The California King Family

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Mr. Independent

Ammon can't wait to grow up. He is constantly trying to copy us and the other children he sees. He wants to talk on the phone, to eat and drink by himself, and when he sees other kids walking around, his eyes fill with envy. He can sit up by himself and get up on all fours, but no crawling yet. Mommy and daddy are trying to slow him down because they think he is growing too fast. They want to enjoy their little baby while they can.
He misses his daddy who is at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, completing Air Force training and his daddy really misses him, too. Just three more weeks until the family is together and thankfully, Nathan has no more training to go to this year.

Ammon and Nathan ready for church the day before Nathan left to Alabama.

Ammon sitting all by himself and loving it.

Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot like mine?

Ammon has been practicing his thumb-forefinger skills by grabbing the Cheerios. Next we will have him wax-on/wax-off the car.

Operation Cheerio was a success

Ammon with some friends from church. You can see by Ammon's face in this picture how much he likes being with the older boys. He really wants to grow up.

Monday, January 02, 2006

My First Christmas

It was a long 19 hour drive to AZ, a short 3 days in AZ, and a long 19 hour drive back to Kansas, but it was worth it. We enjoyed spending Ammon's first Christmas with our families and I'm sure Ammon enjoyed all of the love and attention from everyone we visited.

The King Family in front of the Christmas tree.

You've heard of Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, but have you heard of the most famous reindeer of all...Ammon!

Ammon really enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere. He loved looking at the bright lights and colorful decorations.

After cashing in on presents, Ammon has a new best friend in Santa Claus.

Ammon was so excited about opening the gifts that he briefly was able to hold himself up so he could unwrap his present.

A long day of visiting with family, taking tons of pictures, and opening presents has worn out this little prince.

Back home in Kansas, playing with his Christmas duck.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Ammon and his Holiday Spirit

It is a precious thing to watch your child experience things for the first time. Even though he is too young to fully understand, you can still see the curiosity and wonderment in his face.
Ammon is about 15.5 lbs and a little over 25 inches. He must be going through a growth spurt as he is constantly hungry.
Even though we were apart from our families for Thanksgiving, it was still a very special time for us. We have so much to be thankful for...
We had a big snow a couple days ago and hit the 0 degree mark. Not too fun for us spoiled Arizonans. We are looking forward to visiting AZ during the holidays and experiencing a "Brown Christmas."

Here is Ammon experiencing his first Thanksgiving. Nathan was pretty disappointed that he only got through about two-thirds of his plate.

Ammon is finally big enough to sit in his play saucer and he is loving every minute of it.

Our first portrait family photo. We love the bow-tie and bare feet.

Me like food!!! (especially sweet potatoes)

Again with the cuddling...knock it off you two!

I don't know about you, but this kid is much cuter than Ole Saint Nick.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Growing Too Fast

Ammon is nearing the four month mark and we are amazed at the speed we are losing our little baby. Soon he will be a little toddler crawling around and sticking everything in his mouth. Ammon broke a record and slept 7 hours straight one night. Mommy and daddy loved the sleep. He is still only averaging 2-3 hours per wake up, but it is progress. Right now, Nathan is at Sheppard AFB, TX for 6 weeks to finish up the training that was cut short from Hurricane Katrina. Luckily, it is only a 4.5 hour drive to Wichita so he gets to visit the family on the weekend. The hours of the class are strange as Nathan goes to school from 3:45 pm to around midnight, but at least he doesn't have to start the school all over again. Lona is busy taking care of Ammon while preparing the home for a day care. She has done a lot of work to get it done and after Nathan finished the basement, it looks like she will get rolling soon.

Ammon is getting so cute it is hard to pick out the best pictures to post here.

Ammon really loves his mommy. He is in Lona's favorite stage...the cuddling stage.

Daddy and Ammon love to play around. Ammon's favorite activity is laying on daddy's legs and bouncing.

Ammon can be pretty sneaky sometimes. Just look at that sly smile. He knows how to get what he wants.

Nathan is glad to see his boy enjoying his baseball outfit and can't wait until he can teach the boy to play catch.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Hurricane Katrina Survivors

On Sunday, August 28, our family was sent to a shelter on Keesler AFB near the Mississippi coast due to the approaching Hurricane Katrina. Although we didn't feel much of the hurricane's impact in the large building, we were pretty miserable sleeping on the tile floor in a small room with 10 other people. There was moisture everywhere and the heat made the building a sauna. We had water, but no showers. The shelter was getting dirty and people were getting sick, including Ammon. At our first opportunity we knew we had to take off. They finally let us go on Thursday, September 1, with the understanding that it was at our own risk. There were rumors that all the roads were closed and there was no gas within 8 hours of driving. Fortunately, we discovered that they were not true and we were able to get out of the area. The sights we saw as we drove out of Biloxi were heartbreaking. We had to take a detour to Florida to get gas and after 20 hours of driving, we finally made it back to Kansas. We never thought we would be so happy to be in Kansas, but we were so ecstatic. Lona and I would like to thank all of those who sent us their prayers. We feel extremely blessed to be home safe and sound.

Ammon and Lona try to get some rest in the shelter.

Nathan and Ammon stand in front of our shelter. The debris around us is from the shelter roof.

A scene from a parking lot near the shelter.

Despite the uncomfortable conditions, Ammon refused to let him down. Notice the defiant face and the "I Rule" on the blanket.

Ammon was so happy to get out of the shelter and back home to his throne.

Grandma King came to help mom and dad recover and spend time with Ammon

An Angel Sleeping

Friday, August 26, 2005

Ammon Watch 2005

The results of the two month check-up are in - 11 lbs 5 oz, 23 inches, and a mild case of pink eye. He is on antibiotics and is doing fine. His eye already looks much better. Ammon is starting to smile more often and has even giggled a few times in his sleep. A sure fire way to make him smile is to introduce him to a pretty girl. He is a big flirt just like his daddy was.

Ammon loves kicking back on his mommy's lap

This picture is from Ammon's first smiling session. We caught several smiling shots, but we love this one the best.

Daddy and Ammon are ready for church.

The outfit says it all. This is one cuddly boy.

This is a picture taken at an old plantation in Louisiana. It was a hot humid day, but Ammon braved it like a champ.

Ammon - A heartbreaker in the making.

Friday, August 12, 2005

Ammon The World Traveler

Ammon sure knows how to get around. In his first 6 weeks of life, Ammon has traveled through 7 different states and has stayed the night in 6 of those. We took him to Arizona and enjoyed sharing him with all of our friends and family. Currently, our family is in Biloxi, Mississippi where Nathan is going through a 10 week finance training at Keesler AFB. Ammon has become a very active 7 week old who can be a handful, but how can we not love something so cute! He is now weighing in at just over 9 lbs, but since he wants to eat 24 hours a day, we are suspecting that he will top 11 lbs by the end of August.

Ammon dressed in his special baby blessing outfit.