A Serious Crime Has Been Committed Here!

Today Kathee is at a movie with some friends. And due to my working so many nights, there isn't a whole lot of time for just Gideon and Dad time. But today is a special day. I got to give Gideon a bath, have lunch with him, play with him until afternoon nap time, and then put him down for a nap (where he is quietly sleeping right now). However, the kid overpowered me today. As he and I were playing with the Megablocks (well, mostly me playing as you'll see in a second), he decided to carry out his devious little plan (my words, not his).
#1- Get Papa to play with the Megablocks that we both have strewn all over the living room floor. Check.
#2- While Papa is playing, push the dining room chair into the kitchen and up against the dish washer that has what you really want. Check.
#3- Go back in to the living room and play with Papa and keep him occupied and busy. Return to the kitchen "every so often" so it doesn't look like you are doing anything at all when really you are. Check.
#4- Grab small handfulls Papa's broken egg shells that have been broken in to small pieces and left on the counter. Although I don't know what they are for (I guess Papa has a tray outside for the birds to ingest so they can break down their food during the winter), what is safe for birds to eat MUST BE safe for me to eat. So I will go back over and over again for small increments of time so Papa isn't thrown off. I guess, however, that he'll find out when I have eggshells stuck to my lips, hands, and shirt front. And I suppose my cover will be blown when the eggshells he left neatly in the bowl are outside of the bowl as well as the inside. CHECK!!!!

#5 (from Papa's perspective)- Total depravity? CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!!!!

Seeing From Above

Kathee noticed that Gideon was whimpering and wining a lot more lately whenever she was in the kitchen. He always wanted to be held. She put it together that he wanted to be able to see what she was doing up in "adult-world." So she moved a chair into the kitchen and now Gideon is happy as a lark. Now, if only we could get him to do the dishes while he's up there "helping."

The boy seems to know his way around a sink with dirty dishes.
And he seems to be joyful while being up doing what he sees Momma doing.
And what boy do you know who doesn't make it a first-off priority to find out from where the water comes and how to go about turning it on full strength?
He seems to be delighted with all things life right now. It's so awesome having a son! I love every minute of it.

The Little Vikings Fan

Unfortunately the Minnesota Vikings lost today. Kind of a bummer in our house. However, Gideon did pick up the Vikings horn-sound today. Hope you enjoy it as much as Kathee and I do!

Time with Uncle Zach

My younger brother came and visited Friday and Saturday. We had tons of fun. Just prior to leaving Gideon needed (whether he thought so or not) a picture with Uncle Zach. Since Zach is so tall, Gideon almost got a nose bleed being that high up in the air. He sure doesn't get that high in the air most days!

Time with Great Aunt Beth and Uncle Larry

On Friday of this week, my aunt Beth and uncle Larry stopped by with some new duds for Gideon. So naturally we had to have a little fashion show for him to show off his new stuff. Boy that kid is handsome! Thanks Beth and Larry for the new cloths and for stopping by for a short visit!

Nice, new orange winter jacket. Kinda looks like a puffy coat. He'll be stylin as he struts into the nursery with that little hummer!

Aunt Beth needs to help get the cuff buttons buttoned. At first Gideon thought it a bit of a game, especially when taking note that he was getting his picture taken.

Here Gideon must be filling in Aunt Beth on the finer things of what it's like being a 20-month old boy.

Thanks for the clothes, Aunt Beth and Uncle Larry. My parents love them, and whatever they put me in, I think is just grand. I love you and Larry very much, Gideon Markos Terwilleger

Playing with Grandma

Gideon loved having Grandpa and Grandma Smith here over Christmas time. He sure loved spending so much time with them. And boy do they love the daylights out of their grandson Gideon!

Gideon and Grandpa Smith

Gideon and Grandpa playing with Gideon's Christmas present from Moma and Papa! He sure loves his Christmas present this year (but not as much as he loves his grandpa)!

Gideon's New Wheels

Gideon received this hot rod last year for Christmas from my brother's family. Grandpa Karl put this together for Gideon while he and Grandma Smith were here visiting. Gideon thinks it pretty cool, although we didn't put the seat on it so Gideon can use it (he sits on the back step of the trike and moves it Fred Flinstone style).
Ringing the bell and getting the kinks worked out!

I think Gideon is ready for a Hog!

Something Unique

Due to there being a whopping ice storm, Catalyst was cancelled tonight. Which meant I got to be a part of Gideon's Wednesday night routine (which I've never been able to take part in since Gideon came home last November due to youth group every week...aside from holidays when his routine is all out of whack anyway). On Wednesday nights, Kathee and Gideon have a movie night, which normally amounts to a Veggie Tale. As Gideon isn't impressed at all with tv or movies (as proved to me tonight when he lost attention in the movie at the 2 minute and 19 second mark of the movie) Kathee kind of does up the movie night and they have fun together. So tonight I got to take part in the movie (maybe like father-like-son, I kept falling asleep only to have my son come over and not-so-gently wake me up each time). Tonight was something (not sure the first name) and the Minnesota Tomato (or something like that). Here are the pictures!



The arms crossed thing is a new addition in Gideon's arsenol. He does this during every meal as he watches me sit like this after supper while Kathee and I chat. The other thing he's doing now as a parrot is to hold his arms crossed and then bust out laughing (last night even going so far as to cover his eyes). The kid is a little spunge... and I love being his Papa.

Gideon's New Chair

One of Gideon's REALLY cool Christmas presents this year came from India (where Gideon's grandpa and grandma live). This chair, called a Roorkhee chair, matches the one Kathee and I received for our wedding by Kathee's relatives who were living in Pakistan at the time of our wedding. Gideon's Grandpa Karl machined the brass for the chair, teamed with a man in their fellowship who works in Kashmir with widows of the struggles in that region to sew the fabric for the sitting part, and found a man in an off-beat-not-touristy-place in Dehli to lathe the sheshim wood. The piece is absolutely unbelieable! And it is almost an exact match for the chair we received! It's so great, and what an incredible gift from a grandpa who loves his grandsons dearly (Gideon's cousin Will also received one for Christmas)!

Gideon with the designer, planner, machineer, and giver of the chair (Grandpa Smith)

Gideon sitting in his new chair

"Thanks for the pictures guys, when may I climb in and see if this is Gideon friendly?"

After a Sort of Hiatus

Well, to put it mildly, I have been gently reminded that I have been slacking on the blog-front, so I will do my best to get things back up and running. I have a bunch of pictures going back a few weeks and will do my best to update things here in the next few days. So we'll see what I can come up with to appease the discontented masses!