Merry Christmas!

Chomper spent his holidays visiting with relatives. It was great to see all of you!

Naptime

I still think Chomper looks adorable during his naps.

Play-doh

Chomper was lucky enough to receive some play-doh as a birthday party favor (thanks!). We finally got around to using it today. After a couple missteps where he thought it was food, we had a lot of fun. I rolled balls for him and then he put them into the cup and put the lid on and dumped them out... repeat... and repeat. You get the idea.

Banging

The other day I did something I had never done before. I gave Chomper a wooden spoon and a tin to bang it on. After demonstrating for him, he quickly caught on. While he enjoyed it, it actually didn't keep his attention for that long. I think I'm glad!

Using a Spoon

Chomper is getting much better at using a spoon. Today he tried to eat his breakfast with one and got food to his mouth pretty often!

Play

Here's a very long video of Chomper playing. Excuse the mess!

It's All About Me

If you can tell from the picture, Chomper is pointing at himself. He likes to point to us and say Dada and then to himself and once again say Dada! I also had to post this because the pants he has on are my favorites. They're sooo soft!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're having a relaxing Thanksgiving at home. Last year Chomper wasn't even old enough to try the food! Today he wasn't too sure what to make of it, but he enjoyed the corn.

I Voted!

Ok, so Chomper wasn't quite old enough to vote. ;) But he did go to the polls with Mama and Dada, and they gave him this sticker.

He's also finally realized that he can get my attention by saying Mama. Now that's used when I'm not noticing his more sign for more food!

Halloween

Chomper enjoyed his second Halloween this year. This time he was able to walk to the neighbors, and I think he really liked seeing all the people. Here's a picture of him in his cow costume. He's looking at Dada off camera.

Getting Smarter

No photos this time, sorry. After we change Chomper's diaper we rub hand sanitizer on our hands, and he's been mimicking us. Now he's doing that hand motion to let us know that he has a poopy diaper!

In other news, his favorite person of all is Dada. He points him out in all of the photos around our house.

Safety Proofing

Somehow Chomper grew! When I saw him playing with the stove knobs, I knew it was time for some covers. Right away he managed to get one of them off. Hmm.

More Porch Fun

This porch video made me laugh so much, I just had to post it!

Airplanes

At the very beginning of this clip you can see Chomper doing the airplane sign. Then look how intently he watches the plane! If you look closely you can just make out his new penguin shoes. :)

Decorations, Cont.

Chomper's other favorite things, aside from cats, are airplanes. So I had to put a couple on the ceiling near his crib. He's also a bubble fan, and I found some whimsical bubble paper. That should be all the new decorations for a while!

Decorations

I decided to add a balloon decoration to Chomper's room, because he likes balloons so much. He is so excited about them! :) He points to them and says balloon and keeps asking me to pick him up so he can touch them.

Footprints

Here are Chomper's footprints after playing with his water table!

Dancing, Cont.

Thanks to Grandma for shooting this video of Chomper dancing!

Mega Fun

Today's shopping success involved buying mega blocks at a consignment sale. First Chomper enjoyed taking them out of the bag and putting them back in.





He quickly moved to stacking them.

Peekaboo

Another of Chomper's favorite games is peekaboo.

Stacking

Check out this shoe tower Chomper made all by himself!

In and Out

Here's a video of one of Chomper's new games.

Growth Spurt

Chomper is in the midst of a growth spurt. He eats a ton and all the time! On the negative side, hunger is waking him up early from his naps. He'll be a bigger boy next time you see him!

King of the Mountain

Chomper has been practicing his stair climbing. Look at him go! You can see Kiks (pronounced keeks) on the side.

Art Projects

Chomper has started bringing his artwork home from preschool. It's taking over our fridge. :) This one was especially cute. Notice his hand print forming the lamb.

Box Fun

Chomper is taking lessons from Princess. She loves boxes. She'll sleep in them all day long. Chomper's decided that boxes are tons of fun too!

Our Lucky Day

This happened about a week ago. I was in Chomper's room with him, and he walked over to his crib and looked in it. Then he turned to me and signed "more". I wasn't planning on giving him a nap for another half hour, but I couldn't think of anything else he wanted. So I put him in his crib and left. He went right to sleep! It hasn't happened since, but it was still an exciting moment!

Dancing

This is just a little snippet, but it shows you how Chomper dances. He's doing it more and more these days!

Back to School

This morning Chomper headed back to preschool. He was screaming when we left, so we were a little worried. When we picked him up, the ladies told us that he calmed down and was back to his happy self. His teachers said "He was all about snack time and lunch time"! That's our Chomper. :)

I Think He Likes It

I finally setup Chomper's water table (from last weekend's garage sale, of course). He thought it was great! Next time I'll know to take his clothes off first. ;)

TV Time

To celebrate the kitties' birthdays (in June and September) we bought a cat DVD for them. It basically shows lots of birds and other animals. While it was a hit, it had the unanticipated result of attracting Chomper too!

Chase

This is what Chomper and I spend our days doing.

Mm mm good!

Chomper likes food... and lots of food... and getting food all over himself. This is what he looks like after most meals.

Programmer in Training

In honor of Daddy's work trip, I thought I'd post about Chomper's keyboard. A while ago Daddy cleaned up an old keyboard for him, and it sits in my office. He really enjoys banging on it, although he still prefers ours!

Best Friends

Princess is Chomper's best friend. He likes to join her in the black recliner (he climbs up all by himself) and snuggle with her.

Miscommunication

A while ago, Chomper started saying Daddy and we were so excited! Then I noticed that he also called the cats Daddy... and the computer monitor. So we had to admit that he might not know what the word means. Then he started pointing to the cats and saying cat! More excitement! Until he pointed to Daddy and said cat. Oh well... he'll figure it out eventually, right?

Communication

Not only is Chomper starting to understand us and do what we ask, he also uses sign language on occasion. Here he's asking me to play the toy "more" (tapping his hands together).

Garage Sales

Chomper and I go garage sale hunting on Friday and Saturday mornings. It's something to do, and I love a bargain. This toy is our best find so far. It is a shape sorter with an opening to pull the shapes out. Chomper can play with it forever putting the shapes in and out and in and out... best of all, it was only a quarter!

No More Storytime

This was the last week of storytime for the summer, but Chomper wasn't able to go. His legs have been covered with a rash since Sunday. We're not sure what it's from, but thankfully it's starting to fade!

If you click on the picture to make it big, you can see all his spots. Poor guy!

13 Months

Today it is gorgeous outside. Hot but not humid! Here's Chomper showing off on the porch.

Balloons

Chomper loves balloons (or, as he calls them, bah-oooo). He enjoys the balloons we get from the Red Robin. This one is leftover from his birthday, and he still finds it great!