Jonah's Treehouse!

So, last week Dad took me to a place called Jonah's Treehouse...now the website describes what they do as follows:

"Jonah’s Treehouse offers a wide range of play and movement classes for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers."

Mom and Dad's friend Pepe (Who I refer to as "Miss Alice" while I'm there, and who is sometimes just referred to as "Jonahstreehouse" by some of the kids. Yes, that's just one word.) set us up with a season's (Semester? I don't know...) worth of classes, and so now I'll be going there for about an hour once a week.

Sounds simple enough, right? Well...I have to tell you, it was a long day, and I was overwhelmed from start to finish. First I skipped my morning nap because, well...that's what I feel like doing sometimes! :-) Then, as Dad somehow managed to defeat a trend which has lasted for all of his 33 years, he actually left the house on time! So what do I do to celebrate?

I fall asleep in the car.

So, Dad let's me sleep as long as he can, and the unceremoniously wakes me up when we get to the place. I'm half conscious, and the next thing I know, Dad is taking off our shoes, and ushering me into the play area, which is a big open space with TONS of toys, and stuff to climb on and play in. As I became more and more jealous of the fact that Dad is allowed to drink coffee and I am NOT, Miss Alice pulled us into some of the games we'd be playing...

First, we did my favorite part, which was pick up some percussive stuff (Shaky eggs, little bells, etc.) and shook them to the music that was playing. Then we did some baby movement (Which was basically Dad moving my body around, since I am not quite into doing calisthenics so early in the morning.)

From here, we all ran (as I crawled...and by the way, I am the only kid in the group that wasn't walking...what's the deal, tykes? The way I figure it, I'm gonna have to be walking around the rest of my life...why rush into it? :-) )over to the big colorful slide. Everyone climbed up the big soft steps while Miss Alice helped, and then she even helped me go up and go down the slide. (I went backwards, because it's safer...it was still fun!)

After that, we did some free play, where I fixated on some balls and other such things, eventually following a trail of balls to where all children inevitably end up...

The ball pit.

As seen above, I had a BLAST wading around the pit of plastic balls, and would have been able to clean up the entire surrounding area of errant balls, had Miss Alice not interrupted to go and play with the parachute.

Now, Dad was WAY more excited about this than I was, since he LOVED this stupid thing when he was a kid. We all sat in a circle, and the grown-ups lifted up the parachute, and let it slowly drift down over ours heads.

I deftly avoided the parachute each time it came down. No way you're putting that thing on my head.

Then we sat on the parachute, and the grownups wiggled the fabric so it looked like there were waves all around us...

And just like that, it was over...we had some "bubble time" where Miss Alice blew bubbles that we chased around while a song about bubbles played, and then we packed up and headed home...

Dad managed to sneak in some errands before we got there, but I happily, FINALLY fell asleep before he managed to do that...

Until next week, Jonah's Treehouse....

Little Sam in the Big Apple

In another of my "Classics" series, I finally get around to my first trip to The Big Apple!

Now, technically, I had been there already last year, but was still all wrapped up in the womb. Mom and Dad went there for one of Mom's business trips...they decided top use it as their Babymoon... (http://thepgdot.blogspot.com/2008/10/trip-to-big-city.html)

Well in Mid-October, Mom had to return to New York City for the same business trip, and Dad and I decided to come along....

It was quite an adventure to get all my stuff on the train...yeah, I travel pretty heavy, but hey...most celebrities do. Mom and Dad got it all down to a system (Dad kept an eye out for those seats on the train near the open area near the end, hopped into the train, saved the seats, while Mom packed me and the stroller up...then we all hopped the train, and only sort of took over the entire wing of the train. Mom and Dad were nice enough to either hold me, or let me crawl around on the floor. Mom and Dad even let me use their seats sometimes, while they sat on the floor.

See....celebrity life.

Dad and I hung out in NYC while Mom was at meetings...we walked around New York a little, but the weather was actually pretty horrible, so we didn't go TOO far...it was cold, windy and rainy.

