Enjoying the Christmas Shin-Dig

Dexy enjoyed playing with friends at the pre-K party.

There was a surprise visit from Santa that was VERY exciting!







Everyone enjoyed a feast of appetizers (mini hot dogs) and desserts (cookies & cakes).

Christmas at Pre-K

The kids in Dexy's school put on quite a Christmas production for the parents.  The opening number was the classic "Jingle Bells".

Dexy's Yelp Review

To celebrate what we hope is the end of the tummy bug in our household this season (Dex and I both were hit pretty hard in the last week - Dex for the second time, me for the first), we decided to use a coupon for a BBQ joint a few suburbs away.  The BBQ itself was fantastic but the other items left a lot to be desired.

Ben said Dex's comments about his dinner read like a Yelp review:

"My chicken nuggets smell like turkey and my fries are too crispy."

Dex also picked up on Ben's and my comments about our sides and offered to tell the manager that, "Daddy's pinto beans are bland and Mommy's cole slaw tastes like lettuce in melted vanilla ice cream." We told him that he didn't need to file a report with the manager this time.

Fay Cook Makes Me Happy

On my last day of Fay Cook's Politics of Social Policy class, we had student presentations and discussion. To mark the occasion, Fay brought happy face cookies for the class. There happened to be one cookie left over and Fay insisted I bring it home to Dexter. I wrapped it up in napkins and hoped it would survive intact in my backpack (it did!). When I got home, Dexter was fed and ready for bed - I showed him the cookie, explained how I got it and told him that he could have it tomorrow. Even though he was very excited about the cookie, he was fine waiting until tomorrow to eat it. I turned to Ben and said, "Fay Cook makes me happy." Dex overheard me and chimed in, "Fay Cook makes me happy too!"

The next day, Dexy's tummy bug hit. Ben reported that when the doctor told him that Dex could only drink small sips of gatorade and maybe have a little toast later in the day but nothing else, Dex interjected, "But what if I have some chicken with BBQ sauce and it wakes up my tongue and I need water?" The doctor replied, "You won't be having chicken today." A moment later Dex asked, "What about my Fay Cook cookie?" The doctor replied, "No cookies for you today."

For two days Dexter would look at his cookie and talk about how he was going to eat it when his tummy got better. He finally got to enjoy it on Saturday. "Fay Cook makes me happy."

Daddy To the Rescue!

Dex's other lower front baby tooth had been "wobbly" for a while but the night after a day spent throwing up and napping, it was really wobbly (the grown up tooth was already poking through behind it) and Dex was worried that it would come out while he was sleeping and he would swallow it.

"Do you want Daddy to pull it out?" I asked. "Yes, please," said an exhausted little boy. Daddy gave it one good yank and out it came!

The next morning, Dex found two quarters and a lemon lollipop under his pillow in exchange for his second baby tooth (luckily, the toothfairy had lemon lollipops in stock!). He enjoyed his toothfairy treat and kept Pinky close by just in case.

My Love Bug Gets a Tummy Bug

Poor Dex. He woke up last Friday as I was headed up to school for a study session and said, "I don't feel good, Mommy." "Poor child, I'll get Daddy," said I. After the study session I called home and learned that Dex had been throwing up all morning.  He had a doctor's appointment scheduled for his 5-year old check up and, after throwing up in the waiting room, they turned it into a "sick visit", told Ben how to care for him and sent him home with a little throw up bucket (which has since been named "Pinky"). When I got home in the early afternoon, Dexter was asleep in bed (he hasn't napped for years!) and Ben showed me a picture of My Bologna watching over a sleeping Dexter (he never does that!).

"Pinky" is on the table next to the bed.

A Benefit of Being Bold About His Birthday

A full week after his birthday, Dex was still telling everyone that he just turned 5 years old. When he told the manager at the grocery store, he went and got Dexter a special happy birthday cupcake.

Dex couldn't wait to eat that cupcake but he wanted to share it with both Mommy and Daddy so they waited until I got home from school to dig into it.

Dex enjoyed every crumb!