Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 was very excellent. We spent a lot of good time with family and ate way too much food. We had just a very excellent time here in Tempe. On Christmas Eve we spent time with Uncle Mundo, the Peralta's, the Stewarts and the Crutchers; also ate a lot of tamales (awesome)!
Christmas morning was fun because Thomas woke up and was impressed with all the presents that Santa had brought. We all sat down and started tearing paper. Below are several videos of opening some presents, and a video from Christmas Eve.

Present #1:


Present #2:


Present #3:


Christmas Eve Duck Video:

Shoes to Count

Thomas is here in his room counting shoes. Yes his counting is pretty good- No his counting is not perfect.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Earlier this week, we jumped in the car to get our Christmas tree. It was more difficult then we thought, because one store was pretty much sold out (may 8 left), and we really had to search for them. Initially we thought we were maybe getting our tree too early, but turns out we're a little late.

Thomas was excited about getting a tree and so we practiced how to say Christmas tree several times in the videos below. Also I thought it was a smart idea that if any 'super-blog fans' wanted to follow us on YouTube, then they could subscribe to our YouTube channel. In case you need to know, I will take videos and post them on YouTube more often than I post videos and pictures here on the blog, so if you subscribe to our YouTube channel, then you'll be notified when new videos get posted. Like I said, if you're a casual "Ash Blog" follower, you may not care that much, but I know that some 'super fans' might be all about it.

These are two short videos from getting the Christmas tree, and below is a link to the YouTube subscription.





YouTube Subscription HERE

Driving Cars

This video is from two weeks ago, but I figure not a lot of our blog readers saw it, since I never posted it. We traveled to Maryland for Thanksgiving and had a great time. Thomas spent time with Teta and Grampa, Auntie Allison and Uncle Jack, and even Auntie Laura flew down to hang out. Overall it was a terrific Thanksgiving and we all had fun!

Here is the video!

Funny Stuff

Check out this video of Thomas being entertained.

123

Chocolate Mustache

This video was taken about 3 weeks ago, and at the time, I thought it was half funny and half offensive so I didn't post it. Now when I watched it, I thought, well there is kind of a bad joke there, but maybe people won't think it's too bad. Hopefully you will hear the laughing in the background and see that we are just being silly and not mean. Also maybe this interesting video will spur some blog readers to post comments and feedback?

Here is the video!




* Also if any blog readers or followers would like to subscribe to the YouTube Channel, that might help you be one of the first to see hilarious or cute videos.

Halloween 2010

Here are the super-cute Halloween pictures that everyone loves! Thomas had some difficulties the few weeks leading into Halloween, we tried several costumes that he wanted nothing to do with. This fireman costume made him happy and his parents, plus he's a handsome little fireman, which helps.

Halloween

Also, here is Thomas playing in the backyard on Saturday afternoon. Sometimes Thomas is very entertaining and funny, and as you will see, sometimes he will push his luck.

Hello- Who's there?

Yesterday afternoon Thomas was watching Jenn use her phone, and when she let it go for two-second it was gone. Jenn and I followed Thomas as he took the phone straight to his room and started answering calls. We found it pretty funny, so enjoy.

Pumpkins & Apples

This past Saturday we took a 3 hour drive to a farm. We were searching for pumpkins and apples, and yes, we found some. It was an all-day event and we came home with lots of memories, pictures, apples and even some pumpkins.

Check us out!

October 2010

Dance-Dance Party

This video is a little late, but last weekend we were at a friend's birthday party (Chris D) and they had a rock'n band that Thomas couldn't keep away from. Here is a short video from that wild night.

Laughing-Seriously, Laughing-Seriously

I've been teaching Thomas to be a serious comedian, and this is his funny/serious act. Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did.

Color-Color

Thomas has really been into coloring lately- especially while laying down? It seems a little strange but he seems to enjoy it- if it ain't broke!

Friday Night Lights

Thomas and Mommy were playing ball on Friday night, and so I grabbed my phone and took some video. I am still figuring out how best to take video with this phone because as you will see, the video is a little strange looking.

But you can still see Thomas laughing and throwing the ball around with Mommy so I'm sure you'll enjoy the video any-how.

Crabs to Cake

Greetings blog followers and readers! This past weekend was very terrific and very excellent. Let us start at the beginning by saying that this was a 3-day weekend (nice)! From Friday night through Monday night the party and smiles never ended.

Friday night was all about the crab buffet and I ate my share. A local casino had a $9.99 crab leg buffet and I was all about it. I love seafood and I love buffets, so it was excellent.

Saturday was all about the season opener of ASU football. The SunDevils kicked some Portland State butt, and we had tickets for the game. This was Thomas' first ASU game and we all had a blast.

Sunday was my 29th birthday and I celebrated by laying low. Jenn and Thomas were super cool all day and I have to thank all the people who wished me a happy birthday and made me feel like I was a special boy.

