Life's a Filet of Fish: Fall Flashback

I've just returned to Texas, via Arizona, from California with Johnny in tow, and I feel like he's already different after just one week! He sings the whole ABC song now, not just sections (though he;s still stumbling over J,K, QR, and Z). His apology when he realizes somebody is sad or hurt went from "sorr-" to "sorry," and all his words are just a little more clear and more connected. It's pretty crazy how fast it happens. He loved spending time with Grammy and Papa Reese (and beagles too!).

[Side note: he is also, evidently a big fan of Mulan. I don't know how many kids will sit and watch a movie from beginning to end at 23 months, but it sure comes in handy when you're packing.]

And here is some more from Thanksgiving, because there were too many cute pictures not to use them.

After thanksgiving, we all went to the zoo together in Tucson. On the way, Johnny got sad because the sun was in his eyes. Since he's been pretty good about not breaking glasses lately, I figured I'd let him wear them. The photos below were the result. At one point I asked for them back (the sun was not hitting his window anymore) and he pointed at me and said very clearly, "No! Take Pictures!" Ha!

Anyway, this whole train of thought got me thinking about how much John has grown and changed in the last six months. (Compare a shot from "Summer Time Blues" to the ones above and you'll see what I mean.) Here's a photo review of happenings between then and now with some pics of the cute in-between stages that passed so quickly!

September to October 2015

Some silliness at home. (Some outfits need documenting.)

On an average Sunday afternoon, we were on our way to dinner with Grandma Debby. This one was a special (Labor Day?) long weekend!

Hurray! A long weekend sleep over! And a fun dinner/movie outing with my mom in TWlands!

Handsome Boy, 20 months old!

This is how we pizza.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! Or at least his relative visiting Grandma Debby's house.

Some days John doesn't want to leave school

Some days he's a cowboy at snack time.

Some days we go to Bernie's Back Yard food truck park for dinner.

Gordon and I actually went again to meet my friend Dawn Black and her husband Darren there for dinner and live music one night, and we ended up running into our friends the Winwards with all their kids. It's a cool place.

Bread Pudding, because why no?

Goodbye, Klein High! It was homecoming, and I knew I'd miss it. Nobody does school spirit like The Original Klein High School.

It's relevant to note that somewhere around this time John started to repeat pretty much anything you tried to get him to say. We got some very cute baby-voice short videos out of this. For Andrew's birthday we got a "Happy! Birday.. Andoo." Then for Charlotte's Birthday in October we caught him on camera saying "Charlie, Happy birthday, Char-Char. Luh-ooo." (translates to love you)

It was really amazing to see him go from copying to saying things on his own. Gordon calls it the shift from "uncanny valley" imitation of behavior to actual behavior.

We also had a puppy dog shaped toothbrush holder that he was fond of playing with around this time (21 months). He liked to cary it around and open and close it. Then one night he pulled too hard opening the body that holds the brush head, and it broke into two pieces. He didn't cry, but he with great devastation he held the broken parts and kept saying "oh no." puppy." "ah broke-it." He was solemn and sad the rest of the evening, and he didn't get to say nigh-night puppy after brushing his teeth, a habit he had gotten into. (I actually was able to snap puppy's body back together with a bit of effort, but we soon stopped using it to avoid a similar scenario.) Broke it is now a favorite phrase, applied to all sorts of things, broken or not.)

Reading nook photo shoot. New books are also a big hit!

Conference Weekend! Bryce, Jessica, Alicia, and little Melody joined us for the Sunday session of October General Conference this year at my mom's house. We had tacos with cilantro-lime dressing. It was a great weekend of food for the soul and stomach. :)