This holiday season was magic. While Chief doesn’t fully grasp the concept of Christmas, he was mesmerized by the lights, the trees, the stockings, the “shines” (sparkly things), and of course, the gifts.
He got really into his basketball goal this month. His Fisher Price goal hasn’t seen so much use. He’ll yell “shoot a ball!” or “dunk a ball!” then place his toes right up against the make-shift “line” he has created and he’ll launch them into the hoop. He’ll yell “two points!” as he throws his hands in the air. He even took a page from Russell Westbrook’s book and when he’s really proud of a shot he’ll act like he’s rocking a baby to sleep to celebrate. “Shoot ball in big hole” he says.
He visited Down’s Family Christmas. This Christmas light display is a private residence that sets their elaborate Christmas display to music. You pull into their drive, park in the pasture in front of their house, and watch their 20-30 minute production from your warm vehicle. While Chief enjoyed the lights (for about 5 minutes), his favorite part was the picnic we had in the car. We grabbed Benvenuti’s pizza to-go, and ate our prosciutto pizza on paper plates while Chief roamed around the Tahoe. He was super pumped that we were in the vehicle but he didn’t have to be in his seat!
Leaves. You know the greatest thing about Fall/Winter? Leaves. Chief is like a moth to a flame when he spots a pile. He loves to play in them, scoop them up into a pile, move said pile to different locations – he loves everything about leaves.
He found the trains at Barnes & Noble.While I mentioned last month that we do the trampoline park when it gets cold, this month we added Barnes & Noble to the rotation. He LOVES the kid’s section. We’ve been for story time, but his favorite is to “play choo-choos.” It’s a win-win. I’ll grab a couple of books for myself, then we’ll go to the children’s section for an hour or more. I’ll flip through books and he’ll assemble the world’s longest choo-choo.
He became obsessed with stickers. I don’t know what got him started, but this month was all about “sticks.” I ended up buying a couple packs of stickers to keep in the diaper bag; they’ll keep him busy for 15 minutes when we need him to be still. In toddler time, 15 minutes might as well be 3 hours. Stickers are a great thing.
He got really brave about jumping off of things. Chief has been “jumping” off the bed for months, but really he would sit on his bottom on the edge of the bed then slide off until his feet hit the floor. It was great! Well that’s a thing of the past. Our wild man now makes a landing pad of pillows, climbs onto the bed, stands on the edge like he’s trying to find the courage, then takes a giant leap! It’s terrifying for all of us.
He became shy. It’s the funniest thing; he’s never been shy before! This month when he would meet new people or we would put him in new situations, he would cover his eyes with his hands or bury his head in our legs or our shoulders. I feel terrible for the other person trying to talk to Chief, but I secretly love the extra snuggles.
Our Marnie graduated. It was a sad week at the Bridgforth house. Marnie has kept Chief since he was 9 weeks old! She is a part of the family. According to Chief, she has her own seat at our kitchen table, a seat in the car, and a seat on the couch. If we try to sit in the seat he has assigned for her, he says “Mine seat.” (Now move it, parents!) Marnie is moving to Georgia for a position she accepted, so we are currently planning trips to Atlanta to see our girl.
He thinks he’s French.I LOVE Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network. I love the British show, I love our show, it’s my favorite. I had it on one day and you know what Chief picked up on? Pate a choux – the pastry dough used to make cream puffs, eclairs, etc. Well, he says “Pat-a-shoot” – it’s basically the cutest thing ever.
He knows his name.Ask him his name and he’ll reply with “James…Chief” in the sweetest sounding toddler voice you’ve ever heard.
We celebrated Christmas with my Dad, Step-mom, Sister, and Grandma.They made the 3-hour trek to Norman to Christmas with us before Christmas. Four generations gathered around my kitchen table for homemade soups, rugelach, and naked sugar cookies that we all decorated. We went and looked at the new house, played in mounds of leaves (well, one of us did), and Chief stayed on a sugar high from all the icing and sprinkles he licked off his cookie. It was a great day!
Chief spent his 3rd Christmas in New Mexico. Our little road tripper made another 8-hour trip to Lovington to see Chase’s side of the family. He had the greatest time playing at Big & Honey’s house, seeing cousins, and spending all week outside. It was over 60 degrees the entire time we were there! Santa brought Chief a leaf blower that he likes to use as a blow-dryer on Mom, and a battery powered front-end loader! Chief scooped buckets of leaves and pinecones from Big & Honey’s backyard. Add the lawn mower he has at home into the mix and he’s basically full-service lawn care. He accepts payment in the form of blueberries and cheese sticks.
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