Friday, May 28, 2010

My First Trip to Philadelphia!

Continuing my travels (and my catching up) we carry on to lovely Philadelphia! It's a great little city, with tons of rich history to it. The food is great, the people are pretty cool, and there was a lot of sights to see.

Dad made the point that I have done more varied traveling in my first 16 months than he had in
the first couple decades of his life...and I am loving it! The car trips are a little rough after having been stuck in the car seat for a few hours, but getting to where I'm going always makes it worth it...

Our hotel was pretty cool...everyone there was very nice to me, and they were kind enough to install toddler-sized drawers in the room, which was very much appreciated...

Also, the hotel was kind enough to install the door handles at a height that was accessible to me...

Dad was a bit surprised when he heard the doorknob rattling behind him...when he turned to see me opening the door and heading into the hallway (With my trademark "Buh bye!") he was downright shocked...he pulled me back in, set me up again, and took pictures while I showed him that it wasn't just a fluke...

Mom was going there for work, so I spent a lot of time out and about with Dad for the first day...I decided to tolerate some pictures in front of the City Hall....it was a gorgeous building, and it was nice walking around the downtown area...so many nice spots to see...

Dad and I shared some pretzels at a Philly pretzel place...I discovered that I don't like yellow mustard....Dad had me try a pretzel with some mustard, but it was a bit much for me...I wanted to just go with naked pretzels, thanks...

Dad and I went down to the famous "Love" sculpture in front of the famous fountain, and saw a group of people taking pictures of ballerinas for some kind of promotional thing...they looked awfully cold...I was happy to be wearing a jacket, and not a tutu.

The next day, when Mom met up with us after she was done with work, we went downtown to Independence Hall. (We figure we'll check out the Liberty Bell next time, since Mom and Dad had already seen it)

We got there at just the right moment to go inside the Independence Hall for a talk...


There was a lot of really cool information that the tour guide gave us, but c'mon....I'm 16 months old. I'm gonna sit still the whole time? So Mom took me out and about through the rest of Independence Hall while Dad finished listening to the talk....it didn't take too long...but I enjoyed running around with Mom...we had a good time, because we got to see other parts of the Hall before anyone else did.

After seeing the inside of Independence Hall, since it was such a nice day out, we walked around the grounds for awhile...

Mom and Dad let me out of the stroller, and I got to run around for a bit...

Dad chased me around, while Mom took pictures of us...it was a lot of fun. It was very cool to be running around someplace that had such rich history floating around it...

We had had a long few days sightseeing, and I was getting pretty tired, so I explained this to Mom and Dad in terms that would be pretty easy to understand...

I got super fussy.

Dad picked me up, and jokingly made weird faces for Mom to take pictures of....I am not proud of these moments, but they exist, and it's only fair for me to provide an accurate depiction of my life as a toddler in this blog. Sometimes I get crabby...sometimes Mom and Dad mess with me. All of these things are facts of life, and I am OK with that.

Anyway, after this, Mom and Dad decided that it was time to go...we had seen a lot, and had a really great trip, so they didn't mind hopping in the car and heading home...

I can't wait to visit Philadelphia again!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

TODDLER_TOUR_2010_LEG_3-Auntie Steph's Baby Shower!

Continuing my game of catch-up, let's move on to my Auntie Steph's baby shower!

I've only mentioned it briefly throughout my blog, but as you all know, my Auntie Steph is on her way to being a Mom herself...she is due on July 4th (Our family apparently loves to have babies around holidays) and last month, she had a baby shower to celebrate to impending arrival of my first first cousin (Yeah....I have fifth cousins, and second cousins, twice removed, once removed....I dunno...but this is my first official cousin with no weird add-ons required to describe them)

The baby is going to be a little girl, and even though I was the first...she is the first little girl...and will certainly be spoiled accordingly. :-)

I got to see a lot of my family while I was up there...I had other cousins (With add-on descriptors) come in from Pennsylvania...

Along with my great-Aunt from Virginia...as you can tell, my cousin Cynthia and I get along really well, and I have a lot of fun when I get to see everyone. We don't get to see them nearly often enough, and so I always appreciate when I can!

I got a chance to spend some time with both DaGramma...

and NotDaGramma (AKA Grandpa). I always enjoy seeing them, and getting to see them at a big ole party was just too much fun!

Auntie Steph got to open lots of presents! It was very exciting to get to see her opening all of these cool new things for my new baby cousin. Auntie Steph seemed to be enjoying herself, and everyone who was there was having fun, too!

Because I like to be helpful (and because I like presents) I helped bring Auntie Steph some of her stuff....

