Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Getting our Christmas Tree!

Enjoy my new profile picture! It was part of my Christmas season picture extravaganza!

While I'm in Connecticut, and resting up from blogging, I figured I would throw a little more Christmas cheer your way...I'll be posting more soon the detail my amazing Christmas in Connecticut...but until then, check this out!

Another part of the Christmas Season was going out to pick out a live Christmas tree!

We went out to a lot that was close by to our house, so even though we didn't get to cut down our own tree, we got to go and pick one out. It was SOOOO chilly out, but we bundled up and made the best of it. (In addition to picking a tree as quickly as we could...and even though we didn't dawdle, we made sure to take just the right amount of time to find a tree we really liked)


I got to run around between the maze of tress while Mom and Dad looked around for the perfect tree. I even found a super tiny Sam-Sized tree, but we didn't think it would fit in with our aesthetic....


After checking out several that looked like they might do the job, they finally settled on a good sized tree that looked like just the right size for our apartment. We had a bigger place this year (We skipped the tree last year because we were in the middle of moving) so we needed to find just the right tree.

After getting final approval from me, Dad and the man at the tree lot trimmed the bottom, and tied it to the roof of our car. Mom and I took care of paying (And I was a bit obsessed with their small radio that was playing Christmas songs...what can I say? I love music, and there was a portable radio RIGHT THERE playing stuff!)

After we took the tree home, Mom and Dad waited until I was asleep to decorate it...when I woke up the next day, I was stunned to say the least. The tree looked beautiful (and I promised Mom and Dad that I wouldn't touch it) and it really made the apartment feel festive, in addition to the other decorations Mom and Dad put up.

All the ornaments were hung, the lights were lit, and everything looked perfect. I can't wait to get back home and see it again before it's time to send it off into the big tree lot in the sky!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010!


A Very Merry Christmas to those that celebrate it!

Mom and Dad took me to see Santa earlier this month, and it was great. Not only did I get to be "that kid" who runs around the line to see Santa, but when I finally got up there, he was super nice. He asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told him simply "Toys."

Santa also gave me a small candy cane, which was super awesome...that thing was delicious! Where have Mom and Dad been hiding these things?!

Santa was great. He took his time talking with me, and I didn't feel rushed at all. He was very kind, and listened to me babbling away the whole time I was there. I really enjoyed seeing him this year!

In general, the Christmas month has been pretty hectic, thus my lack of posting...I missed my Daycare's Annual Christmas Party because I was sick, but still managed to take part in Secret Santa (Both giving and receiving)

We did a lot of stuff this month, and it all culminates in a trip to Connecticut (Which I'll write about at length later this week)

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and if you don't celebrate the holiday, I hope you have a lovely Saturday. :-)

Travel safe, enjoy your family and friends, and make sure that you give presents that are as awesome as the ones that you get!

MERRY
CHRISTMAS!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

FREE Zoo Lights!!!



This year, the Zoo Lights exhibition at The National Zoo was free. Seeing as how we were already going to go, it was just the icing on an already delicious cake!

Fans of the blog will remember that we did this last year (Click HERE to refresh your memory) and had a really good time.

It was a cold night, but shockingly it was also the warmest night in recent memory, which is why we ended up going on that night...it also was a bit misty out, so that added to the chilliness.


It didn't stop us from getting all bundled up and having fun, though! As always, there were lots of pretty lights to see, and Mom and Dad were nice enough to let me see whichever ones I wanted! They were in animal shapes, and some of them were even animated!

We followed some carolers around so that I could listen to them singing and playing a drum, which I LOVED.

They also had the trees that lit up and blinked in time to Christmas songs, which was a lot of fun to see...

In addition to the various animal shapes, there were also traditional lights set up that I really enjoyed. They were really pretty.


Towards the end of the night, we grabbed some fries for dinner, and even though they were a bit hot (Both temperature hot, and spicy hot) they were pretty yummy.

Because it was getting late, and the weather was a little iffy still, we packed up before we had seen the lower level of the zoo, but really, we had all gotten to see a lot of the light displays, and were feeling pretty good about the trip...it was definitely a fun way to spend part of the Christmas season!


Monday, December 13, 2010

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In between the several days at Gramma Debbie's, I got to spend a VERY full couple days at Gramma Mindy's! We got together and had even MORE food! (I have apparently been clued into the fact that basically, from Halloween to New Year's we're supposed to gorge ourselves...and that's fine with me, except I seem to be on some kind of self-imposed hunger strike. I'm not even sure what cause I am striking against, but all I know is that I am kind of uninterested in eating these days.)

A lot of the family was there, which was nice. We got to see Mom's Aunts and Uncles (I guess that makes them great Aunts) In addition to yet another new cousin, Hank. So many babies! I also saw some more of my cousins that were a bit older, but that's OK...I like you older folks, too. :-)

In addition to that, my cousin/Godmother Amber was there with her boyfriend Jon, which was a lot of fun. It had been some time since I'd seen her, and it was nice to get some time with them...

