Sunday, November 6, 2011
Halloween 2011!
Happy Halloween! A-man had a great time this last month - he loved Halloween. All the pumpkins, costumes, parties, and especially the CANDY. Here's a brief rundown of what we've been up to lately. We had originally decided to have him be a little golfer - we found this adorable costume and just couldn't resist. But as Halloween kept getting closer mom couldn't help but get him a few other costumes to throw in the mix for parties and such. Here were the costume runner ups...
We went to a party with our church and A-man was decked out as a little golfer. He was absolutely adorable. He had golf clubs, the hat, shoes, the whole thing. In addition mom and dad dressed up as golfers too so it became a family affair. It was so much fun. Not only did A-man look amazing but he had a blast! They had a bouncy house that he loved, hanging donuts, pumpkin bowling, pictures, a cake walk, and treats! Then we ended the evening with Trunk or Treating in the parking lot. He thought it was the best night!
We also had a fun time carving pumpkins. We gave A-man a pumpkin and some tools to start cleaning out a pumpkin and he didn't like it. He tried putting his hand in it a few times and then he would quickly pull it out and say "cold!" So instead we gave him a different pumpkin and some Mr. Pumpkin Head body parts (it's like Mr. Potato Head but for pumpkins). I would start it for him and then he would push it in the rest of the way. He loved doing that and would tell us all the body parts while he was doing it. We finished it off with A-man giving his pumpkin 'high fives.'
And finally came the big night - Halloween! A-man went with mom to a small party and scored a ton of candy. Then dad came home from work early and off we went trick or treating. He thought he was such a big guy to go walking around the neighborhood with dad and mom following after taking all these pictures. Then we put him in the wagon with his buddy and we went around the rest of the block. A-man has definitely learned what candy he likes - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and M&M's. Whenever he was given a chance to pick the candy he would get one of those. What a cutie!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Fall Fun
I love this time of year - the leaves changing colors, the brisk fall air, and the fun times to be had during the fall! In addition fall means that Halloween is almost here and I love Halloween. The best thing for us recently was our one year anniversary on Sept 29 - we celebrated "Gotcha Day" - the day A-man joined our family.
Gotcha Day
We have been having a great time with A-man this fall doing all kinds of fun things. We started the month off by spending the day at Starved Rock State Park hiking and enjoying the day with family and friends. The next weekend we went to a pumpkin patch/apple farm. It was wonderful! A-man loved it. They had a kids barn area with tons of stuff for the kids to do. A-man's favorite was the tractors, the big slide with dad, and the apple train.
Gotcha Day
We have been having a great time with A-man this fall doing all kinds of fun things. We started the month off by spending the day at Starved Rock State Park hiking and enjoying the day with family and friends. The next weekend we went to a pumpkin patch/apple farm. It was wonderful! A-man loved it. They had a kids barn area with tons of stuff for the kids to do. A-man's favorite was the tractors, the big slide with dad, and the apple train.
A-man in the corn silo with mom & with dad in the tractor
He had such a great time. Then we went on a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and picked our pumpkins out. A-man was cracking us up - he would try to pick up a pumpkin and even with the little ones he would make it sound like he was lifting weights. He would huff and pull a funny face. It was so funny and cute. We had such a wonderful day at the farm and wore A-man out completely. He barely made it out of the parking lot before he was sound asleep.
Pumpkin Fun!
This past weekend we joined with other families and were part of the Walk For Adoption. It was a walk to promote adoption. It was a lot of fun and we met so many other people who had adopted their children or were hoping to adopt. I love being around others who understand adoption because it will help A-man as he gets older. He will know others who are adopted and will have friends who are also adopted. It will be a great support system. And it was a beautiful day to go on a nice walk.
We are gearing up for Halloween and are so excited - well some of us are, A-man has no idea what Halloween is. All he knows is that our house has lots of pumpkins, bats, and spiders all around it for decorations. Once he starts getting candy he will LOVE the holiday. He is now officially a toddler - he walks, tries to run, and jumps everywhere. He is talking a lot and is full of energy. He will bring us our shoes and say "Go, Go" and walk over to the front door ready to go out on another adventure. I'm worried about how we will survive winter since A-man loves playing outside.
