Christmas Vacation

I'm less than a month late in posting these pictures, so that's not too bad, right?? Plus, now you have something to brighten up your dull and boring January!

We had a great Christmas. Luckily, Blaze remembered all of the unwrapping skills he had mastered with his birthday a few weeks earlier.

Fine, I'll rip the paper. But then we get breakfast, ok?

Unfortunately, his mom hasn't mastered the "take a crazy amount of pictures for each holiday moment" skill that is part of parenthood. So there is only one picture of that day for the record. Oops, better luck at the next holiday. It's still a cute picture though.

The best part of Christmas was the entire week that Mike had off of work. We spent a lot of time taking naps, eating leftover ham, and just enjoying the time together. We also snuck in a few activities and outings including a trip to the aquarium with Grandpa and Grandma Groves.

petting the sting ray

getting a closer look into one of the tanks

Blaze loved climbing on the frog, we went back multiple times

Shark Teeth. And I thought breaking in the 8 little chompers I have was hard enough. I bet this guy's mom didn't put up a fight about brushing twice a day though.

Mike tackled a few woodworking projects with his extra time. Blaze was an excellent helper.

It's ok mom, this is man's work. We've got it.

 

Uh yeah, that's uh 3 and uh 1/8th there. Yep.

Snow Day

A few inches of snow + a saturday afternoon with absolutley nothing to do and nowhere to go = lots of backyard fun!

All bundled up in a snowsuit his daddy wore!

While technically, this isn't Blaze's first introduction to snow, it's the first time he can really enjoy it.

Tastes cold. I like it!

Helping daddy with the snowman.

After the snowman collapsed (was pushed over by a toddler), we turned it into a snow slide. Whee!

1 Year older and wiser too

Blaze had a birthday, shout hooray!
We decided to celebrate for a whole week and included a trip to Pennsylvania as part of the festivities, as well as a party here at home. Here are some of the highlights:


Thanksgiving
A holiday all about food? Blaze couldn't ask for a better way to kick things off.

Parties

We had 3! All full of presents, cake, and people that love Blaze. One even included a free tractor ride.

Presents
Blaze had such good manners, he read the cards carefully and said thank you with each gift!

Cakes
Each time the situation was similar. Blaze started out cautious, only picking at the sprinkles or frosting. But once he realized that the stuff was good (or once he was sitting properly at a table, again manners!) he went to town eating as much as was put in front of him or anyone sitting next to him.

 

I think overall he likes the whole birthday thing. We are just amazed that the year went by so quickly! It's been incredible. We like the little guy a lot and can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start

On the day Blaze wore his monster pajamas

and made mischief of one kind

and another

His mother called him "Wild Thing"

 

 

I'll eat you up, I love you so.

Thankful for November

A lot of people are dedicating their social media posts this month to gratitude. That's all fine and good, but let's not let overlook what else November brings us:

Playing in the leaves 

 

Appreciating the details of nature

Finding time to just sit back and relax

 

 

And of course....

TURKEY!!!

Don't mind the extra gravy on this turkey's face, he had a tooth coming in.

I guess since gratitude was already mentioned, we'll say that there is one thing we are most grateful for this year. Our little turkey sure is great to have around.

 

 HAPPY NOVEMBER EVERYONE!

Pictures and Pranks

Reasons why it is so cool to hang out with Blaze:




He can get you in at the best splash pads around.



He's up with the latest fashions - Gnome hats are IN people!



He supports local wildlife, like this worm he pulled out of grass.



He's always up to date on his Social Media.


And he has a great sense of humor. Like the other day when Mike was finishing up Blaze's bath time. He had turned on the faucet to rinse Blaze off, and was picking him up to pull him out of the tub. At just the right moment Blaze reached out and pulled the pin on the faucet that turns the shower on and refused to let go. In the end both boys got soaked, but only Blaze was laughing.

Pics

Enjoying the sunshine at a summer wedding

Mom and Blaze in stripes

Dad helped Blaze build his first pillow fort

Hi Mom!

Happy Summer!

Summer "officially" begins today. We're ready.

Are you?

Summer Vacation - Second Part

We didn't pick the warmest weekend to take our trip, which meant less beach/pool time than we had thought. Instead, we spent an entire morning exploring the USS Midway, a decomissioned Aircraft Carrier that is now a museum. Way Cool.
It was a huge ship. I guess it had to be since, you know, it carried airplanes along with thousands of people.

Blaze and I got in trouble and had to spend time in the Brig.

Mike said these pictures are for his brothers. Whatever.

Chopper

Machine Gun

Maverick is cleared for take off.

Summer Vacation - First Part

For our  first family vacation we decided to go to beautiful San Diego. Blaze of course experienced many firsts of his life during this trip, some went better than others.

First airplane ride: Success! He was happy the whole time and his flirting with the airline staff got us moved to the front of the check in line.

First time on a boat: Success! He loved watching the water and feeling the breeze on his face.

First time on a beach: Success! He could not get enough of that sand-between-the-toes feeling.

First time touching the ocean: Success? I think he liked the water but didn't like how cold it was.

First baseball game: Fail. Unfortunately, the cannons, fireworks, and cheering from the crowd when runs were scored were too much for Blaze. This was the happiest got during the 8 innings we saw.

First pool hang out: Success! Ahh, easy living in So.Cal.