Look Who's 2!

This little man is growing up too fast. I finally finished his scrapbook for his first year, and it's crazy how fast the time went by. He's a little boy now!  But here are some things about him now that make us smile...

He'll make deals to get what he wants. To get him to go to bed, you will often hear, "OK, ONE more book, but then we have to lay down in bed. Deal?" and he will say "DEAL!" and hold out his hand to shake on it. But he is figuring out that he shouldn't make deals when he doesn't like the options. That makes it harder.

This pic is one of his favorite games. We go around the house with our guns (he prefers the ball pump) and some hat on so we can hunt for wild animals. We make the animal sound and then start shooting and eventually run to the fort under the ping pong table. Great stuff.

 

He definitely knows all his shapes and colors, says prayers, and recognizes most letters. He associates most with a name, like "T" for Tyson. So it's good that he has a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins so that we can find one for almost all the letters :) His counting is more comical. For some reason he doesn't like 5. He generally skips it, and then I remind him. So now, he consistently counts "1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5, ..." Not sure why but 12 is pronounced "twee-ol-wee-ol-wee-olve". And it stops at fourteen. Not fifteen--because, again, he doesn't like 5's. So he may not be a math wiz for a while, but he's got the idea.

He is very determined to learn words that he hears. I try to help him by having him look at my mouth, or saying it slowly when needed. But bless his heart, he just can't quite wrap his tongue around "asparagus". He says it over and over, and listens to me say it, but "asupugus" is just how it always comes out for him...which I don't mind. It makes me smile every time we pass the "asupugus" field.

Somehow he ended up as a slight germaphobe/clean freak. I take him to see baby lambs or baby cows and unlike all the other kids he doesn't want to pet them because they are "all dirty". He makes me clean his hands halfway through a meal if they get "too sticky" or "too salty!"  It's kinda ridiculous.

He likes to play imaginary games like saying "Bibbity boppity boo--COW" and then you are obviously turned into a cow so you have to "MOO". If he says "Abracadabra" that means you are dead. But don't worry, he will promptly kiss you and yell "Hooray! You're ALIVE!"

 

He found this hat and kept it on for the next few hours.
Loves it. Pillsbury doughboy? Or is it just me?

He's becoming a little bossy, I won't lie. You will often hear "Moon it!" which means to MOVE it. Or he will shake his finger at you and say "Don't do that!" (He is actually getting much better to say "Please don't".) My favorite saying lately is from Frozen. I busted up in the theater when the big old Scandinavian man says "woohoo! Big summer blowout." So we joke around saying it at our house a lot, and say "Woohoo" in that voice to get each other's attention. Recently I have heard him calling from his room when he has woken up in the morning "Woohoo. Big nunner blowout." Ha, it kills me. He also often calls "Come heeeere", or if he wants your attention while you are holding him and talking to someone else, he turns your face and says "look at me". Last of all he loves his slides and horsies. He rocks so far it often falls over and yells "Go horsie, Go! Yeehaw!"

Surprise!

When my parents went on vacation, they asked me if I could stop by their house and feed the bird. Quick and easy, I figured. I figured wrong. You might think they would have told me that they were setting their house alarm. They haven't done it in a long time, so it was not expected. When I entered the house, the beeping started. I knew instantly that I had seconds to put in the code or someone would come over the speaker to warn me that the cops were coming.(They actually did come when my sister had a similar experience previously).  But thinking this was a quick in and out, I had left my phone in the car. I raced out to get it to dial my Dad's number. You have to be inside with all the sirens to fix anything though, the sirens which were even louder now that I had missed my window to enter the code. It's so easy to dial and focus under those circumstances! Luckily Dad answered just as the lady came over the speaker asking who I was. I told them my situation and she asked for a password. Dad told me over the phone just in time and any major catastrophe was averted. But really, who expects their parents to booby trap the house for you before inviting you over?! I almost peed my pants, ha.