Monday was Labor Day and we all had the day off of work, which means that we ran around and got some errands done. Shopping is a great way to stimulate the economy and that's exactly what we did. And on Monday night we ate some birthday cake and enjoyed our extra day of vacation.

Enjoy these photos and this little video!

Labor Day 2010

New Car and iPhone

This week I caught Thomas and Mommy playing iPhone games, and they were playing for a while.

Also this week, Thomas got a package from Auntie Allison. He was super excited because she sent him some new cars!

What Face is That?

Last week Thomas and Mommy were putting on pajamas and I heard some odd noise. It wasn't a bad noise or scary, just different. I grabbed the camera and here's what I saw in Thomas' room.

You Love This Boy

Hello Friends, Family and Fans,
This past week or two has been fairly quiet. Thomas has started going back to day care on a daily basis again- because Don's school has almost started. Don (third person) has had meetings and training before school starts this Tuesday, and so both Thomas and Don are back at school! Jenn on the other hand has been busy at work, but has also been extra happy because her summer school course has finished.

The first video we have is showing Thomas' growth with the English language. We had been laughing a lot because Thomas would answer 100% of questions with 'yeah'. Except now he's figured out 'no', and so the question and answer sessions have become more interesting. Jenn was asking Thomas about putting on pajamas and going to bed and of course he was saying, 'yeah, no, no, yeah' so we I grabbed and camera.



This second video is all because of Auntie Allison and Uncle Jack. Allison sent Thomas a card with a package of stickers inside and so Mommy and Thomas sat down and when 'sticker-crazy'. Actually you will see in the video that Thomas is very serious about the stickers and has a serious look on his face.



Hope these videos brightened your day and we'll post some more entertainment next week!

San Francisco Trip 2010

"The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco." - This quote by Mark Twain describes the San Fran weather well.

We flew to CA on Thursday morning and spent the day settling in with Jennifer's Aunt Christina. Also to specify, we stayed North of San Fran in the Oakland area, more specifically Burkeley. Aunt Christina has two sons Cole and Kai which entertained Thomas immensely with their toy cars, and Christina and Linda was very hospitable hostesses.

Friday morning was great because we took Kai to space camp and got to act like astronauts. Then we all piled into the mini-van and drove to Napa Valley! Although I'm not a wine drinker I was interested in seeing the sights and learning about wine. We all had a fun day looking at grapes and of course tasting a lot of wine- don't worry, me and Thomas didn't drink.

Saturday was fun and exciting because we ventured downtown to San Francisco, and as you can see from my quote at the beginning, it was windy and pretty chilly. Arizona in the summer is triple digits hot and so yes, it was nice to cool down, but wearing a jacket? Seriously, that might have been too cool. I was able to see a high school friend of mine, Chrissie who lives in San Fran and works for a wonderful company, Google (they run this blog site). The big attraction on Saturday was Alcatraz. I think we spent at least a couple hours over on the island checking out the cells and the grounds and all the seagulls. Saturday turned out to be a busy and tiring day, which turned out to be nothing compared to Sunday.

Sunday started very early, because we drove back to San Fran (Pier 39). The reason we came to San Francisco is because Uncle Tony decided to run the full San Francisco marathon, and because the rest of us were going to run the 5k. I don't go into details about how everyone finished because this blog is focused on the Ash Family and not exercising and running (sorry Ernesto). Around midday everyone finished they race and we returned to Berkeley to pack our suitcases and start saying our good byes. Jenn, Thomas and I really enjoyed the entire trip because we were able to see a lot of Jenn's family and spend time exploring a great city with Jenn's siblings and Aunts and cousins.

Here is a picture of me at the very end of the 5k. I'll be honest and say that I had zero training and was feeling very out of shape.

These pictures here are from the entire trip and I do believe they are pretty much in chronological order, so you should be able to tell which pictures are Napa and which ones are Alcatraz, enjoy!

San Fran Trip

Have We Left Yet?

Here in the Ash house we've been pulling out the suitcases and getting ready for a vacation. This upcoming Thursday we will fly out to San Fransisco to visit some of Jenn's family (her Aunts and cousins). Once the suitcases had been pulled out, Thomas realized they had wheels and he started pulling and pushing them around the house. Jenn was laughing and taking these pictures of Thomas with the suitcase. And don't worry, because next week I'll post tons of pictures from our exciting San Fran trip, so be sure to be back next week!





This short video is from Sunday night. Arizona is in the monsoon season which means we get wind rain and storms. Last night after our softball game we ate dinner and heard some thunder. Thomas wasn't too sure if he should cry or just say that it was a cah (car). Jenn and Thomas stood outside to see if they could see any lightning and this is the video from that exploration.

Talented Boys

This past Tuesday night we went to a talent show at Thomas' daycare. The plan was that Thomas and some of his classmates would do a little act and then I would get up on stage and do a little comedy. The evening began on a sour note because Thomas wanted nothing to do with the stage and only wanted to sit with me. The act was a cute idea because they had a little pool filled with balloons and a bubble machine and of course a bunch of little 1 year olds sitting in the pool. This first video is some of that act as well as some Thomas moments from later in the evening.

