Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

Today I came to see you at the mall. I was SO excited - until we came face to face. It didn't help that the kids before me were whaling uncontrollably. After some encouragement from Mom I jumped on your lap. You were kind and listened as I told you what I wanted for Christmas. Your helper told me that your favorite cookies are chocolate chip. I've already asked mom to have some waiting for you on Christmas Eve.

Love,
Cody

Test Results Are In

We received Cody's allergy test results today. His pediatrician ordered 16 tests in the nut and seafood categories. Fourteen of them came back at a 0, meaning no allergic reaction. Two of them, walnuts and pecans came back at a level 2. To put it into perspective, level 6 is the max and and is considered a life-threatening allergy. Although there is a small cause for concern it's not as bad as we originally thought. Cody will still need to avoid any contact with these types of nuts because he may become more sensitive to the allergen with each exposure. All in all good news.

So Thankful

At this age Cody is eager to help in the yard but I'm sure the end is near.

We had the most amazing Thanksgiving weekend! Thanksgiving was great, but the most enjoyable part of the whole four day weekend was having David home. He has been tremendously busy for what seems like most of 2009 and we don't expect it to let up anytime soon - so four days home was heaven for him and us!

While David didn't have work off Wednesday, Cody and I spent almost the entire day baking Christmas cookies with Grammy. It was a ton of work and required one unexpected visit to the pediatrician after Cody illustrated a minor allergic to reaction to what we think was walnuts (again). We are currently awaiting test results to find out once and for all what level of an allergy he has.

Thursday was spent doing typical Thanksgiving activities - spending time with family and eating too much. Friday we mostly hung around the house. David helped with a move in the morning while Cody and I pulled out the Christmas decorations. Later that evening Cody went to a train show with Grammy and Poppy while David and I went out to a nice dinner alone. Saturday we spent more time hanging around the house, raking leaves in the yard, taking naps and doing a little bit of shopping. Sunday was spent sleeping in a bit (thanks to no early morning meetings) and attending church.

It was a great weekend and hard to get back to everyday life this morning. We are eagerly awaiting the Christmas holiday when David has two weeks off work!

The Super Hero Years

For what seems like forever, Cody's interests have been cars and trains. However recently he has moved on to super heroes, specifically Batman. We aren't quite sure where the initial interest came from, but when Poppy and Grammy gave him a Batman action figure for his birthday, he knew exactly what to do with it. It must be something boys just know, like knowing how to make car sounds.

I remember Tyler's "super hero years" vividly. I believe he was a bit older then Cody is now. He would put his red and blue Superman cape, slick his hair back, and wear his underwear over his pants and run around the house fighting crime. We haven't quite reached that level yet but Cody does put on his cape and run around the house fighting bad guys.

Cody's Birthday Celebration

For Cody's birthday this year we decided to go low key. I figured this was the last year we could get away without having the "friend" party.

So, to celebrate on Sunday evening we had all the Nielson's and Anderson's over for an "ice cream sundae bar" which was a hit and super easy. We had vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream and tons of toppings such as caramel, hot fudge, fresh strawberries, fresh raspberries, gummy bears, oreo cookie crumbs, peanut butter cup pieces, marshmallows, cherries, nuts, whipping cream and sprinkles to name a few.

Cody could hardly contain himself all day from the excitement and about 5 minutes before everyone was to arrive he went head first into the corner of the coffee table. There were tears, blood and a small fear that he may have broken his nose but all is well. The arrival of cousins and grandparents made it all better.

I wasn't able to get any pictures. Our camera performs very poorly in the dark and our house has very poor lighting so it was pretty pointless. We were however able to get some video of him opening his gifts. All and all it was a success.

On Monday, which was Cody's real birthday we took him out to dinner to the restaurant of his choice - Sweet Tomatoes. Needless to say he was one happy camper.

Happy Birthday Cody!

CODY...

• Started preschool in September and loves it!
• Loves pirates and walks around the house singing, "What do you do with a scurvy pirate!".
• Is still a very picky eater.
• Loves to call anyone on the phone and ask, "Can I come over to your house?".
• Loves primary music and walks around the house singing 'How Firm a Foundation'.
  
• Loves to help mom in the kitchen and dad outside.
• Loves books, trains and art projects.
• Can't get enough of his grandparents and cousins.
• Loves the holidays and is already singing Christmas songs - much to his father's dismay.
  
• Hates picking up his toys.
• Is learning to write his name, letters and numbers.
• Always gives hugs and says "I love you".
• Loves to play computer games on LDS.org.
• Weighs in at 36 lbs. and is 3' 2.5" tall.
  

Cody's Phone Call With Grammy

This morning Cody insisted on calling Grammy and Poppy. Now, usually when he requests to make phone calls it's because he wants ask if he can come over and play. Before letting him make the phone call this morning I explained to him that he was just with Grammy and Poppy last night, that they were at work, and that he would not be able to go over. He agreed and we called Grammy at work. To no surprise Cody asked if he could come over to their house and play. Grammy told him she wished he could but she was at work. Immediately his eyes welled up with tears. Genuine tears. Talk about making Grammy feel bad. We hung up the phone and minutes later she called back and asked if she could take him to ice cream tonight. Boy does he know how to get his way!