Rollin' with the incredible opposable thumb

The other day Beau pointed out to me that Cruz does this funky thing with his thumb. I never really noticed it or how much he does this thumb-roll, but when I paid attention to it...I realized he goes crazy with it all day--so I took little clips of it last week. I was a bit obsessed--well, you might say he is obsessed after you see this little video. Note: I took all of these bits in only ONE afternoon. These are the times I caught him on tape. Guarantee there was more.

"Pilgrooms" by the fishin' hole

The Monday before Thanksgiving, I told Oshyn about how Thanksgiving started--that the Pilgrims came over to America on big boats and became friends with the Native Americans...they got together and had a big feast with lots and lots of good food. Then I said that when we celebrate thanksgiving we also have a big feast just like they did. Long story short, as Thanksgiving was drawing near, Oshyn wasn't too concerned about the food, but wanted to know when we got to go on a boat. Lucky for us we went up to Redding where the houses all look out onto a lake. He told me that we could be the "Pilgrooms" and Dean and Isaac (cousins) could be the Native Americans. We did just that with the little paddle boats!
We had a fabulous time and were able to see Beau's oldest sister, Janaea, and her crew (Sammy, Ian, Zach and Jackson), the beloved Panttaja's (whom Oshyn secretly wishes he belonged to), Aunt Marianne, Roger and a plethora of dogs. Oshyn LOVES Redding and LOVES to be with his cousins! He asked Beau "When I get older, do I get to pick where I want to live?" Beau said, "Yep and you can live down the street from me and mommy". Oshyn said he wants to live in Redding. No offense taken here, I'm sure it has more to do with cousins, tackle football, running, paddle boats, scooters, fishing (should I keep going?) than if he wants to be close to us or not. I think all of the kids (and most grownups) feel that way--probably because summer or fall, Redding is always a good time. There are lots of fun things for everyone to do and we can be outside tons, which is what we love most.
One of the favorite activities we are able to do up at Aunt Marianne's house is going fishing on the lake. Oshyn caught his first fish--meaning HE cast the line into the lake, HE reeled it in, and HE pulled it out...all by himself. I don't know who was more proud, Oshyn or Beau, but it was indeed a good moment for all.

You can see more pictures of the weekend on flickr (when i get around to downloading them, i'll paste a link here...I gotta go to activity day)

Happy Little Boy and Fine

All grins, and a whole lotta chins!
Where is your neck, son?












Disclaimer:
I can say that kind of stuff
because I too had many chins.

BLUE-EYED BOTTLE-HATER

We have found a way around it. Its name is sippy cup. Now Beau and I can date without a third wheel. We mean that in the best way Cruz.

Not too big for kisses

The other day was one of those 'Oshyn days' where we went from riding bikes, to playing soccer (take note of the red soccer socks that must be worn when playing soccer), to climbing trees--all before 9am. He is 100% boy and that is an understatement. Now that my belly isn't as big as our basketball, I can share in the fun of Oshyn climbing trees. He thinks he is VERY cool and honestly if the trees around here were a bit bigger I would be up there with him because I LOVE to climb trees too. Climbing trees makes me think of my grandparents house in Meadowbrook Terrace and the great trees that I spent hours climbing in the summer. Oh the fun I had! I love it when Oshyn is wild about the things I love to do too. I was thinking this very thought when he was up in the tree and I started laughing out loud. Oshyn looked down at me and asked me why I was laughing at him. I told him I just loved him, that's why. He looked down at me and said "Love you Mom," very quickly, but seriously and then gave me a smooch in the air. 110% boy, but not too big for kisses...

*This picture above is a "trick". Oshyn wanted to make sure I took a picture of it.

A Night in the City

So let me tell you, I had my first experience in San Fran...
I was looking sharp and ready for a good time.

As you can see I am beyond thrilled to be there. I was going for the classy serious face since we were shooting a 4-generation portrait...I guess I'm the only one with class in this family.

My cousin, Milania, aka "Baby-sista-girl", and I were the only kids (from the Nobmann/Panttaja crew) at Jessica's reception. Probably because we are the only 2 that wouldn't (rephrase--couldn't) swing from the chandeliers...yet--that is.

I cut the rug with my Mom and LOVED it! Don't tell Oshyn, but I've already got more moves than he does.

By the end of the night I was one tired guy. Lucky for me, my Mom cuddles me with no complaints. What a night!

Tag--you're it JT

I've been what you call "tagged" by Stephanie. The idea is to write 7 random things about myself for everyone to see. Well, you see I only have one thing on my mind right now that I want to write about, so I apologize to Miss Peppy if I distort this game too far. Beau and I were soooo very fortunate to go to the James Taylor concert last night at the Arco Arena. It was beyond fabulous and my heart starts pumping just thinking about it!!! So, to fulfill my 7 random things, I am going to write about 7 random things about our James Taylor night. Bear with me...

1. My mom and I loved to listen to James Taylor growing up. I mean LOVED...I adored him so much, even then, that I told my mom I wanted to marry him. She informed me that he was already married, but that maybe I could snatch up one of his sons. I settled (I mean scored) Beau instead! So you might say that I was just a little excited to go see him live.

2. We went to dinner with John Taylor and his wife Kim. James Taylor is his father! That is not a lie...his father is just not THE James Taylor. Still funny though. John is the customer that got the concert tickets for all of us and also a scrumptious meal at a restaurant in Sacramento. I devoured 2 mouth watering, maple glazed, enormous pork chops with some red potatoes and cinnamon apple sauce. I have no idea what everyone else ordered...my food was THAT good!

