Adventures of the Peanut and Baby J

Flying the friendly skies on Fletcher Airlines

2010-06-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Daddy has been wanting to take a family trip in the new plane for a while. So far our longest trip has been to an airport restaurant in northern California to eat hamburgers or to a McDonalds to get a milkshake - these flights have been about 20 minutes in length. Mom and Dad are looking forward to the day when we can fly down to San Diego, but that will be a while yet.

As a test for a longer flight, mom and dad decided we would try to fly to Monterey, CA for the day on Memorial Day (about a 30 minute flight) to visit the aquarium and, in general, just have a fun family outing.

Joshie and I did wonderfully on the way down to Monterey. We were happy and content and we loved playing with the headphones and frequently shouted into the mouthpieces to hear ourselves and to startle mom and dad. Luckily for daddy, he can silence everyone's noise to his ears, but not to mommy's. Argh! Everyone had a good trip down and we were excited to land and visit the aquarium.

The trip back in the airplane was a little more eventful as Joshie was really tired and we were ready to get home.

Overall, it was a great fun trip, but this flight CLEARLY pointed out two things to mom and dad. We ARE NOT ready for a longer flight and the next time we go for a flight of this duration, it might be better to have one of us sit in the front seat instead of next to each other. Do you get what I am trying to say? Ha, Ha.

A day at the park

2010-06-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

We all visited one of our favorite parks about a month ago. It is the Emerald Glen Park in Dublin. They have some really cool slides there and Joshie and I love to climb all over the rocks much to mommy and daddy's concern. Here are a few pics of all of us at the park. We are getting so big and want to do EVERYTHING there is to do wherever we go.

Go Giants!

2010-06-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Daddy and I did something very special together in May. He took me to my first major league baseball game to see the San Francisco Giants! We had a great time and daddy said I did a great job as I actually stayed in my seat and we watched 3 whole innings of the game. Daddy was in heaven as he was anticipating he would actually only get to see about 1/2 of an inning. I think we walked over every inch of the entire stadium and we had lots of great things to eat, including ice cream! So much fun. I even got some little SF black-out stickers to go under my eyes and daddy treated me to a new SF Giants baseball cap of my very own (and just like his). We had a teriffic time - Thanks Daddy - I love you.

When mommy asked what my favorite part of the day was I replied "well, the ice cream". Of course, what else could it be?

Enjoy the pics of our day!

Best Buddies

2010-06-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, mommy has been very deficient in keeping up with our blog for a few months now. She goes on and on about how busy she has been with school and running etc. Does she not realize that she does not get to have her own life - it is supposed to be ALL about the little men in her life? Just kidding - we like her SO MUCH MORE when she has been running as the old girl just seems to be happier and more agreeable to our wishes:)!

Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I LOVE my little brother. He is the big daddy BOMB as I am concerned. I get along with him about 95% of the time lately, (except for those moments when I feel the need to give him a little push to see what happens, or when I decide to bounce something off his head) but overall I just love the little guy. Mommy says her heart melts when we tell each other that we love each other or when we hold hands between our car seats in the back of the car. I like to make sure he is safe and well taken care of. Joshie, in return, thinks that I am also the Big Daddy BOMB, as he wants to do whatever I do and likes whatever I like. Whenever I do something silly, he is the first to laugh hysterically at me! He is always right behind me trying to do what I do, even if he is too little. What is surprising is that he is generally able to keep up with me and if he can't do something I am always the best big brother and I will stop and help him (well, usually).

Here are a few silly pics of me and my best little buddy. Enjoy!

Atlanta Visit

2010-04-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we packed up and headed to Georgia to see Grandma Anne and Grandpa Jack. We had so much fun. Mom and Dad said I was so well-behaved on the 5 hour plane ride both ways. Josh got antsy after about 2 hours on the way there but was also a perfect little man on the plane on the way home. Whew!

During our visit I got to play with my all my cousins and the most exciting part of the trip is that I got to sleep on an air mattress at the foot of mom and dad's bed at Grandma's house. I must say, and mommy would agree, that her little men actually exceeded her expectations as far as sleeping and traveling. Josh also did a great job sleeping in his own twin bed in a separate bedroom. We are growing up so fast!

We did all sorts of fun things including a drive downtown to the Georgia Dome to pick up mom's race bib, we visited the Georgia Aquarium, we went to Wacky World (a park in Alpharetta) as well as visiting the indoor playgrounds at Chick Fil A and McDonalds - woohoo. One night we met mom's friend Getra for dinner at a Ichiban, a Japanese restaurant where they cook your food in front of you. It was all so very exciting and we were sad to leave, but also glad to get back to our normal routines and school. We also got to see mom's friend Pippa and celebrate her first half-marathon with mom.

We love you grandma and grandpa, Aunt Julie and Uncle Bob, cousins Christina, Sydney, Eric, Wes, Jessica, Lauren, Anne and George. Hope to see you again soon!

The Fletcher Hospital ( U can check in but it might be a while before u check out!)

2010-02-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

Everyone in the house has been sick (of course, except Daddy, as he has the immune system of a MACK truck). It all started with a cold which went back and forth between me and my brother and then mommy was finally struck down last week. She had to go down at some point. She says she remembers the exact moment when the viruses and colds entered her body - that is when little Josh decided to cough exactly at the moment when mommy was right in front of him speaking (i.e. with her mouth open)! Mom has become a bit of a germaphobe and she LOVES Purell and she said she considered washing her mouth out with it at that moment, but that would be going a little too far even for her. She finished her antibiotics yesterday and is well now.

Once we thought we were all getting better, it appears that I have yet another cold and cough and I have actually been having something like asthma attacks where I can't stop coughing and wheezing. Last night was the worst where I was coughing so hard that I was shaking and holding my chest. I coughed so hard that I now have broken blood vessels all around my eyes and on my face. Needless to say, we went back to the doctor again. Finally, we now have two kinds of inhalants from the doctor and I am now on my second course of antibiotics (I just finished that last course yesterday - I guess they didn't work). My ear infection is still hanging out as well.

Josh finished his antibiotics from his coughing issue and he had been on eye drops to wipe out an eye infection as well. Unfortunately, he now seems to have a new cold!! To make matters worse, yesterday he tried to "taste" a red ink pad at school and it dyed his chin and cheeks red. The teacher tried to clean it off and the rubbing has now caused his sensitive little skin to break out in a rash.

We are two poor looking little guys. Both hacking and coughing with colds and various signs of red ink and red patches on our faces. Mommy and Daddy took us out to eat at the mall today and mom was muttering something about someone reporting them to child protective services...what was up with that? Ha, ha.

Anyway, we are all hopefully on the mend. Here are a few pics of us from a happier and healthier time in the past (when I was two) and of Josh just recently (at about the same age) so you can see how much we do look alike. I think my hair was lighter and a little longer than Josh's and he looks a bit more like Daddy and I look more like my mom. What do you think? Can you tell which one is which?

What's up Pussycat?

2010-02-04T23:01:00.000-08:00

Josh thinks he is a kitty cat. No kidding. He walks around (or crawls around) on the floor and says "meow". Yes, most people would think this was really strange, but he is just so darn cute when he does this, you can't help but love him a little more. We are not sure when he decided to become a cat, but it just started one day. He pads around the kitchen and will rub against your legs as well.

In the mornings (early mornings - too early mom says) Josh wakes up and begins to "meow" softly in his bed and make other types of kitty cat noises. It is really cute, but mom says it would be even cuter if the noises would start closer to 7am instead of 6 am. Also, mommy said she would be REALLY excited if our kitty would learn to use the "litter box", if you know what I mean. Also, we must have an abnormal kitty as mom says that kitty cats like to sleep all the time - ours DOES NOT do this!

See the picture above of our new little kitty. The last picture is where Josh said he was a kitty and wanted to lay on the steps and be cuddled up with his blanket.

We love our Joshie.

