New Bed

Well Mommy and Daddy decided the family sleeping arrangement wasn't working too well and have been trying to encourage me to sleep in my own room again :-(. In an effort to get my excited about my room, Daddy convereted my crib into a toddler bed last night. I LOVE my new bed... to play in that is. When it comes to sleeping I want nothing to do with my room at all. Daddy has been sleeping on the floor next to my bed because its the only way I will stay in my room. We'll see how long he can keep this up...

Crowded Bed

Well, my baby sister is home and things are going really well. So far I'm liking being a big brother a lot. The only thing that has changed is my sleeping habit. I do not like being in my bed AT ALL. Josslyn won't sleep in her bed either so the whole family (including Isabelle) sleeps in Mommy and Daddy's bed. I'm not sure about everyone else but I'm sleeping great!

Welcome Josslyn!

Announcing Josslyn Mary Lariz!










November 9, 2009, 11:26 am
7 lbs 6 ozs
20 in long


My baby sister arrived this morning! I can't wait to meet her! The hospital doesn't allow children to visit right now because of the H1N1 flu virus so I'm staying home with Grandma and Granddad.

Josslyn has her very own blog...click here to see it!

Click here to see more pictures!

Happy Halloween!

I had a great Halloween! This morning I spent some time watching a huge "cat-pee-o" (caterpillar) in the back yard.








After dinner we got ready to go trick-or-treating. I wasn't sure why I had to put on my lion outfit...









I was a little confused at the first house we went to. They let me pick my own candy and I just kept taking piece after piece. The next house made a little more sense and by the third house I had caught on to how this worked. Never letting go of Mommy's hand, I went up to the door, said "tick teat" and held out my hand for CANDY! When people tried to put it right into my "tick teat bucket" I stopped them and made sure they handed the candy to me so I could put it in my bucket on my own. The lady who answered the door at one house was a little scary so I just set my bucket on her door mat and backed away until she put candy in it. I always said "dank you" and then ran on to the next house....I knew what I was doing.












When I got home I went straight to the couch and started going through my candy. I've already organized it numerous times on each of the couches, on my Elmo table, and back into the bucket. I don't know exactly what candy is since I've never eaten any before. I'm pretty sure I just got a bucket of little wrappers to play with and its great!

Later in the evening Grandma and Trinity came over to see me trick-or-treat a little. I was really excited to go back out but wouldn't leave any of my candy behind. I put it all back in my bucket and ran out the door telling Daddy "tick teat again". It was getting pretty late and we had walked around a lot so after a few houses I told Mommy, "tired, home". Its a lot of work going to all those houses! Even though I was exhausted I still made time to sit on the couch and play with my candy some more before bed. I can't wait for Halloween next year!





Click here to see more Halloween pictures!

My Birthday Party

This afternoon Grandma and Uncle Gar came over and we celebrated my 2nd birthday! I got to open presents...lots of Yo Gabba Gabba stuff, a Thomas the Train set, my very own remote, a couple of trucks, and a new toy Jeep! Here I am opening presents and playing with my new toys...











Grandma made me a really cool train cake! Of course I loved it!








Look at how much I've changed since my first birthday!

Click here to see more of my 2nd birthday pictures!

I'm Two!!

I'm two today!! We are going to celebrate tomorrow since it will be Saturday.

Today we went out to lunch with my great uncle Mike. He was in town from California. It was really good to see him since we don't get to very often!

My 2 Year Checkup

I had my 2 year checkup with the doctor today and everything went great! I weigh 32 lbs 8 oz (92%) and am 36" tall (94%). I am right on track with all of my developmental milestones... I feed myself all of my meals, I can easily throw and kick balls, I jump with both feet off the floor, I love to draw and color, I go up and down steps by myself, and I'm putting whole strings of words together trying to make sentences!

A little update of what I've been up to...
"What happened?" is one of my favorite expressions and I ask what happened to things ALL the time. I really like Elmo and Thomas the Train but especially LOVE Yo Gabba Gabba. I also love helping clean and often ask for a paper towel or wipe and go around the house wiping things down and saying "nice and clean".

