Happy Birthday - 2 Years Old - Oct 24th, 2009

It is hard to believe that another year has gone by and I am already 2 years old.  But if I think about all I can do these days... run, jump, throw balls, make baskets, climb just about anything you put in front of me, get Momma and sometimes Daddy to do what I want when I want, and talk... I guess it makes sense.  In order to celebrate this milestone, Momma and Daddy invited the family over for my big Day.  We started our day at gymnastics and then headed out to do a little decoration shopping.  I had a great time doing that until they started blowing up all the balloons.  Who knew the helium machine could be so loud.  But once we were home I thought the balloons were great fun and I was glad to have them.  After Momma managed to get everything into the house.. I did help with the carrying as I love to help... I took a nap and woke up to a celebration of me.

After warming up to everyone and opening the biggest pile of presents I've seen, it was time to move on to the blowing out of the candles.  Everyone did a great job singing Happy Birthday to Connor!  When it was over I used my bubble blowing skills, with a little help from Momma, and we blew out the candles on my Thomas the Train cake.  Didn't Nanny do a great job with the cake?

With the candles out, it was time to make my second wish with the first cut.  Everyone was a bit surprised to see me pull off this portion of the celebration.  But with Momma's help I was a rockstar at it.

The cake was sooo yummy, I really enjoyed eating it.  Much better than last year when I wanted nothing to do with it.

The next day after the celebration, Nanny and Grampy came over to see how it felt to me to be 2 years old.  They also helped me to play with some of my new toys.  This romote control car has been a great hit!

I must say, being 2 is great.  There is so much more to do and explore.  I can't wait to see what this year has to bring.  Too all that were able to make it to the party, thank you for coming and for all your presents.  For those that were not able to attend, we missed you and love you.  See you next year!

Pumpkin Carving

Happy Almost Halloween!  On today's activity list is PUMPKIN CARVING!  As you all know the first step of pumpkin carving is the growing of the pumpkins.  Most kids have to go to a pumpkin patch to find their pumpkins.  But not me, this year Grampy grew THREE pumpkins for us to carve.  One for Momma, Daddy and me!  Thanks Grampy!  Read on to see how it went.

First up, we had to decided on the faces we would carve into our three pumpkins.  I gave Momma the above suggestion, but she went a more geometric route with our first pumpkin.  But that was okay, as I still was allowed to scoop out the guts of the pumpkin.  You will notice, that I stuck with the spoon approach.  Momma went straight to using her hands.  I'm not certain what she was thinking as those pumpkin guts are GOOPY.  EWWWW!

After the cleaning of the pumpkin it was on to the carving station.  Since Momma is not the best with knives, Daddy took on this part of our factory line.  I worked the supervisor role.  I'm sure I could have handled the knife, but Daddy suggested we wait a little while longer before I give it a try.

Since we had three pumpkins to carve, a work break was in order.  I helped Momma to take a break by jumping in her lap!

But soon it was time to get back to work.  Here I am doing quality control checks on Daddy's carving work.

I'm happy to report that Momma and Daddy's work all passed inspection.  That made me a happy, happy pumpkin carving supervisor.

I was so impressed with Daddy's skills that I had to just give him a big hug!  I give the best hugs these days.  Momma says so.

Then, since Momma is Momma we had to squeeze in a quick photo session before the rain came.  Here are here two favorites!

Happy Halloween!

The Blue Couch Strikes Again - October

For those of you that have ever met Daddy's blue couch in person, you will understand that there is an unusual gravitational force around it.  It has these magic powers to pull you into its coziness and not let go.  This month the blue couch finally conquered me.  Daddy has been kind enough to share the coach, as I have realized that it is the BEST seat in the house.  But I didn't realize what it could do to a guy.  Momma however was on hand to capture its winning moment.

But don't think that I spent October asleep on the coach.  No, no.  I am now a full fledged gymnist.  After many, many months with Gymboree, Momma decided to step up the challenge.  After some not so successful audit session, I have really gotten into my new class.  Here I am working on my balance skills.  I can't wait until they let me on the real balance beam.

I have also been honing my skills as a chef.  This month Daddy and Momma have started letting me help make dinner.  My stirring skills have been in demand.  I've helped Momma cook a couple new side dishes, Daddy cook dinner and Momma make Banana Bread.  It has been a lot of fun! 

