Because I Have A Bad Memory

Not that anyone really cares to read this, but I thought I'd write this all down before I forgot it all. I am thankful to have a blog (because we all know my AWESOME journal keeping skills) to document the happenings in our lives.

As of lately, Christian has wanted to sit on my lap a lot to read books or share a snack or just to cuddle.

If there is a sad commercial or sad music Christian will cry uncontrollably until you turn it off and then it still takes a long time to calm him down. He is especially sensitive to pictures of abused animals.

If you pull Christian onto our bed he immediately dives face first into our pillows, laughs hysterically, and then stands up, turns on the radio and dances.

Christian loves to dance. Almost always he will stop what he's doing to do a little dance if he likes the song.

Christian has a fascination with vacuums and brooms. He loves to "sweep".


Christian LOVES his daddy! He squeals (literally...like a little piglet) with delight as soon as he sees his Daddy, especially when he gets home from work.

Christian is a BIG flirt. He acts all shy, but it's just a ploy to get attention. It works every time. He can find a girlfriend anywhere we go.

Christian is finally sleeping in his crib every night, all night, for the first time in many months. Merry Christmas to us! The best present we got this year!

I'm sure there is a lot more that I could write, but this is all I can think of now.

Kangaroo

This is just one example of a moving light display at Zoo Lights.

Zoo Lights

Dave and I bought tickets to see Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo. We kept trying to go, but with our crazy work schedules and the record breaking COLD nights it was getting harder to find the time and energy to get there. But I was determined to go (mostly because we already spent $14 on the tickets). We discovered that the zoo is always open (I guess the animals always need food) so we decided to go on Christmas Eve night. What a fun evening! I hope we can go back every year. But we're dressing warmer and taking our own hot chocolate. Seriously $4 for one hot cocoa and only $2.50 to add a shot of bourbon. Too bad I don't drink...I could have used the extra "warmth".

Here are some neat lizards lounging around.

A family portrait in front of a Gorilla...how fitting. (Love the trash cans!)

Christian is very concerned that the Hippo is going to eat his Daddy.

Isn't this picture amazing!?!

Dave and Christian (I opted out) got to touch this reptile. I'm not even sure what it is. Christian really liked it though. I quickly made them wash their hands. Yuck!

Just Because He's SO Adorable

Certainly I am the coolest mom ever! If not the coolest, I've got to be pretty high up on the "cool mom" list. I got my son his very own cell phone today. We were shopping for a few last minute decorations so we decided to zip on down the strip mall to the Verizon store to look at the coveted Blackberry Storm that Dave wants SO badly. I just had to see what could be SO cool. As we were in the store, Christian was being his cute self and charmed all the employees. It was surprisingly slow tonight and everyone was playing with him and chasing him around. Christian was having the time of his life. One of the guys gave him an old dummy phone of his very own. He walked around pushing buttons like he was texting and then would hold the phone up (like he was taking a picture of the person), push a button and then turn the phone to show them the "picture". Then he would put the phone on the floor, clap a few times, pick the phone up and continue to charm everyone in the room. He sure loves to be the center of attention.

Food Network Challenge

Christian and I went to see a taping of a Food Network Challenge with a friend tonight. Of course I didn't take my camera and forgot to take my phone in with me so this picture is all I have of the night. It was so crowded that we didn't have a seat and we couldn't see much. Christian wasn't a big fan of the event, but he loved to clap. We didn't get to see much of the show, and we missed the end (kind of on purpose). Now when I watch it on tv I will be surprised who the winner is.

I can't wait to go again and see more of the challenge. I think it would be so much fun. But I think I will have Dave watch Christian instead of taking him with me. I don't know how I didn't know about this sooner. This is my kind of event. I guess I just never thought they would tape something like that in Denver.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Dear Christian,

Today you were in a very grumpy mood. You threw a tantrum every other word I said. But that's okay because I love you SO much! Today you got into every nook and cranny in the house, especially if you knew you'd get in trouble for it. But that's okay because I love you SO much! Today you spit out every morsel of food I offered to you (even ice cream). But that's okay because I love you SO much! Today you learned how to open the refrigerator and carried around the mustard everywhere you went. But that's okay because I love you SO much! Today you randomly gave me a big hug when I was sitting on the floor exhausted at 11am from a long day of chasing you around and cleaning your messes. And then I remembered I love you SO much!

