Merry Christmas....

I've been busy celebrating my 2nd Christmas! It started Tuesday night when we celebrated with Grandpa and Grandma Dahlstrom, Shadow, Uncle Brent, Kari, Grace, Mom, Dad, Marlie and me at our house. We had dinner, opened presents and had yummy ice cream sundaes for dessert! I got so many nice presents! I got a new table and chair set, a vacuum cleaner, a race track, play-doh and a shopping cart, and a mp3 player for little kids!


Then Christmas Eve Mom and Dad let Marlie and I each get one present. I got a new chair and Marlie got a stuffed toy.

Christmas morning I woke up and came down to some more gifts! I got a couple more from Mom and Dad and Santa brought me some. One thing Santa brought me was a kitchen set with play food and dishes! It's so much fun to play with!
I also got a fun tent with a tunnel to crawl through!

Today Mom,
Dad, Marlie and I have just been hanging out at home and I've been playing with all of my new toys. We were going to drive to Harpers and spend Christmas with family but Mom and Dad were unsure of the weather so we stayed home. We'll be going another day, maybe tomorrow to celebrate with Grandpa Cota and also with Granny. I'm sure Mom will take more pictures that I can post then. I hope you are having a Merry Christmas! I sure am! I'm a very lucky little boy!

Videos are below:

20 months old...

I'm 2o months old today! Not much new to report really. Mom weighed me the other day and I weigh 23 pounds fully dressed....so, needless to say I'm still a tiny little guy. I'm still working on my counting and learning new words almost every day. I've been having some fun play dates with my little buddy, Drew. I learn new things from him too - he's a very smart little boy!

We celebrated me turning 20 months by going to the

DTI Christmas party at Uncle Brent and Kari's house. I had fun playing pool and hanging out with all the DTI gang. I also liked playing with Uncle Brent's hat. Everyone there was dressed funny in silly Christmas sweaters. I just wore a normal sweater so I didn't look as goofy as everyone else.

Mom said it's hard to believe in just four months I'll be two. To be honest it is hard to believe. I feel like it wasn't that long ago I had my first birthday! I'm getting to be such a big boy!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Here's a picture of me with Grandpa and Grandma D. at the party.

Hair cut....

Yes, I got my hair cut again! This time I got to sit on the big frog and watch Thomas the Train while she cut it. I was a really good boy. Mommy said she was very pleased with me, and so was the lady who cut my hair. She gave me a balloon and a sucker when I was done!

Snow fun...

Today it was pretty nice outside so Mom and Dad got me all dressed and we went out to play. At first I was pretty angry because they tried putting that darn winter hat on my head and MITTENS! I hate mittens! I was screaming as Dad hauled me out to the back yard. It didn't take long for me to get over it though. Mom and Dad started tossing snow around and Marlie was chasing it. That made me laugh, and laugh, and laugh. It was so funny to watch her. I couldn't walk in the snow very well because it was pretty deep in most places and it was just stuck in it.

Mom and Dad put me in my little sled and Dad pulled me around the yard. That was fun, especially when Daddy would run. He'd run so fast going in a circle. As soon as he'd stop I would say, "Gin pease". How could he say no to that? He couldn't....so he'd pull me again. Marlie loved it too. She was running in circles chasing Dad and my sled. We all had fun!

I hope you had a good weekend! I sure did!

Santa?

I saw him! Mom and Dad have been telling me about him, and I've seen pictures, figurines, and on tv, but today I actually saw him! They said I saw him last year but I was too little to remember. When I saw him today though, I could not stop smiling....until Dad tried to get me too close. As soon as we backed away a little though, my smile came back bigger than ever. I just rested my chin on Daddy, grinned and watched Santa out of the corner of my eye. He gave me a candy cane and I gave it back to him. So, he kept that one and gave me another one. I know what Santa says, I say it all the time, but when I heard the real Santa say "Ho, ho, ho!" I almost burst! That was so neat and made me smile even bigger...if that was possible!



After that Dad put me down and Mom was hoping I'd wander my way over toward him. Nope...I just wanted watch, while safely standing by Daddy, Soooo, I held on to his pants, put my head between his legs and watched as kids went up and talked to Santa. It worked out well. :)

We stayed there for about half and hour and I played in the kids area and just watched him from a few feet away but never wanted to get any closer.

