Todd, as most little kids his age do, likes to play with stuffed animals. Especially as an only child, he considers them his friends, and likes to have at least one accompany him everywhere: in bed, at the dining table, in the car. Lately, he's been bringing one of his favorite stuffed animals into the coffee shop where he and Daddy enjoy a snack before his karate class on Tuesdays.
Today, Todd and Daddy were busy with their stuff-- eating, drinking, doing their work, when all of a sudden Daddy was surprised when Todd thrust his stuffed animal at him. He looked around, and noticed that one of Todd's karate classmates had walked in.
So while our little boy still loves his animals, he doesn't want his friends to know about it!
Showing posts with label Cute miscellany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cute miscellany. Show all posts
Midget Todd
More silliness: Todd discovers how to make himself look several inches shorter (and with extra long arms to boot). He used this as a cover photo for his class "newspaper"-- a project that each kid has to do once during the school term, wherein they create a newspaper that centers around them.
Todd in a Box
We got a new memory foam mattress today, and when it was delivered, it was vacuum sealed and rolled up tightly, packed in an elongated box. After we got the mattress out and unrolled, Todd made a beeline for the box, figuring out that he could fit in it perfect! Here he is, after discovering how to climb into it and stand up without toppling over. Now all we need to figure out is how much postage it would cost to ship this package out! :-)
Too Many Commercials
The little man got to enjoy watching some much-missed TV at Oma and Opa's house this past week. Poor little guy never gets to watch any here, as we don't have cable, so he made up for it during his spring break.
He always watches kid-friendly stuff, but I think he pays too much attention to those commercials.
Cases in point:
As we pulled out of Oma and Opa's driveway on Sunday afternoon, his parting words to Oma were: "You should use Crest toothpaste! It will whiten your teeth. And your teeth are... not white!"
Today, while grocery shopping, we wandered through the hygiene product aisle, and Todd made a beeline for the toothpastes. He studied the vast array of Crest brands and decided that he wanted to buy one... for Oma's birthday!
Later, at home, while Mommy was chopping vegetables for dinner, he watched for a few minutes before piping up with: "You should use Yoshi knives!" and proceeded to give his version of a description of how they worked.
Yeah... who says commercials don't work? ;-P
He always watches kid-friendly stuff, but I think he pays too much attention to those commercials.
Cases in point:
As we pulled out of Oma and Opa's driveway on Sunday afternoon, his parting words to Oma were: "You should use Crest toothpaste! It will whiten your teeth. And your teeth are... not white!"
Today, while grocery shopping, we wandered through the hygiene product aisle, and Todd made a beeline for the toothpastes. He studied the vast array of Crest brands and decided that he wanted to buy one... for Oma's birthday!
Later, at home, while Mommy was chopping vegetables for dinner, he watched for a few minutes before piping up with: "You should use Yoshi knives!" and proceeded to give his version of a description of how they worked.
Yeah... who says commercials don't work? ;-P
Superbowl Sunday
Todd's first Superbowl! We're not much of sports fan, but since this is more of an opportunity to get together with Daddy's family and hang out, and was really more of a social gathering than a true game-watching, Todd joined Daddy at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron's house today. He had great fun showing them his magic tricks, playing Monopoly with Aunt Debbie and crashing demolition cars with Uncle Ron, teasing him all the while. It's amazing how much he's opened up and feels comfortable socializing with Daddy's family. Well, after 5 years, it was bound to happen-- their nephew/grandson is finally saying and doing interesting things :-)
Toddy came home with a new friend-- a stuffed seal. Daddy joked that he should name him "iPad". Only... this is proof that you should be careful what kinds of things you say or even joke about in front of kids... because Todd thought it was a fabulous idea and promptly named the seal "iPad". Sigh... maybe we can convince him to call it "Paddy" as a nickname. Irish seal, maybe?
Toddy came home with a new friend-- a stuffed seal. Daddy joked that he should name him "iPad". Only... this is proof that you should be careful what kinds of things you say or even joke about in front of kids... because Todd thought it was a fabulous idea and promptly named the seal "iPad". Sigh... maybe we can convince him to call it "Paddy" as a nickname. Irish seal, maybe?