I might have to avoid Winco for a while...

This is why I dread grocery shopping. And why you shouldn't judge those moms in the store who do anything they can think of to keep their kids passive and riding in the cart...
As with any trip to town, Ty and I had a million errands to run. Groceries of course come last so that the ice cream can make it home without melting. The poor little guy, by that time, was so sick of hours in carts and carseats that I let him run alongside the cart as long as he didn't try to take things off the shelves. And he was doing great. It was evident that he needed to expend some energy though, because he sprinted off down each aisle and came back just long enough for me to point him in a new direction. But he wasn't darting in front of other carts, so I figured it didn't hurt anything. Most people give smiles and knowing looks, but some just don't seem to understand a 2-year-old's need to move sometimes. I got some interesting looks, especially from one woman. Finally I put him in the cart until I got to an aisle that was empty. Bad decision, because as soon as I let him down he picked up a bottle of teriyaki sauce and broke it, saying "uh oh Mommy" as it trickled its contents on the floor. That same disapproving lady of course came into the aisle at about that point and gave me another look. I told him that was why we needed to stay in the cart and he agreed at this point, ha.

After looking for what seemed like FOREVER for an employee, we moved to the next aisle. I reached up to grab a bag of noodles. Apparently there was a huge slash in the bag, because as I swung it down to my cart, noodles went flying--EVERYWHERE. The two people in the aisle with me kinda laughed, one saying "They must have cut it when they shelved them," and the other "yeah, that was totally not your fault."   "Right?!" I said. But of course it wasn't until then, when all you might notice is an aisle covered in noodles and the same ridiculous girl and toddler in the middle of it, that the disapproving lady enters the scene. Just in time to let me know that she noticed. So helpful.

We finally made it to the checkout counter. Ty flirted with the checker and made a fast friend. So she just laughed as he kicked off his shoes and yelled "Mommy, I'm done! I'm done, Mama" the whole time I had to bag my groceries. The funny thing is, I wasn't really rattled by the experience this time. Usually I would have been at the end of my rope by then, but this time I just laughed and tried to finish quickly. I can't blame the poor kid. I was done too.

November get together

So, we have lost our camera. Again. We actually have two, and have no idea where either one is. So the only pictures I have are from other people (below) or from my phone. I was looking through pictures of the time my family was able to get together in November. I think they just say so much about our family.

 

The whole group

I was retaliating to something, I'm sure. Generally Michael deserves the pestering. But this is why I love getting together. I am laughing most of the time.

Uncle Landon loves tickling and wrestling fights

Dog Pile!

Making cars for the drive-in movie. And I'm just being me...

Making pies for the store. Always love the hairnets. T thinks it's a hat, so he will wear it.

Teaching the little guy how to shoot

Awesome hair in this family, right?! Somehow we have the only straight-haired boy.

Family bottle rockets. We had an Astro Blaster and a Green Phantom (Landon and Angie's), and lots of other legit names for awesome rockets. Tami stocked us up with some awesome decorative duct tape so that they were pretty sweet looking.

 

 

We played fly-up with the rockets and tried to catch them after their launch. This was the ready position. Chris is not one for needless movement...he would get his hands out when they were in the air :)



I just want you to notice Michael's hair. This is what happens when he's either nervous, or has too much sitting time...

Feeding the crazy ducks. They swarm, and are ruthless. You have to watch out. Before she realized, Landon kept throwing bread at Tami's feet so they would surround her. It was hilarious.

Grandpa's drums are always a hit with the toddlers.

Like Music to the Ears

It's sad that I have only written recently so that I can document somewhere the funny things my son is doing. I will try and do an update on the whole family soon, but this one is about the little guy. He's the most entertaining anyways, right?!

