Visions of a Great Christmas!

With Daddy home from work, we celebrated a wonderful few days leading up to Christmas! During that time, I have been learning a thing or two from Cora about decorating gingerbread houses, singing Christmas carols and dancing with THE DANCING SANTA! I vaguely remember him from last Christmas, and am so thrilled that I could participate in the dancing this year. And, now that I am much better at opening presents, I could hardly contain myself the final days before Santa arrived with all of our presents (of course all of the extra candy and cookies doesn't help either)!

A Quiet Week before THE BIG DAY!

Aside from Cora's Christmas program at school and visiting Daddy's coworkers, it was relatively a quiet week this week. The weather has been unseasonably warm so we have been able to get outside and take walks to enjoy the outdoors. This week I have been practicing new words to help Mommy and Daddy understand what I need. The out, in, on, off, up, down words are quite confusing and I have no idea when to use which one. For a while, Mommy was constantly saying no means yes (as I started replacing yeah with no) but I unfortunately informed her that I DO in fact know the difference between no and yes. There are two things that I answer "yeah" to right now. Eating a snack, juice or milk and going upstairs to the playroom. Those are the two things that no matter what I am doing, will always stop everything to answer "yeah". All those no's may not be yes's like she wishes to believe. Either way, when Christmas finally comes in a few days I will not be saying no to opening presents! I look forward to singing Christmas carols, going to church and celebrating my second Christmas with my family.

Not a Fan of the Big Guy

It's official. I'm not sure how the other kids do it, but I want nothing to do with Santa. Hopefully he just knows what I want for Christmas because there's no way I can sit on his lap and tell him. I can't even get within 2 feet of the guy and tell him. Maybe next year. Despite my qualms with Santa, I am enjoying the holiday season.
This week we went to a holiday event for our neighborhood. We got to go on a sleigh ride - pulled by real horsies. When it got too cold to be outside, we went inside where we got to eat cookies and watch Cora make an ornament. I enjoyed myself quite a bit (except for the Santa part) and look forward to what other exciting things the holiday brings.
My teeth have been annoying me lately. Sometimes all I want to do is cuddle, my mouth hurts so much. My molars are slowly coming in, one at a time here and there. Mommy and Daddy take advantage of me when I scream to take a look inside my mouth to see what new teeth are popping out! It's good all I want to do right now is cuddle because it's cold outside and it has been raining a lot. Cora and I have fun no matter where we are - coloring at the kitchen table, playing with our matchbox cars together, or bicycling on the floor. I do look forward to some warmer weather because I do like going for walks!
Here's a few screaming Santa photos for your enjoyment:

No Longer a Yes Man

My days of positivity are long gone. Gone are the days of "yeah", replaced with the negativity of "no." In my opinion, there's no better time of year to balance out the "no's" than now, with all the holiday cheer. Not only am I perfecting my ability to shake my head while saying no, but I have also added another annoyingly important phrase of "What's that?" It has come in handy now that something new is decorating our house every minute. There's stockings, Nativities, trees with lights on them (in the house!), Elves staring down at you, Christmas teddy bears, dancing Santa dolls, sparkling ornaments, candles - the list goes on and on. This will only help me to further develop my vocabulary I am sure.
Although it's hard for me to partake in all of the decorating, I enjoy watching and getting into whatever trouble possible. I am still up to toddler shenanigans: I enjoy reading board books with Cora on the chair, wrestling with Mommy, yelling and throwing toys when something doesn't go my way, turning my spoon over before the food actually gets into my mouth, being picky about any kind of food, putting toys in places they don't belong, running around and screaming with just a diaper on, and cuddling after my naps. Anything I can do to bring a smile to Mommy and Daddy's faces! Oh and did I mention, I no longer sit still for photographs. See below:

Turkey Day!!!

Pumpkin pie face!