Todd the visitor
At work we're required to sign in visitors, including friends and family members. Todd got a badge he proudly wore. This is his blurry webcam photo that's on his badge. Not the clearest thing in the world, but good enough to identify him. After all, how many other 5-year-olds will you see roaming the building? ;-)
Funny glasses
Todd proudly models some of the zany glasses that Grandpa gave us for Christmas. He had fun "disguising" himself! :-)
No library card
Todd spied a sign in one of the LA libraries, saying that kids under 5 could get a special card, with parental permission, of course. So Oma took him there the next day to sign up. Alas, since she is his grandparent and not his parent, they wouldn't let her sign up for a card for him. They were quite firm on this, and Todd went home sad and dejected.
After pitching his usual crying fit, he settled down and wrote a note:
Dear Oma and Opa,
I am sad. I don't feel like doing anything today.
Well, that's a step up from noisy tantrums, isn't it? Pouting on paper... ;-)
After pitching his usual crying fit, he settled down and wrote a note:
Dear Oma and Opa,
I am sad. I don't feel like doing anything today.
Well, that's a step up from noisy tantrums, isn't it? Pouting on paper... ;-)
Age timeline
Todd's class assignment entailed him taking a sheet of paper that had a row of ages written down, and to indicate what he was doing at those ages. A timeline of his life, if you will. This is what Todd had to say about the various stages of his life:
0 - 2: I was a baby
3 :I was a little boy
4 : I started kindergarten
5 : I started first grade
0 - 2: I was a baby
3 :I was a little boy
4 : I started kindergarten
5 : I started first grade
I Madonnari
Today was the first time I'd ever been to the annual I Madonnari Festival in Santa Barbara. This time I actually had a twofold incentive to go: Todd's karate school had a square, and so did Citrix Online. Todd and I went there after his karate lesson, and wandered around, enjoying the fruits of the chalk painters on their hands and knees, hard at work, till we finally found the karate square tucked away in the back-- and shade!
We ate a lunch of pizza and a snow cone, and then went back to the karate square so Todd could draw. Here are some shots of him in action: he basically traced and colored his hand, and then colored the surrounding background black. Notice how everyone else, being right-handed, traced their left hands. Sensei challenged Todd to trace his right hand instead-- and he did it! Not bad, even if it does look like a baseball mitt ;-) Here's a few shots of Todd in action:
We ate a lunch of pizza and a snow cone, and then went back to the karate square so Todd could draw. Here are some shots of him in action: he basically traced and colored his hand, and then colored the surrounding background black. Notice how everyone else, being right-handed, traced their left hands. Sensei challenged Todd to trace his right hand instead-- and he did it! Not bad, even if it does look like a baseball mitt ;-) Here's a few shots of Todd in action:
Froggy costume
Today was the read-in at school, culminating several week's worth of intensive reading. Parents came to the school and helped read to the classes. Daddy read to the kindergartners in the morning, and Mommy read to them in the afternoon. We each had a theme.
Daddy chose the "Froggy" theme, based on the Froggy series by Jonathan London. Mommy chose a turtle theme, and brought Pistachio along as a prop. The kids even got to pass him around and hug and kiss him! Lots of love for the stuffed sea turtle today :-)
Everyone was allowed to dress up as his/her favorite book character, so I made a makeshift costume for Todd out of a paper plate mask and a green t-shirt: Froggy!
Here's the mask I slaved over the day before the read-in (I'm only exaggerating slightly-- I'm not the artsy/crafty type!) some paper plates and green acrylic paint, plus made use of leftover pink felt from my rat ears and black nail polish from my Black Death carrier costume :-)
And here is Todd wearing the mask, along with a green t-shirt (a perfect find at the craft store!) that I got in a too-large size, so he'll have time to use it as he grows into it :-) I added the name label for added recognizability, knowing that he'd take the mask off as soon as he got into the classroom.
Daddy chose the "Froggy" theme, based on the Froggy series by Jonathan London. Mommy chose a turtle theme, and brought Pistachio along as a prop. The kids even got to pass him around and hug and kiss him! Lots of love for the stuffed sea turtle today :-)
Everyone was allowed to dress up as his/her favorite book character, so I made a makeshift costume for Todd out of a paper plate mask and a green t-shirt: Froggy!