I hope the second video makes you laugh or at least smile because my stand up routine is pretty rusty and so hopefully here in the next year or two I can start performing more regularly and maybe start booking some bigger gigs.





This past week marked Thomas' 18th month and so we had a routine doctor's visit. The doctor was very happy with Thomas' growth and number of words being said and all that good developmental stuff. If you are interested in Thomas' stats, here they are:
Weight = 28lbs 8oz (75th-90th percentile)
Height = 36.5 inches (above 95th percentile)
Head Circ. = 19.5 inches (75th-90th percentile)

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

This is a little video of Thomas on Sunday night. We think being a little boy is great, and being a 'clean' little boy is even better. Thomas really enjoys bath time which I assume most little kids do, and it's always fun for Jenn or I to pour water on him and get his hair all soapy and stuff.



In case some of you care for more information from this past weekend, I'm sorry to report that this was a quiet and relaxing weekend. We hung out with Steve and Leia, we went to church and we played some softball. Other than that, this was just another relaxed and easy weekend.

Independence Day

We hope everyone had an excellent 4th of July! This is always a fun time of year here in Arizona because it's so hellishly hot that you have to swim in pools or stay indoors with AC blasting. We mostly did the swimming thing this past weekend, which is fun because Thomas is becoming more and more comfortable with the water and even going underwater.

Our 4th of July celebration started on Saturday the 3rd because Uncle Steve and Auntie Leia invited us and other friends over for a pool party. The below pictures are from our 'crazy-fun' Saturday. We ate burgers, dogs, swam in the pool and played Minute to Win It. For those that have seen the show, you know that it's an exciting show filled with some silly games. The premise, for those who haven't seen or heard of the show is that a contestant is offered a chance at winning money if they complete a certain task in 1 minute. The tasks or games are little things that can be created just by looking around the house. I won't go into specific details about all the games we had, but I will tell you that it was great fun and really made the party memorable.

3rd of July

The following day, or Independence Day was spent hanging out with some friends who have a pool and live near a mountain. The reason I mention this mountain (South Mt.) is because we all hiked up the mountain at 8:30 and were able to see 7 or 8 different fireworks displays across the valley. It was pretty incredible and we're already excited for next year's 4th of July.

We hope all you readers had terrific 4th's and hopefully nobody lost any digits from fire crackers.

Jump Into Summer

Although today is July 1st, and 4th of July is this Sunday, this pool video is from yesterday- June 30th. After work Jenn, Thomas and I went over to swim with Uncle Steve and Tia Leia (good thing they have a pool). Jenn has been wanting to get Thomas as much pool exposure as possible since we don't have a pool and kids that know how to swim makes parents more at ease.

You will notice in the pictures that we also had Gramma Katie, Uncle Mundo, Eddie and Melynda in attendance during our evening pool swim. This time of year is nice because the pool water temperature is still enjoyable and in another month or two it will become too hot to enjoy. As we all know, swimming is like Goldie Locks, too hot and too cold are no bueno.

As for the 4th of July, we will be at a couple different pools and we'll try and take lots of pictures and video to show everyone how the weekend turned out. Until then, enjoy these pictures and video!

A Little Chit-Chat

You smart readers won't need much explaining on this video. But like I said in the earlier post, here is a Thomas video, enjoy.

Dinner & Games

Greetings blog reader. I will be upfront and honest with you; there are no Thomas pictures/videos currently. You may call me a bad Daddy, or act as if I don't love our blog fans, but we were very busy this weekend, and didn't take pictures and videos. If you read on and have patience, then you will see that pictures or videos will come later, but that is all part of the story.

Our busy weekend started on Saturday morning around 6am. The plan was to wake up early and get the house cleaned so I could sit down and watch the World Cup soccer game between USA and Ghana. In case you didn't see the game I won't ruin it for you, but it was an exciting and long game. Long-story-short, we got our cleaning done and watched the soccer game and then started preparing for a dinner party (hence, cleaning the house). We had a group of 12 and Jenn cooked up some awesome Mexican cuisine; we ate rice and beans, slow cooked beef and salsa, and all sorts of awesome grub. Special thanks goes out to Katie, Leia and Anessa for helping with the preparing and set up, thanks ladies.

After all the food was eaten we had a pictionary throw-down, boys vs. girls. Lets just say it was exciting and super fun. The big high light for Jenn was guessing the term "about face" in about 4 seconds- yeah it was crazy. I could go into details about how I drew this really well or how someone else guessed some thing really well, but it's sort of a game where you were either there or you weren't. If you did miss the party or you weren't invited, maybe next time. :-)

Sunday was a busy day because we did our usual Church and breakfast routine and then in the afternoon we went to a house-warming party for the Stewart's new house. The Stewarts in case you don't know are cousins of Jennifer, and their son Hayden is two days older than Thomas. It's a guarantee that those two boys playing together is going to be super cute, just imagine the cuteness (again, sorry there are not pictures, you'll live).

