poo...

i woke up with a fever and i don't feel much like talking right now.

i gotta go snuggle with my mommy now.

i miss my daddy. he comes home today. i love you, daddy!!!

love, tj

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a cheap jab and a great adventure!

here's the cheap jab: my mommy asked my daddy to save her the sunday paper because it's the only one she really actually reads and goes through. not so much because of the news part...but because of the coupons. yes, she's a fierce coupon clipper. anyway, today (monday) mommy asked daddy for the sunday paper so she could coupon clip. daddy looked at her and said. i threw it out. mommy looked disappointed and said "what?" and daddy seriously said, "it was just sitting there, so i threw it out". mommy laughed her louded laugh and said IT'S FREAKING MONDAY! does anyone else think that's funny? oh, my daddy is so silly.

here's the great adventure: daddy took us on the adventure of our lives earlier this weekend. we went to the lazy 5 ranch. what is it, you ask? well, it is a modern day jurassic park. we got to drive through 3 1/2 miles of farmland with a water hole, steep slopes and all sorts of different terrain including 700 animals!!! the coolest part is that there is no fencing between your car and the animals! driving almost 4 miles takes a long time when you've got emu, zebra, gazelle, pot bellied pigs, llamas, giraffe, water buffalo, mini horses, ring-tailed lemurs, rhinos and all sorts of animals are coming up to stick their heads in your window! i liked all of the animals EXCEPT the big giraffe. his head was so whopping big and came from high up in the air that it scared me. mommy had to put the window up so i'd stop squealing.

there's no way i can show you all the pictures but here are a few of my favorites. daddy reacted funny to the big scary emu that tried to eat his face. he yelled at mommy to hurry up and roll his window up because it was comin' at him so quickly. mommy loved that!!! make sure you look at how close these guys are to us! wow!!! if you come visit us, we'll take you there. oh yeah, daddy took a picture of the giraffe's private parts because they were so, well, large. i guess i don't care about that stuff right now. too bad i probably will when i grow up. : ) anyway, check out daddy's blog if you care about looking at a giraffe's peepee.

love, tj the zookeeper man

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Mr Crabbypants

I was a Mr Crabbypants today. My Mommy tickled me all day long and finally, I let out a long overdue laugh. And then, I just couldn't stop laughing. Daddy made monkey noises at me again, and I just think he's the silliest guy when he does that.

I got a new toy...a lion walker!!! How cool is that! Daddy got it for me at Target on our family field trip. I really walk when someone holds my hands and steadies me! Isn't that cool? Mommy and Daddy think it is too...but I don't think they're as eager for me to walk as I am. I'm already into EVERYTHING and they've had to rearrange the house a million times for me already. Too bad for them!

Wait til you read tomorrow's blog. It is gonna be the coolest one ever! Promise not to let you down! Love, Little Man T

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Block Head

Since I've been a lot more mobile lately, I've also been more prone to falling. Let's see, I was crawling over Scooter today and hit my noggin on my plastic toybox. I got a nice imprint of the handle on my forehead. Then...I was hitting some blocks together and fell forward (very odd for me to do) without bracing myself. What did I fall into? Another pile of blocks...and I got a nice little imprint of a block on my face. A little square imprint. Now I know what you're thinking. Was there a nice letter in the middle of my face from the block? The answer is 'no'. But if there had been, it'd be cool to have a "t" on one cheek and a "j" on the other. I'll have to remember that for the next time. My Mommy and Daddy think it's funny that I don't cry when I fall down or bump myself, usually. But they're starting to wonder...

I am giving my mom and dad a run for their money with naptime and bedtime now. Since I can pull myself up to my knees or my feet in my crib, I just hang onto the bars for dear life and scream bloody murder. Yep. They let me go for awhile, and then lay me down. I get right up and do it again. This happens a few dozen times and Mommy usually gives in before I do. Today, Mommy won the power struggle. Sort of. I fell asleep AGAINST the bars while crying. Mommy nearly woke me up laughing ... she called for Daddy to see it too. They took pictures. I would wake myself up by falling backward, then I'd catch myself (half asleep) and bang my head right back into the crib bars again. Now that I'm writing all this, I sure hit my head a lot. Hope that's okay...

G'nite friends! tj

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the human head weighs eight pounds

as promised, here are some pics my mommy took of my new chompers.

daddy was doing monkey sounds to make me laugh so you could see my pearly whites!

too bad my face isn't clean!



do i look clueless in this picture, or what?

love, tj

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there is nothing

so perfect

as falling asleep

in the arms of

someone who

fiercely loves you.

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Hoagies and Grinders, Hoagies and Grinders, Lima Beans Lima Beans!

