Oct 2011 - Grammy & Grampy's visit! (part 1)

Grammy & Grampy came to visit in October, which was a perfect time to go to a local farm/pumpkin patch with Aunt Michelle, Uncle Trevor, Isaiah and Ayla!  We started off with the petting zoo at the farm...

These three are so goofy together!

Some quality Lego time with Grampy.

They went through the straw maze a couple times...

We all went through the corn maze together and nearly got lost...

Riley's Birthday Party!

Sweet Riley just turned two!  She is the younger sister of Will (plaid shirt with dark hair behind her, who is one of Christopher's friends).  Riley is the only girl in a sea of boys!

Each of the kids got to paint a pumpkin, which they had a lot of fun doing.

Christopher and his best friends, Kai and Eli, finishing up their pumpkins.

Riley's house is set in a beautiful part of the mountains - you can see the Aspens beginning to change color.

Enjoying the birthday cupcake.  He ate all the icing, licking it off like ice cream and didn't have a single bite of the actual cake part.  The "sugar high" started about 20 minutes later...

We went to the Circus!!

So...yesterday, we got to go to the circus with Michelle, Trevor, Isaiah and Ayla and we had a GREAT time!

The three cousins before the show started...

The beginning of the show makes you realize that there is SO MUCH to see, it's hard to not be overwhelmed visually.

The tight-rope performers were really impressive.

Entranced in the show...

The tigers seemed so fierce but put on a good show!

That ball of fire in the air is actually a MAN ON FIRE being shot from a cannon, aiming for the landing pad on the right.  Crazy!!

The elephants were a big hit and lots of fun to watch!

A boy and his Legos

Christopher's Aunt Michelle recently shared a HUGE bucket of Legos with him and he's loved breaking them in.

I caught him inside his "fort," wearing his cape and playing with some of the Lego guys.  Such a boy!

Eli's Birthday Party!

 Christopher's friend, Eli, turned 3 and Christopher had a lot of fun at his party!  The pinata was a big hit!

 Christopher was "helping" Eli to blow out his candles...

 Indulging in the birthday cupcakes with Eli...

Licking off the very last bits of icing, such that none goes to waste.

Learning to write his name...

So...pretty much every day at preschool, Chris makes a "play plan" of what he's going to do for the day.  He is also learning how to write his name on these "play plans."  Above is the most impressive version of writing his name we've seen so far.  We're so proud of him!

New bed!

Well...turns out Christopher isn't getting any smaller and was beginning to outgrow his toddler-size bed.  So...we got him a "big boy bed," which is a twin-size low loft bed and he loves it!  It's fun because he gets to climb a ladder to get into and out of bed and there is a fun tent/fort area beneath the bed that he can hide and play in.  Last night was his first night sleeping in his new bed.  This morning, we asked him if the bed was comfortable and he said, "sure was."  We asked him if he slept well and he said, "sure did."  Guess he likes it!

Coloring...

Breaking in a new box of crayons with Dad...

I don't think that's how you play...

We were playing the Chuggington matching game and as we were supposedly "cleaning up" at the end, Chris began sticking the cards between all his fingers and toes...

Making cookies

Not that we needed an excuse to make cookies, but Christopher's friends, Kai and Eli, were coming over for dinner and we needed a yummy dessert for all the boys.  Chocolate chip and M&M cookies!

Garden

We stopped to check on our "mini" garden that's growing this year (that's what you get for planting an entire month late). We have basil, rosemary, oregano and green beans. So far, so good!

Taking care of Truman

Christopher is the designated treat-giver for Truman...

Edamame!

Christopher and I had dumplings and edamame for dinner tonight. He ate his portion of edamame, then my portion, then asked for more! He was "popping" them all over the place, including into his mouth, my mouth and even across the room (oops!)...

Zoo day!

Christopher's preschool closed for 3 days between the summer and fall sessions. We decided to jam-pack those three days with lots of fun! The first day we went to an indoor bouncy house place with friends (Kai and Eli) and cousins (Isaiah and Ayla) and had A LOT of fun! The next day we went to the zoo (hot, hot day!) and the last day, we went to a water park with a friend (Caydan). Christopher and I are both exhausted, but we definitely made the most of the three days off!

Feeding the lorakeet...
Measuring his arm span against that of an orangutan...

Ice cream, of course. It was so hot, we decided to have our ice cream indoors, in the air conditioning, rather than risk a melty mess in the 95 degree weather.

Indiana visit - August 2011

Christopher thoroughly enjoyed the bubble makers Babcia had - notice his hair is drenched with bubble slime.

He just laughed and laughed and laughed....

Babcia enjoying some snuggle time with the grandkids.

Turns out chocolate-covered sprinkle donuts follow that boy everywhere he goes...

Playing a little tug-of-war with Maverick. He loved playing with those dogs...

A rather intense game of air hockey. Notice the level of concentration here...

Nothing beats play-doh time with Babcia...

Doggy kisses...

Christopher got to see his Great-Grandma Harman and Great-Grandpa Harman!

Tic-tac-toe time with Babcia...

Christopher thought the Nintendo games were a hoot!

Hiding in the toy box with Caity...

Enjoying a dip in the pool with Grampy...

Christopher also got to see his Great-Grandma Healey. He was being a little shy...

Christopher had his first experience turning the crank as we made homemade ice cream. This is a family tradition that goes back quite a while. YUM!!

A little quality time with Uncle Eric James...

The kids put on a "show" for us one evening. It was rather impromptu and involved four kids each doing their own thing simultaneously - singing or dancing...

It is harder than you'd expect to get 4 kids to a) look the same direction or b) all smile for a picture...

Quality grandkid time with Grampy...

Loving cousins...

Pool time. He did actually swim by himself a little this time with just the floaties on his arms (and goggles over his eyes, but we're not sure why).

As always, it was wonderful to get to see all the grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Much love to you all!!