At the end of September we took our family vacation and Jason's parents joined us on the trip. We had a great time and A-man was a trooper and an amazing traveller. First we went to Niagara Falls - the Canada side - so A-man is now an international traveller. He loved the mist until we took a boat ride to the base of the falls - that was a little too windy and wet and so he hid underneath mom's poncho. Then we went to Palmyra, NY and visited some church history sites - A-man's favorite was the apples at the Smith Farm. Then we drove down to NYC. We visited the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero,
Times Square (A-man loved the huge ferris wheel at Toys R Us in Times Square, Chinatown, and visited lots of other fun stuff. The next day we hit Philadelphia, PA and all the historical stuff there. He was able to ring a bell that rang in Philadelphia when the Declaration of INdependence was first read - super cool. The next day we went to Lancaster, PA and visited Hershey, PA and Amish Country. A-man loved the pillows at the Hershey stores and eating chocolate (Can you blame him?). Then we spend a day in Gettysburg, PA. That wasn't A-man's favorite place since we did a lot of driving and the scenery meant nothing to him but the rest of us loved it. Our last day of the trip we stopped at the Flight 93 memorial (A-man found a caterpillar and that was a huge hit) and then we drove home. It was a long drive but as long as we had Baby Signing Time A-man was a happy camper. It was a wonderful trip and we took almost 1000 pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras).
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The lucky number 9
Why is the number 9 so lucky you may ask?? It's because a week ago Wednesday A-man took 9 steps on his own! We were so excited - I was jumping up and down cheering him on and he just looked at me like I had lost my mind. We were in the dining room and walking into the kitchen. I was holding A-man's hand as we walked and when we got into the kitchen I stopped in the middle of the room to answer my phone. I let go of his hand and he decided to just keep on going and walk to the cupboard that holds all of "his" kitchen stuff. I was flabbergasted and totally blanked out on my friend who I was talking to on the phone. I just stared, counted, and then cheered loudly! He has been walking with us but anytime we asked him to walk without holding on he would refuse by sitting down immediately. We didn't want to push him and make him hate walking so we've been patiently waiting.
A-man and a huge Lego giraffe!
I thought for sure after this major walking experience that he would then start walking on his own all the time but that was a little too ambitious of me. But he has been taking a lot more steps without help now. Here and there he takes a couple of steps, and he loves walking back and forth between mom and dad. I think he is secretly waiting until he can run before he really lets go of our hands and then he will just leave me in the dust chasing after him.
A-man, mom, and Uncle B at the museum
We have had a busy month in addition to learning how to walk. He is continuing to sign tons of words and is trying to talk more and more every day. We had Diana's younger brother come out to visit for a few weeks and A-man loved having his uncle around. Uncle B brought A-man an electric guitar that matched his own and those two had a blast "playing" their guitars. We also took a ton of fun day trips all over. A-man saw dinosaur bones, Renaissance faires, lego buildings & animals, elephant rides, zoo trips, and walks all over the city. One of his favorite things were the train rides we took into the city. The entire trip he kept saying "Whoo Whoo" - and showing me the sign for train.
Uncle B & A-man and the dinosaur attack
A-man is also becoming quite the little climber - he loves going up the stairs and luckily he waits patiently for me to help him back down the stairs. He also is getting very creative in order to get what he wants when it is out of reach. Even though he is so young he will push things over to where he wants to go and then climb up on it in order to reach what he wants. It's ingenious to watch him problem solve. It's also super cute!
My little penguin at the aquarium
Penguin time!
He has loved summer and being outside so much. We go on walks and to the park every day. I'm not sure what we are going to do once winter comes and we are inside more. He is also breaking through more and more teeth - we are up to 3 molars that have come in and one more to go. Poor kid does not like this teething thing - he will show me the sign for "hurt" and then point to his mouth. It breaks my heart to have him hurting. But thankfully we are almost done with that stage and soon his mouth won't hurt him and he can sleep in peace.
A-man, dad, and Uncle B riding an elephant!!!
Well that's all for now folks!
A-man and a huge Lego giraffe!
