Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! What a fantastic day we had! Mom and Dad have been telling me that Santa was going to visit us and he certainly did. I actually met him a few weeks ago and sat on his lap (after an initial period of wondering what and who he was) and gave him a high-five. He was a gentle old soul but he needed a good shave and a haircut. Perhaps he can visit the hair salon that I go to and sit on a motorcycle or horse seat and get his hair cut too! That all being said, he is obviously a very wise man as he certainly brought me everything I wanted and really liked this Christmas.

This morning I had a blast opening gifts. I received a giant crane (truck), a robotic dog, a remote control car, a tool set and many other great toys. It was a big day and I am absolutely exhausted so this will be a short post. Mom and Dad are exhausted too as keeping up with me is becoming a more than full time job in itself.

Attached are a few recent photos of me and Baby J. No, these are not Christmas pictures, but they are cute and recent just the same.

Did Santa bring you what you wanted and asked for this Christmas? Mom and Dad said that they asked for MORE SLEEP, but I don't think they got it. Hopefully, Santa will listen next year.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

This post is two days late (Hey, give us a break! We already mentioned below that we are a little less organized these days!)

Anyway, Joshua and I wanted to wish Grandma Anne a very happy birthday. We can't wait to see you in January! We hear that Grandpa is making your happiness his number one priority for the sake of your birthday and is treating you to a trip to your favorite casino. Make sure to win lots of money so that you can buy us some cool Christmas gifts! Ha, ha!

Lots of love,

Peanut and Baby J.

The Peanut's times they are a changin.....

First of all let me begin by pointing out that mom and I have updated the name of my blog to "Adventures of the Peanut and Baby J". (Only the title has changed; the web address is still obviously the same http://www.adventuresofthepeanut.blogspot.com/. Thanks to all of you who voiced their opinions on my little brother's nickname, but Baby J has just sort of "stuck" and therefore, this is what we will call him for our blogging purposes. Be advised that the blog will still keep you updated on both of our adventures, but from my perspective of course. (Well, that is because I am the BIG brother, you know). This all being said, Baby J doesn't really do alot these days anyway (except eat, sleep and well, you know, that other thing, which Mom says he does A LOT), so I don't think that he will mind me reporting on his activities until he is old enough to communicate his point of view on things as well.

Mom says I have changed into such a little man overnight (hasn't she been known to say this before?). I have been working on my listening skills and 5 out of 10 times I will actually do what is asked of me! We are working on staying seated in my chair while eating (NOT going so well), holding mom or dad's hands when in a parking lot or a store (getting better), and saying please and thank you when asking for and receiving things (going very well), especially when reminded to say those magical words. I still have my bad days, but hey, I am 2 years old and being tempermental, difficult and demanding sometimes is just part of the job description, am I right?

What is the biggest change of all, you might ask? Well, mom would say that our household and our lives overall have become very loud and a lot less organized. I have a feeling that the LOUD part of this statement refers to me and my brother. Unfortunately, I also feel that mom thinks the less organized part of the comment is also related to ME and MY BROTHER! It seems our days are now an endless run of naps, feedings, diaper changes, driving to and from places in the car, baths and bedtimes. Mom's once organized and somewhat structured view of life has now changed to a more breezy and flexible view of things! Ha! It is finally time that the old girl relaxed, don't you agree?

See some pictures above of our "new life". If you are a wise investor, then go buy shares of Proctor and Gamble NOW, as we are pumping lots of money into that organization with all the diapers, wipes and baby products we have been consuming. Mom and Dad have gotten really good at diaper changing and make it fun for the two of us. You can see in the picture below that Dad now has it down to a system.

The second picture is of me enjoying a Chick-fil-a meal. Dad loves Chick-fil-a, so at least once a month we make a journey up to Fairfield to eat his favorite meal. This is also a change for me as mom once didn't want me to eat chicken nuggets, but she has at last given in. Note that I eat a bowl of fruit as my side instead of fries, but I am usually able to pilfer a few of them of of dad's plate.

Hey, Hey, Hey...I love Baby J!

I love my little brother (so far). I now say about a million times a day that "Matthew need to pat Baby Josh". Upon saying this, I bend my head down to nuzzle him and I rub his little head of soft hair. I also love to show off my little bro to visitors and my teachers and friends at school and I have been known to tell people that "Matthew teach Baby Josh to play trucks".

