Jonathan in Pictures

Jonathan is a riot.  Here are some pictures of his latest adventures.

1) Spider-man knight and stuffed panda bear sidekick.  Julia made all of us (including my parents) paper hats when we were over for Sunday dinner. If you look closely you can see the paper knight's cape that she also made. It fit perfectly with his dad-repaired knight sword and shield. Even panda got in on the action and was made a helmet.

2 & 3) When we weren't watching Jonathan decided to draw all over himself with one of his markers.  This is the only time he has done this. I asked him why he drew on himself and he said it's because he wanted to be a tiger.  Being the good dad that I am, the first thing I did was grab a camera and told him to give me his best tiger growl.

4) Jonathan looking dapper in his Easter attire and showing off a present he received from one of his Easter eggs. Not too long after this picture was taken he left this bird on the floor.  Freckles promptly turned this into a mangled ball of feathers and I found the plastic feet in different parts of the house.

Daddy Daughter Dance Video

A cute video I took on my phone of Julia dancing...

Daddy Daughter Dance

Our Inaugural Daddy Daughter Dance! This was the first time that Julia and I had gone to a dance together. We're glad that we bought tickets in advance because it ended up selling out. Events like this are one of the reasons we decided to move to this neighborhood.

A couple of months back Julia heard an advertisement on the radio about a dance like this and wanted to go. I looked into it. It was held at a hotel downtown somewhere and was pretty expensive. Then we realized that a few weeks later we were having a smaller gathering in our neighborhood, so I decided we should go to that one instead.

It happened on a Saturday night, just two days after I had been in San Diego for a few days at a conference. We both got dressed up and took this first picture (a keeper for sure) before heading out. The community center had food and lots of candy - the was a Candy Land theme after all. When we first arrived we hit up the bracelet making station. After making a bracelet, we decided to hit the dance floor.

Julia's favorite dance move was for me to pick her up and toss her into the air. Throughout the night we danced to songs from the movie Frozen and all the classic dance songs you would expect (like YMCA and Butterfly Kisses) at a Daddy Daughter Dance. There was a conga line at one point, leis, and mini glow sticks passed out at the dance. In the center of the room was a table filled with cupcakes and each centerpiece at the tables was made from cotton candy and other edible decorations.

It was about the perfect amount of time (2 hours) to eat and make crafts and dance. Julia obviously had a great time and we will do this every year in the future as long as she still wants to do it. Afterwards she told me that this was "the most fun thing" we had ever done together.

Mom's 60th Birthday

 

Today was my Mom's 60th birthday! Michelle flew in the night before and surprised her for it.  Everyone else knew about the surprise except for her, even the kids. Michelle stayed at our house the night before.  We sneaked into my parent's house in the morning while they were at a race.  It was funny to see my Mom's face when Michelle popped her head up from behind the couch. She like the decorations, balloons and cards that the kids helped set up/make.

We enjoyed a lunch out and then we met up for a live show later that night.  Michelle had the great idea to take us to see a Beatles tribute band play.  It was a good weekend.  Happy Birthday Mom!  Thanks for all that you do. We love you very much.

Future Air Force Pilots

World's Biggest Fan

We took the kids to their first basketball game a few weeks ago. He really likes college basketball because he gets to celebrate a score often compared to football or soccer. I love watching how into the game he is.  The first reaction is to the other team making a basket, then Air Force misses the shot but gets the rebound.  You'll most definitely know when Air Force makes a basket.  There is a big celebration and then he grabs Stacey to show his excitement.  I can't wait to watch the NCAA Tournament with him this year! 

Kids Say The Darndest Things

Julia: "Dad, I love being your girl."

Jonathan: "Should I wear short-sleeved pants or long-sleeved pants?"

Family Photos

My parents had the same photographer that took our family pictures over to their house while Michelle was in town for Christmas.  The photographer is actually the wife of a coworker of mine.  She did a great job on our family pictures as well as the extended Sudduth clan pictures below.  

The first row and the bottom row contain my personal favorites. All of them are pretty good though. Julia looks so grown up in some of the shots.  We have a pretty good looking group.  Also, we didn't plan the colors with this in mind, but I think subconsciously we ended up with colors awfully close to orange and blue.

Fun Kid Pics and Video

Here are some recent fun pictures and videos of the kids.  We, along with Michelle, were cracking up at Jonathan at gymnastics the other day.  Before going to the aquarium in Denver, Julia and I stopped by the REI flagship store and had some fun.  The video shows a few highlights of the one on one time I spent with the kids: Jonathan taking it to the bouncy house and Julia showing her excitement about picking up lunch.

Christmas Morning