School Boys

2010-01-11T21:46:00.000-08:00

Joshie and I are both in school now. This is my third year in school (I know, pick yourself off the floor). I attended a prep class at 2 years old and I am now in my second year of preschool. This year is lots of fun because in the afternoons I get to go spend 3 hours with the pre-K/kindergarten class and I love it! I am learning to write my name and numbers and even do some basic addition. Mom and dad think they are going to keep me at my same school for next year and have me attend the kindergarten there instead of the public school. We just love the kindergarten teacher and mom and dad feel it is a wonderful environment for me. I agree!!

Joshie is attending his first year of prep and he is FINALLY enjoying school. Mom says she thought that he would just assimilate to school very quickly since he was so used to going there to pick me up - I mean he basically knew everyone there already. But no such luck - it took poor Josh about 2 solid months to get used to being away from mommy. He would cry and cry and act pitifully (the teachers said that he stopped as soon as mommy left the parking lot) but it did make him sad and he missed mommy terribly. The past few weeks he has really begun to love school and he is happy and smiling when mommy takes him into school. The teachers say he is as wonderful as me and is now a happy little guy all day at school.

Josh and I love our school and so do mommy and daddy. We feel very grateful to have found a place that we are so comfortable with and love so dearly. The teachers are great about taking pictures and sharing them. Here are a few of the best ones. Enjoy! Don't we look so grown up?

My photographs - Marvel at my talents!

2010-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

As promised, here a few of the pictures of Josh, Mom and Dad that I took with my very own camera. Granted, the quality is not so great and mom and dad, in particular look sort of "zombie-like", but this is my first ever camera, so give me a little break. Mom took the picture of me at the bottom and you can see I am being very scary in this picture.

Additionally, you may notice that Mom and I changed the background and layout of the blog a little bit. We have decided that we would like to at least try to be a little more creative with this site. Tell us what you think of this template. We also added a blinkie and changed the colors around. We are still learning and it is a definite work in process. We will update here and there for the seasons and holiday.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

I love all holidays but Christmas is my favorite time of year. Decorating the Christmas tree and putting up the lights are at the top of my list. Just ask my mom, I am an excellent helper. Don't even get me started talking about wrapping presents, because if you know me at all, you know I have a very, very intense appreciation for scotch tape. I just love the stuff and I love to put it anywhere and everywhere. Mom says at least that I can put my obsession to good use at Christmas time when it is time to wrap presents (rather than wrapping the tape around door knobs or on counters or my little brother).

This Christmas was the best yet, as Joshie is older now and could really participate and have fun with me. We would lay down together next to the tree on our tummies and discuss what might be in the wrapped packages. Grandma Anne and Grandpa Jack sent a package that would giggle when you touched it and it drove all of us literally nuts. We would sit and marvel at the lights and ornaments. It was just all so exciting.

This year we made cupcakes for Santa instead of cookies. I think he really liked them as we left two for him and he ate both of them.

My most favorite gift that I received was from mom and dad and it was my very own Fisher Price digital camera. I absolutely love it and have taken about a million pictures. I am really getting good at taking pictures and will post some at a later date. I have taken pictures of the toilet, the ketchup bottle, our Christmas dinner and my brother and my parents. I can't wait to show my pictures to you soon! Merry Christmas!

Josh's Big Boy Bed (December 15, 2009)

2009-12-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

One night in early December, mommy received a call from Dad on her cell phone. She had just finished her final exam in her psychology class and was shopping at Safeway on her way home to pick up some groceries. Upon answering her cell phone, Daddy said "We have a little problem!" Bracing herself for some news, Daddy reported that Josh had figured out to get out of his crib and was getting out of his crib over and over and over and over.......

Now, if you know Josh well, or even if you had just met him, you would be able to determine that he is a tricky little guy. He is very adamant that he likes his way. He should have "My way or the highway" tattooed on his little arm. Anyway, once he figured out how to get out of his crib there was no going back. In fact, mommy said that his future probably lay in gymnastics as the way he flipped himself out of that crib was an absolute gymnastic feat worthy of a gold medal.

Needless to say, that particular evening and the one that followed were difficult nights for the Fletcher family. Both nights, Josh basically ended up sleeping in his rocking chair. He refused to stay in his bed, but upon getting out of the bed, he couldn't get back in. When he would fall asleep in the rocker, daddy would go put him in the crib...that is, until he woke up again, got out of the crib, etc.. You see the pattern, no?

Anyway, the following day mom and dad went to the store and purchased a toddler bed for Josh. It had a "Cars" headboard and a matching "Cars" blanket, sheets and pillowcase. Josh was thrilled over his big boy bed and sleeps there every night. Well, that is after conversations with me at the gates to our room and generally a little unhappiness at bedtime. But we are getting there and things are getting better. The little guy is definitely growing up!

Mom and dad gave me a little gift for being such a helpful big brother throughout the process. For example, one of the first nights Josh was crying at his gate and mom and dad were getting frustrated. Of course, I just said, "Josh, it's okay baby, just calm down and go get in your bed and go to sleep". Of course, Josh replied "OK, Matthew, good night" at which point he lay down and went to sleep. Ha, ha!

Snow Day! (December 7, 2009)

2009-12-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

Josh and I have seen all kinds of movies and shows about snow. One of our favorite stories is "Frosty the Snowman"; however, we don't really know what snow is or feels like. It is just some kind of magical thing that everyone talks about has yet to appear or exist in our world, that is until December 7. It actually SNOWED at our house - can you believe that? Mommy and Daddy were shocked to see it outside and couldn't believe it. Mom says that she read that the last time it snowed down below 500 feet here was over 20 years ago or something liked that. Anyway, I rushed downstairs to look out the window and was absolutely in a state of excitement. Upon seeing the snow, I yelled "Yeah, no school today!" Mom just laughed and laughed and I didn't understand why, but apparently our particular "SNOWFALL" didn't qualify as the kind of snowfall that shuts everything down. Argh! Upon asking if I could make a snowman, I was again shut down. What a drag.

Anyway, we got to go outside and see it but it was all gone by early afternoon. Mom and dad said that we are going to go up to Lake Tahoe this winter to see real snow. It should be lots of fun!

Her biggest fan (December 6, 2009)

2009-12-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

I am my mom's biggest fan. She is a happier person when she can run and therefore, that makes me happy too (heck, it makes us all a lot happier). Upon returning to home from her marathon in early December, I made a big congratulations sign for her, gave her a huge kiss and then, of course, said, "What did you bring me back as a surprise?" Ha. Ha.

Love ya mommy. Here she is with my dad at the end of the race! Go Mom!

Getting too big for my britches! (November, 2009)

2009-12-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Just a fun post. I have a very funny little sense of humor and sometimes I do the silliest things. On this particular day in late November, I thought it would be funny to try on Daddy's pants. Mom is always telling me how big I am getting so I thought I would see if I could borrow some of Dad's clothes. Hey, at least it might save her a trip to the store to buy me yet another size in jeans.

Here I am in Dad's jeans! Maybe if I eat just a bit more dessert they will fit me by next year.

Thanksgiving (November 26, 2009)

2009-12-28T14:36:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we had Aunt Lori, Uncle Jeff and my cousins, Lindsey and Justin over for dinner. They were leaving for a Thanksgiving cruise the next day (you will understand why mommy feels this info is important in a minute). Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner (thanks Lunardi's grocery store and mom's ability to heat and serve) and were having lots of fun with our cousins. See the attached pic of all of us actually sitting in one place and happy at the same time!

Lindsey was reaping the benefits of being the only girl cousin (or maybe she was weeping) as it seems all the boys decided to become her babies. Baby1, Baby2 and Baby3 were all pretending to cry and she played the role of little mother. It was very funny and actually Baby3 (Josh) was actually the best baby of all and looked on at myself and Justin like were had gone nuts at some points in the evening.

Also, see a pic of my family as well. If you received our Christmas card this year, yep that is the same pic, but mom wanted to post it on the blog as a keepsake at least.

