The Best Way to End a Roadtrip

 

 

Heading straight to the park from the freeway to share an ice cream cone with no pants & no shoes :)

12 mos

 

 24 lbs. 30 inches

On Saturday Nicole of Nicole Priest Photography took some 1-year photos of Winston for us and they all turned out soooo beautiful! But maybe that's just because it's W she was photographing and I'm biased :) Either way, here are a few of the photos... or maybe more than just a few.

 

Priceless

 

 

 

 

 

So cheesy :)

 

A few facts about Winston:

• He thinks it's pretty funny to give high fives and do his cheesy smile.
• He LOVES balls, especially basketballs, and has been throwing them in the hamper a lot lately so a basketball hoop is definitely in his future.
• He loves to help mama vacuum and is very focused while doing so. He also has a full meltdown when the vacuum is put away. So far it's the only time I've ever seen tears streaming down his face without an accompanying injury.
• He cannot eat enough raisins and loves to hold the little box himself- I think it's half the fun.
• He learned to say please in sign language and is very polite now. He always smiles when he says it :)
• He points and says "sss,sss" when he needs/wants something.
• He loves pushing strollers, carts, wagons, abandoned bikes, and anything else with wheels.
• He usually runs, not walks.
• He loves to climb stairs and furniture, but still doesn't know how to get down.
• He really likes playing outside.
• He still likes baths and likes to play in the pool too.
• He tells stories all day long, and sings quite a bit too.
• He brings me his Itsy Bitsy Spider book shortly after he wakes up every, single morning.
• He tries to chase down every dog he sees in the park and he'll go right up to them and pat their backs.
• He loves it when I blow on his hair or feet and always asks for it by blowing at me.
• He gives us sweet (open-mouthed) kisses whenever we ask for them!!

The End

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!