Love My Grandparents!!!

This weekend we went to see Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Bill and Auntie Melissa. We had a great time playing golf and running bases. Haha. Daddy and Grandpa were trying to throw my plastic golf balls into the neighbor's (across the street) mailbox. They're such guys. No one made it, by the way, but Uncle Bill got it the closest! And Grandpa had the best form!
Here I am sitting on Uncle Bill's new Harley Davidson. I liked sitting on it but sure didn't like it when he put the key near the ignition. Until I'm buckled in and everyone else in the car is, I don't like the car to start - and I will tell you that! Same thing goes for motorcycles I guess.
Grandma bought me some new big boy underpants and Mommy was showing me where you're NOT supposed to wear them. I think Mommy's sporting Bert and Ernie, Grandma's fashion is Cars, and I'm about to walk down the runway wearing Thomas. I'm...too sexy...for...my...undies!
Last week while Mommy and Daddy were at work, Bondi and Poppy and Nonny took me to the train station! Yep, we went to the Cuyahoga Scenic Railway and I was so excited! Until the train actually choo-choo'd it's way in front of me, that is. I held on so tightly to Poppy and cried some big tears. Then I announced that I was ready to ride.
Just as we got situated in our cool seats (thanks for taking the pictures, Bondi!), a Mr. Conductor Man came over and said that we were in the wrong car and had to move up 4 CARS -- WHILE the train was moving. So, Poppy carried me (I was pretty upset again by now) and Bondi held onto Nonny while we walked through the rocking train and through the doors and the skinny railway aisle IN BETWEEN the cars. I did not like the fresh air in my hair and it was pretty scary. I first got upset because I wanted to sit and ride like we were doing so well. Then, when I saw what we had to do in order to make it to the first car, I was upset because of that. Whew. It was exhausting but we got some free tickets out of it. Woohoo!
Mommy called me from work to see how things went. I was crying into the phone at one of the traumatic moments and Mommy was upset that she wasn't there to hold me. She knew I was being taken care of...that's not the point. She just misses me so much when she's away. Anyhow, Here's a picture of me telling Mommy why I was crying. All in all, it was such an adventure and I still talk about it and ask if "maybe someday when I'm bigger, we could go back?!" Thanks for taking me on such a cool trip, guys!!! It was awesome! : )
I have one final announcements to make: Our dinosaur egg has hatched! Yes, Grandma found me a dino egg and we put it in water this weekend to wait for it to be born. Sure enough - our little guy broke out today. What a wonderful day and how fun to watch. Thank you!

Love you everybody!!! TJ

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Muppets Take Manhattan!

Last Sunday, Mrs. A took Mommy and me down to Playhouse Square to see The Muppets Take Manhattan. I was so excited about it when Mommy told me Mrs. A was coming over. I love her! I was a very good boy and went pee pee in the potty before and after the show AND stayed dry in between. Pretty neat, eh? Anyway, back to the stuff you want to read about...
We got there exactly on time but the theater was already dark. Mommy rushed us in there before I could get out my "uhhh, i'm a witto bit scared" and I immediately forgot my timidity. Yay for Mom! We found our seats and I ate some popcorn and chocolate covered raisins from Mrs. A. I sat for awhile on Mommy's lap. Then Mrs. A's lap. Then on my own foldy seat. That didn't last long because I was too small to keep the bottom part from flipping back up on me...and it was so funny. So funny, that I laughed about that and about Gonzo for a solid 10 minutes straight. I asked Mommy if I could go down the aisle and she whispered "no way, man!" I was content with walking up and down our row of seats. Sitting still wasn't a skill I mastered in the theatre, BUT we had a great time and left before it was over...like A LOT of people did. I think I did pretty well and Mrs. A told me so. Thank you, Mrs. A!

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Pools, Pee Pee, and Surprises! (But not all combined!)