Dad was nice enough to let me play with Mom's cellphone in the hotel room when we were inside getting warm...sssh....don't tell Mom...

In fact, because of the weather I spent a lot of time playing in the hotel room, in addition to catching up on some long-overdue reading...now, even though the book is upside-down, I can still get the point...in fact, I often find that the books are even more interesting when read this way. Trust me on this...try it some time. :-)

Mom had a break from one of her meetings, and so we all met up to go to Central Park. Dad had never been there, even though he had been to NYC a million times. Even though the weather was awful, I fell asleep and Mom and Dad got to walk around while I was in my little waterproof bubble.

They even managed to snap a quick picture of all of us...I promise that I'm actually in there.

Later that night, I showed off my little pumpkin butt while I played with Mom! (I would say that the pumpkin butt helps date the picture, but I actually am still wearing them to this day...in December...they're just too cute to stop wearing...and they also happen to still fit, so that makes them fair game!)

Towards the end of the trip, we were doing a little bit of exploring in the city, stopping for lunch, and checking out Times Square before catching the train home...Dad decided that there should be SOME kind of photographic evidence of me in New York City (Besides the mysterious Central Park Bubble picture) so he took one outside the famous Ed Sullivan Theater where they shoot Late Show with David Letterman. As you can see from my expression, I am doing my absolute best to humor him.

We even got to stop by the HUGE Toys R Us store in Times Square...words can't express how excited I was to walk around there. There were just SO many toys, and music, and lights...it was so overwhelming, but SO much fun! I can't wait to go back when I can run around, and check out stuff on my own.

And I want to get on that "Big" piano...

Of course, Dad managed to make us late because of a convoluted series of events that I have no interest in going into here...believe me, it was his fault though...mostly due to a misunderstanding about where Mom and I were going to meet up after she fed me.

Mom and I split off, and headed for the train station, while Dad ran back to the hotel to get our bags...he came after us, and managed to get there in time...

We meet a nice Amtrak clerk who helped us get down to the train platform a little early, so we could snag one of those awesome sets of seats again!

And then we were back off to DC...I really enjoyed New York, and hope to get back there as soon as I can...

Except next time, we might want to try going in the Spring instead of Fall...

MY FIRST SNOW!!

So, even though I was technically around last year during winter time, I really was so overwhelmed with all of the new things I was experiencing, that I don't remember much snow last year. (Also, as anyone who has ever lived in any region that gets any REAL snow will tell you, Washington, DC is not where you want to live if you are interested in seeing any real snow)

SO, finally, winter is upon us here in the city after some unseasonably warm weather, and lo and behold, we got some snow. Now granted, things went as they usually do down here in the DMV (That's DC, Maryland and Virginia for the uninitiated) which means that there's panic, a mad dash for bread, milk, & toilet paper, and the tendency for people to drive 5 mph when the ground is merely wet.

Mom was nice enough to lift me up in order to be able to see the big fat snowflakes, and I couldn't stop looking around! Seeing the view from our apartment with the snow was so nice! Watching the view change as I've lived here from Winter, to Spring and throughout the warm life of Summer, through the colorful changes of Fall, and finally creeping into Winter, was such a great experience that got capped off by the really pretty snow flakes.

We all went out to a pretty surreal holiday party in the snow...it was thrown by one of Mom's vendors where she works, and while the event was lovely, we were the only people there that weren't one of his friends and family. We drove carefully, and got there only to find that the party was getting going pretty slowly, and food didn't come out until I was about ready for bed. The guy was nice enough to pack Mom and Dad a "To-Go" meal (Or six) and we headed out for the evening. There were three kids there that played with me for awhile, and while I had a lot of fun for awhile, I had to start humoring them when they started getting a bit rowdy.

Generally it was a good evening...my first snow day was an adventure, as they tend to be...

My First Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!

After a VERY long drive (well, I was told that it was long...I slept for 90% of it, and decided to give Mom and Dad a break, and skipped the crying for this trip. ) back to Connecticut, we arrived and spent the night at Da Gramma's...and we planned the day so that we started off at Da Gramma's, and finished the day at Gramma Mindy's!

