Goldie...the horse

After our last post, I got a lot of comments re: Goldie being the size of a horse and some questions about whether or not AJ ever tried to ride her. I know that was asked in jest, but the truth is....yes, he does try to ride her. Unfortunately (for him), while Goldie does not seem to mind him crawling on her back, she just lays down. She won't actually ride him around.

Peace Out!

Several months ago, Dave and I had taken AJ to eat at an Olive Garden. As we were leaving the restaurant, the waitress said goodbye. Dave and I each said good bye and AJ says, "Peace Out!" We have no idea where he learned this, but must have been daycare. The funny thing was that when he would say it, he would hold up one finger instead of the peace sign. AJ's grandma in Kansas asked me to get a picture of him doing his peace out, so I recently asked him to say peace out and when he did, he shocked me by showing the actual peace sign! Apparently, Dave spent the time to show him the correct peace sign.

Goldie and AJ

The dog is huge and a nuisance. She is the biggest puppy. She is just such a puppy. She gets so excited, jumps on everyone, and chews up everything she can get her mouth on. She loves AJ to death and gets excited when he runs through the house or in the yard, so she runs right into him and knocks him down. Fortunately, AJ is tough. He just gets back up and keeps playing. I've been annoyed enough at times with Goldie that I would consider getting rid of the dog, but AJ loves the dog to death and would never forgive me. AJ must think Goldie capable of taking care of him because a couple of times now, when I've wanted him to get ready to leave the house with me, he has suggested that he could just stay home with Goldie.

States and Capitals

Okay, not really.....but a few months ago, we taught AJ the names of the states of where all our family lived. So, if you ask him, "where does Papa live? Uncle Barry?" etc., he could name the state that person lived in. All total, AJ now knows the following states and who lives in them: Ohio, Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Arizona, and most recently Texas (well, he sort of knows Texas). My mom came for a visit the end of June through the beginning of July. While she was here, I was discussing with her that Dave's brother, wife, and kids were moving to Texas. So, one morning, we were talking about this and I told AJ that Dean was moving to Texas. He repeated Texas. Then later that afternoon, we were in the swimming pool and AJ just started talking about states and where people lived. My mom wanted to know if AJ would remember what I told him in the morning, so she asked him if he remembered where Dean lived. AJ said, "Yes, Texas Roadhouse." For anyone reading this who does not know, Texas Roadhouse is Dave's favorite restaurant. My mom said this was a sign that we eat out too much. She's probably right. Now my son thinks his cousin lives in a restaurant.

More Baby Kayleigh visit pics

Baby Kayleigh

And Aunt Tande and Uncle Steven too! We had a weekend visit from Tande and family this past weekend. We had lots of fun. We went to the outlet mall and I got to play with AJ and Kayleigh at the play area while everyone else shopped. I got the best end of the deal if you ask me. We ate out a lot and we went to COSI to play at the children's science museum while they were here too. It was a terrific weekend. AJ LOVED baby Kayleigh. He did not want her to leave. He thought we should keep her. I was fine with that idea, but selfish Tande thought she couldn't give up her child. AJ wanted to hold Kayleigh constantly.

Anyone for a swim?

AJ got a new pool in the backyard and wants to swim all the time. He couldn't even wait for the water to get warm. He insisted on getting in while it was still filling up! Grandma and Papa came for a visit at the beginning of this month and AJ insisted that they swim with him too.

12 years and 12 inches

On May 20th, Dave and I celebrated a dozen years of marriage. We never stop thanking God for the fortune that we have. I personally celebrated our 12 years by getting a badly needed hair cut. I cut off 12 inches to donate to Locks of Love. we also went out for brunch as this restaurant we love, but don't have too often due to the expense. AJ loves it because there are airplanes and old army vehicles outside that he likes to play on.

Cousin Fun!

AJ got to have a super quick visit with cousins Ellie and Josh to sort of celebrate Ellie's birthday. Ellie and Josh are so great with him. He just loves them.

March Visit with Memaw

We love that my mom is a teacher and willing to come spend all her school breaks with us! We were even so lucky as to have her two extra nights because poor Memaw's plane was cancelled and they couldn't get her flown out for two more days!

AJ in time out

We have discovered that time out is not quite so effective unless we hold Goldie away from him. I put AJ in time out the day before yesterday and walked into another room. Dave then called me back and said that AJ did not seem to mind his punishment. I went to look and found this....AJ's first look was like he knew he shouldn't be enjoying his time out so much. I couldn't resist taking a pic. AJ is active, so he is not sitting around a lot, but if he is sitting, then Goldie wants to sit in his lap (despite the fact that she is getting so big and is not quite small enough to be a lap dog anymore)

visit from Grandma Kay and Al

Last month we were thrilled to have a week long visit with Grandma Kay and Al. We feel very bad because we neglected to get the camera out until the very last day and by this time, AJ knew they were leaving, so he was not a happy boy. He refused to smile for pics and I couldn't get a pic with AJ and Al for anything because AJ was so upset that Al was leaving. AJ doesn't do well when people he is enjoying here try to leave him. AJ had an absolute ball while they were here. Al thought AJ needed a leather biker jacket. AJ seems to know he looks pretty cool in it. As you can see in these pics, I was trying to let AJ's hair grow until Memaw came to visit this month, but with only a couple of days to go, I broke down and cut his hair this morning because it was driving me nuts so long. Sorry Memaw....I know you like his hair long.

Disney On Ice

We took AJ to Disney on Ice's Monsters Inc. last week. My office gave us free tickets. I wasn't sure what AJ would think of it, but he LOVED it! We let him watch the Monsters Inc. movie a couple days before the show so he would know what the characters were and he was so excited from the first to the last. He kept a smile on his face and his eyes lit up the whole time. At the beginning, middle, and end of the Monsters Inc. show, Mickey and friends came out too so AJ was really excited to see Mickey Mouse. Unfortunately, I didn't get a decent pic of Mickey.

SNOW DAYS!

So, winter has finally hit here. The week before Christmas, it was 60 degrees here and I was beginning to think we'd have another very mild winter. I was wrong. Last week, it turned COLD. So cold that schools closed just because it was too cold, not because of road conditions. Yesterday it started snowing and snowing and snowing, then came freezing rain (no good). The only good was that my office closed early due to the weather and since Tuesday is the one day of the week that I go in late, my office called and told me not to bother coming in at all and then I was called at 6:30 am this morning to be told not to come in today either. So cool! Dave stayed home yesterday too, so we had a ball just hanging about the house and playing with Goldie. Goldie continues to be a great playmate for AJ and a good cuddle buddy whenever AJ gets to watch a little Disney channel. AJ and I always have our morning playtime on Tuesdays and I was tickled yesterday that even though Dave was here, AJ still wanted mommy to play chase and hide and seek with him. Hide and seek is a favorite game of AJ's now. He is so funny when he hides. He gets so tickled that he giggles out loud if you get anywhere near the room he is hiding in, so it is not difficult to find him.