Whiz Kid

After I finished putting away the clean dishes and began to refill the dishwasher Von came over and took the pasta bowl I had just place inside the dishwasher and put it away with all the other pasta bowls. Yes, I know, my baby is smarter than yours!

Mom!

Being gone for the weekend from Von I gave him a call one evening. When Grandma went to give Von the phone telling him mom was on it he ran over to a picture of me and brought it to her.

Rock-A-Bye Baby

Von wakes up in the morning to climb into the rocking chair with a book and rocks away.

See Ya!

Grandma came to pick Von up for the weekend as Steve and I were off to the coast. As soon as he got into the car with his DVD player playing Peter Pan he looked up at Steve and I with a big smile and waved good-bye.

Grandma stopped by to switch cars with us. Von ran to his side of the car to get in and go home with Grandma. When I went over to tell him he was going to spend the week with me at home he yelled "No, no, no!" He just wanted to go with Grandma.

Hugs

Von got a letter from Oma and Opa today. After Steve read it to him he gave it a big hug. It's his way of sending his love to his Oma and Opa in Canada.

I'm A Big Boy Now

Von got a potty today! After he decided to take off his diaper and go outside to pee we thought we should introduce the potty to him. He hasn't used it yet but he likes to sit on it and read his books.

Starbucks Please!

Von has now discovered Starbuck's Strawberries 'n' Creme Blend Creme. On hot days when Von and I have errands to run we drive through Starbucks for a cool beverage as my car does not have AC.

Off To Never, Neverland

Von often watches Peter Pan on our drive to and from Dallas. He now says "earrrr go!" for "Here we go, off to Never, Neverland."

Fireworks!

Von celebrated Canada Day and the 4th of July with party poppers. He was sad when they were all gone.

Morning Coffee

Von still enjoys his morning cup of coffee (water) with mom and dad. He now has a cup his own size.

Von loves to get his own water from the refrigerator in his own cups.

Gardening

As we have been planting our garden Von has been very helpful, of course. He would organize the flowers for me. Then he thought they needed to be cooled off so he took them for a swim in his pool with him. Not all of the flowers recovered.

Hard As A Rock

Von enjoys finding new things outside like berries, sticks and most important rocks. He has found two very cool rocks. They now live with his boats in the water and he checks on them everyday.

Hats!

Von loves wearing hats right now. Anyone's hat.

His Hiding Place

At our new townhouse there is a small nook under the stairs that has become Von's secret hiding place, filled with his stuff animals, books and blankets.

His Big Orange Boots

We picked up some croc boots for Von to wear while we garden not knowing these would become his favorite shoes. You can image what he looks like to people as we go places in a nice shirt and shorts with big orange boots. To add to it he picked out a fishing hat for on the boat with Grandma that is now his favorite hat.

Which One?

Steve will give Von a choice between two movies, Von takes the movies in his hands and looks back and forth between them deciding which movie to watch. Then he hands Steve the movie he doesn't want and take the other over to the DVD player. He's now really into Disney Movies like Peter Pan, Tarzan and Jungle Book.

Me and Aunt Juli

Von waits to have breakfast until his Aunt Juli gets up and has cereal with him. As soon as he see her coming downstairs he runs to the cereal cupboard.

Ball Game

Oh My

This is Von newest facial expression.
Oh my Goodness.

He's A Climber

When Nana came down to watch Von for a week she taught him how to climb. He now climbs on everything. It stated with his chair and now he's up and down on anything and everything.

Got Me Good

Today while I was washing the walls Von came up to me and growled. He's into trying to scare us. Well, he did. I freak out and screamed. When my brain finally relized it was just Von, who was now crying, I looked at him and started laughing. "You scared me, didn't you?" I said to him. Von then started to laugh too.

Vroom!

For Von's Birthday he got a four wheeler from Aunt Becki. He loves cars. He will drive his hot rods all around the house. He then gets on his four wheeler and watches Bob the Builder.

Look Dad Look

So we decided that we were going to go the zoo today. Being the smart people we are, we went as soon as they opened and before it was hot. We made our way through the new Dinosaur exhibit (photos) and then I made a restroom stop; Lori and Von went on to the Elephants. As soon as I got out Von summoned me over, pulled on my shirt and pointed to the elephants. We had been past this exhibit many times before, but this time he actually noticed them. He had to make sure I saw how cool they were. Seems like every time we go, he's fascinated by something different. 

Von Meets Elmo

We took Von to "When Elmo Grows Up" today. For the first half of the show he just sat on Lori's lap and had this look on his face like "holy crap...they're real!" He sat there with his mouth open staring at the stage. Finally after intermission and going down to get an Elmo balloon he totally got into it, clapping and dancing. I think he had a good time. If nothing else Lori and I had a blast taking him.

Tired Out

After a morning at the pool in Mexico Von was ready for his nap. When he saw Uncle Mike come out he waved to him, ran over and jump in his lap. One wheel around the pool and he was sleeping.

I'm Telling...Leave Me Alone

Aunt Becki, Grandpa Knofler and Daddy were agrevating Von by traping him inbetween their legs and not letting him go. Once he got free he ran over to Grandma Knofler, climbed on her lap and started telling on them. He then pointed his finger at Aunt Becki and with a dirty look on his face told on her.

Sand Castles

Von loved playing in the sand. He was fascinated by the rocks and shells.

Let's Go Outside

Yesterday Von wanted to play outside so bad and he knows that he gets to go out anytime the dog has to go to the bathroom. So he went over to Kilian, told him something, then went to the door staring outside. Kilian didn't come so he went back to Kilian and yelled at him, then back to the door. "Come on Kilian, lets go outside!"

