Apple (Pumpkin)

On Saturday we are carving pumpkins with some of our family at our place, so we headed out to get a pumpkin tonight. Our favorite patch is in Springville, called Jaker's Jack o Lantern. We went there when I was pregnant, took Atticus there last year, and went back today. We thought it would be the perfect trip to pick out a pretty pumpkin, and get a good photo of Atticus in the patch. Zach pulled him in his wagon and we stopped to look at some animals, rode the tractor, and picked a big pumpkin ol' pumpkin. What I'm not mentioning is that Atticus wanted nothing to do with being there. He was never happy to get out of his wagon...except for the two minutes he wanted to pick up our pumpkin and put it in the wagon... he hated the tractor hay ride because he only wanted to ride in the tractor, and he wouldn't let me take a photo of him with the pumpkins. Life with a toddler at it's finest. We called it quits and left exhausted, but at least we picked our family pumpkin!

Atticus is 20 Months

Okay, for reals this time...Atticus is growing so fast and changing daily, I'm really going to try and keep up with my blog as often as I can. I'm still kicking myself for not being here documenting, but then again I'm recording him and photographing him almost every single day. Also I have to remind myself that I'm living in the moments with him to the fullest. Zach is more about being in the moment without a camera in hand, and well... you know how I am. Anyways, I'm back at it and going to write as much as I can about our crazy, adventurous, loving boy!

Atticus turned 20 months on Monday, and as a tradition I still take his monthly photo on his little rug in his diaper. He is so dang big now. He totally knows the routine as I'm setting up the rug and getting my camera, then undressing him into just his diaper. He runs to the rug, sits, and says "cheese". I seriously cant get enough of him! He won't sit long and then wants my camera, or some other huge object I usually don't let him hold. He's a toddler so I know I will only get, maybe, one photo. Today he called it quits by throwing a fit and asking for his pajamas to go back on. Regardless, he is still a good sport!

Atticus at 20 months, he is seriously doing so much now! He is talking a ton, running everywhere, climbing, saying "I love you" and giving kisses, and even this week he is starting to get himself ready for bed! Last night he asked for his pajamas on, then his elmo, puppy, bus, and book and walked off to the stairs. He didn't want to go to his room so I let him fall asleep in our bed then transferred him later. But how cute is he, gosh I love him.

Today as I was getting ready in our downstairs bathroom he walked over to the toliet, the lid was down, pulled his shirt up and said "psssssss" acting like he was peeing. HA! He's a hoot. He did it about three times and was in his own little peeing world.

Some of our favorite things he is saying are, "mommy" and "dada"...mommy is newer then dada, but he wakes up early, too early, and softly says, "Mommy....moooommmmmy" it just makes me so happy, even at 6:45 in the morning. That sweet voice, not screaming for me, is my favorite. A few weeks back we bought him a dinosaur bubble gun and when I opened it and showed him, he kept saying over and over again, "day du mommy, day du mommy" (thank you mommy) with so much excitement and a smile. In the mornings when Zach leaves he says bye bye then goes "mmmmm" waiting for a kiss. He is always asking where his dada is, with his hands up, throughout the day, usually he goes to our basement door where he thinks Zach is either playing a video game or chilling by himself. He will say, "carball" which is a game Zach plays sometimes, called Rocket League, but it's cars playing soccer. So Zach with give Atticus a controller and they play for a bit. Another thing Atticus obsesses over is a "trooder" (controller). He loves holding a Xbox controller.

Atticus got an Elmo from my grandparents and loves it so much, he also got a little bus from my parents, and he has had Clifford the Red Dog for some time now. But those three things are the only items he ever wants, for a few days now. He will look around calling for each of them, then gets so happy. He tries napping with them, and taking them all with him when we leave the house. It's pretty funny, and sometimes not so funny. Speaking of leaving the house, this week he has also come to me several times asking to go "bye bye". I like to think it is because we have really gotten out of the house this season and have been doing fun things, and not that he is ready to leave the nest. He will bring me his socks and shoes (which he doesn't scream about wearing anymore) then say "jaet" (jacket) and says "ByeBye?!" with lifted eyebrows and excitement in his voice, sadly we don't always leave but at least he is trying.

