After School Fun

We just love Christian's school, the staff and his teachers. This week, they had a social event with a jump house ... and ya'll know how much Christian loves jump houses (by the number of times I've posted pics with him jumping).

This time waa bit different, as they only let kids in the jump house by age group. They could jump for five minutes, and then they had to get out so the next group could come in. Christian did NOT like being told he had to get out ... and his teachers started to see a very different side of our boy wonder.

Ms. Jo (his current teacher and featured in the pics below in the blue shirt) couldn't believe Christian's reaction to having to get out. And that is good, becuase that means he has good behavior while at school in the classroom setting

Wordless Wednesday - May 11, 2011

The Wedding Dress

Christian loves "Cinderella," and so when I walked out in my wedding dress just for fun, he looked at me and said, "Mommy is Cinderella!" Awwww!!

He's never seen such a big, poofy dress and kept looking in amazement, so I asked him if he wanted to wear it and he said, "Yes!!"

He was so cute trying to walk around surrounded by all the poofy layers of tulle. Maybe I'll save these photos and share them with his fiancée one day. :)

Muffin Monday - May 2, 2011

Muffin Monday - April 25, 2011

For today's Muffin Monday, the boys went to the fountain in our community, and then out to Christian's very first Happy Meal at McDonalds.

Yes, that's right. Christian is just about 3 1/2, and this was his first McDonald's Happy Meal. We try hard to get him to eat as healthy as possible, and fast food is typically not part of the menu.

We are pretty fortunate that Christian doesn't have a taste for fast food (not yet any way ...).

Easter 2011

Christian somehow remembers Easter from last year - and how much he loved looking for eggs. This year, he got to hunt for eggs at our town's Easter Egg Hunt. He got to hunt for them at school, and then in our yard.

As Christian would say, "Yay for Easter!"

Additionally, God spoke quite clearly though Christian. You see, we haven't been to church since November. Christian often gets sick a couple of days after going to church, and since it was cold and flu season, we just kind of bypassed church for a while. And then not going to church became our routine.

But yesterday, Christian and I had hair appointments and we drove past our church. Jonathan (who was with Christian in a separate car), tells me that both coming and going, Christian got upset as Jonathan went past the church and didn't pull in.

So, we decided that this morning, we'd better stop our streak of laziness and get to church.

Christian's Spring Portraits

Wordless Wednesday - April 20, 2011

Sharks!!

Our sweet boy had a bit of a shark fascination (er, um, obsession).

The moment he wakes up in the morning or from his nap, he asks to watch whatever his latest shark documentary interest is. We have several shark DVDs, and found a whole collection of shark documentaries on Netflix Instant View.

He's got shark books, and asks us to draw sharks everywhere. He talks about sharks a lot, too. He probably knows more about sharks than the average adult.

So you can imagine his excitement when we had lunch at a nearby restaurant that features a huge aquarium with several small sharks. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a table right against the aquarium ... but he was still able to sit right at the aquarium for a few minutes.

Next time, we'll make reservations for a table in front of the tank.

After lunch, we took him to the gift shop and got him some toy sharks ... and he was thrilled!

Buzz Gets the Naughty Corner

Tonight, Christian surprised us - and made us giggle - when he took Buzz Light year, put him up against the wall, got down to Buzz's level and said,

"Buzz, I'm putting you in the naughty corner because you're hitting and not listening. THREE MINUTES!"

Hmmm ... I wonder where Christian has heard THAT dialog before. :)

So he walked away from Buzz and we sped time along and told Christian, "It's been three minutes. So, go tell Buzz, 'Buzz, I put you in the naughty corner because you were hitting and not listening. Now say you're sorry.' And when he says he's sorry, give him a hug, and tell Buzz you love him."

Christian went over to Buzz, got down to his level again and said, "Buzz, I put you in the naughty corner because you were hitting and not listening. THREE MORE MINUTES!!"

Ha ha ha!!!

Happy Birthday to Jonathan!

For Jonathan's birthday, Christian requested "a cake with lots of candles." Since it's just the three of us, I got small cake about the size and shape of a brick. And 44 candles. That's a lot of candles on such a small cake. Pretty much a lil' bonfire.

Christian thought it was pretty cool!

And I thought it was pretty hot as I lit all those candles and walked it over to the table. After Jonathan blew out the candles, we had to turn on the fan and open the windows so that the smoke detector didn't go off. Seriously! 44 candles create a lot of smoke when blown out.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

We love you!

Wordless Wednesday - April 6, 2011

Founder's Day Festivities

Jonathan had to work today, so Christian and I headed to Verrado's annual Founder's Day Community Picnic. They had a bounce house there ... and guess where we spent most of our time?

Since Jonathan missed the festivities, we had a little picnic of our own when he got home. They weather was perfect, and nobody else was at the park. Gotta take advantage of this beautiful weather before it gets too hot.

Today's Temperature

It was a bit warm today, as you can see.

It is a little early for temps this high, and thankfully it starts cooling off tomorrow. And thankfully, the temps are still quite cool overnight.

Wordless Wednesday - March 30, 2011

Presenting ... "Christian the Preschooler."

This week was Christian's first week in the preschool class! He's left the two year old behind and now joins the three and four year old kids.

He didn't eat much for lunch this week ... and we had to work with him on going potty in a new room. But, he was a star and didn't have any potty accidents!

Each day after lunch, the kids gather in a circle and do show and tell. The teacher lets Christian go first, since we are leaving. He was pretty timid, but I made sure he bought something every day and then helped him show it to his friends.

Christian now gets to take his backpack to school each day, and he's very proud of that backpack that he can wheel around.

We are really looking forward to watching him learn and grow and become more confident around all those "big kids."