Rewind to Thanksgiving...

I realized I forgot to update you on Thanksgiving like I promised. So...two posts in one night! I had a good Thanksgiving. We celebrated at Uncle Brent's house the night before Thanksgiving. I had a lot of fun playing on the pool table! It was my favorite thing! But once the grown ups started playing a real pool game I had to get down. So...I hung out with Uncle Brent and I was showing him what my cartoons are all about. He hadn't heard of many of them so he had a lot to learn.









Thursday Dad and and I went to our friends, Julia and Micah's house. We had Thanksgiving dinner there with a few other people. My buddy Parker and his mom and dad stopped over for a little while too. It's always fun to see him!

Mommy went back to Harpers. She didn't do much for Thanksgiving but did spend time with family. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving too!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Tonight Mom, Dad and I went to Marion Christmas in the Park. We met my buddies, Parker and Drew there along with their parents. It was pretty cold but I still had fun. It was touch and go at first. I was a little unsure of why the heck I was so bundled up and the reason for being out in the snow and cold. But once I found my buddies the night improved. I also enjoyed listening to the music and looking at the Christmas lights! We just hung out, walked around and looked at each other. The line for Santa was waaaaay too long for us to wait so I'm going to catch up to that guy another time. I have a lot to talk to him about. :)

Ouch!

Yesterday I had to go to the Dr. office and get two pokes in my legs. I got my first dose of both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine. I only screamed or a few seconds and then I was over it though and the rest of my day was much better!

Today we are going to have a fun day! We're going to celebrate Thanksgiving at Uncle Brent's house tonight! I'm excited to see Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Brent and Kari!

19 months old...

Today I turned 19 months old! We didn't really do anything too exciting. Just basic day to day stuff, played at home, ran some errands with Mom, and watched an episode or two of Diego and Dora.

Mom thought I should mention how I'm saying more and more words every day. I pretty much learn at least 1 new word each day. I've been brushing up on all my animal sounds too. To date I can do; lion, elephant, horse, sheep, dog, cat, frog, dog, duck, monkey, chicken, pig, cow and turkey. I recently learned to 'chugga chugga chugga chugga...choo-CHOO'! I love to count anything and everything I can. Mommy says sometimes she even hears me counting in my sleep. I can count to seven (but I do forget two - I'm working on it!) Mom swears I included it today, but it was just once, so I still need some practice. We started working on learning my ABC's but I'm no where near getting that yet. We'll keep working on it though - I'll get there.

My sleep schedule got a little messed up after the time changed in October but I'm definitely back on track now. Going to bed around 8:30 - 9:00 and waking 12 hours later.

I guess I have to go get a couple shots next week. That doesn't sound like much fun, but Mom and Dad decided I am going to get a seasonal flu shot as well as the first dose of the H1N1 vaccine. Mom has been doing a lot of reading and research on it and was still torn. After talking to my pediatrician and our family doctor they both highly recommended it. They were more concerned with me getting H1N1 and what complications I might have from that, than they were anything with the vaccine. Wish me luck!

This weekend I'm hanging out with Dad. Mom is going to help paint at my Uncle Brent's new house. Boys weekend at my house! Should be fun!

Well nothing else to report, I guess that's a good thing! Have a good weekend!

First Hair Cut...

That's right, I'm almost 19 months old and I just got my very first hair cut. Mom realized maybe she should have gotten it done a little sooner, and probably before my pictures were taken, but oh well! It was quite a lot longer than she and Dad realized. I don't pay much attention to it, so I didn't really notice how long it was either.

Last night mom was taking some 'before' pictures and that's when they noticed how long it really was. It was definitely time to get me cleaned up!

I went to Cache Kids Kuts in Cedar Rapids. They have a special little room just for kids. They have a couple animal 'chairs' for kids to sit on, but because I am still pretty little she asked Daddy just to hold me on his lap. I just sat and played with a piano toy they had. She even used her little "car" razor on my neck. It tickled a little but I didn't mind too much.