Sunday evening was also filled with excitement because Jenn and I play on a softball team with several of Jenn's coworkers and we had some 'big-time' plays from the game. I would pretty much say that Laura should have been there with her Sports Center crew because I did not get hit with any balls in the... balls. And Jenn was smashing the ball with her bat, as she swung big and got a triple tonight. I am starting to think that Jenn and I might need to quit our day jobs and become major leaugers.

The very last part of our weekend has been me sitting down and apologizing to my blog readers about no Thomas pictures/videos. I will say that I will be here at home with Thomas most of the week and I will try very hard to take some videos of super cute things. But on the plus side, I think I've broken a personal record with the number of hyperlinks that I can cram into one blog post; that's pretty exciting! Have a happy Monday!

Daddy's Day 2010

This weekend was Father's day, and we had an amazing day. The reason I say that we had a good father's day instead of 'I' had a great father's day is because my Mom and Dad (Nona & Dave) flew into town to visit with us.

Thomas was very excited to see Grampa and Teta and really seemed to enjoy their visit to AZ. Below are a couple pictures from the visit; while in town my Dad and I worked on a kitchen table that Grampa Tom made some years ago. The table needed a little fix-up work and so you'll see some pictures of Thomas helping me undo some screws and holding some screw drivers.


This pictures is Thomas and Grampa.

Daddy and Thomas working on the table.

You can already see from this pictures that Thomas will be just as handy and crafty as the other men in the family.

This video here was taken one night after dinner. My mom had been singing some Arabic songs for Thomas and of course Thomas has to sing along. Don't ask me to translate (because I can't), but you can see and hear that this makes a lot of people happy.

We hope all our readers had a great father's day and hope all the children treated their father's well.

Yeah!!!

I don't want to name names, but there are several of our blog readers who wake up on Monday morning looking forward to seeing new Thomas pictures and videos. Around 1 pm I remembered I hadn't posted anything new, and that I hadn't taken any pictures or videos. I quickly grabbed the camera and took this short video. I was making Thomas laugh a lot so I thought, "Hey, I bet those family and friends would enjoy this."

Pick Me Up

Thomas and Mommy have a little game going. What happens is that Thomas wants to be lifted up, and Mommy helps only a little. What the whole thing looks like is below, but it sort of looks like a baby monkey with it's Mother- you can watch and decide.





Also, because everyone loves Monday mornings so much, I had to show you all this video of Thomas on a Monday morning. I heard Thomas for several minutes talking and singing before I grabbed the camera and took this little video. You can clearly see that he is a happy, and super cute little guy in the mornings.

Say Cheese

This is a little video from Wednesday afternoon. Thomas just had a snack and was in a happy mood so I thought I'd grab the camera.



I hope this little Thomas makes you smile, the way he makes me smile.

Waking Up Stinks

We hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. We spent the majority of the weekend either near or in swimming pools. On Saturday we were a Auntie Leia and Uncle Steve's house and on Sunday we were at Anessa and Dan's house. Thomas was very bothered by the pools. He enjoys taking a bath which usually means that he would enjoy a pool, but whether it was all the splashing or people, he wasn't feeling the water.

This morning however, I thought I'd take a little video of Thomas, letting the world know that he's awake and ready to go. And I do apologize for the lack of light in the room. The sun was shining but we keep the blinds closed in Thomas' room and I didn't really have time to go in ahead of time to set up the appropriate lighting.

Disneyland 2010

Here are the pictures and videos from our exciting trip to Disneyland! This past weekend we drove out to California to party and celebrate at Disneyland. Part of the trip came to fruition because Gramma Katie had graduated from ASU, and everyone wanted to celebrate "Disney-style".

Here are the pictures from our long day at the park. We tried to ride most things, even though Thomas was only tall enough for some of the rides. You will also see in many pictures that we 'ate' our way through the part, which is a tradition that Jenn and her family hold dear. Our overall day was great, although the temperature was near the 60s in the morning and night (which is super cold for Arizona people), but during the day it was warm and enjoyable. Thomas loved all the music and characters and even the rides. A lot of the day was spent trying to figure out which fun ride or area to visit next and Thomas enjoyed all the attention that we poured on him.

Disneyland 2010

This first video is of Thomas and Leia dancing. We stopped to sit down and eat and there was a guy rocking out on the piano so Thomas and Leia couldn't help but boogie-down.




In this second video you can see and hear us all as we rode around on the mini train. Thomas actually had this expression for many of the rides and attractions. You can tell that he is 'maxed-out' from all the sights and sounds. It was almost as if Disneyland hypnotizes childr- people.




We all had a super fun time at Disneyland, but we also agree that the entire day was enough Disney to last a couple years. I think we have reached our Disney quota for 2010 and hopefully 2011, but with this family you can never be sure.

Bean Goatee

Thomas and Daddy had dinner alone tonight because Mommy was out shopping with coworkers. As you can tell from the pictures Daddy let Thomas feed himself which was a little messy but also a little funny.

