Getting So Big...

Ledger is working super hard these days.  He is growing and changing so quickly!  He is ornery and funny.  If you turn your back for just a minute, he could end up sitting on a window ledge...

(Shortly after this picture was taken, he tried to get down off the window ledge and completely wiped out and face-planted on the floor.) 

Last week, I quickly hand-washed some dishes while he was reading books in his bedroom.  When the dishes were done, he was no longer in his bedroom.  He had snuck upstairs into Mommy and Daddy's room and found...

Daddy's toothbrush and toothpaste!  He loves to brush his teeth! :)

He is working hard to learn to count to ten.  He does a great job, except he completely skips six and sometimes seven.  It's pretty funny to hear him just counting things, like his blocks, the stairs, or whatever he imagines.  Here's the video:

At our recent doctor visit, Ledger weighed in at 27 pounds!  He is getting very big.  He is just a little too big for 18 month clothes and just a little too small for 24 months clothes -- which is just right for his age.  He is just getting so big and he keeps Mommy and Daddy on our toes! :)

Ledger Surprise

Watch this video. I dare you not to laugh.

Master Michel

Who's getting his master's degree?  You are Daddy!

Today I can happily announce that Chris has taken the first steps to complete admission to Fort Hays State University to pursue a Master of Science degree in Elementary School Counseling.  Today we traveled to Wichita for Chris to take his graduate admission exam (the Miller Analogies Test) and since it was computer-based, the preliminary scores shows that he passed!  This semester, he is taking 3 credit hours to ease into the "online learning" system and we are hoping that beginning this summer, he will be taking a full graduate load of 6-9 hours per semester.  We are very proud of him for continuing his education!!  Go Tigers!!

Daddy and Ledger studying together.

One Cute Kid

Ever since I got my cool Kodak video-cam for Christmas, I've been hooked on getting some videos of Ledger doing what he does best... MOVE.  :-)  In doing so, I've forgotten to take and post pictures.  The photos really let you see how adorable our little man has become.  So here are a few of my recent favorite pictures...

Ledger building a Lego tower.  He later destroyed it in typical "boy" style.

Daddy and Ledger love to cuddle on the couch.

Look at that ornery grin....

Michael Jordan tongue!!

Bath time with shampoo mohawk.

We finally put Ledger's train set together -- he likes his choo-choo but doesn't quite get the "track" yet.

Breakfast of toast with grape jelly.  Yum!!

Snow Day

It finally snowed here last week, but because of a very busy week, we weren't able to take Ledger out to experience the snow.  I finally took him out on Sunday, but I couldn't find his gloves... so it didn't last very long.  Next year we'll make sure to buy him a snowsuit so that we can go out and enjoy the winter weather.

Willie the Wildcat

For Christmas, we got a "Willie the Wildcat" book and Ledger likes when I read it and ask him to find Willie on every page.  You can view the entire video on YouTube, but here's a little clip of us reading today.

Chiefs Playoff Weekend

 

This weekend, Chris and I headed up to Kansas City to watch the KC Chiefs playing in their first playoff game in 7 years!  Ledger stayed home with Oma and Dooda, so we even had a chance to have an adults-only "date night" with the Perkins' on Saturday night.  We went to see "The King's Speech" at the cinema suites in Olathe -- this specialized theater where you sit in individual recliners and they serve you dinner during the movie.  The food was OK, the movie was good, but the experience was a lot of fun.

On the morning of "game day" we woke up early to find a light dusting of snow on the ground.  Temperature at kick-off was predicted to be 20 degrees Fahrenheit, so we packed up as many layers as possible to be prepared for the freezing cold weather.

Suiting up and adding layers.

Fully dressed and headed into the stadium.

Josh accepted a challenge to take a beer bong at a parking lot tailgate.

Sidetracked again -- this time by the "pope".

The "pope" and a ceremonial whiskey communion.

The boys were pretty "warmed up" by the alcohol by the time we finally got into the stadium.  We immediately found our seats on the SECOND ROW of the end zone.  Our seats were amazingly close and we were completely amped up for pre-game.

Our section was part of a "card stunt" that spelled out GO CHIEFS through the stands.

The game started off pretty evenly matched.  In the second quarter, the Chiefs scored a 40+ yard rushing touchdown straight into our end zone.  After scoring, Jamaal Charles ran to the crowd about 10 feet away from our second row seats.  It was awesome to celebrate WITH the players so close to the field.

Just after the touchdown!

The rest of the game was not so great.  We continued to freeze... and so did the Chiefs offense.  The Ravens rolled right over the Chiefs with a final score of 30-7.  

Chris giving the thumbs-down for the Chiefs' poor performance.

Overall, we had an awesome weekend.  We missed Ledger, but it was nice to have a Mommy+Daddy date.

Another Video Log

Can you tell I got a flip-cam video camera for Christmas?!  (Thanks Steve & Pam!)  I'm really enjoying taking videos of the kid, especially since he's talking so much now.  A few weeks ago, we posted a video of Ledger doing cat and dog sounds.  Well, as you can hear on this video... he has learned a few new animals...

New Year's Resolution Reality Check

Last year, I made a few New Year's Resolutions and posted them on the blog.  Let's see how I did...

1. I would like to be more consistent in Ledger's daily routine and establish a more FIRM bed time. --DONE, and boy has it paid off!
2. I would like to try once-a-month cooking for a few months in a row. -- I did January and February and learned some valuable lessons about pre-cooking meals.
3. I would like to start walking more often and am hoping to RUN the River Fest 2 mile run in June. -- NOPE.  This one is still on the list for this year I guess.
4. I would like to improve my time management -- since we've had a baby, I feel like we're late everywhere. -- I think that this has improved a lot over the last year.  Most of the time, we're well within the courtesy five-minute-window. ;)


So, overall, 3 out of 4.  Not too shabby.

Welcome 2011!

For New Year's Eve, we took Ledger to the Ramada to swim.  Although we spent most of our time in the hot tub (because the pool was freezing) Chris took Ledger down the big waterslide and he liked it until he splashed into the pool at the bottom.

We had dinner with Pam and Steve at Red Lobster and I thoroughly enjoyed the crab legs!  Then, just like last year, we rang in the new year at home with Jarod, Briana, and Shawn.  We played some cards and watched the ball drop on TV -- nothing crazy.  I'm too old for crazy stuff.

We spent the rest of the weekend getting some things on our "to do" list finished up and taking down the Christmas decorations.  I also re-decorated the blog, in case you didn't notice. ;)

Celebrate the New Year... With a Dance

Stomp your feet, spin around, clap your hands, shrug your shoulders, get DOWN! :)