Mom says that she is not sure I fully realize that my little brother is here to stay. Why does she think this? Well, I believe it may have to do with something I said to her the other day. See, I was in the kitchen eating my breakfast with Dad and mom came downstairs by herself. Upon seeing her and noting that she was alone, I promptly remarked that "Baby Josh not here today!" But, I always ask about him and his whereabouts so that is a very good sign that I DO love my little brother and miss him when he is not around.

I have only one complaint thus far about the little guy.....the kid sleeps ALOT! I never knew such laziness ran in the family, but he apparently inherited the laziness jean. Mom and Dad say that I CERTAINLY did NOT inherit it as I am in constant motion this days and it is a rare moment that I sit in one place and just relax. Mom is looking a little tired these days, as well as Dad. Don't they realize that they just need to sleep more themselves, but mommy says that it is impossible to do right now. I don't see what the problem is really:) They should just go to bed at 8pm when I do and sleep until 7:30 the next day (ha, ha).

See attached picture of my hanging out with my little brother. He is cooing and smiling up at me as you can see. Tell you more later.

Trick or Treat

Although this post is about a month late, I still feel that I need to tell you about the fun I had on Halloween this year. As you all know, my baby brother Joshua decided to enter the world on October 30, so needless to say, mom and dad didn't really plan out Halloween activities for "moi" as they assumed everyone might still be in the hospital. Basically, I had accepted the fact that I was going to get "cheesed" out of Halloween this year. So, what a surprise it was for me when mom decided to return home on Halloween day....suddenly Daddy was dressing me up as a monkey and we were heading to my friend Carter's house to go trick or treating. Carter's mom was nice enough to even loan me a fabulous trick or treating bag to hold all my candies. Let's just say that this particular bag was NOT as fabulous at the end of the night as it was literally dragged all over creation, but mom plans to remedy this unfortunate situation and provide a replacement to Carter's mom at some point. I must add that this bag was certainly more hip and festive than the Land's end beach tote that Daddy had provided to me at first. Ha, Ha!

Upon arrival at Carter's house, this little monkey saw Elmo (Carter), a lion (Carter's cousin), an itsy bitsy spider (Connor) and a little pumpkin (baby Brooke). See a group picture of all of us above. Aren't we cute?

Daddy says that I didn't really understand what was going on when we first started trick or treating, but after the first house, I caught on quickly and loved knocking on the doors and looking at the decorations and pumpkins at all the houses. One of the houses we visited certainly made an impression on me as I was talking about the "scary" house for days afterward.

After all the excitement was over and we returned home, Daddy let me play with my goodies for a minute or two, but then they disappeared suddenly and I never saw them again. I secretly know that Daddy had his fill of my candy and he thinks I don't know this, but I am a smart little Peanut and I know the truth. In fact, I heard my mom tell Daddy that he just needed to throw it all away and quit eating the candy:)

Many thanks to Daddy and my little friends for making my Halloween so much fun. I am already thinking about what I want to be for next year.

Happy Birthday baby brother Joshua and welcome!

Welcome baby brother Joshua William! Joshua was born on October 30 at 12:40pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and was 20 inches long...same length as me, but a whole 4 oz heavier. I have posted a picture of myself at a few days old above as well as one of Joshua at just a few days old above. Can you tell which one is me and which is Joshua? (See the end of this post for the big reveal!) Mom says we look almost identical to each other, so it will be fun to see how Joshua changes and if he continues to look like his extremely handsome big brother.

We are all doing well and mom says that Joshua's entry into the world was very fast and relatively easy. The only scary part was that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck...TWICE...but the doctor acted quickly and it was pretty much a non-event. On an annoying side note, mom developed some strange pregnancy rash the weekend prior to delivery (apparently only 1% of pregnant women get this particular rash - LUCKY MOM) that proceeded to get worse after delivery and she was pretty much miserable these last two weeks with an awful hive-looking and extremely itchy rash all over her neck, arms, stomach and parts of her legs and feet. She says to tell you that she thought she was going to go bananas from the itching. Honestly, she looked like she had scabies or something, but that has gotten better and continues to look better every day.