Thomas has also become an expert at knowing when to smile and how to 'ham-it-up' in front of the camera. As soon as Thomas saw the camera he started making smiley faces and giving me big grins.

Enjoy the pictures and check out the blog next week, because this weekend we'll be going to Disneyland!!!

On the Go

Hello Blog-Readers!
I will be honest right now and let you know that I haven't posted in a while because we are so busy here in Arizona. It's busy during the week with work and Jenn's busy at work a lot, and Thomas is running all over the place doing crazy and cute things all the time. Our weekends are busier because we run over here and over there and do this and do that, so let me just post some pictures and let everyone know what they've been missing.

May 2010

These first few pictures are from an ASU baseball game we went to last week. We watched as ASU beat up on BYU. The game was exciting, the tickets were free, and we left around the 6th or 7th inning.

Then we have super cute photos of Thomas, no explanation/story needed there!

Finally in our album you can see a graduation ceremony that was years and years in the making. This past weekend was a big celebration because Gramma Katie graduated from ASU. That's right, this young lady has been taking college classes and writing papers and flying through exams so she could earn her Bachelors Degree in Communication (same degree I received, smart lady right?).
Gramma's ceremony was Friday morning so most of us took the day off, then after the ceremony we grabbed some lunch and got ready for the 'real' party. Leia and Steve hosted a nice party at their house and we had tons of people come and celebrate, which was amazing, and if you missed it; too bad!

Enjoy all the pictures and I'll try not to keep you lovely readers waiting such a long time for the next post.

Just the 2 of Us

Jenn and I are super excited about this weekend because it's sort-of an anniversary weekend. Our three year anniversary was back on April 21, but this weekend we are celebrating the three years. The celebration starts Friday night as Jenn and I go downtown and see Conan O'Brien perform in Phoenix.
Before I forget, I do need to give a shout-out thank you to Thomas' Godparents (Leia & Steve) as well as Gramma Katie, because they will be taking care of every one's favorite toddler while Jenn and I celebrate.
Anyway- we see Conan on Friday which should be super hilarious, and then Saturday morning/midday we are driving to a resort. Now I'm not sure if I should mention where we're going because Jenn has no idea. The only things I've told her about the get away are: we are driving, it's almost 2 hours away, the weather will be great.
So guess where we're going? Yeah, most people won't know, but HERE is a link to the resort place. See how much I love all our blog readers, I won't tell my wife where we are going, but I will tell you all.

On with the show!

Because Jenn and I won't be spending a lot of the weekend with Thomas, I decided to upload this funny video Jenn took a couple days ago. If you pay attention you will see me in the background finishing up some dishes in the sink. Jenn and Thomas are the stars of the video and as you will find out Thomas was cracking Jenn up.

May I take your coat?

Many of our favorite blog readers live here in the Phoenix, Arizona area, but others do no. The reason I bring this information up is because it's been very hot here lately. This up-coming week we are expected to get into the mid 90's and today it was about 84. Last week however we had two chilly days which meant that these might be the last couple days Thomas would were a jacket until the Winter, later this year.

Jenn and Thomas were in the kitchen practicing how to put on and take off a jacket, which is when Thomas figured out his 'personal' removal technique. The following video was taken after 4 or 6 demonstrations and made Mommy and Daddy laugh. Usually if we think it's cute, then someone else has to enjoy it too right?

Running and Jumping

Running is something I try and avoid. I am very aware that I have brother-in-laws who love to run and most of the people I know love to talk about fitness and exercise, but I don't enjoy 'working out'. I think when I was younger and playing sports and the thought of having a 9 to 5 was unimaginable I did like to run and exercise and lift weights (not too many though); but now a days it's just so boring. And honestly I really don't feel amazing if I do run and exercise and etc.
HOWEVER, this Saturday I broke the mold a little and participated with Jenn in Pat's Run.
Jenn has been trying to exercise and be in shape (she's the most beautiful lady I've ever know), and she actually did the run last year. So this year I said, "Sure I'll do it."
But little did I know that this run is over 4 miles long. I'm pretty sure the most I've ever run in my life was like a mile and a half, maybe two miles, but never 4 miles :-(
To be honest I was scared, and as most of you know hardly anything scares me! We get to the race nice and on time with Thomas and a jogging stroller (thanks Stewarts), and we are in the way back because the race rule is people with strollers or dogs have to start in the back. I am very happy with this rule because I'm not wanting all the serious runners to knock me over and we're in the back surrounded with other kids and strollers and it's like a parent party in the back.
So we're waiting and waiting for the race to begin, and then we hear cheering coming from behind us because the first running is coming around the corner and finishing. This dude's time was like 20 minutes, which divided by four means he's running a mile every 5 minutes, which I think is fast- obviously no one ran faster?
Finally our back of the race mob starts moving forward which is exciting because Jenn and I are like, "Oh yeah, here we go, time to run, ready to feel the burn, going push it." Or something like that.
Turns out we were so far in the back that we were surrounded by walkers. People walking side by side in front of us, and people walking side by side in front of them. Therefore the first mile and a half we're pretty much walking briskly. There were several stretches of the race where Jenn and I would be able to push Thomas and the stroller through some openings and run/jog for a while. And I will admit, I felt pretty darn fast running past all those walkers. I told Jenn that there can be two ways to be motivated while exercising.
1- You exercise with someone more fit than you and it helps escalate your performance.
2- You exercise with someone way less fit than you and it makes you feel so athletic and awesome.
These walkers on Saturday morning were in the #2 group. They were walking and talking and literally taking a stroll, while Jenn and I were jogging past them pushing our baby and thinking about how awesome we were compared to them. Don't worry, I can tell what you are thinking, "Don, it's not a race." BUT, this was a race, so we did run past people and I did want to scream out, "Out of the way molasses." But I didn't, Jenn and I were very polite and courteous, which probably explains our finishing time of 1:02. And yes, if you divide an hour into four parts, that's fifteen minutes a mile, which I don't think is Olympic speed just yet?