I got to spend some requisite time with JustRichy practicing my piano skills...

When things got a little boring with the grown-ups doing all their grown-up talk, Gramma Mindy was kind enough to give me a spoon and bowl to walk around practicing my other favorite musical skill...the drum...


My Uncle Mat and JustRichy decided that they would take me to the beach and climb around on the playground that's over there...

My God, that sand gets everywhere. It's a lot of fun, but I mean c'mon...it's all over the place!



I had a lot of fun walking down to the beach with JustRichy and Uncle Mat, and even more fun once we got there and got to run around...there was a lot to do at the playground...I got to do a bit of driving, which is tough at night without headlights...who built this car, anyway?


There were also some tunnels that I got to crawl through that led to even MORE fun stuff like the slide!!

When we got back home, it was nice to warm up, and talk about all the fun adventures we had together! I like hanging out with JustRichy and Uncle Mat....oh, and have I mentioned that they are both currently bald? I know you saw that in all my pictures, but I just thought it worth a mention...

In addition to all of the Thanksgiving merriment, we got a jump-start on Christmas by going out to find a Christmas tree for Gramma Mindy's place. Much like my visit to the pumpkin patch, we got to go out to the farm, walk around, and pick the perfect tree.

After they bundled me up, we got to walk around and take in the lay of the land...

There were SO many trees to choose from...we had to look at a number of factors: Size, type of tree, shape, thickness of needles...it was quite a process, I must say...

Taking into account all of these factors, I think that we did a pretty good job narrowing it down to the final few that we would pick from...

Ultimately, I think we got the best of the bunch. It really did encompass all of the things we had been looking for, and it just felt like the right one. I mean, when you get that gut feeling, and that feeling actually agrees with all of the logical things that you're thinking of, you simply must get that treet, am I right?

So, they tied it to the roof of our car, and we got to take it back to Gramma Mindy's to be decorated later on...once again, we had a lot of fun, and I got to spend a ton of time outdoors on a tree farm, which was great. The fresh air and open spaces did me good, I must say.

Again, it was a long weekend, but filled with so many visits with great people, and so many fun things to do...I'm sure that one of these days I will appreciate the food aspect that comes along with this holiday, but not this year...I hope you all had a happy and safe Thanksgiving, too. If it was half as happy as mine was, you're in luck. :-)

Saturday, December 11, 2010

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I...am wiped....out.

This was an intense Thanksgiving this year...Dad stayed behind to work for the first part of the holiday so that he could afford to take time off for my cousin Nicholas' baptism....Mom and I went on ahead and took a looooong drive...we stayed at Gramma Debbie's and started our weekend there...

There was a lot of people to see, and lots to do! I wasn't all that fond of Thanksgiving dinner, but really, these days that's par for the course with me...

I got to hang out with Gramma Debbie and the giant Pooh bear that I am so fond of...

Here, she was helping me get Eeyore's tale back on...it comes off all the time, poor thing...

I also got to see Braelynn, Aunt Amy, Nicholas, my Auntie Steph, and My Uncle Brian, who was fond of giving me high fives, which I can never get enough of. I'm still adjusting to sharing my toys with Braelynn...this is going to be interesting, I'll say that...

My Uncle Steve was there, too which is great, since I often miss him when he gets stuck working...we got to play a lot, and he really seemed to be enjoying himself, as was I. :-)

We also got some nice pictures with my Great-Grandma Case, which was really nice. It's so hard to get all three of us little buggers together, and it was great that we could have this time with her. She's really sweet to us, and enjoys seeing us. And we enjoy seeing her, too! Note my newish, (and patent-pending) "Cheese Face".

After a break to spend part of Thanksgiving with Mom's family (Chronicled in my next entry "Toddler Tour Leg 12") Dad joined us, and we got to spend the day celebrating my cousin Nicholas' baptism. It was a calm affair at the church, since Nick spent most of the time sleeping.

As did I...

Yep, I missed the entire thing because it fell right in the middle of my nap. At some point while I was asleep, JustRichy swapped out with Mom, and she got to see most of the ceremony.

Dad made a wonderful Godfather (Even with his absurd "Godfather Mustache" which he has since shaved, Thank God...) and everything went great.

We all went back to Gramma Debbie's house for a little after baptism party, and MAN was it crowded...I got pretty overwhelmed, and had a bit of a meltdown (Pictures unavailable) so Gramma Debbie thought (smartly) to take me outside to play for awhile...Dad and his friends followed me out and we had a blast playing outside for awhile...


I managed to calm down enough to attempt the party again, and once I went back in, I enjoyed myself a lot more. Some people had left, so it was a bit less crowded, so that helped.

Dad later caught a train back home, and I got to spend another night at Gramma Debbie's before heading out with Mom for the trip back home...such a nice Thanksgiving, and baptism!

Monday, December 6, 2010

My First "Friend's Birthday Party!"