Here are some pictures from his first day. (click the photo to enlarge)

Wordless Wednesday - March 23, 2011

Muffin Monday with a Twist - March 21, 2011

Today's Muffin Monday had an exciting twist! When the boys returned home, Jonathan noticed that Christian was trying to poop. So he took Christian to the potty and saw with him for a long, long time, and kept him entertained with watching Curious George on the portable DVD player.

And after a long, long time ... Christian had pooped in the toilet. YES! YES! YES!

As of today, our rewards have gone from chocolate chips to M&Ms. He just wasn't too into those chocolate chips anymore ... and since M&Ms are still small, and he just gets two, it's not too bad.

The other reward for all of his potty training successes is that this week, he'll start the big transition to the preschool room at school!!

Spring Training

Auntie Liz invited us to a Spring Training game that was close to our house ... the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies.

It was a mighty fine day for baseball ... warm, but not hot and a bit overcast.

Muffin Monday - March 14, 2011

Today's Muffin Monday found my boys at a sporting goods store (which is next door to a Joann craft & fabric store).

Jonathan bought Christian a baseball mitt and baseball, and Christian was ecstatic! Jonathan began to imagine how much fun he and Christian could have at the park ... playing catch, hitting balls. Quality father and son time.

As they walked out of the store, with visions of baseball in Jonathan's head, Christian immediately said, "Go to Joann's!!!"

Jonathan's vision came crashing down ... our boy wonder didn't care about baseball any more. He wanted to go to a fabric store. Ha ha ha ha!!!

A Day Out With Thomas

This weekend we drove to Globe, Arizona to spend "A Day Out With Thomas."

A kid's perspective: We got to see a big diesel train, and ride on it, too - and the conductor walked through the train and said hello to all the kids. And we got to see Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt. And they had a big tent with all sorts of Thomas things to buy so we got a t-shirt, bucket, and train whistle.

The parents' perspective: It was a long drive (100 miles each way), and Christian wasn't feeling well, but handled it like a trooper. We bought tickets in advance ($100 for four of us) and arrived just in time to get on the train. It was a big diesel train pulling several passenger cars, and Thomas was at the very back. We couldn't even seen Thomas from where we were.

The train ride was simply a very slow-paced 12 minutes through town (and not a very picturesque ride at that), and then the train reversed and took us back to the station. Afterwards, we got off and tried to see Thomas, but were cut off and told we could walk no further.

So, we made our way to the street and watched Thomas go by as the next train took off with its passengers.

But, the bottom line is Christian had a good time (despite feeling a little under the weather). And that is what's important.

Click to enlarge photo

Peter Piper Pizza

We live five minutes away from a Peter Piper Pizza, and at long last, we decided it was time to visit for the first time.

We weren't sure how Christian would react, as it's a busy, noisy place. But, he loved it! He wasn't frightened by all the activity of the other kids, and he didn't cover his ears from all the noise. A few months ago, he would have begged us to go home.

He surprised us by heading to the arcade area, not caring where we were (we were always with him, of course). He loved seeing all the games and bright lights ... loved watching the other kids run all over the place.

He even wanted to get on the mini merry-go-round. I held his hand the first time and walked with him, but after that, he let go and was happy to do it by himself. And so afterwards, we fetched papa so he could see.

We are so pleased that he's breaking out of his shell and exploring the world!

Click photo to enlarge.

Boys Will Be Boys ... and Mommies Will Be Horrified

Today was a very nice day ... the high was 80 degrees, so after Christian's nap, we headed out to the park. But Christian got bored and wanted to walk up the street to "Christian's Mountain." It is a home site at the foot of the mountain where excavation once started, but was abandoned. There are plenty of dirt and rock piles - a dream come try for a little three year old boy.

I was nervous about what might be hiding under all the rocks he was picking up to throw ... spiders, snakes, scorpions. You never know what is lurking in the Arizona desert. One funky-looking spider made an appearance, but that was it.

Ever curious, Christian was picking up everything of interest ... rocks, sticks, dirt. I was walking a few feet ahead of him, and heard him say, "Look, a big stick!" I turned around to see him holding what appeared to be some tubing from the landscaping drip-line. UNTIL I SAW IT MOVE!

Christian had picked up a LIVE SNAKE by its tail and was holding it up high. I was horrified!!! I yelled at him to drop it, which he did ... and rushed over to pick him up. The snake went about its business.

Our saving grace was that it wasn't a rattlesnake - thankfully, those guys make their presence known immediately. I don't know what kind of snake it was - not a clue. But I thank God it wasn't aggressive.

My panicked tone gave Christian quite a scare, which I felt badly about. But, it is a good thing because he needs to be aware that picking up a snake is dangerous. So while we were still in the moment, but the snake was gone, I quietly but very firmly told him that snakes are dangerous.

Sitting High

For a while now, Christian has been sitting in a regular chair at dinner. He outgrew the seat we had for him that put him at the level of the table, and we don't have a booster seat.

Tonight, Christian informed us he was going to get his "red pillow" and he got down and walked away. Jonathan and I were confused: #1: What red pillow and #2, why wasn't he wanting one of us to go with him (he usually insists somebody goes with him to get something).

He returned with the red pillow from his bed, put it on his chair and got back in - sitting a couple inches higher.

We were impressed! We've never put anything in his chair to get him up higher, so the idea was his, and his alone.

He sat there for a bit, rather pleased with his accomplishment. After a few minutes, he said, "Get the white pillow." So, he got down ... walked to his room again and returned with a large, white pillow and put it on his chair to get himself even higher up.

What an industrious little lad!!

Wordless Wednesday - March 9, 2011