Just some cute stuff

Christopher got a "fire engine hat" a couple of weeks ago. He was trying to convince me that it looked so cute on him that he should get to wear it to bed.

Even a 2-year old has got to earn his keep somehow! Actually, he seriously wanted to vacuum. I had pulled it out and he managed to turn it on and start working. Good kid.

This was simply a cute smile. He was showing his Big Bird and Cookie Monster dolls to the cat (the tip of whose tail is visible right at the bottom center of the picture - it's grey, hard to see).

At the Renaissance Festival with our little friend Hannah. As we walked in we passed a chocolate shop offering free popsicle sticks dipped in melted chocolate.....

Christopher just had to stop and visit "Mother Goose" at the festival. He walked right up to the bench, sat down and let the goose sit on his lap. He was giving it hugs and the whole scene was so cute that people behind us were taking pictures of him.

A Typical Day

When Daddy gets home, it's time to head to the bed for play time! First, Christopher needs to warm up by flexing his muscles.

Then a little bit of upside down time to stretch those legs.

Then it's Daddy's turn for a workout by doing a few "boy lifts" and some mind-to-mind connecting with his son.

Then we hand Christopher over to his mama for some tickle time.

The next day Christopher decides that Pooter was left out of all the fun and needs to play with the newspaper ads - just for a change of pace.

Taking it easy...

There is nothing quite as relaxing as "reading" the Sunday comics after church while waiting for your lunch to be prepared.

On the go

These are not the "smiliest" pictures of Christopher we've ever been able to get, but he's at the stage where he doesn't like to hold still for long - or follow directions like "smile!" But they capture the essence of what we've been up to in the past week or so.

Christopher loves to bring a couple of stuffed animals with him when we go for walks. He likes to make sure they are safely buckled in on the other seat of the wagon.


He likes to help Dad get ready to leave for work. Christopher does the "quality control checks" and makes sure that the engine revs just right and that the horn button still works on Dad's motorcycle.


Last week we met up with Mema and cousin Austin at the zoo. We couldn't get any pictures of him in front of any of the animals, but he & Austin had a great time climbing up on things. This is a bench just inside the entrance of the zoo.


This is a huge stone frog by the jungle part of the zoo. Christopher didn't really feel like looking at the camera, but Austin was still trying to get him to smile.


Christopher loved the playground section of the zoo. This is a slide that is shaped like a huge saguaro. He enjoys slides and had to go down this one several times before he was satisfied.

Christopher's year so far

Christopher got a new friend, whom we very creatively named "Monkey." This picture was taken the day Monkey came home and Christopher wanted Daddy to see him right away, so we were emailing pictures to Daddy.


Practicing his budding skills as a photographer. He likes to hold the camera, facing whichever way is most comfortable at the moment, and says "Smile! Click!"


Ready to read before nap time. I told Christopher to go get on the bed and get ready to read while I finished something else and when I walked in he had gathered all of the stuffed animal friends that are in the "reading room" up onto the bed with him. They were all quite interested in reading. They make comments, point at pictures, the whole nine yards. Christopher's toys are very interactive!

Christmas with the Truitts

These pictures are so not in chronological order, but the important thing is that I'm finally getting them posted! This Christmas we got to meet Christopher's newest cousin, Amelia for the first time. Here she is with her dad, Joshua. Her mom is Matt's younger sister, Melisa.


Christopher had a great time playing with the other cousins on the Truitt side, Dara's kids: Adam, Angie, Austin, Aaron and Arch (left to right). He didn't participate in the snowman building, though, because he was busy napping.


Christopher was fascinated by all of the fun ornaments on Grandma Shirley's tree. This was the Saturday before Christmas.


Christmas morning at our house: Christopher was a little more into unwrapping presents than he was last year, but after about 2 gifts he just wanted to play and couldn't be interested in unwrapping any more gifts. He got several fun trucks this year and that is perfect for him.


He got a really cool wagon with seat backs, cupholders, all the bells and whistles. We're going to use it on our next zoo trip!


Christopher decorated gingerbread men for the first time this year. This involved his mama squeezing on some icing, Christopher putting on the candy, and then Christopher removing and eating the candy. It's a good process.


We went up to Flagstaff the Wednesday after Christmas and got snow that same night. Two minutes after being out in the snow for the first time, Christopher declared "I love snow!" And then Mema showed him how to eat it - right when he thought things couldn't get any better.
We had it all this Christmas: sun, snow, and lots of family!

Thanksgiving amendment

The family picture is missing two people: Jimmy - he was taking the picture, and Jimmy's daughter, Ellie. She was already back at her mom's house for the day. Here is a picture of Ellie with Christopher. It's a little dark, but you can still see the gap where her front teeth used to be!

Thanksgiving - Only a month late!

