What's Behind That Book?

Sheez! Get your minds out of the gutter, people! I'm wearing big boy underpants!!! Granny knows I'm working on potty training and thought I might need a little incentive. She's pretty much a genius, because was little boy wouldn't want to wear Lightning McQueen underwear?! Or Thomas or Buzz Lightyear or Wall-E underwear? Mom told me that I could wear them all the time if I use the potty regularly.





Thanks, Granny! Smart thinking!

Theme Dinner

Every now and then, my parents and I have a theme dinner. Dinner is our one real time together every day and sometimes we like to make it kind of special. Well, we had one of those last night.

As I have mentioned before, when I sit on the potty 10 times, I get a prize, and one of those prizes was the book version of "Lady and the Tramp." I love it. In fact, I ask to read it a several times every day. Well, Saturday night, I told Mom that I wanted to eat spaghetti and meatballs like Lady and the Tramp so, the next day, Daddy spent all day making homemade meatballs and sauce (I know! Seriously!) and we had a Lady and the Tramp dinner party.

I picked up the whole "spaghetti slurp" pretty quickly...



And then it was time for the lady in the house to take over the Lady role. Silly Mommy...



I like these theme dinners (and sometimes breakfasts--"If You Give A Pig A Pancake" anyone?) so much that my parents want to do lots more. So be on the lookout!

Ode To Max

A little more than 4 years ago, my mom got a call in the middle of the night from Uncle Preston. He had found a tiny, 4-week-old kitten in a ditch on the side of the road and wanted Mom to tell him what he should do with it. Who would have ever thought that that little kitty would end up being such a special member of our family and one of my first friends.

Saturday night, we lost Max, "King of The Wild Things." Max (aka: Maxi Cat, Maxilla Gorilla, etc.) was a big part of our family and we'll miss him so much. We wanted to celebrate the little time we had with him. It wasn't long enough, but we're so grateful for it.

You all know the words...we expect you to all sing "Memories" as you're scrolling down.

Man, he was one tiny and funny-looking kitty when Mom first met him.





But how cute???!!





Despite their 9 year age difference, Max and Leroy became fast friends.



And they only became closer as the years passed.



And then I came along. And we all became fast friends.



In fact, Max was really my first playmate. You may remember some of these videos from earlier in my blog career.







If you need any more proof of my love for that kitty, just check out this video of my first word.



We love you, Max. Thanks for being the funniest, craziest, best cat in the universe. We will never forget you, friend.

Meow.

Umm...Can You Say, OBSESSED?

Yes. Yes, that is a tiny fireman sliding down the world's longest fireman pole...otherwise known as the floor lamp in our living room. Betcha can't guess who put him there.

The Potty Chart

Save me from my mom's potty training boot camp!!! She's come up with this crazy chart with stickers and prizes. She's lost her mind! I like my diapers! I could walk around all day with poop in my pants! I don't want to use the potty! She has this crazy idea that everyone uses the potty at some point in his/her life. I have no idea who's been feeding her that bag of lies, but I'm not going to do it! And no chart with stickers is going to change my mind.

She made this thing as a "reward system"--whatever that means. She said when I sit on the potty, I can get a polka-dot sticker on my chart, and when I actually do something while sitting on the potty, I can get a race car sticker and a M&M. Then, when I have 10 stickers on my chart, I get a prize. She's not fooling me. I know what these "prizes" are. They're some little books or puzzles from the Target dollar bin. Big deal.

...but those race car stickers are awfully cool...

Rachel and Charlie's Wedding

Yesterday was not only Father's Day (Happy Father's Day, Daddy!)--it was also Rachel and Charlie's wedding! This was my first wedding, and let me tell you--it is exactly what I want my and Scarlett's wedding to be like. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning.

First of all, the wedding was on Long Island, so we took a ferry there. That's right--you heard me! A FERRY! Otherwise known as a really big boat. Yeah, it was pretty much the best day ever from the get-go.





The wedding was at the home of Bunny and (the late) Bill Hoest, creators of The Lockhorns, among many other cartoons. Their house was amazing! My favorite part was the beach.





But that wasn't even the coolest part of the wedding. I mean, there were many cool things about this wedding...like the breadsticks.



And a huge tent that was supported by firemen poles. At least I pretended they were firemen poles. But even that wasn't the best part.



There was dancing...or at least running...and nearly knocking down women with canes.



They also had cake. And I'm not talking about just any cake! Take a closer look...



Your eyes are not deceiving you! That is in fact a Woody, Bullseye and Jesse cake topper. Now this is my kind of party!



And it was delicious too...but even that wasn't the coolest part!





After the wedding, I had a pretty major first in my life. It's something I've wanted to do for more than a year now. I had my first bus ride!!! And even that wasn't the coolest part.







Are you ready to see what the coolest part was? Here you go! Get ready, Scarlett! This will be us in 20 or so years...if we're willing to convert to Judaism.



How fun is that?! I mean, they were in chairs! And people picked them up and danced around! That's AMAZING!

