THe fish tank is up.

Christopher has been talking about fish. So Tony wanted to set up the fish tank for him. He was a little afraid of it until we actually put fish in it. Last night we went to the pet store to buy some fish. It took us 2 hrs to pick pout 10 fish. We wanted to start with just a few in case he decides fish are not so much fun. When he woke up this morning - he said "Fish.. Fish Fish" -- so we went and sat on the floor and watched them swim around. We tried to name the fish but he calls them all "Fish".



The beginning of the toy room with the fish tank.

The day after....

Christmas day was super busy - we visited some family and had others come to our house - Christopher had so much fun - he is starting to be a little shy - so it took him about an hour at each house before he would let go of my leg. We has a great day - but were all very tired by nightfall.

We are staying home today and cleaning and sorting toys (while Christopher is asleep) - and we are creating a play room. Tony is giving up his Cincinnati Reds room. I think it will be very cute and functional when we are done -- and we will have a living room again!

Christmas eve - he is wearing the girls head band - I don't know why

my nieces on Christmas eve

All the kids put the PJs on to get ready for Santa - but my camera died - so we will have to wait for Ang to email me the pictures of the kiddos in their PJs

Christmas Morning at Home

Mason really likes this new carpet/racetrack

Cute little boy

My sister Angela, brother Bill and Me

Start of the Christmas Activities

Christmas 08

Tony, Christopher and Kennita

We had some early Christmas activities last week.

Christopher really enjoyed Christmas at Grandma and Papaw - he liked unwrapping presents and when we got home - he opened all of the toys up. (I need to go through the old toys and donate some.) He really liked the trucks, cars and tractors more than I expected him too. He played with all of the other kids and liked having them around - but not too close. Grandma has a big doll house with a barn - so he had fun putting the horse in the bath tub and moving all the furniture through the house. Though the nieces were not happy with his decorating.

Christmas at my Moms house - this is a picture of all the nieces and nephews.

We also had the West family Christmas (Tony's side). This is a picture of all the nieces and nephews that were at the party. We were missing a few. It was a fun time - we had dinner and merriment. The kids had fun running around the banquet hall.

Christopher is running away from the photo.

December 08

Christopher had a Christmas program at school. His class sang jingle bells and each had a set of bells to jingle. This is his performance. He is wearing the green striped rugby shirt. I had a cute red sweater set out and he said "No, not that shirt". I thought I could dress him how I wanted until he was about 5.

Both of my handsome men.

Christopher had a Polar Express day at school - all the kids wore their PJs all day and watched the movie. This is at home - he is riding on Thomas the Train and making choo choo noises.


I was wrapping presents when Christopher stole my bubble wrap - this is what I saw in the living room....

I don't know why it is sideways - it is not sideways on my computer???

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Christopher and I walked in the Christmas parade Friday night. His daycare led Santa to the holiday shop on the square. He liked the firetruck and eating the candycane. He didn't notice Santa but there was a man dressed in a giant dog suit - for Arrons Rental - he thought he was pretty cool (from a distance). One of the daycare mothers brought the kids Santa hats. Again I thought he was too little and wouldn't want one -- until he kept saying "Mamma.. hat.. Mamma.. hat". So that forced me to be a little social and go talk to the other mother to get my kid a Santa hat. I made Christopher wear a toboggan underneath of his because it was freezing standing outside. Christopher loves his holiday hat and has worn it everyday since. The 2nd picture is Saturday morning.

The great thing about having a child is that I can force my opinion on him for a few years. Here he is showing his support for President Obama. And the next is just a cute picture of my little boy.

This is what goes on around our house on the holidays and everyday. This is Mason (boxer), Tom (cat) and Brito (rot) relaxing after a big Thanksgiving dinner.

School Pictures

Not to be outdone by my friend Hoover - who posts new pics every other day -- here are Christopher's 1st school pictures (taken at Daycare) -- These are a 2 months old - but it takes me awhile to get things scanned - enjoy my handsome boy

I am my own grandpa.

Laughing - Laughing

Christopher and Libby Dancing

I was watching my friend Jen Hoovers daughter (Libby) dance on her blogspot - when Christopher climbed up on top of the computer desk and started dancing with her -- of course the best dancing I missed due to slow reflexs of the camera --- but how funny. If it were not so funny - I wouldn't show you how messy my desk is in the picture.

Big Helper

Christopher helping me with the dishwasher. He puts the silverware away. He knows which drawer they go into.

But he is too short to see in the drawer - so he just opens it - and tosses them up into the drawer.

I have to go back and fix them - when he leaves the room.

Another trip to the pumpkin patch.

