Tricks!

Darren just about gave me a heart attack the other night when he learned a new trick! He started out doing flips off the chair, and I thought for sure he was going to break his neck or something. Thankfully, he didn't, and after doing it for several times in a row, I finally relaxed and recognized that he was actually using fairly good control, and eventually agreed to let Matt break out the camera and enjoy Darren's little show. But, of course, with the camera out, he no longer did flips, but did this for the first time instead..... We laughed pretty good! No one was injured in the making of this film....

An evening at the park!

We went for a walk to the park tonight as a family to help Darren burn off some energy before bed, and took the camera just for fun! We all had a good time - especially Darren! Here are some of the pictures we took! They are a bit out of order, so sorry about that. Enjoy them anyway! By the way, for those of you nonalaskans who might care, these pictures were all taken around 9:00 at night with mostly cloudy skies (the sun did peek throught he clouds every once in awhile)! I love how bright it was!

Having fun climbing down some stairs!

Darren thought it was really funny to throw rocks on the slide, and have Matt brush them off. I think we're in trouble, since he's reached a "throwing" stage. But, I love the sideways tongue!

A lake by our house.

Same lake, same time, just different camera angle!

When we got home, Darren was super thirsty! He loves his silly straw and regular cup - I think it makes him feel big!
Darren's first time on a merry-go-round! They're hard to find anymore!
Having fun driving the truck! Typical boy!
He finally likes the swings! I love this picture of him!
On the move - as usual!
Darren had fun taking turns with each of us, "driving" us around. Too bad he can't see over the dashboard yet!

A Day With A Toddler!

Life with a toddler is never boring! Today was no exception! In sacrament meeting today, Darren threw his sippy cup, narrowly missing a couple of heads! The kid has a good arm, but how embarrassing! Then, after church, but before choir, I had to go grab music out of the car and do a little recruiting through the halls. There were a couple choir members in the room already that said they would watch Darren while I did the above. Anyway, I walk back into the room just in time to see Darren shove something in his mouth, say "Mmmm" while nodding his head and trying to run away from me! Upon inquiring what he was eating, I just received blank stares (not very encouraging)! With a short little investigation, I discovered that he had gotten into the pocket in the diaper bag where I keep my things he's not supposed to get into (wallet, keys, etc.). Since it was Father's Day, the ward passed out a little treat for all the dads. Matt didn't go because he wasn't feeling well, but I grabbed one for him, and put it in the "Mommy pouch" of the diaper bag. I had already taken Darren to nursery, so he never saw it and didn't know it was there. Anyway, on the floor I spy the wrapper of Matt's 100 Grand candy bar, and a big chocolaty smile from a mischievous little boy! Poor Matt only got half of his Father's Day candy bar!

As soon as we got home, Darren went tearing down the hall, looking for "Dada" who was in bed, sound asleep. That didn't stop Darren - he climbed up onto our bed, and jumped on Matt repeatedly saying "Dada!" with a great big smile on his face! He sure loves his daddy! Then he got down, went to his own room, grabbed his blankey, went back to our bed, and curled up next to his dad! It was very cute, though Matt's nap was officially over! Darren wouldn't hold still for any longer than about 3 seconds - literally! Then I fixed lunch, and for some reason, Darren felt the need to smear his peanut butter and jelly all over the back of his neck and in his hair! What a sticky mess! He had to be dunked in the kitchen sink to get clean!

Later, just before bedtime, Darren thought it would be very funny to become a little streaker! Off came his pajamas, then his diaper, then ran laps around the couch..... until Mom caught him! At least today, he was caught before there was a puddle to clean up on the carpet.... I'm not always so lucky! After getting him dressed again, about 30 seconds later, off come his pants - again! Thankfully he left his diaper on this time and started playing with his cars while Matt and I were finishing up a couple of things. Whew!

Next thing we know, we're looking in the kitchen to see this...... Darren had used his fire truck as a little stool to reach the kitchen counter (the end that has become the dreaded catch-all, and Darren's favorite place!), but the firetruck must have slipped out from underneath him. It didn't even phase him, and apparently he didn't need it anymore! He stayed dangling on the counter for a couple minutes, then just hopped down as if it were nothing. He's fearless! What a kid! Needless to say, Darren is a very busy boy, and therefore keeps me quite busy! I love it though! All of the cute little things he does more than make up for the other not-so-cute things!

Best Buds!

Darren absolutely loves his daddy and looks forward to when he comes home from work everyday! Most days, they end up chasing each other around the couch or play a very active version of hide-and-seek! Darren lives for these moments, and at the very least has a huge smile on his face - he's usually laughing! So, last night I decided to catch one of these chasing sessions on camera! It's too fun to not share! I have the privilage of watching it live all the time, and to be honest, it's usually my favorite part of the day. It's so great to watch my husband and son form such a great bond with each other. I fall in love with Matt more and more every time I see him create these fun memories with our son, and being the father that every child deserves! I have been very richly blessed with an absolutely wonderful little family! Enjoy the video clip!

My Cute Little Helper

Darren was acting so grown up this morning, I just have to brag about it! Right after breakfast, (I was still cleaning up), he went over to the table, picked up a banana peel from off of my plate that was still sitting there, went into the kitchen with it, and threw it in the garbage can - without being asked! Then, he went back to the table, picked up the plate, carefully carried it with 2 hands, and put it in the sink! He's never done this before! I was very pleased! What a big helper! Then, a few hours later, I mentioned to him that I was ready for a snack and asked him if he wanted one too. He didn't respond, and just walked away. The next thing I know, I hear him in the pantry, and comes back with a handful of crackers! He then proceeds to put them in my mouth one at a time, giggling in sheer delight at feeding Mom! It was super cute! But, just as I think that he's acting so grown up for his age, he reminds me that he's not quite 2 yet! The next thing he does is take that lovely box of crackers, dump them all over the floor, scatter them everywhere, and then stomp on them to make crumbs! When I came over to investigate, he innocently looked up at me, pointed at the crackers (crumbs), and simply said, "uh oh!" and ran off. Probably needless to say, snack time was over! I guess that's what I get for not making him eat his snack at the table!

Matt Reenlisted in the U.S. Air Force!

This is Matt's reenlistment oath. He reenlisted on April 16th, which was his six year anniversary of when he entered basic training. It seemed to be an appropriate date. Anyway, now the U.S. Air Force owns him for another 4 years! Matt has also been accepted to cross train into the geophysics career field within the Air Force. He's pretty excited about it, and is looking forward to starting his training in January. Go Matt!

(Matt)

After Amanda posted the above info I thought I'd expound on the new career I'm cross-training into. This comes from "usmilitary.about.com" and is a technical summary of what I will be doing...

"apply leading edge physical sciences to perform data collection, analysis, observation, study, experimentation, acquisition, maintenance, research and development, fielding of prototype and operational electronic sensors and systems on specialized geophysical, nuclear radiation, chemical, biological, electro-optic, radio frequency, infrared discrimination, radar, and rapidly deployable and fixed airborne materials sampling platforms; and process and analyze scientific data; derive, develop, and report first-hand signature information to national command authorities and war fighters."

... sounds cool! I can't wait!

We're dogsitting for a friend, and we just had to catch this on video! It's not too often that something makes Darren laugh this hard for this long. He had already been laughing for several minutes before we even turned the camera on. Who knew that feeding a dog could be so funny! Anyway, enjoy this little clip. We thought it was too funny to not share! Oh, and please ignore me making dinner in the background. :)