Well mom and dad cannot believe the strides I have taken in the last year. Between the walking, talking, listening, learning and everything else, mom and dad are just in awe. I have developed into quite a polite boy; I say please and thank you without prompts now! I can also count to ten with ease and can recognize most letters of the alphabet and numbers (up to ten). I have had my shapes down for a while, and we are still working on colors. I seem to be best when I am naming colors of vehicles.
Because of the cold, mom and I have not been able to spend as much time outside. Once in a while we brave 30 degree weather and go out for a bike ride, but my little hands get pretty chilly pretty fast. Since we have more time inside, mom uses me more around the house. I have become quite fond of Laundry day as I help her organize clothes and load/unload the washer and dryer. If you know my mom, you know that she won’t let me near the folding part yet as she is a very meticulous clothes folder. Both mom and dad make me clean up all the messes I make during the day now too. I must take after mom when it comes to cleaning because I like certain things put in certain spots: trucks go in the Elmo basket, cars go in the shoe box, shoe box goes right beside the toy box and my fire truck goes right next to the shoe box. Mom thinks this is so cute and definitely encourages me to stay neat and tidy.
A couple of things I am pretty into right now are buttons (belly included), animals of all sorts but especially monkeys and elephants, and garbage trucks. I am just mesmerized whenever we get to see a garbage truck in action.
The animal obsession probably started when mom started taking me to an animal zoo on BYU’s campus (animals that were once alive but have since been stuffed). If you want to see me get excited to the extreme, mention going to see the animals.
Another obsession I have is with Dad's Iphone. It is quite amazing to watch me operate it because I pretty much know now to get to my favorite parts: watching elmo videos and listening to different animal noises. Unfortunately we are to the point where I get mad every time dad says "no" so we are working on that.
Because mom and dad are still learning about new found independence, I continue to have temper tantrums about 1-3 times a week. Mom still considers this a blessing because she knows other kids are a lot worse but when I have a tantrum, look out! In the little research mom has done about them, she understands that they are a healthy part of my development and, if handled well, can help teach me a lot about my self. Mom tries to think positively and appreciates that, even though I am a fairly mellow child, a strong will can be a great strength as I grow.
Since we are a little behind, I haven’t told you about our awesome Thanksgiving yet. Grandma Cari and Granddad came to visit! Unfortunately I had a stinky cold most of the time, but considering my condition, I was in good spirits. One project Grandma Cari and dad wanted to complete during the visit was stripping and re-painting a bunk bed for me. Dad got it free on a classifieds add but it was pink and purple so we had to something about that. After getting all the supplies, they started stripping the thick paint but it was turning out to be a bigger job than they anticipated so they ended up just sanding and painting brown. They worked so hard in just a couple of days and were feeling pretty sore afterwards. However I am so grateful and I love sleeping and playing in my very own big boy bunk bed. This is me sleeping in a very comfortable position.
Dad had also gotten me a free dresser that they also wanted to re-paint but after experiencing how much work it was, grandma and granddad just decided to buy me a bran-new one! Luckily they thought of it on Black Friday and got a great deal. On Thanksgiving we made reservations to go Magleby’s, a fancy restaurant that serves a delicious buffet. Everyone got stuffed to their heart’s content and we all had a very enjoyable time. I even got a chocolate covered cookie sucker for dessert! YUM!
Another fun thing we did was visit the Provo Indoor Beach. It is a huge facility with tons of activities. I enjoyed a couple rides on a carousel where I got to ride a huge monkey and play in a play ground made especially for toddlers.
Daddy was able to test his skills on a huge and very high ropes course. He did pretty good if I say so myself.
The biggest sucker I have ever seen.
After thanksgiving, mommy was excited to put up the Christmas decorations. She did most of it but saved putting up and decorating the tree for everyone. I was quite taken with all the ornaments she had. My favorites were the Santa ornaments that grandma and granddad had given me each year since I was born.
After Grandma and Granddad left, mom decided it was time I met Santa again. I wasn’t too sure of him at first, but he gave me a coloring book and his beard and clothes were very soft so he turned out to be pretty cool. Mom was having a hard time catching me with a smile so the pictures are not the best. At least I didn’t cry.
For BYU’s last regular season football game, daddy got to go to Hawaii! Mom and I were super jealous and he had a great time. They didn’t get tons of time to spend on the beach but they did visit Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center and even attend a real luau. Of course they had lots of work to do too and the game turned out to be a blow out so we were happy about that. This is a view from his hotel room.
Here is a slideshow of the rest of his pictures:
The other night, we babysat my friend, Julliette and mom caught some romance on tape:
2 comments:
Wow, what a great looking bed! I guess I haven't been over in a while because I haven't seen it in person. That video is so cute! Sorry she shafted him, but he is such a sweetie.
By the way, I think it is hilarious that she is wearing a necklace in your video because she does that all the time at home. She even wears computer cords and cell phone chargers as necklaces.
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