Todd's Tatler: 2010

We had ourselves "a merry little Christmas"

4:21 PM by Amanda

Christmas Eve was nice with Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim's crew...Caleb even got a panda bear! We were so proud when he hugged the bear, then gave his aunt and uncle a hug right away. When we got home, we threw the reindeer feed (oats with green colored sugar) on the lawn (and front porch and stairs and my hair...we've got to work on his aim). Here is an excited Caleb just before we went outside:

Since out bedtime routine kept Caleb up until almost 9pm, he was generous enough to sleep in until almost 9AM! THAT was a nice present...and probably the last time it will happen too.

And this Christmas, I realized something...

I LOVE being on the parents' side of Christmas morning! Mom and Dad always told us that the work was worth it when they saw how much fun we all had...and NOW I get it.

Here are a few other Christmas morning highlights:

Stocking stuffers from Santa

Doesn't he look dashing?

stopping to admire Curious George

Oh what could it be? (p.s. in the words of Todd, "thanks Pops!")

my very own electric knife

See, he DOES cook once in a while!

Hope everyone else had a fabulous Christmas day too!

Snow day!

10:13 PM by Amanda

And by snow day, I mean a day for snow (poor kids around here still had to go to school even though a lot of the buses didn't come to pick them up).

Ready to go in his grocery bag covered tennis shoes! (I've been meaning to get him boots...)

The snow was too deep for Caleb to walk through, so he crawled around the front yard. It was fun...until he got snow in his face.

After soaking his mittens in a mud puddle on the sidewalk, Caleb decided it was time to go back indoors with Dad. It took almost 10 minutes to get bundled up...for about 5 minutes worth of playtime. Was it worth it? OH Yeah! :)

Mini mechanic

10:01 PM by Amanda

I think every mother of a boy has some story about her son taking apart things. Mine starts with giving Caleb the mini RC car to push around while I finished washing dishes. Oops.

I'm worried about my vacuum now...

Checking out the trumpet

9:45 PM by Amanda

Todd pulls his trumpet out about once a year. Caleb's second encounter:

Thanksgiving

11:27 PM by Amanda

We flew to Wisconsin, drove to Michigan, drove back to Wisconsin, then flew home. Phew! Everybody has colds now (sorry guys...but you asked for Caleb's kisses!), but we're otherwise no worse for the wear. Here are some highlights:

Goodnight hugs (aka tackle)

Discovery World:

While Caleb was standing up against the glass, a swordfish came swooping toward him. Caleb stepped back, pointed at the fish and yelled "NO!" As if he were reprimanding a dog!

Uncle Chris really got into the act while checking out the pirate ship.

Waiting for our food at Kopps, a popular burger and frozen
custard chain in Wisconsin, (Caleb had fallen asleep):

He stole my cookie!

As if Nana hadn't run around enough while prepping for our arrival!

Caleb gave her legs a good workout after chasing her around the kitchen island.

Making cookies with Aunt "Bidgy" (he never said her name to her
face during our visit...a fact that she will probably not let me forget for a while)

While all the big kids had a marshmallow war, Caleb and my cousin's son Curtis enjoyed the playground (in the lovely 28 degree weather). As you can tell from his expression, I don't think Curtis knew what to think about Caleb half the time.

We tried to do a 4-generation photo with Great-Grandma...but she refused to look at the camera, and Caleb had decided it was nap time...oh well.

Great-Nana really knows how to connect with little guys still :) When we were driving away for the long trip back to WI, Caleb waved at her and said "Hi Nana!" This is Caleb watching George of the Jungle with my youngest cousin Will.

Nothing like riding in PJs while watching Toy Story on Daddy's phone!

For those who need to smile...

11:21 PM by Amanda

Caleb was fed up with his overalls. As I helped him out of them, he yelled "fweeeweeedee!" (which means free...he likes to add extra syllables to words right now). He then proceeded to dance with his favorite bucket to Alvin and the Chipmunks music.

Ribbon Wreath

11:01 PM by Amanda

I'm not the most creative of individuals. However, every now and then I get a crafty urge. About 10-15 minutes into the project I start remembering why I don't usually do crafts. But this time, I'm kind of proud I stuck it out.

