Daddy's Graduation 12/2

This last month, Dad graduated from the Police Academy. He had done the modular program and has been attending classes every Tuesday & Thursday night, all day Saturday and many Sundays, for the past year. Mom and I are thrilled that he is done and we get to see him a little more. However, we appreciate all of the hard work that dad put into his schooling. It paid off, too. He received awards for Best Recruit of the Class, and Best Academic Recruit! Good job, Daddy!!!
The ceremony itself was a little long and we couldn't hear the speakers that well, so I found some ways to entertain myself...
Reading with Papa:

Practicing knuckles and "blowing it up" with mom:

Waving to dad:

Playing with my racecar:

During the ceremony, dad had to pay a lot more attention than I was:

He had to say an oath:

But, he did get a few smiles and laughs in too:

A Friday Thanksgiving

Most years, our family gets to celebrate Thanksgiving twice. On Fridays, we often head to Grandma Dee's house and grub on some delicious food. This year was no exception. We got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Neff, Grandma Dee & Larry, Julia & April.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving dinner at Great-Uncle Elmer and Great-Aunt Lee's house in Petaluma.

Lounging after a big meal...
Attempts at a family portrait:

Yummy food and a great time. Great seeing everybody!

Cooler Weather

Mom took me out a while ago, when the weather was getting a bit cooler. She wanted to get a pic of me in my Giant's gear for our Christmas card. We had a picture of me at Opening Day in April, but I had grown so much since then. Unfortunately, the light was a little dark, the weather a little cold (I had to put on a sweater that covered my Giants jersey), and I just didn't want to give her a pose. Here is the best of what we got that early evening...

Nov. 21, 2010

Bumblebee Song

My new favorite song: "I'm Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee"

Food Bowl Hat 11/20

Tapping into my feminine side...

On 11/18, mom heard some clomping around in the other room. This is what she found...


Hey! Check our what I found!
Wait, are you taking pictures?

Uhh, I don't know about this...

These are hard to walk in!

All right, I'm outta here!

Papa's Birthday

For Papa's birthday, we hiked up Mount St. Helena in Robert Lewis Stevens Park. Mom had just gotten a backpack from someone at work and we were eager to try it out. During the hike, I insisted on telling everyone about garbage cans. I worked the following words into our conversations as much as possible: garbage can, throw, all gone, and shut. Mom taught me new words and the spanish translation. By the end of the hike, I could point to an "arbol" and "hojas." I also practiced "arriba" and "abajo." Great Aunt Mari joined Papa, TeTe, Mama, and I. It wasn't long before I gave her the nickname of "Mamo."

Resting stop: After a quick snack while watching some rock climbers, we started up the final ascent. However, the wind got really strong and it was a bit scary. I liked it when the wind was light and mellow, however, this was too much. Everyone had to turn around and head back.

Getting some quality hike time with Papa:

Playing in the leaves with Mamo:

Walking on the log with TeTe. After the hike, I fell asleep in the car on the way to Calistoga. We all went to the Hydro Grill for drinks and appetizers, but I slept through the whole thing. They gave me my own booth bench to lay out.

Big Boy Shoes (11/12/10)

I have discovered that dad has Big Boy shoes and they are awesome! I have been caught several times, trying them on or walking in them. At first, I fell quite a few times, but within an hour, I was able to walk pretty well. I am just preparing myself now for the inevitable...large feet. Mom and dad don't exactly have small feet, so I just as well start getting used to it now.

Night with Aunt Sheila

About once a week, Aunt Sheila comes over and plays, so mom and dad can have a date night. We have great fun together! She is super silly and she lets me pull her all over the house, playing every game I can think of.

On Nov. 11th, I decided a fun game would be, "Show the Belly." Here I am displaying my awesome round gut, in hopes that some tickling will come my way:

In the last month, I really started saying more words. Here are just a few of the food words that I like to say:

So, my latest obsession is garbage cans. I can't get enough of them. Mom explains to her friends that I used to wake up in the morning and the first word out of my mouth was "book." Now, sadly, my first waking words are"garbage can." I love to go on walks with dad in search of any cans out on the road. My favorite day is Garbage Day, when the trucks come and empty the cans. The garbage man even waves to me. Nana has taught me that some cans are for "paper," and some cans have "stinky" garbage. I have also noticed that some garbage cans are blue and some are green. All of this information is so fascinating, that I think it is important to share it with everyone that I see.

When Sheila wathced me, we spent a bit of time discussing the garbage can and how what is thrown inside is "yucky." I showed here how our kitchen garbage can works and she made me laugh hysterically by doing sound effects each time I opened the can....

Another Day in Middletown

A couple of weekends ago, mom felt sick, so we headed up to Middletown for help. Aunt Julia and Aunt April were at Papa and TeTe's house. Mom got a chance to relax and sleep on the couch, while everyone else entertained me.

One of the first things I did was play on "My Computer" that TeTe set up for me. I just love typing. I am not allowed to do it at home at all, even though I try to often.

April even joined in on the action:

After some inside play time, I got a chance to play on the tractor without Papa:

For lunch, we all went to La Parilla in town, which is a GREAT Mexican food restaurant. Unfortunately, most people ordered something a little too spicy for my liking. I spend much of the time at the restaurant combing my tongue with my fingers and drinking milk to cool it off. Eventually, we found some more mild rice and beans, which made me happier.

When we got home, we all partook in some pumpkin pie. Mommy couldn't share hers, so Aunt April kindly offered some of her pie. At first I acted like I didn't want any...

But, OOHHH...it was good once I took those first bites...

Silly Aunt April...