I finally got to meet my Great Gramma Case....she got a kick out of seeing me in my awesomely cute Thanksgiving outfit. We had a lot of fun, and took some long overdue pictures together. She was funny, and I enjoyed touching her absurdly soft hands when she was playing with me.

The food was great! I tried some turkey for the first time at dinner, and even though I enjoyed the taste, and moving it around in my mouth for awhile, ultimately I thought that swallowing it was a little much so I skipped that part.

Dad was distraught because the traditional holiday pickles were hidden on the counter. He found them, but it took some work...

We got to hang out and play for a little while after dinner, and as you all know if you've been paying attention, I LOVE to play...I am a BIG fan! There were a lot of people at Thanksgiving dinner...Uncle Steve and Aunt Amy (along with a lot of people from Aunt Amy's side of the family), Auntie Steph and Uncle Brian were along for the ride, too, and we enjoyed hanging out!

After we finished up at Da Gramma's, we transferred over to Gramma Mindy's for a later meal, and desert. I got to hang out with JustRichy, Gramma Mindy, my cousin Robert (Who did a great job keeping me entertained, as you can see above) my cousin Beth and her fiancee Nelson, and my Mom's Aunt and Uncle....

Gramma Mindy got me a special Fall bib for the day (Don't worry, it's reversible, so I can still use it year-round!) , and I tried eating a little bit more of the traditional Thanksgiving feast. I got some more down, and think that someday, I'm gonna really enjoy this little holiday....

As I continued hanging out with Mom, Gramma Mindy and JustRichy (with some brief sojourns to Dad's family's house) Dad took a train back home to work on Friday night...I decided to be EXTREMELY generous, and give Mom the first easy ride-up AND easy ride-down...

Typically what happens, is that if I give you an easy ride UP to Connecticut, I give you a miserable ride back, and vice versa...but you never get both ways...I feel kind of bad, because Mom often gets stuck with the miserable part of the drive.

I don't mean to do this, it just tends to be what happens...I'm a baby, and really when I get fed up with being in the car (as many people tend to do, especially on long drives) all I can do is cry. I can't even play the stupid license plate games...

So after a fairly easy ride back, we reunited with Dad...and I considered my first Thanksgiving a resounding success!

November, we hardly knew ya....

So, as is usually the case in November, Dad has monopolized the computer in order to write his silly little novel (or, as I'm told) to continue the huge novel he started a couple years ago...I have once again fallen behind on my updates...if you're still around, thanks as always for your patience...if you left and then came back, WELCOME BACK!

November was a nice month...did some traveling, and saw a lot of people...I also met some new people...the next few posts will be a delicious mixture of catching you up on my eleventh month, and keeping you up to date on my newest developments...

Just a brief note about my most recent doctor visit, which was technically the nine month visit.

Things went well, and I came in at 17 lbs, 0.5 ounces, my head was 17 7/8 inches around, and I am currently coming in at 28 inches long. I am still a little light, but the doctor isn't too concerned. Mom and Dad are now redoubling their efforts to stuff me up....

SO...in mid-November, Mom was going on a business trip to New Orelans, so since Dad needed to hang out and watch me anyways, he decided to take a trip to Connecticut for the sole purpose of visiting...he'd had enough of rushed trips to Connecticut for weddings, or concerts, where he was always running around, so he decided instead do just plan to come up, and hang out at Da Gramma's place to receive guests, have some pizza for dinner, and relax...he also wanted to give people a chance to see me that hadn't had the chance to, or that hadn't seen me a lot...

This is my Dad's friend, Lynda...he has known her since high school and is one of his oldest friends. Her husband wants to have no less than 200 children, so we're trying to prepare her for the daunting tasks ahead...she was quite happy to have photographic evidence of herself holding a baby, and she actually did a pretty good job of hanging out with me. I think she'll be just fine with 199 more of me...
I think that this is when Mike was pretending to get punched by me...or was actually being punched by me. It's all a little fuzzy at this point...
The back of my adorable "New Sheriff in Town" pajamas, while I play with Auntie Steph and Laura. Martha Goose watches over the proceedings...
Laura was fast enough, and managed to get one of my favorite toy cups on my head...I'm not quite sure why, as I wiggled it off my head pretty quickly. The picture is blurry because of my unphotographable speed.