I now can fulfill my Mommy's Aunt Nanette's and Uncle John's nickname for me: Bucky! Know why? Because I have two front teeth! My new toofers are HUGE and look so cute on me. The John Hanak Family nicknamed me Bucky because I was born near the big Buckeye's game...not cuz of my teeth, but it's funny anyway. Soon as Mommy and Daddy take a picture of my new funny-cute teeth, I'll post it.

I grind my teeth like crazy. It sounds horrible. Worse than nails on a chalkboard but I don't know what else to do! They're new to me and I'm checking them out and stuff. Hence the reason for the Adam Sandler tribute title. Why are sandwiches called grinders?

Okay, gotta go! love, tj-toofers!

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Dave Matthews' Ants Marching...

(My Daddy will probably write about this in his blog, but I'm beatin' him to it!)

We had a great visit to Cleveland this past long weekend. However, we still had to drive the long way home to Charlotte. Personally, I'm not a fan of sitting in a carseat for long periods of time until my little butt goes numb. "They" say I won't remember it. “They've” been saying that about a lot of things lately...and I’m not sure I believe them anymore.

Like I was saying, we had a long drive home and we actually broke the 8-hour drive time record. It was brilliant. Brilliant! What we didn’t know was, we had a surprise welcome home party when we arrived! Mommy and Daddy walked in (Daddy with Scootie, and Mommy with me) and we were all dead tired. Daddy’s plan was to unload and clean the car…Mommy’s plan was to wash me up, feed me, let me crawl out my frustrations and put me to bed. Surprise!!! Instead, we were thrilled to see THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of ants marching throughout the kitchen, pantry and laundry room. Thankfully, they had only gotten into Scooter’s dog food and nothing else in the pantry yet, but it was a sight to see! Let me tell ya!

So picture this, Mommy held me in one arm (and yes, I was very squirmy wormy) and the vacuum hose in the other hand. She alternated between 3 holes the ants were pouring in from while Daddy ran to the store for every single ant killing thing they had. Daddy then spent the next zillion hours spraying, killing, scrubbing, sucking, pounding, trapping and cleaning the floors and ant holes. You know what? He didn’t even get mad or frustrated. He just saved our lives one ant at a time. What a man!!!

Know what though? Those ants allowed me to stay up until almost midnight. How cool is that!!! I love you, anties! Thank you for sacrificing your lives for me!

love, tj sleepy-pants

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Zach Morris is so cool!

What a big boy I am! Wanna know what I did? I pulled myself up to a standing position on the steps while Mommy and Daddy watched both proud and horrified. : ) I know they thought I was adorable and it was amazing to see. I tried to pull my leg/knee up to take the next step when I was whisked away by my parents. Oh well, I'll get to it again soon. They said something about getting a gate today. I'm not sure what that means but I don't think it's good news for my climbing plans. Hmmm.

When I am getting my nite-time bottle in my room, I have a new "thing" that I like to do. I examine my hands very thoroughly. I fan one hand out and use my other hand to play with it and point at it with my other pointer finger. This goes on for 20 minutes before I get bored.

Along those same lines, I have become impossible to change. IMPOSSIBLE! When my Mommy or Daddy lay me down to change me, I twist and turn and squirm until I flip over. Try changin' me like that! I've gotten them very frustrated lately. Daddy has figured me out. The only thing that gets my attention is his cell phone. No other toy or gadget or diaper will do, just Daddy's cell phone.

I got to try ice cream the other day too! I liked it a lot but it was so cold! Wow! I made a face at first and then I wanted more, more, more! I must take after my Mommy and my Great Grandma Nonny and their love of ice cream.

My hair is getting so thick on top and not so much on the sides. I'll be a mop top soon. I have lots of hair, but it's so fine that y0u can't really tell until you play with it or give me a mohawk. My favorite hairstyle, by the way.

Oh, and Daddy took us to a new restaurant yesterday. It's called "Good Old Days" and it has the largest menu in Charlotte. It was literally a book! Well, so many people commented on how good and cute I was in the restaurant. Everyone likes my red hair. Mommy had to take me out while Daddy was paying the bill because I was happily yelling "Dadadaddadaddadadaddadada!" the whole time. I don't know why Mommy gets so excited when I yell that ... I don't know what it means yet but I soon will.

Well, my show is on. Gotta run! Love, Timothy Jonah Budic

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"I'm in love with a Swiffer"

Mommy was scrubbing the floor yesterday while singing "I'm in love with a Swiffer"...and she wouldn't tell me what the song really is called. Why not? I'm a mature 9 month old (almost). Oh well, someday she'll tell me. Or Daddy will.