I'm becoming more and more silly and think its hilarious to say silly things. For example, the other day Daddy was asking me if different people were a girl or a boy. I got a little confused when Daddy asked what Isabelle was. He told me she was a girl but also a dog. Then he asked, "what is Daddy, a girl or a boy?" I thought about it for a minute then looked at Dad with a big smile and said "Dada's a dog!" I thought this was hilarious and laughed for a while then said, "nooooo, Dada's a boy." I'm so funny!

The Fireplace

Today we lit the fireplace for the first time this year. It was making strange popping and sizzling sounds that we couldn't figure out. Then all of a sudden, it made a big POP and a little smoke came out. This is NOT supposed to happen since we have a gas fireplace. Of course, Mom and Dad turned it off right away. Once it cooled down Dad took the front apart and found the culprit...a toy I had stuffed in the top vent ages ago. I was wondering where that thing was! Dad says we were lucky it didn't do any damage other than ruining my toy....oops!!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Plumper Pumpkin Patch today and I got to pick out my very own pumpkin! I was much more interested in all of the tractors driving around than I was with the pumpkins. We walked around through all of pumpkins and even went through a corn maze.

In the pumpkin patch I pointed out as many green pumpkins as I could find. I was very concerned with any pumpkins that were lying on their side and set to work setting them up straight. See pictures below...










There are more pictures from the pumpkin patch on our family website. There are also pictures of me coloring at my new Elmo table which I LOVE. I've created quite a few masterpieces there so far. I spend a lot of time coloring every day and often bring over an extra stool and firmly request that someone else color with me. I even pick out what color they get to use! Click here to see the pictures!

September Update

I started off September with a trip to the hair salon...my first official haircut ever! I got to sit in an airplane and drive toy trains around the whole time. I was pretty much oblivious to what was going on on top of my head. I looked like such a big boy aftewards that Mommy cried the whole way home. Actually, she was a bit ridiculous and cried off and on the rest of the day. She said she was sad to see my curls go and that I looked so grown up that she felt like her little baby was gone and replaced by a toddler. News flash Mom, I am a toddler! :-)

Thanks to Dad, I'm officially becoming a 49ers fan. Whenever I see football on TV I yell "football, go Niners!" I have a 49ers t-shirt and if you ask me what's on it I'll tell you, "go Niners!"

We took another trip to Baker for Labor Day weekend and I got to spend lots of time with Mimi, Aunt "Dappy" (Kathy), Granddad, and Grandma Barbara. We probably won't get to see them for a few months since my baby sister will be born soon and then winter will be here. I wish they didn't all live so far away!

The next weekend we headed back to Spokane (with Daddy this time) to go to Mommy's friend Eric's wedding. We got to go to the rehearsal dinner at Pete and Sharon's the night before the wedding. They had a very nice dinner setup in their backyard. At some point Daddy let me eat an entire brownie all by myself and let me just say - delicious! About 10 minutes after I ate it Granddad, Mommy, and Daddy looked over in the yard and saw me standing by myself just wiggling every inch of my body. Woohooo sugar overload!!!

The next night we went to the wedding. I did very good during the ceremony and again announced "music off" every time the music stopped playing. During one quiet moment I tooted and said "excuse me" a little louder than Mommy and Daddy would've liked. I also asked, "Eric doing?" when they were taking their vows. Being vocal is so much fun!

Click here to see pictures from the wedding and the rest of our September photos on our family web album!

August Update

August was a pretty calm month for us. We enjoyed being home between our Baker/Spokane trips and gearing up for doing the same thing again in September. We went to a company picnic at Dad's work which was a lot of fun. They handed out blow up animals and I fell in love with my blow up elephant. Click here to see pictures from August on our family web album.

July Update

Wow, the past few months have been very busy! We went to Baker in July for Miner's Jubilee. I had a lot of fun watching the parade and strolling through the park.

The next weekend Mommy and I went to Spokane for Annie's wedding and to help Granddad clean out his house. Everyone said Mommy was pretty brave to take off for a six and a half hour drive by herself with a 2 year old but I did great! We stopped halfway and had a picnic lunch in a park and I got most of my energy out there and then slept for a couple of hours. I was ready to get out of the car by the end of the trip but overall I'm a very good traveller!

