Snow Day

Bodhi got to have his first experience with snow this year. He was pretty excited. As soon as he saw it he wanted to go and play. We had to bundle him up first and then, off he went! First up was snowballs in the parking lot, then making snow angels.

Of course, his favorite part was sledding. We found a nice little place that didn't have many people and had some nice, open spaces for playing. It had some moderate hills that allowed everyone to be able to go down at least a few times. Bodhi went down the hill many, many times... we were kind of surprised at how well he did at walking on snow and keeping his balance. We'd like to do a longer trip next time and, perhaps, stay the night so that we could do more without getting too cold.

Christmas (reprise)

On the day after Christmas we went to the grandparent's place for yet another holiday gathering. It was a larger than usual event this year as my sister's new in-laws came to dinner, too. Bodhi loved seeing his grandparents and their little dog but really liked seeing their pool table. He also, of course, got another big load of toys, yay!

After dinner, Grandma, Jen, Bodhi and I went to a nearby animal park where they decorate everything with a ton of lights. The proceeds from the ticket prices goes to fund the park for the year. Bodhi loved all the lights and riding the carousel and the little train. We made one quick trip through the reptile house, too, which was nice for warming up a bit.

We stayed at the grandparents' house that night and left the next day. The only thing better than Christmas is two Christmases... and pool tables, right Bodhi?

Christmas

When I was younger, we had a tradition in my family to open one present on Christmas Eve. I would like to continue this tradition with Bodhi just because I remember how exciting it was to choose one gift to open the night before Santa's arrival. When we told Bodhi he could one one present early he knew exactly what to do. He went for it and immediately started ripping the paper.

Christmas morning, Ray put on the yule log (I like this new tradition) and Bodhi looked through his stocking and opened a few presents. He really liked singing into the microphone. We spent the rest of the day at Sherry's house with my family. We had a lovely day of opening presents, in between eating. Bodhi was very excited when he opened up a train set that he received from my Mom. Although I think Mason was even more excited than Bodhi. Both of the boys played with the train set for most of the day. It was quite sweet, Mason put together the track and they both played so nicely together. The next day when we left, I said "Bye Mason, see you next time" and Mason replied "Okay don't forget to bring Bodhi's train"

i do it, i do it, i do it

Our blog has become somewhat less frequently updated lately, mostly because it has become quite difficult to get pictures of the little guy. Every time the camera comes out he insists on being the one to take the pictures as you can see here:



It's not without it's rewards though... Once you take out all the photos with little fingers in them you end up with some pretty cute ones. Enjoy!

christmas time

It definitely has been feeling like Christmas the last week or so. Ray and I have been staying up late baking and wrapping and watching the 25 days of Christmas shows. I have seen most of these Christmas movies so many times before but they never get old. I love watching them every year. Bodhi has been up late too, since there are so many events. This last weekend was very busy. Saturday night we went to a holiday party. We weren't sure if we were going to go or not since it was raining, but we decided to go and glad that we did since we had such a great time. The party was hosted by my Dad's friend and we have been going the last few years. We get a chance to catch up with friends and eat some yummy food. Bodhi had a lot of fun running around with his cousin Zena and playing the slot machines in the Saloon (not a real saloon, silly).




On Sunday, we got up early to get our Christmas tree. Bodhi was very excited once we got the tree tree lit up and decorated with ornaments. He walked around the tree and pointed out all the different ornaments saying names of things he knew (bird, fish, scooby doo, ball, cat). I've come to realize we have quite a few animal ornaments.


Later that day Bodhi and I went to my friend Kristi's for a cookie exchange. All the kids had a great time playing with Vivian's toys and the adults had a great time chatting and munching on cookies.

After the cookie exchange we met up with several family members at Disneyland to see the holiday decorations. Bodhi of course loved "Its a small world" since it was lit up and decorated for the holidays.

little helper

Bodhi likes to help do lots of things around the house. He likes to help make coffee, crack the eggs for scrambled eggs, measure ingredients for pancakes and cookies. He also likes to help Daddy wash the dishes, help Mommy put the dirty laundry in the laundry basket and water the plants with his little watering can.

Bodhi Language

Bodhi has been amazing me everyday with new words that he's learning. The other morning I greeted him with "Hi Bodhi, how are you?" and he said "Hi!" Later that same morning, he walked into the room and I said "Hi Bodhi!" to which he responded "Haoyoo?" Close enough. He knows the sounds for 6 to 8 animals, but surprised me recently when I showed him an owl and he said "Hoo Hoo"... hey! I didn't teach him that one? Where did he learn it?