Don't think we have spent all our time indoors, though.  It has rained a lot this month, Momma, Daddy and I still make it to the park down the street.  Our neighbor's seemed to have moved inside, but there are many more fun hours to be had in the park this year.  On one of our trips, Momma snuck in a quick photo session of Tazz and I on a recently cut down tree.  How do you think she did?

Also, this month we had a visit from Nanny and Grampy.  I was able to convince Nanny to join me for a quick see-saw ride on the alligator in the park.  She was a great sport!

I also introduced her and Momma to my new facination, Daddy's keys.  I figured out during one my trips with Daddy that the car at the park had an ignition.  Now I MUST use Daddy's key to turn the car on.  In fact, these days I pretty much insist on putting the key in the ignition for Daddy's truck before we head out for a car ride.  Don't worry, neither Daddy or Mommy will let me drive yet.  I'm not sure why...

Also this fall I have developed a new fun way of riding the swings at the park.  Though the baby swing is still my favorite for high flying action, I have come up with a new approach.   Named "Superman" by Momma, I lay my belly across the big kid swing and run and run until I am flying.  As you can see I have a great time!

Stay tuned, as amazing Birthday Party posts and Halloween posts are yet to come.

More Family Fun in September

This month I have bestowed a special gift on Momma.  This month I named her, so that she no longer goes by Dadda, as everyone has gone by Dadda since I figured out how to say it.  You must admit Dadda is a very valuable word.  But I figured that Momma would like her own name.  And from her excited response, I would say that I was right.  So please meet the newly named, MomMom!

New words weren't the only excitement this month.  September also brought another trip to Sesame Place.  I expanded my horizon's again to a new ride, the hot air balloons.  I'm still not sure about theses amusement place rides, but I did have fun getting a bird's eye view of the roller coaster that was near by.  Here I am practicing my "WHEES" for when I am big enough to ride the roller coaster with Daddy.

Later in the month Grandma treated Momma, Daddy and myself to a fun day out with Thomas the Tank Engine near Lancaster.  We made a weekend of it, sleeping over at Grandma's Friday night.  Would you believe that Grandma had gotten a bed and bedrail for me.  It was very comfie!  After a good night sleep we headed out to find Thomas, I had great fun seeing all the working horses in Lancaster County on our drive.  But nothing topped getting to the train depot and seeing Thomas coming down the tracks!  Clickety-clack, Clickety-clack, Thomas the train is faster than fast!

Grandma had purchased us tickets for a ride on Thomas.  Unlike the playground at home, there were a lot of other people who wanted to share this experience with me.  I was not excited by that.  It took me about half of the ride to realize they were just focused on their own families.  Once I realized that I was able to settle down and enjoy the ride.  If Momma had only realized then how helpful my own baseball hat can be in those situations, things would have gone smoother... But after the ride I had a great time wandering around, checking out the other trains, watching Thomas come and go and even getting my picture taken with Thomas.

You might have thought that a trip to Grandma's house is all about me, but it turns out Grandma's place is pretty great for Tazz too.  Grandma found this wonderful dog park not far from her house that is BIG, grassy and has a small river running through it.  You KNOW how much Tazz likes WATER!  So after we left Thomas we collected Tazz and headed to the dog park.  Grandma and I had great fun sitting on the bench, so that I remained taller than the big dogs at the park!

Labor Day Weekend Fun at the Bordlemays'

This Labor Day weekend Momma, Daddy, Tazz and I packed up our clothes and toys and headed to the Bordlemays' to play.  Daddy was excited for a day full of volleyball. Momma was looking forward to all the yummy food.

Tazz was looking forward to playing tug and fetch with BIG sticks, not to mention chasing all the small animals that live in their back yard.

I was looking forward to playing with the great big box of cars I discovered on my last trip and sharing them with a certain special girl... Ellie!

I'm happy to say that Momma, Daddy Tazz and I realized all of our wishes.  Daddy played many volleyball games, until a yellow jacket sent him to his favorite hospital for a small shot.  Momma ate more brownies and bar-b-que sandwiches than she thought she could fit and I spent a lot of time playing with Ellie.  She showed me how to balance on rocks and jump off them.  A skill I have since honed on my own!