I even helped open some of them! Here ya go, Auntie Steph!!!

As is typically the case, we had a ton of fun at the party, ate some great food, and saw some great people.

Below is a nice picture of DaGramma, my Aunt Amy (Who is also cookin' up a baby of her own....so now I get a boy cousin AND a girl cousin this year) Mom, me, Auntie Steph, and my Great Aunt Cyndi.

The two pictures with watermarks are courtesy of Auntie Steph's friends Jason & Maggie....they have a photo website, and are both amazing photographers....thanks guys!

If you are interested in their work, they have samples on their site, and are available in the Connecticut area.... Check 'em out! http://www.jasonhenriques.com

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A Lesson to you all...

You can try to keep me down....you can try to restrict my movements...


You will lose every time.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

TODDLER_TOUR_2010_LEG_2-Beth's Shower!


So....here we go with our catching up....hold on tight, because there's been a heckuva lot of stuff going on in my life..

If some of it is out of order, I apologize, but some of this stuff is coming from memory...and besides, all you really want is some pictures and some information, right? The order it's in isn't necessarily important....right?

*Gulp* Right?!?!?

I mean...after all, there are pictures of me...pictures of me are the best part. So here....we....go!

Mom and I went to Connecticut a few weekends ago to celebrate my cousin (second cousin, I think is how it works) Beth's bridal shower...

We all know how this goes, right? Great party with great people, celebrating impending nuptials with gifts, and merriment. There was some good food, and I got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in some time...and as always, I ran around and looked adorable for everyone!

Gramma Mindy was looking forward to seeing me, and she kept an eye on me while Mom got a bit of a break...I even got to snag some beads to wear. Dad kept making Mardi Gras cracks when he saw this picture, but I don't know what he means...

As you can plainly see, I am more and more excited about the idea of playing with the camera, and less and less excited about the idea of having my picture taken...

Me and another cousin (Second, third, fourth...God, I have no idea) Timothy helped out with the presents...

As time goes on, and I go to more and more of these events, I have really gotten into the idea of helping out with presents. Beth was very nice to let me help out!

My favorite part of opening presents currently is the tissue paper...I mean, I enjoy the wrapping paper and all, since the boxes are often pretty and well-wrapped...but the tissue paper is like a surprise second wrapping paper! It's like I think I'm gonna get to the present, but there's an extra layer of anticipation that builds!

Plus, it's usually pretty soft (thus the name "tissue paper" is pretty apt) and fun to play with afterwards!

I also got a chance to play with some legos for the first time with some more cousins. (Man...how many cousins do I have!?) They were playing with some video games, and I was trying to stay out of the way, but c'mon...when you put the legos right in front of the TV like that, you're gonna have me running around in front of the TV!!

They're really cool...I mean, the legos are fun on their own, they have the textured tops so you can chew on them, and they're just the right size to hold in my little hands. As if that isn't enough... you can also link them together to form bigger, cooler things to play with.

Legos are awesome. I'll have more interaction with these in the future...

After the party, I also got to spend some time at Gramma Mindy's with both Gramma Mindy and JustRichy.

They set me up in front of the piano, and let me play for awhile. Gramma Mindy watched me play, and I got to use the cooler as a chair, just like a grownup...one of the things that I look forward to when I'm a grownup is using things as chairs that seem as though they're made to be chairs, even though their purpose isn't expressly that of being a chair.

After Gramma Mindy watched me play for awhile, JustRichy sat down with me, and helped me refine the music I had been working on with Gramma Mindy. He's always very patient, and knows a budding musical prodigy when he sees it...I like that about him. In addition to everything else, that is.

Before we headed back home, we made a quick stop by Gramma Debbie's place, and had a bit of fun there before we got on the road.

They let me hunt for Layla the kitty cat, but she does such a good job at hiding, that it was pretty hard...but it was still fun looking for her. It was worth the hunt just to catch a quick glimpse of her running around...

Right before we left, Gramma Debbie gave me a new car toy to go along with the truck I have. When you run it along the floor, the little mouth opens and closes...it's really cool. When you press the button on the front, the headlights light up, and it makes different sounds! Sometime they're car sounds, other times it sings! One of my current favorite things is to press the button and sing "na na na na na na na na....na na na...na na na..."

It's better in person...trust me. Thanks, Gramma Debbie!

After this brief stop-over, we headed back on the road again...

Man...I have logged more miles in 16 months, than a lot of people log in their entire lives...I am a well-traveled little boy!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!