So, I am sure your big question is how I am dealing with the new arrival. Well, all in all, I am dealing fairly well. Recently, I have wanted to be picked up more often (mom says to tell you that I have gotten VERY heavy and TALL) so she is getting a good workout lately. I do love baby Joshua and I especially like to pet his little head and touch his little fingers and toes. The other day I also tried to poke him in the eye, but I was just pointing out that he has two eyes just like me. He is a bit lazy, I have noticed, as all he wants to do is eat and sleep, so that definitely needs to change...I hope he will be able to play with me soon as I am starting to get impatient.

Last comment....I guess we need to change the name of this blog to now incorporate my baby brother. Mom doesn't think she can keep up with two blogs so feel free to offer suggestions for Joshua's nick name. Mom has been calling him Snorty McSnorter as he is a snorty little boy, but we have all been known to call him Jelly Bean and J-bear. Any other suggestions?

FYI - The top picture above is of baby Joshua and the bottom picture is of yours truly!!

Buh-bye Beechcraft Bonzana airplane!

Well, it was a rather eventful weekend for the Fletchers! No, we don't have a new baby yet, but our weekend did end with Daddy's plane submerged at the bottom of the San Francisco Bay. Thankfully, Daddy wasn't in the plane at the time. Daddy's former plane partner and his nine year old son had picked up Daddy's plane and were making a short flight to Hayward airport to pick Daddy up. They were all going to fly somewhere and have a leisurely lunch. However, shortly after their take off from the San Carlos airport, the engine died at about 1000 feet and could not be restarted. Daddy's friend maintained a cool head and, expert pilot that he is, he was able to turn the plane around but had to "land" the plane in the San Francisco Bay as it was the only option available. Although the internet news and newspaper here in SF called this a crash, Daddy's friend says it was more of a "belly-landing" in the water. Everyone is fine and father and son were able to stand on the wing of the plane before it sunk to get rescued by a boat. Fortunately, no one was injured and although they got checked out by paramedics on the scene, they went home to their family.

We are so grateful that no one was hurt and most of all, we are glad Daddy WAS NOT in the plane at the time. If they had made the first leg of the trip to pick up daddy, however, Mommy says she doesn't even want to think that the engine could have then stopped after the second takeoff with Daddy in the plane. Mommy says that she would have definitely had my little brother early if that had happened.

So in honor of the departed Beechcraft Bonanza, Mommy and Daddy are considering naming my little brother "Bonanza"! What do you think of that? (Gather yourself, I am just joking here). Although Bonanza Fletcher does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?

One of my favorite activities with Daddy is to go to the airport, see airplanes and look at Daddy's plane. (Mommy has nixed any ideas of flying until I am old enough to understand what is going on, wear a headset and make my own decision to fly in the plane - and now after this weekend, I guess I have to be old enough to know how to swim too:)) I guess Daddy is going to have to pursue his quest to buy a new plane now!

In honor of the plane, I have attached an early picture of myself and Daddy sitting in the cockpit of his beloved plane. We will miss the Beechcraft Bonanza terribly as there were many fun memories of it not only for Daddy but from trips that Mommy and Daddy took as well.

Look for upcoming news on my baby brother later this week.

O brother, where art thou?

So let me just say enough is enough. I am up to the 36 inch top of my head with comments about my baby brother and his impending arrival. He just needs to get here and now!!! I know that my mom feels the same way. She has had several bouts of intense contractions and the last set were actually very painful. She says that she would have bet a million dollars that the last contractions were going to turn into the real thing, but they stopped as mysteriously as they started. The good news is that my baby brother is definitely going to be here October 30 as that is when the doctor has agreed to induce labor (unless of course baby bro decides to make his entrance sooner than that date). I hope the doctor doesn't change her mind as I think my mom would go into a complete meltdown, but we are keeping our fingers crossed here in the Fletcher household.