After a great day we headed home.  I have vague recollections of the car ride, as I was pretty sound asleep for most of the trip.  Imagine my surprise the next day when Nanny and Grampy showed up to play.  We had great fun playing in the front and back yards.  I slayed them with my killer smile!

I thought after seeing Daddy's family on Saturday and Momma's family on Sunday night & Monday morning that the excitement was all over.  But I was wrong.  On Tuesday cousin Devon and Uncle Sean showed up to have a sleep over at my house.  Devon and I had fun playing and I really liked helping Uncle Sean with Devon.  Here I am teaching Devon how to play the guitar.  I think there is music in her future!

Here's hoping you were able to spend Labor Day weekend with all of those that you love and that love you!

The Popcorn Zoo

This past weekend Momma, Daddy and I went on an adventure to the Popcorn Zoo. This local NJ zoo is affiliated with the Humane Society of the United States and is home to all sorts of animals rescued from less than acceptable situations. There are domestic, wild, exotic and reptilian residents of all shapes and sizes cared for by the staff of Popcorn. Come meet a few of my new friends!

We were first greeted by the turtle pond. I never new a turtle could smile, did you?
Then it was onto Momma's favorite animal. They have two draft horses in residence. Both quite well fed. The gentleman posing in the picture was quite feisty, as he had just been turned out.

Next it was onto the brown bears. Daddy and I had a great time throwing them peanuts. They were very skilled at retrieving all the peanuts that we threw, even those that fell short.

Next it was my favorites, the sheep. I made good friends with this little lady. She loved the popcorn that I had to share.

It wasn't long before the man of the house showed up though. He and I made friends fast! I had a hard time telling if he was shaking my hand or trying to eat it.

But no worries. By the end we were great friends. Do you think it had anything to do with the popcorn I was sharing?

I thought life was pretty good, getting to hang out with the sheep. But then we came upon my backyard friends, the deer! Who knew they had made the trip. My favorite deer was the white one. He and I bonded quickly. He was so gentle sharing my snacks! Definitely a refined gentleman.

Next it was onto the cougars. There were actually 3 in residence. It was at the cougar exhibit that I convinced Momma to take my picture. She was a bit shocked, when I went up to the exhibit, turned around and smiled! When do you think she will stop underestimating me?

After the cougars we met the donkey. Daddy got into the act feeding this little guy. Daddy was showing me just how nice a donkey can be. The donkey had scared me a bit by braying to say hi. It only took me a few minutes before I was sharing popcorn with him too.

Last but not least the tigers came out to play to wrap up our visit to the Popcorn zoo. Dante and I paced back and forth while Momma tried to capture "the shot". I put on my best "fierce" face for this one!

The Popcorn Zoo was a great adventure. Momma, Daddy and I had a great time and were happy to support this worthy organization with our visit. I hope you enjoyed our visit too!

Toddler Agility Equipment

Momma and Daddy surprised me with a BIG box showing up in our drive way. I couldn't wait to open it and see what was inside! Momma said it was my own backyard playground. But I didn't quite understand until Daddy put it all together. I was a big help in the construction, using the rubber mallet, screw driver and slippery soap! In the end it came down to Daddy's brute strength. Thank goodness for it!
I had great fun exploring all the sections. There is a great tunnel to climb through, TWO slides and a fun door to go in and out of.

Momma and Daddy tell me its configurable too. So we can move things around when I get bored.

So if you find yourself in the neighborhood, come on over to my house to play. The yard is ready and I am waiting. See you soon!

More Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Grandma and Aunt Janet! This year we celebrated Grandma and Aunt Janet's birthdays at Aunt Janet and Mary Ann's house. Grandma and I took a long walk to say high to the horse next door. I was much more comfortable saying hi to him than I was at Easter. I'm getting SO brave in my old age!
Next, Aunt Janet used her great coaching skills to introduce me to lacrosse. Its a game with a ball and a stick. Needless to say I thought it was great.

By the end of the training session I successfully executed my first "scoop"! Look out colleges, I see a scholarship in my future... or maybe that is Momma and Daddy seeing that scholarship...

New sports aside, we were all happy to be able to celebrate Grandma and Aunt Janet's birthday. Though Momma missed the cake shot, I can atest to its existence and its yumminess factor. I can't wait to celebrate some more birthdays!