Daddy took Mommy to Kohl's today to buy some shorts since it's been 104 the past two days and she wears jeans all the time. While in the store, I got two prizes!!! I got a pinball machine and my very own pair of camouflage Crocs. Do I look cool or what!?!? I didn't take them off and I played with them a lot and stretched with them on as you can see in the picture. I'm noticing that I really, REALLY need a tan. Wouldn't you agree?

I am getting one of my top front teeth in and woke up screaming 4 times last night. It hurts so much worse than my other teeth. This front tooth is a chomper too! It is HUGE! Mommy said so. My whole top gums are all swollen so I'm doped up on Baby Tylenol and Baby Orajel. I like washcloths and chewy toys okay...but arms, chins, shoulders, and fingers are my favorite things to chew on.

Mommy had a dream she was pregnant again. She woke up screaming too. : )

love, tj-you-can't-see-me-because-i'm-wearing-camo-shoes budic

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everybody poops?

my mommy and daddy told me about the book Everybody Poops when i was younger. like, when i was just 3 months old. you know, a loooong time ago. anyway, when my friend anjanette came to visit, she brought a book called Who Pooped In the Park? and it is hilarious! i've learned all sorts of things about wild pig poop, and deer poop, and jackrabbit poop, and bear poop, and even coyote poop. it's called 'scat' in animal terms. did you know that? i do now.

i have a blister on my big toe from crawling on our carpet. i'm actually a very fast tummy crawler. so fast that my mommy cannot keep up with me! i like to go after things like the fireplace, the door stops (because they make a zoing!!! noise when i play with them), and scooter's toys. i also like to try and hit my head on all the tables and table legs in my path. maybe i should've gotten a helmet after all...for THAT purpose anyway. hahaha.

i'm also getting my top tooth in! can you believe it? it hasn't totally broken through yet but my mommy and daddy just noticed it yesterday. this one hurts more than all the others put together. i like to bit my daddy's chin and my mommy's shoulder when they pick me up. they let me most of the time, cuz they know it makes me feel better.

well, i'll have more tonight or tomorrow. i love everybody!!! love, tj-with-the-smile-that-could-change-the-world (cheesy, i know...my mommy made me do it)

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Kermit the Boy

Today we had another great family dinner. Unfortunately, I had to ruin it by choking and causing my Mommy and Daddy to stop breathing for a few minutes. Boy, did I have them scared! I was sitting at the table with them, and I was eating my little Gerber Graduate Puffs. Sweet Potato ones. Mmmm. My favorite! Anyhow, Mommy looked over at me, and I had a "puke/gag face" goin' on. Daddy saw her face go white and they both lunged for me. Mommy pulled off my high chair top (puffs went everywhere) to get me out, while Daddy got the puff out of my throat. It was scary for me, you should have seen my face! I smiled about 10 seconds after I could breathe again...and Mommy and Daddy didn't talk much for the rest of dinner. I think they were still scared.

I went to the Dollar Tree grand opening today with Mommy. I didn't care much for the shopping part, but I had a GREAT time. Know why? Because I got to ride in the shopping cart for the first time ever. Usually I'm in a stroller or in my carseat on top of the cart. So, today was a treat. My Mom took pictures with her cell phone because I was so darn cute. Is there any way she can download those onto the computer? She's not sure. She called me Kermit the whole time in the store because I swung my legs the whole time. I held onto the front of the cart with both hands the whole time too. Oh, I was a darlin' little boy! : )

It was well over 100 degrees today. So HOT! Daddy is super brave to do such hard runs and workouts every single morning. He's my hero and Mommy's hero too. He never complains either. Never! He runs hard, works hard, takes care of Mommy and me, the house and the yard, and everything else. Geez, he does everything and we love it! When we spend time together, we play a lot. But sometimes I just sit on his lap and look at him. Or eat his drawstring from his shorts. Or watch Sportscenter with a bottle in my mouth. Either way, I relax so well with him. Ahhh. My hero.

Well, that's it for me! I have a clean diaper on. A full stomach. And I'm off to la-la land. G'nite!

love, sweet dreams tj

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My Mom's a Nerd

It's official. My Mommy is a nerd. (as if that was ever really in question)

Yesterday, she was looking at her calendar and got all excited when she saw what was written down for today: Tuesday. It said "Grand Opening - Dollar Tree". Well, I'm not sure what makes her more of a nerd...the fact that she actually wrote that down on her calendar? Or the fact that she got so excited about it. Either way, she will be dragging me a few blocks down the road to attend the grand opening of the Dollar Tree. Yippee! (sarcasm)

My poor Daddy has to run in this heat!!! It was already 80 degrees and about 100% humidity at 6am this morning. Sick. I don't enjoy it because Mommy and I haven't been taking our walks lately...and even spending time in my pool or getting loaded into the car have become kind of tough. Starting tomorrow, we have 4 days in a row of 99 or 100 degree days at least. I still would rather deal with this heat than a Cleveland winter right now. Granted, I will have enough Cleveland winters to go through in my future, but for a few years, I'll deal with the heat and beautiful winters down here.

