More Christmas...

Aaron and Abby sent presents with pictures of who they were for. For Tate, that apparently turned into a new fashion statement. Only he could pull it off.
Here Tate just unwrapped "The Little Engine That Could." Since Christmas, we have read this book 4 trillion times (give or take).
Nothing like the glow of a Christmas tree on a cold, snowy night.
Tate's new bike: the Toot Scoot. He loves it, because he thinks he's a big boy when he rides it.
Tate and Greg hanging out on Christmas Eve. Greg and his parents (Wes & Hillary) came over after braving the blizzard. We ate Mexican food...I think that's an Oklahoma thing to do on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve...

White Christmas in Oklahoma? It was this year! We loved the snowstorm, but we hated the fact that church was cancelled on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Something was missing, but it definitely wasn't snow; we had plenty of that!
We opened the door to let the dogs out to do their business, and this was the picture. They changed their minds when they saw the snow, but we "encouraged" them to venture out, anyway.
Beautiful.

Birthday 2.0 (Cont'd)

The Adrian Peterson jersey from Grandpa and Grandma Gauffin was a hit for the Sooner fans.
Oh yes, the battle over his loyalties continues. Here's the OSU blaze orange. Go Pokes!
Hard to compete with the Bradford jersey, though.
Some of Tate's friends. Let them eat cake.

Birthday 2.0

Last year's cake? Football field. This year's cake? Baseball. It was delicious.
Of course, Aaron and Abby had to continue the tradition of ice cream cakes the week before.
Year 2 improvement: Tate can now blow out his own candles.

Fall Festival and Halloween...

When Tate gets mad, he grows another head that looks eerily similar to a well-known Sesame Street character.
Tate and the Witt kids at the "Boo Ha Ha" at Brookside.
Is this:

A. My wife

B. Tina Fey

C. Sarah Palin

Oktoberfest 2009...

Beer? Goood. Brats? Gooood. Hanging with our friends, the Gehrke's? Goooooood.
My wife has a newfound appreciation for Germans who know how to party. After all, she married one.
It isn't just anywhere that you can see a chicken doing the chicken dance.

Pumpkin Patch...

Places where city people go: the pumpkin patch. Tate is obsessed with them and likes to try to lift them.
Tate and his friend Kai were very happy, as long as they had pumpkins to hold.
The wagon ride, pulled by a John Deere tractor. Oh, yeah.
Little boy rule: if there is something to climb, you climb it and stand on top triumphantly.
Pedal power.

The Corn Maize...

There were about 40 or so church people who went out in the country to the Corn Maize on a Sunday afternoon. Here Tate is jumping in a hay pit. Forget swingsets; I think we need one of these in the backyard...except that his eyes would constantly be red and watery.
We took along Lanie, who lives 5 doors down. Tate thinks all 3 of the kids in that family are pretty awesome and constantly wants to go to their house.
The cornbox: like a sandbox, except filled with corn. You can't go wrong with an idea like that!

Grant's Farm...Dry Edition

The last time we tried Grant's Farm, it was Memorial weekend and raining...hard. This time it was cool but sunny. The great thing was that the animals were really around. We got within a few feet from the elk and the bison (and zebra, among other animals) as we drove through the nature preserve. Here's Tate with his sponsors in the beer garden....hey, wait a second! What kind of influence is that?!
And Tate learned a little something about bottle-feeding baby goats (a.k.a. kids?).

Back in the STL...

So, we figured it was probably our turn to see Aaron and Abby again, plus we wanted to see one more Cardinals game before the end of the season. It was a quick trip, but a good one.
This is Tate enjoying the game while the Cards were still winning; after they blew a 6-1 lead and lost 12-6, he learned how to boo from the fans around him.
One little man and a couple of slightly larger men...

The World is His Sandbox...

This picture was taken right after Tate kicked his mom out of her lawn chair. When the man wants to relax, the man wants to relax.

You're never too old to play in the sand.

Florida is kind of like Oklahoma, only with beautiful beaches, palm trees, and large bodies of water.

This single white male enjoys a nice glass of juice, fine dining on meals of mac 'n cheese, and long walks on the beach.

Tate is the short one.

Mickey's World...

Even though I figured he was a little small to really enjoy the sensory-overload that is Disney World, we weakened and went for it. By this picture, you can tell that Tate made it through the fireworks at the end (with a nap at the hotel in between). He even finished that fruit bar without dropping it on the ground. What a big guy!

This was right before naptime and during/after a torrential downpour. Tate refused to wear a poncho and was soaked all the way through. Nothing a nap couldn't fix.

Yep. We were at Disney World, and the carousel was still the biggest attraction for Tate. Sea World...the Tulsa Zoo...Disney World...the carousel wins.

Know what's almost as fun as a carousel? A "choo choo." I have to admit, I enjoyed my second-ever day at Disney World more than my first; it's pretty neat to see it through the eyes of a less-than-two-year-old.

Shamu...

So a really nice family from church had a timeshare they offered to let us stay at, so off we went to Florida. I think the appeal for Kristen was so Tate could see Sea World. He is a HUGE animal lover. Needless to say, he was totally into all the shows: the killer whales, dolphins, sea lions, etc. We both loved it, too.

Normally it's really hard to train a killer whale to walk on land, but Tate has a special touch with animals. We call him the "Shamu wisperer."

Here we are at the dolphin show. There were also some cool birds and crazy divers. There was a lot going on. Tate loved it.

Zoo Day...

One carousel ride = not enough. Two carousel rides = not enough. But that's all he got, anyway.

Tate and his mom sticking out their tongues at me. I was so proud.

I know this one chopped my head off, but Tate quickly lost interest in having his picture taken. He was, after all, on a "choo choo," so that took precedent over pretty much everything.

A little boy and his monkey backpack (a.k.a. leash), fascinated with the elephants. They are definitely his favorite.

The men of the family making a beeline to see the elephants.