Now, why did mom feel it important to tell you about our cousins going on a cruise? Well, after making sure that everyone was well and having everyone over for dinner, Josh became very ill in the middle of the night! And he continued to throw up for a day or two after. Argh! Mom worried for days that the cousins were going to get the throw up bug on their cruise!! How awful??? No? Additionally, she was freaked out that she was going to get sick as well. She had been training for her upcoming marathon for months and it was just a week away. Well, it all worked out and none of the other Fletchers got sick (well, except for me!!!)

Pumpkin Patch (October, 2009)

2009-12-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

Every year around Halloween time, we go to a nearby pumpkin patch to pick out our perfect pumpkins. This year, we picked out four pumpkins (a daddy pumpkin, a mommy pumpkin, a Matthew pumpkin and a Joshie pumpkin). Since we were running a little behind with things, Mommy said we were going to decorate our pumpkins in a "special" way. We used stickers and other decorations. If you ask me, she just didn't want to get into all the mess!

See the attached pics of us at the pumpkin patch and on the tractor (the patch is on a real working farm). Mom and Josh posed with our pumpkins below as well.

Halloween (October 31, 2009)

2009-12-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

One of my most favorite times of the year is Halloween! I get to decide what costume I want to wear and then I get to go out and trick or treat. I had lots of fun last year, but this year I was really excited about the whole idea of Halloween....in fact, mom seems to remember that I had already decided to be Spiderman sometime over the summer. None of us are quite sure how my fascination and interest in Spiderman developed. I am not allowed to watch the cartoon (well, just the one time that Daddy let me and unfortunately, mommy walked in as some man exited a car and started blasting a machine gun and Spiderman was no more for our household - RATS!)

I was really excited to go and pick out my Spiderman costume and I wore it around the house (including the face mask) for all the days preceding Halloween. Josh loved it and we would chase each other around and I would "spin webs" and "save" Josh from all sorts of peril and dangerous situations. Josh perfected his "Spiderman, save me!" plea. It was all quite funny.

My mom's friend loaned an Elmo costume to us for Josh to wear. It was the most adorable costume, but Josh (as he is a product of my mother's DNA) decided he would be stubborn and refuse to wear it. Mom got it on him after a bit of a struggle but all he would do was cry. Therefore, mom and Josh stayed home and handed out candy. About two weeks after Halloween, Josh decided that he would "allow" mom to put the costume on him and he was the most adorable ELMO there ever was. In fact, once he put the costume on, we almost thought we would never get it off of him. Enjoy the pics!

Joshua's 2nd Birthday (October 30, 2009)

2009-12-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that the little guy is already 2 years old? Mom and Dad say that it feels like Joshua has grown up faster than I have. Well, I am only four and have little concept of what time is, but I don't think that is possible. Maybe, they are just moving so fast all the time that it FEELS like time has been moving along more quickly over the last two years.

Josh didn't have a big birthday party like me so instead we had our friends the White's over on Halloween evening. Before we all went out trick or treating, we had delicious cake and ice cream and sang happy birthday to my little brother. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole thing, but he loved it, smiled a huge grin, and blew his candles out like a champ. We then all had cake and got into our costumes for the rest of the evenings festivities.

Mom says I am an excellent big brother and we went shopping together for Josh's birthday presents. I was very helpful at Toys R Us, but occasionally I did see something that I might like to have. Mom kept telling she would "make a note of that" and we went on our way. We picked out several great gifts for Josh including a shopping cart, a Mickey Mouse motor speedway and a "spike" the junior dinosaur.

Josh's favorite thing to say prior to his birthday (and unfortunately, he continues to say it to this day) was "Guess What?" Then you say "What Joshie?" and Josh says "Its my birthday!" Very cute.

Happy 2nd birthday little bro, I love you very much!

My fourth birthday! (September 5, 2009)

2009-12-28T11:32:00.001-08:00

September was an exciting month at our house. Not only did I turn four years old but Daddy also had a birthday and mommy returned to school at the end of the month.

My fourth birthday was absolutely the best birthday ever! Not only because it was a big exciting day, but to tell you the truth I don't really remember that much about my previous birthdays anyway:) Our theme was Spiderman and mom and dad got a cake with spiderman and friends. We had Spiderman goodie bags for my little guy friends and the girls received a princess goodie bag. We had my party at the same place as last year and that was my choice as it is such a fun place. There is a big slide, jumpy house and rock wall. I think my parents and their friends had as much or more fun as me and all my little friends on the rock wall. Almost every single adult tried to climb the wall. What a blast!

See the attached pics to celebrate my big day all over again. Until next years party!!!

A family affair (August 2009)

2009-12-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

So, yes you may note that we haven't posted anything since July. Well, we have had a lot going on and I will update you on all of it in time. There is just too much to tell you in one post. Let me begin by going back to August when we had an almost complete family reunion (at least on the Parson's side that is) here at my house. Not only did Grandma Anne and Grandpa Jack come out to visit, but also my Uncle John, Marla and cousin Gail. To top it all off, mom's cousins Anne and George also came out.

I love to be around lots of family and Josh and I absolutely loved every minute of their visit. We did all sorts of fun things including driving out to Stinson Beach. I loved the ocean and running from the waves and Josh enjoyed playing in the sand with cousin Gail. See the attached pictures of the visit and enjoy!

Adorable Quotables

2009-07-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

Mom says she may be a little bit biased (I have no idea what that means) when it comes to me and my little brother, but she is constantly telling us that we are very smart and cute and very verbal little men. Here is a collection of our most current and most notable quotes that we have said in the last few months. I continue to amaze mom and dad with my vocab and Josh is catching up quickly. His most recent words include pancake, bumble bee and Mickey mouse. His most common sentence these days is "I WANT (insert here) ! But he is also generally polite enough to add a please and thank you to his toddler demands! Enjoy!

Matthew quotes:

1) When daddy was cleaning the side of the tub, I told Daddy "Here daddy, let me show you how a professional does it!"

2) "I am so frustrated right now!" "I need a break!"

3) "I need my privacy please".

4) Upon seeing an infomercial for a multipurpose wood working tool I said to mom "Hey mom, we can buy that and cut a big hole in the wall in the toy room. Then we can use the multi-tool to fix the wall again!"

Josh quotes:

1) Upon injuring himself (which is quite often these days) or when holding anything at all which needs some comfort, Joshie always says "KISS IT!"

2) Upon receiving anything from anyone "Thank you!" or upon hearing Thank you from someone else "You're welcome!"

3) When he has something and he gives it to you he says "Here you go!"

I am sure there are many others to list, but these are the most recent ones. See you soon!

Pool boys

2009-06-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

The weather here in San Ramon has been cold one day and hot the next lately, but a week or two ago it was really hot and it was time to pull our little pool out of the garage. Daddy filled it with air using the "air conditioner" (also know as an electric air pump) so that we could fill it with water, cool off and have some fun. As most of you know, I love to swim and I love water so I couldn't think of anything that could be more exciting than playing in the pool. Josh was a little hesitant about getting into the water at first, but once the water warmed up and he realized I wasn't going to drown him, he also jumped in and had some fun.

I had lots of "destructions" (also know as "instructions") for Joshie about playing in the pool, but he didn't really seem to be following my lead. After a while I just gave up and let him play the way he wanted to and we still had lots of fun. See the above pictures of me and my little brother enjoying our time in the pool as well as running around the backyard and playing.

After our swim, Mom brought out the picnic blanket and we had a picnic of delicious grapes and cheese. As you know, we love to eat, so this was especially fun for us.

Could we be any cuter?

A visit with "Pa"

2009-06-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Marvin came to visit us a few weeks ago and we loved seeing him. Josh now affectionately refers to him as "pa" but I still like to call him "Grandpa". We kept him VERY BUSY the whole time he was at our house. We did catch him trying to take a little cat nap while he was outside watching us play in the pool, but we took care of that by making sure water was splashed on him or by tugging on him. We literally sat on him alot, made him watch us eat (which is generally all the time) and had him read books to us. We showed him all of our toys and he accompanied us to the park on more than one occassion.

