Floor Food!

While I'm away for the week enjoying Houlton, Maine...I figured I'd give you guys another random glimpse into my life to tide you over until I return with my epic vacation post...

Dad caught a shot of me unabashedly enjoying "Floor Food" No, it's not some clever name...it's exactly what it sounds like...it's food I drop on the floor and happily gobble up (sometimes a few hours after I drop it there)

Now don't get me wrong....our place isn't a hideous mess of food everywhere (though I wish it were) Whenever I drop stuff like meatballs, and corn and what-not, it's cleaned up pretty fast, but when I drop cereal or crackers, sometimes I manage to hide it in a place that I can get back to later for an impromptu snack.

Most of the time, they manage to clean it all up, but there are those moments I live for when I can savor a snack that I have squirreled away, and there's nothing they can do about it! And sometimes, like in the picture above, it's just a case of me spilling some food, and happily eating it off of the floor. Don't worry, Dad is usually pretty good about vacuuming, so the food is not really in any danger of being all that gross. Plus, cereal and crackers are pretty good at repelling gross stuff.

Thus, floor food was born. Mom and Dad aren't thrilled with it (and probably won't be super-excited that I am sharing it) but this is a warts-and-all blog, folks. I know you can handle it.

Hi...I'm Samuel Pellegrino-Grant, and I sometimes enjoy floor food....

Gramma Mindy's July 2010 Visit!

Recently, we were treated to another visit from Gramma Mindy! As always, it was lots of fun for me, and also Mom and Dad got to have a bit of a break!

They got to go out and see a movie (Despicable Me, which they enjoyed despite having seen it in 2-D...they promised that once I'm old enough, I can see it too!) and even go out for a walk or two while Gramma Mindy held down the fort.

I got to see where Mom got her awesome cooking skills when Gramma Mindy did a bunch of cooking while she was here...she definitely earned her keep at The Pellegrino-Grant Inn....She made a SUPER tasty Eggplant Parmesan which I LOVED (and which even Dad, picky as he is, liked.)

We had a lot of fun throughout the week. We went to see a great exhibit on Norman Rockwell at one of the Smithsonian Museums which was fun, and afterward I got to run around the museum's atrium for awhile.

I also got to play some great games with Gramma Mindy. My favorite was "Ring Around The Rosie" Gramma Mindy, Teddy and I played this game a lot. I refer to it as "All Fall Down" but everyone knows what I mean when I say it...


We spin around and around...


And we're waiting for the best part of the song...

When we all fall down! And we laugh and laugh! Since then, I have also played this game with Mom and Dad, and they enjoy it almost as much as do. We laugh and laugh, and have such a great time.

Another great visit was had, and as I wished Gramma Mindy farewell, I was told that we'd be spending almost a week with her up at the cabin in Maine. I went there for the first time last year, and now I get to go when I can run around and really get into trouble...uhm, I mean have fun.

So yeah...the blog will be pretty quiet this week while we're away on vacation, but expect a full recap when I get back. We'll all be well-rested, and rearing to go, so you probably won't even have to wait that long for the blog post!

The Honeycomb Hideout....

Dad has dubbed the area under the dining room table "The Honeycomb Hidout" I love to play under there, and take my toys or blankets under there too! (Or in the case of the picture above, one of our dish towels from the kitchen...have I mentioned that I can say "Towel" quite clearly? I'm moving right along in the speech department, folks!)

Apparently the name came from a series of commercials in the 1980's from the "Honeycombs" cereal. From all accounts, they were pretty insane, but they featured kids in a little clubhouse that they dubbed "The Honeycomb Hideout"

Now, why Dad remembers this random fact when he can barely pull up seemingly important ones from just a few days ago is beyond me, but I love the name, and I love hiding and playing under there. Often, my ball or balloon (or both) end up under there. I go in to get them, and end up hanging out for ten minutes or so, just because it feels like a little space all my own.

If you're lucky, I'll let you in there with me to hang out...Mom and Dad have been two of the lucky invited few...