My Mom and Dad have been working with me a lot on crawling and I'm doing great. I am MUCH MORE tiring to take care of now. I don't just sit in one spot anymore. Can you see me looking at myself in the fireplace? Mommy caught me lookin' at myself. What a handsome guy!

love, tj stinkerpants

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Ridin' Dirty

This morning, Daddy and Anj ran in a race in uptown Charlotte. Mommy and I drove separately so we could leave later. Turns out, we left about 42 seconds too late because when we got uptown, the orange-plastic-vest-wearing officials had just blocked off the roads. There were about 90 dumptrucks lined up along the road and about half the streets were one-way only. Mommy assured me we'd be okay and that even though it was her first time driving in the city alone, she had it under control. And she did.


Well, once we drove around and around again without finding ANY place to park, Mommy finally got ahold of Daddy on the phone. Of course, it was following the race. We were very sad that we missed Daddy's and Anj's entire race and finish. Mommy failed to know that TODAY was the day that the Panther's practice was open to the public and they had all sorts of games and free things going on at the stadium...hence no parking anywhere!!! Well, let me end this story abruptly by saying that Mommy and I drove home without seeing Daddy or Anj at all. We got home and had breakfast and playtime when Daddy and Anj came home. They both ran really well and each won a Panther's jersey with their last names and favorite number on the back. Anj decided to give Mommy her jersey and had Mommy's last name and favorite number printed on the back. How cool is that!?!? Want to know something cheesy? Daddy's and Mommy's favorite number is the same...#7, and their last name is the same, so they will have MATCHING jersies to wear to Panther's football games. Cute, huh!


I got a new hat at BabyGap today. Don't I look cool? I think so! Check it out! Oh, by the way, this coming week's 7-day forecast is as follows: 97* 98* 97* 99* 97* 99* 98*...that's HOT!

love, tj bojangles

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Face

I have the face of an angel! And today, I stuck that face in the water at the YMCA!!! Can you believe it? Let me tell you...

Anjanette came to visit us at our house for a few days and she and Mommy took me swimming today. Anj held me and played with me in the big people pool (indoors) while Mommy did a pool workout. Then, we went outside to the kid's pool with all the slides and stuff. They greased me up with SPF 50...and yet, they wonder why I still look like Casper the Friendly Ghost! Anyways, I kicked and tried to swim in the shallow water. Mommy never let go of me, of course, but I thought I could swim alone. It was cool. Then, I started looking down into the water at my wrinkling toes. I put my face closer and closer, and then dipped it into the water. I came up with water dripping off my nose and made a funny face. I jumped with excitement and tentatively did it again. Then once again. Mommy and Anj were astonished and a little worried at first. They looked at each other and said, "Did he just do that???" Then when I liked it, they laughed. After the third time, Mommy said no more. She ain't no fun! : )

I took a great nap afterwards. So did they. Then I ate vegetable beef stew. Mmmmm. Well, enough talk of my pool adventure. I gotta go to bed. I'm a growin' boy!

Love, the-avid-swimmer-tj-budic-the-great

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Be All That You Can Be

I am an Army crawler! For the past 5 days or so, I have been crawling all over the place! When my Grandma and Grandpa were here visiting, I started to do more than squiggle and squirm and roll to get places. NOW, I have graduated! I began by just using my arms to pull myself everywhere. But now I actually use my little leggies and my big feet to my advantage. I push off like crazy and I am rocket-fast. Mommy ran to the door to let Scooter in today, and I was right behind her...practically on her heels. By the time she turned around, I was slapping my greasy little hand against the glass door. Well, it didnt take long for her to get my play area out of the garage. I love it in here!!!

What I don't love...is being in the "daycare" at the Y. Here's the story. Mommy took me to the Y so that she could do a swim workout. But first, she had to drop me off at the daycare. I went to the nice lady without crying. When she sat me on the floor and put a toy in front of me, I just looked up at her like "um, now what do you want me to do?" Mommy watched through the glass window and I know it hurt her to do that to me...even though it's good for me. And for her. Anyhow...I sat there just looking around with my belly stickin' out. I was cute as could be. Pretty soon (2 long minutes later), I felt lonely. So, I began to frown a huge frown. No cry came out. No sound. Just a huge, fat, adorable frown and curled lower lip. Oh, Mommy struggled not to just run in and get me. But she held her ground. The pretty ladies saw me be sad, and they gave me a new toy and sat with me. This time, I had a xylophone to play with. (Did I spell that right?) I sat there with that xylophone in front of me and the dog bone-shaped thing to play it with in my hand for a good 3 minutes...staring at those ladies. Daring them to unfrown my face.

