Happy New Year!

Josh on his way out to a New Year's party. That is one seriously cute kid.
I am sorry to say Josh was more fun than I was. Of course it would not have been nearly so cute if I was the one jumping on the couch, I suppose.

Football

Josh got two new footballs and a real helmet (not a play one, a real one John found with chinstrap, air pockets inside, etc.) for Christmas. It has brought on a whole new level of competitive football play from him. He is so funny in the helmet. He loves wearing it, but it gives him such a big head that when he gets tackled (yes, John actually tackles him, I look away) he has to work himself into a flat position on the floor before he can get enough leverage to lift his head back up. It is funny. I guess it could be mean if he didn't love it so much, but the first thing he wants to do every day after school is put on his football helmet and play.

Mean Joe Josh. He will eat you for breakfast.


Keeping the ball high and tight, even when playing in froggy boots. With form like this, he will tear up Pee Wee football!


Trying out his new helmet:

(and, if you look closely, modeling his new game face)

The new guitar!

I have not yet learned how to control the order in which photos upload on this blog, so these are out of order. Deal with it.

This is the last in the series: Josh learning his new guitar.


This is the first in the series: still contending with Dad's oversized guitar, to Gammy's amusement. Note: only we thought it was oversized. Josh thought there were no problems at all and refused to hear otherwise.


Here he is upon discovery of what was in his package: ("ooh, a guitar!")


And, opening the wrapped guitar. The first 5-6 presents he opened, he did the same thing each time. He'd start to tear off the paper, gain momentum, and then get very excited as all the wrapping came off and exclaim: Hey! It's a box!
We needn't have even given him any gifts. He was perfectly happy discovering boxes all morning! Although, he was pretty happy once he realized there were different toys inside all of those boxes, too!

Christmas 2006--Josh's Take

Josh has really been into tunnels. He gets very excited and starts talking about the "tunnel" any time we make the turn that requires us to go through the short tunnel to the zoo or Children's Museum. So he got two "tunnels" (one is really a covered bridge, but it's a tunnel to him) for his train set for Christmas from Aunt Pat. He loves it! He says the trains are "hiding" in there ("trains hiding mommy").



He also got a scooter, which he loves and has been tearing up the floor with. His cousin Logan got the same one for Christmas, which they both found very exciting. Logan and Josh also each got "Power Ranger" outfits from Papa and Nana. Even Power Rangers need the speed boost from a scooter every now and then.


Santa brought the earth mover (or whatever this tractor is called, they are all tractors to me and I am still learning). Josh could barely fit in some time with it between scooter runs.


Modeling the scooter, fresh from bed Christmas morning:

Visiting Markleys

We were really happy to have all the Markleys--Gail and Gene (Gammy and Papa) and Curt and Jeni--in town for Christmas.

Curt:


Gene, Gail, John and Josh touring the Pittock Mansion:


Jeni and Monica:

She keeps getting skinnier while I am fully ballooning into this pregnancy. Hate it!

Gail and Gene with their arms full, literally and figuratively.

This is also the best picture we have of our tree. Such is life with a toddler; we never remember to get the pics we want amid all the activity that follows in Josh's wake.

Josh meets Otis the goat

Here is Josh having his photo taken with a goat (yes, that's a goat, not a sheep) at Zoo Lights. Although he was very exuberant about running past the ropes and into this area at first, when the time came for him to sit with the goat for the photo, this is what we got:

Josh: "Eeeehh."