A Visit with Santa

Well my love after weeks of preparation the day finally arrived, you were going to see Santa!!! Now Mommy has been showing you pictures of Santa on the TV, on ornaments, on lawn decorations, in books everywhere there was a Santa so you would feel comfortable with the big jolly fellow and you have been very receptive! You point out Santa and say "Ho Ho Ho" all over place, so Mommy was thinking that this whole picture with Santa might just be a success...not so much my love! This morning as Mommy was changing your diaper I told you we were going to see Santa today and you clapped and said "Ho Ho Ho" and Mommy was feeling oh so optimistic! Mimi and Mommy arrived at the mall at 9:58 convinced we would be the first to see Santa at 10:00, you were looking so very cute in all your Christmas smocked glory and saddle oxfords just a smiling and waving at people. Low and behold there were two kids in front of us but you were still happy happy happy just working the crowd! Then the little boy in front of us sees Santa and promptly burst into tears, at this point you just looked at us as if to say: wait a minute now what is going on?? We went up to Santa (the same Santa from last year! I was hoping you would remember your positive previous meeting...not so much) and you just started to wave your arms vigorously in your "no no no" pattern! Well Mommy went ahead and put you on a stranger's lap and this is the photo result:



No tears, but just a look of sheer horror!! It's a picture we will never forget my love!! Thankfully you recovered nicely and proceeded to stroll around the mall like you owned the place! You walk just like your Daddy!!



All in all a very fun Christmas outing!!

Gobble Gobble

Hello my little turkey! We just celebrated our second Thanksgiving together! I can't believe it is already your second holiday season!! We had a great turkey day, we (and by we I mean you my love) woke up very early and were ready to go! Or as you say "Go Go Go!" So off we went to Mimi and Poppy's to have donuts and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (a tradition your Mommy has been participating in her whole life)and oh my goodness something very special happened, your Daddy thought it was time for your first taste of chocolate milk! And of course you LOVED it! Mommy thought the experience wasn't complete without a little donut as well!



After we watched the parade for awhile we headed home for nap time and to gear up for our big Thanksgiving feast back at Mimi and Poppy's. When we arrived MawMaw, PawPaw, Pook, and Aunti Shanti were all there, it took you just a minute to process that all these people were at your Mimi's house but then you decided to work the crowd! We had such fun watching you show everyone all your tricks! You even got sit in your highchair at the dining room table with everyone! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sitting at the big table!

You love pushing Pooh in your grocery cart!




Daddy bought you a Thanksgiving balloon!



And then it was time to decorate for Christmas!! Daddy and I have had such fun decorating this year with you! You already know how to say "Ho Ho Ho' for Santa!! Can't wait for all the fun holiday happenings headed our way!

Fall Fun!

It's Fall!! And boy have we been busy my love! There are always so many fun things to do in the fall and we have been doing them all! Our first fall adventure was our annual trip to Gentry's Farm with the gang! We have been going all together since Mommy was pregnant with you! Here is a look back at the mandatory whole gang portrait (I have to give Miss Nicole props, because I totally stole this idea from Abby's blog!)

Our first trip, you were still in Mommy's tummy!

Look how little you were!

This year's picture! We are missing Ellie though! You are looking at Baby Kate, you LOVE babies!

You had such fun at the Pumpkin Patch! You saw sheep, goats, chickens and cows!! Oh my goodness you were just a Baaaing and Mooing all over the place! You favorite part of the whole day was the hay ride!! You had soooo much fun watching the cows and pointing to them! You were so excited that you couldn't even sit in Daddy's lap you stood in his lap the whole time!

Trying to get Ryan to smile! You are such a sweet boy wanting to hold his hand!



You loved the tractors!





Our next fall extravaganza stop was the zoo!! It was the annual Ghouls at Grassmere and Mommy is going to be honest I was a wee bit nervous that it might be too scary for you but Miss Nicole and Aunt Leigh assured me that as long as we were there before dark you would be good to go and they were right! You LOVED every minute of it!! And the best part you got to wear your super duper cute Lion costume! Oh my goodness love you were by the far the cutest little lion I have ever seen! You even can roar!