Yeah...see what I did there...I just made up that word.

This is my Dad's friend Janice...we're pretty sure that, while they are active online friends, they haven't seen one another since Mom and Dad got married about a hundred years ago...everyone was excited to see her again, and while I was thrilled to finally meet her, I was a bit...how do you say, distracted by the spoon that she gave me...it was just so shiny, and I could...see myself in it, and...I just...

Wait, what was I saying?

Here, Da Gramma gives me my first "sink bath" and I had a BLAST....Usually Mom and Dad are in such a hurry to give me a bath, that I don't have much time to play, but this time we had nowhere to be and there was no rush, so I played for awhile. I can't be sure, but I was told that the ceiling, window, and entire floor bore the wraith of my splashing glee..it was a lot of fun though.

Oh, and I guess I got clean, too.

At the end of Dad's portion of the trip, he dropped me off with Gramma Mindy, and hopped a train back home. Then, they went off to the airport and picked Mom up! From there, I got to hang out with Mom's half of the family, and spend the rest of the weekend there!

Photographic evidence of these events have been hard to come by, as Dad is much weirder about taking pictures than Mom is...in lieu of that, please enjoy me resting after a tiring day at Dad's family's place...

Five...count 'em, FIVE Teeth!

Today, we brought our cat Norma to the vet...It was my first time at the vet, and while there were some interesting new scents to while we were there, not much of note happened...

Except that Dad FINALLY caught a look at a new tooth!

You see, up until now, Mom has been the one who has been catching sight of all the new teeth that I seem to be sprouting with alarming regularity...(Though Gramma Mindy swore she saw buds before anyone else...)(

After the first two, we had a bit of a lull, and then two more popped out up top, followed by a fifth up top next to the two in the center.

At one point, I was testing these new suckers out, and was grinding them together, which REALLY gave Dad the heebie jeebies...he proclaimed that I was not to do that again...

I still do it, just not while he's around. :-P

So...we are now at 5! AND the world knows why I was a bit crabby lately...

To celebrate....here's a classic, unreleased picture...

Post Halloween....

Once again, due to my touring commitments, there has been a lag in the blog...but not anymore! I'm back again!

In my last post, we talked about Halloween...I hope you all had a great time, and that you ended up with all treats and no tricks (But let's face it...if you ended up with tricks, it's more than likely because you deserved it...am I right?)

Last time, we discussed my pre-Halloween party at daycare, and some of the cute clothes that I have been wearing to celebrate this most ghoulish of holidays...this time around, a brief glimpse at Halloween night itself!

Mom and Dad knew that this year would be a fairly low-key Halloween...usually they go off to some Halloween parties and hop around town, but with Halloween on a Saturday, they knew it'd be slim pickins for babysitters...

So what did they do? They decided to host their own low-key Halloween party..the goal? Stop on by our apartment on your way to bigger fancier bash, see me in my adddoooorrrable costume, have some snacks, and then be off on your merry way.

Mom and Dad got about half a dozen or so of their friends to swing by, and they had a very good time. Everyone got a kick out of me crawling around in my costume, and tearing apart the house.

Mom and Dad dressed up as Ma & Pa Kent, so that all three of us had a matching set of costumes...it was fun!
Mom got such a kick out of me sucking my thumb, and crawling around and doing baby stuff while wearing my Superman costume...it seemed like such a strange combination, that both her and Dad thought it was the funniest thing ever...

We had plenty of flying games, and people ate Mom's awesome cupcakes, bleu cheese and honey brochettes...she also made a great spiked apple cider...

All of this has been relayed to me by Dad, and while I can't eat any of that stuff now, I look very forward to trying it out, someday!

What a nice Halloween!! I'm so happy that it comes again next year!