Friday, December 28, 2012

Bubble Fun

I love bubble baths almost as much as I love goldfish(the edible kind), and that's saying something.

Life on the Home Front

November and early December were quieter at our house.  We enjoyed some reading, catching up on things that have long been neglected and, of course, some time in the great outdoors of beautiful Montana.  Mom and dad tell me that I'm growing up too fast, but I'm not sure.  I'm really enjoying my new found warp speed running ability, as well as exercising my sense of imagination and adventure when I play.  I like to get together with friends and play. Playing is really what I live for, though lately I have been telling mom that I want to "listen to Christmas music" and "turn on the Christmas tree", so you might say my new focus is Christmas.  I am really excited about Santa and presents and snowmen and reindeer.  It all seems so magical.  

Sherlock Holmes strikes again.  Hamming it up with hats and glasses is a favorite past time.

Well hello there. What large teeth you have, not to mention claws.  Good thing we're buddies.  

A hike in the Bitterroot Valley on a beautiful fall day.

The dogs are enjoying their freedom and cool, bright sunshine.

I love to get out and explore. My penguin hat was especially fitting today, since it felt like we were at the South Pole.  Subzero temperatures, I swear.

It took us at least 10 tries to get this shot with all of the dogs facing the camera. Worth the effort I think! 
Abra Cadabra! One day my crib was here, the next it was replaced by my big boy bed.  I've made the big time now. 
I paused for a moment while at the dragon play area in downtown Missoula to grace the camera with my smile.

Grandma and Grandpa Stewart came for a quick visit in mid-November.  It was a fun and very exciting couple of days.

My newest Mr. Potato Head creation. 

Becca stopped by for a quick visit after Thanksgiving and we read some stories.  I love it when I can coax people into reading to me.  I spend lots of time thinking about how to do this, I also spend lots of time telling people to do this. 

See, I talked Melissa into reading me a story too.  It was a great afternoon.

I snuck a ride in the rocking chair.

This is the perfect place to curl up with all of my favorite things.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

There and Back Again in October

October was quite the month.  Mom and dad had to work on one of the rental houses in Spokane, so we traveled back and forth a bit.  Four times to be precise - boy that car DVD player was a life safer.  If they hadn't installed that I don't know what I would have done.  The dogs and I were good sports, mostly because we got to do quite a bit of visiting with some of our favorite people.  I got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Stewart twice while mom and dad worked hard and then Grandma and Grandpa Reiswig came to Montana to celebrate my 2nd birthday with me.  I got two birthday cakes out of the deal, not to mention lots of cool presents and some great quality time on the tractor.  It doesn't get much better. When you throw Halloween in on top of everything else who can deny that October is the best month ever!

Posing for my first Ralph Lauren shoot.  Looking good.


If Grandpa would just put me down and I could get ahold of that lever we’d be driving places this tractor's never seen before!!!


WATER!!!! The elixir of life, or playtime at least.


Sometimes the sun rises and sets in the people we look up to.  Sometimes their love for us lights us up.


Grandpa, if you throw the rocks this way, then we’ll make a bigger plop. See, look.


There’s our Hailey girl enjoying the creek and the sunshine.


Early morning snuggle 

I'm an excellent dishwasher and it is my personal pleasure to help out whenever I can. Here I am testing the bubbles for optimum cleaning power before we start. And before you ask, it does require a taste test - don't judge. 

At my second birthday celebration I got lots of great items.  Here I am playing with a lion from my new Noah's Ark play set. 

Here I am ripping open my brand new tricycle!

Look at that smile! I'm riding my new tricycle and loving every minute.  Psst...I might try to run something over, just don't tell mom and dad.

This is my second birthday cake. Yum!

Oh the joys of carving pumpkins.  Mom and dad bought a deadly new set of carving tools.  They make quick work of those pumpkins, but did require a bit of adult supervision if you know what I mean...I might have lobbed off a finger or worse yet, ruined my carving.  We made pumpkin seeds and I feasted on them until they disappeared! I love pumpkin seeds.

Helping get the pumpkins set up was the perfect job for me.  I made sure every lid was positioned just right (I'm a little obsessed with the lids if you hadn't noticed).  It made mom's heart just sing.

Our art lights up the night. Dad's house is my favorite.

All smiles with my new loader.  I played with this at home and at the local park.  I dug dirt and sand and moved it here or there - what fun!

Like I said, moving sand.  Grandma helped. 

Another package that needed paper ripped right off.  I did my best and uncle Gabe helped.

Wow, a new farm play set.  I've spent hours with Farmer Jed and the animals.  They love it when I help out on the farm.

Adorable

Who said playing with leaves is only for adults.  I jumped right in and rolled in the leaves for a few minutes.

This was my third halloween and my first official outing as a trick-or-treater.  I did my best to encourage the trick, but people kept saying things like "so cute" and "adorable" so I only ended up with treats.  It all worked out for the best in the end because I have discovered that I LOVE the treats.  

See what I mean, there I go getting another treat.

Gardening is not for the faint of heart.  I've discovered that it can be back breaking work.  Here I am raking out the strawberries.

HELLO

Sometimes gardens just need a good bulldoze :0). 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

September - A month of change, excitement and smoke

September was a big month for our family.  I got to visit with my birth family, saw mommy finish a bike race, had visitors from the far away and foreign country of Canada, and it also saw the end of our part in the soap business. Whew!  Who knew one family could do so much in such a short month.  We also experienced the worst weather we've seen since moving to Missoula.  Over 30 days of smoky skies. We didn't see the sun or clouds or rain for over 30 days.  The air smelled like, you guessed it, smoke.  I think we truly started to hold our breath every time we went outside.  It was disgusting!

During a visit with my birth family, Tawnie and I looked at some pictures of me.  I love looking at pictures of me, they are usually so entertaining. Everyone else must enjoy it too since this entire blog is dedicated to following my exploits.  Hmmm, I’m going to have to make sure this doesn’t go to my head. Too late :0)!

So many wonderful people, great toys and too little time. What’s a boy to do?

Ooo, ooo, ooo! I love fire engines!!!

Grandma Stewart came to visit and see mom finish a bike race. We were hedging our bets on how long it would take her to finish.

Mom and Robin finishing the race!!!

Our friends the Koole’s came for a visit. I gave Racquel a few tips on how to use the skill saw. Yes, I am that good.

Best buds...most of the time.

Mom at her soap booth at the end of the summer.  It was the last time she worked the soap booth before selling her share in the business, so we went to visit her.

Look at all that amazing soap!

Perfect day for a walk around the block! My toys decided to come along for the ride. 
Quote of the day: “Mommy, carry these.”

Nothing like being hit by a brainwave while wearing ones bicycle helmet. I’m thinking I’ve discovered the new, perfect accessory. Yup, you guessed it - the helmet! This puppy protects my noggen, gives me something to chew on in the down moments and looks great to boot.  It’s going every where with me from now on.  Poor mom!