Horses

Forgot about this one from the Stock Show last week!

4 years, 3 months & 2 years

Happy Birthday, John!

The birthday boy was a bit under the weather today and not at all in the mood for pictures as you'll see below...

John is two today! He picked his own cake with opinions offered from the rest of us. Final answer decided by Dad: Angel food!

John got tubes in his ears earlier this month and it's already making a difference. He is using more words every day and we're able to understand most of them. His post-op appointment is in early February and that's when he'll get his hearing tested again. He hasn't quite grasped the fact that he needs to wear cotton ball ear plugs during every bath, but it's getting better and better with each successive bath. Speaking of baths, his new favorite feature consists of bubbles that almost overflow the tub. That's a stark contrast with his big sister who gets upset if there's even one bubble!

John's number one role model continues to be his big sister. Tess is jumping on the bed? I'm in! Tess is throwing balls in the house? Sounds fun!

He gets super excited about dessert, but also continues to eat nearly everything he's offered. For some reason, he's on a pickle kick lately. I can't remember if we've mentioned it in the blog recently, but he continues to love mustard. As in, he'll eat it as a side dish. Dad has to constantly remind him it's for dipping, not scooping with your spoon.

As for me, I'm on a reading kick lately. We have some new foam letters to use in the bath tub and I've really enjoyed spelling various simple words with Mom and Dad.

I skip naps most days at school now to work on big kid work with Ms. Minnie. That work includes reading, writing, geography and several other fun things. I'm still a fan of naps on the weekend, though. Mom and Dad like it that way, too!

My monthly questions:

1. Favorite color: Pink and purple

2. Favorite country: Montana

3. Favorite planet: Earth

4. Favorite song: Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer and the ABCs

5. Best friend: Keillor

6. John's best friend: Keillor, probably.

And one question asked to John:

1. What animal did Old MacDonald have on his farm? Cat!

One more trip

We made one more trip over to the Stock Show on Sunday morning. It was the last day and we happened upon some awesome exhibits. My favorite was watching the baby pigs try to wake their mom up. Mom loved all of the birds. Dad loved the sheep dog competition. Johnny loved all of it, but especially milking the cow.

Hot chocolate

John and I helped Dad shovel snow recently and we were rewarded for our hard work...

Buds

Gael (and her Dad) got to join us at the most recent Buffs' game!

This is also what the 5th height percentile looks like compared to the 97th.

Tubes

As you may have heard, John had some fluid stuck near both eardrums that had been causing hearing loss. We took care of that issue last week: Tubes like his big sister!

Mom and Dad left me at home with Grandma last Tuesday and they were out the door with John by 6:00 am. John was a rock star even though he couldn't eat or drink before the procedure. The doctors and nurses absolutely loved his personality and attitude towards everything.

Checked in and waiting.

More waiting.

After the procedure, John woke up briefly in the recovery room and then fell asleep for another hour.

Taking care of the patient when he got home.

Stock Show

The National Western Stock Show is in town! It's an annual tradition at our house! This year we saw a rodeo once again, as well. Johnny loved the fireworks to the start the rodeo. I loved the barrel racing!

John was excited to help make his own bookmark out of Alpaca wool. But then he noticed the open doors leading to the barns. This photo shows the moment he looked up and saw the cows just a few steps away!

Bubbles

Homesteading

Recent trip to the History Colorado Center...

More coal into the oven.

Wielding a cooking utensil like a baseball bat.

Pom poms

When Grandma Linda came to visit after Christmas she brought pom poms from the University of Minnesota which happen to match Regis University colors. Dad waited until we were at the game to give them to me. I was pumped!

Unusual mammals

John was sick over the last part of Christmas break, so just Dad and I got to head over to the science museum. We had a lot of fun in their temporary exhibit about extreme mammals.

Admiring my tail!

Construction

Brady and Landon met us at the central library a couple weeks ago and on the way home we all stopped at a huge construction project. We wanted to stay for a long time, but all the workers went on lunch break!

Viewing from the neighboring office building.

3 degrees

Ready to walk into the Buffs' game when the temperature was near zero.

Out for a ride

Hat

We're still catching up on photos from a couple weeks ago. Here's John keeping busy while out to eat during our time in Montana.

Another snow day

This guy had fun on the Regis campus after the last big snow fall!

Snow day

Fun in the front yard after our first decent snow fall...

A bit hard to move around in his sister's extra boots and an overly puffy jacket.

Need a little help here!

Stuck again!

Readers

One of the benefits of going to visit grandparents? More people to read to us!

John, Grandpa, and Ben staying busy at a local book store.

Ben, John, Grandma, and Emmy.

Back to Colorado

A few shots of our trip from Missoula back to Colorado.

Tough to tell with the reflections, but we were looking out towards the runway watching the ground crew get our plane ready.

Ready for takeoff!

Keeping busy by goofing around with the phone.

Happy New Year