The whole day was fun! We had a blast and are so happy we got to celebrate with our amazing friends, Rachel and Charlie. Mazel Tov!







(Blogger's note: Rachel crocheted her dress, people! Can you believe it?!)

Playdate With Ruby

After a week of rainy days, my mom finally decided it was time for me to have a friend over--and for her to have one over too! Yesterday afternoon, Miss Ruby, as my mom calls her, came over for a little playdate. And Sarjan, Ruby's mom, came over for a playdate with my mom! Let me tell you--I was excited! I pretty much squealed the entire time.



Ruby had alot of fun trying on my hats! (Sarjan, Mom thinks it's time for you to start a dress-up trunk for Ruby!)







Even Baby Lyla got in on the hat action!



We had a blast! In fact...last night, when Daddy was putting me to bed, he asked me who I love. (This is a nightly ritual in our house). Guess who I said first? Sarjan. I can't wait to have Ruby (and Lyla and Sarjan) over again very soon!

They Might Be Giants

Last night, I went to my first concert. Well...actually it wasn't really my first concert. I went to a few last summer on the New Haven Green, but they weren't bands I knew or anything. This time I went to see a band that I actually listen to: They Might Be Giants. I went with Scarlett, Ruby and Finn (and their parents, of course). We had a great time!

As soon as the music started, I was into it. Granted, I started out a bit slow...



But I quickly got into the concert experience more and more...



And more...



And more. We all did, as you can see. And Mom got a workout.



Until finally...well...see for yourself. I may have gotten a bit too into it.



We had so much fun! I think you'll be seeing more concert posts this summer!

2 Year Checkup

I went to see Dr. Blanton today for my 2 year checkup. As usual, I passed all his tests with flying colors!

Surprisingly, I've actually lost a bit of weight since my last weigh-in. I only weigh 29.5 pounds! I mean, that's still pretty big, but not as much as my mom thought! Also, I am 35 inches tall. If we follow the rule of doubling the height at age 2, then I will be 5' 10" when I'm full-grown. However, if we follow the other rule of adding 2 inches to that estimated height for a boy, I'll be 6 feet tall. So...check back in about 16 years to see if that prediction comes true.

Today was the first time that my mom could tell Dr. Blanton was really studying me. He asked me a bunch of questions, like who my friends are and what color the toy I was playing with was. Mom told him about how much I talk and what I like to eat and what I usually do every day. She also told him I can count to fifteen. Just to prove her wrong, I counted to twenty.

After my visit with Dr. Blanton, the nurse came in to give me a shot. Mom told me it would be just like when I give her a shot when I play with my doctor's kit. She said it would be fast and I would say "ouch!" just like she does. So when the nurse gave me my shot, I was perfectly still and didn't make a sound. Then when she was done, I said, "ouch!" Mom and the nurse thought that was pretty funny. They also thought it was pretty amazing how tough I am. They couldn't believe I didn't cry. Whatever. I'm two now. I'm not a baby anymore.

I don't have any pictures from my visit to the doctor's office, but I do have some pictures of me opening my presents on my birthday. Here they are!











And here I am enjoying my birthday ice cream cone. Mom saved the cake for my party.

TWO!

Today was my second birthday party. Tons of my friends and their parents came to celebrate, hear music, play and eat. I'm pretty sure it was a success. And no one had more fun than me. I was definitely the dirtiest kid standing at the end of it all. I think that's the mark of a successful party and a happy birthday boy!

Last year's party was very different. Really just Scarlett and Will were there, along with a bunch of my parents' friends. This year, I had my own crew. And what a crew they are! I really have an amazing group of friends. My mom might even love them more than I do! We're pretty lucky.

Of course Scarlett was there, along with Joe, Lauren and brand new baby "brudder" Holden!



Jonah came with his dad, Steve.



Lulu came with her mom (and my crush), Sami.



Sarjan was there with baby Lyla. Ruby and Joe were there too, but for some reason they don't have a picture.



Finn brought his parents Nicolette and Andrew.



My buddies Nate (with mom, Karen) and Will (with mom, Marika) came too!



And last but not least, Elijah and his mom, Becky (who also happens to be my awesome music teacher!)



We all had a great time visiting and playing in the backyard--like Lulu and my mom (and me peeking through the playset).



Let the concert begin! Robert (from Toddler Tunes) put on a concert and Mom brought out some instruments so we could all play along!





Lulu and I are Toddler Tunes pros, so we knew just what to do when Robert started playing "Five Little Monkeys!" We drummed right along with him!



Since it was my party, I thought it would be okay for me to sing along with Robert with my magic mic.



After the concert, we all played and ate and had a fun time...and then it was time for...



Cake?! Is it time for cake yet?



Cake!



Cake!



Cake!



And more cake!



I loved having all my friends there and I made sure they knew it. I hugged everyone.



No, really. I hugged everyone. Mom couldn't possibly post every picture of the hugs.



After everyone left, I took a good bath (I told you I was dirty!...and sticky from icing) and a long nap and then I opened my presents!







Thank you to all my awesome friends for making this such a terrific day! I can't wait for your parties!