Are you next?

Puddles...

You know what I like doing?

I like to tip my sippy cup over and make puddles on my tray when I'm supposed to be eating.

Deal with it.

Now, the sippy cups are designed to be "spill-resistant", but they are not spill-PROOF.

I found a way to squeeze the spout so that I could pour water or milk all over my tray (or myself if I'm in the car) I then slap at the puddles, which really is a blast. You adults are missing out. My only downfall, is that I get so excited about the puddles that I inevitably start unconsciously saying "puddddlllless" and then the jig is up...Mom or Dad puts an end to it pretty quickly.

Killjoys...look how happy I am.

Fun at Daycare!

We do some fun stuff at daycare! I spend Monday through Wednesday there, and not only are the kids lots of fun, but the grown-ups that watch me are pretty great, too! We learn a lot, but still manage to balance it out and have lots of fun.

They like to do fun stuff around the daycare that changes all the time so that we don't ever get bored...like for example, there are different notes posted around with our birthdays written on them...sometimes they are themed like leaves for Fall, or they are just fun shapes like one of my favorites...balloons

Other times they do fun, yet mildly weird, stuff like this:

It looks like I'm wearing those clothes, and I get an idea of what I'd look like if I were much taller! Awesome boots, by the way...the suspenders make me feel like a farmer. Dad keeps telling me that he's "bringing suspenders back" Yeah Dad, I'll believe it when I see it...

Below is a picture of the door to my little cubby. There is where they keep all my stuff like extra clothes for waterplay (Or little accidents I might have) sunscreen, my lunch bag when I'm done with it, etc. How funny is this picture? My name is right on there so I know it's mine, and my picture is on there so that people know that I am happy, and adorable.

I have to say...Children in the Shoe Daycare? Two thumbs WAY up. Always something fun going on!

Something new at the playground....

So after weeks of avoiding it, and even being slightly afraid of it...I decided to climb on to the horse at the playground near our apartment. The horse is on a spring, and it really bucks you around when you get it going! I have to say, I wish I hadn't waited so long! It was so much fun! Dad would ask what I was doing, and I would happily yell "Ride!" And if he asked what the horse said, I would reply "Nay"

Because...that's what they say, silly!

Next up, I hope to conquer the swing...I do enjoy watching people swing on them, and I even enjoy pushing an empty swing around...but I'm not quite at the point where I will happily ride the swing.

I'll keep you posted.

TODDLER_TOUR_2010_LEG_6-Four-Day Weekend!!

This past weekend was a loooong one! I had SUCH a good time, but I am one worn-out little boy!

Dad had to go back to Connecticut for a big party on Saturday, and since he had to take both Saturday and Sunday off and had Thursday and Friday off already, he figured he'd give everyone a treat and bring me up for a four day weekend!

Mom got a bit of a break, and had a relaxing weekend, which included dinner with grown-ups, while Dad even got some time off, since he got to leave me with my family at various points during the weekend. Dad had a busy weekend, seeing tons of friends and family, and I tried to keep up the best I could...

I got to visit with DaGramma, and Grandpa, both of whom had so much fun with me! (And I had tons of fun with them!) I tore right into that little toy box, and spent a lot of time with the little numbers board with DaGramma.

DaGramma took me into the pool, and I had a little bit of trouble with that...it was a bit cold and scary, so rather than jump right in, I opted to sit on the deck with Dad and splash a bit...by the end of the week, I was in the pool like a champ when I was alone with DaGramma, but it took a bit of time to get comfortable with it...

DaGramma was also kind enough to provide me with a Sam-Size pool...

She filled it up with warm water, and I had SUCH a blast....I got to use some pool toys, and splash around a LOT since we were outside...

Friday saw a trip to my Auntie Stephanie's house to meet my new cousin Braelynn...I was a little nervous, and shy that day, but I was also VERY excited...I have seen pictures of the new baby, and couldn't wait to meet her!

