Gramma Mindy & The Zoo!

Yikes! Where have I been for the last month!?!? Well....my official transcription engineer (My Dad) has been swamped at work and with a show he just finished last weekend, so he wasn't available for blog-writing duties....that's pretty much it! Let's continue where we left off, shall we? And then we'll dive into more recent fare!

For Gramma Mindy's second day during her last visit, we chose to visit one of our favorite places....The National Zoo!

As always, it was fun being back in the old neighborhood, and while a bit chillier, the weather continued to be nice. We walked around the zoo for awhile and got to see a lot of cool stuff, as always!

The zebras were out that day, and we got to watch them walk around for awhile...

Gramma Mindy showed me some of the informational panels that you could slide out on this little Panda thing....I just liked that you could pull out the panels, and let them slide shut. It was really cool.

Near the actual red pandas, I found this statue of a red panda, and became the best of friends with it IMMEDIATELY.

I pretended to get bitten by the statue, and then proceeded to have everyone in our little group pretend to get bitten (and then be medically assisted by me, of course...) Here is Mom getting ready to get bitten....

 And here is me mending her poor wounded finger....

 Next up was Gramma Mindy....he got her pretty good...

 But not to worry! I was right there to fix her up, good as new!

 Dad was spared by the red panda....for now!
 I was extremely sad when it was time to leave my new statue friend...I didn't know how I could possibly cope with having to leave and let other people take pictures with the statue...

 An acceptable substitute was found....in the actual red pandas that were ten feet away from the statue.

 As is typical,  we got to see the pandas at the zoo, but since it wasn't all that crowded, we got a good glimpse of them, and got to see them eating and playing, which is always nice!

 As it grew later (and I subsequently grew hungrier) I had a bit of a cranky moment, and went off to be by myself for a little while...I found a nice little place to hide behind the panda display, and after a bit of sulking, managed to come out and finish off the day...

We even managed to sneak in a little "hide and seek" time with Gramma Mindy...I am only slightly better at hiding than Gramma Mindy.....can you find us in the below picture?

Gramma Mindy & The Air & Space Museum!

A few weeks ago, we were graced by the presence of Gramma Mindy! We had an action-packed weekend, since there was actually no one that was sick, and we had no actual plans...so we made it a point to get out there into the world and DO SOME STUFF! First up...my first trip to the Air & Space Museum! This is a huge museum devoted to showing off a lot of stuff from the history of (Duh) Air and Space travel. Everything from old advertisements of airlines, to the actual planes and space rockets themselves!

Being in the main hall with all the huge air and space vehicles was overwhelming!

Even going to the upper level so that we could look down at them was still a crazy thing to behold!

They were such gorgeous planes and things, but SOOO big! I was even a little nervous about how safe it was to be running around beneath these things....I mean, just how strong are those wires that are holding them up, anyway?

No matter...any hesitation melted away as I continued my quest to join the Guinness Book of World Records ranks as "Longest Period of time Running from everywhere to everywhere" by visiting some of the aircraft on display. You actually got to go inside some of the old planes.

Gramma Mindy showed me the old pilots uniform, here encased behind plastic so we couldn't get our hands on it...I guess they didn't trust us to "look but don't touch"

Mom told me all about some of the planes that were hanging around us...she's a pretty smart lady.

Dad showed me some cool old lunchboxes (I think we're supposed to call them "retro" to be nice to the older generations) he likes lunchboxes.

Dad found me this pretty cool flight simulator. It had three different types of steering controls set up for three types of planes: The super old school Wright Brothers type of plane, then an older but more modernized than the Brothers plane, and finally a modern completely electronic plane. As you moved the control levers, you got to look up into the transparent case above to watch how your control movements affected the simulated parts of an airplane. It wasn't just some computer simulation, you actually got to see the moving parts. It was really cool.

There was a display about what kinds of things people take in their luggage...I quickly identified with a small suitcase that was theoretically packed by a child....can you think of any reason why?

We found one plane that we got to go up and into, and then back out and around...I did this about 427 times...Mom and Gramma Mindy followed me for a bunch of them, and then they used the opportunity to rest, while Dad kept an eye on me...

Later on, after exploring the museum for some time, it came time to eat lunch, and so we all took a break to grab some food from the McDonald's in the museum...much like the highway rest areas we frequent on trips to visit my family in Connecticut, the museum delights in giving you the same food for double the price...HUZZAH!

