Fun with Christmas toys

Brian and Scott having fun with Brian's toy - a remote control boat. All of the ducks on the pond know to stay well clear of the boat while it is in the water. They also know that when the boys are finished boating, they will feed the ducks bread, and then when the bread is gone, Scott will squeal at them and chase them all around the yard and back into the water. I guess we have a love/hate relationship with the ducks...

And now Scott running the boat all by himself... He's a big kid - just ask him!Scott showing his mechanic skills at an early age. This present is so cool! It is an airplane with a battery operated kid-sized screwdriver. All the parts of the plane can be disassembled and re-assembled. Notice the deep concentration, and how he has it all set up so he can sit in his Elmo chair while doing his work on the plane... Scott volunteers to help any of you pilots out there with your next oil change. Any takers? Dan?

Christmas pictures

Here are a few Christmas pictures from our trip to VA. Scott loves his recorder that Santa brought for him. Santa also brought a kazoo and a tambourine, so Scott can make LOTS of music all around the house. There was a good bit of snow. This was Scott's first experience with the white stuff. He wasn't very sure about sledding at first, but he enjoyed it on the 2nd or 3rd day.

Scott and Houston (the pug) were big friends. Scott really wanted to hold the leash - just like all the grownups can.

See... this is the black marker. Maybe you need more black area on your little pug face, Houston...

The sit-n-spin from Grandma & Grandpa was a HUGE hit. Now that we are home Scott totes it around the house to whichever room we are in, and then he plays the songs and grooves away.

Big shoes to fill

Scott was so excited to find Brian's army boots lying about. He quickly started taking his own shoes off so he could try on the boots...

Scott's first Christmas pageant

Scott's class performed the song "Up on the Rooftop". Everybody was dressed up like Rudolph and they had jingle bell sticks to shake. This was hilarious. Scott and I had been wearing our antlers all the way home and through dinner before we went to the event. He would wear one set for a while, then want to trade with me, then just hold them and shake the jingle bells, etc. After the performance we went to visit the big man himself (who came to the event on a fire truck in full lights and siren - very cool). Scott was closer to Santa than he has been before, right up next to him - even touching! He gave Santa a high five, but was not going to sit on his knee.

Mrs. Claus scored huge brownie points by giving Scott a candy cane. He started saying his version of the word "open" as soon as it was in his little hand. He is thoughtful though - he did willingly share. (Surprisingly, too - here comes a candy cane right at your mouth, you better be ready!)

He also shared a cookie with Brian. Mmmmm...

The guys also played in the snow. Scott was so shocked by the whole Christmas pageant and party atmosphere with the live band that he was pretty much in a daze about the snow. He threw a few snowballs that Brian made for him.

Random weekend pictures

Scott loves this keyboard that I got at a garage sale, that ended up begin free! He plays the demos and dances, then plays his own notes, etc. He is very keen on doing things HIMSELF! Here he is trying to paddle - just like Dad.

And the climbing toy is still a favorite, especially when Dad climbs, too.

As you can see from the attire, we are a balmy 85 degrees in December here. Ho Ho Ho! :)

Move over, Riggs!

Growing like a weed

We just got home from Scott's well visit. Here are the numbers - he has his father's physique:

At 18 months:

your child is 25.5 pounds, and that is
at the 43th percentile for weight.

your child is 35 inches, and that is
at the 97th percentile for height.

your child has a head circumference of 20.5 inches, and that is
at greater than the 97th percentile for head circumference.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Santa visited the kids at the Christmas party we went to today. Scott is not sure about the whole idea yet. He watched the other kids getting on Santa's lap, but was very much against that idea when it was his turn. He is warming up to the jolly old guy, and has given a high-five, but he clings like a tree frog every time we suggest that he might want to sit on Santa's knee. It may take several visits before we get a picture this year... Scott LOVES the Christmas tree. He points out all the ornaments: cat, bear, 'orse, air-pain, etc. He likes to make the jingle bells ring, and he has a favorite ornament that he is constantly taking off the tree and running around with. Fortunately his favorite is a bright orange M&M that is pretty sturdy, and easy to find when he leaves it in the middle of the room. You can't see the M&M in the picture below because it's in his hand. This photo was snapped seconds before Scott took off squealing with delight.

Scott might not be too sure about Santa, but he sure does like the jolly man's hat. Brian wore a Santa hat today while serving lunch at the Christmas party. As soon as we got home Scott wanted to wear it. So we took turns wearing the Santa hat and putting it on each other's heads. This quickly turned into squealing laps around the house. Here he is going full stride:

After all that excitement, we were happy to find the Elmo Christmas Special on TV, which held Scott's attention for 30 minutes. (You will all be happy to know that Elmo has saved Christmas this year. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.)

Thanksgiving with the cousins

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving this year. Grams, Pops, Matt, Jennifer, Austin, Andrew, Mary, Sarah, and Rose came for a visit and we had a few great friends stop in, too - including Aunt Meg. Here is a picture of all 6 cousins on the couch at Grams & Pops's house:This is Andrew and one of his many block creations, which came to a crashing end. It was big fun to build them, let Scott crash them, or crash them slowly - Jenga style. I think this particular one is the tower that nearly gave Aunt Meg a heart attack.