Just a few more thoughts before I wrap it up here, I'm telling you he is just changing so much! Since my parents visited last my dad shared an apple with Atticus. For whatever reason he hasn't let that word go, and it's been a few weeks. Everything he eats, mainly his fruits, he calls "apple". It kills me and Zach, we feel like he has forgotten everything he's learned...not really...he is just playing this game with us. We say, "Atticus, what is that?" while we point at a pile of pumpkins he says, "apple."
We follow up with, "no it's a pumpkin"...."apple".  Then we ask, "Can you say Pumpkin?" He thinks about it and says, "a a apple"...then we usually walk away and say, "okay bud".

To wrap it up the last bundle of words I just love him saying are, "no" because it's sweet and not mean when he says it,..normally. "puppy" usually followed with his barking, he loves puppies! "Aakis" his name, it's the cutest when he says his own name, when he sees his photo he will say his name. "pease" (please) while he is signing it, he has such good manners. "shooshs" shoes, he has a shoe craze. When he notices we don't have shoes on he goes and gets them for us and waits for us to put them on...or tries to put them on for us. And sometimes follows it up with a "yay!" "Agua"(awua) Water, strangers think we are teaching him to be bilingual, but in all honesty he just can't pronounce "water".  My current favorite is "Hey siee" Hey Siri! haha last week he picked up my phone and said hey siri. I almost died.

He is still signing, "more, please, all done, and food" He wears size 18month clothes and size 6 shoes, we got him his first real shoes this month and they are adorable.

Any who, here is my cutie boy today being so cute and 20 months! I love this boy so so much.

Keys

Since Atticus was in the womb we would play music for him. When he was born we continued to and could tell it would calm him down. One time when we were drive the long distance home from California he was crying and screaming in the back, Zach turned up the music and he was quiet. His collection of instruments has grown over the year as well, his very first instrument was his morraca. When we were down for Christmas last year we got him his first little shaker, it was small and yellow and fit perfectly in his hand. He took it with him everywhere and slept with it. Now he has a little drum set, tambourine, harmonica, shakers, and loves to bang on the drum box and piano. I will sit him down on the piano and he loves to play. Some photos I took of him were just cracking me up, he makes the funniest faces when he plays.

Atticus

Atticus is almost 18 months! I can't believe how fast he has grown, and I want him to slow down. It's incredible that a little one year old can bring so much joy to our lives. Everyday Zach and I tell each other how lucky we are to have him. He is a bundle of everything wonderful. The way he makes us laugh and feel so loved is the best thing we've felt. We love our little man more then I can put into words. 

Since time is going by so fast I have to keep up with what we have been up to and how he is growing. I want to remember these amazing days, and this awesome summer! Right now Atticus loves to be outside. He cries when I drag him away from the door or take him back inside. Dancing and music is his absolute favorite and man does he rock out. He is in love with going down the slide at the park, he likes the splash pad but it takes him a second to get into it, and he started swim lessons this summer and really has been doing great! 

Our little guy says so many words right now as well. He has been talking for quite some time but he has really been growing his vocabulary. Some of our favorites are, "dog, door, car, uh-oh, dada, papa, crackers, light, buh-bye, HI, hello, ball, Ella, Luna, thank you, fish, more, up.." and there are a few more. He is full of excitement when he speaks as well he yells LIGHT when we turn the light on or cracker over and over and over again until we give him one. Sweet boy also does sign language like a pro with the words, "please, more, and all done". It's pretty amazing what children are capable of learning when we encourage and teach them. He continues to make us so proud. 

My favorite thing ever is when Zach is about to get home. Atticus will sit on the first step in the entry way and look out the window. He screams when he sees his dad and yells for him. Then they both kiss through the window and knock at each other. When Zach goes to open the door he says "car" and then shuts the door on Zach. That goes on for about five times...and seriously every single day it's the same thing. We love it. 

