Todd's Tatler: 2011

A pillow for baby Jesus

3:36 PM by Amanda

We had just started pulling out our Christmas decorations. I decided to start with our nativity, and well...this is kind of a long video, but it captures one of those precious moments I want to always remember...

Lesson learned

11:16 PM by Amanda

Apparently Christmas trees do not defend themselves well during wooden spoon "sword" fights. Thanks for the encouragement Peter Pan...

But hey! Not bad considering it's his first broken ornament ever. Now if only I could convince Caleb to stop licking the salt dough ornaments we made...

Halloween part 2

7:24 PM by Amanda

Saturday evening was our ward's trunk or treat and talent show. Caleb was constantly running due to the excitement of being Peter Pan AND surrounded by lots of other kids dressed up.

My camera wasn't fast enough to capture him

in motion, but my friend's was!

Caleb wasn't sure what to think of Moreno

(one of the DeAlba's ferrets)

Caleb posing with some of his fellow nursery friends

After the party, we stopped by our neighbor's home to say hi. She was nice enough to take a family photo and give us little boxes of raisins (the only healthy treats of the night!)

Who knew Daddy would willing dress as Mickey Mouse? And all

because he randomly picked up some mouse ears from work a few weeks ago.

Happy Halloween!

7:03 PM by Amanda

Friday evening was Todd's work party! We had a good bit of fun, but poor Todd's arms were worn out in the end (Caleb wanted to be held most of the time). Here are the photos of entertainment while we waited in the LONG and slow moving line to get into the buildings...

some sort of Python

cotton candy

(which resulted in a lovely blue stickiness on his hands, face...and ear?)

Caleb was concerned about the scorpion

I took advantage of the reflective windows outside

the second building for a quick family photo

shooting Angry Birds

Caleb was a little unnerved by all the dark rooms along the tour; however, there were a few very kid-friendly themes. He was especially excited by the Dr. Suess and Toy Story decorations.

yummy cheesecake-flavored ice cream after the tour

Pumpkin time!

5:03 PM by Amanda

One of my favorite FHE activities is carving our pumpkins!

Dad and Caleb planning their design

Apparently drills perforate pumpkins better than the poking tool

Caleb was brave enough to help me scoop out pumpkin guts this year

But when it was time for carving, he resorted to eating the

chocolate pumpkin pie brought over by my cousin

The master pieces

"Go Idiots!"

4:40 PM by Amanda

Caleb still gets excited every time we drive past the BYU football stadium, so Todd finally bought some tickets for us to attend a game. It was a great first half, and then Caleb became a little bored. Many people (not TRUE fans) started leaving the game during the third quarter, which resulted in lots of empty space around us. Being the outgoing little individual that he is, Caleb took the space as an opportunity to wander around and make new friends. One such friend, who couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 years old, was flattered that Caleb was copying his every move. So he started experimenting with, "GO COUGARS!" Caleb echoed him. Then he decided to cheer for the other team too, "GO INDIANS!" His dad corrected him with "Idaho!" But it was too late. Caleb, not understanding what was pronounced, yelled, "GO IDIOTS!" Oops.

Caleb looking to his friend for cheering cues

Awe, a family shot!

Rise all loyal cougars!

Daddy became the hero of the day when he spotted Cosmo signing autographs after the game

Caleb was star struck while we waited in line to meet Cosmo. He wasn't so sure about being RIGHT next him though...

Fall fun

11:11 PM by Amanda

We're getting ready for Halloween around here! We made our second annual trip to The Big Red barn for our hay rides, mini maze, and of course, pumpkin selection.

Facial Hair

10:02 PM by Amanda

Like father...

...like son.

Nothing like a little good clean family fun :)

Uco Chwis and At Bwidgy

9:47 PM by Amanda

My brother stayed with us for a little over a day before going into the MTC back in August. Even though it was a short visit, "Uco Chwis" made a big impression on Caleb because whenever we mention the MTC, Caleb asks if we're going to see him!

My sister flew out with him and stayed a few weeks before we drove her up to BYU-I. Caleb enjoyed having his aunt to entertain him. They had regular dance parties...

And even decorated a birthday cake for me!

But as much as he enjoyed her visit, I think Caleb enjoyed the trip to Idaho even more! Not only did Aunt Bridgy keep him awake for the entire 6 hour drive to Rexburg...

...but he got new Hot Wheels and a queen size bed all to himself!

Pronunciation

9:40 PM by Amanda

Caleb can properly pronounce this word now, but our practice sessions were funny. I kind of think he was playing with us though...

BYU Homecoming

9:27 PM by Amanda

We took Caleb to the parade again this year!

Todd should be proud of how well he's brainwashed our 2 year old. He is completely star-struck with Cosmo! As the van (pictured below) was in front of us, Cosmo spotted Caleb and pointed at him. Caleb, who was waving, froze. His jaw dropped. And then he breathlessly exclaimed, "It's Cosmo!"

Once again, Caleb enjoyed the swing kids and folk dancers.

Caleb is practicing

10:46 AM by Amanda

Last Friday

9:49 PM by Amanda

We started our day having some gentle fun with cousin Toria! It was such a nice way to start the day. Caleb spent about 5 minutes rocking her car seat singing, "Hi baby Toria, hi baby Toria." When that got old, he insisted they finish the last 15 minutes of Sesame Street together:

Caleb making sure Victoria is watching

When that was done, Victoria started to fuss a little (I don't blame her, I wouldn't want to be in a car seat that long either). Caleb put his face inches away from her nose, hands on his hips and said, "NO crying. I said NO crying," in a very stern 2 year old tone. Surprisingly, it worked! She thought he was funny.

A little later, we went to our neighbor's birthday party. Victoria was such a good sport. I think she enjoyed watching all those kids in the pool. Anyway, I borrowed these pictures from my neighbor's blog:

Caleb holding onto a girl's legs and screaming
because his best friend pushed him into the pool

Caleb trying to blow out the birthday candles through his
teeth because Adam wasn't interested in doing it for himself

Dance

2:11 PM by Amanda

During Toria's baby blessing after-party, a few of Aunt Caprise's cousins taught Caleb a Tongan dance. This happens to be one of his absolute favorite videos of himself right now.

Cousin Victoria!

11:01 AM by Amanda

Aunt Caprise brough Victoria, or "baby Toria" as Caleb says, to come visit us for the first time. Caleb woke up from his nap while they were here, and instead of the usual "Hi Mommy" or crying, he yelled, "Aat Capise!" It was all happiness and excitement until he realized Victoria was fussy. He kept his distance at first...

But they warmed up to each other quickly

Bowling

8:33 PM by Todd

The last couple of weeks have been very rainy. Amanda and Caleb were starting to feel too cooped up in the apartment and needed to get out. We were going to go to the aquarium but Caleb wound up having a fever. A couple days later we went bowling since the Wilk has $1 games per person on Monday nights.

Here is Caleb bowling a pretty good frame:

Here is the final score. Amanda beat us both by a long shot. Caleb did pretty well for a little tyke.