When I was done I got a certificate, she took a picture of Mom, Dad and I, and gave mom a little bag with some of my hair in it. Then...I got a balloon for being such a good boy!









And....the after pic!!






















The comparison:

So much to remember...

I had another great weekend, but we did so much I have to try hard to remember it all.
Let's see...I'll start Thursday I guess. It was such a nice day, Mom, Marlie and I took a walk and on our way back we stopped at the park so I could play. I wanted to go down the twirly slide. That made mom a little nervous but I showed her I could do it and everything was just fine! We also played outside that day. I got to play in my sandbox and run around the yard. It was about 70 degrees outside! So nice I didn't even need a coat!

Friday we played outside a little bit too. Then, Daddy came home early and we loaded up the car and headed to Granny's again. I stayed with her Friday night while Mom and Dad went to watch Dad's cousin, Mitch play football in Caledonia. They said it was fun and Mitch's team won!

Saturday morning I woke up, had breakfast and Grandpa C. stopped in to see me. That put a big smile on my face! We played for a little while before he had to go to work. I was ready for a nap anyway. When I woke up Mom, Dad and I took a walk and met with Grandma D, Peggy, Ashley and Kaylee for lunch! I tried out a booster seat instead of a high chair and they said I did a good job! It might have been because we were crammed in the booth pretty tight, but I was a good boy anyway. After that we had to get back to Granny's so we could hit the road to come back home. Dad wanted to be back to watch the Iowa State game and mom had plans with some friends that night.

Yesterday was another nice day so we played some outside. We had two of our neighbor dogs come in our fence to play. Marlie didn't play much with them but I sure had fun watching them run around. Later in the afternoon Mom, Dad, Marlie and I walked down to the park. There were quite a few kids there but I still got to swing and go down that twirly slide again - about five times! I prefer to slide down on my belly. It's so fun! We ended our great weekend with the Witliff's coming over for dinner. After I went to bed the grown ups had a fire outside. I hope it stays nice for a while longer. I love playing outside! I hope you were able to enjoy the nice weather we had this weekend!

Success....

I had a such a fun week and weekend! I told you about my fun trip to Cedar Falls. When I went there I got some yummy Halloween snacks from Grandpa and Grandma D.

Then, later in the week Mom and Dad got some new things set up in the basement for me to play with since we won't be able to play outside as much. First they got a ball pit down there. Mom just used my blow up swimming pool and they filled it with balls. I think that's pretty neat and a lot of fun!

Then we headed to Harpers for the weekend. Since we got there later on Friday night we didn't do much. Saturday I got up, had breakfast, played, had a nap, lunch and then the fun began! Granny gave me a Halloween present. Then I went to visit my great-grandma Dahlstrom. While I was there she gave me a snack and she has a dog, Lacy. I had a lot of fun throwing the ball for her. I would laugh and laugh when she would run after it.

Then we went to visit my great-uncle Dewey's family. I had fun playing with Carson, Bailey and Brinley. They had Halloween treats for me and everything!


After that we got back in the car and went and visited my great-grandpa and great-grandma Jones. They also had treats for me! What a lucky boy I am!! After all that I was pretty tired. We went back to Granny's so I could take a nap. I woke up refreshed, had some dinner and off to great-grandpa and great-grandma Cota's house.

My Grandpa Cota and great-aunt Brigid came over there too! Great-grandpa had a little tiny kitten in the house he was taking care of. I thought that was really neat and kept dragging the box he was in around saying 'kitty, kitty'. Since it was our last stop Mom let me take my costume off after everyone got to see me in it. She and Dad told me I was a very good boy to wear it all day. They weren't sure how I would handle it but after I had it on for a few minutes I realized it wasn't so bad. I even wore my hood to and from the car!

Grandpa brought me a Halloween present from him and Grandma Mary Kate and great grandma gave me a bag of treats too. Mom told me all of these treats I was getting for wearing my dog suit was called trick or treating. I don't really understand what that all means but she said next year I'll understand it more. Anyway, I'm very thankful for all of the snacks, treats and gifts I received. I am a very lucky boy to have so many people who love me.