Goose Egg

Von got his first big injury, a big goose egg on his forehead. He was rolling around on our bed when he fell off and hit the night stand on his way down. He of course stop crying right away but my heart didn't stop racing for awhile. The not on his forehead grow immediately. It still makes my stomach sick to replay the event. Von was more interested in eating the ice than putting it on his goose egg. He's felling fine today and the swelling has gone down.

Who Let The Dogs Out

Von started noticing the dog, Kilian at 6 months. He began to watch and reach for him. This was the beginning of a best friend relationship. They now play together. Von will try and copy how Daddy plays with Kilian. It's fun to watch them. Von will also randomly go over and lay right next to Kilian.

First Word!

Von said his first word today! "Please!"
After going over to the secret stash of chocolate (or should I say not so secret stash) he reached up and while signing the word please he said "ease" three times! I of course jumped up and down, hugged him and gave him the whole chocolate bar. I'm so proud!

How Do You Discipline When...

How can I discipline Von for dumping his plate on the floor after he is done eating, then piece by piece throw anything else he spilled onto the floor when he thinks he is helping clean up? How can I stop him when he see us put our plates on the floor for the dog and then wipe down the table, so he does what he believes is the same as we are when instead he is throwing his food all over the floor.

Von also loves to help with the sweeping, dusting and vacuuming. He will sit right in my dirt pile and sweep it all over the floor, flinging pieces back where they were.

He's growing up.

This morning Von woke up at his usual time of 6:30 AM after sleeping the entire night in his own bed. (Moms and Dads you know what an accomplishment that is.) Steve and I of course didn't want to get up yet so we brought Von into bed with us. While laying there Von climbed off the bed, walked into the kitchen and got a snack out of his snack bowl, then brought it to us to open. My little baby is growing up.

The Explorer

Von loves to explore the outdoors. He stops at every tree, leaf, batch of grass, and rock. Walking back to the car the other I thought it was going to take us an hour because he wanted to look at very little things. He stopped at the flowers, picked up a leaf, found an acorn, and ran in the grass. He also like to taste the dirt. At his Grandma Knofler's he digs in the flower pots. The other day he brought in a small flower bulb he dug up. Luckily Grandma doesn't care.

Easter Eggs!

After Von found his first easter egg and relieved it had chocolate inside he didn't want to continue the hunt. He just wanted to sit down and eat the chocolate.

Easter

The day before Easter we went down to Suzanne's to decorate Easter Eggs with Aunt Juli, Suzanne, Aly, Corey, Ryan, Kaleb, Hannah, and Michael. Von loved watching all the big boys play football outside.

Soups Up

The other day Von took a large spoon over to Kilian's dog dish and began stirring the dog food.

Elmo

Von loves Elmo. It is the only video he will sit and watch from the beginning to end. I also has a couple Elmo dolls which he shares his cheerios with. It cute to see him drag Elmo around. It's like a little friend of his. So for Easter we got him tickets to see Elmo, who is coming to Portland in May!

Family Talent

Von got his piano skills from Nana B. Look at his posture, the way he holds his hands, and that beautiful cross over. Nana is so proud.

Do I Make Brownies Too Much?

Halfway through dinner the other night Von realized there where chocolate Easter Eggs on the counter next to him. Dinner no longer looked good. He began whinnying for the chocolate. To distract him I started his bath. Later that night I was sitting on the couch and Von brought me a box of brownie mix, crying to have some. Instead he settled for a small bowl of ice cream. I'm thinking we make brownies too much.

A Cheif One Day?

Von is very helpful in the kitchen. He loves to reorganize the cupboards and he loves to help cook. The other day when Steve got home from work and was reheating his dinner Von wanted to help out. So after Daddy's food was heated we put Von's granola bar in the microwave for a quick minute. Von then sat next to Daddy and ate his granola bar all proud of himself for using the microwave.

The Hat Game

Von loves to play the hat game with Grandpa K, Papa B and Daddy. Von takes the hat and passes it from his head to theirs. He loves to wear their hats.

An Artist In The Making

Von loves to do art. He's favorite is to paint. For his first b-day he got an art kit filled with crayons, paints, chalk, coloring books, everything you could image. His first set of paintings are hung in the living room.

Von Turns ONE!

For Von's first birthday party we had a Clambake. There was fish, clams, french fries, clam chowder, and chicken finger for those who don't like fish. Von got $400.00 for his college fund.

Birthday Sundae

For Von's first birthday we went to Red Robin's for a sundae. Being the independent boy that he is he had to eat it all by himself.

It Wasn't Me

Von thought it would be fun to take the cereal out of the box and through it all over the kitchen. Then him and the dog began to eat it. The cereal is now out of reach.

Morning Cartoons

Von enjoys waking up to watch a Elmo video before breakfast.

Peak-A-Boo

Von enjoys playing peak-a-boo with the curtains.

Von's and my morning routine includes sitting down with a cup of coffee (Von has water in his, of course) and a coffee biscuit. He is very independent and must have his own coffee cup. He also tries to pick it up with one hand, by the handle just like mommy and daddy do but this ends with his water spilling all over the floor.

Let It Snow!

On Christmas Day we got snow! Which is only happens every five to ten years in Oregon. So Aunt Becki and Von went out and enjoy it.

Christmas Time

Von's favorite part of Christmas was his tree. He loved to sit by it, to reach out and touch it. The red bulbs were plastic so he was allowed to play with them and he did.