Dylan Channels Karnac!

And finally the last video of The Boy opening his parents' gifts to him on 9.12.09. He has always been fascinated by my weekly chore - mowing the lawn. No doubt it's because it involves noise, wheels, and walking. I don't think he'll enjoy it once it's his chore to do! Anyway, for now he loves it, and so getting him a toy mower was a no-brainer.

Oh, and the title (for you young ones!) refers to the old Johnny Carson skit where he played a fortune teller, Karnac, who was able to tell what was inside an envelope before he opened it. You'll see that Dylan was able to identify this gift before he opened it! Amazing kid!

Dylan Passes the Math Part of the CAHSEE!

Dylan got a set of colorful blocks - actually, TWO sets of the very same blocks, that's how wonderful they are! (Thank you Aunt Suzy, Uncle Jim and Jake!) He already knows his colors pretty well, and a number of shapes as well (oval, square, rectangle, triangle, circle, heart and star). So this set of blocks will help him with strengthening those skills - plus equally important, he'll have fun!

Dylan Sings Happy Birthday to You!

Title says it all...

Dylan Solves a Puzzle!

Here's a little video Jennifer shot on The Boy's birthday. He got a few presents from Mommy and Poppy, one of them the truck (see the post just below this one), a train puzzle, a box of blocks, a lawn mower and what I like to call his Flinstone car - a little Fisher Price push car that he just loves!

This video is him working on his train puzzle.

More to come!

Dylan's Delight!

There's more to his actual birthday (celebrated on the 12th with Mommy, Poppy and of course The Birthday Boy himself!) than just this, but this sequence is one of the most pure expressions of joy and excitement I have ever witnessed! I just wanted to share this with you. Will post more later...

Dylan Turns 2!

... And it took three days (and three parties!) for him to properly celebrate the big event. The first party was on Friday at his day care, where his day care provider throws a big party for the kids on their birthday. We were not able to be there, it being a work day, but Mommy gave the day care provider her camera and asked her to document the party. So, here are the photos from that party!

The Birthday Sign at Yolanda's!

September 11, 2009

Dylan at the Wheel!

September 11, 2009

And the Mighty Dylan Takes a Swing at the Pinata!

September 11, 2009

Blowing Out the Candle!

September 11, 2009

All Dressed Up and Ready to Party!

September 11, 2009

Dylan, Dylan, Dylan!

It's 100 degrees today (8/9/09) in Sacramento. So what better thing to do than hunker down indoors and look at photos of when we were in Santa Barbara (May '09) and San Francisco (July '09 - Bastille Day, no less!), when the weather was much more reasonable?

Dylan helping guide his Mom; Santa Barbara, CA. May, 2009

Dylan On His Own! Santa Barbara, CA. May, 2009

Dylan having fun in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, CA. May, 2009

The Seriousness of Snack Time; San Francisco, CA. July, 2009.

And the Silly Side of Snack Time; San Francisco, CA. July, 2009.

The French Celebrate Their Independence Day and We're Happy!
San Francisco, CA. July, 2009.

Viva le French! San Francisco, CA. July, 2009.

Hey! What Are They Doing?!? San Francisco, CA. July, 2009.

Oh, Those Silly French People! San Francisco, CA. July, 2009.

Miscellaneous May Merriment!

These are some photos which show The Boy in some of his various activities during the merry month of May when we were off track. The photos are courtesy of Jennifer, which is why, sadly, she's not in any of these photos...

Enjoy!

Dylan, playing in the backyard. May, 2009

Dylan and Poppy, enjoying ice cream at Gunther's - he really loved his first visit to an ice cream shoppe. Or, as he put it: "Coooooold!!"
May, 2009

Dylan and Poppy going out for a bike ride. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for the bike trailer - he loves it!

Dylan and his too cool helmet, snacks for the ride (raisens - organic, natch!) and a beautiful morning for a ride.

Dylan at Fairytale Town. This was his favorite place, the choo-choo. He might well have spent the whole day on this one ride. May, 2009.

Dylan driving the train. May, 2009

The Boy loves a good slide and there were several in Fairytale Town. May, 2009.

