Don't Let This Face Fool You...

Yeah, you may think he's all cute and smiley, but this little guy has been giving us major headaches lately. You already know about his sleep issues, which are still on going. The other night Dave got maybe 3 hours of sleep total before Sutton was up for the day. But he's been a real mischief maker lately.

Back when we lived in Arizona, Sutton would get up early on the weekends and demand his breakfast. So we foolishly taught him how to get his yogurt out of the fridge and bring it to us, so we could open it for him. He likes those Go-Gurt ones; you know the ones in the tube. It was so easy-we could stay in bed longer and he could have his breakfast. Win-win.
Now that he's gotten older, he has also figured out how to rip the tops off the yogurts himself. So the other day, he got into the fridge and ate all of the yogurts while Dave was asleep. All 12 of them. So we tried moving it to the way back of the fridge. No luck-repeat.

But wait-there's more!

Recently, I had the "brilliant" (sarcasm) idea of getting Sutton involved while I cooked. He would stand on his little potty stool right at counter level and watch while I made dinner, or something like that. He loved the idea of "helping" me, so much that anytime I make dinner now, or stand at the counter for more than a few seconds, he runs into the bathroom shouting "I get my tool (stool)!" And he brings it into the kitchen, and says "I frying (trying) to help you." Very cute, right?

Except it took a very dark turn from there.

So, one day while Dave was taking a shower, Sutton decided that he wanted to "cook." So he opened the fridge, took out the eggs and was cracking them all over the coffee table!!! Somehow, Dave managed to catch him before he got to the third egg. And no, I don't have pictures. But you can use your imagination.

We decided that it was time to get a fridge latch. We were hesitant to get one at first, since this is a rental, but that little incident prompted us to action. Dave went out at like 9 at night and picked one up, along with another 8 pack of Go-Gurts.

The next day, I get a text message at work, telling me that Operation Latch was a failure. While Dave was in the bathroom (again) Sutton managed to pull the latch off the fridge and help himself to the brand new yogurts. AND he pulled the eggs out again and this time-cracked them all over the carpet.

Sigh. So now, we have the latch on the fridge, and we have to put the baby gate up across the doorway to the kitchen.

He also likes to play with my camera, and take lots of pictures. Most of them don't make much sense, but he managed to catch one of me.
Many parents in cold climates are going through the same thing. I know that he's bored, and it's no fun to unpack, or clean the house. And you can only watch Pixar movies so many times. But with the weather being so yucky (cold and rainy) we can't think of much for him to do.
Luckily, we had a brief spurt of sunny weather (still cold, but at least the sun was out) so Dave took him to the park. And spent an hour and a half there. Think he was trying to tire him out?




I'll write more soon, but I need to go. It's quiet in the other room, and that's never a good sign.

Do you think Sutton's wife will mind her in-laws sleeping in the bed with them?

Wow, that is one long title. But it's fairly accurate. Because at this point, we'll be going to college with Sutton, so we can continue sharing a bed.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am a fan of co-sleeping. But only up to a point. When you're repeatedly being abused in your sleep by your offspring, it's time to move them to their own bed.
You may recall the trouble we have had with Sutton's sleeping situation. Ever since he moved out of his crib and figured out that he can get down-it's been impossible to keep him in his bed at night.
Even in AZ, he would get up once or twice a night, and we would have to get him back into his room, and lay down with him until he fell back asleep. Then we would sneak out as quietly as possible. Repeat several times.
Then, with the whole moving situation, he started sharing a bed with us. He LOVED that-we didn't. In a queen size bed, one 6'4'' man, one squirmy little boy who likes to sleep perpendicular, and one dog who resents the little boy for stealing his spot equals not a restful night's sleep.
When we moved to Seattle, we decided it was time to get Sutton a real big boy bed. He had been using his convertible crib and he only had a few inches left before his feet hit the other side. So we hit up IKEA and purchased a bed frame and a mattress. Add in some cute boy bedding that I found at Wal-Mart, and I think his room looks adorable. Here are some photos (please note: I'm only showing areas that are relatively clean. We still have crap everywhere.)
A view of Sutton's bed with its cute new bedding. And yes, I did make the bed just for this picture!Another view of the bed.I found this great cube organizer at Target and I love the baskets! I have decided that I now love the color combo of navy blue, gray and orange. It's the colors on Sutton's lamp and it accents his blue bed and rug really well.

So, you would think that with all this new stuff, we could try to get him to sleep in his room, right? WRONG! Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping him in his room AND in his bed? My dad has already suggested Benedryl, just to keep him a little sleepy. Don't really want to drug the kid; but I'm open to suggestions.

At least we know that Auggie likes it!

Did I Mention How Much I Hate Unpacking?

Well, we made through the first week and mid-way through the second! I wish I could say that it has been smooth sailing, but that's never the case, is it?

I will say that having someone else do the packing for me has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side, I could sit back and play on Facebook while two men wrapped all of our earthly belongings and packed them into boxes. It was great that I didn't have to do any heavy lifting, other than dragging our suitcases into my car. It wasn't so great that the movers had a crappy labeling system and packed things willy-nilly, so they didn't really make sense. For two days now, I have been missing the lid to my coffeepot and my withdrawal symptoms are KILLER.

The trip up to Seattle was relatively drama-free. Auggie suffered through the plane ride in his crate, which he DID NOT like. But he's never really been in a crate before, so we knew that was going to be the case. The rental car reserved for us was way too small, so we had to upgrade, and we found our way to our hotel. We stayed one night into the Seattle Westin, and then moved to an extended stay hotel in Lynnwood. We had hoped that our stuff would be delivered during the week, so we wouldn't need to stay the whole week. But it wasn't delivered until the last day of the delivery promise window.

