The Peanut Man

"Peanut here!  Peanut here!" That is the familiar sound of a Dodger and family tradition. Growing up my family shared season tickets to the Dodgers with some other families in our stake, so I was able to go to games fairly regularly. We had great seats on the middle (Loge) level just about even with the Dodger's on-deck circle. This also meant that we were in the section that Roger "The Peanut Man" Owens worked. We'd watch the game, but we'd also keep an eye on the sections to our right--the side he always came from. Once we'd spot him there was no going for Dodger Dogs or bathroom breaks until after he passed for fear of missing out.

Why is he the Peanut Man? Its all about the toss! Roger has an impressive repertoire. I've seen all sorts of tosses: behind the back, under a leg, hook shots, long distance, and even from our level to the one above it. One of the best parts was if it ended up being a bad toss, Roger would ask that you pass the peanuts back to him so he could throw again and get it right.

We were given great tickets to the game last night against the Giants last minute. Dodgers vs. Giants always makes for a more full crowd and a fun atmosphere. We decided to take Winston even though it would be well past his bed time. He was an absolute champ! The people next to us ended up getting up from their seats early in the game and never returned, so he got his own seat for much of the time. The Dodgers won an exciting game, and to top it all off we got to cross paths with Roger. Go Doyers!

Highlights of Winston's night:

• Climbing from Mom's lap, to Dad's lap, back to Mom's, back to Dad's, over to the empty chair, back to Dad's lap... you get the idea. He actually sat pretty still for most of the game, but loved it when we'd let him climb back and forth.
• Making friends with the people behind us
• The Wave! He sat in the seat by himself, and when the wave would come Kate would raise both his arms for him. As the wave passed he'd keep his arms up with a big grin on his face--all three times.
• The 7th inning stretch. I actually missed it while getting food--bad timing--but according to Kate standing up and singing with the crowd was a big hit.
• Sitting all by himself telling elaborate stories- probably about baseball :)

Highlight of my night:

• Parking so close (thanks Mr. MacLeod)
• The Dodgers winning
• Catching peanuts and introducing Winston to Roger:

Highlight of Kate's night:

• Laughing at her husband getting geeked-out over some peanut dude

Roger was incredibly nice. He tossed a bag behind his back, down about 10+ rows right into my open hands. I didn't have to move them at all--right on target! As we were taking the picture I told him how I'd been catching peanuts from him for over 20 years and pointed to our old seats, which he got quite a kick out of. He crouched down in the aisle and chatted with us for a bit. He asked about Winston being our first child, told us about his and his wife's families, gave us a bookmark that had information about his biography (The Perfect Pitch), and then cracked a peanut joke for us.

It is hard to pinpoint what I was so excited about exactly. Part of it may be that I hadn't sat in Roger's section in years. I think mostly it comes down to experiencing and reliving some very fun childhood memories and having a chance to share them with people you love. Thanks, mom and dad, for helping to create them; thanks, Kate and Winston, for playing along.

Birthday Celebrations: Part II

On Sunday afternoon Tyler's family came over to celebrate with us and watch Winston eat his Winnie-the-Pooh cake- we used the same cake tin Tyler's mom used for his first birthday cake and just like Tyler's, the eyes and nose were raisins. In the video of Tyler's first birthday the first thing he did was carefully pick the raisins off and eat them. Raisins are W's favorite snack right now so, of course, he did the same and dad could not have been more proud.

Unfortunately, most of the photos we took Sunday afternoon came out really blurry and I can't get the video of him with his cake to upload. Just know that W loved his gifts and was just as cute as ever!!

 

 Opening gifts from his brand new cousin Coco. The green car has been a hit!

I'm not sure if it's me or W who has more fun playing with the Tobbles from Kelly

Tyler & I gave W a seersucker suit for his birthday that he wore to church that Sunday. I just wish we had gotten a better photo of all of us...

Birthday Celebrations: Part I

On Winston's actual birthday Tyler came home from work midday and we let Winston open all his gifts from us and then eat a giant cupcake all by himself :) He was so excited to grab the cupcake, but then he just played with the frosting for a bit until Tyler ate a piece to show him what to do. However, then he just started feeding Tyler, so we sneaked some frosting in his mouth, and then that cupcake was history :)

 He caught on to unwrapping pretty quickly

 His favorite gift thus far

 

 

 

 Soooo yummy!

 

 

 

 He really did like sharing with Daddy

 Happy Birthday karate-chop!

 

We love our little birthday boy!

One!

Happy, happy birthday Winston! I can't even begin to say how much we love this squishy little boy--this has been the best year yet!

1 day old

 

 1 year old

 

 
Favorite book: Itsy Bitsy Spider by Kate Toms
Favorite song: 5 Little Ducks
Favorite color: red (according to mama)
Favorite food: strawberry yogurt & cheerios
Favorite activity: climbing stairs, "Where's Winston", & slides
Favorite place: the rocking chair
Best friend: Dad
Favorite toy: orange bouncy ball
Favorite favorite: blue elephant swaddle

P.S. More photos to come soon. Be prepared to see that cheesy smile all over the place :)

The Famed Karate Chop!