We saw lots of deer in the yard at Granddad's house and I asked about a hundred times, "deer doing?" I really like my cuddle time with Granddad, especially when I first wake up. It was even better when I got to bring a bunch of stuffed animals!

We went and visited Jan, Bob, JD, and Zack while we were there. I loved their dog Remi and had to know where she was at all times. Jan and I watched her float around in the pool for a while. It was so funny!

We also went next door to visit Pete and Sharon Ehrhardt and I got to help Granddad drive!

Lacey came with Mommy and I to Annie's wedding and it was a lot of fun. During the ceremony I tripped on a step and yelled "bonk!" and every time the music went off I'd announce "music off". I just wanted to make sure everyone knew what was going on. At the reception, Mommy shared a big piece of cake with me and 10-15 minutes later I was happily busting a move on the dance floor....actually, behind the head table :-) I danced and danced for over an hour and then let Mommy know I was ready to leave by repeating over and over "van, bye bye, night night". I was very tired by the time we got home but had a great time! Here I am all dressed up for the wedding...

Back at home, we got to go to the Wash Co fair. I saw LOTS of animals and was expecially fond of the goats, or "doats" as I like to call them.

Whew, July was a busy month! Be sure to visit joeandmarinda.com to see more pictures of me from the month! (There are three separate albums for July - Baker, Spokane, and Kasen - July 09.)

Jumping!!

I really like to jump....even though I don't get any air at all. Most of the time I jump and only one leg comes off the ground.

Click here to watch my new jumping video!

4th of July & a NEW VIDEO!

4th of July was a lot of fun. Grandma and Uncle Gar came over and hung out for the day. It was hot outside (in the 90s!) so I played in my "poo" (pool) for a while. We had a few fireworks to light off so I got to stay up late to watch them. We ended up lighting them before it was dark because I was getting very tired. Turns out, I'm pretty scared of fireworks...

Click here to visit our family website to see more 4th of July pictures!

On a different note, yesterday Isabelle was laying on her side giving herself a bath. I wasn't sure what she was doing so I watched her for a minute then went over and started licking her too. I only got one lick in before Mommy stopped me... I was only trying to help!

I'm becoming very polite and say please, thank you, and excuse me (which sounds more like "moo mee") often. Thank you is a new favorite saying and I use it all the time. I also say "yuh you" (love you) which melts everybody's heart.

This one's for you Granddad...click here to watch my new video!

20 Months!

I'm 20 months old today! Can you believe I'll be two in only four months?!

On a side note, I love to eat "banyas" (bananas) and "ass" (applesauce).

Bossy Bossy

The more I start to talk the more I'm realizing I can boss people around. The other day Daddy and I were playing in the living room. He got up and walked away and I started yelling, "stop! Stop!" He turned around and looked at me and I told/yelled at him, "back!", meaning for him to go back to the living room. Daddy was in shock that I was demanding that he do something. I was impressed that it worked!

A little sister!

An ultrasound confirmed this morning...I'm going to have a little sister!!

Click here to see the latest pictures of her!

A few new things

I got a new lawn mower!! We like to go on walks around the neighborhood and usually take the stroller in case I get too tired of walking. Usually though I end up wanting to push the stroller which takes WAY too long but of course, I throw a tantrum otherwise. So I got a new mower to push around. Its more my size and much easier to push. I mowed all the sidewalks in our neighborhood this afternoon!


I've discovered that I LOVE to have my belly rubbed! I climb on the couch next to whoever happens to be sitting there, lay on their lap or on a pillow, lift up my shirt and say "beh-eee" (my way of saying belly). If you don't start rubbing right away I'll pat my tummy and keep telling you what I want, just in case you didn't catch on the first time.


The other day Grandma brought her dog Precious over to play with Isabelle. Precious wasn't feeling good and slept on the couch all day long. I was concerned about her and kept bringing her cheerios every now and then to cheer her up.