At first, I just wandered around, and played with Braelynn's toys (It's been so long since I played with toys for a kid that little!) and chased my Auntie's cat around...but after awhile, when I saw Dad holding her and she was asleep, I finally walked up and gave her a little hug...I was keeping those little moments between us, and didn't keep hugging her whenever the camera came out...I wanted to savor those moments just between us...I gave her a few more hugs, and marveled at how tiny she was...I had a hard time believing that I was EVER that small! (Dad, of course, informed that I wasn't ever that small, since Braelynn is a lot tinier than I was...)

Later on, when she woke up, I asked Dad and Auntie Steph if I could hold Braelynn, and grabbed Auntie Steph's boppie pillow to show I was serious...they sat me down on the couch, and propped me up, to let me hold Braelynn...she was so tiny, and so soft...she looked up at me and kept making all these faces, and squeaking sounds...she was too adorable for words...

Can you tell how excited I am to be a big cousin?

After our visit was over (I even gave Braelynn a little kiss goodbye, and she gave me a little smile, though I'm told that was mostly gas...) we moved on to Gramma Mindy's to visit with her and JustRichy...

I feel asleep in the car and while I was sleeping, Dad moved me to the couch inside (While putting a chair up to protect me from falling) Suffice to say, it was a little crazy waking up on the couch surrounded by family after having fallen asleep in the car with just Dad...

I got to spend a lot of time there, and got to eat lunch with Gramma Mindy, Dad, and JustRichy...it was yummy, but I REALLY wanted to play the piano, so I cut it a bit short...

Later, JustRichy was nice enough to play catch with the big ball! I loved running to that very specific spot where I could get the most distance between JustRichy and I to get the most out of "catch"

As you can see, I have my Dad's sports skills, since I'm not even paying attention to the ball being rolled at me...

But I fooled everyone, because at the last minute, I turned around and caught the ball. I even managed to roll it back to JustRichy a few times...it was great fun!

I also got to go up and down the stairs a lot (With adult supervision, of course) and played with all the toys that were there!

Gramma Mindy read a book with me that, for some reason, my Mom just isn't into...her loss, man.

After lunch, Gramma Mindy gave me a little ice cream, which made for a delightful snack on such a warm day...I stood dutifully in front of her and let her spoon out the ice cream for me...

It was super yummy...

Friday night, I got to see Uncle Steve and Aunt Amy, and on Saturday Dad's friends Chris and Lynette came by to visit with me...since my staff photographer (Dad) was otherwise occupied, there aren't any photos from that stuff, but I can assure you that I was having a blast and sharing all the new words I've been learning with everyone...it's always nice to see everyone!

Later in the evening, in order to wind down a bit, I spent a lot of timing playing with toys, and sitting on the little stool that they had for me...it was so convenient....and everyone loves when I say "Sit! Sit!"

Before we left on Sunday, Dad and I made a quick stop by the bagel shop where Uncle Steve (and now JustRichy too!) works...we got to have a nice bagel breakfast, with juice, and hang out with Uncle Steve even longer (I saw JustRichy, too, but he was still in the middle of his shift, and had to work...it was fun watching him bake bagels though! What a neat job!)

We had a long and difficult drive back home, and Dad was bummed because we had had SUCH a great drive up to Connecticut on Thursday...I guess the curse continues. We have yet to really have a great drive up AND a great drive back on the same trip...

The drive was fine until Delaware, where we ran into some heavy rain...this continued down the coast until we arrived back home...to find Mom! Our building was one of the few around the area with power (Hooray for underground cables laid in 1964!) and I was SO excited to see Mom! Even though I had fun, and she had a nice long weekend break, we both missed each other a lot! I told her all the new words I had been saying, and she was super thrilled with my ever-expanding vocabulary!

The past couple days since we got back have been hard and a bit crabby, but it was worth the trip...it's always great to see everyone, and this weekend was PACKED with visits! What a great trip! See you all again soon!

Thanks for letting me turn on all the fans! (And sorry for kinda breaking one of the fans at DaGramma's...I'm glad she managed to fix it...)