I just wanted to throw a quick note out there for all the Mom's in the world, especially mine...above, is the cake Dad and I got for Mom to help say "thanks"

You ladies out there in the world are awesome...whether you're someone's Mom, or someone's "Just Like My" Mom...you're doing amazing things...you are appreciated, and loved by whoever you are being all Mom-Like to, whether the person admits it or not...

My Mom, and my two Grammas specifically, mean a lot to me...they are always there for me, whether it's something as simple as getting me my sippy cup, giving me presents, or as complicated as, like, (in the case of my Mom) giving birth to me, and taking care of me on a daily basis.

My Mom, and my two Grammas are always doing great things for me, and I want them all to know how much I appreciate it! Words in a blog can't express it alone, so I'll just have to let tons of hugs and kisses do the appreciation for me...

To my Grammas...thanks for being great Moms to my Mom and Dad, and thanks for being such great Grammas to me....Mom and Dad couldn't POSSIBLY handle all this cuteness on their own, so it's good to know that you two have their backs...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

The Triumphant Return of Teddy!

"Teddy is sad. He was left behind. I will overnight tomorrow...."

It all started with this sentence, sent in an email from my Gramma Mindy to my Mom and Dad.... (well....it technically started with Mom and me leaving my blue teddy behind at Gramma Mindy's after my visit this weekend. Things got a bit hectic, and when we were packing, we didn't go through the crib and left both Teddy and one of my blankets behind)

Gramma Mindy emailed Mom and Dad, and Mom suggested that Gramma Mindy downgrade the shipping to priority mail (since it's practically as quick as overnight)

Sure enough, it arrived today!

We went down to the valet, and Dad let ME hand him the package slip...I was hesitant at first, but finally I felt a smile welling up and turned over the slip so I could get our package.


The valet handed it to me (then I handed it to Dad) and we went upstairs so I could open it...

I was so excited...my hands were trembling as I opened the box...as the box opened, I saw a glimpse of that soft blue fur...and tore into the box so I could get him out and see him again...


And just like that! THERE HE WAS! We were together again! I carried him around for the rest of the day! I even took him into the kitchen where I'm not supposed to go...

I know that you haven't even heard about the trip that this all occurred on, or a couple others I have taken...but this was far too important to delay! Me being reunited with my friend was far too important to wait!

Thanks Gramma Mindy! Look at this guy! We're like two peas in a pod! The last couple days were a little rough....for the both of us. Look at him...he's as happy as I am to be back home...

The Cherry Blossoms!


So...it has been some time, hasn't it!?

Obviously, as I said in my last post, I have a lot of catching up to do...I essentially lost April due to Dad hogging the computer, and I actually HAVE had a lot going on...I have tried to keep you up to date on super important stuff (my Toddler room upgrade at daycare, eating cat food, etc) but that of course means that I have been neglecting important stuff...

Now, over the next few posts, I'm gonna be catching you all up! Thanks for being patient and bearing with me!

In early April, Mom and Dad took me to Washington, DC's world famous (Seriously...I think the entire world was here) Cherry Blossom Festival. Mom and Dad had been to the festival numerous times, but this was my first. The festival is, according to the festival's website:

"The National Cherry Blossom Festival is the nation's and Washington, DC's greatest springtime event and annually celebrates the gift of the cherry blossom trees and their symbol of enduring friendship between the citizens of Japan and the United States. Timed in conjunction with the peak blooming period of the trees, the city-wide festival attracts visitors and DC residents to over 90 events in partnership with more than 30 local organizations."

In Toddler terms, there are a ton of pretty trees arranged around the Tidal Basin and National Mall in DC, and tons of people come to see them while they are super pretty for about ten days.

We all had a lot of fun! Mom held on to me while I took some snaps in front of the world famous Washington Monument...we were both super happy!

And Dad hoisted me up for one of his patented shoulder rides...

As you can see, the weather was perfect, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom behind us!

Since this was the first real actual nice weather since I began walking in earnest, it was also the first time I was able to run around outside in a big open field and get my feet (and knees) dirty...

Mom and Dad found a little grove of trees that weren't as crowded, and we settled down there...I got to do a bit more running around (although it was a bit more challenging, seeing as how there were a bunch of roots from the cherry blossoms crisscrossing around the little picnic area) I ate a late lunch, and managed to give Mom quite the workout, since she spent a lot of time chasing me around! Keep up, Mom!!

Because of the timing of everything, we barreled through my nap, and I was exhausted...I fought my nap, but sweet sleep won out, and I feel asleep on the walk back home...

Maybe next year, if we feel like fighting the crowds, we'll go to the area with more trees, but for now I was quite happy in the Sam-Sized cherry tree grove that we had (mostly) to ourselves......