Lots of activities

Anthony got a few hand me down toys this week. Last weekend he got a tigger riding toy from Alex Esser( the son of some racing friends).

Tuesday Laura had her ladies night out dancing. She met legendary wrestler Jerry the King Lawler. I stayed home and listen to Anthony sleep.
 

Friday we took Anthony to spend the night with grandma and grandpa rice. Laura and I went for dinner and dancing. I had to drag her off the dance floor for a photo.






Saturday we went to the Eco park. It was a great day. He walks down the path now but likes to make a lot of
stops to check things out. He also learned how to climb up on a bench all by himself. We stopped by Great Grandma Tennison's house and had a visit from the Lyons family.
They brought over The John Deer Gator.(seen in the video below)

Sunday we went to cicis pizza with the Dennis family. Then we spotted the game room. Ok, I spotted the game room. Then to Walmart where Laura and Anthony got some Christmas ideas. At home, Anthony learned how to mow... Without the mower running. In the evening he was in a really good mood and laughed a lot , but luckily turned off the excited switch at bed time and went right to sleep.

Laura took Anthony to school for her yearbook photo

Anthony Can't stay inside

A week or so ago Anthony made the switch to being content with playing inside and occasionally going outside to always wanting to be outside. If we walk out to do anything he is ready. If the slider handle was lower we would have a problem. He puts his fingers on the slider like he is opening it. Thanks goodness we always keep it locked anyway.
At least it is the perfect time of year to start being outside all evening.
Guess it is time for some more outside toys.. of course a broom works pretty well.

Always connected

Anthony and I were video chatting while I was driving home from work. I was waving and he would wave back. He will never know life without this technology. A pretty cool time to be a kid.

A nice night playing in the yard.

Halloween 2011

We started out down the street at Mary and Joseph's House. Laura works with Mary. Then it was off to the mall to meet Shane and Savannah. ( unfortunately Candi had to work) of course the kids were a little young to get it but we had fun pushing them around. We arrived early and by the time we left about 7, it was getting real busy. Anthony had his first sucker. At least a 1/4 of it. I was the mean dad and took it away before he ate too much so he wouldn't choke. Then we end the night by surprising grandma and grandpa rice. We rang the doorbell then hid leaving Anthony by the door. He played along and waited for the door to open. It was like he knew to smile and wait.

Skate night

It was skate night again for Laura's school. To Laura's surprise the rink actually decorated for Halloween . I am pretty sure they have the same video games from when Laura went there 25 years ago. It felt a little wired feeding a kid a bottle in a skating rink... I never would have thought about doing that when I went there 25 years ago. We moved Anthony's car seat to the middle hopping this helps with car sickness. That was suggested by the WINK pediatrician. Of course in the last couple months the safety people suggest leaving the rear facing until 2. Pretty sure that would make car sickness even worse. The next thing is a video screen up high and or ginger snaps. Nothing like cleaning us milk in the morning

Researchers say watching tv is bad for infants/kids. It is a new study so it must be accurate.(Sarcasm)
These people get paid to research this stuff. Do they even have kids? I want that job.
Yeah using your tv as a baby sitter is a bad idea. But none at all?
There is a happy medium.
There is good that comes out of tv. Seeing things/places that most will never get a chance to visit.
What's next? Don't let your kids ride in cars until they are older because you might get in an accident.
With all these studies, have we become dumber or smarter in the last 50 years?
Many years ago all kids played outside. Now more stay inside using computers.
My guess is that more are scoring higher on SAT's etc because of computers/games and all the info you can read. What is the difference between board games (approved by these studies) and video games? Embrace the future.
Kind of strange I am against this study because Anthony has watched or been in front of the tv very little in his life. We don't usually turn the tv on until he is in bed... not because we are keeping him away from it we are just in another room that has carpet so it is easier to play on the floor with him.
I want to do the study that says tv/internet/computers/games are good for kids.

Here is the full article

Saturday the Disney store in the mall had a special event... Well it wasn't that special. If you wore your Disney costume you would get a special gift. We were thing stuffed animal . When Laura asked about it, the lady seemed to be bothered . She had to go and find the gift on the back room. A memory game with 9 cards and instructions. Also a flashing orange light. Come on Disney store owners. What does a one year old want to do with some cards and a flashing light besides trying to eat the cards. Fail on disney's part. Anthony had fun of course looking at the other people in the store. We will be back on Halloween when the mall has their full event. Anthony and savannah will steal the show. One more week.

"Fall" Festival

We went to Laura's "Fall" Festival and Anthony and I went all over while was working . Anthony was having a good time running around. He was running a little too fast and fell. He fell on his hands and knees but the momentum pushed his face into the ground. Didn't know what to expect when I picked him up. Crying only lasted 30 seconds. Looks worse than it is. He will sleep good tonight.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

How things change in a year. We went to the same pumpkin patch again this year.
He was actually awake this year and ready to walk around and try to pick up every pumpkin. Or ball as he calls them. Well, Ba without the LL s . Grandma and Grandpa Dennis made the trip with us.

One year ago

We went to my aunts for her birthday and my cousin had a wig. Laura decided she won't be going black or cutting her hair short

Anthony climbs ladder

Just another afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Dennis'. Uhmmmmm

Anthony is in the climbing stage now. If he sees anything that is different heights, he wants to climb it. Stairs, grass to concrete, boxes.

Friday night Anthony stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Rice's house.
This was Anthony's first overnight in a long time. He slept on the lower bed surrounded by pillows just in case he rolled off. Grandma slept in the other bed just in case he woke up in the middle of the night. At one point she decided to check on him but it was dark so she felt around the bed to find him. She couldn't find him. She got up to turn on the light and bumped into him. He was off the bed and sleeping on the carpet. He never made a noise so we aren't sure if he crawled or rolled off by accident. He still had his blanket on him though.

Saturday evening we went with Shane, Candi and Savannah to bike night. It was a great evening temperature wise. Way too many people though. The main reason we went was Laura got an invite to dance on the concert stage. Here is Anthony watching her dance. (3rd from right) Anthony was great the entire time. it was about 45 minutes past his bed time but he never cried or fussed.

Sunday we went to the park with the Dennis side of the family for a picnic. We hadn't been to the Four Freedoms park yet so this was our chance. He enjoyed the slide and bubbles.
Sunday we also gave him his first bottle of whole milk. It has been a 2 hours and everything seems to be fine. Hopefully no more formula. Why is that stuff so expensive?