3. The 2nd song he sang was one of my favorites "Everyday" and the 3rd Beau's favorite "Copperline". I have little clips if you want to see them... :)

4. JT (we're close now, and he lets me call him that) was a very entertaining performer. He not only had a wonderful voice--as good, if not better than on his CDs, but he was a light- hearted, humorist who told some stories about various songs. So, doin' his thang, James was telling a story about how a song originated, when some disrespectful lady yelled up to him "SHUT UP AND SING!" Talk about mad, I don't mean James, but Beau and I and probably over half of the audience. He took it with stride and didn't say a thing except, "Alright..." and started the song. I was a bit miffed about it all for a bit, but tried to follow his example and just keep going with the concert. In the 2nd half he was singing "Steamroller" and started doing some ad lib and added a line...'Shut up and sing!!" VERY smoothly... I can't explain it in words, but it was AWESOME and everyone hooped and hollered!

4. You know you're in the techie-age when instead of people holding up lighters...they hold up cell phones!!! Hilarious.

5. Cruz earned bonus-baby points last night. I fed him at 5pm and left him with a babysitter, knowing he would be fine, but still hoping for the best, since he is a bottle-rejecter. We got home at midnight and he was still fast asleep.

6. Beau took Oshyn to the bathroom before we went to bed and after Oshyn went to the bathroom he kept saying, "Fire in the HOLE! Fire in the Hole!" Random, but classic 'sleep-talking' Oshyn.

7. Beau's buddy, Rob, who also went to the concert, gave us a LIVE CD of James Taylor when we met him and his wife Lyn there. I am jamming to it right now, attempting to ingrain the goodness in Oshyn and Bella who are playing ever so nicely.

There we go...7 randoms about our JT night. Oh yea...did I mention that all of this incredible night was FREE??!?!? That is except for the ice cold Hagen Daaz that Beau got us to start off the concert!

Who does this stuff?

One of the many benefits of Pergo flooring

When you don't have snow, use the stairs

*Kids, don't try this nonsense at home...without responsible adult supervision.

got milk?

(and maybe a comb too?)

Super Sacramento Saturday

Fortunately, after every Friday comes a Saturday. Unfortunately, this Saturday Beau went dirt bike riding with some guys, neither named Oshyn or Cruz. Fortunately, he would have tons of fun (...and later come home safe, with only minor cuts and bruises). Unfortunately, I was stuck alone and didn't want to repeat the regular Monday thru Friday routine. Fortunately, in my eyes, the best way to have a fabulous day is to be self-less and self-fish at the same time, if possible. Unfortunately, Beau is great at this and I had to come up with it all on my own. Fortunately, Oshyn and I like to do a lot of the same things...I may have conveniently rubbed off my favorite things on him without him knowing. Unfortunately, my grand idea--A STEAM ENGINE TRAIN RIDE WAHHOO!!!! picked the month of November to take a break. Fortunately, Old Town Sacramento is going to have a Polar Express Train Ride. Unfortunately, it doesn't start until the end of November. Fortunately, Old Town is on the Sacramento River and Fortunately, they have boats. Unfortunately, it was a tad expensive for 3 people...Fortunately, Oshyn and Cruz are both 3 and under so they were FREE and Fortunately, they served an all-you-can-eat buffet as part of the deal. Unfortunately, I am having a really hard time thinking of any more Unfortunate things because we had sooooo much fun!! A day that could have been very unfortunate became SUPER SACRAMENTO SATURDAY!!! There were only 7 other people on our 3 story big river boat cruiser, so after we chowed down some food we took off to check the boat out. Everyone else (except the captain) stayed downstairs in the dining area. Why? Who knows, but we had the entire boat to ourselves that way. We went up to every level and went in and out of all of the doors, up and down all of the stairs, exploring every nook and cranny. We waved to all of the random fishermen (and women) and got some waves back. Then we danced for a bit on the bow to the elevator music that was playing. Oshyn even broke out with some cartwheels--that's when you know he's having a good time! I even squeezed in a group photo with the reflection in the front window, can you say "talented"? It ended up being a superb day for the short guys and their mom.

Days like these

Well I decided to buy some rain boots for the rainy Lodi winters. It has made my immediate association with rain turn from cold dreary thoughts to splashing pink polka dot thoughts (my boots are pink with polka dots). The idea of the "boots-perk-up-rainy-day" mantra I have started repeating came from last Christmas when Oshyn was given some fabulous green dinosaur boots--splashing in the water actually made rain fun! I decided to test out the principal on myself this year. I believe it is working and we can finally join Beau in his "I-grew-up-in-Seattle" excitement for rain. What I need help with now, is days like these (see picture above for example). FOG. What the heck do I do to get excited about days that I feel trapped in the dark fuzzy haze of about 5 feet in front of me? This is not a joke. I almost hyperventilate. I blame it on being raised in the happy, sunny, blue skies of Arizona. Seriously though, please take a moment and click on the "But Mom's" below to leave me an idea of what you would do. I'm just trying to get geared up! On a lighter note, BRING ON THE RAIN, WE'RE READY!!

Hallow's Eve

So I hope you all enjoy this because it took me WAY TOO LONG to figure out how to put all of these pictures on!! (Sorry Lacey) We had some nice themes going on this year...Oshyn was Curious George and beside himself that Beau was the Man in the Yellow Hat. Beau is definitely #1 DAD dressing up in that sweet golden costume ("It's the new khaki"). Cruz and I supported our family "down-under" as kangaroos and the Panttaja's were out of this world!! Star Wars, that is...