of the Bull Crap Series (aka the BCS), I can't help but think to myself how I can't wait for Obama to take office. WHAT??? You heard me. The guy plans on building a basketball court in the White House, how bad could he be? Maybe I'll get around to visiting the place now.

Actually, the biggest hope I have for Obama making his famous "Change" comes in the form of the aforementioned BCS. Never has a more ridiculous method of determining a "champion" existed. Obama wants a real playoff for college football. That right there scores some major points for him in my book. In my opinion the Utah Utes should be the national champs. This coming from a big BYU fan. Rick Reilly of ESPN is brilliant. Here is what he wrote about it.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest. Here's what we've been up to lately:

(UL) Josh and I during the biggest winter storm I've ever seen in NYC. I'm not kidding, I've never seen more snow since we've lived here.
(UR) Josh in desperate need of a haircut.
(ML) Josh wanted a lot of socks on. He kept askin', so we kept givin'. I think he's got 9 pairs.
(MM) My son is a baller. He can just about dunk it.
(MR) Josh & his cousins Avery & Hayden. Josh followed Avery everywhere.
(BL) Josh's new preferred method of sleeping. A sweater, beanie & binky.
(BR) Christmas dinner at the Farnsworth's... buffet style. Mmm.

We had a blast on our trip to Utah, and wish we could've stayed another week. It was great to see our families and to spend some quality time with them. My little sister Ashley made a major confession, and my little brother Matt taught me a new phrase I thought I should pass on. We were also able to talk to Katie's brother Tom who is on his mission in Germany.

First, let me share Ashley's confession. I apologize to anyone who ate over at my house when I was in high school. Ashley told us that after we all went to school in the morning, she would do the dishes. Pretty good for a pre-school aged kid, right? Except for the fact that she would lick the dishes clean, and put them back in the cupboard. I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Second, here is a new saying for the next time you almost win a game with friends. When playing the Mexican Train Game, my brother Matt came within 1 tile of winning. He wasn't able to play the tile, and went on to set the all-time record for the worst score in a round. His reaction when tallying up his score: "I was so close I could almost lick it!" I didn't know that's how the saying goes... And what is with these kids and licking?

We were also able to hang out with a bunch of friends and their little families. Every single little kid there was a boy between 1-2 years old roughly, with 2 more boys on the way, and 1 yet to be determined (unless someone else is holding out on us...). It was good to see you all!

Our trip back was very eventful. An hour and a half into our flight, we decided to feed Josh dinner. I set him on my lap, and Katie started feeding him applesauce. We had only gotten a few bites in, when he started acting like he was going to throw up. I told Katie to hurry and grab a ziplock bag so that if he did throw up, I could catch it in the bag. Crisis averted. Almost. For a split second, I turned my head to look at Katie, and wouldn't you know it, he threw up all over himself, and all over me (none in the bag). Don't worry, Katie got away without a spot on her, and my pants and sweater acted as a natural reservoir in collecting all the vomit, so the seats stayed clean too! It was awful, but we were lucky enough to have the nicest guy on the whole plane sitting next to us. He even took Josh's clothes to the bathroom and rinsed them out! Who does that?

Thanks everyone for a great break. Hopefully we can do it again soon!