Now THAT is a long title, isn't it? I've just got so much to say...
I've been going strong on the potty for the past few days. At least 6-7 times a day I've been going pee pee on the potty. I've only had one wet diaper each day and Mommy and Daddy are excited. It's a lot of work for them to stay on top of things with me all the time, but they're pretty committed. I'll admit, Mommy is way scared about this whole thing but she's doing a lot of research so she doesn't screw it up! I've been ready according to lots of studies and questionnaires, but we haven't taken the plunge (get it?) until now. It just happened! So...we'll see how it works out. Tomorrow, we're going to the store to pick out big boy underpants. I get two mini marshmallows each time I go potty...and it's a great motivator. I like the game of keeping my diapee dry too.Today we went to Memphis Kiddie Park with Miss Amie and Jackson. I went peepee in my potty in the back of the car before we went in...and when we came out. It was so awesome. Mommy almost peed her pants she was so proud of me. hehehe.
I was a little worried about a few of the rides early on, but got over my fears. I loved going there and asked if I could come back "when I'm bigger". Mommy said 'of course' and whirled me around til we were both dizzy. She's crazy about me!
Yesterday, I got to see Auntie Melissa and swim in her pool. I only swam for twenty minutes or so but had a blast. Mostly I liked looking for Moo and Boo (her kitties) and sitting at the table on the porch, then in the house, then on the porch again. I was a goof and talked a lot. Mostly they understood where I was going with my conversation, but I had them confused at a few moments too.We went to surprise Grandma at work after that. We were sneaky and crept up to Grandma and yelled "surprise"! She ran over to us and I hugged her a lot! Then we went upstairs and Grandma read me some firetruck books in the big fire engine. It was great. I picked out a video to borrow for the ride home but when Mommy turned it on, it scared me because it was too loud. We watched some of it when we got home. It was fun surprising Grandma! : )
Love, TJ

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Little Explorers

On Monday, Mommy took me to the Nature Center in the Metroparks for Little Explorers Day: Salute to Snakes! Oh my gosh, we had so much fun. We got there really early so we could look at everything and play first. Mommy wanted to make sure I had my fill of the regular part of the center...before the class started. Then, she got to see me in a classroom setting.
Mommy sat on the chairs with the other parents while the kids sat on the carpet. Below is a picture of me with a "mom-please-don't-embarrass-me-by-taking-pictures" look on my face. She still took pictures.She said it was so fun to watch me sit down, get up, sit down, get up, sit down...and get up. I was just really excited to touch the snake skin, look at the real snakes in their cages, and hold real snake eggs. I learned a lot and was a good listener. The teacher even called on me by name, which really kind of stunned me. I didn't answer her question, but I gave her a big smile. I looked at my mom a lot and went over to her a few times to make sure she saw what was going on. It was pretty sweet.
After we learned stuff, we went on a nature hike to look for snakes. We found some frogs, toads and mud but no snakes. I ran up ahead several times on the walk, and kept yelling "C'mon guys!" to all the other kids and parents. While others were whining about how long the walk was (they were really cute though...sweet whiners, not nagging whiners) I was having fun running and singing my ABC's for the last quarter mile of the hike. We made our own snakes after the hike. My snake's name is....Snake! I bet you already guessed that though; given my track record with naming. I did a great job on my craft.

Look how brave I am! I touched the snake! : )
Look how grown up I am! Sittin' with kids.

Today, Wednesday, Bondi and Poppy took me to the County Fair after my nap. Mommy was at work and Daddy had to go to the Terrace Club and Indians game so it worked out perfectly. I was insanely excited about the petting zoo and was very inquisitive about the "hanging thing" on the goat. I was not very thrilled about the rides and Bondi and Poppy had to take me off two of them because I cried. Silly TJ. I had so much fun with them that we were there a really long, fun time ... and Mommy was missing me badly at home! She scooped me up faster than ever when I got home! Poppy even won me a basketball by doing pull-ups. Not too shabby, Poppy!

A few funny things about me this week:

Using code, Mommy asked Bondi if they were going to take me to DQ. I said "NO MOMMY! Not DQ. It's P-Q-R-S-T-U-V".

Also, reading Okie Dokie, Artichokie, the book says that Marklee made snow monkeys in the winter. Everytime Mommy reads that I shake my head and say, "Not snow monkeys...snow monkey. Just one!" And yep, I'm right. They only show one snow monkey so there shouldn't be an 's' on the end. I'm pretty detail-oriented. Wonder where I get that from?

Love, TJ

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Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Last week we went to a surprise birthday party for my Grandma...it was so fun!!! It was her 50th birthday (okay, not really but she'll love me even more for writing that). We had cake, cupcakes, brownies and ice cream. Oh, and dinner too. It was all very yummy. My favorite part may have been the musical card Grandma got. She let me play with it and I talked about it for 3 days.

I played cars and trucks with my cousin (second cousin, technically). His name is Logan and I call him "Wogan". But if you repeat me and say "Wogan", I will correct you and say NO, WOGAN ... meaning Logan. Well, that was a complicated way of explaining it but I think you understand.