Regardless, we don't do McDonald's all that often anyway, so it was a nice treat. I had some chicken nuggets, apple slices, milk and fries. I also looked pretty cool doing it...

Dad was kind enough to share some (OK...most) of his shake with me...it was capital D-lecious!

So far the weather had held up, and we had a lovely day at the Museum...we saw so much stuff (Including lots more airplanes, and some film reels highlighting the use of airplanes in old movies) and it was a very full day!

Boys and Their Construction Toys....

And just when I wrote about the lack of snow...Spring apparently pounced on us a little early! The weather has been gorgeous and we really have been enjoying it as much as we can. Hopefully we'll get a bit more snow to play in next winter....regardless, we're all excited that the weather has perked up a bit...it's sunnier, warmer, and the days are longer. Earth is a funny little planet...

A few weeks ago, when the weather was warming up, but still a bit rainy, Dad and I got to go on a little adventure!

We had to bring something downtown for Mom at a work function, because she forgot it at home, and needed it for the function...we packed up, and drove on down to help her out.

Before we parked, I noticed that there were lots of cranes doing some construction work in a huge lot near where Mom was working...I asked Dad if we could stop there and look at the cranes work, and since he is also a little boy, he said yes right away!

We got out of the car and I got to run down the street singing "Singing in the Rain" with my umbrella (which I really use more as a prop than s method to keep myself dry in the rain) it was fun just walking from the car to the hotel where Mom's work conference was happening...

After we handed off the stuff, we walked over to the construction site....there was SO much to see, and a lot of cranes doing work. They were lifting things, and moving things, and doing such a cool job with it. They even lifted this huge thing that held a lot of cement so that they could lower it down into the deep deep pits and get the cement down there where it needed to be.

I walked right up to the fence with my umbrella, and watched the people working.

I got a really good view, and got to see lots of cranes all working at once on this huge project that they are calling "CityCenter"

I was a little concerned at all the noise, but there was no way you could pull me away from there! I was simply having too much fun!

The cranes were all working together on different tasks, and they looked really cool framed against the cloudy (and only slightly drizzly) sky...

We managed to get there when several shifts of workers were stopping to have lunch, so I asked Dad about that a lot...It was cool that some people packed their lunch, and other bought lunch from several food trucks that were set up on the construction site. Wow! Your very own food trucks! How cool is THAT!?

After staying and watching a lot of work getting done (even though it didn't look like a lot happened, since this was such an immense project) Dad and I crossed the street and had a nice lunch together at a little place downtown....he and I shared chicken strips and fries, and it was pretty good. A lovely time, indeed!

Within the next few days, there was yet ANOTHER instance of some cool construction work going on...this time in my own backyard! (Or in this case, on my roof!) The building we live in was having its air-conditioning system replaced...They had told us a week in advance about this work, so we were prepared for it, but nothing can quite get you ready to actually see that big old crane right outside your window!!

The picture below shows the old air conditioning unit getting carted away...it was pretty old and rusty, so we were happy they replaced it with a brand-spanking new one! It looked great and I looked very forward to it keeping us cool this summer...

I was so excited to watch the crane lift the giant pieces of machinery in front of our window, and up on to our roof. We truly had front row seats! I can't even tell you how fun it was to be right there watching it all.

Above is a rare blog video, showing just how excited I was at being able to hang out by the window with Dad and watch them lifting this stuff up on to the roof...it was really REALLY cool! (Dad thought so, too...he wanted me to tell you all that)

Our lame winter so far...

February...we hardly knew ye!

Where did the month go!? After a crazy busy batch of posting in December and January, I went quiet in February since I was pretty worn out...but that doesn't mean I wasn't doing anything...Let's take a look, shall we?

As the title of this post should have told you, it has been a lame winter for us down here. While the rest of the country gets pummeled with snow, we have actually had sunny days, warm weather, and a bit of rain. We got some snow back in October during that freak snow storm, and a few weeks ago got a little bit more...just enough to play in!

I got all bundled up in my new snow pants...

My jacket, hat (and matching froggie gloves) were next, and I went outside to have some fun with Mom! After playing for awhile in the cold, snowy weather, I came back in with a very red, windburned little face....

I did get to hang out and watch some TV with some hot chocolate and Mom...but other than that, NADA! No snow! What kind of winter is THAT? No kind of winter for me, that's for sure...

Coming up....visits....furniture...adventures in construction both at home and out in the world...and MORE furniture...

My Third birthday party with my friends!

