Opening Day

Let's go Yankees! (Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap). Opening day is today and I am totally representing today at school. I'll bet no one else there will have this super cool Yankees shirt here in Kansas. Thank you cousin cousin Liz for the new jersey!

Chillin' and Swimmin'

Today has been the warmest of the days that we've been here so we decided to stick around the resort and sample the pools. The morning was still kind of cool so we went over to a playground they have next to one of the pools. Here, Chris found some gadget to play with for nearly 45 minutes and then he crawled around the tunnels and went down the slides...

The park was beautiful and situated under a small grove of orange trees which smell fantastic. I'm pretty sure if it didn't reach a million degrees here in the summer, we could live here permanently (don't worry, I'm just imagining... Kansas it is!). All that playing made Christopher want to relax so he found a cozy hammock and chilled for all of 3 seconds before he almost wiped out off the hammock!

We swam in two different pools this morning and if Buds could use a camera and swim at the same time, he could have taken a picture of his crazy parents going down the big water slides they have here! Fear not, we went one at a time, lest anyone think we left our boy to fend for himself while his parents had fun. Afterwards, we reminisced about our earlier days at Action Park! All of that swimming made Buds sleepy so he took a rest under an umbrella and we later had a poolside picnic.

After changing at our casita, we went for a walk around the ponds and played in the fields. Here is Christopher working on the skills he picked up yesterday at the ball game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqRrnY7EhBY

Yes, we know we have some work to do. As it stands, it looks like Chris may be better at softball than baseball, but there's still time! More swimming after nap!

Memorable quotes from today

This is perhaps the best thing Christopher has ever said. It might not seem so funny in the blog but if you were in the car when he said it, you would be rolling on the floor laughing... As we pulled into the parking lot for the train park today, the little voice in the backseat says, "Oh, the train museum. How wonderful!"

And another thing he's been saying since we got here...
Chris: "Daddy, what are you having?"
Daddy: "A grown up drink."
Chris: "You like your grown up drink Daddy?"
Daddy: "Yes Chris. It's very good."

Chris: "Mommy what are you having?"
Mommy: "It's a portabella wrap."
Chris: "You like your pote-a-bewwa waap?"
Mommy: "Yes, I like it very much."

Scottsdale--Day 3

We had yet another fabulous day here in Scottsdale! We had some time to kill before the Cubs/Rockies game so, of course, we visited the train park again. What can I say, we had some tickets left to ride the train and ride we must! Here is Daddy and son on the train:

After one time around the loop, we found a fabulous park next to the tracks where Chris got to slide, swing and play in the sand.

It wasn't long before we were on our way to Hohokam Stadium to enjoy some spring training fun. Our little Yankee fan turned into a Cubbie today and enjoyed the game very much. He also enjoyed his popcorn and running around the lawn with Daddy! Here are some baseball pics followed by a video of what Chris likes to say when he's pitching...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtcqkHxq4bM

After a brief car nap, it was back to the pool for more swimming fun! Here is Buds and Mommy getting ready to head to the pool and then later the two of us in the pool. 

After a nice dinner outside at one of the hotel restaurants, we went back to our casita for a little relaxation by the fireplace. For Christopher, relaxation means dancing like a madman to the mellow sounds of Bob Marley! Then he also threw in his new baseball terminology for extra enjoyment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlSxdz_VcGE

The Family Room

Okay, so I have to tell you about one of the best concepts known to parents... The Family Room! So one of the hotel restaurants has this area where kids can play while they wait for their food or where they can play after they finish eating so their parents can actually relax and enjoy their coffees. Awesome! Here is Christopher in the play room:

They also had the kids menu on the old school view finder toy:

And here is Chris learning the techniques of foosball!

And oh boy do we have some good pics from our afternoon at the Cubs spring training facility. You'll have to wait for those, however, as we've got some swimming to do. Buds won't let us wait any longer!

The Pool!

Shocking... Christopher loves the pool! Here he is getting ready for his swim:

He looks good in shorts, don't you think? And here he is with Daddy in the pool. There are a few pools here at the hotel, one of which has two really cool water slides. Unfortunately for Buds, you have to be a certain height and age to go on them but he was happy in the zero entry pool with the fountains.

Scottsdale-Days 1 and 2

Greetings from Scottsdale, Arizona! That's right, we brought our computer. You didn't want us to leave you without blog entries for 5 days, did you?

We arrived yesterday afternoon to warmth and sun after leaving an icky, cloudy Kansas day. Buds tried his hardest to sleep on the plane but he's getting too big to lay across us. Plus he was excited to be on a purple plane (!!!) and to go to a new city. But the fatigue eventually caught up with him. Here he is when we first got in the rental car:

And then here he was two minutes later!

After we got to our "casita" at the hotel, Christopher heard rumors of multiple pools just for him. Here he is decked out in his new 3T pool attire before our late afternoon swim:

Thank goodness this little man is a good eater because we really don't have to worry about picking a place to eat. The resort we're at is very kid-friendly and when we went to dinner at one of the restaurants here last night, aside from the extensive children's menu, they also had a goldfish palate cleanser! Here he is posing with Daddy at dinner and then with Mommy at breakfast this morning (after some yummy chocolate chip pancakes!)...

Our hotel grounds are filled with wildlife. On the way to breakfast, we saw a great blue heron, ducks, rabbits, pheasants (maybe?), unknown birds, and fish. The landscape is so different here and when Chris got off the plane yesterday he looked out the window and exclaimed "I see a mountain!" I have to say, however, he is a little intimidated by the cactus plant, especially those really big ones. I said to him as we walked by one yesterday, "Wow, look at that!" Christopher proceeded to bury his face in my leg and wouldn't look at it at all. Anyway, here is Chris posing with Daddy in a fun desert-y tree and then the view from our casita...

