A funny thing happens in November/December – I begin working on our annual book of Chief’s year and EVERYTHING else gets put on the back burner. I compile all the blog posts and pictures of Chief’s most recent year and put them in books for grandparents and great-grandparents to keep on their coffee tables. I’m always so thankful that we put it all together, but it takes all my spare time to finish.
January is tomorrow and I’m just getting around to jotting down our November, this is bad.
This month, Chief officially declared his favorite color is grey. (Whaaattt?!) He is gearing up for Christmas by compiling a very interesting list – a trash truck specifically with a claw, a kite that looks like an octopus, and a clock – so he knows when to wake up. He’s the strangest (best) 3 year old.
Chief is so social. As an introvert, I find it to be the most uncomfortable thing he can do to me. He forces me to be way more outgoing than I’d like. Whenever we’re in a public setting (a park, Barnes & Noble, or even Chick-Fil-A) Chief will say to me “I’m going to go say hi to the kids.” He says hi and introduces himself, talks to the parents; which in turn means I have to talk to the parents…
I have had more than one mom give me their phone number at Chick-Fil-A so Chief can play with their kid. Thanks, but no thanks.
We spent a lot of time in Chelsea. While the time we were there was great, the reason we were there was not so fun. The week before Thanksgiving, my sister’s dog (and Chief’s Uncle Char-Dog) passed away on Tuesday. He was Chief’s first furry friend, his confidant, and his birthday party mascot. He was Whitney’s number 1 for a lot of years. We had already decided we would drive to Chelsea that weekend to give her a squeeze, but while we were there my Uncle Brett passed away on the Sunday of the same week. It was a ROUGH week. I’m thankful we had made the 3 hour drive to Chelsea, because I was able to say goodbye to Uncle Brett on Saturday evening before he passed on Sunday.
While the reason we were there was not great, we soaked up lots of family time. Chief played for hours at the construction yard, checked cattle, fed the horse some treats, and splashed in as many puddles as he could find. Chase went hunting and got his first deer of the season. We had a really great week at home.
We spent Thanksgiving in New Mexico. It was GLORIOUS. Big & Honey rented a cabin in Ruidoso, NM for the week and Chief was in heaven. We played in the snow, fed deer by hand, put together puzzles, and Chief spent all his spare time with Chase’s 1989 edition Playskool train.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving we woke up early and drove 3 hours to Rio Rancho, NM. Chase’s cousin, Heath, is a head football coach and his team made it to the 6A State Championship. Heath had no idea we were coming, so the visit was even sweeter. Only made sweeter by the fact he won!! Such a fun (and ridiculously cold) day.
Back to my “Chief is social” statement – we went to an after-party at Heath’s house to celebrate the big win. It was a PAR-TY. The house was shoulder to shoulder, coaches and fans were mixing very stout drinks in the kitchen – and Chief was right in the middle of all of it. He would tug at their pant legs to show off his hand warmers and formally introduce himself.
Things Chief said:
- When referring to things in the past Chief will say “Last day…” Whether the thing he is talking about happened yesterday, last week, or last year – it’s all “Last day.”
- He has started talking about “When I was in high school.” He must’ve picked it up from Chase and I. When a song comes on the radio or a new movie/show will pop up on the TV, Chief will say “When I was in high school, I used to like this song (or movie/show).” So funny.
- He’s always referring to “When I was a little boy…” It happened a lot while we were were in Chelsea. My favorite was “When I was a little boy Pops would help me drive the excavator, but now I’m big and drive it by myself.” Keep dreaming, kid.
- He was begging for a lollipop one day and after a few No’s from me, he said “Mom, I’m DYING for a pop. Please!” He got one.
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