[Oct 24] Beach day with Choob's Aunties

Choobie loves the sand. His fear of the ocean remains unchanged. Thus the reason we set up camp one hundred yards from the water.
Claire and Edna hanging out in the chairs. Edna is Dan's grandma. If you haven't met her you must before you die. She is THE BEST. Here she is showing us her sand dollar.

Dan and his younger half sisters. They loved the beach!

Choobie had so much fun playing with his aunties and his "pappy" aka Dan's dad.

The highlight of the day at the beach was this dog that came walking by. He was the sweetest thing and let all the kids love on him. Some more than others. Choobie really needs a puppy.

The girls spent a lot of time building this creation. Choobie saw it and came running over like godzilla and marched right on top of it. What are nephews for right?

[Oct 23] Dallon helps Choobie Overcome his Fear of Water

This is baby Dallon. He is Choobie's cousin. He loves water. Choobie....not so much. He has an irrational fear of water. I understand him, (I have an irrational fear of feet and cockroaches) and I never force him to play in the water if he doesn't want to. We've taken him to the Wild Animal Park close to seven thousand times and he has NOT ONCE approached or played in the water, until today.

This is what Choobie usually does at the splash parks. Stands far away from the water and asks to leave the entire time. This shatters my dreams of him and Dan and I taking Hawaiian vacations full of side by side snorkeling, scuba diving and surfing together in harmony. Little did he know that his days of water watching from the sidelines were about to come to an end.

Once he saw his baby cousin Dallon playing in the water, he decided it might be ok to touch the tiny trickle of water coming out of the alligators mouth. (please notice how all the kids are in swimming suits while my child still remains fully clothed with his shoes and socks on. Hilarious)

As the afternoon wore on, the shoes and socks came off. With some coaxing from Auntie Shelly, Choob was off and running.

It was like a dream come true. He was wet, and having fun!

My heart was soaring as he ran screaming to and from the water squirts. Thanks baby Dallon and Auntie Shelly for helping Lukey Boy get over his fear of water.

Since he did such a great job being brave at the water squirts, I thought he would enjoy seeing this crocodile. After looking at the picture up close, I still think we have a ways to go before he'll be hugging reptiles like Steve Irwin.

[Oct 22] The Faceplant

Choobie was playing in his room with Dan. I hear a loud bang and then the shrill cries of my hysterical Choober. I rush into his room and Dan said he fell and I look at his cheek. It looked like someone took a cookie cutter or an apple coring tool to it. A perfect deep little deep circle was carved into it.

Apparently, he tripped on this Shrek toy and fell into the side of his crib where the recessed screw holes are. Hence the perfect circle. I wish I would've taken a picture close up of it but if you click on this picture you can kinda see how it looked a few days later. Just in time for the arrival of Dan's dad and his family from Utah. Awesome. The first time we've seen them since Choobie was 3 months old and my kids got a "circle" in all the photos. Good thing he's still cute.

Sidenote: It's now January as I'm typing this and he still has a scar that shows up when his cheeks get red. choob has asked me on more than on occasion, "momma, where is my circle?"

[Oct 21] Halloween Cookies

We made some Halloween cookies. Choob loved getting all messy and playing in the dough. His favorite part was giving the cookies "eyes" by poking his fingers into them. Most of the Halloween shaped cookies we made ended up having more than two eyes each. Please see the four-eyed pumpkin below.

I like the ghost with 2 eyes on the face and then 2 eyes in the armpit. Good thinkin' choob. It's always hard to see what's goin on under the arms.

Showing me the flour "powder" on his "curly toe". This is his toe that I affectionately dubbed "the piggybacker". It rests on top of his third toe and doesn't even leave a toeprint when he steps. Choobie calls it his curly toe. Why? Who knows. But I think it's cute.

An interview with mom during the cookie making. Yes that is a cup Dan is using as a rolling pin. I must've forgot to register for one of those when we got married.

[Oct 18] Shake Your Booty

Here is a little video Dan took of them when we told them to "shake your booty". It is cut short because Addi starts tickling Dan, and then starts tickling the camera. We had a great time guys! Come again soon.

[Oct 18] Darth and Leia In Love

They Love to hold hands. I love that they love it.

Match Made in Heaven. I love these two when they're sweet to each other.

[Oct 18] Brick or Treat with Vader & Princess Leia

Back to Legoland with costumes and friends. Choob was Darth Vader and Addi girl was Princess Leia.

They are such good sports, Eag was like 7 months pregnant, Ian was SUPER sick, and Addi puked as they exited the freeway to legoland. What troopers to stick around the whole day with us.

It's nearly impossible to get a good picture of two excited 2 year olds standing next to each other and looking at the camera. This is the best I could come up with.

Addi loved to tickle everybody. This is her tickling Choobs hair.

Standing in line. I think this is when they had the most fun. They would dance, sing, and sword fight each other. It was hilarious because they were in costume.

The Brick or Treat trail. Much less crowded in the daytime.

The candy was good but the free pencils were the coolest!

[Oct 11] Legoland Brick or Treat

We went to Legoland Brick or Treat to kick off the Halloween festivities. One light saber, a glow stick, puppy, and tiny darth vader joined us for the entire night as well.

Us in a pumpkin made of legos. Looking at these pictures I had no idea ALL three of us were dressed the same.

Choob fighting Darth Vader with two light sabers.

There were about one bazillion people at legoland for the Brick or treat. It's just a little trail about 50 feet long with a few trick or treat stations set up for the kids. I waited in line for about an hour and a half while Dan & Choob explored all the Halloween stuff they had set up. I was so excited when we reached the actual trail I had to take a picture.

We soon found out the reason for the swarms of people: the radio station was having a party there that night. I totally met Laura Cain and her kids and they were really nice. I went up to her and asked her if she played my call on the air (the one where I spotted Charlie from Lost at the childrens zoo) and she got all excited and told me that she played it TWICE. So, I was on the radio but didn't hear myself. Awesome.

We all took a turn spinning the prize wheel and I won! A Bryan Adams CD. Sweet.

After getting one pencil, a coupon for chinese food (what the crap is a 2 year old gonna do with a coupon), an apple, and a small packet of nerds, we were done with the brick or treat trail. Totally worth the 90 minute wait. NOT! We rode some rides and tried on some hats and then went home. At least The Choob enjoyed the pencil. I'm pretty sure he thought it was some type of Halloween light saber.