More Library Book Fun

The Reader


Wheels on the Go! by La Coccinella

Alton LOVES this book. He learned some new transportation items, and it is a book has very happy to sit and read to himself.

Big Words For Little People by Jaimie Lee Curtis and Illustrated by Laura Cornell
I was VERY pleasantly surpised by this book. I didn't think that Alton would be that into it, but since I myself have a pretty large volcabulary, I hope that Alton will too. He LOVED this book and asked for it over and over again. He can't say all of the words, but he still loves it anyway.




Home Run by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Mike Wimmer

I got this book for Alton to read with his Daddy. They both loved this book. It's kinda like a two part book. They have beautiful illustrations and a short little story on each page (whoot for easy bed time reading). Then they have another blurb on the page (in a smaller font) that contains all of the sports nut trivia that Daddy liked to read on his own.





Alton has a new favorite Character.

Tip the Mouse Can't Sleep by Carol Ottolenghi and illustrated by MArco Campenella

I love love love the illustrations in this book. Did you know that in a mouse house a sink is made from spool of thread, a bottle cap, and a straw suspended by tooth floss? I didn't either. I love the colors and drawings in this book.

Tip and Alton are apparently on the same development path. Alton thought this book was hilarious and asked for it multiple times daily.





If we were going to buy another book right now, this would be it.

Jon Scieszka's Trucktown Truckery Rhymes
written by David Shannon, Illustrated by Loren Long and David Gordon

This book borrows on old Mother Goose nursery rhymes and relates them to transportation items. Easily Alton's favorite library book of all time. It is over 50 pages long and he repeatedly sat through the whole book. Love this one.

Grandma, if you are reading this, Alton wants this book. ;)

Trip to the Fire Station!

Alton and I joined MOMS club last week. Our first trip with them was to Fire Station 6 in Torrance.

Look how tiny my big boy looks next to the hook and ladder truck!

He had the best time climbing all over this thing!

Alton driving the front of the hook and ladder truck.

Alton was very excited about trying on the Firemen's gear. Here he is suiting up.

As you can see, Alton is not at all shy. He stood right next to Fireman Kubota the entire time and even held his helmet for him later.

Trying on the helmet while holding it for the fireman. He figured out how to turn on the head light after about 5 seconds of wearing the helmet.

It was all I could do to keep Alton from climbing up to the back of the hook and ladder fire truck. Finally they let the kids climb in. Alton was very eager and as soon as he sat down, he starting asking for a hat to wear. Fireman Kubota helped Alton find one for this picture. :)

Right after Alton climbed out of the back of the hook and ladder truck, they got a call, which effectively ended our trip to Fire Station 6. Thank you Torrance Fire Fighters, we had a great time!

Dan and Sarah's Wedding

This is an Alton picture free post, so if that's what you are here for, you can ignore this post. ;)

Travis and I traveled to Ramona for Dan Krans and Sarah Krans's (nee Label) wedding. Props to Sprint and Google maps app for Blackberry because we had a signal and map all the way there, even in the sticks were there were unpaved roads. Unpaved roads are not a friend to the tatas by the way. LOL

Traffic was awful though. We stopped on the freeway in about every city between San Onofre and Ramona because traffic was so bad. We got there just as Dan and Sarah were kissing as husband and wife for the first time.

It must have been a fancy occasion, Mama wore make-up! ;)

One of the best parts of any wedding is seeing old friends. Not that we don't see Brian, John, and Maggie, but we definitely see Maggie and John less since they moved back to Sacramento. Le Sigh. I just love candid photos, don't you?

John paid to dance with Dan during the money dance... of all the times to not have my camera on me! I got this shot just at the end. I think Maggie got a better one of them in more of a dancing position....

Look! Mama and Daddy all dressed up with somewhere to go! Darned flash though, we are all washed out looking. :(


This one is one of my favorites:

Jen Graham, Travis Graham, Dan Krans, Sarah Krans, Brian Anderson, Maggie Gedeon, and John Gedeon. Also known as The Cal Polys and their associates. The associates of course being the non-Cal Poly alum spouses.

I love weddings. Someone else needs to get married so we can go to one. It is the only time I can get Travis to dance with me. LOL Which is funny because he CAN ballroom dance and I am utterly hopeless. I am worse than someone with two left feet.

Thank you Dan and Sarah for a wonderful afternoon and evening!

Napping is very hard work

The Lap Puppy

P365/P52 Days 12-14

Well I have officially gone twice as far as I did last year on this challenge. :)
Day 12
Alton riding his bike at the park. He WOULD not wear his bike "hat" because none of the other kids had one.

Day 13
Alton's first trip to Lowes with Pop Pop. He took his tools to the hardware store.