Here's the mask I slaved over the day before the read-in (I'm only exaggerating slightly-- I'm not the artsy/crafty type!) some paper plates and green acrylic paint, plus made use of leftover pink felt from my rat ears and black nail polish from my Black Death carrier costume :-)
And here is Todd wearing the mask, along with a green t-shirt (a perfect find at the craft store!) that I got in a too-large size, so he'll have time to use it as he grows into it :-) I added the name label for added recognizability, knowing that he'd take the mask off as soon as he got into the classroom.
Crazy Hair Day, 2
More popular than we thought! Remember Todd's crazy hair day from preschool?
Faux-hawks, obviously, are the easiest thing to do-- minimal fuss and mess. A little harder to do with shorter hair (as evidenced in the preschool photos), yet we discovered that if your hair is too long, that is also difficult. We only had mousse and hairspray on hand, I believe if we'd had good ol' hair gel, the faux-hawk would've stayed better. Ah well, here's some shots in the morning, before trotting off to school:
Faux-hawks, obviously, are the easiest thing to do-- minimal fuss and mess. A little harder to do with shorter hair (as evidenced in the preschool photos), yet we discovered that if your hair is too long, that is also difficult. We only had mousse and hairspray on hand, I believe if we'd had good ol' hair gel, the faux-hawk would've stayed better. Ah well, here's some shots in the morning, before trotting off to school:
Mother's Day
Mother's Day started out without Daddy because he had to go to church early to help set up (because of the fires, our church had been in the evacuation zone, so he helped lug sound and lighting equipment to a nearby movie theater, where we held services). Todd woke up before Mommy did, went out to fix himself breakfast (he's been doing that lately-- getting up on his own, grabbing a bowl and spoon, pouring cereal in, and pouring milk in the bowl... all by himself!
When Mommy came out of the bedroom and crawled back into "bed" on the futon, Todd was pleased that I was still technically "in bed" so he could serve me breakfast in bed. He poured a bowl of cereal for me, stuck a spoon in it, and brought it to the bed (I asked him not to put milk in it, for fear he'd spill it while bringing the bowl to me). How sweet! Toddy got to fix his first EVER Mother's Day breakfast in bed-- and without any help from Daddy! :-)
When Mommy came out of the bedroom and crawled back into "bed" on the futon, Todd was pleased that I was still technically "in bed" so he could serve me breakfast in bed. He poured a bowl of cereal for me, stuck a spoon in it, and brought it to the bed (I asked him not to put milk in it, for fear he'd spill it while bringing the bowl to me). How sweet! Toddy got to fix his first EVER Mother's Day breakfast in bed-- and without any help from Daddy! :-)
Toddzilla?
Not long after Todd was born, we took to nicknaming him "Toddzilla" at times. Partly because he was taller than average, but mostly because it was fun to wave the little couple-months-old tyke at each other, saying "Rawr! I'm Toddzilla!" :-D
Fast forward a few years later, when Todd's current favorite TV show (not that we watch it on TV, we only get the videotapes of individual episodes from the library) is Veggie Tales.
We often break out into the entire theme song at random-- while showering, while cleaning, in the car... he's even been known to join in with his kindergarten classmates when they spontaneously begin singing it, as well.
Tonight, he suddenly remembered a song from one of the episodes we watched last month. Here it is:
Only... instead of saying "Godzilla", Todd kept singing "Toddzilla", apparently unaware of the existence of said Godzilla, and no doubt influenced by years of Mommy and Daddy calling him "Toddzilla". When he watched the above video, he realized, "Oh! It's GODzilla"... but of course, Mommy kept insisting that we sing the much-cuter "Toddzilla" instead :-D
Fast forward a few years later, when Todd's current favorite TV show (not that we watch it on TV, we only get the videotapes of individual episodes from the library) is Veggie Tales.
We often break out into the entire theme song at random-- while showering, while cleaning, in the car... he's even been known to join in with his kindergarten classmates when they spontaneously begin singing it, as well.
Tonight, he suddenly remembered a song from one of the episodes we watched last month. Here it is:
Only... instead of saying "Godzilla", Todd kept singing "Toddzilla", apparently unaware of the existence of said Godzilla, and no doubt influenced by years of Mommy and Daddy calling him "Toddzilla". When he watched the above video, he realized, "Oh! It's GODzilla"... but of course, Mommy kept insisting that we sing the much-cuter "Toddzilla" instead :-D
Watching a movie at work
Another Friday, another day at work with Daddy... here's Todd wearing daddy's headphones while watching a movie. They're too big for his head! Then again, I guess his ears are big enough to hold them in place, eh? He is, after all, his father's son...
