3 Feet of Snow, 2 Sled Rides, & Me in a Cardboard Box Manger

 Christmas morning we jumped in our car and headed to Vermont - I think I saw Santa's boots going up the chimney because we left so early in the morning. We got there in time for afternoon fun and I made my debut in the cousins' Christmas pageant - yep, I was cast as the baby Jesus. My cousins wanted to make sure I was comfortable in the manger so they let me choose my own costume (notice the sports shirt and striped socks) and allowed me to bring in a prop (my bottle). The play was awesome and contrary to popular anticipation, I never escaped from the manager during the show - see, I can follow directions.

Christmas night it began to snow...and snow...and snow. By the next night the white stuff was taller than me! After we dug out, we played and played and played some more. I tried sledding. For the record, my mom, while a slower sledder, went straight and A LOT further than my dad. My dad went much faster but we always spun out and ended sideways about 30 feet from where we began. Both were fun but I think if I could mix my mom's direction with my dad's wild style, it would be the perfect sled ride.

While I've only tasted snow in a few states so far, I must say I like the fluffiness of the Vermont snow - mmm, mmm, good. My cousins built an enormous snow fort - we're talking 30 feet in length - it was incredible.

My mom and dad played a lot of snow football and my dad used football as an excuse to dive into the snow head first - he's nuts.

This was a fantastic Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! We're headed to Vermont early Christmas morning (like 4am), and it's nearly midnight Christmas eve. So rather than write a lot of text for this blog, we're just including a few pictures of our December fun. Merry Christmas everyone! 

Countdown to Christmas

A few months ago we discovered some funny hash marks around the inside of Bodie's crib. We figured out Bodie was using his two bottom teeth - his only teeth - to gnaw on the sides of his crib. Dave said the marks looked like Bodie was stranded on a desert island and counting the days till he was rescued.

Recently those hash marks have shown up on the top of the wood around the crib. It was our first clue that Bodie is getting a few new teeth - on the top of his mouth. Secretly I think it's Bodie's countdown to Christmas - he can definitely feel the excitement.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm suppose to be worried about the wood he is eating or the damage it could do to his little teeth. Instead, those hash marks make me laugh every time I go to his crib, which probably sums up my parenting skills.

Santa?

So I went to visit Santa a few days ago. And while I'm told I met him last year, I was only a few days old and don't remember our encounter. First of all, the guy is big. And while he was very soft spoken and didn't bust out any billowing "Ho, Ho, Ho's" - he's still a bit intimidating. I mean the guy knows everything AND he's like 10 million years old.

I'm usually more than happy to hang out with strangers. Waiters and waitresses in the back of a restaurant, an unfamiliar dog at a park, or the random person standing behind us in line at the grocery store - I make friends with them all. But Santa...as you can see by the photo, he and I still have a bit more bonding to do. Good thing I've got a few more days to get on his "nice" list.

Update

Several people have asked how my Aunt Margo is doing since their car accident (See blog post "3am phone call") as well as how my Uncle Nick is doing in Afghanistan (See blog post "Hero"). So I thought I'd take a few minutes to provide you with an update. First, thanks for asking. We know a lot of people have added them to their prayers and you know what, that makes a BIG difference.

 Aunt Margo is a walking miracle - the walking part is a pretty big deal. At her last doctor's appointment he told her she was doing much better than they could have hoped and that no second surgery would be needed. He also told her she'd be getting moved into a soft neck brace sooner than expected. Here's a picture of her with her current neck "accessory." If you ask her how's she's doing she'll say she has no complaints and just goes on and on about how lucky she is...and I agree. We all feel pretty blessed to still have her. She posted her own blog about the car accident http://lybbfam.blogspot.com/  in case you want to check it out - it's appropriately titled "miracles." So I guess I need to get this walking stuff down so Aunt Margo and I can go for a walk really soon.

As for Uncle Nick, he sends us weekly updates and they always make us laugh. The latest update included pictures from their Thanksgiving. Apparently he decided to serve the troops ice cream - and he even wore a soda jerk hat....hmm, so many jokes here, but I'll just let you fill in the possible punchlines. Anyway, he continues to fix up the hurt soldiers and is meeting lots of cool people. We sure are lucky to have him too!

So keep the prayers and well wishes coming and before you know it, Aunt Margo will be back on her bike and Uncle Nick will be back in the U.S.

1 year = 4x the Size

It's official, I'm a number. One to be exact. Check out these pictures with my little wagon. One was taken today and the other was taken a few weeks after I was born. I'm four times bigger than I was a year ago - who am I, the Incredible Hulk?!?! (By the way, my mom says she NEVER hopes to be four times bigger, but I think it's pretty cool.)

I had my birthday party a few weeks ago, so tonight was a family birthday. They let me eat spaghetti and some chocolate cake. To state the obvious, I like food, and spaghetti and cake are no exception.

Bring on #2! 

Thanks

We headed to New York City for Thanksgiving to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. While I've never been alive for another Thanksgiving, this one seemed pretty cool. Our awesome friends, the Spencers, got us reservations at a restaurant on the parade route which ensured - rain or shine - we had a perfect viewing area. The restaurant even had a private section on the sidewalk so short people like me could catch all of the action.

The parade was fun. I liked the marching bands and the giant balloons the most. I tried to see it all, but that parade is LONG so I might have taken a little nap. Joan Rivers, Kanye West, ICarly, and Jessica Simpson were some of the mixed bag of celebrities on the floats (honestly, I have no idea who any of them are).

This holiday is cool. It reminds us to say thanks for everything we have - family, soccer balls, friends, toy trucks, sippy cups, books, fruit smoothies - I could go on and on. Anyway, if I haven't said it lately, thanks. My family and I are sure lucky to have you in our lives.

Best Morning Hair Competition - Vote!

My dad and I have pretty ridiculous hair in the morning. My mom says it sometimes looks like I've wrestled an alligator in my sleep. My dad says I'm a lot like him, and when it comes to crazy morning hair, I'd have to agree. I'm also a Piantanida, which means I'm competitive. So I think my morning hair is MUCH funnier than my dad's. My dad, of course, thinks HIS is better than mine. So we've decided to leave it up to you to decide - who's got the best (or perhaps worst) morning hair, me or my dad? 

"Seussville"

With my Utah grandparents in town last weekend, we celebrated my first birthday a bit early (the actual day is November 30th). We had a Dr. Seuss themed party complete with funny hats, flying kites, and wacky lawn cut outs.

 

My mom and dad channeled Van Gogh and painted a Cat in the Hat cut out so each kid got a photo with their head sticking through it. Using lots of bright colors they also painted a bunch of other Dr. Seuss signs including a "Once-ler" sign (from the Lorax book) and a "Zoo" sign (from Put Me in the Zoo).

The bigger kids played games including a socks race (from Fox in Sox) and a Thing 1 and Thing 2 relay (from The Cat in the Hat) while us little guys got pulled around in my new Radio Flyer wagon - thanks Grandma & Grandpa.

My Uncle Eduardo was the only adult to take the challenge to try and balance 10 hats at the same time (from I Wish that I had Duck Feet). If I put the ten hats on, you can't even see me. He got creative an actually did it! What a stud.

I got my first taste of cake and let's just say I'm a fan. Everyone thought I'd smash it or play with it, but boy were they wrong. I patiently ate every last delicious morsel and when it was gone, I even took a bite of my paper plate, just to make sure I got it all. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.

I definitely could get use to this birthday stuff, bring on #2!

Nothing is Better than Grandparents

God sure knew what he was doing when he invented grandparents. They are so much fun. My Utah grandparents flew out to see me this past week and we had a blast. We played at the park, went for walks, threw the ball, and my grandpa even gave me a lick of his fudgesicle.

Because they were in town, we also celebrated my first birthday a few weeks early (next blog post will have party pics, so stay tuned). They surprised me with a Radio Flyer wagon. It's really cool because the bench folds up into two seats so my buddies and I can go for a ride together. It also has drink holders for my bottle - those guys think of everything. My mom says the "cargo bag" on the back is her favorite. She said it's so huge it can hold a Thanksgiving turkey.

I think the best part about grandparents is how much they love you. They will spend hours telling you how cute you are, practicing going up and down the stairs, and explaining why one football team is better than another. Lucky me for having four terrific grandparents!

F is for Fins!

My dad's favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins, affectionately called the "fins." He's told me - perhaps 10,000 times - they are the only team to ever have a perfect season. Today, I got to see them live. He took me to my first NFL game - the Miami Dolphins vs. the Baltimore Ravens - he's the greatest dad ever!