My goal is to have Christmas pictures up around the New Year - okay, maybe Valentine's Day, but I'm trying to be optimistic!
We went to Utah for Thanksgiving to see Emily's family.

Christopher shared some of the music from Daddy's iPod with his uncle Jimmy.


Cold weather was a new thing for him, so he had to get all decked out in his long pants, sweatshirt, jacket, hat and closed-toe shoes. We don't use those things much in Arizona!

Here's the whole family, use your magnifying glass: From the left, Jennifer and Ben, Scott & Kathleen, Stephanie, Sergio, Jimmy's wife Daisy, Emily, Christopher in front of part of Synthia's face, and Matt with Emma and Dana sitting in the chairs in front.

Christopher with his cousin Dana. Aren't those precious smiles?

We went to see our friends Todd & Beth at the end of the week. It had been a long week for Christopher, so he and his Bear took a nice 3-hour nap.

Christopher's 2nd birthday party

Our baby suddenly (or so it seems to us) is not a baby anymore, but a walking, talking, funny, happy little boy! We had his second birthday party just a little over a week ago. He got a little overwhelmed and spent the last part of the evening playing cars with Mema in the back room, but here are some shots of his more social moments.


Mesmerized by the flames.


The frosting was his favorite part. He took a couple of bites of the cupcake and then decided to concentrate on the good stuff. At one point he just leaned over and started licking the frosting off the top of the cupcake.

Elmo is a new obsession. He likes to watch the "Elmo's World" part of Sesame Street in the morning. This toy has buttons and snaps and zippers and all that good stuff for him to learn to do.

One of the other favorites of the evening was this huge dump truck. He promptly dubbed it "Big Truck" and plays with it constantly. We had to explain to him that Big Truck doesn't get to go to bed with him.

We love this smile! Our friend Jenny made some really yummy #2-shaped sugar cookies for Christopher's birthday. They had frosting and different colors of sprinkles and M&Ms on top. Christopher especially liked the "candy." He also enjoyed naming the colors. He's getting pretty good at that!

The Great Pumpkin - and his daddy!


Christopher loved holding the candy bucket. He would walk up to people and say "Candy, please!" but he wanted them to hand it to him so he could put it in the bucket himself. Then when he felt like he had enough, he started handing the candy back to people.


Everything seems to be running! The sheer descents are going here. There is a bench right underneath them, so when it's really hot you'll be able to get in and sit with the water flowing over you. We're looking forward to it!

FINALLY!!!! Sort of.

I simply do not understand the blogger thing and how it works. I finally got one picture to upload, but now I can't get any others. I'll keep trying, but in the meantime here is the filled pool. The little posts to the right will be where the diving board is going.

At long (?) last

I've been trying to post pictures for several days now and haven't been able to get the pictures up for some reason. But the pool is finally done! I will spare you the pictures of it plastered but not filled. If you want those, submit your request and we will consider it. I would love to show you the pictures of the pool filled and the sheer descents running, but I've tried three times just today and can't get the pictures to upload. So I'll have to leave you in suspense. I also want to post pictures of Christopher on Halloween. No luck. Stay tuned....

Almost there.....

Last week Christopher and Grandma Nell (and mama, the photographer) went to the Botanical Gardens and spent some time with the monarch butterflies.

We also made pool progress. Decking is done. It's hard to see in the bright sunlight, but it's a very neutral, hard to describe color called "fawn." Lovely.

Next came the fence. Another hard to describe neutral color but it had a name instead of a number. It's darker than the deck, but somewhere in between on the colors of the house. It works.

Next will be the interior and then we fill 'er up!

Tile is done!

Next step: decking coating on Wednesday. Stay tuned.....

Heaven for the boys!

Christopher got sheared this week by a really scary lady at Great Clips. I told her I wanted it shorter, but she didn't hear the part about using the scissors on top. She took the clippers right over his head. Luckily Grandma Truitt is on vacation for three weeks and it'll have a chance to grow back a little before she gets home! She likes it a little longer than this.


Nothing like a big pile of dirt to keep the boys occupied for awhile in the evening. Matt ended up with an eyeful of dirt when Christopher pulled his arm back for a big throw, but after a lot of rinsing we think he'll keep his sight in that eye. ;) Christopher later discovered how to slide down the backslope on his belly, just like the slide at the park!

Decking is done!

This is the view from where the diving board will be.


Here is the opposite end, the play pool (shallow) side. The next step is for us to pick the tile.

We are constantly amazed by construction

We had no idea that they were going to come out today to frame out the decking. It's a little disconcerting to wake up to the sound of voices and hammering in your backyard. But it brings us one step closer. With 100 degree temperatures forecast for all this week, we're wondering if we might get some use out of this pool this year after all!