Unfortunately Grandpa Marvin had to go back to his home in Ohio, but not before Josh picked up almost every single object in our house, brought it over to Grandpa and told him what it was called. Grandpa's vocabulary must be very advanced now:)

See the attached pictures of us with Grandpa Marvin. We miss you!

In the clouds (at least mom's head seems to be there!)

2009-05-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

Hey, I think I forgot to tell you that Mom has officially gone nuts...squirrels in the brain...early dementia, etc. as a few weeks back she seemed to completely forget her MANDATE to my dad that Josh and I would not be able to go for a flight in Daddy's plane until much later in our little lives. YES, you guessed it - the old girl caved in and we all went for a flight in the plane together. Much to mommy's dismay, everyone loved the flight and did very well. Of course, our first flight only consisted of a few trips around the pattern at the airport, but still, it really made Daddy's day. Needless to say he is a VERY happy camper! Don't worry, Daddy is an excellent pilot and our carseats were transferred from the car to the back seat of the airplane to ensure we were safe as possible.

Daddy took just me for a flight one other day too and Daddy said I was a great co-pilot. Once Josh is a little bit older, Daddy has big plans (of course, with Mommy's approval always) for us all to take mini family trips in the plane to nearby fun places such as Monterey, San Diego, etc.! How fun! The only disadvantage that I currently see with Daddy's plane vs. the big airlines is that he doesn't serve the little drinks in a cup and offer little snacks.

See above for a few pics of me and Josh and Mommy at the airport hanging out. Mom and Dad especially love the last picture above as they say it most accurately captures mine and Josh's personalities! Hmmm, I wonder what they mean by that?? Mom says for you to just take a look at our expressions and you will understand what they mean!

San Diego or BUST!!!

2009-04-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Mommy says to tell you that she is sorry we have been so slack at posting to our blog lately. For some reason, she seems to think that she has a lot going on and a lot of distractions and people to take care, etc. Really, what is so hard about managing three boys?!? (Ha, ha, I hope Daddy is in a good mood when he reads that one, but you know, it really is the truth!)

We all headed to our favorite vacation spot a week or so ago - San Diego. This time we stayed in a hotel and Josh and I thought it was the most fun thing we have ever done. We were both excellent travelers per mom and dad. We were both good listeners, happy and polite at the airport (even with a 1 1/2 hour delay right at dinnertime) during the flight and upon our arrival that evening. We searched every inch of our hotel room including opening every possible cabinet and door until we felt satisfied that there was nothing else to see. We both went right to sleep in our own sleeping places (J in crib and me in a big bed all to myself) and slept all night without a peep from either one of us!

The next few days were filled with trips to Sea World, Legoland and the San Diego Zoo. We really had a blast and I can't wait to go again. Another fun perk of staying at the hotel is that we also got to go swimming twice in the indoor pool which I absolutely LOVED! Josh and I were also very taken with the super huge KOI fish in the atrium and the all you can eat breakfast bar that was available to us every morning. Josh would yell at the top of his voice "FISH" upon exiting our room every morning. It was very funny!

Mom and Dad asked me during our last night what I thought was the most fun thing about our trip. Mom and Dad both said that they liked Sea World the most, but you know what I said?....I said that I liked staying at the hotel!!! Ha! Ha! Enjoy our pictures and Mommy says that she and I will post another update very soon this time.

Hi, NO, and who's your Bobby?

2009-03-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Baby J is now walking and talking up a storm, however, a lot of the things he says don't really make sense and make me laugh and laugh. He definitely understands "Hi" and loudly greets anything and everyone who comes across his path. He waves his little hands and everyone who sees him gives him a big grin, greets him and laughs. We love this and hope it continues.

A less desirable use of his communication skills involves the word "NO". For instance, whatever question you ask him now is vigorously responded with a head shaking "NO". I think this is hilarious, but mom and dad don't really think as much as of it as I do. I like to say "Josh do you want to do {insert here} and he responds in his cute little voice "No" and shakes his little head side to side. It really is very cute, but I am helping mom to also teach him to nod his head and say "Yes"! It really doesn't matter what you ask him, you will always get the answer no. Tonight daddy asked Baby J if he wanted to ride a pony and eat cupcakes all day long and guess what response he received? You got it!

Um, by the way, did I mention that Mom and Dad say that I was INSTRUMENTAL in teaching him this new "NO" skill?

The other funny thing that Baby J has been doing is calling everyone "Bobby". We are not sure where he came up with this - perhaps Bobby is poltergeist that only Baby J can see or perhaps he is just messing with us, but it is funny as ever. He just says it over and over and addresses people as Bobby. I can't wait until we meet someone that is actually named Bobby - they will think the little guy is a genius! Of course, we all think he is a genius anyway - I mean, come on, he is MY brother!

Later.

The Boyz!

2009-03-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Mom took this picture and she just loves it as it has all her boys together and we are all happy and smiling, FINALLY. The last few months, as many of you know, have been filled with lots of viruses, ear infections and whatever else you can think of. You will notice that the little guy has become somewhat attached to his pacificer aka "NIGHT NIGHT". Up until a few months ago, he had only been allowed to use it at night, but due to all his recent ear infections and other plagues and other issues, he has been allowed to use it when he was in distress and it virtually became an ALL DAY AND NIGHT NIGHT! (mom says to tell you that the darn pacifier basically saved her from going completely insane over the past few months).

Update: The NIGHT NIGHT has been PHASED back to a "night night" ONLY now and hopefully it willl soon become a NEVER NEVER again:).

He walks the line (not a straight line, however)!

2009-03-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

The day has finally come when my little brother "Josh Josh", as he is now referred to, is finally walking on his own two feet. Well, mom says it walking, but it really resembles more of a drunken march in circles with occassional slips and falls. Mom and dad would tell you that they didn't really think this day would ever come. I think although they tried hard not to, they compared his development to mine and we all know that I walked at about 10 1/2 months. Josh Josh is a little older than 16 months, so in all respects it was quite a while later for him. However, now that he is walking, he wants to walk EVERYWHERE! The poor little guy has been so tired at night he can barely make it up the stairs to get to bed.

We are all very happy for this new development and I look forward to really PLAYING with him now. We went to the park today and it was a joy to see him all over the playground, chasing (stumbling after)balls and exploring everything on his own. We love to chase each other around and now that he is walking it will be even more fun!

Way to go Josh Josh! I love you little guy! See the attached pics of me and my little bro in our matching jammies, the little guy "exploring" the kitchen cabinets and lastly, Josh the carpenter. Mom says to tell you that she is aware that he doesn't have any pants on underneath that toolbelt, but it was just too cute a picture to pass up!

Christmas/Hanuakah or Chrisakah or Hanumas!

2009-01-13T23:21:00.000-08:00

We haven't posted any pictures or updates from Christmas, so I thought I would do that now. We had a wonderful holiday - it was especially fun for me this year as I really understood what was going on and it was fun to share it with Baby J too! I was an expert helper in decorating the Christmas tree and I also liked to help arrange and rearrange the gifts under the tree. Mom was very surprised that I didn't try to open them and understood that we had to wait until Christmas. We baked (well, really mom) homemade Chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies and left them out for Santa. Funny, but Santa seemed to really enjoy them and ate a lot of them - even ones from the canister in the kitchen that we didn't leave out for him. That wasn't really very nice to go into our kitchen canister, but I will cut the old guy some slack since he worked really hard that night:) Mom and dad seemed especially satisfied and didn't seem to want any sweets the next day...hmmmmm.

Santa brought us lots of fun things to play with. Mine and Baby J's favorite gift was a play kitchen, but I am also very fond of my huge Bruder garbage/recycling truck and my Spiderman bedroom slippers. (FYI - I have now entered a huge Spiderman phase so watch out!!) Baby J loved his Backyardigans pirate ship and we both received matching wool caps.