Speaking of cheerios, this is one of my most clearly pronounced words. Of course, its my favorite snack so I ask for them often and therefore get a lot of practice saying it.

Oh yeah, and I also say "bless" whenever somebody sneezes. :-)

Memorial Day Weekend in Baker City

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Baker City. I got to see "Dad-dad" (Granddad) and Grandma Barbara, Aunt Lacey, Great Aunt Kathy, and my great grandma "mimi"!

I loved going to Mimi's house. She got me a new toy to play with when I'm there and had a really cool stool I liked to move around and sit on. Every time we'd walk in she'd offer me a cookie or a graham cracker. I have a new addiction to graham crackers now - thanks Mimi!!!

When we got home I really missed Mimi a lot. I kept asking where she was and even watched for her out the front window for a while. Mommy and Daddy finally showed me some pictures of her on the computer and then I felt better. I miss her a lot and can't wait to see her again in July!!

Click here to visit our family website to see pictures from the weekend...

My New Words

I have a few new words that I've added to my vocabulary. "Wa-wai" which means water, "stuck" which I say for anything and everything that I can't move or get to, and "eat" which of course I say perfectly.

I have mastered the word "shoes" and following my obsession, talk about them all the time. I'm very particular about where people put their shoes once they take them off and will demand them to be moved if they're not in a location to my liking. I will try on anybody's shoes and walk around a little but mostly love slippers and flip flops. Shoes are definitely not allowed on the couch so when I sit there I ask to have mine taken off and then make sure anyone else on the couch takes theirs off too.

I also say "doo" (or cool) now too. The other day Mommy made a square out of some of my blocks. She held it up to me and said "cool" to which I replied, "doo". Now everytime somebody says something is cool I run and get my square of blocks. I'm pretty sure it's called a cool.

18 Month Checkup

I had my 18 month checkup today. I weigh 28lbs and am 34.5 inches tall...almost 3 feet!

The doctor said everything looked great and I'm right on track with everything. I had to get shot, which was not fun! At least I don't have to do that again for 6 months!

Doopa-dah and More

"All gone" has become on of my most used statements. I say this about anything and everything that disappears; food, toys, etc. I hold my hands up and say "all gone" over and over until someone notices. A new game I play is to hide my toys in the couch cushions and say "all gone" and then pull the toy out and laugh hysterically.

Speaking of the couch, I have figured out how to climb on it all by myself. I learned how to get down quite a while ago so I spend a lot of time climbing up and down. Luckily I'm very cautious so Mommy doesn't get too nervous watching me.

I've also started pretending. The other day Mommy let me play with an empty cracker box and I sat down and pretended to pull crackers out and eat them. I also pretend to eat the pictures of food in my books. Most of my pretending has to do with eating but I also walk around and talk on my cell phone all the time. I say "hi" and "bye bye" over and over again. Pretending is such a fun game!

I LOVE to push my toys with wheels around. I have a car that unfolds to be a walker....it was what I used to learn to walk....and Mommy and Daddy tried to put it away but I had a fit. I play with it every single day. I push it around and run into things on purpose and say "bonk!" I "bonk" my little cars too. Its hilarious!

Another word I use often is "burp". I announce this any time I burp or toot. I always say it loudly and am not afraid to make announcements in public. Oh yeah, and I'm not limited to my own bodily noises so watch out!

Those are a few of my latest words but my most favorite is one I made up, "doopa-dah." My parents are pretty sure its my version of singing because I started saying it whenever I heard someone else singing. I say it at least 10 times a day, usually when I'm excited, sometimes yelling, sometimes whispering, and sometimes singing. Now Mommy and I use it to communicate when we can't see eachother. If she has to run upstairs to throw a load of laundry in the washer I stand at the gate at the bottom of the stairs and yell "doopa-dah!" up to her until she says it back to me. We do this over and over until she comes down. She's not afraid to run upstairs for a minute because she knows I'll be "doopa-dah"-ing to her and will always be standing right there waiting for her when she comes down.

Did I mention I'm going to be a big brother? "DOOPA-DAH!!"