I thought for sure after this major walking experience that he would then start walking on his own all the time but that was a little too ambitious of me. But he has been taking a lot more steps without help now. Here and there he takes a couple of steps, and he loves walking back and forth between mom and dad. I think he is secretly waiting until he can run before he really lets go of our hands and then he will just leave me in the dust chasing after him.
A-man, mom, and Uncle B at the museum
We have had a busy month in addition to learning how to walk. He is continuing to sign tons of words and is trying to talk more and more every day. We had Diana's younger brother come out to visit for a few weeks and A-man loved having his uncle around. Uncle B brought A-man an electric guitar that matched his own and those two had a blast "playing" their guitars. We also took a ton of fun day trips all over. A-man saw dinosaur bones, Renaissance faires, lego buildings & animals, elephant rides, zoo trips, and walks all over the city. One of his favorite things were the train rides we took into the city. The entire trip he kept saying "Whoo Whoo" - and showing me the sign for train.
Uncle B & A-man and the dinosaur attack
A-man is also becoming quite the little climber - he loves going up the stairs and luckily he waits patiently for me to help him back down the stairs. He also is getting very creative in order to get what he wants when it is out of reach. Even though he is so young he will push things over to where he wants to go and then climb up on it in order to reach what he wants. It's ingenious to watch him problem solve. It's also super cute!
My little penguin at the aquarium
Penguin time!
He has loved summer and being outside so much. We go on walks and to the park every day. I'm not sure what we are going to do once winter comes and we are inside more. He is also breaking through more and more teeth - we are up to 3 molars that have come in and one more to go. Poor kid does not like this teething thing - he will show me the sign for "hurt" and then point to his mouth. It breaks my heart to have him hurting. But thankfully we are almost done with that stage and soon his mouth won't hurt him and he can sleep in peace.
A-man, dad, and Uncle B riding an elephant!!!
Well that's all for now folks!
Friday, July 29, 2011
One big happy family!
We are pleased to announce that we have added another member to our family! We recently adopted...a pet fish! A-man loves fish (well any animal really) and so we thought a good starter pet would be a beta fish. We are still undecided on a name for the fish. Jason is wanting to follow our tradition with beta fish and give him a fighting name. Our first fish was named Jackie Chan so Jason is thinking Chuck Norris for this fish. Diana, on the other hand, wants to give the fish the same name as one of the fish in A-man's book, 15 Animals, and name him Bob. At this point we have compromised and are calling him Bob Norris...Below is a picture of A-man showing us the sign for fish and introducing everyone to the newest member of this family.
Our newest member of the family
We have also unofficially adopted 2 of our favorite teenagers, Blake & Riley for 2 days at least. They used to live out here with their awesome family but recently moved to Boise, Idaho. We were lucky enough to have them come visit us for a couple of days and we loved having them here. In addition to giving A-man tons of love and attention we also got to play games with them and enjoy some good times. A-man loved showing Blake how to make his Mater car work and Riley loved his cuddling!
A-man teaching Blake how to use his car - "1st you shake it"
And then you put it on the ground and it goes!!!
Cuddling with his buddy Riley
Our newest member of the family
We have also unofficially adopted 2 of our favorite teenagers, Blake & Riley for 2 days at least. They used to live out here with their awesome family but recently moved to Boise, Idaho. We were lucky enough to have them come visit us for a couple of days and we loved having them here. In addition to giving A-man tons of love and attention we also got to play games with them and enjoy some good times. A-man loved showing Blake how to make his Mater car work and Riley loved his cuddling!
A-man teaching Blake how to use his car - "1st you shake it"
And then you put it on the ground and it goes!!!
Cuddling with his buddy Riley
Trains & Luai's
Another random post that shows how cute A-man is...
We went to a Luai party at our church a few weeks ago and A-man wore the cutest outfit. I had purchased the outfit months ago on sale and was waiting for the right opportunity for him to wear it and we finally found one! He fit in perfectly with the Hawaiian theme. Not only did he look fantastic but he had a great time eating Hawaiian food and watching the dancing. He cheered with the crowd and laughed and giggled the entire party.
Not only do I look cool but my hair is super spiky!
Mom's little man
Hawaiian hunks!