If you have an excellent memory, you might remember that this blog post is titled Running and Jumping, which brings us to the jumping. After our exhausting run, see running video below:



We all went out for some breakfast and then home for a nap (not much to tell there, actually just did). That afternoon we went to celebrate two birthdays, Gabriel (is 4), and Kiera (is 2). Because these two awesome kids are brother and sister and there birthdays are like super close together they had a joint party at Jump Street, and sadly the address was not 21.
This jump place is sort of like a warehouse filled with trampolines and kids are bouncing off the ways, literally. The party was actually a lot of fun because they had trampoline sections for big kids and sections for little kids. Considering Thomas is only 1, he tends to get run-over a lot when we are out at parks and places with lots of children.

Check out all the pictures we took from our busy Saturday of running and jumping.

April 2010

Easter 2010

This past week and a half has had several ups and downs. If you have time for all the details please read on, otherwise check out the pictures and video below. Our little adventure starts on Friday March 26th, when Jenn's Grandfather (Ynocent "XYZ" Gonzales) passed away. He was at home in his bed with a daughter by his side. He had been in the hospital for a fall he had taken the week before, and considering he was 94 years old, it's easy to say that he lived a long and happy life. Once Jenn and I heard we first thought of when we would be driving out to California for the funeral services and even when the services would be. Easter Sunday and the holy days leading up to Easter were the following week which pushed the funeral to early April, and it also allowed all of us to celebrate Easter in California with Jenn's family.

Easter was a very special holiday this year because even though this is Thomas' second Easter, he was wrapped in a blanket last year and too little to really do much moving and egg-hunting. These pictures below and video are of our trip in California and actually a couple days before, where we colored lots and lots of eggs.

The other major news I would mention is Thomas' godparents Steve and Leia have a six-year old niece Lauren who has had a couple years of medical trouble and if you've never seen Lauren's Blog it is filled with history, pictures and information. I would ask that all our friends and family say a few prayers for the Nihei family, that they are able to have strength and peace during this difficult time.

Pictures from Easter adventure:

Easter in CA 2010

Here is the video of Thomas searching for eggs:

Wave Your Hands

We just had to share this video of Thomas doing a little dance. Teta Nona and Grampa David sent some Easter goodies yesterday and one of the things was a musical book. It's one of those books with all the buttons on the side so you can have sound effects while you're reading. Anyway this is Thomas exploring this new book, enjoy.

Some Videos

Hello wonderful blog readers! This weekend just as every other weekend has been busy and great at the same time. We did a little shopping at the mall and hung out with Tia Leia, Uncle Steve and the Haches. And yes, we even took several videos, so that all may see the growth and cuteness that is our little Thomas.


This first video is Thomas holding on to my leg while Jenn tries to get him to do something or other- you'll just have to watch to have that question answered.




This video was after eating dinner and it's pretty funny because Thomas has figured out what/where his belly is, and so he shows it a lot.




Here you will see Thomas and Mommy playing with some toys and having a pretty jolly time with it. That's right- I used jolly without talking about Santa, deal with it! (that was typed in sarcastic voice)

ok go DANCE

This is a video Jenn sent me and it fascinated Thomas. We sat and watched the video maybe 2-3 times and each time Thomas was just as amazed. I will admit that I do enjoy this band and the video is very cool. Enjoy!

Games Games Games

Just wanted to keep all you readers current and up to date with all the fun times, and good times. This last Saturday night we left Thomas with a babysitter while the rest of us played some Bingo at the Casino (kind of rhymes). Although most people associate Bingo being played either by young children or old ladies- Jenn is a huge fan and so that was her birthday request. We had a group of 10 and we all had our cards and our little daubers and surprisingly had a really swell time.

This video below is from Thursday night, and I just wanted to show you all how funny Thomas can be. We started playing this little game where I would yell and startle him and he would sorta jump and then hug me, and after we kept playing and playing, Jenn was super smart and grabbed the camera- thanks Jenn!