We're finding minor problems with the house, which is to be expected, since it was built in 1960. For example, the heat doesn't seem to be working correctly. Yes, it works, but some rooms are much colder than others. One of those is Sutton's room. Sigh-what a fail that was. We worked so hard to make his room so nice, and it is freezing in there. We got his new big-boy bed at IKEA, and new bedding, etc. And he wants to sleep in our bed, because it's so cold in his room. And he's been sleeping with us for almost two weeks now. I am hoping with all my might that we can get him to start sleeping in his room, because let me tell you, that boy KICKS. And thrashes. And slaps you in the face in the middle of the night. WTF?

And we got snow last night. And us poor AZ folk had no snow equipment. No shovel, no nothing. Our cars were buried. Dave had to dig my car out, to go and buy a snow shovel. And then spent the next 20 minutes shoveling our walk, and our neighbor's. And you know what? He said he ENJOYED it!! Well, then, he can do it every time!

I'll be sure to post more soon. For now, it's just nice to get things back to normal.

T minus 6 days...

I thought I was doing OK with the thought of leaving my family until tonight. My sister decided to have everyone over to her house, to have a family dinner before we leave on Saturday. And I noticed two things tonight:

1) Over the years, it has gotten easier for our family to get together. Ever since my parents got divorced over 10 years ago; family occasions have a slightly strained and stressed atmosphere. Yes, everyone makes an effort to get along, but you can feel the tension and uneasiness in the air. Not tonight. Everyone got along wonderfully. Everyone talked to each other. My mother asked my step-sister how she was doing. My dad talked to my step-father about his computer. Stuff like that. And it was great.

Last week, we got together with some friends, and my friend Bryanne was having trouble with her in-laws. They were having trouble being in the same room with each other, which made Christmas difficult. And I mentioned that sometimes family just has to put their differences aside, to make an effort for everyone else. And that's what happened tonight. It made me really happy.

2) And it made me really sad. It hit home tonight how lucky I am to have such a good relationship with my family. And how lucky I am to have them living so close.

A Very Happy Birfday...

Well, I am back from my 10 day long start in Seattle. I think we've found a house (waiting on final confirmation,) I met all my co-workers, and saw my little cubicle. I'm sure that I will have lots more to say about my time away from my family (for those that saw my posts on Facebook.)

Right now, it's all about this guy.
Who changes every single day. I swear, I think he grew two inches while I was gone. He's grown up so quickly, it makes me a little nostalgic. Our teeny tiny little baby with the giant feet is gone. In his place is a tall, smart, talkative little boy with giant feet.

Who set the table tonight for the first time, and did it correctly.

Who devoured his plate of chicken, broccoli, and carrots tonight, and asked for seconds. Last week, you couldn't get him to eat anything but PB&J and hot dogs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing. But it's the third night in a row that he has asked for seconds at dinner.

Who runs to the door so happy to see me, and is so affectionate. He loves to give hugs and kisses.

Happy third birthday, Sutton Button. Daddy and I love you.

Thankful...

In all the craziness of the next few days; I will be noticeably absent from blogging. Just giving you all a heads-up. Here is my schedule for the next week or so.

Friday-Day After Thanksgiving. Otherwise known as insanity in the retail world. Eat your Wheaties and get your sleep. You're gonna need it.
Saturday-See previous comment.
Sunday-I work from 8-5. Try to squeeze in some quality family time before I leave. Attempt to start packing.
Monday-work 1-10. Freak out because it's about 10 degrees in Seattle and all my nice work clothes are short sleeved. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO? I AM GOING TO FREEZE, THAT'S WHAT!!
Tuesday-work 8-5. Say goodbye to everyone at work. Try not to be a blubbering mess.
Wednesday-leave for Seattle at 7 AM.

I am going to try to blog my new adventure when I can. But lack of computer access may make that tough. Maybe I'll bring my iPod, to see if I can blog that way.

In the meantime, I am thankful for all of the good luck and warm wishes being sent our way. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.
Until then, I am also thankful for these two. Who have supported me without fail in any endeavor I pursue.
Dave-I love you more every day. Thank you for allowing me to chase my dreams, and I love being your wife.
Sutton-I consider it a blessing to be your mom, and watch you become the crazy, lovable, independent little man you are today.

Moving on up...

You heard it here first folks. The MacDonald family is packing up and moving, much to my mother's dismay and heartbreak.

I have accepted a new position in the company, and we are moving to Seattle, WA.

Am I excited? Yes. Am I scared? Hells yes. Is this the right thing for my career and for my family? Yes, and Dave agrees. I need to do this to advance my career, and the job market is Phoenix is dismal, to say the least. Dave seems to get more and more discouraged every day. So we made the decision when I first applied for this job; that if I got the position, we would move.

Now, this wasn't an easy decision. I have been spoiled my entire life. I have always had my immediate family close to me. I went to college only 20 minutes away. I lived with my sister during my last year of college. I talk to my mom about once a day. And my mother has watched Sutton for one day a week for the first two years of his life.

I think that's the hardest part for her. That she won't get to see him every week. But thankfully, there is Skype. And phone calls. And as my mother puts it, she'll come visit him every six weeks.

In my heart, I know that this is the best decision, and I'm really excited.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to miss my mommy.

This next week is going to be crazy. I'm due in Seattle by the first of December. I'll post more when I can. Hopefully, I will have some sort of computer access when I'm there.