There's really no need to talk about who won the game - at least that's what my dad said afterwards - so let's focus on how awesome it was to be a part of all of the excitement. The jumbo tron said there were 71,305 people in the stadium, but they were wrong...they didn't count me! (apparently I was free) Everyone cheering and clapping - I loved when the stadium would shake from all of the feet stomping.

I had so much fun that now I can't wait to go to my first 49ers game...hey mom........

A Sweet Country!

Candy AND democracy - does this country rock or what!??! Where else in the world do adults give away candy to kids who simply knock on their door and say three magic words? The whole stranger-danger thing is thrown out the window for one night as your parents take you to random homes and encourage you to eat candy from people you don't know - it's awesome.

 

Ridiculous attire is a definite requirement; the more ridiculous, the larger the loot. My parents must have received this memo because they dressed me up as a 2 1/2 foot tall golfer - which is apparently very funny. The polyester knickers and argyle sweater vest kept me warm. The goofy hat didn't do much for warmth, but topped off the costume nicely. I also had a set of clubs that were a bit tough to carry. Luckily my parents came as my caddies and carried them for me (along with my scorecard, extra balls, and tees).

We had more than 400 trick-or-treaters at our house again. Luckily we also had lots of fabulous friends to help pass out the 80+ bags of candy - it was crazy. We had a graveyard with two smoke machines, six carved jack-o-lanterns, and a giant cut-out for kids to stick their faces in for photos. My favorite part was the smoke machines. If I sat in front of them long enough, the smoke would completely cover me and you couldn't see me, cool, huh.

Then today we headed to the polls to cast our vote. My parents' polling place is down the street so we walked over and saw lots of neighbors along the way. Listening to my parents, I understand that the candidate with the most votes wins. His/her prize is a job where lots of people call/write complaining about all of the things they don't like. Hmm, while I'm not quite one years old, this sounds like an odd "prize."

Anyway, the part I do like is that each one of us gets to vote for the person we like and agree with. While they didn't let me "pull the lever" today, they did give me a "future voter" sticker. Apparently you're suppose to be able to say your name and address before they trust you with picking the leaders of our country - I guess that's fair. One thing is for sure - this is one sweet country!

3am Phone Call

No call at 3am is good. I have never received a call in the middle of the night from a friend or family member telling me they won the lottery. Even friends who give birth at midnight wait till morning to share their news. The best you can hope for is a wrong number. So when our phone rang just before 3am Monday morning, I took a deep breathe and answered.

It was my mom. My brother, his wife, and their three children had been in a serious car accident. The two people in the car that hit them were killed on impact. Miraculously, all five members of my brother's family had survived the crash. My brother and the three kids were okay. My sister-in-law, Margo, had broken her neck and there was a high probability she'd be paralyzed. "Sorry to call in the middle of the night," my mom said, "But Margo needs your prayers and she needs them now."

We got on our knees with incredible gratitude. "Thank you. Thank you for letting them live," was how we began. Then we poured out our hearts in prayer for Margo's recovery. Not knowing who the other two people were, we also prayed for their families to be comforted as they received the news of their loved ones deaths.

There are lots of medical terms, but the basic info is that two of Margo's vertebra dislocated and should have severed her spinal cord in the process - they did not. It was an absolute miracle. But the miracle needed to be undone with another miracle. The surgeon needed to put the vertebra back without causing any nerve damage. The surgeon had never done this before - never. Margo had two options, paralysis or a miracle.

With God's will and the surgeon's hands, her vertebra were put back in place - what are we up to here, three miracles in less than a day?!!?! Once this was done, it was on to neck surgery to fuse her vertebra together in her neck. They removed a piece of bone from her hip for the procedure. The surgery went better than anyone could have hoped for and the following night Margo walked.

We have since learned about the two people who were killed. It was an elderly couple in their seventies - the man never drove at night or on the freeway. But this particular night, he did. He lost control of his car and began to spin. He crossed the median and hit my brother's car head on. My brother said it happened as fast as a fly hitting the windshield.

While Margo has a long therapy road ahead and a giant neck brace to fashion for the next three months, her recovery prognosis is excellent. She's strong, always has been. She married my brother - she has to be tough.