Easter

I went to my first Easter egg hunt yesterday! The hunt was for kids under two and there were at least a hundred of us. I think some kids had help from their parents because the whole hunt only last about 20 seconds before all of the eggs were gone. I did get two eggs though!

I did an Easter egg hunt at home too...and I got all of the eggs all by myself!










After I found all of the eggs I cracked one open and found a chocolate bunny! I tried to eat it but most of it ended up on my face and clothes....I even got some on the wall :-)

A big trip

I got to take my first airplane ride this week! Mommy, Daddy, and I flew down to visit Granddad and Grandma Barbara in Lake Havasu, AZ. It was a two hour flight from Portland to Las Vegas and I did great. We had a row of three seats to ourselves and I had fun standing on my seat peeking at the lady sitting behind me and standing on the floor using my seat as a table for all of my toys. I was very quiet almost the entire time....probably because I was eating for the majority of the trip :-) As soon as we landed I fell asleep on Mommy's shoulder and she got to carry me all the way through the airport. Granddad and Grandma Barbara were there to pick us up so we could make the 2.5 hour drive to their house in Havasu.



We spent most of the week relaxing at the house. I had a lot of fun walking in circles around the pool and playing with the rocks in the yard.










We spent one afternoon in Oatman, an old western mining town off of Route 66. We ate lunch at the old hotel, watched the gun fight show in the street, walked around the shops. I think I embarassed Daddy and Granddad at one point. We were standing outside one of the shops and a lady in a wheelchair was coming towards us and I kept pointing at her and yelling "ah oh, ah oh!" clear until she passed us. Hopefully I didn't offend her too much...I was just confused why a grown woman was in a stroller.


There are lots of wild burros walking around the streets of Oatman and every time I saw one I would point and announce, "dog!" Hey, the have four legs, a tail, and pointy ears...that's a dog right?




I did pretty well on the flight home too. I got a little grumpy towards the end though. I think a two hour flight is the max I can handle at this point. My ears were bothering me a little on the way into Portland. I kept pointing to my ears saying, "ah oh" until Mommy found a pacifier for me.


It was a great trip and we all had a lot of fun. Hopefully we can go back every year!

I also found out some big news this week...I'M GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!! I'm not sure what that means yet but everybody is making a big deal out of it so it must be something exciting!

The Latest

I'm getting better and better at walking every day. All I do ALL day long is walk around and I love it! I rarely fall down now...mostly just when I'm tired. You'll rarely catch me walking empty handed. I usually carry a toy but can often be seen with Isabelle's ball. I run around saying "ball" and "dog" and I love to wave it in front of her face and take off so she'll chase me. On the flip side, I get VERY upset when she gets it out of my hand and runs off. One of these days I'll really be able to run and she won't be able to catch me!

With my walking also comes quite a few new bruises and my head takes most of the blows. I seem to run into the kitchen table on a daily basis, which inevitably adds a new bruise to my forehead.

I am suddenly very interested in my socks and say "ocks" a lot. Mommy used to have the hardest time keeping socks on my feet and now right when I wake up I point to my dresser, say "ocks" and stick my foot out. I've also learned what "night night" means and shake my head and run the other way when Mommy and Daddy say its time to go there.

The past couple of weeks I've taken a greater than ever interest in talking. I try to say everything I hear (watch out Mom and Dad) but I also talk a lot of gibberish. My latest understandable words are "mama", "dada", "socks", "bath" and "owww". And although "yes" is not yet in my vocabulary, to my parents delight (note the sarcasm here) I've mastered how to say "no".

Well its time for me to go to that not-so-fun place they call "night night" but be sure to click here to watch my new walking video!

I Can Walk!!

Yup, you read right...I finally figured out how to walk all by myself!

Tuesday afternoon I was walking along with my walker and Mommy had something on the couch across the room that I wanted. I forgot that I've been too scared to walk alone and just took off towards the couch. I made it the whole way...about 5 feet! Mommy was so excited and I had no idea why, I was just happy I'd gotten the toy I was going for. Then she started putting me in the middle of the room and having me walk to her. I made it all the way to her the very first time and then I understood what all the excitement was about. I shrieked and laughed the whole time! We did this a few more times but then I fell pretty hard and refused to walk the rest of the afternoon. When Daddy got home he and Mommy sat across the room from each other and I walked back and forth between them over and over until I was completely exhausted and had to go to bed.