Mom and dad say that they must be doing something right as they seemed pleased at the fact that I continued to say over and over "That was so nice of Santa to bring us these gifts". I continued to say this for days.

We also went to a Menorah lighting this year. Daddy took me and we went with Grandpa and my uncle and cousins. I wasn't sure what was going on, but there were candles and fire and it was interesting to me and Baby J. Daddy said that Baby J just pointed and was interested in all of it.

I hope everyone had as happy a holiday as we did. Enjoy the pictures.

I am back!

2009-01-05T11:26:00.001-08:00

Sorry we haven't posted any updates in about 2 months...we have been busy being sick and celebrating lots of holidays. Along with a wonderful Thanksgiving and a stupendous (my new current favorite word) Christmas, we also got to experience stomach viruses, teething, colds, ear infections, back afflictions (daddy, namely) and more colds! We all seem to be on the mend now and hopefully it will stay that way for a while.

In addition to a big growth spurt, my verbal skills are really "blossoming". I have always been very verbal, but mom and dad are now amazed at some of the things I can do and say and understand. I am not sure why mom said we should put the word "blossoming" in quotes. I think it has to do with my frequently sarcastic and/or sassy vocabulary which includes "I wasn't talking to you", "that wasn't very nice, mother" and "I only have two hands" which is my frequent response when asked to do something.

Anyway, here is a picture of me displaying my intimidating presence and awesome cuteness! As you can see, daddy has firmly planted the idea of playing ice hockey in my brain and I am looking forward to "tearing up the ice" one day soon.

More updates are coming soon, I promise!!

Trick or Treat!!

2008-11-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

Guess what I dressed up as for Halloween? A fireman - no, really, how did you guess that one???? I had a really cool outfit with a hat, badge, an axe (what was my mom thinking?), a fire extinguisher and a walkie talkie. It was just perfect for the evening because it rained here a little bit - it was sort of a fireman rain slicker. My mom - she's apretty smart gal, isn't she?

Joshie dressed up as a monkey (this outfit has been worth its purchase price since I have worn it for 2 previous Halloweens myself). He was so cute and miraculously left on his ears most of the night.

I loved saying trick or treat and after each house I ran to Mom and said "Okay, let's go to the next house!!" By the end of the evening I had an entire pumpkin full of candy. Yes, Mommy got to go this year - you might remember that she was laid up at home due to Joshie being born just one day earlier last year.

I was especially afraid of anything spooky this year and refused to go to a couple of houses on our street. I saw a couple of costumes that also terrifed me (one tall kid in a furry ape costume and another kid in the "Scream" outfit). Mom said that particular costume scared her as well!

Joshie and I got to wear our costumes twice this year as we wore them to a kids place and got a reduced admission to play. Also, earlier in the week, we went to the pumpkin patch and I got a ghost painted on my face. See the cute pics above of me and several of my little friends on big night!

Happy 1st Birthday to Baby J

2008-10-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that Joshie is 1 year old? His birthday was yesterday and Mommy took him to the doctor for his checkup. Poor little guy, he didn't sleep well the night before (possibly teething???) and then he had to get three shots at the doctors office. His official stats were 31 inches height (85% percentile) and 20.1lbs weight(20% percentile). These were exactly my stats at the same age, but I weighed about 1.5 ounces less. Wow, that's amazing, isn't it? We are just little carbon copies of each other.

Because the little guy was so cranky on his birthday, we have decided to do a little birthday celebration over the weekend - we had thought about a party, but decided against it. We will probably just get a little ice cream cake and sing happy birthday and that will be all. We did meet my aunt, uncle and cousins out for dinner, but it was short and sweet as Little J was not very happy.

Joshie can get just about anywhere now and is very fast with his crawling. He is definitely a climber and can get up the stairs very quickly. He can also stand up and pull up just about anywhere and is now discovering how he can move his feet to "cruise" along the furniture. Mommy thinks it will be about 1 more month before he starts to walk, but with the way the little guy moves around, it could be sooner. He can say about three or four words (Mama, Dada, ball and "hey") and he has waving and pointing completely mastered. He understands a lot of what we say and will point and look at the light in a room when asked.

Happy 1st birthday little J - WE LOVE YOU!!!

Beach Boyz and Water Babies

2008-10-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mom, Dad, Joshie and I went on a family vacation this past week to Carlsbad, CA. Carlsbad is just north of San Diego and there are lots of fun things to do there including SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park and LegoLand. We rented a beautiful house right across the street from the Tamarack Surf Beach and our days were filled with wonderful views of the beach and surfers everytime we looked out our windows. The house also had its own COOL pool with a hot tub and a waterfall and we swam everyday and had lots of fun.

This was the first real time that I had played on a beach. I had seen the ocean from a distance when I was about 2 years old, but this time I got to play in the sand and run and chase the waves. Daddy and I played "here it comes" with the waves several times and we both got very wet and sandy. I didn't particularly care for having sand in my pants and protested loudly, but after a bath I was okay again.

See several pictures of us all at the beach and pool, a view of the beach from our porch and a shot of mommy and Joshie on his second plane ride. Upon boarding the plane, the captain let me take a look in the cockpit too - that was a blast and I had lots of fun. I did pretty well on the plane with the exception of a minor meltdown due to my ears popping upon landing.

Warning - Polars bears have invaded California!

2008-10-14T22:35:00.001-07:00

Just kidding - I just wanted to make sure I got your attention. Please note that there are four new postings here since my birthday. Make sure you scroll down and catch up with our activities since my big birthday celebration.

Joshie bear has a lot less HAIR!!

2008-10-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

Joshie got his first haircut a few weeks ago. For a while, many of you may remember, that the little guy was sporting an outrageous baby mohawk. Well, finally the sides of his hair grew in and then he started to get lots of curls at the back of his head. Mom and dad finally took him to get a haircut when it just got completely out of control - Poor little guy, he was starting to look a little scraggly.

Let's just say Joshie is a little attached to mommy and upon being put into the car chair at the salon, he waited about two seconds before the tears welled up and the screaming commenced. My mom and the hair lady decided that it might be easier if mom held him, so we went to another chair and he sat in mom's lap. It was unpleasant for everyone, but Joshie looks like a little boy again instead of a little street urchin:).

See the before shot of the back of Joshie's head, the middle of haircut unhappy shot and the final happy result.

My, what big teeth you have!

2008-10-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

I visited the dentist for the very first time a few weeks ago and it was lots of fun. As I was sitting in the waiting room, mom yelled out "Oh Matthew, there are wild animals behind the door!". At first I that she had finally gone over the edge, but then I noticed a squirrel's tail bobbing around behind the glass and then I saw a mouse tail. "What is that?". Upon venturing over to the door, I opened it up and met my dentist. You see, they weren't real animals at all, just little puppets.

My visit was lots of fun and I was such a good patient. After letting me play with the dentist chair controls, the water and the suction device, the dentist was able to check out all my teeth, clean them and floss them. For being such a great patient, I got several surprises including a new toothbrush, a little camera from the toy chest and a little stuffed kitty cat. I had a great time and my mom was very proud of me.

See a recent picture of me above where I proudly display all of my pearly whites!!

Happy belated birthday Daddy!

2008-10-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

Daddy's birthday was on September 19 and he celebrated his 29th birthday for the 13th year in a row! I am not sure how that is really possible but I believe most of what mom and dad tell me so WHATEVER!

I kept asking Daddy if he was having a firetruck party too, but unfortunately, he didn't and he seemed happy just to share a little cake with his family and wear a silly birthday hat just for me and my brother. I loved the cake and Joshie and I loved helping daddy blow out the candles on his cake.

