Ammon in AZ

We are so very blessed to have such supportive family and friends. We really enjoyed our one week visit to AZ and we only wish that we were able to spend more time with each of you. To those we were not able to see, we are sorry that we were not able to do more in our limited time. Some day when we return to AZ, we look forward to many more good memories.

It did not take Ammon long to figure out Easter egg hunting. The only problem was that he saw the candy in the plastic eggs so he started throwing the hard-boiled eggs to crack them open.


Ammon and his cousins, Preston and Claire, enjoying the spoils of the hunt.


Ammon and Papa King enjoying the perfect weather in the back yard.

One of Ammon's favorite things...swings!

The Million Dollar Smile. This is his magic weapon at home.

Ammon says - Grandma King was lots of fun. She made us lots of yummy food, took me to the park, and boy, can that lady sing!

Ammon says - Grandma Mort knows how to please. We played with the ball, rode the quads, and she took me to Build-A-Bear!

Three generations of great women--Ammon's mom, grandma, and great-grandma.

Ammon's favorite -- Papas and pups!

Ammon couldn't believe how small these dogs were...he doesn't know how to say puppies so he affectionately calls them "little dogs".

Ammon says - One day I will dominate as a running back in the NFL...once I learn how to keep my pants up while I'm playing.

Ammon with his cousins, Kendra, Kaylee, and Kennedy at the Mesa Temple. This picture turned out so good that it just may have been worth the horrible hour of trying to get them all to look at the camera and smile at the same time.

Aunt Media gave Ammon his first ever hair cut. We couldn't believe how grown up he looked afterwards. Where is our little baby!

Grandma and Grandpa Hunsaker's house is always a zoo...literally. Grandpa took Ammon all over the farm to see all of the animals. We saw llamas, giant turtles, an ostrich, and more!

Ammon with his Papa Patterson. We tried to warn papa not to take his ball, but he had to learn the hard way. Ammon took a couple hours to cool down after chewing out papa.

Ammon got to visit his great-grandma Patterson while we visited great-grandpa in the hospital. Thanks to all the prayers, we are happy to see him out of the hospital and getting strong.

It's a Zoo Out Here!

We took Ammon to the local zoo in Wichita and we had a blast. We saw elephants, hippos, giraffes, chimps, lions, and much more. We were pleasantly surprised at the variety and quality of the exhibits of a zoo in such a small city. Ammon loved every minute of it.

The zoo had a large petting zoo section where Ammon was able to feed horses, goats, and sheep. He was a little scared, but mommy helped him feel safe.

When we were walking past a viewing area for the orangutans, one of the apes a few feet away took notice of Ammon and came right up to the glass to face Ammon. They stared at each other for a few minutes and Ammon was captivated.

After having a staring contest with the orangutan, Ammon developed a new found fondness for the creatures. He was very amused by this statue.


Mommy and Ammon check out the giraffes.


Mommy and Ammon inside the jungle. The zoo had a indoor jungle room with real jungle plants and jungle animals running freely all around. There were jungle rodents, bats, macaws, and even a dragon (the kimono dragon was in a cage).


You better watch yourself when Officer Ammon is on the job. He may look playful, but don't let that fool you. He is one bad mamajamma.



Daddy and Ammon in one of his favorite pajamas. We let him pick out his sleepwear and he often will point at these and yell, "FOOTBALL!"

Ammon treasures his bath time.

I'm eating my fruit snacks...now please go away!

Our Little Toddler...

One of Ammon's favorite possessions is his "Harley cap" sent to him by his Papa Mort. Anyone who knows Lona's stepdad, Doug, knows that he loves his motorcycles. Apparently this is a love that has been passed down to Ammon too. He loves sitting on Papa's motorcycle. Unfortunately Ammon's mommy and daddy have set strict guidelines... No motorcycle rides until he's 30!

Ammon loves to read books. He's learning his colors and can identify various objects in his books. He amazes us everyday! Witnessing our child's cognitive development has been an incredible experience.

Ammon still loves being outdoors. We've had two big snow storms the past week, so we've been inside the house a lot lately. Poor mommy!

He loves sliding down the slide with his daddy. Mommy gets a little terrified when he tries to do it himself... especially when he insists on going down face first!