The best part is that he's learning words that help us understand what he needs and wants. When he's thirsty he says "wawa", when he's hungry he says "ah'm onrry" and points to the tabletop. When he's hurt he says "booboo" and when he wants something he can't get out he says "stuck!" That last one works for when he gets himself into a spot he can't get out of, too. Something that happens quite a bit with a toddler. When he spills something he says "tao" which means "towel" and is pretty useful, too. He can even tell us which TV show he wants to watch with "Pooh" being a favorite along with Curious George for which he points at the TV and says "OO! OO! OO!", like a monkey.

I'm really having fun with this stage of his development. Maybe it's because I'm a language guy, myself, but watching him mimic sounds, put them together and attach them to objects and concepts is really neat.

trick or treating

Bodhi had so much fun out trick or treating. We went to our friends house after the fair and had dinner before heading out. I think Bodhi was done with wearing the dinosaur costume so we didn't push it and let him wear the backup costume of skeleton pajamas. He actually looked pretty cute and loved running around at night, from house to house, holding onto his light stick. When we would step up to the front door, usually the person handing out candy would bend down to his level to put a piece of candy in his treat bag, but Bodhi would take this as a cue to pick out another piece of candy from the bowl. He would look at all the wrapped candy and decide which one he wanted and then pick that one. Ray and I kept laughing. The only thing that scared him a little bit was when he saw a blowup ghost.

halloween fair

We met up with Christina, Zena, my Mom and Sherry's kids at a Halloween fair that was held at their church in Orange County. They had lots of game booths set up for kids. When they participated in the game they got to pick out some candy. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, with lots of rides (for older kids) and food booths. Bodhi was so good and wore his costume almost the whole time we were there. We took it off when we decided to get some food. He was a cute little dinosaur. I'm so glad I picked up that costume when BabyStyle was going out of business earlier this year. I wasn't ever sure that Bodhi would actually wear it for Halloween so I ended up buying a backup costume just in case.

candy corn

Wow an entire field of candy corn...

I wonder if Bodhi will follow in his dad's foot steps with his love of candy corn.

hmm, looks like the answer is yes

halloween high jinks

We met up with Sherry, Miles, Mason and Dahlia at the LA Zoo this past Sunday since they were having a special event called "boo at the zoo" and they had a pumpkin patch and few trick or treat areas that we walked through. They also had an area called the creepy creature encounter where you could get close to snakes, spiders and other bugs. Kids were allowed to wear costumes but we decided against it since it was really hot and we're not totally sure how long Bodhi will actually wear his costume.

swimming lessons

Bodhi just recently finished taking his first set of swimming classes. The classes were "parent and me" so Ray and I split up the 4 weeks and each got to spend time in the swimming pool with Bodhi. The classes were really fun and Bodhi seemed to enjoy kicking his feet and splashing in the water. One of the days, I was able to go with Ray and Bodhi so I got a couple of pics of them in the pool.

memory card full = end of summer

Wow, it has been so long since we have posted anything! We had a very busy end of summer. Now that school has started, our schedules have changed again and we are trying to readjust. It had been so long since I turned on the computer, the memory card in my camera was completely full! (and has been for a couple weeks) At least that means we were having lots of fun and taking lots of pictures! Here is a little recap of the last couple months.

We met up with Ray's parents at Ventura Harbor again. We got to meet their new dog, Missy. Bodhi got to have some ice cream (yum!) and run around on the grass. We all had a fun day and Bodhi of course, loves spending time with Grandma and Grandpa so it was a great visit.

A Day at Disneyland - We had another family outing to Disneyland again. This time we got to have our picture taken with Tigger! We also let Bodhi "drive" Mr. Toads car. The lines weren't too bad, so we were able to get on quite a few rides. Of course we went on Bodhi's favorite ride (It's a small world) a couple of times.

Labor Day BBQ - We were invited to a pool party BBQ by my friend Rebecca. Ray watched Bodhi on land and I got in the pool with him. He had a great time swimming and going down the pool slide. We all had lots of fun hanging out with our friends and having some yummy food! It was a perfect way to spend the holiday.

Mia's first Birthday - Bodhi's friend Mia turned one years old. Bodhi had lots of fun running around at the party. He especially liked all the balloons and getting a balloon painted on his hand by the clown.