Mom and dad tell me that Joshie's birthday is coming up next - I hope there will be something exciting planned for his big day, but mom and dad say it will only be just a few friends over for some cake. I mean what else is there to do - the little guy still can't even walk on his own. At least I will get to have more cake!!!!

My three year checkup stats - uh, yes, over a month late!

2008-10-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Mom has been a bit delinquent in keeping up the blog lately. Our last entry was on my birthday and that was a month and a half ago. Give the old girl a break - we have been very busy and I have lots and lots of stuff to tell you about including my 3 year checkup at the doctor, my daddy's birthday, my first visit to the dentist, Joshie's first haircut and finally our recent vacation to the beach in San Diego. Check back and make sure to catch up on all the exciting things going on in me and my little brothers' life as mommy plans to post updates for you regarding all these topics. I have posted a few recent pictures of me and my favorite little guy so you can see how we are are both growing and still getting along...famously! (at least for now until Joshie can defend himself a little better):)

So, my stats at my three year old checkup were as follows: 39 inches height (75% percentile) and 32 lbs weight (55% percentile). I did great at my checkup and I thought it was all fun and games. When the dr. asked my mom if I was talking alot, she didn't really have to answer as I filled the dr in on my swimming lessons, schools, bears, fish, pirates and a whole assortment of other unrelated topics! Let's just say he isn't concerned a bit regarding my verbal skills. This was the first time that the dr. checked my reflexes which I found very amusing. He proceeded to hit me in the knees and elbows with a hammer and it made me jump and laugh. Mom promptly explained that only the dr. was allowed to do that and I shouldn't plan to do the same to my little brother upon my return home.

No shots this time, but I did get the flu mist. It is sort of like a reverse sneeze into my nose. The nurse opened a little vial and then shot the stuff up my nose. Cool!

Happy Birthday to me - I am three!!!

2008-09-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

I wish I could have a birthday everyday! What an exciting few days I have had. First, on Friday the 5th (my actual birthday) mommy brought a fruit snack to school for me and all of my little friends. The teacher held a special birthday celebration for me and I got to walk around a candle three times and then practice blowing it out. All of my little friends sang Happy Birthday to me and then I got to give all of them the snack. Mommy brought toothpicks for us to eat with and that was an extra special treat. (We little kids get the biggest kick out of the littlest things).

The BIG day was Saturday - my firetruck party! It all started out very stressful as Joshie decided that in honor of my birthday, he would actually cut three of his four incoming teeth. We thought he had already cut them, but something was definitely bothering him and it was definitely teeth related. Our trip in the car to pick up my special birthday cake was filled with lots of screaming, crying and general unhappiness. But after a trip to the pharmacy for some baby tylenol and a bottle of formula and then some serious hugging and cuddling (mommy included) everyone recovered and we made it to the party on time.

My party was a blast! All my best "peeps" were there and we all went down the slide, played in the rescue vehicle blowups, jumped in the jumpy house and did some toddler rock climbing. At the end of the play time, there was an attempt to take a group photo. One of the parents at the party accurately described this as "trying to herd a group of cats!". The picture you see includes about 3/4 of my guests, but you get the idea. We look tired, don't we?

We retired to the party room to eat delicious pizza and lemonade and then topped it all off with my very special firetruck cake! My cake had a real firetruck and three fireman on top of it. I loved it all. I especially loved licking the icing off the feet of the fireman (again, the little things).

Thanks to all my little friends and their parents for making my third birthday such a wonderful day that I will talk about until my FOURTH birthday party (ha, ha).

Ride the BART-A, it will make you smarta!

2008-09-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

In addition to my overall obsession with cars and trucks and airplanes, many of you know that I also love trains! As a special treat (I really know that they were just bored and didn't know what else to do) mom and dad took me for a very special train ride. At least I thought it was very special train ride - we rode on BART!!! Whew, what fun.

First of all, we parked the car in this huge parking lot in a virtual "sea" of cars. Mom says they are building a parking garage for those cars at the Dublin BART, so it was extra fun as there was construction all around as well (and you know how I feel about construction trucks in general, right?) After walking into the terminal, we had to purchase a special ticket at a machine and mom let me put in the ticket, help her add money and then push a button to get the ticket back. Next we got to use the ticket at this weird gate where you had to push a bar as you walked through. Next we walked up to the fabulous platform. From my many readings about Curious George at the train station, I knew not to stand too close to the edge - it was all very exciting to me. When the train arrived, the doors opened with a big hiss and we got in to choose our very own seats. Once the train started moving, I must have said over and over a million times, "Where is the train going?" I am sure this annoyed all the other passengers, but mom and dad thought it was very cute. The other highlight of the train trip was that I found some sticky gum in the window sill and asking about it occupied my 15 minute train trip back in the other direction.

What fun I had on the train! Even Baby J had fun and loved the train as much as I did. See the attached pictures of me and J having fun, a big smile from J and me and my favorite girl sitting in our train seat.

PS. Mom says to tell you that she knows that BART doesn't have the A after it, (see the title above), but the rapid transit system in Atlanta is called MARTA, so this was just one of her awkward attempts at humor:)

Preschool is cool!

2008-08-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

So, I am such a big "boi" now, I have officially started preschool. As many of you know I was in a "Prep" preschool all of last year to prepare me for the difficult curriculum that I am about to encounter now that I am a big boy and attending preschool (Ha!) Things are a bit different this year, but mom says that I seemed to be okay with the changes and on my first day.... I looked a bit apprehensive to mommy but I just gave her a big kiss and a hug, trusted her judgement and said "Bye, Mommy, I'll see you after school!"

I have a bigger classroom this year and I also have several new teachers to get to know better. I hope to meet lots of new friends. The biggest change this year is that mommy can stay in the car and the teacher will come to get me from the car. (Mommy is happy and sad about this as she likes to take me in and give me a kiss through the gate, but also, this means she doesn't have to haul Baby J out of the car, etc. everytime). We haven't actually done this yet as I think we are both afraid there will be lots of tears, but I am sure it will be okay. I will let you know next week how it goes.

If you didn't remember, my third birthday is next Friday! I am going to be THREE years old! Can you belive that????? Stay tuned for updates on my big FIRETRUCK themed birthday party and my three year old checkup at the doctor. Talk at you later, Fans!

Baby J update - 9 months

2008-08-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Baby J is on the move now and just visited the doctor for his 9 month checkup earlier this month. He will be 10 months old at the end of this month - my how time flies when you are having fun!! His stats this time were height 29 1/2 inches (90th percentile) and weight 19.02 pounds (30% percentile) which are almost identical to mine at the same age. Good thing as the poor little guy has to wear all of my hand-me-downs, although I noticed that mom has purchased him a few new little outfits which he speedily outgrows as soon as he wears them once.

He is currently cutting FOUR upper teeth all at the same time. Mom says that teething has not been as difficult for him as it was for me - well, you have all heard the story of how I almost literally ate my crib, right?

The little guy is definitely on the move and into everything, but Mommy says I was even more mobile at this age. He takes off with his super speed "army crawl" and heads straight for whatever he is NOT supposed to get into. His favorites places to go are the messy toy cabinet, the kitchen, through the kitchen gate into the foyer and hall, and around the kitchen island. As he does this I like to say loudly and with enthusiasm "Mommy, where is Joshie going? He is into everything! Joshie is going to hurt himself, Mommy!" Mom says I am like a little built in alert system for baby Joshie - hey, I just love the little guy so much and I want him to be safe!

Additionally, mom says it has become impossible to change his diapers or clothe him as he immediately flips onto his back and starts to crawl away. This is especially humorous to me as generally he takes off with no clothes on and his little bare bottom is in the air and moving speedily away from mom. Mom doesn't think it to be so funny, but it really is.

Here are a few recent and adorable pics of the little guy. He is just "a tiny little baby" as I like to say. I am such a great big brother, mom says. I just love the little guy so much!!!

Rub a dub dub, two Fletcher boys in a tub

2008-08-04T23:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry we haven't posted in a month or so. It was an interesting month to say the least at the Fletcher household, but alas, everyone is back in the swing of things and we are moving on!