11 mos

 

  Winston's stats: 23.5 lbs, 30 inches, 7 teeth

 

My sweet blueberry-eyed boy 

W was squealing with excitement before we even left the store with this ball :)

Winston is such a busy boy these days and he is just so much fun to be around. There are so many things he does that we find absolutely adorable right now. For example, the way...

• he spends most of the morning wandering from room to room telling elaborate stories with exciting hand gestures.
• he yodels, which sounds like him just saying, "durdle, durdle, durdle..." over and over again.
• he is so attached to his swaddle- takes it everywhere, shnuggles it, sucks on it, plays with the tags, and absolutely MUST have it in order to sleep.
• when I pick him up for a nap I always give him a huggle for a minute and then he sits up and points to the rocking chair, because that's where I give him a bottle :)
• he points to anything he wants or he's showing me, which is really helpful and cute.
• he loves any and all forms of peek-a-boo (or Where's Winston).
• he gives lots of high-fives, waves, and friendly pats.
• he shares with us all the time. And when he offers us his swaddle we know it's true love :)
• he rushes to my side and leans his head on my arm or leg when the sirens or garbage trucks outside are a little loud.
• he gives us lots of sweet kisses and head bonks.
• he loves being outside and playing in the grass.
• he also loves climbing stairs and anything else he can.
• he tosses things behind him when he's no longer interested or it is in his way.
• he gives me a cheesy smile- head tilted back, eyes squinted, nose scrunched, and all teeth exposed :)
• he lounges with one arm over the back of his chair or one foot propped up on the table while in his high-chair.
• he loves to be chased.
• he squeals and giggles when he's happy.
• he is falling in love with balls.
• he uses a spoon (and is quite good at it too).
• he looks toddling around on Sunday in his dress shorts, white shirt, combed hair, and bow tie :)
• he lays his head on our shoulder and wraps his chubby, little arm around our necks when he's ready for bed or a nap.
• he falls right to sleep when he lay him down at night :)
• he pushes my hand out of the way when I'm trying to test the temperature of the water in the bath because he wants to play with the water. Or when he pushes my hand to the side on bike rides so he can hold the leather handle. Or when he pushes my hand away when I try to help him out on rough terrain. He's very independent and likes to do things by himself and his way.
• he pushes the stroller all through the park rather than riding in it.
• he sways a little when he walks.
• he runs too fast and falls forward laughing.
• he literally freaks out with excitement when daddy comes home.
• he makes faces and talks to himself in the mirror.
• is so curious about everything.
• he loves reading books.
• he gets really excited when throws something far.
• he is really into emptying... anything. It's just fun to pull everything out.
• he is so squishy and shnugglable!

 

 

 

 Just walking through the park, waving to everyone

Hawaiian Vacation Part III: One Last Time

Most of our time on Oahu was spent hanging out with family playing games, talking story, chasing Winston around the yard etc., but we did manage to make a few beach runs. Winston LOVES the beach! The very first time I tried to take him in the water he was a little hesitant, but after that he loved walking in the surf, playing in the sand, and splashing in the waves with daddy. 

On our last trip to the beach, while Tyler was walking with W in the surf, a blue-bubble washed up and stung the top of Tyler's foot. The sting actually does hurt quite a bit, so while Tyler tried to rub the tentacles off of him I grabbed W and brought him up on the sand to avoid him getting stung, but I could barely hold him there few a few seconds because he wanted to get back in the water so bad. It was probably about 15 minutes later when we were playing on the sand that I noticed W had a big red welt across the top of his foot too. He hadn't even made a peep! Apparently he was having too much fun to be bothered by a little sting. Awesome baby!!

We also made a trip out to Waimea Bay so Tyler could jump off the rock, finally. I did get a picture it his jump... but only his legs and feet because I couldn't see the camera screen in the sun. Sorry :(

 

 Having fun at Waimea 

 

Post blue-bubble sting and he clearly didn't seem to mind.

Like I said we spent a lot of time hanging with the fam and W loved all of the attention. A couple of other highlights for Tyler and I were getting the last Ted's pie for a long, long time :(, eating Hawaiian BBQ chicken and teri-beef from Ted's Bakery, going to the water park with Jenny and Ben (until Jenny and I smacked our heads on the side of the Volcano tube), visiting Tyler's Aunt Erin and Uncle Matt, going for a bike ride together, watching W discover bubbles for the first time, and going to the Hawaii temple. It was a good last trip and I wish I had taken more photos, but we were just too busy having fun! I'm sure going to miss it though :(

 

 

Playing in the yard with these people was a highlight for W. Another highlight was only wearing a diaper for most of the trip since it was unusually hot that week.

 Probably my favorite photo from the whole trip- he's just soooo chubby and cute standing there.