Uncle Bill and I played in the big backyard A LOT while and Grandma and Grandpa got out my golf toys and bowling and stuff. I learned how to climb a tree and I followed Daddy around as his caddy while he played with my plastic clubs. Then, I met three huskies and they liked me. It sure was nice seeing my Auntie Melissa and Uncle Bill, Auntie B and Uncle Michael, Lauren and Peter, Lisa and Auntie Marcia. Oh and my Grandma and Grandpa too, of course. Everyone liked sitting outside and just smelling the grass.

It was Grandma's birthday but I got a present. Grandma and Grandpa gave me a new pet dinosaur. I named him "dinosaur triceratops". Yeah, I really did. He purrs and growls a nice growl so I sometimes sleep with him too. Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! I love you lots and lots...see you soon!

Love, TJ

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Jumpin' In!

I went swimming at the incredible cool on Friday with Mommy and CC. It started out as a rainy and semi-cloudy day, but got to be gorgeous by 10:15 when we got there. We were the ONLY people at the pool for awhile so it was even more fun. We played torpedo and alligator-crawl. I also jumped into the water ALL BY MYSELF! Mommy was so excited she captured it on film. Someday, we will buy a video camera and my every move will be on tape. Hehehe. Won't you all love that!?!?
Saturday was a fun day of doing "nothing". Ahhh - sigh. It was great. Daddy and I washed Mommy's car while she ran, and then we all played kickety kick ball. I'm a good kicker.

I'm really into saying a few new-ish things. When people leave me...or when I'm leaving somewhere, I say "OH! OH! I fuh-got!" And then they ask me what I forgot...and I say "Um, be careful! Don't walk in the street and uh, look both ways and uh, don't walk on the house and the roof and ..." and it stops making sense from there.

When Mommy leaves for work or puts me down for a nap or bed, I always say "You always come back." Sometimes she reminds me that she does, but most of the time I just say "Cuz you always come back, Mommy." Gosh, she loves that. Have I told you that before???

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My next blog is about Grandma's surprise birthday party!!! I don't want to post my stories until I have the pics to prove it! : ) Love you all! TJ

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Hilton Head Island

I can't even begin to tell you what we did last week on Hilton Head Island. I'll post a bunch of pictures that will start to tell the story...but none of it will do it justice! I went with Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Paul and CC, Uncle Ben and Val, Bondi and Poppy!First and foremost, I was a CHAMP during the long drive down. But Mommy and Daddy made the mistake of telling me we were going to the beach but that it would take awhile. They soon learned that they should've saved the surprise til we were almost there. Oops! I asked them if we were at the beach yet about 70 times...per hour. It was cute though. I never really whined or anything.The tidepools at the beach the first few days were incredible. Deep enough for me to swim like an alligator in, but not so deep that anybody worried about me. I jumped in and played in the water (wearing my "jams" bathing suit with spiderman on it) and a sleeveless shirt, hat and sunglasses. People probably thought I was a celeb since I was all covered up in disguise. But I didn't even get one bit pink or hurt from the sun. Anyway, Daddy made me a sand ramp so my big huge truck would slide down it and flip into the water. A few days later, he worked really hard on a big sand alligator. He actually had quite an audience and not just kids. Mommy loved it!

I begged for a body board because I liked Tyler's so much. He was a fun kid on the beach. Well, once I had my own, I actually did use it! Daddy helped me body surf and I did so great. I swallowed a ton of salt water, lost my glasses a few times but just wiped off my face, laughed, talked a lot about it, then went right back in. I think EVERYONE was surprised at how much I loved the water.The house we stayed in was awesome! It was less than 1/4 mile away from Harbor Town and right across from tennis courts and playgrounds. We went there almost every day. I got to go on a night trolley ride. I sat between Mommy and Daddy. Mommy actually hated it...it made her feel funny in her tummy. But she pretended she liked it for me. I wanted to go again another day and Bondi and Poppy took me this time. We had a great time. Mommy and Daddy got some alone time and had help with me because of the family. That was nice. They got to run together and go gator huntin' on the golf course. Every time they ran together, Mommy said it was her favorite. She likes my Daddy a lot.One day, Bondi and Poppy took me to a horse farm. I got a cowboy hat because I was such a good boy! Here I am riding on a "p-tend horse". It was fun!!!

The trees at Harbor Town were beautiful and fun for climbing. Uncle Paul bought me ice cream there and CC almost beat up a clown because she wouldn't make a balloon animal for me. Long story...but hilarious.I also got to play tennis. At first, I wanted Uncle Ben to teach me. But then I just wanted to do it by myself. That's pretty much how I am now. So I hit the ball by myself while Mommy threw it to me. The girls cheered for the guys while they played against each other. This family is pretty competitive. : )

Well, I'll tell more stories as I think of them. Enjoy the pics! LOVE, TJ

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