Your favorite part of the whole evening was the merry go round! You had so much fun going round and round! You especially loved waving to Daddy, Mr. Jason and Abby's Mimi! Mommy was so proud of you, you even kept your costume on the whole time! I thought for sure we wouldn't make it out of the parking lot with your mane on but you were such a big boy! I think it helped that we parked next to Abby and she was all decked out in her Mickey costume so you knew that something special was going on! There was even a dance tent where you shook your groove thing with Abby, Ryan, Ellie and Abby's cousin Clara Lee, you all looked so cute just busting a move on the dance floor! And we went on a haunted hayride!! Which once again Mommy was very nervous that you would be scared but you LOVED it! In fact you thought the whole thing was just hilarious!! Such fun my love! Mommy just loves all these fun activities with you my sweet boy!! Next stop: Pumpkinfest on Saturday!!

Look Who IsTalking!

You are a talker my love!! Oh my goodness you are just like a sponge (a very cute one of course!) you are just soaking up so much!! Here are all the words you can say so far:

Momma
Da Da
Pop Pop - for Poppy
My My - for Mimi, which I think is so sweet because it is like you are saying Mine Mine, which of course your Mimi just loves!
Balloon - you LOVE balloons! When you say it you look up!
Ball - you are such an eagle eye too my love you can spot balls everywhere! Even on TV!
Go
Cat
Yum - oh my goodness you say this when you are eating or pretending to cook and it is so stinkin cute! You stick out your tongue a little bit when you say it!
Boat
Bye Bye
Gobble Gobble - for a turkey

These are all the sounds you can make:
Moo
Baa
Meow
Arf Arf
Fire engine siren

Sesame Street has also become a favorite of yours! When you see Elmo on TV or in a book you make the sweetest high pitch sound, imitating Elmo's voice! You also do a Cookie Monster voice!

There are so many cute things that you can do! Mimi has taught you how to "sniff" the flowers! You even "sniff" the flowers in books! She also taught you how to "hammer hammer" when we ask you what the workers do! You love watching the workers build new houses in Mimi and Poppy's neighborhood. You also have started making the cutest gesture when we ask you where something went, you hold up your hands and shrug your little shoulders like "I don't know!" Mimi also taught you to raise your arm up when she says you are soooo big!

You know colors too!! You know orange, red, and blue!!

You are also a dancing machine!! Mommy LOVES your dancing! Anytime you hear music you stop what you are doing and just bust a move!!

Here are some other favorites of the moment: Dinosaur Train on PBS, Morning Star chicken nuggets and Bocca Burgers (you are a little vegetarian my love, though you do like rotisserie chicken!), lima beans (which Mommy thinks is just crazy!), riding in your wagon, going to the store with your Daddy, watering the flowers with your Poppy and reading your books. Everyday you are learning new things and Mommy is loving every minute of it!!

On the Road Again

Well we are just on the move my love!! After chilling at home for a week after our big Texas trip we headed to the lake to celebrate Daddy's birthday! And guess what??? The whole Grugett clan was there to celebrate with Daddy!! We actually went down a little bit early so you could have KK and Grandaddy all to yourself for a bit. And boy did you have fun!! You loved walking around the harbor and looking at all the boats, you even learned how to say "boat"!! You are such a talker now my love (more on all your verbal skills in a later blog!!) You loved playing basketball with your Daddy, ball is another one of your favorite words!







Soon Uncle Lee and Ryan joined us, and then the fun really started! You just love following Ryan all around and playing with him! Ryan was very sweet with you and always shared the toys with you! KK and Grandaddy also got you a new farm toy! You had so much fun making all your animal sounds for everyone! You also have a new favorite toy, Ryan's tricycle!! You LOVE riding it, but so does Ryan! So Mommy asked Santa for your very own tricycle for Christmas. We played and played and looked at the boats, we even went on a picnic! By this time Aunt Leigh and Baby Jake were also there, such fun with all three boys!! You were sooooo sweet with Baby Jake, you even offered him your paci!! That means love my friend because we all know how much you love your paci! Mommy and Daddy had such fun watching you play with your cousins! Here are some more highlights! Wonder where we will venture to next??

