Helping Mom

My Mom works hard every day to keep our house neat and clean. She especially seems to do A LOT of dishes! So while she was out of the kitchen I thought I would help her out. I've been working on figuring out how to open the dishwasher for quite some time so I was able to flip the latch and get the door down. Just as I was starting to unload my Mom came around the corner and said "Busted"! I'm not sure if that is another way of saying thank you or what? Apparently Mom didn't want me unloading the dishwasher, so I found other fun activities to do...like bouncing up and down on the door of the dishwasher and randomly starting the dishwasher. I'm not sure why my Mom doesn't appreciate all the help I give her!

What?? Just unloading a few bowls and cups!

See how much help I am? Now where are those knives?

Rain, Rain...

Come Back! For those of you living in So Cal, we had quite a few days of rain this month. I was tired of staying in the house all the time and begged my mom to let me go out. What can be better than water falling from the sky? It's like a giant shower/bath (when you lay in the bathtub and also have the shower running...it's the greatest). Anyway, Mom suited me up and out we went. It was shear luck that it started pouring as soon as we stepped outside! No problem, I had my rain jacket and my rain boots (and my pj's, but that's not officially part of my gear).
It was SO MUCH FUN!!! Tons of mud puddles for me to splash in and rain drops to catch in my mouth. I even did a big splash in one of the puddles (where I plop down with my booty in the water...trust me it makes a BIG splash). After a while Mom was getting chilly so I stripped down at the door and went in. I can't wait for it to rain again!

Splash, Splash!

Disneyland + Red Robin = Love

Happy Belated Valentines Day! I had the best love day a kid could have. I went with the two people I love the most (mom and dad) to Disneyland. They took me over to Tom Sawyer's Island for the first time. That place is AWESOME!! There is all this cool pirate stuff and lots of room for me to run around and explore. One of my favorite things was the suspension bridge. Mom, Dad, and I got that thing bouncing like crazy!!! There are also ducks over there that don't seem too bothered by little kids like me running right up to them, trying to pet them.
After Disney we went to Red Robin for our romantic dinner. I couldn't love anything more than french fries, chicken strips, and a balloon. Plus the food came so fast I don't have to eat the crayons! All in all it was a love filled Valentines Day.

Dad took me up the tree house on Tom Sawyer's Island. Hi Mom!

Oh boy, do I love wheels! I spend a good 10-15 minutes just spinning this thing.

I've got my OWN cup of milk, my OWN balloon, and my OWN coloring page. Life doesn't get any better than this.

Shaggy

So, my mop was getting a little shaggy...not on top mind you, just on the sides and in the back. It was getting a little embarrassing to get up from a nap or out of my car seat and have the back of my hair look like a rats nest. Dad was the brave man who decided to take it upon himself to chop my mop. He got out his trusty hair cutting scissors, comb, and cape and went to work. I was not too fond of the cape...too restricting...but I'm not sure I loved the itchy hair all down my back after I ripped the cape off either. My pops cleaned me all up and now I am back to the handsome bachelor I was before. My only concern is that the hair on top of my head will never grow and I will be forever doomed to sport a mullet!

My Uncle Ricky

Friday night my Uncle Ricky passed away. I will forever remember his smiling face as we spent so much time together at Nana and Paga's my first year or so on earth. I first met him the night I was born when he came to visit me in the hospital. He couldn't wait to see me and hold me. Then he welcomed me home with balloons, signs, and confetti--no one knew how to party better than Uncle Ricky!
He was always smiling at me and very cautious to turn off his wheelchair whenever I came near. I loved to play with all his medical equipment...especially his oxygen which I learned to switch on and off a couple weeks before he went into the hospital. His room was one of my favorite playgrounds: so many switches, tubes, and knobs to play with. The best part was he never got mad at me or told me no, he just smiled and laughed.
Nana and Paga's house is much quieter without my Uncle Rick, I will really miss him.

Christmas Catch-Up

Every year at Christmas Eve we gather at Nana and Paga's house. All the Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles are there to celebrate. We have an awesome dinner and then all the cousins perform the Nativity play. Cousin Jamie is the leader of our rag tag group and does an awesome job. This year I was John. I was Jesus last year but my new cousin Lucie got the part this year. This is our cast photo.




I'm ready to go on!







After the play we all sing Christmas songs and wiat for Santa to come. I gather that Jingle Bells is the magic song, because all my older cousins were singing it at the top of their lungs and then Santa appeared. You should have seen how many presents he brought! When he calls your name you go sit on his lap and he gives you presents. I got 2 this year!





Hey Santa, do you have something for me?












Santa brought me this awesome wooden dump truck and a swing. How lucky am I?







I couldn't wait to get in my swing so my dad (in his awesome Christmas pants....where do I get a pair of those?) held the ropes and swung me aroung. Look out Luke, I'm a swinging maniac!






Christmas day I decided to give my mom the gift she always hoped for: sleeping in until 10:30! Then I was off opening presents. I got CD's (getting a little tired of the same 2 all the time), some books, new shoes, and toys. When I got home from Paga's I saw Santa dropped off a present at the house--it was a swing set!! Now my swing has somewhere to go.


I LOVE bouncy balls!









My new shoes are pretty sweet, don't you think? They are old school vans.












Here are some of the cool books I got. These are from my Grandma and Grandpa McClellan. I like any book that makes noise!




It was a wonderful Christmas, I wish it happend more than once a year!

My Paga and Christmas

I know I've been delinquent in my posts, so I need to play a little catch-up. My Paga loves Christmas more than anyone I know! So what better way to celebrate the season than to hang out with Mr. Christmas?

We went to Fashion Island to see Santa and the giant Christmas Tree. I told Santa everything I wanted and he said he would see what he could do. Paga also did his yearly purchase of fruit cake and Neiman Marcus popcorn. Thumbs up on the popcorn, but that fruit cake is nasty! I will stick to Stollen.




Here is Mom and I enjoying the tree.











Every year in Redlands they have a Christmas Parade downtown. They shut the streets down and people make floats, or drive their classic cars down the street. My favorite part was the marching bands from the schools--they were rockin'!





Christmas just isn't Christmas without visiting Disneyland to see all their decorations. They even opened up Small World after being closed for a year (my mom said I rode it once when I was 4 months old). Aren't those lights awesome? and how can you beat singing dolls?





Obviously it was FREEZING that night! It didn't help that I peed all over my pants when mom was changing me and had to be carried out of the park wrapped in my blanket. Aren't we a handsome bunch?






Another one of Paga's favorite activities is going to South Coast Plaza during Christmas. It was packed, but fun. They turn the horses on the carousel into reindeer...now that's cool! I wish Christmas would never end!