Anyway, I am sitting on ready as I have my brand new long sleeve navy "Big Brother" shirt ready to wear as well as a special "Big brother" badge that mom and dad picked up for me. Mommy and daddy don't know that I know this, but apparently they have been trying to figure out what type of special gift my new brother should bring to me when he comes home to live with us. Do any of you have any good ideas? I am thinking perhaps my very own Peanut sized Lambourghini or Porsche would suffice. Other options would include a Peanut sized Beechcraft Bonanza or Cirrus SR-22 airplane so I can be just like my dad.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Attached is a really bad and blurry picture of just the three of us until mommy recieves a better pic to post on the blog (which she is going to hopefully receive soon from her friend) so just squint your eyes when viewing this one and pretend it is clear. This could be the last official pic of the Teriffic Fletcher Three, before we become the Fantastic Fletcher Four.

Toddler THROW-down

Recently, I discovered the joys of throwing things...and I give equal opportunity to all things, I might add (coasters, trucks, balls, sippy cups, etc.) Mom said she was reading about this out of total frustration and apparently this new skill is something that kids my age become fascinated with - the whole "let me release it as I fling it and see how far it will go - no matter what I am aiming at or who is in the way"! I must say it seems to bother mom and dad as sometimes they jump in fright and take things away from me, but I see it all as a game and it is a very FUN game I must add. What mommy read is that as long as I am not doing it with malicious intent (i.e. purposely trying to inflict harm) that they should allow me to do it, but only in situations where safety is not a concern. I am such a sweet Peanut, of course, I would never do it to intentionally harm anyone, but I must say I do find it lots of fun and it is really cool to throw things and see how far or where they will go.

Have I mentioned that daddy has a huge big screen TV that mommy frequently refers to as the "Next Victim". So far, the TV has escaped harm, but I am sure you will hear about it LOUDLY should something happen to it:)

Anyway, since mom and dad's initial TIME-OUT strategy didn't really seem to work with me (I thought this was a hilarious game to play with mom and dad), mom and dad have apparently cooked up a new strategy which seems to be working, FOR NOW. It goes like this....When I get into one of my moods where I like to test my arm strength and the laws of gravity, mom or dad just distract me or give me an opportunity to throw things in a safe way, such as tossing things into a bucket or throwing soft balls and beanbags. This has consistently seemed to satisfy and/or stifle my urges to throw and then I move onto something else fairly quickly.

You will see in the attached adorable pic of me above, that I am wearing my Nike hat and my Cowboys jersey. A friend of daddy's gave this jersey to me as a joke specifically to annoy my daddy who is not a fan of the Cowboys. Maybe it is the influence of this football jersey that has suddenly spurred on my desire to throw and practice for my future football career. The other picture is my bucket/wagon that I am allowed to throw things into. If you haven't noticed, in BOTH pictures, I have perfected my "Who, innocent little me?" look and it seems to melt mommy's heart.

Halloween's a coming.....

This past weekend, I went to a Harvest Festival with my mom and dad. We met my friend Samantha and her parents and a good time was had by all. There was a little pumpkin patch for me to wander and ramble around in, a baby animal petting zoo, a jumpy house and best of all, a churro stand!

I had such fun in the pumpkins and loved rolling around and trying to pick them up. At one point, I just sat down in the middle of them all and laid back to take a little Peanut rest. I must say it is very tiring trying to pick up pumpkins that weigh almost as much as you do.

The baby animals were a big hit and I petted each and every one of them very gently and said "hi there", just as mom and dad instructed. Mom said she had never seen such exotic looking chickens and asked the lady in charge who told her that they were called "silkies". These chicks had long fur and feathers on their feet and it looked to mom that they were some sort of a mix between chickens and poodles! There was also a tiny baby pig and lots of bunnies and ducks to pet and play with. Needless to say, I was basically hosed down after we left the petting cage with soap and purell, but it was all worth it. Unfortunately, everyone forgot to look at the bottom of my shoes until we got home. Yuck!

The jumpy house was so much fun. I had never been in one before and I jumped and bounced around to my heart's content with all the other little kids.

To cap it all off, mom and dad bought a churro for me that was almost as big as me. Of course, mom and dad ate some of it too, but probably only because they were extremely fearful of what all that sugar might do to me. It was very sweet and I must say very tasty.

All in all, a fun day! Happy early Halloween.

See ya later, Ally-gator!