These next photos are from Sunday afternoon at the ballpark. Because living in Arizona has so many perks I thought I'd show you all the Spring Training game photos we took while watching the Chicago Cubs beat up the LA/Anaheim Angels.

Here we are smiling for the camera. This picture was challenging to get because every time one of us seemed to have our eyes closed, but this one wasn't bad.

Here is the cutest guy at the ballpark, enjoying the sun and warmth (yes he was covered head-to-toe in 70 SPF sunscreen)

These are our friends the Burnsides, Anessa and Dan. Dan if you remember from last years blog is the huge Cubs fan and since Jenn and I don't really follow baseball, we cheer for the Cubs once a year.

And hear is the last photo from the end of the game. Notice the drunk idiot in the background. The more he drank the less funny he became (just my opinion).

PS- anyone reading this is invited to come visit us around Spring Training because the weather is always warm and this Cactus League is very large.

the birthday WAS happy

As mentioned in the early blog, Jennifer celebrated her birthday yesterday and it was filled with highs and lows. First I will briefly mention the low- Jenn was walking into a building (while it was raining outside) and she slipped and 'tweaked' her foot. The afternoon was Jenn keeping her foot elevated and laying on the couch. Here we are a day or so later and she says the foot is 99% better so don't worry too much about her. Also a small low on the birthday was taking Thomas to see the doctor because he had been up the night before with a cough- and again, not much to worry about. The doctor said it was a minor ear infection and it's good we caught it early and that he will be fine in a week.

Obviously the great part of Jenn's day was receiving birthday gifts and phone calls and knowing that she is the special lady during the week of her birthday. This coming Saturday she requested that we all get together and go play some Bingo at a near by casino- so that should be fun times.

This video below is actually of Thomas eating cake because it's funnier than the other video of Jenn eating cake. We were all laughing because Thomas was so happy that he was humming a little tune about how much he enjoys cake. And below the video are a couple pictures of Jenn with presents and cards- enjoy.

Playing at the Park

A week or two ago we all went to the park near our house and took the camera. Here are a couple videos from our little family outing. A week before this outing Thomas and I went by ourselves before Mommy came home from work and Thomas would let out these huge giggles- but being a child, he does not repeat the same trick twice. Again, these two videos are cute, so I hope you enjoy seeing the fun Thomas has at the park.

Early Birthday for Jenn

Jennifer's birthday is on March 9th, which makes the celebration this year a little odd because the 9th is a Tuesday. We did most of the celebrating on Saturday and Sunday because it's the weekend and also because her brother Tony was in town to help celebrate.

This photo below is from the restaurant Benihana that we ate at on Saturday night. We had a great time and were impressed that we had everyone looking at the camera (especially Thomas).

Sunday night we spent time at the house and cooked some chili and Katie made Jenn her favorite cake in the world. Of course I don't know the name, but I will describe the cake- it's chocolate with bananas and cool whip frosting. It's really good, maybe if you blog readers are lucky Katie or Jenn might post a recipe.

Check back after Tuesday night to find out how Jenn likes her presents- if she gets any ;-)

Time for Bed

Jenn, Thomas and I have been receiving a lot of phone calls and emails from celebrities this week wanting to know if they can help raise money because of Thomas' fat lip. Yes, of course I'm joking, just be glad my joke didn't go into details about all the music celebs making a special song called 'We Will Heal the Lip'.

Enough of that- Thomas' black and blue lip from last weekend has healed nicely, and I doubt you can see any bruise reminisce left. Over the past week we've been going to daycare, and work and pretty much just spending a lot of quality family time together.

About ten minutes ago I grabbed the camera and took this short video of Thomas putting on PJs and singing a song, ENJOY!

Valentine's Day in California

This Sunday marked Valentine's Day and Monday marked President's Day, so you could say we are falling in love with our President (take this as a serious or sarcastic comment based on your political view). Because I had Monday off from school, Jenn and Katie took it off as well and the four of us drove out to California Friday afternoon. The drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles is about 5-6 hours depending on traffic and how fast you drive (Ernesto=slow, Steve=fast).

The drive there and back were great, I drove and Jenn read. Gramma Katie and Thomas played with toys and sang to help pass the time. Below you will see pictures from the couple days we spent in California. We visited with Aunties and Uncle Tony and Grampi, as well as the Peterson's and several of Jenn's cousins.

Saturday's highlight was visiting the Getty Museum of Art, which Jenn had seen on TV last year and so we checked it out. We were all very impressed with the museum's art and gardens and we all agreed that we need to take some art history classes or something, because we love art but don't know nothing (did that sentence sting for you English people?). Anyways, if you ever get a chance to visit the museum it is well worth the trip.

Sunday was good and bad because we spent time with Andres and Jess (friends from Maryland) and Thomas took a nasty fall. Sunday afternoon we met the Petersons in Santa Monica which is pretty and beachy and really cool, and then we all went out to dinner. While we were waiting for a table at the restaurant Thomas was walking around out on the sidewalk and took a nose-dive. His lip got fat and his nose started bleeding a little and he cried for a lot of that evening.

