Railway History

Mom was heading down to the grocery store yesterday when she saw a bunch of cars stopped on the side of the road near the railroad tracks by our house. She stopped to ask what was going on and learned that a historic Union Pacific steam engine was about to be coming through. A call to Dad was made and seconds later Dad and Jonas joined in to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out it was UP's steam locomotive No. 844, apparently a living legend in railroad circles. And it was quite cool. Jonas was saying "choo, choo!" most of the time until ol' 844 blew its crazy-loud whistle, putting a cute but unfortunate scare into Jonas, who suddenly wasn't sure what to make of it all. But a few minutes later, he was back to his "choo, choo!" ways, already reminiscing about his chance encounter with history.

The Cup

When Mom and Dad's alma mater CU joined the Pac-12 this year, it meant that their football team would play Uncle Eric's Arizona State Sun Devils each fall. And to commemorate the event, Uncle Eric commissioned a trophy that would go to the winner each year: The Colorado/Arizona State Nabholz/Unck Memorial Trophy Presented by Vincent's Pizza. The cup is named in honor of Colorado's Jeff Nabholz and ASU's Mason Unck, our repective favorite players from our times in school. Saturday marked the first conference outing between the two schools, and thus the first chance for bragging rights for the trophy. Before hand, though, Jonas took some time to examine the hardware and practice hoisting it, no doubt hoping that he can one day do so as a proud member of the Colorado Buffaloes team itself...

...the mere thought of one day being on the field to play for the cup had him salivating...

...then of course, his mind turned to cars, realizing that the cup could serve a purpose there as well...

...oh, we're sorry, have we not mentioned the outcome yet? Ah, that would be ASU 48, Colorado 14 in a game that wasn't as close as the score might indicate. So, the cup goes off to New York to be with Uncle E, Aunt Debi and Cousin Ethan for at least a year. As a send off, though, Mom, Dad and Jonas relived what it was like to watch the game on their end by heaving, part of a new tradition where the loser gets to, um, fill the cup. Until next year...

Little Reader, Part 2

Jonas got another family treat this morning when his Uncle Char joined him and Dad for an early guys breakfast while Mom and Mima went to do some girly makeup thing at the local mall. But when we came back from breakfast, Uncle Char got the neatest treat of all when Jonas asked him to read a book. The two got along like old friends.

Little Reader

Jonas has always seemed interested in books, but lately he's been sharing some cuddly moments with those around him while he reads. Those moments have included time with Mom, of course...

...as well as this precious moment last week with the man he knows as Papa...

...but this morning, for one of the first times, he decided to take things into his own hands, having his own adorable moment in his chair with one of his favorite reads.

Let It Mo!

Jonas, Mom and Dad woke up to a winter wonderland yesterday, just two days after it was 80 degrees here. But Jonas was plenty excited to see the white stuff, going straight to the back window after he got up, taking one good look and uttering the word "Mo!" over and over...

...all he wanted to do was go outside, looking longingly at what awaited in the back yard...

...even more, he had big plans to bring his favorite truck out there as well...

...but Mom and Dad told him it was a bit too cold out yesterday to go out and play. So the Big Guy managed to have some fun with Mom just the same as they watched the snow fall...

...and as an added bonus, Jonas got to wear his cool new fire truck sweater all day long...

...but of course, photos can't do it all justice. So here's a quick video clip of Jonas looking at the "mo" as well as a snippet at the end of him making an adorable fire truck siren sound. Jonas is normally off-the-charts cute. But something about Jonas in winter conditions makes him even cuter to Mom and Dad...

Tac-Toes!

Jonas had a rare treat the other night when his Mima came over to join Nana, Papa and Aunt Barbara for a fun evening and dinner. And just to show that he can hold his own at the dining room table, Jonas gave it his all to join the conversation that followed. With his vocabulary still somewhat limited, Jonas stuck to a topic he knows well—tractors, or "tac-toes" as he likes to say. Here's a Bonus Jonas video of the Big Guy's take on after-dinner conversation as he manages to stay on point despite any other discussions taking place around him.

It's Electric

While we were at the mall the other day with Nana, Papa and Aunt Barbara, Jonas couldn't help but stop in his favorite store—the model showroom for Tesla, the premium electric car...

...but it wasn't the real thing that necessarily caught his eye. Instead, it was the pretty cool radio-controlled version that had him grabbing...

...and eventually admiring while taking a comfortable seat on the showroom floor...

...as for his reaction next, check out this video snippet to hear what Jonas thought of the experience.

Jonas and Papa

Jonas has been enjoying time with his Nana, Papa and Aunt Barbara this weekend, but he and Papa seem to have a special bond. Jonas enjoyed hanging out at home this morning with Papa as he got ready for the day...

...later, at the local shopping mall, Jonas enjoyed being pushed around by Papa as well...