We have been to the zoo several times over the last few months and on our last two visits we have had the excitement of seeing the alligator up close at the children's zoo area. He just sits there in the underwater tank and stays very still, but each time he has seen me, he has decided to swim over to the glass and blink his creepy eye at me. And I mean he comes RIGHT up next to the glass, so I can see his teeth, claws, skin and his long tail. It is all very exciting, but I wonder if it is just because he sees me as a bite-sized, cute, little SNACK!! It's a good thing that the glass is thick and mom and dad are right there to make everything okay and keep me from becoming an alligator appetizer. Because I have been so excited over the alligator, mom bought me a stuffed alligator that I sleep with most nights.

I have been telling everyone about my alligator sightings and when mommy says "What did we do this weekend, Matthew?" I always respond with "Go to zoo, see ally-gator!" It doesn't really matter, if that is what we did that particular weekend. It is very cute, if I must say so myself.

As for the other animals at the zoo, I also love the monkeys (of course) that swing in the trees, the giraffes and the elephants. We also saw a zebra and some gigantic turtles which always get this Peanut very excited.

Attached are a few pictures of me checking out the sites at the zoo. No, the monkey (Leaping Lemur) isn't real, but mom and dad thought this was a cool picture because it kind of does look like I am holding a real monkey. Unfortunately, it has been hard to get a picture of the alligator sinces it lives in the glass tank, but maybe next time.

See you later, Ally-gator. Afterwhile, crocodile.

And we were swingin'

The other day, Mom and I met our friends Samantha and her mom Dawn at a park. We played for a while and explored every inch of the playground. We had lots of fun and mom and I fully intend to visit this park again. There was a water feature in the middle (unfortunately, I was pulled back from venturing into this area SEVERAL times), but there was also a huge sand area with trucks, several play structures with steps and slides and a huge closed tube curly slide that I came down about a zillion times with absolutely no hesitation on my part. To get to the top of this fabulous slide, you had to scale a fairly steep set of rock stairs, so it gave me the opportunity to work on my rock climbing skills as well. I am sure dad would faint if he knew this, but mom, in her pregnant state, also scaled this set of rock stairs in her sandals no less. Sorry to tattle on you mom, but you shouldn't be doing that!

Attached are a few pictures, courtesy of Samantha's mom, of us two cuties posing for a pictures at the bottom of a rock wall as well as swinging with a little push here and there from mom. Speaking of mom, I am still not completely sure what is going on, but she has a huge belly - she says she is pregnant with my brother, but I haven't seen any evidence of a new little brother yet. She tells me the due date is only 1 month away now. Come on mom, get on with it. I am tired of waiting!

After the park, we went to eat at TGIF's and I must say that Samantha and I were fabulously well-behaved dinner companions. We ate our food and were quite agreeable during the entire meal. Mom and Samantha's mom have determined that we must have some future plans for mischief up our little sleeves, but it's just that we are both wonderful little kids!

Later!

Toddlers know how to party hardy!

So, after talking about it for weeks, we finally had my official birthday party on Saturday at the house. I had so much fun and enjoyed racing around, looking at all the balloons and decorations and playing with my little friends. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided she was going to give us rain on the same day, but no problem, we just came inside and Mom and Dad created a very festive atmosphere in the house for the party. Mom also brought my picnic table indoors so we would all have a place to sit and eat our snacks and cake and she had Curious George decorations and stickers all over the walls. When I first came downstairs for the party, after my nap, my reaction was "Whoo". I was certainly in Curious George heaven and I had to walk around, look at the balloons and point to each of the stickers to comment on them.

I had my friends Samantha, Jack, Carter and Sydney over as well as Sydney's sister Katie and my cousins Lindsey and Justin. We had a grand time! It was a little packed in the house with all my friends and their parents, but I really think everyone had a good time and the adults didn't seem to lack for things to talk about and to eat.

See the attached pictures of my cake, my special birthday cookies and a few pics of me and my guests enjoying birthday cake at the table together. Our friends took lots of pictures too, so if we get some good ones, we will post those later. Lastly, I want to send out a big hug and kiss to my mom and dad for creating such a special day for me!

Also check out this short video of me blowing out my candles and eating cake on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRFjgBTczHo. A special thanks to Uncle Jeff for taping this for us as well! Later!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Well, today was another big birthday in the Fletcher household. As you know, I just had my second birthday only a few weeks ago, but daddy was the star of the day today! He says to tell you that he can't believe he is only 30 years old today (ha, ha, Daddy, nice try). He said he feels closer to 41 most days.....I have days like that too, where I feel like I have been on this earth AT LEAST 4 years myself.

To celebrate Daddy's big day, we went to my favorite restaurant, Chevy's (you know, this is the place that has the corn tomalit0...yummy). Mommy invited my Uncle Jeff, Aunt Lori and cousins Lindsey and Justin to celebrate with us.

We had a delicious dinner and then all the waiters and waitresses did that thing where they clapped and sang for daddy and put a silly sombrero on his head. Mom says to tell you that she and daddy discussed this beforehand and daddy agreed to humiliate himself, but only for my sake, as they both knew I would just love the excitement. Daddy got a bowl of ice cream for his birthday and me and Justin and Lindsey were all treated with an ice cream cone as well.

See above for a picture of me and the birthday boy himself plus a few other pics of me donning his special sombrero and eating my ice cream and the Fletcher crew (minus mom who was behind the camera at her own bidding). Check back soon as my BIRTHDAY PARTY is this upcoming Saturday and there is sure to be lots to tell you about.

Fire truck heaven!

Those of you who know me well know that I love firetrucks. Just recently, a new park opened in San Ramon and it is, of all things, a fire truck themed park. Wasn't it nice of the city to develop a brand new park just for me? Daddy and I went to the grand opening of the park and Daddy says to tell you that I covered every inch of that park and had a grand time. Apparently, he seems to think I was a bit impatient about waiting in some of the lines, but we managed and survived and had lots of fun. Oh Dad, you are such a trooper!

There were two real fire trucks on site at the grand opening celebration and I got to look at them and explore the hoses and other buttons and valves on the side. In the park area, I had fun climbing up ladders, playing on firetruck themed structures and I even made a pal out of a little stone boy who was pretending to be a fire fighter. Really, that little statue is a little weird if you think about it, isn't it?

Speaking of parks, Daddy and I have been to almost every park in the vicinity of our home and neighboring towns over the last few months. It is Dad's thing to do with me now that mom isn't really up for chasing me all over the park in her pregnant state and it helps to wear me out and burn off some of this abundance of Peanut energy that I seem to possess. I love going to the park and when I am asked which park I would like to visit, I generally say "Fire Truck Park".

By the way, do you realize that in 6 weeks or less I will have a new baby brother to talk to about firetrucks? I am getting excited and seem to understand that there is a baby on the way. I like to kiss the baby by giving mom a kiss on her tummy and I like to pat the baby too. I am going to be such a wonderful and loving big brother! We are all very excited.

Fear no more!

There is a park that we like to go to in a neighboring town that has a little bit of everything that an active little boy loves to do. It has a water area, a sand area and several sets of play structures. There are also swings, a see saw, a merry-go-round and little springy cows that you can bounce upon.

Just last night we took our friend Carter and his mom and new little sister along with us and we had a blast. Everything I did, I wanted Carter to experience with me - there were many times where I yelled "Carter, come back!" I wanted him to come right along with me to experience the slides and everything else the park had to offer and he was up for the adventure.

It turned out that having Carter around was just the trick to help this usually brave little Peanut take the major step of going down a closed-tube whirly slide that generally causes me to tell mom and dad "I'm scared". Carter climbed up and went down the slide without a second thought (well, he is a whole 3 months older than I am, give me some slack here). Anyway, once he went down, I went after him, (I must say with a gentle push from Dad which resulted in a scowl at Dad from my mom) and my whole world changed. I must have gone down that slide a million more times with Carter during the remainder of our visit. We had so much fun and I was so tired by the time we got home that evening that I could barely keep my eyes open.

I am "2" cool for school!

So today, September 5, was a big day in the life of this little Peanut! Not only was today my second birthday, but today was also my very first day of preschool. We started the day at 7:30 - mom had to wake me up by singing this silly birthday song- and then we had breakfast and watched a little Curious George as per usual. Mom then got me dressed in my shorts and blue polo shirt and she said we were going to school. What?

Now, she has said that to me a few times lately, and I wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about, but after today, I certainly know what "school" means. Upon our arrival at school, mom signed me in and I proceeded to whirl around the outside playground like a human tornado, while mom went inside and made sure everything I needed was on hand for the day. Mom talked to my teacher and hung around for a bit, then she said goodbye. I gave her a kiss and said "Ok, see you later!"