Monday morning Thomas seemed fine, but looked terrible, as you can tell from some of the pictures of us out at breakfast. But after breakfast we packed up the car and drove home to Phoenix, and here we are back home with all these great memories and pictures from our trip. Special thanks to Auntie Mona for letting us stay with her, and special thanks to Gramma Katie for sitting next to a one-year old for 11 hours in the car.

Valentines 2010

There's No Snow Outside

Here's that other video I promised all you nice blog readers. Jenn and Thomas were out in the back playing around, and the video is a little on the longer side, but if you're snowed in like Grampa and Teta are in DC you might enjoy something more to do.

Kissing the Fridge?

This is a funny video of Thomas in the kitchen. Everyone can thank Jenn for being so quick about grabbing a camera and catching this little episode. Thomas has been very mobile and loves walking around, but as you can see he is very curious about everything that he can reach and this refrigerator button is no exception.



Also I have gotten a little heat about my last post being so 'complainy'. I suppose even if there were zero people who read this blog it still serves as an accurate journal of Thomas' life. Just imagine if any of us could read a weekly blog about our first year of life and the things we did and the feelings our parents had.

I'll also see about putting up a second 'outdoor' video later this week just to show those East Coast "covered-in-snow" readers that we are in the brisk 60s here in Arizona :-) Bbbrrrrr

Horsey-Horsey

This last Friday Thomas got a special treat at day care- a horse ride! A couple employees at the day care own horses and they brought them in on Friday so some of the kids could ride around. Of course we signed the permission slip which was strange because I've been so used to asking my parents to sign them when I was a kid, but now I get to sign them- YEAH!


Down below are a couple pictures from Friday. There is only really the one good picture and the other shots are of the horse? Sup with that? We're not sure how much Thomas loved the horses but we'll keep him aware of them, and perhaps he'll get more horse exposure than Jenn or I (we don't know anything about the horse legged things).


We'll keep the pictures coming if you keep on reading. By the way, I would appreciate a few more 'blog-followers' because I'm feeling like nobody is a fan :-(


Yeah, I went there with the sympathy, whatcha going to do about it?

And yes I know these aren't the worlds best pictures, so maybe if you become a blog follower I'll add more /better pictures? YEAH!

A Future Architect?

Jenn and I have been taking our time since last weeks birthday party to open and take all of Thomas' present out of the boxes. We still feel overwhelmed with all the toys and things filling our living room. Below is a funny video of Thomas and Jenn building and knocking down some blocks.

Birthday PARTY!

This past Saturday (January 16th), we held a Birthday Party for Thomas! The party was in the park and the weather and every couldn't have been better. We had a ton of friends and family in attendance, and we want to thank every one for all the great gifts and presents, because right now our living room is bursting with toys (Thomas is super happy).

For those who attended thanks for coming out and celebrating with us, you really made the day special for Thomas and his stressed out parents. As a parent it is a little strange planning a party that your child doesn't really understand and 99% chance, won't remember. We had a lot of help from our family and friends with the park set-up and clean-up and one of the great things about having the party out at the park is that we really didn't need to mop and clean the joint before and after.


Again, check out our pictures from the party and enjoy.

1st Birthday

And, for all the friends and family that wish they could have attended the big birthday party, just remember, we're throwing another party next year. That is why birthday's are so super great, every year, they just come around for celebrating.

Also I'll try and post some videos HERE of Thomas actually getting into the cake, because it was really fun to watch (unless you're Nona, and she loves clean children). Special thanks to the videographer Melynda for getting some great video of the party!

Happy Birthday Thomas

Thomas turned one this past Monday and it was kind of a boring day. Because his birthday fell on a Monday, Jenn and I went to work, while Thomas went to day-care. In the evening however, we had Gramma, Tia Leia and Uncle Steve to the house for some dinner and cake. Here are some pictures and video of Thomas checking out his mini-cake and eating some.

To answer all the question, Yes, Thomas apparently loves cake and can't seem to get enough. He would pick up a fist full at a time and just shove it in his mouth, it was pretty funny. Afterwards Tia Leia and Uncle Steve took Thomas and washed him up in the tub.



This past year has been amazing because as you blog readers have seen, Thomas has grown in size, and personality. Also Thomas has learned so much and grown into such a little person being able to make sounds, and 'almost' walk. Jenn and I are so thankful that Thomas has been healthy and happy this year and hope he has many more great years to follow.

This video is us singing Happy Birthday to Thomas - HERE

This video is Thomas trying out a present Leia & Steve got for him - HERE

And just for those of you wondering, or those who haven't heard, we will be celebrating Thomas' birthday this coming Saturday at the park, so be sure to check back next week for more Birthday pictures!

Just in case some were interested in Thomas' 1 year stats- here they are.

Weight: 25 lbs 4 oz

Height: 32.5

Head Circumfrance: 19 in