Lately he is all about singing. This might mean sitting at a piano and playing a few notes while yelling at the top of his lungs, or walking around singing in a rosy voice. But my favorite--he has to be holding a piece of paper to be his "music" (Usually it's my junk mail, but whatever). And then he has to be standing amidst a pile of laundry. While I fold, he will go stand there and start belting random notes. After a few, he stops and says "Song. Song mama." and then goes on singing. This repeats for almost 20 minutes. It cracks me up.

He has an obsession with tall things, or being tall himself. He almost never builds things. He's more of a destroyer. But he will put together legos so that they are "Tall!" Or he stands on the island in the kitchen and insists that Mama and Daddy have to stand up there too so we can all be "Tall!" It brings him a lot of joy, so I can't help but play along.

He does sit-ups and push-ups with Daddy. Since it happened before showers the first time, he now thinks that they are necessary before any shower. But his sit-ups consist of laying on the ground and lifting the legs to a 90 degree angle and back down. His push-ups are great. He gets on hands and feet, and then pushes his little bum up and down, with slightly bent legs. Not bad, I must admit. But also so cute.

Hats are becoming more exciting. I often turn around to find him with his cowboy hat, riding his horsie, or going down his slide with a Viking hat on. Nothing's cuter than a 20-month-old Viking.

He also LOVES his "horsy". It moves its' mouth when it sings and he likes to stick his hand in it and say "ouch" like it's biting him, ha.






His vocabulary has been growing exponentially, it's crazy. I love it when he says "cheese" for the camera, and then that makes him hungry, ha. He mumbles a lot, which I now realize are full sentences that I just couldn't make out before.

                                                                                             

We think it's probably a good sign that he is obsessed with babies lately. Over Christmas, he just loved following his two younger cousins around because he can't get enough of the babies. Now he has to settle for a doll he found at Grandma's until his little sibling comes along, but it is definitely one of his favorite toys.

Lately he will try and read his books to himself out loud. Go Dogs Go! gets especially loud and vibrant. Daddy had not yet experienced this when he decided to give it to him during sacrament meeting to keep his attention...

I'm pretty sure he has mastered all of the animal sounds we can think of. We made sure to teach him a cougar--which he does surprisingly well. He also knows actions for fish and bunnies, since they don't say much, and of course there is the turtle that says "Righteous!"

He is at such a fun age, it's always entertaining!

18 months

Photo by Tami

We just passed a huge milestone in this family...our boy is old enough for nursery! It's true, he's now 18 months. And cuter than ever. Some of his recent past-times include mastering the actions to the itsy-bitsy-spider and other such songs, climbing on EVERYTHING, and dancing to his heart's content. Here are a couple fun things that he's done lately to crack us up!

He has taken to making any small object into a gun as he runs behind you yelling "piew, piew" or "boom boom" to shoot.

Yesterday he figured out how to turn on a tricky lamp, and as he did each time would shout "Ta-dah!"

He loves trying to throw and catch with a mit. He has to hold it with two hands...

We didn't show him any TV or movies until a few weeks ago. He saw himself on Grandma's ipad, and now he constantly wants to watch himself. So if he asks you for a "moo-me" (movie), it's possible that he is referring to a DVD but more likely that he wants to watch one of himself on your phone.

He has learned a new trick at bathtime--soaking the parents. He's still working on the form and skill of it, but he uses his toys to try and dump water on us. Every time he tried to get me, he covered Daddy. He thinks it's hilarious. So if you ever babysit and have to give him a bath--watch out.

He finally caught onto pillow fights and LOVES it. His little giggle the whole time makes me laugh.

His favorite time of day is when "Dada" is home. Just hearing the truck pull up, he runs to the door smiling, which makes me happy too.

 

 Thanks to his cousin, he was Woody for Halloween. Pretty stinkin cute little sherriff.

 

Of course I had to teach him how to properly organize his candy for trading purposes. He doesn't have anyone to trade with, but he'll be ready when siblings come along.

 

He can often be found with his "Be-be" lately. He's become pretty attached.

 

Happy 18 months!