Tonight Mom and Dad added to my fun in the basement. Daddy set up my slide from outside down there and he even set it up so I can slide right into the balls!! It is so fun!! I also like to carry balls up to the top of the slide and then let them roll down into the pit.













It's a lot of fun! Well, I hope you had a Happy Halloween, I sure did!!!

Pumpkin carving...

Uckkkk, ucckkkkkk! That's what I repeated over and and over while Mom was trying to get me excited about carving our pumpkin. I really didn't care about it at all. I thought it was uck!

Halloween preview...

Yesterday Mom, Dad, Marlie and I went to Cedar Falls to visit Grandpa and Grandma D. and Uncle Brent. I was also going to show off my Halloween costume. Well by the time Mom got around to putting it on me after dinner I was nearing the over tired state and not the happiest boy anyway. To say I love my Halloween costume would be stretching it, and last night if you saw me you'd think I hate it. I really don't 'hate' it, but when I'm tired, just let me be! Other than the costume melt down I had a great evening and had fun seeing them all.

I'll let you know what kind of day I have on Saturday when the parents expect me to sport that thing most of the day.

Here is the picture mom got of me one day when I wasn't quite so annoyed with the beloved dog costume.

18 months old!

Hi! I'm one and a half today! Wow, that means I'm half way to being TWO!! Can you believe it? We had a great day! Daddy was home with us today. We spent the first part of our day hanging around the house. Then this afternoon we hit the road for Dubuque. Mommy's cousin, Roni Farley at Demasque Photography took some pictures of Mom, Dad and I, and then a bunch more of just me. We had fun! Most of the time I didn't even know I was getting pictures taken because I just got to run around a park!

What have I been up to. Well just being BUSY! I like to be on the go no matter where I am. Mom and Dad still say I'm a good little boy though. They say I'm 'so happy, and always smiling'. I catch them smiling or laughing at things I'm doing sometimes too. I'm still a chatter box, but I'm saying more and more words all of the time. Not everyone would know what I'm saying - sometimes Mom and Dad don't even know what I'm saying. Here's an example: I have this book that has a frog in it, and it reads, "what animal says, 'ribbit, ribbit'?" Well every time I'd bring that book out I'd say, "buddy....buddy". Mom and Dad could never figure out why I called it the 'buddy' book. But after about three months Dad finally realized that I was trying to say "ribbit, ribbit". So if you ask me what a frog says and I say, 'buddy, buddy'. I'm right!

I've gotten a little bit pickier about eating lately but Mom says I'm still not too bad. I usually eat two good meals a day and one of my three meals isn't so great. But I'm eating healthy food so that's good. I LOVE fruit and most vegetables.

I'm still a good sleeper. Lately I've been going to bed a little later, around 8:30 or 9:00 and then getting up around 9:00.

I think books are probably my favorite thing besides my snugglie and my monkey. I love to be read to and to read and look through books on my own.

Here is a sneak peek of a few of my pictures! Mom said she will try and weigh and measure me tomorrow to mark down my 18 month measurements.

Pumpkin farm today...

Mom and Dad have been hoping to take me out to the pumpkin farm for a couple weeks but the weather got kind of crappy so we haven't been able to. Mom saw this weekend was supposed to be a little nicer they decided we'd go today. Well the morning started out nice but by the time we got out there it was pretty cold. We still had fun though! Here are some pictures from our day!

And a great weekened too....

Mom and I had a great trip to Harpers. Friday Mom and I went to visit my great grandpa and great grandma C. Grandpa C. met us there and we had fun. Great G&G had a big pumpkin grow in their garden and I got my picture taken with it.

Saturday morning I stayed with Granny C. while mom went and got her hair done. When Mom got back home we went to Grandpa and Grandma C.'s house for awhile. After that Mom and I headed back home. We weren't there too long and Mom,
Dad and I went to my buddy Parker's house. I guess the adults were watching football but Parker and I just had fun playing together. We don't cheer for the same team but we are still friends. :) We played until 10:00 p.m! I haven't stayed up that late in a looooong time! We were having so much fun though!

Sunday we just hung out at home, watched football and played with toys.

Not sure what we have planned this week but I'll let you know if we do anything fun.