I have lots to write about including a visit from my aunt and and uncle, and other adventures, including my swimming lessons, but I will start with the latest video of me and my cute little bro. Look for several more new posts over the next few days.

Now moving on......

Mom and dad love to give baths to me and my little brother. That is a good thing because we need frequent baths, especially yours truly. I must say we are a cute little pair and once Baby J can move around better, it is going to get really interesting. Baby J seems to know just how to splash the water to get us all wet and crazy. When you add in the fact that I LOVE to spray my squirt bottle in all directions and at all people in attendance, you have a recipe for absolute wet madness.

I get to sit at the front of the tub on my bottom, but Mommy puts Baby J on a big bear shaped sponge in the tub. I asked her why once and she said "because he slips around on his little bottom and I can't hold on to him - it is like trying to hold onto a baby greased piglet!" She says that once he gets a little heavier and sits better on his own, then the sponge will be a goner. Darn - after baby J takes his bath, I love to soak up as much water in the sponge and play with it. Maybe I can convince her to keep it around.

Clink on the link below and listen carefully - this is sure to bring a smile to your face. Note: I think was doing an excellent job of getting all the potatoes out of Baby J's ears BEFORE mommy tasked me to clean his toes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gprFjQ0LiLM

Cowboys, Coasters, Cars and Cold Drinks!

2008-07-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

We made our annual visit to the Alameda County fair this year. I had an absolute blast and I could have stayed there forever, but alas, party poopers that they are, my parents said that we had to leave and we could come back again soon. I had a lot of first experiences this year at the fair, so keep reading along to find out all the exciting things that I did since I am such a big boy now. By the way, I find that getting older is most certainly a wonderful thing. Why are mom and dad always whining about getting older? Life gets better each moment for me as I am able to communicate and do more physical things each and every day.

This year I rode a pony!! I had no fear and just walked to the gate, let the cowboy man lift me onto my very own horse and sat up tall and proud with a huge grin on my face. My horse's name was Honey and she was a sweetie and took wonderful care of me. Even when I had to just sit there on her back for the other kids to get on their horses, I didn't mind, I was just very happy, proud and interested in all of it.

My second big experience was riding a real roller coaster. Again, I had no fear at all and got right into my seat. The coaster looked like a big psychadelic caterpillar, per mommy's words, and it actually went pretty fast and had one really big down ramp which Daddy said I loved. After getting off the coaster, Daddy said my first words were "Let's do that again!".

Next I got to drive a really neat car in a circle with some other kids. (Mom says to tell you that I didn't really drive it all by myself as it was a ride and it just went around in a circle) but I certainly felt in total control and made sure to turn the steering wheel and try to beep the horn.

After lunch and one episode of crying (because I did not want to leave) mom and dad let me have a Cold Cherry Icee drink. I believe mom used the word NASTY when she tasted it and then after Dad's sip he used the word DISGUSTING. However, I would describe my first experience with the Cherry Icee as DELICIOUS and YUM as you can see from my expression in the last picture above. Even Baby J seemed to enjoy it all and loved to watch me all day.

I can't wait until we visit the fair again next year.

Little J is sitting tall and having a ball...literally

2008-06-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Baby J is really sitting up tall all on his own now. Mom says that I have done an excellent job in teaching him how to do this. I am now tasked with teaching the little guy how to crawl and I must say that, excellent teacher than I am, he is well on his way. After he masters crawling, I get to teach him how to walk and that is when the excitement is really going to begin. Mom says that she is resting as much as she can these days in anticipation of that day. Wonder what she means by that????

Baby J is currently also trying to eat anything and everything. Balls, fish (plastic ones of course), blocks and anything else he can lay his little hands on. I am always very careful to help mom make sure he doesn't put anything in his mouth that he isn't supposed to. If Mom leaves the room for a second, upon her return, I always say, "Joshie didn't put anything in his mouth he wasn't supposed to". Unfortunately, for Baby J, I try to take most things out of his mouth, including his food and things he is allowed to put in his mouth. Well, do give me credit for effort!

Here are several cute pictures of my little baby "having a ball", showing off his "Crab Cake" T-shirt and another of the two of us just hanging out and having fun.

Little sports

2008-06-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad both think J and I are really going to be into sports as we get older. Particularly me, as I have already shown lots of interest in driving my cars really fast, swinging bats and hockey sticks, throwing things, tackling and in general just running around a lot! In fact, I think mom and dad are praying that I love sports as it will be a perfect outlet to burn off my abundance of ENERGY!!

Dad, of course, is hopeful that I will become interested in ice hockey. I love to grab his hockey stick in the garage and swing it wildly at any and everything. Hockey penalties are certainly in my future if this continues. Just recently, I have accepted that the point of the game is to hit the puck. However, I just usually hit anything else in the way (for instance, mom, dad, the car, etc.) Ha. Ha. I also love to put on dad's hockey gloves and helmet and I must admit I am pretty darn cute in this little get up. See the above picture. We have been to a few hockey games with dad and I just love to join him in the locker room to hang out with the guys and watch them all put on their gear. Dad was really amused when I saw his skates on his feet and I told him "daddy, I want to wear your hockey feet!"

Although I love sports, I must admit that I still get them all a little confused. For instance, one day I told mom that I was going to go to dad's hockey game and hit the ball with my bat and then skate down the field. I then added, of course, my usual GO BOBCATS!!!! Mom replied "Huh?" In fact, "Go Bobcats!" seems to be the perfect thing to say to daddy ANYTIME we are watching any type or game of sport. It certainly seems to make my daddy happy and annoy my mother:)

So, you may ask what sports little J likes at this point in his life? Well, generally he likes to put his feet in his mouth, be COOL as a cat in his shades and just generally watch me whirl around the room about him while he sits in his entertainment center. Mom and dad say that is enough to make anyone work up a good sweat.

Kissy, Kissy!

2008-06-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

So I know that all of you who read this blog (I know I have 6 fans out there at least) have seen this picture before, but mom says she couldn't resist adding it to the blog to officially record it in Peanut history. I figure, as poorly organized as mom is these days, what the heck, this is probably going to serve as my official baby book anyway!

One of mine and mom's special rituals is to give kisses through the gate when I am dropped off at school. My teacher took this picture as she thought this was adorable. In fact, one day, several of the teachers saw this and collectively said "Ooooh! Ahhhh! How sweet is he? Look at that! He is so adorable." Mom brings me to school, signs me in on the log and gives me a big hug. I also give J a huge hug and kiss and then mom says "I will be back to get you after your story time!" I then run over to the gate and stick my puckered little lips through to wait for my little kiss. One day, mom got into a conversation with someone and I just stood there in this position (literally for about 45 seconds) until she started to feel guilty about me standing there and abruptly ended her talk.

Mom says she needs to get this sweetness recorded and documented somewhere as one day - hopefully not too soon - I am going to be embarrassed to give her a kiss goodbye in front of all my friends. I don't think that will happen as Daddy doesn't seem embarrassed to give mommy kisses in front of his friends, and I am a lot like him, so no worries mom!

Lessons Learned

2008-06-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

One night, about a month ago, mom needed to put Baby J down a little earlier than normal as he had experienced a very tiring day. Mom said "Matthew, can you watch a Curious George show (a.k.a. 5 minute babysitter) while I take the baby upstairs and put him to sleep?" "Yes, mommy" I replied. "I will do that."

After I gave a kiss goodnight to Little J, mom took him upstairs to give him the rest of his bottle and to tuck him into bed. Poor mom, she thought all was well downstairs. Her fatal error was that she only asked me if I could watch George....she didn't explicitly tell me what NOT to do WHILE I was watching George.