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Oh you seasoned traveler you!! We just got back (well it's been almost two weeks but Mommy is sleepy in the evenings when I'm supposed to be blogging!)from The Trip as we like to call it! You were supposed to go the beach with Mommy, Mimi and Poppy but Mother Nature had other plans and sent a tropical storm that way, the nearest beach that had good weather was five hours away by plane and Mommy did not think that was a good idea with an almost 15 month old! Sooooo we headed to Texas Hill Country! San Antonio to be exact! Mommy was so excited and a bit nervous about your first plane ride but good thing I had Mimi and Poppy with me!! You even had your very own boarding pass! We decided to take your car seat on the plane with us because it would be familiar and would keep you from wanting to a walk around , because you are walking machine my friend! So we boarded and got you all secure in your seat and then you were ready to go. You did so good with the take off!! And in about five minutes into the flight you fell asleep and slept almost the whole flight!







And let me tell you my friend you LOVE an airport! You were very a big helper and liked to push the baggage cart all around! You also attracted quite the crowd of admirers! One lady even asked to take your picture! So here we were in the Lone Star state, and Poppy out did himself on the hotel! Soooo nice love!! We had a great big suite that you could roam all around in and a kitchen! But the best part of all was the pool!! Oh my goodness love it was a water park and you L-O-V-E-D it!!! The best part of the day was playing in the water with your Mimi and Poppy (which by the way you seem to only have eyes for! No Mommy time for you, all Mimi and Poppy!!)Here you are in all your aquatic cuteness!








Note that you and Poppy have matching outfits on! You are a carbon copy of your Poppy!


Not only did we play play play in the water, we also explored the Riverwalk and the Alamo!! Mommy was very excited about this because Daddy is always watching some sort of Western show on the History Channel and of course your relation as a Tennessean to the one and only Davy Crockett! You were also a very big hit at the Alamo! People loved watching you walk all around! I'm pretty sure a group of Japanese tourists took your picture also!







You also discovered your love for picking flowers! Every evening before dinner we would walk around outside and you just loved picking the flowers! I'm sure the hotel gardeners were not thrilled with this development but you had soooo much fun!!









We had so much fun on our trip!! Mommy can't wait to see where Mimi and Poppy will take us next!!

Hot Child in the City

Well actually hot child in the suburbs but that just doesn't have the same ring now does it? Anyway it has been HOT HOT HOT my love! I mean hot love like you can bake cookies on the dashboard hot, Mommy knows this for a fact because they showed it on CNN the other day! Unfortunately we live in a time of weather extremes, it's either super hot or super cold. We will discuss Mr. Al Gore when you are a bit older love (don't you worry Mommy's library has the children's version of An Inconvenient Truth!) So we have been sequestered inside or if we venture out it better include a dip in the water! Good thing Uncle Lee sets up the baby pools when we come over! You love swimming and playing with Ryan!





The last few weeks have been very exciting for you my love because you are walking!!! Sooooo big!! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you! You are such a good little walker too my love, just a walking all over the house! And you started walking just in time for Daddy's big family reunion! So everyone in Daddy's family saw you walking! You put on quite a show for them my love, you just LOVE an audience! Here is a picture of our little family overlooking the river



Poppy is also soooo excited that you are walking because in just a few short weeks we are going on THE TRIP (that's what Mimi and Mommy call our upcoming trip to the beach because it is the first time you will fly on an airplane!!) anyway Poppy cannot wait to walk on the beach with you! Everyday you are getting more and more sure of yourself and have quickly replaced crawling with walking! Mommy will post a video of you walking as soon as I figure out this fancy new computer we got!

You also went to your first fair this past week! Daddy was so excited to take you to your very first fair that he made it a boys trip! Just you and Daddy! You had soooo much fun with your Daddy! And Mommy was very impressed that not only did Daddy feed you lunch out he made sure to change your clothes for the ride home before nap! Apparently you loved looking at the all animals and watching Ryan riding a pony! You also had lunch with Uncle Lee and Ryan at a picnic table!




Whew it's hot outside! Just look at those rosy cheeks!




Here's to summer love! And looking forward to fall!!