Here's to my second Thanksgiving! I will admit, this year was much better than last because I was able to partake in the meal. Although I didn't eat the turkey, I was able to enjoy some of the sides such as sweet potatoes and stuffing! Better yet, I got to top of the meal with pumpkin pie! Boy, did I ever miss out last year! We also watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I danced to a couple of the Broadway tunes and enjoyed cuddling with Mommy and seeing all the sights of the parade. To add to the Thanksgiving festivities, it was also Daddy's birthday! Maybe next year I will know the birthday tune and I can join Cora and Mommy in singing.
Over the weekend, I practiced many new words and phrases. I have added 'Let's go!', 'I slipped' (for when I fall), and the other day I pointed to the sky and said 'moon' - and to Mommy's surprise, I was correct in my description of the round object in the sky (despite the fact that it was daytime). I'm also learning different parts of the face. So far I'm good at saying nose, and I can point to eyes, ears, mouth and hair. Mommy and I practice when we cuddle, but I usually get side tracked when she says mouth because I like to stick my fingers in her mouth!

Expanding Vocabulary

I have become quite a little chatterbox! And it has all happened very quickly. Two weeks ago, I was limited to my favorite sayings, "I don't know; I need it; yeah" but now I can say so much more. With a little practice and help from any other speaking person in the house (EVERYBODY) I can say much more now. Cora taught me how to say Lowe's while we were out shopping today and the other day when I was done eating I said, "Done." Mommy and Daddy are still thankful that I don't say 'No'.
I have also recently made it nearly impossible to take a photograph of me. Every time I see any type of photographing device, I jump up and run over to look at the pictures on it! I don't give the photographer any time to actually take a picture! Mommy get's frustrated by it, but I don't understand, I just want to see the pictures!!! The other day, I was laying comfortably on Daddy and Mommy wanted a picture of it. Even after she hid behind the corner and barely snuck out to take the photo, I was up and after that camera! These days I am really quick on my feet!

Moo for Halloween!

I got my first real taste of Halloween this week! And boy did it taste good - like an orange flavored tootsie pop! Dressed in my cow costume, I accompanied Cora on her trick or treating adventure! She got more candy than I did, but I didn't have to do anything besides sit in the wagon and people watch so I guess it was fair. There was so much to see and hear, I had a great time! I wonder what I will dress up as next year???
This week I got my third haircut! Miss Marquetta did a good job - I think it's the best cut yet! She let me snack and watch a movie while she cut my hair. Now I look dashing - so dashing that Mommy let me wear my button down shirt today. While Mommy and Daddy were putting together Cora's new bed, she and I were watching a DVD in the playroom. I got bored with that so I took off my pants and wandered around until I could find Mommy and Daddy.
Mommy has been very entertained by my most recent vocabulary addition. I can have a whole conversation with myself, and I insist on repeating it because it sounds so good. Here it is:
Adam asks: Where's sissy?
Adam replies: I don't know.
I'm getting a better handle on saying football now that baseball season is over. This weekend I decided to relax in the big circle chair by myself to enjoy the game. I wonder what sports season will be next??

Throw Back

Enough pictures already, Mom!

Just like the football teams (I sometimes refer to them as baseball) selectively wear uniforms from seasons past, I have been wearing a very comfortable Steelers jumpsuit that Daddy used to wear. If I do say so myself, I'm quite a looker in it. Mommy and I went to Lowe's this morning to return something and I had all 5 ladies at the checkout turning heads to catch a glimpse of me. I believe they said, "He is THE CUTEST!" And that's how it's done. I should just put this jumpsuit on for Halloween and dress as a cute baby, although I do think my cow costume makes me look cute AND comical.
Other than looking cute, I haven't been up to a whole lot else. I do enjoy dancing to the "roller coaster song" as Cora refers to it on the TV and I've been trying to learn the difference between, trucks, vans and buses. All this learning new words really wears me out. I just prefer to call things whatever I want. Like a train should just be called "choo choo" and a cow, "mooo".  Thankfully the word baby is easy, so at least I've got one thing straight. 

Water!

I've been working on some new words recently, one of them being water. I practice it when I'm in the bath and I practiced when we went to Falls Lake this weekend. We took a walk along the dam and you could see lots of water and some boats from our vantage point. It was a perfectly sunny, warm October day for our little outing. I enjoyed playing at the playground and holding hands with Cora on our walk up to the dam. Let's hope we get more days like this one!!

My Bitty Twin

It has been brought to my attention that the folks over at American Girls secretly got a hold of some photos of me and modeled their bitty baby boy twin after me. They did a great job getting him to look like me, now I'm just waiting for a check in the mail in payment for my good looks. Take a gander and let me know what you think!