Our Little "Frog Prince"
Ammon loves his "frog" towel and insists on using it everytime he gets out of the shower or bath. He loves it when we help him jump up and down while he says "ribit, ribit, ribit." When you see the big grin on Ammon's face, you can't help but smile back!

'

Our First Christmas in Kansas...

We had a wonderful Christmas in Kansas. Ammon was very enthusiastic about unwrapping his Christmas presents. There was one gift that we could have done without though. On Christmas Eve, Ammon started telling us, "NO!" to everything we asked him. The terrible twos have begun.. a little too early I might add.

Enjoy the photos!

---

Our Family Christmas Photo

---

Ammon loved to pull off ornaments from the Christmas tree...
He kept his mommy busy each time he decided that it needed to be rearranged!

---

Ammon loved to sit on Santa's lap, although he was a little relucant to take the candy cane that he offered him. His mommy & daddy told him not to take candy from strangers. Ammon thought, "How much stranger could this guy get?"

---

HO HO HO! Santa climbing down the chimney...

---

Ammon loved his new "ball" chair... Now he can kick back and watch football with daddy and his Papas!

---

Ammon is loading his dump truck with balls and is preparing to transport them.

---

He also loves to sit in his truck and be pushed around the room.

---

Air Ammon!

We sure enjoyed Halloween. Watching Ammon go trick-or-treating was a real treat. Ammon loved helping daddy carve his pumpkin. He loved pulling out all the seeds and kept trying to eat them. Here's a picture of him standing infront of his first jack-o-lattern.

---

Ammon loved trick-or-treating! We had to pull him away, because it started to get a little too cold outside. He was not ready to come back in and made sure that we all knew it.

---

Ammon loves candy! We had to hide his candy pumpkin, because

he kept finding it and crying for 'mama' to give him some more.

Ammon is his mommy's only weakness and he seems to know it too. Hee hee!

---

This is a picture of Ammon and some of his friends from Lona's home day care. They were sitting together in their cubbies laughing so I grabbed the camera & took a quick photo.

---

Lona's dad and stepmom came to visit the week of Thanksgiving. The kids LOVED spending time with Ammon's grandpa. Here is a picture of them playing ball together.

By the time they left, everyone was calling him "grandpa" & wanted to give him a hug goodbye. They are still asking when their 'grandpa' is coming back to visit them.

---

Ammon loved spending time with his Grandma and Grandpa Patterson. His Aunt JoAnna also came to visit with her new baby Jessie (3 weeks old). It was wonderful to have a newborn in our house again. It's hard to believe that Ammon was that small once.

---

Here's a picture with Ammon and Mommy.

---

Thanksgiving weekend we met Lona's mom and stepdad in San Antonio, Texas. We all visited Sea World. Ammon loved spending time with his grandma and Papa Mort and with his Uncle Clayton and Collin too.

---

Ammon watched a 4-D movie with his daddy and Uncles. Here's a picture of him with 'the boys'.

---

Ammon and Grandma both loved watching Shamu! I think Ammon enjoyed the attention that he received from everyone even more...

---

Ammon was exhausted by the end of the day and just wanted to kick back and cuddle with his papa. Who needs mama when his papa was there?

---

We received our first big snow storm today. Ammon was excited to experience snow, but soon realized that it wasn't all he had hoped for. He came back inside screaming because his hands were so COLD.

Lions and Pumpkins and Ponies...Oh My

It's true... children bring the magic into holidays. We are so excited to take Ammon trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. We only wish that you all could see him in person. He'd be sure to bring a smile to your face. He does to ours each and every day.

Ammon is excited for Halloween! Here's a picture of him in his costume:

Isn't he the cutest little 'Lion King'?

---

We visited a Pumpkin Patch last week:


Ammon searched for the perfect pumpkin, then finally found it



He picks it up...


And brings it to 'Mama'


Then shows it to his friends...


This pumpkin was almost bigger than Ammon. He was quite impressed by it...


Ammon took the pumpkin home and finger painted it.

---

Ammon took his first pony ride with Mommy... He's excited to visit Grandma Sue and her animals next year!


This pony was just his size!

---

Ammon loves bathtime. He has learned to turn on the water and helps himself to baths. It can be pretty scary! He loves to play with his bath toys too. We couldn't help but take a few picture of him enjoying himself.