Here is the example I found online:

(compliments of Sherri Osborn from familycrafts.about.com)

And here is my version:

Not bad for a styrofoam wreath, some Christmas ribbon, and sewing pins!

Halloween

9:37 PM by Amanda

We went to Todd's work party this year. Caleb was a lion, Todd was a missed target, and I went as Linguini (from Pixar's Ratatouille).

It was a celebration "in the style of Omniture." In other words, over the top! Each department in the company decorated their office with a theme. And when I say decorate, I mean ceiling to floor props and wall coverings, sound effects, lights, music, actors, games, etc. Themes ranged from Avatar, to Shrek (with a Tongan guy dressed as Fiona...he was convincing until he talked), to life size boardgames (Todd almost got hit by a ball during the Battle Ship scene),

to The Legend of Sleepy Hallow (with a real covered bridge that shook every so often...it made Caleb jump), to an Ice Cave (Caleb really enjoyed the slide down into the cave), to Sesame Street! When we were on Sesame Street, Cookie Monster tried to shake Caleb's hand. Caleb thought he was trying to take his sucker...

Adobe's security team had the building divided into three sections and controlled the crowd's admittance. We had to wait in each line for a while because only 1,000 people were allowed inside at a time due to fire safety regulations. Caleb didn't mind though - there was a live band to dance to,

the 1996 Yo-Yo World Champion (random...I know), and several balloon artists and jugglers. Caleb got a purple balloon lion which didn't exactly survive...but we got a picture of it!

Caleb caught part of my costume as we were buckling up for the drive home.
I thought it was rather appropriate since he was wearing whiskers.

Daddy helped Caleb inspect his loot.
(And I'm proud to say he did not charge a candy fee like my dad used to do each year.)

We decided to ration out Caleb's candy. As you can tell from his devious grin, it was probably a very wise decision. Today was M&Ms. I guess they also melt in your hand if you add drool to them before they get to your mouth...

Pumpkin Carving

11:11 PM by Amanda

Last year Caleb was fairly interested in helping scoop out the goop. This year...this is the closest he would get to touching the stuff.

He was curious about our progress on and off, but for the most part, he chose to dance to Halloween music in the living room (so much for our family home evening activity).

Todd started to get sick of the yucky stuff too (he's such a ham...if you'll notice, the pumpkin in his hand is mostly carved already). He sure didn't make that face when I offered him a bowl of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds later that evening :)

The finished products...

We chose to save Caleb's pumpkin for a fresh pie or other scrumptious baked good. He doesn't seem to mind.

Already?

10:53 PM by Amanda

I hope this is gone by morning...

Red Barn

9:03 PM by Amanda

After packing the essentials into Caleb's backpack,
we hit the road!

Waiting for the hayride.

On our way to the pumpkin patch!

Playing on the old John Deere.

Caleb found his way through the pint-sized maze
(with a little backseat driving from Dad).
It was funny to see a bunch of adult heads floating above the maze
while hearing delighted screams from their little ones.

Searching for just the right one took a long time. Caleb gave up looking after stumbling through the uneven field too many times. Todd picked his pumpkin within the first 60 seconds! And me? Well, I guess I was the most excited. I kept wandering further and further until I came back with two. Todd asked me to leave one behind :( Poor pumpkin.

The farm put up a display table with examples of priced sizes
and allowed us to price our own pumpkins.

Once we got back from the field, we went into The Red Barn to pay. While Todd was holding our spot in line, I ran to get a gallon of fresh apple cider (squeezed yesterday!). During my absence, an apparently grumpy woman said with a heavy and whiny drawl "I wish all these northern Utah County city-slickers would quit coming down here and taking our stuff." Good thing I wasn't there...I might have rudely laughed! Anyway...

We didn't stay for the weigh-in of these giants,
but I'm hoping to find out the results from their blog.

Caleb cried most of the way home because it was well past nap time.
Ironically, he fell asleep a minute and a half away from home.
As Todd says, "he was one tired tater."

Todd's Tatler