Well buddy, your Dad did it again…..I slacked off so long that another 3 months have gone by and I am once again playing catch-up on your adventures.  You know, it’s funny, your Dad has these crazy dreams of being a writer someday (for a living that is), yet I can barely stay motivated to keep on a blog that maybe 10 people read at any given moment.  Well, at least I’m consistent in that I guess.  Well, not to get too hard on myself, I’ll get it right one of these days.

This has been probably the worst time for me to slack off on writing since you’ve had so many adventures this holiday season, and have grown on so many levels.  So we’re going to do this check-in a little different and go month-to-month first, and then we’ll cover some overarching achievements….

October:

Well as I mentioned in the beginning, the holidays have come and gone, and boy what an awesome time you had.

October started on high note as your Dad ran in his first 5K.  I was so happy that you and Mom came out to cheer me on.

It really help Daddy to know you and Mom were waiting for me at the finish line.

We also completed our first home project.  We completely redid our backyard.  What was once a nasty no-so-kid-friendly area with stone and gross vines, is now a grass-covered play area just waiting for the weather to improve for you to play in.  I can’t wait for our first session of kicking the ball around the yard buddy.

We took you to your first pumpkin patch.  It’s only fitting since we keep telling you you’re our little Charlie Brown; however, there was no spotting of the Great Pumpkin.  Maybe next time.  You had really good time.

You certainly loved playing on the slides at the pumpkin patch.  We couldn’t get you off them, lol.

You finished off your second swim course; this time with the older kids in the Toddler and Me class.  You had great time.

Weeeeeellll….maybe Mommy and Daddy had more of the “fun”

Another Halloween, another cute costume.  Mommy and Daddy are always telling people you’re our Little Monster, and now we proved it.  You had such a blast at the party we all went to.

But we might have kept you out a bit too late.  You got all Cinderella on us.  Who knew you would turn into a pumpkin at 8pm?!?

November:

November really slowed down for us as Mommy traveled for work a little bit, and Daddy started a new job.  With all that, and Thanksgiving around the corner, we kept it pretty low-key.  But we still had some good times.

Like when we went to the nature center near our house.  You had a blast picking up sticks and looking at all the different animals at the nature center.

Then we all went out for a nice dinner.  You sure do love posing for picture bud.

But you got to keep your head on a swivel buddy, or else you might get PhotoMommed (your Mom TM’ed that term btw).

Mommy went on a long business trip and was missing us, so she asked Daddy to send her a pic of us together.  I like this one…

But you had a better idea, called bouncing a ball off my head.  You win.

You started exploring the idea of feeding yourself with a spoon.

The result was craziness, lol

So you went back to what works for ya.

You had some play-dates with some friends….girl friends that is.  2 in less than a week I might add, AND you put your game on display.  Well done my man, well done, lol.

Mommy spent a good portion of her vacation painting your room.  That counts as home project #2.  It looks so nice now; like a big boy’s room even.

We had a lot of cleaning to do because we were hosting Thanksgiving for friends at our house this year, and look at that….you pitched in.  Get use to it kiddo; chores are in your future.

Mommy and Daddy were super excited to run the Turkey Trot 5k this year.  This was Mommy’s first ever 5k.

Excitement for you; not so much.

But all was forgiven once we got home and you were able to watch the Macy’s Parade on TV, and you even helped Mom get things ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

And of course, what month would be complete without some pics of you being silly while playing outside.

December:

What a fun month December was.  Not only did we have a trip up to see Grammie and Grampy in Massachusetts to look forward to, but also our own Christmas traditions at home.

Like spending a snow day having fun with Mom and Dad.

Like you helping Mom and Dad pick out the tree.

And then helping with the decoration of the tree.

Turned out pretty nice.  Good job buddy!

You even helped Mom decorate the outside of the house too!

We had an early Christmas (or Crusemas, another one of your Mother’s creations, lol) before heading out on the road for MA.

You got all kinds of cool gifts, but none more favorite than your new ball.

You and Mommy thought it would be cute to get Daddy a Doc McStuffins phone for Christmas, lol.  You even were showing me how it works.

The next morning it was time to hit the road, and boy were you excited.

On our trip up North we stopped off at your favorite place to play, the Philly Children’s Museum.  You had a blast.

We finally arrived in MA and you and Mommy got right to decorating Grammie and Gampy’s tree too.  We all had such a great time.

You got in some practice of unwrapping gifts by taking all of Grammie’s wrapping paper off their roles.  You’re lucky she loves you very much my friend, or else you would have been in big trouble.

We got to get all dressed up and go to church for Grampy’s Christmas Eve service.

Your awesome Aunt J was there too.  She thinks you’re the cutest thing ever…..because you are.

The fun didn’t stop with Christmas.  Grampy followed through with his promise to take you to Wendy’s for a frosty.  You were in ice cream heaven my friend.

You also hung out at Grampy’s church.  You love playing in his office, and even tried out his microphone.  And from the looks of things, you might have the “preaching gene” just like Grampy, lol.

You sure did love hanging out with Grammie in the kitchen watching all the comings and goings; all the way up to our last day.

On the way home Mommy had an awesome surprise for you and found another kids museum in Connecticut.  It had some really cool exhibits, like your favorite; the water and balls exhibit .

Daddy decided to do this entry a little different buddy.  There were so many moments to remember during the holidays.  But, I must also point out how much you have grown in the last 3 months, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally.  Your vocabulary has exploded as of late.  You still struggle most times to get across what you want, but you’re finding new ways to express that without getting overly frustrated and defeated.  Your problem solving skills have grown by leaps and bounds.  It has been really fun (and sometimes frustrating) to watch.

This holiday season was definitely one to remember.