Christmas Preview

I'm a big believer that Thanksgiving is an over-looked and under-appreciated holiday, so I try to avoid all things Christmas-y until after I've enjoyed my turkey and pumpkin pie.  But I thought many of you would enjoy the pictures we took this morning, so I'm going to make an exception.

Little Ted had a successful photo session today at Sears.  That smiling cutie is the same little boy who categorically refused to take photos last week at the same time (it was awful!).  We braved the photo studio again today, and thanks to a fantastic photographer, we now have lovely photos to share with all of you.  Enjoy!

An Education

Raising a toddler is certainly educational.  I have learned a whole host of new ways to manage the things that I may want to carry around with me.  Here's a perfect example:

A couple of days ago, Little Ted was enjoying a lollipop (or "pop pop," to use his words) while watching his favorite episode of Blues Clues.  In this particular episode, there is a scene where the characters clap and count.  Little Ted loves to participate, but this is hard to do with a lollipop in one hand.  The solution: stick the lollipop to your T-shirt!  This will give you two free hands, and when you are ready to enjoy your lollipop again, it is waiting for you just below your chin.

He did find this brilliant plan to be a little distracting - he kept looking down at his lollipop while clapping to make sure that it hadn't fallen off.

The next day, he attempted to use his hair for the same purpose.  Luckily, I was able to stop him before I had to cut sticky candy out of his hair.

A Birthday, Halloween, and a downright Yucky Week

The last week of October was eventful, to say the least.  Our AC went out for the second time in as many weeks and Little Ted developed a fever on the same day.  The rest of the week was a blur of doctor's appointments and hot, sleepless nights.  In the midst of all that "fun," Ted celebrated his birthday.  We made the best of it, considering our circumstances.  I made him some yummy chocolate croissants (thank you, Julia Child, for demystifying the process) and we enjoyed cupcakes from our favorite local shop.

Unfortunately, the Rangers also lost the World Series that week.  :-(

We didn't do much for Halloween, since Little Ted was still recovering from his illness.  But Ted did grill up some excellent steaks that Saturday (his birthday dinner), I carved a pumpkin, and Little Ted got to enjoy his Halloween costume.

I bought Little Ted this costume back in September (though he was adamant that he did not want a costume).  I tried it on him when we came back from the store, and he wouldn't take it off, proof that mommy really does know best.

Birthday Revisited

I've been meaning to post this video snippet for awhile.  Little Ted is taking his first crack at a pinata here. Not bad for a first try, right?

Dancing

Lately, we are most entertained when watching Little Ted sing and dance.  But this is hard to capture on film.  This video does give you a glimpse of his best moves - in the first few seconds.  The rest is his typical rocking motion - his go-to step for most dancing occasions.

Our Little Singer

Little Ted loves to watch Pinocchio, and he loves to sing along to every song.  Here is his rendition of "When you Wish upon a Star."

For my Mother

I've been lax about posting on the blog and was reminded of that fact when conversing with my mother yesterday.  So here's a post to help correct that problem.

These are a few pictures I took on my cell phone (hence the not-so-great quality) of Little Ted doing what he does best - having fun and enjoying all the things a little boy should enjoy.

In this picture, Little Ted turned his daddy's T-shirt into a skirt and hobbled around the living room in his new creation.

And in this adventure, Little Ted raided my closet.  Next to him is one of my nice work shirts - crumpled on the floor.  : /

The weather has finally cooled down here, so we were able to trek out to the zoo recently.  Here, Little Ted is watching the coastal birds.

This is one of my favorites.  The Christmas toy catalogs are starting to arrive at our home, and Little Ted loves to "read" them.  Here, he is looking through the Toys R Us catalog and is pointing out his favorites to daddy.  I had to hide to take the picture - you can see the checkerboard pattern of the window screen in this photo.

This last picture shows Little Ted enjoying an afternoon outside - a new daily favorite.

Mom, I know this doesn't make up for the distance and not getting to see your grandson, but I hope you enjoy these pictures of him.  He misses you!

The Social Butterfly

The past two weekends, Baylor's Rugby Club has had games on campus.  They give Little Ted and I the opportunity to run around outside while daddy coaches from the sidelines.  The temperature has finally dropped, so we can actually enjoy ourselves when we're outside.

This weekend was particularly entertaining.  After running around the field for awhile, we returned to the parked stroller for a drink break.  Two (female) college students were seated nearby, and Little Ted struck up a conversation.  They said hi, but he refused to say hi back.  He just shook his head and said, "No!  No!  No!"  He inched his way closer to them, though, so he could sit next to them and wrinkle his nose at them (I need to get this on camera - it's very funny).

Later, we walked past one of the campus rec workers (again female).  She was sitting in a cart, and this time Little Ted waved hi and chatted with her.  He quickly lost interest when he spotted a hound dog.  The owner (a female) let him talk to and pet the dog.  Apparently, this was an invitation, because Little Ted plopped himself down next to her on her blanket and chatted with her about the "big dog" and rugby.  He wasn't too happy when I dragged him away so we could get out of the sun and rest at home.

Clearly, my son has no trouble with the ladies.

Alumni Fest 2011

We spent this Labor Day weekend at the Baylor Rugby Association's Alumni Festival.  Little Ted, in particular, really enjoyed himself because this was the first year that he could play with the other children there (last year, he was still learning how to walk!).  He had fun in the bounce house (after the older kids cleared out), and I had to drag him away - twice.  Even though he was too tired to bounce (or even sit up), he didn't want to leave.

When Little Ted wasn't in the bounce house, he made friends with the dogs at the event and played with Jaxson, the son of one of Ted's friends.  The two played nice - most of the time - but they did get into a rather comical spat over some toy cars.  I think that was the first time that I've seen Little Ted argue with a child his own age.

While I chased Little Ted around, his daddy coached the forwards in the Men's Rugby club and spent a little time on the field.  Can you find him in these photos?

We're using the last day of our long weekend to recover - Ted's nursing a few sore muscles, Little Ted is getting back into his routine, and I'm working to catch up on lost sleep.  All in all, these were small sacrifices to make to spend time with old friends.

Is it over?

This summer, we've had at least 80 days of 100+ degree weather, with at least 20 of those days being in a row. Most days, it was even too hot to sit in Ted's kiddie pool (hot weather + hot tap water = unpleasant experience).  But today - all of the sudden - we're down to the mid 80s for our high temp.  Could the summer swelter finally be over?  We're not sure, but we're going to make the most of the cooler weather by enjoying it - outdoors!

How 'bout them Bears!

BU Quarterback, Robert Griffin III, makes the rounds on ESPN after Baylor's big win over TCU.