Several weeks ago, I received one of the most exciting pieces of mail that I am ever likely to receive.

My first invitation to a birthday party!!


It was done very smartly...two of my friends joined forces to have a big event at a place called The Little Gym. It was easier, and I'm sure more cost-effective. I spent the weeks leading up to the big day anticipating it like crazy, and also spent some time shopping for my friends. We got them each, what I believed to be a great present, and headed out to The Little Gym, not knowing exactly what to expect, but sort of having a general idea, due to my time at Jonah's Treehouse (A refresher HERE and HERE)

One of the coolest parts was that all three of us (Mom, Dad and I) got to go and spend the night together, which is a rarity, but always great.

And much like I had hoped, I simply had a BLAST. There were a few moments where I got a bit overwhelmed, but that happened to a lot of the kids, even the two birthday girls at a few points. In general, though, we all had lots of fun...it was well-organized, and ran like a well-oiled machine.

We opened up with a bit of free-play while everyone got acclimated to the place, and I got to run around on the tumbling mats....


Soon after, we all sat in a circle with maracas and sang a song while playing them. Mom is a great singer, and we had a lot of fun!


Later, while the staff was setting up for the next game, I got to try out a hula hoop for the first time. I believe that the hula hoop should be somewhat smaller in order for me to get the fullest usage out of it, but in general it was fun to run around with it and swing it around!

We go to play this game where we were all walking around in a circle while a song played...the song talked of possibly being chased by some kind of animal, which one would typically find unnerving, but for some reason we found insanely fun. The music would start off slow, and then build to a quicker pace, meaning we would run...and then they would say "Freeze" and Dad and I would freeze...it was really funny. Dad is such a goof.

During the next free play, I spent some time working on my balance with Dad on the balance beam...I think I'm getting pretty good, but it's pretty tough with how narrow the beam is. But I think I'm coming along.

The staff brought out this giant soft round....thing. All the kids got to line up, and lay down on the round thing, and, it's kind of tough to describe, but the staff rolled it from one spot to another while we laid down on top, and then we rolled off at the end......Oh...My...GOD THIS WAS FUN! As soon as I was done the first time, I ran right back to get in line...it was GREAT!


Really...I could have spent the entire rest of the night doing this...I can't even tell you...oh man, I am out of breath right now just thinking about how fun this was...

And then it happened...the staff brought out the next game...and there it was...my mortal enemy.

The parachute.

Now, if you have been following the blog, you'll know that there were many things I liked about Jonah's Treehouse...and one thing that I didn't like...

The parachute.

Don't get me started. I have no idea why I don't like it...yeah, I can crawl around on the bed with the covers over my head, but the parachute has always bugged me out. It makes no sense, and I make no excuses. Mom and Dad both saw my hesitation, but I decided that I was so hopped up on age-appropriate activities that I would go for it and face my fear.

At first, it was great....we got to hold the ends of the parachute and wave it around...this I was OK with...in fact, it was awesome...Mom thought so, too.

Then, they let all of us sit on the parachute, and run around while the grown-ups waved it around...again, this was fun, and I enjoyed it....

...until they started walking in a circle, pulling the parachute along with them. I felt on my butt, my legs went right out from under me...and I lost it...All the horrors came rushing back, and I wanted out right then. Luckily, one of the other Dad's was in a better spot to grab me than Mom or Dad was, so he helped out and asked Mom if she wanted him to grab me, and he did...so I was out...I was done...

But then, everyone went under the parachute...the last step in facing this fear. I figured, just because the last game we played with the parachute didn't go well, doesn't mean this has to...

So I did it...I went under with Mom and Dad and it was totally worth it! I did it! I beat the parachute, and had fun in the process!!!

Our last organized game came with a giant inflatable thing that we got to stand on and jump around...one of my best friends from daycare saw me from the other side of the thing, and came over to jump with me...it was a lot of fun, but I wasn't quite ready to let go of Dad's hand yet...

After this, there was a bit more freeplay while they set up for dinner and cleaned up the last of the games...they had lots of balls to play with, and were blowing bubbles for us to run around with....they were easily the best bubbles I have ever seen, since they hung around for awhile in the air...I have to ask where they got those bubbles...

Finally, this led to dinner (PIZZA!) and even a juice box...the entirety of which I drank after only having had one bite of pizza...my only comment? A breathless, "JUICE!" as I finished my first of what I thought to be many juice boxes...turns out I only got one...Lame.

We also got to have some cake, which was a lovely Dora the Explorer design...it was purple, and I am here to tell you folks that purple is delicious.



This led to a brief sugar high, and some more running around before we wrapped up for the night...A lot of it was spent chasing around one of my best friends...she also was a little hopped up on sugar...it was a little ridiculous.


We got a little present at the end which was a Little Gym water bottle, and a puppet that we got to pick. I picked a white kitty with a pink ribbon around its neck...its simply adorable.

Man...that's it...what a night! Can't wait to do it again!! Whose birthday is next, people?