Brian and the kids camped while they were here visiting. Everybody loved it - even though the sprinklers did come on one morning... oops.

Weekend at the house with Momma

This weekend Scott & I had lots of fun. (Brian had lots of fun doing army stuff.) We watched most of the Clemson game, and I let Scott eat goldfish in the living room as football snack. He really likes to watch the game - just look at the expression on his face! He has the sippy cup off to one side so he can still see the screen. For an after dinner dessert we had hot chocolate. I tried to get him to say "Ooooooo!" on the video, because it is a really funny sound, but he chose not to. We also spent a bit of time on the porch playing with the fire engine and the sand box. Hope you all enjoy the pics!

Zoo trip

We went to the zoo this morning with Aunt Meg. One of Scott's favorite things to do there is play with the bamboo curtain that acts as a secondary barrier to keep the birds from truly breaking free if they escape the aviary. (Meg is just to the right of the picture.)

Mmmm... hot chocolate....

Tonight Scott learned about the wonderful stuff called hot chocolate. I made some for each of us and put Redi Whip on top. He knew that something yummy was about to take place, and started saying, "Oooooo". He wasn't very sure how to eat it, and thought that maybe he needed a spoon or something. I drank some of mine, but he didn't want to copy me for some unknown reason. I got him a straw, because he loves to drink root beer through a straw. He used the straw as a dipping utensil, and sucked the chocolate and whipped cream off the end. So I got myself a straw and showed him that I was sucking hot chocolate through the straw. That got his attention and he took sip through his own straw. WOW! Chocolaty goodness! WooHoo! Scott instantly became a chocolate sucking machine. When the level of cocoa dropped low enough that he started having trouble with the straw he quickly got rid of it and started drinking right out of the mug. He is now a very big fan of hot chocolate.

This is an early picture - when he as still inquisitive.

Video of Scott sliding and chasing ducks

Halloween

Here is a picture where you can actually see the front of Scott's Superman outfit. He likes to ride the rocking horse, and he usually slides it all around the living room. I think he enjoyed the cape, too because I took it off when I put him to bed and he reached for it. Scott saying, "Bikes! Bikes! Peas peas. Bikes!" He can almost say "bike helmet", but the "-met" part doesn't always come out right.

Of course we rode around the neighborhood several times... we do this every day... You can't see it in this picture, but we had the cape sticking out the back of the bike seat, flapping in the breeze. A couple of people thought this was pretty funny.

Halloween evening FL style consists of lawn chairs, shorts, ice cold drinks, bug spray, and hanging out with your neighbors in the driveway.

The kids in the neighborhood introducing Scott to the idea of trick-or-treat. He thought this was pretty fascinating.

Surf Guys

For Brian's birthday Scott & I gave him a gift certificate for a surfing lesson, and he got a chance to use it this morning. He said it was a lot of fun.Aunt Meg came with us. She Scott & I had a great time on the beach while Brian surfed. Scott walked all over the beach, stomped & splashed in the water, dribbled wet sand everywhere, and chased birds with Aunt Meg in tow...

Joy and sorrow

JOY: This is a picture of Scott playing on the computer. There are several interactive online games by Sesame Street and Fisher Price that he loves. Brian got him a little travel mouse that fits his hand, and he goes to town. He doesn't seem to know what he is doing with the mouse yet, but he knows that we use it, so he wants to use it, too. You have to watch very carefully while he is using the computer - to make sure he doesn't hit any sequence of keys of clicks that will seriously alter anything. You'd be surprised how quick this can happen...

SORROW: Scott loves for us to ride bikes. He has a seat on my bike, and his very own bell to ring while we are out and about. He brings us the helmets and shouts, "Bikes! Bikes! Peas Peas Bikes!" (Translation for those of you who do not speak Toddler: peas = please.) The picture below was taken when it was time to take a bath. Scott, with my bike helmet on his head backwards, was at the garage door trying unsuccessfully to insist that Brian take him on another ride.

Helping Momma with her birthday presents

Oooh... Momma's present has tissue paper - my favorite! She needs some help with these ribbons.

Great present! I can pick it up all by myself.

She thinks it's a Tupperware cake carrier, but I know it is a fabulous scooting toy.

Boo at the Zoo

Tonight we went to Boo at the Zoo with Aunt Meg. It's a cute event with crafts, haunted trail, trick-or-treat, and a costume contest at the Brevard Zoo. Everybody recognized the little superhero and he seemed to have a pretty good time, though he was desperate to fight off sleep there at the end... He was a big fan of having chocolate pudding with his dinner. Too bad we never got a picture of Aunt Meg...

Saturday morning in the driveway

Hey, Dada - I see you under there. Whacha doin? Do you need some help? I could help you. Want me to bring you all the 1/4" drive sockets one by one again?
See... I could really help you. I just need to get up to where you are...
Hmmm... trying to figure out how to get this back open. Maybe if I run this tool all the way around the outside of the entire vehicle something interesting will happen.
There's Momma. She tried to get me to smile, but I am too busy messing with the tools in my hand. Doesn't she know when I'm busy? Smiling is for girls. Dada and I need to work on the truck some more.

Now here's a good distraction from working on the truck. BALL! This is just as good as chasing ducks! Woo Hoo!