Love,
Mommy



Can you tell what kind of day I am having today?

Christian's 1st Artwork

I picked up Christian from the sitter's last night and this is what he gave me. This is a special treat...it's his very 1st piece of art. He colored it all by himself. These are the things that I cherish. I am going to be the mom that keeps it all, but it's worth more to me than any expensive piece of jewelry or technology.

Jake

On Friday we said our final goodbyes to our wonderful dog, Jake. He was a part of our family for nearly 5 years and was our "first" child. Dave and I were newlyweds when we adopted Jake, but times have changed and we just couldn't feel right about having a dog. So, we put him back up for adoption.

He was a good addition to our family and will be a great addition to the next family he is a part of. We will miss him a lot, but it was time. He will be a good memory in our family.

First Snow

We had our first snow of the season this morning. It is almost gone now, not that it was much. It barely dusted the grass and only stuck to the less traveled roads. But it is snow...so it counts. It will be gone soon but I am sure there will be more soon. It is almost Thanksgiving after all.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

We Had Fun at the Park

Christian and I had fun running all over town, but the best part was the park. He especially liked the swings. Yeah for a fun phone that allows me to blog from anywhere.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Park

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Country Music

My son is in love with Taylor Swift. I don't know why...I don't even listen to country music. Every time we hear her on tv (she was on Ellen today) or on the radio he just can't help but dance or sway. He stares at her pictures and giggles with delight. All I can say is..she's a pretty girl. I don't know much else about her.

Breakfast

Is it a bad thing that I took Christian to Chick-Fil-A to enjoy some very yummy chick-n-minis for breakfast on my day off? He loved them just as much as his mommy does! After every other bite he would say "Mmmmm!" and smile really big. It was quite possibly the best $5 I will spend all day. If you haven't tried them...you must! The only thing I wish is that they would sell them all day and not just at breakfast.

The Amazing Christian

We had an amazing Stake Conference today. I only know it was amazing because Christian sat through the whole meeting and quietly played and ate his snacks. I don't remember the last time he was so good for so long. He did GREAT!! It makes me happy to know that it is possible. Now if we could just do it every week.

Pumpkin Guts

We didn't carve our pumpkins this year, but we did gut one for the seeds. Christian loved to help daddy play in the guts. He had pumpkin in every nook and cranny. Dave enjoyed homemade pumpkin seeds, but he was disappointed with the small quantity of seeds in our very large pumpkin. I think I like the look of a pumpkin without carving it better than the jack-o-lantern look. But, for tradition's sake, we should carve pumpkins next year.


PS It always amazes me that no matter what we are doing the dog always wants in. Once I give him a taste of what we are doing he doesn't like it and still begs for more.

Boo at the Zoo

We went to Boo at the Zoo today and had so much fun. Unfortunately, so did the rest of the Denver population! It was a beautiful, but very windy, 70 degrees today. I've never seen so many people at the zoo. As you can see, Christian was a ferocious tiger. I think he's a pretty cute little tiger.

The best part was crunching the leaves.

Pumkins

Dave, Christian and I went to pick a few pumpkins today from a local (but still 45min away) pumpkin patch. We were told that there are no pumpkin patches in CO where you can pick them from the field. I don't know if it's true, but I found that this was a better way to pick a pumpkin with a 1 yr old. We found the quality to be great and prices were reasonable. Everyone was so friendly and there were lots of other kids to play with too.


We thought Christian would love this corn box. Who wouldn't love playing in a hug box filled with corn? Well, he hated it. Maybe next year.


Christian loved these bumpy gourds. He thought they were balls that he could throw.


When Christian realized that he couldn't lift these big pumpkins (and believe me, he tried) he decided they were better chairs than balls anyway. So he climbed on all of them until he found just the right one. I couldn't have posed them better myself.