Chillaxin'

So we have had some time lately to catch up on life a little bit. We got to take a few days of vacation at the Rowley's cabin, which was really fun. I got some massive bruises on my arm from archery. I thought it was because I had bad form, but Brent and Kaden also had that problem, and I was hitting the target fine (before I got so scared of it getting me that I couldn't hold my arm still long enough, ha). So now I just think that's not my favorite sport. We tried out the zipline again, as you can see on the left. I jumped off a little early and made my knee into hamburger, but it was still fun. We also rode the 4-wheeler back and forth a lot, which is Ty's new favorite thing. He got spoiled for those few days, and now that we are home, I have to take him on rides around the orchards now and then or he is completely crestfallen. He is learning though. Once you put him on the seat he reaches to move the keys, and then puts his hand on the ignition button. And then he gets the biggest grin and just looks up at you like the world couldn't be happier.

He has also taken lately to talking on the "phone". The phone can be a remote, a play phone, a block, or even the power block for the computer. He will sit and have great conversations, but when you give him a real phone with a real relative on the other end, he freezes. Like a deer in the headlights. We're working on it.

The little guy and I also enjoy our popsicle dates. He runs to the freezer and says "popo" and we sit together on the kitchen floor to eat it. It seems he must be sitting in my lap before he can take a bite, so that's what we do--every day after watering the garden or playing outside.

This last week we went into town to the county fair. I love the fair. The rodeo is my favorite, but the food--though completely unhealthy and overpriced--is delicious. And you would never eat it otherwise. We got a good ol' funnel cake for good measure. Landon's little brother came with us. He wasn't too excited about most of the rides, but we talked him into the Spider with Landon. But he wouldn't let them spin much, ha. Our little guy went on the ferris wheel (which is probably the scariest ride in my opinion), and Goliath's slide. And he was pretty interested in seeing all the animals.

 I got a hole-in-one to enter a golf sweepstakes, just sayin'. And we hit up the buckin' broncos at the rodeo. We were there when one of the rodeo girls fell off her horse and got dragged around the ring because her foot was stuck. It was pretty crazy. Luckily she was ok. Whitney even watched Ty so we could go on the ride that drops you out of the sky. Wooh! I have a video but haven't changed the format, so I can't post it yet. Sorry. Let's just say I might have screamed.

 We finally finished our garage. It's all painted and organized and we can even fit the car and truck! I really was skeptical that huge truck would make it in. We have to really squeeze it in, you know, butter the sides even, but we can fit them both :) And, I painted the front door. Unbeknownst to me, it's really hard to get normal paint to stick on doors. So you may not fully appreciate this task unless you've tried it, but I was pretty proud of myself after putting 4 coats on to get it to look good.

And Ty got to go swimming for the first time. He clung to me pretty tight at first, but once we gave him a ball to chase around, he actually tried to paddle and loved it. Good times. I love summer when we actually have time to take advantage. Now we just have to roast some more mallows and watch a meteor shower and my summer is complete :)

I know these are blurry but it's all we have.  Landon says he was shaking because he was cold ;)

Though I must say. This is the first year where school has started and my life hasn't changed a bit. We have no one in school anymore. WEIRD, but AWESOME!

Sunday duds, as Anita calls them :) He likes to look just like Daddy

Aunt Angie came to visit. It was fun to see her and show her the new house! Thanks for making the drive!!

His new way of looking at the world lately. Not sure why, but he does it all the time.

Someone asked me to make their son's brithday cake a few weeks ago. I was really rushed for time the day I did it because Tyson was really not cooperating, so I'm not sure it was quite what I planned. But I made a big angry birds cake, and then these cupcakes, with the blue bird cupcakes as well. Had to pipe feathers on all of them! I think it turned out looking good, but I am definitely learning a lot. It was my first experience making marshmallow fondant, and it turned out pretty great! And they had a delicious raspberry cream cheese filling.

Our little wrangler says "hope your summer has been fun too!"