Are you asleep?
It's 10:15pm and Todd STILL isn't asleep. Usually he's out by 9pm, but this afternoon, while Mommy and Daddy were trying to catch a few winks of sleep after a busy morning, the little man decided to join us and promptly fell asleep. The nap wasn't very long-- only about a half hour or so, and he was awake by 4pm. Alas, that proved to be enough to recharge him well into the night so far, and despite putting him to bed on time and turning off the lights by 9pm, he's STILL awake.
I just checked in on him to see if he was asleep yet. His eyes were shut and he was lying motionless, but his face was pinched, not relaxed. Looked totally unnatural. I was certain he was still awake. But just in case he really WAS asleep, I leaned over him and whispered "Are you still awake?"
He vehemently shook his head.
What could I do but make a hasty retreat out of the bedroom, giggle, and then blog about it? :-)
I just checked in on him to see if he was asleep yet. His eyes were shut and he was lying motionless, but his face was pinched, not relaxed. Looked totally unnatural. I was certain he was still awake. But just in case he really WAS asleep, I leaned over him and whispered "Are you still awake?"
He vehemently shook his head.
What could I do but make a hasty retreat out of the bedroom, giggle, and then blog about it? :-)
That's rude!
As allluded to in this post, Todd's apparently been setting the example for the other kids at school.
This story took place a few weeks ago, when I ate lunch with Todd at school. One of his classmates, Ginny, was horsing around while we ate. She started poking me and I looked at her and said calmly: "Is that a nice thing to do?"
She stopped and then went to the other side of the table, where Todd was sitting, and began poking him. In his best Mommy imitation, he stopped eating, gave her a pointed look, and said: "Is that a nice thing to do?"
Ginny then tried to convince Todd to come with her to one of the older boys (6th/7th grade) so they could tug on his shirt. Todd refused, explaning: "That's rude!!"
:-)
This story took place a few weeks ago, when I ate lunch with Todd at school. One of his classmates, Ginny, was horsing around while we ate. She started poking me and I looked at her and said calmly: "Is that a nice thing to do?"
She stopped and then went to the other side of the table, where Todd was sitting, and began poking him. In his best Mommy imitation, he stopped eating, gave her a pointed look, and said: "Is that a nice thing to do?"
Ginny then tried to convince Todd to come with her to one of the older boys (6th/7th grade) so they could tug on his shirt. Todd refused, explaning: "That's rude!!"
:-)
Karate pics
The first batch. I took these in January (where you can tell I had not yet learned how to properly tie the belt!) and am just now getting around to uploading them off my camera and posting them. I will have to take more pics that show Todd in action!
Day at work with Daddy
Todd got to spend Friday at work with Daddy! Daddy cleared out some space in his cube so Todd would have his own little workspace-- where he set up my laptop and Pooh bear. Here are the boys, hard at work (or hardly working??):
(click for larger, more detailed image)
(click for larger, more detailed image)
More pics from school
(click on each photo for (slightly) larger versions)
Last week the kindergartners, who are learning about ancient Egypt in their history lessons, made Pharaoh double crowns. Here they are, with Todd wearing his usual cheesy grin... and his hat backwards :-P
Last Friday they got to see a ballet, since one of his classmates does ballet, and both of her parents are professional ballet dancers. Here's the school with the cast of "Cinderella":
And this past Monday, the school got to go on yet another field trip-- to a local fire station, where they got to try on gear and use the equipment, and of course, learn about fire safety. Here's the whole crowd posing with the firemen and fire truck:
Last week the kindergartners, who are learning about ancient Egypt in their history lessons, made Pharaoh double crowns. Here they are, with Todd wearing his usual cheesy grin... and his hat backwards :-P
Last Friday they got to see a ballet, since one of his classmates does ballet, and both of her parents are professional ballet dancers. Here's the school with the cast of "Cinderella":
And this past Monday, the school got to go on yet another field trip-- to a local fire station, where they got to try on gear and use the equipment, and of course, learn about fire safety. Here's the whole crowd posing with the firemen and fire truck:
