Yo Joe!

Sorry it's been so long since I've written! A lot has been going on and blogging kind of slipped my mind! Well, today was a pretty rainy, ugly day and Daddy left early in the morning for Raleigh. So, after playing hard for awhile, Mommy put in Muppets in Space and we watched it for a good half hour before I got off her lap. That is a record for me. I'm not a big tv watcher. Hoorah for that! : )

After my nap, Mommy thought it'd be fun to take me to Monkey Joe's! So, we got all packed in the car and drove down the road a few miles to the greatest place on earth. Monkey Joe's is like Pump It Up...a huge room filled with inflatable slides, obstacle courses and jumping things. I ran around like a crazy kid and screamed a happy scream every few minutes. I grabbed Mommy's hand to take her to each new thing I wanted to try. It melted her heart. I'm pretty good at knowing what makes her smile...and I do it often. On the drive home, I didn't utter a sound. Just stared out the window. Since the car is where I'm the loudest, it was pretty evident how tired I was after that. And yep, I took a nap after my McDonald's sundae. That made TWO naps for today. Mommy was so proud!

I think you all should know that I have begun saying a new word. Goon-dah! It took my Mommy and Daddy a day or two to figure out that it means Good Night and Good Job. They say both phrases to me a lot so I figured I'd just start saying it. Gosh, it's cute too. I'll get a video of it one of these days. Promise!

I also like to repeat my ABC's to Mommy and Daddy. They say a letter and I'm supposed to repeat it...through the whole alphabet. And I do! However, each letter sounds like "dgee"...but the point is that I repeat after them and it sounds so cute! Daddy and I are doing that right now and Mommy is listening in from upstairs. It's quite fun!!!

Okay, gotta get ready for bed! Love, TJ

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Ahhh, love.

We took a great trip to Raleigh this weekend for a wedding. Remember me getting all excited about it? Well, the trip down was a little rough. I played with my feet for awhile and watched movies which kept me happy. But after watching Muppets in Space twice, my butt got tired of sitting. And I just didn't feel like being in a carseat anymore. I kinda let my Mommy and Daddy know it.





The plan was to change into our dress clothes at the hotel after checking in...and then rush over to the ceremony and the reception that followed. Well, it was a true southern wedding. Beatiful weather (84 degrees!), green grass, white chairs, red rose petals, bubbling brooks, and more! We pulled in the parking lot JUST in time to see the bride walk down the aisle...oops! Yes, we pulled in 2 minutes late so we had to sneak in behind the bride after she was down the aisle. Mommy, Daddy and I sat down next to our friends Brad, Esther and Jason. I got antsy about 35 seconds in, so Daddy took me to play in the garden while Mommy enjoyed the ceremony.


After a few photo ops, we went into the hall for the reception. I ate some cheese and fruit, and then decided to whine, screech and become jello-tj...and wiggle all over the place. Mommy and Daddy had a hard time "controlling me" and the beautiful reception hall was no place for me. So, before the bride and groom and most guests even came in, Mommy and I left. Daddy drove us to pick up some dinner and helped us get settled in the hotel. Then he went back to the reception so he could hang out with his friends and enjoy his good friend's wedding.

Mommy and I played in the room for awhile and I LOVED being able to play with the phone and chairs and mirror without being stopped. Mommy and I even jumped on the bed a lot!!! It was great. We ate some mac-n-cheese and cheetos (the best dinner ever!) and by 6:45, I was rubbing my eyes bigtime. So, Mommy closed the drapes to make it pitch dark, got me some milk and over a short amount of time, I fell asleep on her. She cuddled me for awhile, then put me in the Sesame Street portable crib the Hampton Inn so kindly provided. It was so dark in that room, and was only 7pm...



What was a Mommy to do? Well, for fear of waking me up in the little room, Mommy huddled on the bed from 7pm until Daddy came back around midnight. She dozed a few times after 10pm or so, but mostly just sat in the dark and texted Grammie and Daddy. Daddy did a great job of keeping in touch with Mommy and stuff. At one point, Mommy got daring and went into the bathroom...scared to death she'd wake me up while opening the door. Once inside, she played with her makeup and did some pushups, washed her face, then went back into the dark room and just waited for Daddy to come home.



I was the perfect kid and slept from 7pm until 7am in a strange bed, in a strange room. How cool am I??? Of course, Mommy had no idea I'd be this good which is why she didn't want to attempt turning on the tv or anything.

Well, that was my wedding weekend. The next wedding I go to will be my Mommy's cousin's wedding. Lynn is getting married at the end of May. And then my Aunt Carey is marrying my Uncle Paul at the end of June. I am IN that wedding. I can't wait!!!!

Love, TJ Stinkerpants

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God Bless America

I'd just like to say thank you to PublishAmerica for not printing any books (including my Mommy's) in any other country but the U.S.! Daddy looked through all my books last night and saw that nearly ALL were printed China and the remaining were printed in Mexico.

I love you, USA! love, tj

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Wii...and Me!

I learned to play Wii this weekend!!! Daddy and Shane were playing golf and bowling and I felt left out. So, Grammie found me a kitchen utensil that looked like the Wii controller...and I used it like the real thing. I am a great imitator! Watch me!!!

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TJ the Lion Tamer

My Grammie and Poppy left yesterday and I miss them so much. I played with my vaccuum cleaner they brought me...and helped Mommy clean the house.

I'm wondering where everyone went??? I only had Mommy to play with today...and Daddy after work. (he sneaks out to kiss me and wrestle with me as often as he can!)

I'm really into kissing lately. I'm a pretty sweet kid actually. I have been kissing my cool lion rocker they brought too. Here are a few pics of me gettin' on my hands and knees to reach the lion's mouth. Am I smart or what!!?!?!

Brad and Esther came to see us today, and Jason is coming in tonight. I warmed right up to Esther...probably because she gave me presents!!!!! I sat on Brad's lap while he ate pizza too, so I like him as well!!!

We drive to Raleigh for a wedding tomorrow. It'll be fun!!! I've never been to a wedding before...and Mommy is praying that I'm good for awhile. At least through dinner. Hehehehe. We'll see what I have up my sleeve!!! : )

Well, I gotta get some sleep. I had a long day of playing outside today and I've got to be ready for the wedding tomorrow. I love you, everybody!!! Love, TJ the lion tamer

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The Pirate Ride

As I write this at 10:19pm, it is 63 degrees outside. It was 75 as a high today and I played outside all day long with Mommy. Daddy came out after work and we all played kickball and football and "put rocks in a basket" until dinnertime. It was great! But enough about today, I gotta backtrack and tell you all about Easter!

Shane came into town to visit us late Thursday night. On Saturday, well, that's when all the fun happened. We went to an Easter Eggstravaganza in the park. It was awesome! They had blow-up slides and pirate rides and all sorts of games. We didn't wait in the Easter Egg Hunt line because there were literally about 1,000 people in line. And I didn't really care about hunting for eggs anyhow.

Mommy and I rode on a pirate ride and I was pretty serious during the whole thing. I was concentrating on it...so I didn't smile much. But I did have fun. Serious fun.

On Sunday, Grammie and Poppy came into town. We had a big cookout and ate the non-traditional Easter dinner of burgers and hotdogs. We played with my bubble mower (Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa) and I had serious fun with that too.

Thank you for all my Easter presents everyone!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Love, TJ the Easter Kid

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Groovin' to the music!

Here I am, on the way home from an Easter Egg party in the park...just groovin' to the music. I love to dance...even if I'm confined in my carseat. Happy Easter, everybody!!!

Love, TJ-mix-a-lot

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Green, green grass!

Don't mess with your monitors folks, the grass in our backyard REALLY IS this green! It was my first real day of playing in my own backyard. I was out there with my Daddy for a long time.

Mommy watched us playing and snapped a bunch of cute pictures. Some of her favorites! (she says that every time though)

I can't wait for the Easter Bunny to come. I don't remember Easter last year but I don't think I got to eat goodies way back then. This year, I might get to taste a few!






I'll post more pictures of our outdoor adventures tomorrow. But I am writing this while sleeping so I'm outta here for now.

I love you Easter Bunny! love, TJ

(notice how my Daddy and I have our right leg up at the same time...we're in tune with each other, don't you think???)

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Forgetful Jones

Mommy told me about a character that used to be on Sesame Street named Forgetful Jones. She was telling me about him because she's been extra forgetful lately! I'm sure you want an example, so I will risk the terrible embarrassment it will cause Mommy, and tell you. Today at lunchtime, Mommy made me a grilled cheese sandwich. One of my favorites! Well, she went to flip the sandwich and when she checked on the cheese in the middle, she saw that there was no cheese! Who forgets to put cheese on a grilled cheese sandwich???? My Mommy. The beautiful, orange American cheese slice was still sitting on the counter in all it's plastic-wrapped glory...all alone. But, she fixed the problem and it tasted as good as usual. Once the cheese melted, that is.

We were at the doctor's office yesterday and had to wait forever in the teeny tiny little room they have you in once the nurse has taken you back. So, we wore out the hallway carpet by going back and forth in my little stroller just to pass the time (and to keep me from getting into everything...including germs!) Mommy knew we'd get in trouble at any minute - and we did - but it killed a good 20 minutes of our wait. During that time, I became obsessed with the scale. I kept stepping on, and stepping off, stepping on, and stepping off. It read 25 lbs each time. Guess what! I weigh the most I've ever weighed! And guess what else! Mommy does too! : (

Alright, I think that's all I have the energy to write for now. Talk to you all later!

Love, TJ

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Naked Man!

And so it has begun...

Today I had a lot of fun reading new books and playing in my crib before I took my nap. I whined a little bit before I fell asleep (as usual) and then I was quiet. When Mommy came to check on me, she busted out laughing and ran to get my Daddy. Why, you ask? Well, because I was fast asleep with my butt in the air...but no shirt to be found. Yes, in the midst of playing I decided to strip. This is the picture she took when I woke up and called for her. (She found my shirt in the trash can by my changing table) Oh boy, Mommy sure hopes I forget how to undress myself!!! (As you can see in the 2nd photo, I tried to pull my diaper off too...my Grammie warned Mommy that this might happen. Yikes!)

By the way, I have 4 new teeth poking through my gums...and 2 more trying to do the same. Ouch!

I love you all!

love, TJ

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The Art of Blowing a Kiss

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a simple misunderstanding

Hi! My name is Timothy Jonah Budic and I have lived in Charlotte for a year now! I miss my Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, friends and family members so much! I have made such great friends here and have gotten involved in story times, church, playtimes, libraries and all sorts of things here though. I especially love the weather here! While my peeps in O-H-I-O are digging their way through the snow, I get to ride along in my babyjogger while my Mommy and Daddy walk or run alongside me. We have so much fun outside! I point to the airplanes, birdies, light posts, sky, air, pollen, dust, whatever...you name it, and I point to it!

I also wave a lot to everyone. (I'm currently waving at you this very moment!) People like that I do it, so I just keep on wavin'.

Well, the other day Mommy took me to Ray's Splash Planet again. A lot of our friends were there: Stacie and Elise, Mindi and Samuel, Christa and Caroline, Alexia and Kate, and Chrissie and Ali. At first, I clung to Mommy so tightly that I left marks on her. I shoved my face into her neck and squeezed my arms and legs around her as tightly as I could. After about 20 minutes of this, I let her put my toes in. And then...we went from there. I splashed a lot, played with some cool volleyballs and Nerf balls and even went underwater!

After we got home and I took a nap, I had to have a bath. Once I was dried off, I ran around in the loft and my bedroom for awhile. Mommy was cleaning the bathroom mirror while I ran around and I thought it'd be a good idea to throw some of my toys in tub while it was still filled with water. She laughed at me as I threw in a boat, and a few other things. I tried out my sneaky Spiderman moves and managed to sneak by her to throw my next item of choice into the tub. Ten seconds later, she went to let the water out of the tub, and noticed an entire package of swim diapers slowly sinking to the bottom. She let out a little groan as she lifted the water-soaked bag o' expensive swim diapers out of the water. It was HEAVY! Boo! We lost a whole bag of swim diapers...except for the two we used earlier that day. Thanks to Grammie, we have some Pooh ones that she got for me a little while ago. Yahoo!

Lesson I've learned: swim diapers aren't supposed to go swimming alone!

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Blowing Kisses

I have a new "thing" that I do. I blow kisses! But...I've got the coordinates a little messed up. Instead of blowing kisses from my mouth, I blow them from my ear. Kinda silly, huh! I try my best and I give a cute little grin while I do it, but I go to my ear each time. At small group on Sunday, I got a little closer and smacked my eye. One of these days I'll use my mouth!

I am very good at giving real kisses though. I give kisses on demand...and also when someone is crying. Mommy had a little cry the other day, and I was very concerned. I went right over to her, jumped in her lap, kissed her a few times and patted her arm. She felt 110% better after that. It made her cry a little more though...but happy tears. I have that affect on her. She loves me a lot! : )

Kisses, TJ

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Nothing New...

Well, hello there! I am playing with my trusty remote control in this picture. I have this elated look on my face because I just lovvvvve my remote control with all my might. I am also singing "dadadada" at the top of my lungs in this picture. I can do many things at once! Have I told you that I can say "bubble" now? It comes out "bubmm" but Mommy and Daddy know what I mean. Cool, huh!

I've been taking an extra long time to fall asleep these days. I don't know why! But I must tell you, that I STILL play with my hair when I'm trying to fall asleep. Whether I'm sitting on the couch by myself drinkin' some milk...or my Mommy or Daddy is rocking me at night...right when I get the feeling of being tired, my left arm (usually) flies right up to my head and I twirl my hair or rub my little head until I fall asleep. It's the cutest thing. I'm not sure why I haven't written about it lately. Guess I just forgot! : )

My Daddy comes home today! Hoorah!!! I can't wait to play some hoops with him tonight! I was a very good boy while he was gone. Mommy even said we might go to the pet store to get a fish today. We'll see how I do with my nap. I'd really like a fish. I already have a name picked out and everything. Mommy just needs to decide if the stinkiness of a fishbowl is worth the hassle. I'll let ya know!

Love, TJ Bigglesworth

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My Daddy - The Hero

My Daddy is my hero. He is away for work right now and I miss him a lot. I'm sleeping in my safe little crib right now, but I miss him still.

After he finishes his appointments and work in Florida, he's gonna run a big, important race down there. He's an invited runner, so he even gets his name on his bib number. So cool! Does that mean it says "Daddy" in really big letters? Good luck, Daddy. You're my favorite Daddy ever!!!

Today, I tried to catch the wind in my hands. Mommy was driving with all the windows down this afternoon and I was laughing. She looked back to see what I was laughing at, and she saw the wind blowing through my hair and I was giggling about it, and slapping my hair gently...trying to catch the wind. She wishes you could've seen it!

On the Today Show, they talked about Momnesia and how being a mom can make you forgetful and things like that. Boy, my Mommy sure has that. She forgets things easily and can't even finish her sentences sometimes. She gets frustrated so it was nice to hear that it happens to lots of mommies out there. They said the average woman loses at least 700 hours of sleep during the first year of their child's life. Wow. That's a lot of sleep to lose. No wonder it makes you forgetful!

I love everybody!!! Love, TJ-the-snuggler

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Barnes and Noble

This morning we took an early ride to Barnes and Noble to meet Mindi, Samuel, Christa and Caroline. They have a storytime that Mommy and I hadn't been to so we thought we'd check it out. Well, I'm still trying to grasp the concept of sitting and listening to a story with a million distractions everywhere. I'm not sure I even noticed the lady up front singing songs and reading stories. How could I? There were lots of fun kids there, trillions of books, and so many fun stuffed animals and characters to play with that I just couldn't sit still. I am only 15 months old, ya know! Mindi and Christa were very patient with me and didnt even mind when I tried to get their snacks and dumped Cheerios all over the place. I like them!

After storytime, we went to Davie Park. It's the best park and playground I've ever seen! It had 3 huge jungle gym things, tons of swings, a big dinosaur and lots of mulch! My favorite! : ) Mommy's favorite feature is that it has a really nice fence and gate alllll the way around. So she can actually let me roam a little bit without worrying that I'll get away too quickly. Oh, she didn't let me go very far without chasing me...but I felt like I had a lot of space and independence. Thanks, Mom!

When we got home, I had lunch and then Mommy put me down for my nap. Then out of curiosity, she checked on Barnes and Noble's website to see if her book was on there...and it WAS! She flipped out and cheered very quietly. Silly her, she thinks I'm asleep.

Hey Mommy, I'm still awake!!! Haha! Love, TJ

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Little Bit of Everything!

Mommy graduated from physical therapy! She was so happy...but her therapist said her right quad is still only 50% of the left quad, so she has a lot of strengthening to do. Either way, she's able to run 3 or so miles every day or so...and she takes me with her...so she's happy. But not content with that...just for now.

(This picture is Mommy's favorite of me...she calls it my Curious George picture. Well, Grandma and Grandpa played around on the computer and look how cute I am with the real Curious George!!!)

Last night Mommy got pretty sick and I didn't get to see her for awhile. Daddy took care of me and when Mommy came downstairs, I hugged her and patted her arm. She melted when I did that. Daddy did too. I am a very loving little boy.

I'm also a very energetic little boy! Daddy and Mommy took me to Freedom Park today and ran with me in the babyjogger. Daddy did his workout then while Mommy and I played on the playground and went on the slides and swings. My favorite part was looking at the big "choo choo" train. It was so cool. Mulch is so fun to play with also! It's kinda stinky though. Maybe that's why I like it!!!

Oh, and since coming back from Cleveland, 3 more teeth have popped through. That makes a grand total of 13 teeth in my little mouth. Hoorah! : )

love, TJ Bojangles

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Mmmmm Hmmmm

"Mmmmm hmmmm. Mmmmm hmmm. Uhhh huhhhh. Mmmmmmm. Mmmm-hmmmm."

This is what I say about 90 times every single day. I like to mumble. What can I say. Since I've been doing this more and more, my Mommy has been keeping track of how many times she does that...and it's a lot! So, she's finally figured out that I imitate her and Daddy all the time. Guess they'd better be careful! : )

We went to Cleveland this weekend for a quick trip. My Aunt Carey had her shower and bachelorette party. I heard both of them were so much fun...but I didn't go to either one. I had fun with my Poppy while the girls were away. When Mommy came home from the bachelorette party, she was really tired. I think that's a sign of a good party!

We're home now. I had a great plane ride back to Charlotte. My shirt got stained purple because of my grape sucker. Mommy got all purple too. The sucker made me get so much saliva in my mouth, I couldn't even swallow it all so it just poured out of my mouth. It was cute. And sticky!!!

Seeing my Daddy was the best part of my day today! He picked us up at the airport and I squealed. Then, after my great nap, I was hyper with him all evening and night! I flew around the couch and the living room running away from him and cookie monster. I laughed my great belly laugh a ton too. My Daddy makes me crazy happy!

Okay, more to write later but I'm too tired right now. G'nite everyone! Love, TJ

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