FoodFace!

I have gotten old enough to sit at the table now and eat like everyone else now. It's a little tricky learning to use my utensils, but I am getting a lot of practice so I should learn how to do it sooner or later. When you use the spoon and it spills out before it makes it to your mouth it can be really frustrating, so I cry a lot!! Not to mention, I make a lot of messes! Oh well, at least I don't have to clean it up!
It's the season for baseball playoffs and I have been watching baseball with Daddy. He taught me to say baseball and I got the hang of saying it immediately! I'm also working on my animals, such as duck, horse, cow and sheep. When dogs pass by us on our walks, I definitely know they are doggies, although it sounds like I am calling them daddy. There is a picture of a cow on the stairs that is hanging on the wall now, so every time Cora and I pass by it, we say, "Moooo!" This animal thing is fun, and I am lucky to have a sissy that teaches me everything! I do miss her when she is at school; I have to try to figure out how to play by myself. This week I decided to take the water truck for a spin - it was fun especially when I figured out how to go down the driveway on it!

Touchdown!

Since it is the season for football, I finally decided to add a very important word to my vocabulary: touchdown!!! Daddy taught it to me the other day, and I'm pretty good at saying it. Another word that I enjoy saying quite a bit is "yeah." When Mommy asks me a question, I always respond with yeah. She can thank me later for that - especially since I am putting off saying no yet. Yeah is a very useful word. Mommy asks me if I want juice. "Yeah." She asks me if I want more dinner. "Yeah." She asks me if I want a cookie. "Yeah." Do I want to go for a walk. "Yeah." The only think I will not say "yeah" to is getting my diaper changed. That's just no fun no matter how you do it. Oh well.
I've been wearing a new pair of shoes around recently. I find these ones to be easier for walking and I love them so much that I have started running in them. When we take walks now, Mommy lets me out of the wagon a lot more. I really love picking up leaves along the greenway. It takes us forever to get anywhere, but I'm having fun so I don't care.

The other day I rubbed my nose on a screen and it got black - it's hard to tell in this picture though.

Mama!

It's official. I have finally said it! And Mommy is thrilled! One evening I was sitting in the playroom with Daddy and he asked me if I could say it, and I did! It was that simple. I will not say it without being asked, but I will eventually figure out the correlation.
The weather has cooled a bit, which is perfect for our walks and trips to the park. We have discovered that the park next to the pond is fun to visit on the evenings. If we are lucky, sometimes we get to go to the big park and play on the slide. I do enjoy sliding and I am really good at climbing the steps to get onto the playground. I'm still not a fan of swinging, but I put up with is so that sissy can swing.
I'm really starting to get used to my Mommy time as well. We are still taking Cora to school three times a week and when we get home, Mommy takes me for a walk and then we do puzzles, read and play in the playroom. I enjoy my time with her. One particular day, we went for a walk to the pond and we had a photo shoot. I have already gotten my second haircut, and I think I look dashing. On other days when I'm not posing like a strapping young model I like to watch the pair of white ducks that are usually at the pond.

My First REAL Beach Trip

Although we went to the beach almost a year ago to the day, I believe I spent most of the time in the tent, so this was my first real beach experience. And boy did I enjoy myself - after I finally got my nap of course. Sleeping at the beach is not the easiest thing to achieve; there are way too many sounds and sights to miss if you fall asleep. But, after much coaxing in the tent, on towels, Daddy's belly and after doing the backwards inchworm over and over, I finally fell asleep on the beach chair with Mommy. Once I got some rest, I enjoyed exploring the edge of the ocean. The waves are loud! I was timid at first, but after I got used to it I sort of liked chasing the water into the ocean. At one point I saw a lady laying on a towel and decided to go say hello. Just as I was about to climb on her, Mommy grabbed me away. Other onlookers were chuckling at the ordeal, but I don't understand why. I was just being curious.
Cora and I had fun dancing, running, holding hands and playing by the water the rest of the day. When we first got to the beach I tried eating some sand, but thankfully for Mommy and Daddy's sake I didn't find it very tasty, so I decided not to eat any more sand. I had a great day at the beach and can't wait until we can go back again! This was my first time to the Outer Banks and it was really nice!