Reading a book "with" Grammy...

Christopher is listening to "The Night Before Christmas," narrated by Grammy (aka Shirley) in a recordable book, over and over and over...

Blue sucker = blue tongue

Denver Zoo in November!

It was too warm of a day in November to pass up a day at the zoo...

Halloween 2010

This year, our little monkey man got to do his Halloween treat-or-treating at Aunt Michelle and Uncle Trevor's church (Mountair Christian Church) with his cousins Ayla and Isaiah, as well as Grammy. His monkey costume was courtesy of Grandma Kozel - thanks again, Grandma!!
He "mastered" the games rather quickly, learning that if you stand about 2 inches from the bucket, your throw is much less likely to miss and you're much more likely to get lots of candy.

And he got a LOT of candy!

Trick or Treat Street at the Children's Museum

Right around Halloween, we got to go to Trick or Treat Street at the Denver Children's Museum. The kids played games and got treats - it was fun!

When we first got there, they got to ride on a little train ride...

And of course, played with trains...

Also got to check out the very cool bubble exhibit. Notice how Ayla (thanks to forward-thinking Aunt Michelle) was smart enough to wear eye glasses. Christopher did not (sorry, buddy) and we had a bubbles-in-the-eye incident, but he recovered pretty quickly...

Bowling for a treat...

Reaping the reward of his trick-or-treating...

Phil and Jenny's Wedding: Oct 23, 2010

The weekend of Oct 23rd, we all got to go to Phil (Brian's cousin) and Jenny's wedding in Chicago. It was a beautiful wedding and a great weekend with family!



The morning after we arrived, Christopher got to have breakfast with his Grandma and Gramps at the hotel.

Making silly faces for Uncle Steve...

If I do say so myself, Christopher looked very handsome in his suit!

He was a bit of a wild man in his suit, though. He was in constant motion all day and night of the wedding!!

Christopher and his cousins (Josh, Josie and Ben) got to do some treat-or-treating at the hotel (knocking on family members' doors). He was a monkey (appropriately chosen costume) this year - his adorable costume was made by Grandma Kozel. Thanks, Grandma!!

Enjoying some chocolate-covered strawberries at the reception. Let's be honest. He ate the chocolate, not the strawberries.

Gettin' down on the dance floor with Aunt Bonnie and Ben...

Admiring Gramps' tie (the tie is covered with pictures of all the grandkids)...

Spearing some pineapple before dinner was served...

A moment of down-time after treat-or-treating and before heading to the wedding...

Knocking on a door during trick-or-treating at the hotel...

Our little monkey man...

Aunt Bonnie is a great storyteller...

Thumbs up for the big boy!!

Christopher has done a great job potty training!! We started Wednesday (admittedly, the first couple days were a little rough), but he's a good 95% potty trained now. We're so proud of him!

Sticker crazy

His style of putting stickers on a coloring page is a bit excessive. He gets so many on the page, that they end up hanging off the edges. And just when you think there couldn't possibly be any more room for stickers, would does he say? "More stickers, please, momma..."

Just my size!

We've been waiting and waiting to pick these pumpkins from our garden - until they looked a bit less green, but...we couldn't wait any longer, for fear of them freezing at night. So...they didn't turn out quite as big or quite as orange as we were hoping, but that's ok...they're just Christopher's size!

Like a Sesame Street episode...

IN the fort...

BESIDE the fort...

ON the fort...

His 1st caramel apple...

He ate it while standing on a chair, letting the apple sit on the countertop, as he leaned over it, taking bites. I don't know why, but he did.

It was a big hit.

"Fixing" the couch for us...

Stylin' in his sleep

Awwww, mom. This is embarrassing...

Showing off his new Lightning McQueen pajama's (from the Disney movie, Cars)...

Sleepyhead

On this particular afternoon, he woke up from a nap, came downstairs and fell right back asleep on the couch. Some days, I'd like to be two years old.

Our Indiana Trip (August 2010)

This summer, Christopher and I got to spend several days with all of my family. We had a really, really great time!

Doing what cousins do together - goofing around...

Good old Indiana sweet corn, fresh from Grampy's garden...
A first for Christopher - jumping off the diving board like a big boy, into Uncle Luke's arms.
On the carousel at the Fort Wayne Children's zoo - a very fun day!
Another first for Christopher - a pony ride (also at the zoo)...

Best spot in the house, on Grampy's shoulders...
"Sharing" the blue chair with his cousin Ella (the two are only 3 days apart in age)...
Getting to see Great-Grandma Healey...
And Great-Grandma Harman...
And Great-Grandpa Harman, too!
Yes, that's uncooked brownie batter he's eating. Only at Babcia's house!
A little help from his cousin, Caity...
He really liked getting "kisses" from the dogs at Babcia's house - Dixie and Mav...
Cooling off in the water fountain at the end of a zoo day...
Getting to touch the baby chicks at the zoo...
Feeding the goats, and I mean one little pellet of food at a time. It took forever.
Chillin' on the train with Uncle Eric James...
Can you envision these two cousins, almost 2o years from now, singing karaoke at a bar in college together?

Proud of himself for swimming in the pool...
No explanation needed here. He was ruthless with that squirt gun.
All lined up on the carousel...
The four cousins in a tent at the zoo...

Christopher got to feed a leaf of lettuce to the giraffe. It was pretty neat to be that close to them.

Making a little drum music together...

Needless to say, we had a GREAT time with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!