My niece and nephew - Avery and Rodney spent the night with us - so we went to the patch again. The older kids ran the "corn maze" while Uncle Tony, Christopher and I waited. The kids each picked a pumpkin and Tony and I got a coffee at Starbucks - fun for everyone.
Christopher being BIG.

Avery , Christopher, Rodney and our Jack-O-Lanterns

This is Christopher's -- he just stabbed the pumpkin 100 times with the knife -- Yes I let my baby play with a knife!

Happy Halloween

Christopher was a giraffe for the party at school on Tuesday. He hated the costume and cried a lot. So for Friday day at school he was a pumpkin. And for trick or treat - we changed costumes to be a pirate. He liked that costume the most. He loves to wear a toboggan hat. So we put the bandanna on the toboggan. He also was very fond of the pirate sword.

We went to Angela's house on Halloween night and walked around with her kids. Christopher started out in the stroller - we stopped at each house and got out of the stroller to go to the door. I have a rule that if your kid is too little to walk to the house - then they are too little to get candy. After the first few houses - he decided that he would walk. He did a great job. He told everyone "thank you" -- though he doesn't talk very loudly. He couldn't say Happy Halloween -but did say "Halloween" or "Hi" when he came to the house. He was a little afraid of some of the other costumes - he was not afraid of the witches or bloody killer costumes -- but there was a kid dressed like a werewolf that he was afraid to pass on the sidewalk.

Ang's little girl - Olivia. My camera died so I do not have pictures of the other kids.

One house gave him a CapriSun juice box. It made his bag heavy - so I was going to take it out and put it in the stroller -- He said "Mine, Mine". So he carried the heavy bag.

We then went to Ang's house to wait for the parade. The fire department leads a parade to the VFW where they have a Halloween party with treats, prizes and snacks. Christopher loved the firetruck and was not afraid of the sirens. He walked behind the firetruck all the way. Then he wanted to look at it up close. The fireman let him look around inside of the truck. He had a fun night all around.

My little boy is growing up.

Christopher is 21 months old. I rock him before bed each night. I know it takes time for my schedule each night - and it would be easier to make him just lay down - but he and I enjoy it. He usually lays across my lap (like a baby) until he is really tired then he turns around and lays his belly on mine and cuddles like a frog. One night this week - he wanted to sit beside me in the rocking chair and fell asleep that way -- Momma cried a little. But the next night he was backing to rocking the old way. My little boy is growing up.

On Halloween night - I was running around trying to get the snacks ready - and trying to get all the costumes ready -- and Christopher was under my feet - I told him to go find Daddy while I was busy --- While I was in the bathroom - he came to the door and said "Momma, Momma... I want to talk to you" - that was the first full sentence he has said. My little boy is growing up.

This Mamma is for Obama!

Tony and I went to the Obama Rally in Indy. This is not the the first time I have seen Barack. I have volunteered with his campaign locally and will volunteer more as the election approaches. I have been a supporter since he joined this race in January 07. But he is more impressive each time I hear him.

When Evan Bayh announced "The next President Barack Obama" and Barack came through the crowd, I had tears. Not because I think of him as a celebrity. But because I think of my child and the future that we will have with Barack as President. I want a better world for Christopher. A better United States. I want him to accomplish more than Tony and me, I want him to have opportunities that we did not. I worry about his health, his education, his career choices... When I see Barack Obama, I see a future for Christopher that is not bleak, a future that is full of opportunities.

There are many rumors floating around out there, so here's some information about Barack's positions on things I know are important to you:

Economy: http://my.barackobama.com/EconomyFlyer

Health Care: http://my.barackobama.com/HealthcareFlyer

Education: http://my.barackobama.com/EducationFlyer

This is probably going to be the most important election in my lifetime, and it's something I strongly believe in. So let's talk about it. Ask me anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNaFb58C63o Meet Barack Obama

My camera phone doesn't take great pics. But this from the Rally

.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw2za6pMd0c In Indiana

Fall is here.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out our first real pumpkin. We rode a horse draw wagon to the actual patch and Christopher picked a small pumpkin. He only wanted to walk around in the patch and touch all the big pumpkins. I had to remind him that Momma had to carry the pumpkin and him pack to the wagon so with my encouragement he picked a small pumpkin.
And yes they also had popcorn - one of his favorite foods.

This is Christopher and Momma waiting to ride on the horse drawn wagon to the pumpkin patch.

Christopher, Olivia and me in front of "already picked pumpkins". These pumpkins are a live saver - so Mommas' don't have to carry pumpkins and children out of the patch.

The Bears!! Oh my!!

The next weekend we went to a local animal farm/ ranch/ petting zoo. And yes they have bears. The bear handler was very nice and talkative. He told us all about his life with the bears and let us get rather close to them. The little brown bear is 6 months old. The big black one that looks like he is eating the man is 10.5 years old.