His humor has us rollin. He thinks it's funny to smell our feet and then laugh. We do that to him as a game and say "peeyou!" and he thinks it's hilarious. So of course he does it to us now. He also plays peek-a-boo with us and others. He digs his face in the carpet or hides behind a wall then comes out and yells "Ahhhh!". We act like we are scared and he laughs. I can't wait to see what else he learns and picks up. It's obvious to those around us that he is a funny, lovable, and sweet guy. 

He also gives the best hugs and kisses. When Zach leaves for work and says, "I love you" Atticus goes "mmmmm" with his lips puckered for a kiss. Then when kissed he says a big "MUAH". Zach will always say, "go give Momma a Hug" and he runs with a smile to give me a big squeeze. He is so loving, we are seriously the luckiest. 

Pajama Party

Atticus has a new fetish...wearing his footie pajamas. Why is it that kids become obsessed with certain things? The past week after I have him dressed he goes and grabs his pajamas, either the ones I had him in or new ones, and asks me to put them on him. When I say he "asks me" I mean he signs "please" and holds them at me. If I don't start to put them on he will cry. So we sit down and dress him back in his pajamas to make him happy. This morning the same thing happened. I got him dressed and he was distracted and reading a book, then sees his pajamas and grabs them. He walks over to me and asks me to out him on him. I just put the footie part on but that clearly wasn't enough. Through him signing please and grunting to put them on I just pulled them up over his outfit for today, and he ran off as happy as can be. We will see if he lets me take them off of him at all, we have plans to get out today and it will be in the 80's! The fleece will make for him to be a bit toasty...but for now, he is happy.

Right before posting this, I couldn't find him, he was in the laundry room with the door closed. Sure enough I open it and he's holding another pair of pajamas saying please and holding them up to Zach and I. He is crazy about Pajamas!

Head First

I'm just going for it and diving in head first! It has been awhile, and everyday I beat myself up about not blogging anymore. I miss it. It feels difficult this time around though, because I have fallen so far behind. Zach doesn't think it is a big deal like I do, he knows how busy I've been. Even with all the chaos, I'm putting one foot in front of the other and going for it. This blog is intended for my family, friends, husband, my son, and me. It is for us to look back on and see all we have done together and the memories we are making. I need to let myself forget about what I may have "missed" on my blog and know that I haven't missed one second with my baby boy and Zach.  Believe me when I say that I have photographed so much, almost daily of my boys and me....so in a way I have so many of those memories just without the words.

I still feel this is so important and fun though! I'm excited to share so many memories and PHOTOS of the past year, and what's to come. Like I said, the chaos has been real, and really great! We get so busy and sometimes start to whine about it, but heck! bring on the busy and let us drown ourselves in it.

This past week summer has hit so hard! I am NOT complaining because the winter sucked so bad. I was whiter then ever, poor Atticus is like a vampire and never sees the sun around here. So once we got back from California, which I will blog later, we have been kissed with the sun like we haven't felt before! (we totally have felt it before, but it sure hasn't felt like it.) This week Atticus, Lauren, Luna, and Myself went to Thanksgiving Point and walked the Ashton Gardens.

We arrived when it opened, at 9am, and it was already high 70's. Around we walked and talked and pushed the babies around. All the while working on our tans, for reals though this summer I'm getting the tan of my life...that's how bad winter was. After we walked and talked we stopped at the falls there and let our littles out to walk and roam. Luna isn't walking yet, but her cousin sure is. Atticus takes off now with no direction in sight, he just goes for it. So we took turns chasing him making sure he wasn't by the water, he would come over and say "buh-bye" in his cutest voice, wave to us, smile, then book it the other way. Meanwhile, Luna chilled eating her cousins banana...smart girl. I love getting out with these cute babies in their cute summer clothes. I of course have to douse Atticus in sunscreen, literally head to toe so he doesn't fry. His hair is so white it will blind you in the process. It's no joke. But my goodness I love this little guy.

Telling him to give Luna a kiss! He gives the sweetest kisses now, and even says "muah!"