...and, kindred souls, they both worked their way only to the highest-quality merchandise available.

Visiting Team

Jonas has himself a real treat this weekend—a visit from his Nana and Papa from New York, as well as his Aunt Barbara from California. On Saturday, he got to hang out with them while Mom and Dad took a little time to head up to Boulder to see their beloved Buffaloes play football. Jonas started out the day with football on his brain as well (or at least his belly)...

...but his visitors showed him an amazing time, starting with his first visit to a Starbucks, where he feasted on some fruit and animal crackers, making himself feel quite at home...

...he especially enjoyed sitting back and soaking it all in with his drink, a venti milk...

...meanwhile, Mom and Dad enjoyed their day as well at their old stomping grounds in Boulder...

...but they couldn't match the fun Jonas had with his New York and California crew, especially a trip to the outlets with Nana...

...a fun day for everyone.

New Park

While they were driving to their fun farm excursion the other day, Dad and Jonas inadvertently discovered a new park on the other side of town that they thought looked promising. So the next day, they joined Mom for a trip to see what this new park had in store. Turns out there was lots for Jonas to do, mostly involving things that turned...

...there were also the requisite swinging and sliding options, which the Big Guy enjoyed as well...

...there was even one with a tunnel, which Jonas had endless fun exploring...

...even better, there was even an educational opportunity. Rhyolite Park, where we were playing, is named for the rock that many of Castle Rock's original buildings were made from. Jonas had fun putting his hands on some rhyolite...

...and then Mom had fun putting her hands on some Jonas, who has a new favorite park in which to hang out.

An Autumn Walk

This weekend was beautiful here and Mom and Dad decided to get a closer look at the gorgeous fall colors on the trees, something we couldn't wait to experience since we moved back to Colorado. So, off we went to a local path that offered colors galore...

...we brought Jonas along, of course, bringing his stroller to let him enjoy the views as well. Funny thing though about the stroller. What with all his walking, we haven't used it very much of late. In fact, Jonas immediately let us know that he had no interest in being pushed. Instead, he wanted to do the pushing...

...Jonas had a fun time along the way, picking up leaves and examining them up close...

...Mom and Dad had hoped to walk a bit further on the path, but Jonas, it seemed, had other plans. While he is a fantastic little boy and the joy of our lives and all, he occasionally has his moments, one of which came when Mom and Dad tried to put him back in the stroller so we could cover a bit more ground. We won't post any photos of exactly what happened next, but we'll let you read between the lines with the mischievous smile Jonas offered here...

...you can imagine who won this battle. The walk, albeit brief, was beautiful nonetheless.

Spoon Man

Jonas' daycare has been working with him on his spoon-handling skills and Mom and Dad have been most impressed by his progress, encouraging him at home as well. While he needs a little work on his dipping abilities, he nonetheless has found a resourceful way to keep it coming, as you'll see in this Bonus Jonas video clip.

Fall Fun

Mom had to work on Saturday, but she did Dad and Jonas a huge favor by suggesting that we check out a nearby fall festival that took place at a local farm. So off we went to check out some animals, some pumpkins, and to Jonas' enormous delight, some real-life tractors. But the first thing we saw when we arrived was a sporty Chevy that was placed there by a local dealership that sponsored the event. Needless to say, Jonas would have been happy if we had just stopped there...

...Jonas was having such a good time there that he caught the eye of one of the dealers, who made Jonas the lead photo on the dealership's Facebook page. (Click here to see our famous boy.) The car was great and all, but Jonas' latest obsession is most assuredly tractors ("tac-toes" as he likes to call them...) and luckily for him, magic awaited just a bit further into the festival. There, he found himself a John Deere and hopped right into the scooper...

...in fact, he made quick friends with the two tractor salesmen as they all watched and wondered how anyone could be having any fun doing non-tractor activities at the festival...

...the tractor salesmen were so smitten by Jonas and his incessant yelling of "tac-toe!" that they invited him to hop on board with Dad...

...simply put, it was one of the best moments of Jonas' life...

...eventually we got off, and went to explore some of the animals on display, including a llama...

...and some sheep. But Jonas couldn't stop thinking about those tac-toes he left behind...

...so back it was to the John Deeres, where Farmer Jonas was back in his element, happy as could be...

...his happiness soon turned into serious thoughts of making a career out of riding these things, if only he had some land to cultivate. Oh yes, he seemed to be thinking, I could be on to something. I could be on to something indeed...

...hard as it was, we had to explore other things, namely a pumpkin patch that looked awfully inviting...

...there, Jonas got to get his hands dirty inspecting each and every one he could find...

...until eventually sitting down to take it all in...

...after one more round with the tractors, it was time to head back home. And what awaited us on the way out? That flashy red sports car, of course, allowing Jonas to have one last thrill on one of the greatest days of his life.