In my final (FINALLY) entry in catching you up with my whirlwind, crazy, wacky holiday/birthday...we revisit a birthday party that I held at Jonah's Treehouse with my friends from daycare!

Mom and Dad asked me who I wanted to invite to my party...I told them...and that's who they invited! Cool, right?

Our friend Miss Alice set us up with a discounted rate for spending a few hours hanging out at Jonah's Treehouse...it has been a long time since I had been to Jonah's Treehouse...but I remembered it like it was yesterday. They have a small ballpit that you really couldn't drag me out of, no matter what you tried.

They also did a lot of fun activities with all of us. There were some songs to sing, percussion instruments to play...

We thought it was hilarious that the boys and girls split up pretty evenly. It was mostly the girls that sat down and paid attention to the people running the event...while the boys continued to run around like crazy people.

And I, of course, spent more time in the ball pit. This time, with added puppet Lion-Friend.

I have to say, one thing you can count on to get me up and involved in the games is the parachute...and that's what they did! My friends and I were jumping around on it, and letting them spin us on the parachute! The parents all helped pull us around, and it was GREAT!

We even got under the parachute (can you imagine that there was ever a time that I was scared of this thing?! It's SO much fun!) while the parents helped pull it up and down over our heads...at one point, they got a little overzealous and knocked me down...I was pretty upset, and I cried a little, but the girls running the event cleared off the parachute for me, and let me lay down in it by myself for a few minutes....

They spun me (and Lion) around for a few minues, and it's really quite amazing how much better you feel after a few spins on the told parachute...

They had everyone join me on the parachute for the finale, and we all had a lot of fun being spun around by the parents...it was a great time!

The grand finale of the event, of course, was bubbles...everyone had a lot of fun chasing them around, and I, as always, tried to eat as many as humanly possible...it's kind of my thing when it comes to bubbles.

We were then led into the party room that was all set up for a late lunch/early diner (Depending on your perspective) I realized early on that my preferred method of dress was not condusive for eating....

We got a few slices of pizza, and of course some juice boxes. What party is complete without juice boxes!?

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the pizza...even the adults! I have yet to meet anyone that doesn't love pizza!

After the pizza, they lit the candles on my cake, and all my friends sang Happy Birthday to me...it's always such a nice feeling having everything sing for you...I blew out my candles, and dove right into some birthday cake...it was a delicious cake that I picked out myself when I was out shopping with Dad, and just as I expected, it tasted just as good as it looked.

And that was it...finally, after what seemed like weeks of partying (and a month of posts to catch up) my birthday was finally all celebrated out...it was such a great time. My friends and family made such an effort to give me a great birthday, and it totally paid off. What fun we all had! I can't wait until next year....thank you all for your happy thoughts, the presents, and especially for taking the time to celebrate my birthday...Thank you for being so generous and wonderful to me in beginning my fourth year on this Earth...let's do it again next year!!!

My first trip to the dentist...

Notice there are no exclamation points in the subject of this latest blog entry....this is due to the fact that I was not all that excited about this little experience....

Initially all seemed to be going pretty well...when I turned 3 years old a month ago, I was very excited about the prospect of my first trip to the dentist...this was mostly due to the fact that my parents presented it as a very exciting part of turning 3.

I am inclined to disagree.

It started off fine, with me sitting in the chair (which went up and down using a little pedal on the ground, which was kind of fun) and it also didn't hurt that there was a TV to watch with some cartoons on it...

The hygienist came in a reassured me that they would only be counting my teeth today (I brought along Humphrey the Whale with me to help ease my nerves) and I agreed that I would be OK with that...

But then I saw her bring out the random array of metal hooks and pokey looking things. And I was alllll done. I tried sitting on Dad's lap while they examined me, but I was too overwhelmed...Mom tried to reassure me, to no avail...

To be fair, the dentist came in after, and managed to at least take a look inside my mouth to see that I had no cavities (Yay!) and that my brushing regimen seemed to be sufficient. He also let me use his little mirror to get a look inside my mouth (I think if they had started with the mirror and eased me into the metal hooks, instead of the other way around, I would have had an easier time!)

They were still nice enough to let me pick out a toy from a toy chest they had (It was a small green plastic hat that fit many of my toys perfectly) and said that they would try again next time. I have a hard time getting onboard with doing this every six months.

Ah well...maybe it will go a little better next time. The dentist said that they had seen far worse than me...they were really good about respecting my boundaries and not causing a huge scene...which I appreciated.

I'll try and work up to doing a little better next time...