Mommy doesn't want me to know, but secretly I know that she shed some tears about leaving me when I wasn't looking, but we all survived.

The teacher said I did cry for a few minutes a couple of times, but that was because I didn't want to come inside after each of the two playtimes outside (imagine that). She said once I was engaged in something else, the tears stopped and I was a happy little boy. She also mentioned that I wanted to eat the snacks the entire time I was there, but that was okay because they had lots of them. Now, who would ever guess that I would want to eat the whole time?

All in all, a good day, and mom says we are having a treat and opening presents this evening to celebrate my second birthday. We will take a few pics and post those on our next posting.

See attached pic of me taken just a few weeks ago. I am changing so much and becoming so grown up. I am talking up a storm, so rest up, as I will wear you out with conversation next time I see you!

Spray and Play

So, yes, it has been a while since mom and I posted to the blog. Believe me, it would have been sooner, but mommy has had a very rough month. She is feeling better now and I believe it all had something to do with that "baby" she says she is carrying in her tummy. I love my soon to be baby brother and say hello to him and "listen" to his heartbeat with my stethoscope about once a day. I am looking forward to his arrival (at least I think I am)! I know mom is too.

So what have I been up to you say? Well, lots of things, but I thought today I would tell you about my trip to the "spray park". I am not really sure this is exactly what you call it, but it is simply a park with structures that spray and squirt water all over you. The best part is that you can run over to the playground and play on the slides too, and then come back again to cool off when you get too hot.

Last time we went, Daddy came with us and something very funny happened. You see, some of the sprayers are sensitive to motion, so they come on when you walk over them or touch this funny pole. Well, Dad was walking behind me and walked right over a sprayer that proceeded to SPRAY him and wet his shorts. He was quite surprised, to say the least, and mom found this to be quite amusing. Dad, on the other hand, didn't seem to completely agree with her reaction.

Anyway, see the attached pics of me playing with the water and also taking a break to play peek a boo with dad and slide down the slide. Don't you just love my swimsuit and my camaflouge bucket hat? Mom says it would just not be possible for me to be any cuter.

And don't forget to check back soon. I have a lot of exciting events coming up including my 2nd birthday and my first day of prep-preschool. I am sure to have lots to talk about.

Mmmmmm....Tastes Good!

Well, no one can say that I have not started to express myself verbally. I am now talking in two, three and sometimes four or more word sentences now. It seems like everyday I throw out a new word into the mix and Mom and Dad are amazed at my abilities and how much I understand about what is going on around me. Just the other day, I told my dad that something was "upside down", which if, you ask me, is a somewhat difficult concept and word to understand.

Each morning, it seems that it is a Peanut must to perform a verbal dump of the words that have built up in my little self overnight. If you greet me in the morning, be especially prepared for some intense conversation and catching up as we begin the day.

When out and about during the day, everytime I see a truck, I say something to the effect of "Man drive truck, big truck, keys, wheels, yellow truck" or when we are driving I like to say "Mom/Dad drive, keys, car". When passing by the cows, horses, sheep and donkeys that live on the road out from our house, I like to let everyone within earshot that cows, horses, etc. "eat grass" and I also like to point out if there are any baby moo moo's or neigh-neighs to be seen.

My most amusing remark, however, occurs when I eat some of my favorite foods, which these days is still JUST ABOUT ANYTHING that is edible; however, ice cream, vanilla wafers, blueberries, pears and grapes always seem to get this critic's "Mmmmm...tastes good" comment. I am so cute when I say this and it always seem to get a smile from mom and dad.

Check out the attached pics of me sitting at my very own Peanut sized table and chairs. Here I am eating with my spoon, which I might add, I have become very proficient at using. I am up to about a 90% hit rate on my mouth and I have also begun to use a fork with some precision.

Happy eating.

Put some pep in your step

I named this post based on the first picture above. We visited the Alameda County Fair this year and I was really over-tired by the time we headed back home, in fact, I was pretty tired and cranky and generally a little over-excited by all the activities. I found this "Pep your step" machine close to the exit and it was just what I needed to get my little Peanut self rejuvenated and happy for the next 15 minutes! The little boy on the right hand of the side of the picture was apparently under the impression that all of these machines belonged to him as he would jump onto whatever machine I was headed towards next....but, I beat him to this machine and I wasn't about to move.