Wednesday morning Mommy had me walk from her to the couch over and over. One time I was walking towards her and just turned and walked all over the whole house! I went clear to the front door, into the bathroom, and then turned around and walked all the way back to Mommy!

Now that a few days have gone by I'm getting more and more brave. Every now and then I just take off from the couch and go for a stroll. I'm not so worried about having somebody behind me anymore and have figured how to mostly fall on my tush instead of my face. I also try to run but really I'm just stomping my feet really fast but barely making any forward progess at all. I laugh really hard when I do this, which usually causes me to fall down.

Click here to watch the video of me walking!

I'm saying a few new words now too. "Unch" means lunch and "otts" means pants. Mom is constantly stopping me and saying she needs to roll up my pants so I don't walk on them. Now when she says that I look down at my pant legs and say "otts". "Ball" is one of my favorite words these days. I love to look through books and point to and announce each ball that I find. I've discovered that people think I'm really cute when I say "boo" so I try to use this word often. I say it when I'm putting on a shirt and my head pokes through and also when I hide behind things and peek out (sometimes I say "boo" before anybody can see me). I also like to say "bupp" whenever anybody burps, its funniest when its myself. I still say "dog" a lot. If Isabelle starts barking when she's outside I yell "DOG!" as loud as I can. I got this from Mom and Dad because they always yell out the door at her when she barks... they really need to be careful of the example they're setting for me because I pick up on everything!

15 Months

Well, I'm officially 15 months old now. I weighed myself yesterday and I weigh 27.8 lbs. I'm growing like a weed!!

I got yet another tooth a couple days ago. This one is my top left cuspid. I think I'm up to 12 teeth total now. I'm working on both of my lower cuspids now and my gums are SO swollen! I can't wait until this teething business is over and done with.

I'm learning to feed myself with a spoon/fork now. The first few times I tried, most of the food ended up on my tray and the front of my bib. I've pretty much got it figred out now. As long as I open my mouth as wide as I possibly can the majority of the food makes it in.









I'm starting to talk more and more and randomly repeat things Mommy and Daddy say. They are learning very quickly to watch what they say! I have a few stuffed monkeys that I love and I often hand them to Mommy and say "beep-o". She'll ask me to say "monkey" over and over and "beep-o" is what comes out every time. Getting the right sounds to come out of my mouth is hard work! I'm figuring out how to communicate better each day though. I've added "no" to my head shake when I don't want something so I'm making some progress. Daddy also taught me to say "boo". When someone says "peek a" I say "boo"!

Of course, I still LOVE walking. I'm very particular about which finger I hold onto when I'm walking with someone. It has to be the pointer finger on their right hand, in my right hand. I will sit down and pout if you try to hold my hand any other way. We don't have to do that as often now though because...I've finally learned to walk with my walker!! Now that I've figured this out, I pretty much just walk and walk and walk ALL day. I occasionally stop to play with something but the walker is always by my side so I can grab it and go easily.

Sometimes I will stop walking and let go and just practice standing there. Mommy encourages this by getting me to stop and clap while I'm standing. Whenever I clap, I squat down to make sure I have my balance. Of course, I'm very proud of myself and always look around smiling to see if anyone was watching me. As shown in the picture to the left, I also squat when I need to turn the walker.

When I'm not walking, I still prefer to crawl with some type of footwear on my hands. Mom and Dad have noticed I am also particular about which hand the shoes are on... the left shoe MUST be on my left hand and the right on my right. If you put the shoes on the wrong hands I will stop, furrow my brow, and immediately change them to the correct hand. I can even instantly tell the difference with Mommy's slippers that she has to examine before putting on because they both look the same!

I have two new videos of my walking with my walker. Be sure to watch them both!

Click here to watch Day 1 of me walking with my walker!

Click here to watch Day 3 of me walking with my walker!