Day 2 - You HAVE to watch the video

We have packed a lot into this 24 hrs. Denys was up and kicking at 7am. He did wait for me to come let him know he could get out of bed. I fixed oatmeal for breakfast (butter only), added raisins and he ate it up. He declined the yogurt I offered and doesn't seem to like milk either, but apart from egg salad, those are the only things he's turned down.

Since the other kiddos were still snoozing I let him play video games for a bit. Jason and I decided that we were going to nix the whole video game thing, but the batteries beat us to the fix. I told the boys absolutely no video games until late in the evening and, surprisingly, they agreed without argument. (But as Jonah doesn't usually get to play video games except on the weekends I didn't expect anything different from him.)

Our adventure of the day was shoe shopping. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures, but we made it through the event unscathed thanks to a surprise assist by MaMac. I laughed when I realized how conservative Denys is. He wanted the black tennis shoes and was only interested in the gym shorts in dark colors. He did choose a brightly colored t-shirt. Did I mention that I was shopping for shoes for ALL my kiddos today? The gal behind the counter tried to convince me I need to do just a little more shopping. What?!? I'm sure I met their daily quota by myself!

At lunch he met Gmama, Uncle Danny and Cousin Jack. Jack is 13 and only about 6 months younger than Denys. After a while of silence they began drawing pictures and writing notes and playing games on iPhones. I am always amazed how fun knows no language boundaries! It was a joy for me to watch them figure out how to be friends. I was proud of Jack for being unselfish and showing love.

He ate 3 hotdogs and did not touch the ketchup. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with how this thing is supposed to work let me explain: He's not supposed to want to eat anything we try to feed him and what he does eat he's supposed to slather with ketchup. (Per the stories of the other NHFC host families past and present.) This kid is amazing in that he truly does eat everything we put in front of him. He doesn't seem to eat grudgingly either. He starts slowly, but at the end of the meal there's nothing left on his plate. WOW. If only Jonah and Millie Grace would pick-up on that life skill!

After dinner (streak-o-lean, biscuits, potatoes and molasses - yep, he ate it all) we packed up and we headed to Macon.

*NOTE: If you are a sketch-o-rama reading this then please stop now. As far as you are concerned we are at home and are armed to the gills. If Hooper doesn't eat you on the way in, you won't make it out.*

Now, for those of you who aren't looking to burgle our home while we're gone, we're in Macon until Saturday. Denys was asleep before we could get gas and get out of town. He slept the full ride down and wasn't quite ready to wake when we arrived.

But, Papa & Honey's house is Christmas Magic Land. I have not counted the total number of push-button music makers in their house, but we have to be pushing 50. I couldn't resist the temptation to post Denys's favorite one:

SCORE! (I can't believe I was actually able to post that!!)

Are you getting sound? I'm not. If you don't it's a rthymic/rap version of "Jingle Bells." And, it's hysterical the first 27 times you hear it! Now, I've heard these guys are at Cracker Barrel, but if one shows up at my house I will personally find a way to make this giver's life a misery. All the kiddos do love these elves, but we only been here 2 hours and have head them Jingle Belling 66 times (I don't think that's an exaggeration).

My parents really do put on an amazing Christmas show and I'm so glad we brought him down. Short of Callaway Gardens you won't find a brighter, more festive place to spend the holidays. I only wish our visit was going to be longer.

Denys took a bubble bath in Honey & Papa's giant garden tub. He didn't have much to say about it, but I think he enjoyed it. I noticed that he didn't use his washcloth or the soap - hmmmm. But at least he washed his hair!

It's eye doctor and Bass Pro Shop visits tomorrow. We should have some good stories then too. I'm thinking of calling the interpreter just to make sure things are going as well for Denys as they are for us. (Wouldn't that be a downer if we were having a great time and he wasn't!?!)

Oh, and I'll have to add the story about this lamb in at some point. Suffice it to say he is something that Denys and I do not see eye to eye on!

Prayers for me as I think I may be coming down with some kind of cootie bug and Happy Birthday to Anna Ruth who turns two today.

~Meg