Speaking of having pep in your step, I have not had ANY over the last week. Last Sunday I came down with a fever over 101.5 and it continued through Tuesday evening. We had to go the doctor and he checked me out, but other than fever and maybe a mildly red throat I had no other symptoms. Then on Tuesday evening after the fever broke, mom noticed a little red rash on my face. The rash proceeded to cover almost my entire body and as of yesterday I looked like somebody had poked me all over and mistaken me for a human pin-cushion! We think I had Roseola which is a pretty harmless viral illness, but nevertheless, Mom has been keeping me in as not to scare other Moms and their children away (ha, ha). The rash is beginning to go away now, so maybe I will be well again by the weekend and can resume my normal activity and social schedules.

Oh, by the way, my mom says to tell you that we had a "George" fest this week. As I was sick and all I wanted to do was rest on the couch, we literally watched about three days of Curious George. We watched the Curious George movie in its entirety about three times and we watched and re-watched Curious George cartoons over and over thanks to the wonders of TIVO. Whew! I just can't get enough of him and I think mom is addicted now too.

See above for a few other pictures of me at the fair. See me and dad checking out a fire engine up close as well as me and my little friend Samantha inspecting a fire hydrant.

Frick and Frack

Mom and I recently had the luck of meeting a new little friend and his mom that live in our neighborhood. His name is Carter and he is only about 3-4 months older than I am . We have lots of fun together every chance we get. Notice that this blog entry is entitled "Frick and Frack". My mom recently said that Carter and I we were just a little version of Frick and Frack and I had absolutely no idea where she got that phrase from...where does she come up with these things anyway? FYI - for all you trivia buffs know out there, please know that Frick and Frack were a set of Swiss ice skaters that performed as a comedy duo and were known for their amazing tricks and they skated in the Ice Follies for many years. Now "Frick and Frack" is a commonly used English slang term used to refer to two people so closely associated as to be indistinguishable (this is per Wikipedia and, yes, mom helped me with looking this up). Well, I am not sure we are indistinguishable on the outside (other than we are both Peanut-sized), but personality wise we absolutely seem to share a lot of the same traits. We definitely would fit the definition as a COMEDY DUO as my mom and Carter's mom seem to get a lot of amusement from watching us play together. We have lots of fun and as the play date or evening passes, we have been consistently known to start jumping, running, chasing and hiding on and in anything and everything together. Last time we were together, Carter tried to wrestle with me and got me into sort of a mini-headlock. I had never wrestled like this before, but I sure did find it fun and now I have all sorts of moves to bust out next time we play or to save up for my little brother.

See the attached pictures of me and my new little friend. The first is a picture of us sitting and watching Thomas the Train together. I am not sure what was happening in this particular scene, but it must have been very interesting or scary to keep us both in our seat. The second picture is of us playing in some pillows while our parents were "trying" to have some dinner.

I'm feeling hot, hot, hot!

Mom says the temperature where we live has been out of control! I don't really care how hot or cold it is outside....I am game for whatever Mom says we are doing for the day, but I must admit that it was really even too hot for me during the week of July 4. Mom says we hit 102 degrees and I now have new understanding of the word "Hot"! I thought this word just referred to hot food and hot stoves but now I understand it can also describe the weather too. Unfortunately, the hot weather also seems to make my face super red and can cause me to move a little slower (yes, I now you don't believe it, but it is possible).

The funny thing is that only a few days after we hit 102 degrees then we had a string of days in the low 70' and then even into the 60's too. What is up with that? Don't the weather gods know that this Peanut likes to have at least some consistency in his daytime activity plans?

In hopes of warmer weather, but NOT this warm, Mom and Dad purchased a wading pool for me a while back and boy is it fun to play in. We haven't really had much of a chance to use it until recently. One of my favorite things to do is play with the garden hose while the pool fills up and I have discovered that it causes my mom to run and scream when I aim the hose at her and try to shoot her with the water.

See the attached pictures of me playing in the pool and cooling off on a hot day. Mom says I looked very GQ in my matching swim shirt/swim trunks ensemble.