Look how little he looks!
Day 14
Early morning hot wheel races are good for the soul, don't you think?

P365/P52 Days 6-11

We are missing Day 6 because my camera’s memory card went wonky and deleted the photos I took Wednesday. I had a lot of pictures of Alton hoarding trucks at the Mom’s Club meeting.

Day 7
I got out for Mom's Night Out for Mom's Club, and I actually ice skated!

Here is my Tweet from the experience: "Ice. Fog. Tiny little slivers of metal attached to a moon boot. Beach. Jen. Which of these do not belong? For the record, I did not fall!"

Day 8
The new Pottery Barn Kids catalog arrives. Alton pours through it and asks that Santa bring him EVERY wooden car/truck/thing that moves on wheels in the catalog. (Which by the way, they don't sell in the catalog.) He also asks for the Fire truck bedding set. When we tell him Santa only comes once a year, he asks us to ask Amma....

I also think this is funny enough to note, When I told Travis that Alton was pouring through the catalog, he said, "Well now we don't need to have a girl. You already have someone to Pottery Barn shop with." Men.

Day 9
Alton is going to be a great reader like his mama and Uncle Robert. I often find him like this when he wakes up from his nap.

Day 10
Yes, that is my 2 1/2 year old on a bike. Yes he rides it. Yes, I am terrified of what this means. Pop Pop declares that the streets of Torrance will never be the same.

Day 11
Who doesn't love a good bubble bath?

Project 365...

Day 1
In the backyard....

Day 2
Trying to convince Daddy to hand over the keys. When asked where he was going, Alton said, "To buy more gucks and nummies." That is a direct quote.

Day 3
Alton's first pair of light up shoes. We got them shopping at the Tulare Outlets with Uncle "PatPat" and Auntie "Ann"

Day4
Supervising Uncle Pat Pat's sprinkler installation.

Day 4 still...
He is going to make a great big brother some day. He LOVED this little girl that was Patrick and Rae Ann's neighbor. He kept trying to keep Madeline out of the DVDs and CDs. So cute!

Day 4 continued...
We got home at 11 o'clock at night from Patrick and Rae Ann's. Alton was so tired that even though I was carrying him to his room, he felt it necessary to get down and crawl into his arm chair. I have no idea where he got my candle snuffer bag from. LOL

Day 5. Alton's "guck and vroom vroom" sheets from Amma and the construction quilt make their debut. Alton is quite pleased by this.


We will see how long this lasts....

Beach-y Layouts

We've been going to the beach a lot. It's not far from our house and it is really fun to watch Alton play in the sand and he is getting braver about going into the ocean. His favorite part of going to the beach though, is washing the sand off of his feet at the beach's showers.



I used the Graham Like the Cracker/Wyld Web Designs Collab, The Seaweed is Always Greener for this layout. I also used Elegant WordArt by Bethany's word art.

I used the Amanda Heimann/Ziggle Collab, Surfer Dude for this layout. The BOY alpha is from the Scrap Orchard June Mega, recolored.

An All Scrap Review...

So I had a request for some new photos... I don't do just photos anymore... (Omg that would be so much faster!) So here are all of the digital scrapbooking layouts I have done lately. He gets younger the further down you go!

We have soooo much fun with him!



Kit: A Star Danced: In Space by Graham Like the Cracker (hey! that's me!)

Kit: Blast Off! By the Gingerbread Ladies and Gingersnaps (I am one of those)
Kit: The Seaweed is Always Greener by me and Char. WA by Elegant WordArt by Bethany
kit by me (not released yet)
kit by me and char again. (Hi Katie! the little girl in these pictures is Chloe, Katie and Andrew's daughter)
Kit by Me, Everyday Adventures. String by Flergs
WA by Elegant Word Art by Bethany, Kit Everyday Elegance by Stolen Moments
Kit by Char and me, still
Kit, Tomfoolery by Amanda Heimann and Bella Gypsy, WA by Elegant WordArt by Bethany
kit by Flergs
Kit: Scrap Orchard February Mega
Kit: Britt-ish Designs Motor Mania
Kit: Wynken Blinked and Nod by Stolen Moments
Kit: Floral Fusion by Stolen Moments
Kit: Spring is in the Air by the Gingerbread Ladies
Kit by Britt-ish Designs
Kit: Magical Vacation by Amanda Heimann (the other kids are Char's)
Kit: Firefly Lane by Amanda Heimann and Ziggle Designs
Kit: Magical Vacation by Amanda Heimann
Kit by Char
Kit by me (not yet released)
kit: Make a Wish by Stolen Moments
Kit: Bottom of the Toybox available at The Lily Pad
kit: Scrap Orchard May Mega
Kit: A Star is Born by Madame Wing