Here are the final 3 pumpkins that we decided to buy. Soon they will be gutted and carved for everyone's viewing pleasure. Dave is mostly excited to eat the seeds. I love fall and I love making memories. We can't wait for next year!

Being Silly

The other day we were watching a movie and Christian was playing with his toys. We look up and he's climbing in his toy box. He sat there for about 5 minutes playing with different toys, mostly his trucks. He didn't get out until he accidentally dropped his truck overboard. It was quite entertaining to watch him. I guess it's easier to reach the toys when you are right in there with them.

On a not so fun note...Christian is sprouting teeth again. His 1 year molars are emerging all at once. Yay! He's been sick because of it I think. Or he's just sick. So, on top of a really cranky teething baby, he's throwing up and won't eat. I had to stay home with him today because of it. Yeah for staying home! Boo for being cooped up with a sick baby!

Walking

I know you all have been long awaiting this here video. I am SUPER sorry about the VERY poor quality. Someone (Dave) lost the charger to the video camera and so I took this on the digital camera a week ago. It's better than nothing I guess. Oh..and apparently Christian's room wasn't very clean that day either. Oops! So here it is...the proof that he really does walk. In fact..he walks everywhere now. Such a big boy!


Editor's note: I don't know why he loves that little broom so much, but he does. He carries it all over the house and sweeps things with it. He's my little helper.

Memory Lane

I was looking through some old pictures and I realized that Christian has had a few different hair styles in his short life. And I can't believe how much he has changed as he has gotten older. I can't believe when I brought him home he weighed in at a whopping 5lbs 5oz and 18.5" long. He wore preemie diapers and preemie clothes. Now he is 22 lbs and 30.5" and wears size 3 diapers and 12 months clothes. He has 8 teeth and walks everywhere. What a growing boy! I love that he walks now and I love to hear him babble on and on like we are having an intelligent conversation. I can't wait until he talks to me. We'll have some good chats! I have a feeling he'll be one of those kids that never shuts up though. Oh well...better than being silent I guess. I hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane. Sometimes it's hard to believe he is already 13 months.

This is the original...just born 3 days ago hairdo.

This is the one month old...Daddy made me do it and I don't like it hairdo.

Here is the 2 months old..thinning hair look.


Getting long around 4-5 months.

Long Spikes @ 7 months

Short Spikes the next day

Faux-Hawk 9 months

Short..Short Buzz Cut 1 yr

Christian's Big News!

The little monster walks now! He walks, turns corners, stops to pick up a toy or cup and keeps walking. Who knew he had it in him? Sadly, I have not been in blogging mode and have no pictures or video of this new skill. My friend got a video of it at her house so I will have to beg to get a copy I suppose. Hopefully we will have a video up soon. It's pretty exciting stuff (or maybe it's just exciting to me)!

Thank You!

Lydia holding Spencer.

Mikel and Shalena

Kori, Dillon and Christian were entertained by the balloons.

Lydia holding Christian

Christian loves his new puppy.

The perfect shirt!

Lots of presents! Thank you everyone!

Dillon

This is what happens when you try to avoid the picture..you look silly and I still get the picture.

Jesse and Lydia

Shalena, Lindsey and Spencer

Grandmama and Grandpapa Putnam at the barbeque.

We just want to thank everyone that came to the party! We loved having you here to help us celebrate Christian's 1st birthday! Thank you for all of the cute new outfits and fun new toys. We hope you had fun!

1st Birthday Party

We had Christian's 1st birthday party last night. We invited a few friends and family to come over for a barbeque. Christian had a lot of fun and loved all the new toys he got. I can't believe he is already one!

This is me, Christian and my friend, Lydia from work.


Christian and Daddy opening presents!


Christian loved his birthday cake!

Can't believe he ate the whole thing!


Too much cake...too many pictures!

Dave and I bought Christian this fun toy that he can walk behind. Oh my! It didn't take long to figure it out and now he just runs over whatever or whoever is in his way. He LOVES this toy! It is already helping him have more confidence to walk. Maybe we'll have a walking machine in the next few weeks...who knows.

Overall, I think the party was a success. Christian had a lot of fun and that was my main goal. The food was good, company was great and the weather held out for us. What more can you ask for?