Well, Mommy took off down the hall and basically jumped right into the pool. She knew if she didn't take the opportunity, her window of time would be gone in a flash. 18 1/2 minutes later, Mommy was in the middle of an interval in the pool when a red-smocked lady walked onto the steamy pool deck carrying a dry erase board with the words "TJ's Mommy" written in large block letters. Swimming over to the side, my proud Mommy raised her arm from the water and said 'that's me!' The lady said that I was in need of her. And I was. I just couldn't take it anymore. But I was a very good boy for a little while.

My Mommy put her dry clothes over her soaked bathing suit and rescued me from the daycare. She took me into the family locker room and put my swimsuit on. Then, we marched right into that pool and had the best afternoon ever! I splashed in the water and was in up to my neck at one point! We had a great time in the big-people pool and I didn't even peepee in my diaper!

We're going to try the daycare again tomorrow. Wish me luck! love, tj the swimmer

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Grandma's Birthday

I am lucky to have such a great family who comes to visit me all the time. My Grandma and Grandpa and Grammie and Poppy and Aunts and Uncles have almost all been down here lots. It makes me feel so good and loved to know that they'll travel all this way just to spend some time with me. Last week, Grandma and Grandpa came. We went to the US National Whitewater Center and watched a little boy fall out of a big raft (followed by my Mommy overreacting about it). We took walks, got ice cream, played on the floor and the pool, learned to crawl and all sorts of things. We even learned about jacanas and vicunas. (Read on to find out more).

We sure had a good time. When Grandma and Grandpa left, Daddy was sad and he missed them right away. It made Mommy fall even more in love with Daddy. Gross, right? Well, don't worry. Grandma and Grandpa poked fun at Mommy and Daddy and how grossly lovey they are to each other. Silly guys!

Oh, I forgot to mention that it was Grandma's birthday so she had to wear a crown and pink flowers. I would post the pictures but my Mommy wants to keep the good relationship she has with her in-laws. Hehehe. I got so spoiled from all the attention. It was super!

I love my family members! G'nite Easter Bunny! love, little tj

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Jacanas and Fake Coughing

I have my 4th tooth already! I was laughing at Daddy yesterday morning, and Mommy said "Whoa!" when she noticed my new sharp little tooth. Now my smile is even more adorable! I got a balloon to celebrate...my Mom is a big spender. She got me a free balloon for pushing a hard tooth out of my soft gums. Does she know how much that hurts? Something tells me she gets it...


I have tried lots of new foods lately. Spaghetti is amazing. I chew very carefully and will not open my mouth for more until I am done. What a great eater I am! I ate chicken and vegetables the other day and my Mommy said it smelled like someone forgot to put deodorant on. I'm not sure what that means, but I actually liked it. Beef macaroni is excellent too. I make funny faces when I eat new foods, but I hardly ever spit any out. The other day, I had a huge mouthful of peas and I sneezed...ALL over Mommy and all over myself. I laughed a lot and tried to do it again on purpose. I couldn't figure out how to fake-sneeze. However, I have MASTERED the fake cough. Whenever I cough for real, the next 10 minutes of my time is spent doing the fake cough. It's so fun. You should try it sometime! coughcough. coughcough. My Mommy imitated my fake cough in the car with Grandma and Grandpa and Daddy, and I belly laughed for a long time. It was great. Mommy kept on coughing and I kept on laughing.

I share a lot with Scooter. And he shares with me. I like his dirty yellow nasty ball. But I let him read my books. I am reading all sorts of books about animals. Do you know what a jacana is??? Do you know what a vicuna is? Grandpa told me people used to wear vicuna coats. Look those animals up online...right now. Do it! Go! Right now. : ) Love, TJ

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Halloween is coming...eventually

Obviously this is NOT a picture of me...but this is what I am most likely going to be for Halloween. YODA!!! Can't you picture my cute little self in this costume? My Mommy is ESPECIALLY looking forward to holidays since I came to Earth. : ) Funny lady, huh!








Well, here I am. The future of America! You shouldn't be afraid. I am going to make a difference in this world. Maybe by curing a disease or maybe just by making a difference in someone else's life...but whatever it is that I do, my Mommy and Daddy will forever be proud of me. The end.

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