Of course, we found something really cool here that has to do with trains! We went to the McCormick--Stillman Railroad park where they have real Pullman cars as well as small trains you can ride and model train set-ups. Oh and a carousel! As we were waiting on line for the train, we ended up standing right behind a little girl and her family from last year's Kindermusik class! Small world! Here is Buds on the big train with Daddy and the little train with Mommy:

We also went on the carousel which Christopher just adores. Unfortunately, Mommy gets a little nauseous going around in circles so I don't know how often we'll do that! Here's the big boy on his horse:

More updates to come! That's what nap time is for, after all...

The future's so bright...

... he's just gotta wear shades!

Yes, this was the Buds post-haircut this morning. The woman who cut his hair actually put "product" in it, hence the little spikes. After the new do and a few errands, we ventured over to Ernie Miller Nature Center and attended story time there. They read a story about squirrels and then took out a couple animals for the kids to see up close. Today, Chris saw an owl and a ferret. Here he is getting ready to hear the story:

Later on, we went for a walk on some of the Ernie Miller trails for the first time this season. We saw lots of robins and squirrels and trees budding. Here is Chris posing on a tree stump:

And as part of the story time, the leader had the children do some songs about different animals. Here is Christopher joining in the music!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQsDMIE3wCE

Hayride

A few semesters ago in Kindermusik, there was a song called "Hayride." It has recently been revived in the world of CJ Wogs and he and Daddy go around the house on a hayride while riding a fine cashmere wagon. The other day, Kasey got in on the action and was pouncing on the hayride but ever since then she has not been game, much to Christopher's dismay. Anyway, here is some footage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXd0sH-uH-c

Roooaaaar!!!

Be forewarned... If you come to visit, we have a scary dinosaur/alligator living in our house! He's 3'2 and 3/4" and he laughs a lot. Keep your eyes peeled!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMEZPA9b77Y

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a very happy St. Patrick's Day today! Christopher's friend Emily (and her mommy) hosted a St. Patty's Day party at their house this morning complete with lucky charm treats, green cupcakes, and a scavenger hunt for golden coins left by the KU leprechaun. Here is Chris with his friends enjoying their yummy snacks...

And then Christopher and all the kiddos went out to search for gold and four leaf clovers in Emily's backyard...

A wonderful time was had by all! And then Christopher's quote of the day... actually I should make this a regular feature on the blog because the boy is coming up with the funniest things all the time now! Here's today's gem...

"I crack Mommy up."

Yes. Yes, you do... Oh and last night Brian and I were looking back at some old blog posts. If you really want a laugh today, go to the archive and click on March 2010. Then go to March 15th's entry and watch the video. Slainte!

The Joy of Running

It is the start of a few beautiful days here in Lenexa so Chris, Kasey and I headed to the trail this morning for some train watching, bird watching, and hiking. Oh and running too! Here is Buds showing his sprinting skills. He is happiest when he is running!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmm4qXnBrhI

Christopher and the green juice

Here is Christopher helping this morning with making some green juice. First, he is helping to put the kale in the juicer...

And after he helped himself to a big cup of the green stuff, he got a green juice mustache...

Science City

Grammy is in town and this morning we went to Science City for Christopher's first trip to this scientific wonderland. He had a blast! There was so much to do and I'm pretty sure he could have stayed the whole day. He flew a helicopter, played with water, dug for fossils, and of course found the train table. We didn't even get to half the stuff but that's okay because I'm sure we'll be back there soon. It was so exciting for him that Buds didn't even want to eat his snack! I know, right?!?! Here are some pics... The first one is Chris the helicopter pilot:

Next he played with trains and created pathways to make the water flow change:

Of course he found the train table!

After the trains, he tested the laws of physics with some really cool ramps:

The fossil dig in Dino Lab was one of the highlights for Christopher:

On our way out from Science City, there is an Irish Museum where there were some Civil War re-enactors from the "Irish Regiment" and the men were showing Christopher the swords, canon balls and rifles they used as well as the drums the boys used to play.

Dance Party

I meant to post this video a couple weeks ago but I didn't think it processed properly. Apparently I was wrong and here it is... It was taken when Brian was on a business trip and Chris and I (and, as you will see, Kasey) decided to have a dance party...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwHbrbwG2WU&NR=1

The Green Shake

Here is Christopher helping me make our green juice this morning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT_NH0bwSvQ

And then here he is enjoying his juice...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoqNVYv1WvA

Big helper!

After making both a green shake and some basil-cilantro pesto, the Buds helped Mommy clean up the dishes. The future Mrs. C.J. Woglom can thank me later...

Happenings...

With Christopher being sick for over a week, we are finally back to reality and a normal week! Yesterday we went to Kindermusik, although not our regular class--it was a make-up because we will be missing Friday's class this week. The weather was pretty nice yesterday afternoon; still cold but sunny and calm. After all the rain we got over the weekend, Christopher still had to wear boots because of all the mud and, of course, he had to wear his raincoat too. We went exploring with the magnifying glass in the backyard and we also played a bit with Kasey...

Today, we spent the morning at Lucy's house and also met some new friends (3 month old twins, Piper and Porter). Chris was very interested in the babies and wanted to feed a pretend bottle to Piper while she was sleeping! It was fun to see Chris and Lucy coloring together at her little table too. On the way home we checked the mail and CJ received his latest issue of "High Five" magazine (the little kids version of "Highlights for Children"). It has some great stuff in it, including directions for making a crown. Of course we had to give it a try! Here is Buds in his crown...