Frantic February

February started out nice and easy - with Nathan just chillin' in the laundry basket and sipping on a cup of cold milk while watching some tv...

We did have an ice storm the first week so Daddy worked from home one day; Nathan elected himself as Daddy's assistant and while Daddy was on his lunch break, Nathan was busy at work...

He knows how to maneuver a mouse like a pro...

This month was also full of lots of cuddles with Hobbes.  This is Hobbes' favorite spot to hang out in the cold winter months - on our heating register in the bathroom.  He's an easy target for Nathan when out in the open like this...

This month Nathan's addiction became Wheel of Fortune (also referred to by Daddy as "our show").  Nathan loves to yell "YAY!" and clap along with the audience.  That's right, at this young age he's already a "Wheel Watcher"...

One of Nathan's favorite Christmas gifts, The Slinky (that Mommy happened to pick up last minute at Target for a stocking stuffer) hasn't lost its appeal.  There was one day where he just carried this thing around in his mouth for the longest time.  He would just let it hang down and drag between his legs...

For some reason this just really tickled my funny bone and I couldn't stop laughing at him dragging this thing all over the house...

For Valentine's Day this year we decided to step it up a notch (HA!) and go to one of the finer dining establishments around...

Yes indeedy, we went all out and even ordered the "Sweetheart Special" complete with 10 hamburgers, 2 fries and 2 drinks.  Don't think any less of us - "The Castle" actually went all out and had tablecloths, special special Valentine's Day menus, heart napkins, flower centerpieces and little chocolates...

I'm scared to say that Nathan appears to be a boy after Daddy's own heart (or should I say, stomach) as he delighted in some sliders...

As I mentioned previously, lots of cuddles with Hobbes...

Here's our 20-month old on his birthday...

Oh, I just think he is the cutest little thing I have ever laid my eyes on...

And some more cuddles with Hobbes.  I had to include this succession of pictures to show the abuse that Hobbes takes from Nathan.  No one, including Mommy and Daddy, can get over how much this cat lets Nathan do to him.  For those of you who don't know Hobbes, he's been charged with being demon possessed.  I guess we could call Nathan the Hobbes Whisperer...

A good shot of Nathan and Daddy enjoying "our show"...

So, you may be wondering where I came up with the title for this month's blog, especially when I mentioned that this month started out nice and easy.  Well, let me explain!  Daddy went away on his annual ski trip with the guys to Vail, Colorado.  He was gone for five days and Nathan and Mommy had some of the most quality one-on-one time ever!  It was a really wonderful time for us until some things went awry.  The last night that Daddy was gone we got some tornadoes in the area and I had to wake Nathan up in the middle of the night and take him and all the pets down to the basement.  When I went into his room to get him up, he sat up and looked at me as if he were in a dream.  When we got down to the basement he just sat in my lap quiet and still.  He even remained pretty calm when the electricity went out and we were sitting down there with a flashlight, Baxter sniffing all over and Hobbes meowing like a wild animal.  But, when the lights came back on, he decided it was time to play!  I let him down and he was running all over the basement, chasing Baxter and trying to free Hobbes from his crate.  I thought I would never get him back to sleep, but to my shock, after the radio reported that we were safe, I brought him back up to his room, laid him in his crib and he conked right out - whew!!! 

Well, the next day, the day of Daddy's return and the last day of the month, Mommy did something that she still cannot believe.  She locked Nathan in the Jeep!  That's right - I put my purse, car keys and phone in the front seat, shut my door, got Nathan buckled into his car seat, shut his door and went to open my door...but it was LOCKED!  I tried all the other doors and they were all locked as well.  Then, I FREAKED OUT!  I stood in the driveway muttering "I locked my baby in the car!  My baby is locked in the car!"  I checked in on Nathan and he was just hanging out in his car seat sucking on his fingers, then I ran next door to our neighbor, Jack (keep in mind, he's single, never been married, never had kids), and pounded on his door like an absolute maniac - and that must be what I looked like because you should have seen the look of horror on his face when he opened his door.  I not so calmly explained to him what I did and asked him to just come stand by the car while I ran up to another neighbor's house who has a key to our house (I had a spare car key inside).  After checking in on Nathan again and seeing that he was still just hanging out in his car seat sucking on his fingers (likely thinking that Mommy was just taking a while to get in the car), I ran the equivalent of a 2-minute mile (in my high heel boots mind you) up to their house, pounded on their door like an absolute maniac but they had already left for work.  So, I ran back and in tears asked Jack if I could borrow his phone - so he quickly ran into his house and grabbed it.  I checked in on Nathan again and he was still just happy as a clam while I'm outside of the car crying.  I called Kevan and when he answered I shouted "I locked Nathan in the car!"  He said "You what?"  I repeated, "I locked Nathan in the car!" and then he said "You locked Nathan in the car?" Then he very sensibly asked "What do you want me to do...I'm in Colorado."  I said "I don't know!"  So, he told me to call a locksmith.  Ok, good idea!  So, I asked Jack if I could borrow his phone book - so he quickly ran into his house and grabbed it.  I called a locksmith just a few blocks away and told him my dilemma to which he replied "I'm sorry ma'am, I don't have anyone available right now."  I said "What?  I don't think you heard me, I locked my son in the car!"  to which he replied "I don't have anyone available right now, they're all out on calls" to which I pleaded "But I'm just a few blocks away" and he told me it really didn't matter how far away I was because he didn't have anyone available at the moment (as you can see, I was completely unsensible).  So, he then started going on and on about how I should try a mobile locksmith that he knows of and to be really careful about looking up locksmiths on the internet because there are a lot of shady ones these days, blah, blah, blah.  I told him that I didn't have a computer at my disposal because I'M LOCKED OUT OF MY HOUSE AND I'VE LOCKED MY SON IN THE CAR!  Before telling him that I really appreciated his advice but didn't have time to listen to it because I LOCKED MY SON IN THE CAR, he got out some more advice...to call the police!  Ding - what a great idea!  Meanwhile, Jack was running around the house trying to figure out how to break in.  He wanted to break out a pane in our back door but I told him that just wouldn't be a good idea because we're trying to sell our house and I don't know how long it would take to get fixed, blah, blah, blah.  So, we went ahead and called the police and they said they would be over in just a few minutes.  Well, about 30 seconds later, a cop car was heading down our street followed by a firetruck.  Two cops and about five firemen piled out and rushed the car; they asked how old the child was, if he was ok, what his name was, etc.  It took them about 1.5 seconds to open the car and when they opened Nathan's door, he just turned to them and started laughing.  Meanwhile, I was thanking God with my arms raised up to the sky, crying and hugging all the policemen and firemen and asking if I needed to sign anything.  They were pretty much laughing at me and said they were happy to help.  Our neighbor stopped over later that night and gave me a hide-a-key and suggested I use it.  I would like to chalk up my hysteria to being pregnant, but who knows, maybe it's a fact that I'm just a freak!