Also at this park/zoo like place - they have a camel, lamas, wolves, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, monkeys, lemurs, ferrets, bison, deer, donkeys, birds galore, kangaroo like animals, and other ones. The owners were super - they let us feed many of the animals and let Christopher throw popcorn to a monkey.

They also had a tractor and wagon ride that took us all over the ranch. Christopher just wanted to sit on the tractor, play with the seat belts on the wagon, and clasp and unclasp the safety chains that acted as doors to the wagon. We would make a stop to look at an animal and he would run back to the tractor. He is fascinated with machinery and figuring out how things work. Maybe because he has too many engineering genes.

Sitting on Dad's shoulders during the trip.

Packing Party is a Success

We just finished the packing party for the Orphanage. We packed 140 Christmas gift packs. We had a fun time. Each child will receive a tote bag, a toy, a toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, bar soap, pencil, sharpener, pens, 2 small toys, a stuffed animal, snack and candy. This is a picture of the work in progress.

Christopher was helping too. But he is unpacking the giftbags.

This is the packing crew. My sister is there too - but behind the camera. We also had many people donate that were not able to come.

If you are feeling sad because you did not get to help - It is OK because we are still looking for donations to pay for the shipping.

September night

Our friends little boy turned 1 in July - Tony went to buy a gift for him and returned with 2 of these Trikes. One for Leo (birthday boy) and one for Christopher. He loves to ride it. He doesn't like the pedals - since they only get in the way. I like this model too since I have the steering controls. We go for walks around the block - when we get about 1/2 way around he decides that he wants me to carry him - so we make short laps - so I do not have to carry him so far. When we use the stroller - we go for long walks. He loves to go for walks. I will dread the winter since these walks are the only time that he and I do anything outdoors, not to mention the only exercise that I get.

He is naked in this pic - so I had to crop it. Being naked is also a favorite time for him.

I can't believe how big Christopher has gotten. He is 36" tall and weighs 30 lbs. He is 19 months old. People always guess he is 3 years old. I feel bad for him because people expect him to be able to do things that he can not - I keep telling people that he is still a baby. He is starting to talk more. He says Mamma all the time now, all the time. He was only saying Dadda. He says a lot of words and tries to repeat everything we say. He understands so much more that he says.

He is amazing and it is amazing to watch him learn. We played with a Tupperware Shape Toy tonight and the first time he expected all the shapes to go into all the holes. Then he figured it out that you had to turn the ball around and look for the right hole for each shape. Amazing - adults take forever to catch onto simple tasks. If it were a problem that adults had to solve - we would have a meeting, create a team, write a charter, write a list of which parts are non conforming and don't fit, write a list of why the parts don't need to fit in the holes, who fault it is that they don't fit in the holes, and that it is unfair that not all parts fit in all holes and we should oversize all the holes in order for all parts to have a chance to fit in any of the holes. When all you have to do is - turn the ball! OK - I may have a little frustration with my job right now.

I am still volunteering with Life2Orphans - I am collecting items to send Christmas packs to each of the 140 kids in the orphanage that I am the coordinator. So if you have any items to donate to the Christmas packs - deodorant, wash clothes, puzzles, crayons, coloring books, nail polish, match box cars, dry snacks, hard candy, tooth brush and paste..... I am also still collecting new twin blankets and twin flat sheets - I have put this on hold since the Christmas items have to be shipped by Oct - then I will return focus to the bedding drive.

I better sign off - since 4am comes very early.

Progress on the House.

Our House is coming along nicely. The roof is replaced and looks great. My Dad and Tony have been working on the windows. Tomorrow all the windows will be replaced and wrapped. They look great. Next is to remove the giant dumpster from the yard and start on the inside. Tony has been working there about every night and every weekend. Christopher and I try to help but we don't get much accomplished. These pictures are already outdated.

New french door on kitchen and new windows on bottom floor (the photo doesn't show the wrapping yet).

New roof - this pic still has old windows.

I am still wanting to move in before Christmas. I may be pushing the bar a little.

My son loves shoes!

My son loves shoes! He wants to walk around in our shoes all the time. These pictures were not staged and were not all taken on the same night.



He really likes my heels.


Red - matches his shirt.


Open toe on a warm day.


I put all of his shoes on the bottom shelf. He pulls them all off of the shelf.


My friend from college got married in Fl last month and had a reception in Indy. The reception was very nice, it was outside on a deck by the white river. It was great to be with the girls again. Us four girls were together for the first 2 years of our college careers and have been friends ever since. This is Jennifer Lovasko, Jennifer Meyer, Me and Jennifer Hoover.