"Agua!" We think his Spanish (courtesy of Yolanda, his day care provider) is better than his English - which is all good! May, 2009.

"

One happy moment on the tractor at Fairytale Town. May, 2009.

Exhausted at the end of a busy month. Dylan in his favorite sleeping position these days.
May, 2009.

A-Hunting He Will Go!

Dylan today - April 25, 2009!

I know I've been trying to get all caught up on The Boy in some sort of chronological order here - the trip to Morro Bay, and up through Easter, and I'm making progress. But here's something from this morning. I came into the room and he had put on these sunglasses he got in a goody bag from a recent b-day party for one of his fellow day care kids. And then he just acted the ham, and how could anyone resist his antics? Not me...

Flying on a Jet Plane!

We lucked out on the flight home from Louisville, KY in January. We only paid for two seats, but we ended up getting 3 as that last seat never was filled. Dylan did well on the flying part of the trip - no ear problems and he was not bothered during take offs or landings. Now we'll have to plan an international trip!

Louisville Videos!

OK, so it's not a Dylan video. But she is his niece and that deserves some time! We had so much fun in Kentucky visiting Jack and Teresa and Dahlia, it seems fitting to share some of that. This is just Grandpa reading to his darling little granddaughter.






We all went down to one of the parks in Louisville one cold January afternoon. There we managed to attract nearly every duck in the South, and each and everyone of them hungry as a bear coming out of hibernation! Dylan was amazed by the onslaught of water fowl, and we were pretty impressed too.





At the very same park, we went to a playground. There Dylan and Mommy played on the slide while Poppy video taped the event. Dylan loves slides, and this was a nice one.

The Boy Gets His Feet Wet!

So we're at the beach in early February (not exactly beach going weather) in the little hamlet of Cayucos, just north of Morro Bay. While Dylan wasn't too keen on getting his feet wet at first, some patient and dogged (but always gentle) nudging on Poppy's part finally got him to give it a try -and surprise, surprise he liked it. Fortunately, Mommy was there recording it with her new camera, so you can enjoy it.

Huggy Boy in Morro Bay!

The Boy was feeling especially lovey in Morro Bay when we visited at the end of January, 2009. We stayed at our favorite motel there, the El Moro Masterpiece Motel, a very good bargain. The rooms have a lot of space, and it is (was) close to Mom's place just down the street. Anyway, here he is giving hugs galore - and if you've been fortunate enough to get one of these hugs, you know how special they make you feel!

Christmas in Louisville, KY!

OK, so it's been forever (again)... Here are some photos we took in January, '09, when we three traveled across the country to where my son Jack and his girlfriend Teresa and their daughter (and my granddaughter) Dahlia live. My oldest son, Matthew, now lives there, too. Anyway, we went there while we were off track and celebrated Christmas there. We had a great time, the weather was cold but manageable, and we got to see a lot of Louisville - a rather nice town.

So the following photos were taken there, and there are more to come. Soon. I promise! (At least, we're into the current year now!)

Dahlia checks out Uncle Dylan. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Dylan checks out Dahlia. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Dylan really likes these very cool books! Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Jack and Teresa get a new video camera. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Matthew and Jack. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Big Brother Matt with Little Brother Dylan. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Another way cool gift for Dylan! Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Dahlia gets  some cool threads. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Big Brother (and Uncle) Matthew. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Lovings and hugs all around! Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Babies and grown-ups. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

All together, now! Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Christmas in Louisville, KY!

Teresa, Dahlia, and Jack. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

(The hotel room was very warm, hence the babies in diapers!)

The young and happy family! Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Dylan and Dahlia along with the adults! Louisville, KY. January, 2009

The babies have their own agenda! Louisville, KY. January, 2009

More family photos by Jennifer (she's got a good eye!)

Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Poppy, Dylan and Mommy. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

(Thanks for the great photos, Matt,

and thanks for getting The Boy to smile, Jack!)

The camera-shy Boy. Louisville, KY. January, 2009

Dylan enjoying his Big Brother's, Jack, antics!

Louisville, KY. January, 2009