I may have mentioned in the past how much A-man loves trains but did I ever mention how much his dad loves Lincoln Logs? Well the other day their two loves combined. We found a Lincoln Log train set - it has a train track with trains and a whole Lincoln Log town to build around the track. We immediately grabbed it up and my two boys were both getting ready for a great time. A-man wouldn't let go of the train on the whole ride home and kept saying "whoo-whoo". By the time we got home we started assembling the tracks and town. While A-man was enjoying his new train, Jason was building his log town. A-man started to get interested in Jason's buildings and it soon became a battle to see how much Jason could build before A-man destroyed it. We had a lot of fun playing! It will be even more fun once A-man starts building it himself!
Trying out his new train set
I'll take care of this for you dad...
We went to a Luai party at our church a few weeks ago and A-man wore the cutest outfit. I had purchased the outfit months ago on sale and was waiting for the right opportunity for him to wear it and we finally found one! He fit in perfectly with the Hawaiian theme. Not only did he look fantastic but he had a great time eating Hawaiian food and watching the dancing. He cheered with the crowd and laughed and giggled the entire party.
Not only do I look cool but my hair is super spiky!
Mom's little man
Hawaiian hunks!
I may have mentioned in the past how much A-man loves trains but did I ever mention how much his dad loves Lincoln Logs? Well the other day their two loves combined. We found a Lincoln Log train set - it has a train track with trains and a whole Lincoln Log town to build around the track. We immediately grabbed it up and my two boys were both getting ready for a great time. A-man wouldn't let go of the train on the whole ride home and kept saying "whoo-whoo". By the time we got home we started assembling the tracks and town. While A-man was enjoying his new train, Jason was building his log town. A-man started to get interested in Jason's buildings and it soon became a battle to see how much Jason could build before A-man destroyed it. We had a lot of fun playing! It will be even more fun once A-man starts building it himself!
Trying out his new train set
I'll take care of this for you dad...
Backyard fun!
The best thing about living in a house is having a backyard. A-man loves spending time out back and playing with all of his outside toys. He's loves being outside and enjoying the sun and shade. Our back yard has a lot of trees so it's nice and shady and doesn't get too hot. We have our own little playground back there and he thinks it's awesome! Not to mention all his trucks that go in the dirt and the balls we throw around. He has a little slide and climbs up the slide and then giggles as he slips down. He has a sand and water table and splashes like crazy with the water and loves scooping up the sand.
Backyard fun
He has his own fire truck car and he and his friends love playing in his fire-truck. Sometimes the back of the firetruck fills up with water and he has another little splash toy. Even though he can't move the car around on his own yet that doesn't stop him for still having fun with it.
This is where I store my extra water
Hi there!
Driving my way!
Let me show you how this is done!
And of course we have a kiddie pool. It's super cute and looks like a giraffe. It has a slide and the giraffe's mouth sprays water when hooked up to the hose. The first time he went into his swimming pool he couldn't get enough of it. He wasn't used to it and kept slipping but would immediately jump right up and keep playing. Even though the water was super cold he kept going back for more. The kiddie pool has definitely been a summer staple!
Let me in there!
Climbing up the slide is just as fun!
Guess who loves their swimming pool!
Sliding down the slide for the first time!
Best part of a good day swimming is warming up afterwards
Backyard fun
He has his own fire truck car and he and his friends love playing in his fire-truck. Sometimes the back of the firetruck fills up with water and he has another little splash toy. Even though he can't move the car around on his own yet that doesn't stop him for still having fun with it.
This is where I store my extra water
Hi there!
Driving my way!
Let me show you how this is done!
And of course we have a kiddie pool. It's super cute and looks like a giraffe. It has a slide and the giraffe's mouth sprays water when hooked up to the hose. The first time he went into his swimming pool he couldn't get enough of it. He wasn't used to it and kept slipping but would immediately jump right up and keep playing. Even though the water was super cold he kept going back for more. The kiddie pool has definitely been a summer staple!
Let me in there!
Climbing up the slide is just as fun!
Guess who loves their swimming pool!
Sliding down the slide for the first time!
Best part of a good day swimming is warming up afterwards
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