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.)