The above picture was taken by mom to allow everyone to share in her horror at the site of my MASTERPIECE upon her return. I promptly explained to her that the couch pillows were arranged to be her and the pillow on the floor represented her foot and the pillow at the top was her head. I also thought it would be a great idea to COOK her up some treats, so I also took all the baking pans out of the kitchen and stacked those on top of the ottoman (a.k.a. the stove). I also took out some of my favorite toys and then lastly just plopped myself back down in front of it all to catch the end of George.

Creativity and imagination can take a lot of of a little guy, but at least mom was cool enough to congratulate me for these traits just before she told me that I had to help her clean it all up!

Mom's lesson learned: When you ask me if I can do something when you are away, you'd better also let me know what I am NOT allowed to do as well!

Brothers Forever

2008-05-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Things are really starting to get fun at our house and will only get more exciting as Baby J becomes more and more mobile. Baby J is becoming very interactive and vocal and mom says he will soon be crawling. He LOVES me and constantly has to be aware of where I am and watch what I am doing. If only J's head could swivel around 360 degrees then he would never have to let me out of his sight. If I am in the room and Mom is feeding J then I HAVE to be in his line of sight. Otherwise he is constantly trying to move or twist around so he can see me clearly.

The best thing of all is that I love him right back. Mom says that I am a super brother and my caring and concern about J is evident in 99% of my actions. I help mom feed him his bottle (if I am in the mood), console him when he is crying and I like to share my blankets and cuddle with him. The other 1% includes those moments when I get too excited and send some object flying through the air or run around too quickly and almost flatten J's head! Ha! Ha!

Our newest thing is that we both sit with mom and dad to listen to a Curious George story before bed. Then I like to give my little brother a hug and kiss before bed. We both think this is so funny. Mom stands him up to give a big bear hug and then she lays him in his bed and moves him close to the side of the crib. I then give him a big kiss through the side of the crib and we both are then off to bed.

Mom says "Brothers Forever"...she learned this from Nanny 911 so she must be right. But then, mom is always right, RIGHT?????

Baby J update - 6 months

2008-05-16T20:48:00.001-07:00

Baby J continues to be a very happy and mellow and absolutely adorable little guy. At his 6 month visit to the doctor he weighed in at 17.05 pounds (50% percentile) and was 27 1/2 inches long (80% percentile). Mom says that based on the amount of food he eats he should be in the 1,000th percentile for both!! He is now eating solids and is enjoying pears, applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots, oatmeal and rice cereal. Mind you, this food is IN ADDITION to the 32+ ounces of formula the little guy eats everyday. If I am not mistaken, this is a half gallon of formula per day. Wow!

Mommy tried to give J some peas, but let's just spare you the nasty details and say that he didn't really like them very much. Okay, well I will tell you, since you want me to.....I heard mommy tell daddy that when she tried to feed the peas to J it was like a scene from the movie "The Exorcist" but with formula and peas! Fortunately for me, mommy was the one who was vomited upon and I just got to watch!!:) I actually thought it was really horrifying but also COOL to watch. I had never seen anything like that before and yelled at the top of my lungs "Mommy, Joshie threw up!!". Mom just said "Thanks for letting me know that".

J is constantly reaching and grabbing for things and can roll over easily. He can almost sit by himself and stands with support. I love to roll on the floor with him and play with him. Mom and dad feel that he will be a very early walker like me. Lucky for me, bad for mom and dad.

He is also currently teething and will soon have his two bottom teeth. Mommy says she can see little white marks on his gums.

I LOVE my little baby and I can't wait until he can run around with me and play.

Hello Darling...Its been a long time!

2008-05-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

What a crazy month the Fletchers have had! I have so much to tell you, but I will start with our visit to my mom's side of the family in Atlanta (yes, all four of us and yes on a plane) for an entire week . I think I got to see every single relative and friend of my mother's - let's just say our social calendar for the week was pretty full. In addition to seeing all of these crazy, nutty and loud people (I fit right in, of course), we also found time to take in the sights and visited the Georgia Aquarium and several different parks during our visit.

The week started with packing up and heading to the SFO airport. Mom said it was sort of like Noah's ark as we had two kids, two adults, two suitcases, two diaper bags, two strollers, two carseats and the list goes on and on. We made it all the way to the airport and off of the Park and fly bus and mom said "Uh, where are the car seats?" Daddy just turned a deep shade of green and said "Huh?" There was no time to go back and retrieve them from the car so we went forward on our mission - mom and dad seemed a bit concerned over my ability to stay in an airline seat without a "5-point harness restraint aka toddler proof restraint" but, big boy that I am, I stayed in my seat most of the whole flight (notice I DIDN'T say that I SAT in my seat - ha, ha) and happily watched my videos and ate my delicious boxed lunch from United Airlines. Baby J - angel baby that he is, just smiled, ate and slept. It was all a grand adventure to me.

Upon arrival in Atlanta, of course, we had to go have a Chick-Fil-A and then it was off to grandma's house. Unfortunately, our Chick Fil A cravings had to wait about an hour as that is how long it took to get the rental car seats into our "wonderful" mini-van.

As I said above, we saw everyone during our visit and it made my mom and me very happy. Grandma Anne and Grandpa Jack, Aunt Julie and Uncle Bob, cousins Christina, Sydney, Wes, Eric, Anne, George and my mom's best friends from high school and college. We also got to meet a few of mom's other friends from some of her previous workplaces. Please forgive me if I forgot anyone, but it was a lot for a little guy like me to remember all those names.

I really loved playing with my 1 year old cousin Sydney. She was just starting to walk and it was lots of fun to toddle around with her. I even shared my toys and goldfish crackers with her. She's "just a baby", you know.

During my visit, Grandpa Jack kept saying to me "Hello Darling" and that has stuck with me. I often say "Hello Darling" to my mother and other people now and it seems to bring a smile to their faces. See some pictures of me and my brother with the family above and I will post soon to tell you about my trip to the Georgia Aquarium, my fascination with spray bottles and my new pet.

Wheee! Ooooh! Ahhhh! Yippee!

2008-04-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Mom and Dad caved in and took me to see the sights at Six Flags/Marine World in Vallejo. I was very excited and upon seeing the roller coasters from the highway, I began to say over and over "I want to ride on that!" Mom and Dad told me that it would be a while before I ever got to get on one of those. After saying this, they then looked a little nervous as I assume there were thinking about which of them would be subjected to riding it with me in the future!!!!

Anyway, upon arrival, we had to park the car and no kidding, it was at least a 1/2 to a whole mile walk to the park. Now, I enjoyed every minute of this walk, but mom and dad seemed to keep asking to pick me up. I can't imagine why they didn't enjoy the HOUR walk to the park, but little Peanut (big boy) that I am, I insisted on walking the whole way. Baby J took the easy ride and let mom push him the stroller.

We had lots of fun, but I had a few episodes of overstimulation and I literally exploded into tears a few times. We visited Thomas Town where they had a real Thomas the train you could ride on as well as Harold the Helicopter ride and a Bertie the bus ride. We also enjoyed the Looney Tunes area where there were several rides for Peanut sized people. On the way out of the park, I loved watching the people come down the log flume ride and get all wet. I can't wait until I am big enough to ride on those rides.

Oh and by the way, on the way back to the car, I decided that mom (not dad) should carry me back to the car. Let's just say that mom won't have to do any work outs at the gym for the near future. Carrying a 28 pound wriggling weight approximately 1 mile is certainly a good workout. Mom says you should try it some time.

See a few pics of our adventure above and a new pic of Baby J enjoying the sights at the amusement park with mom!

Who let the bunnies out? Hoppy Easter!

2008-03-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun this Easter. On Saturday, we went to the Danville Easter Egg Hunt. We were running late (as per usual these days) so mom and I had to sprint from the car to make it just in time for my age group hunt. I got to pick up lots of eggs which contained stickers and temporary tatoos inside. Mommy had purchased me a very special bunny shaped tote to carry my eggs this year (fyi - last year I used a paper bag- duh, mom and dad!) After the hunt, we stood in line to take a picture with the real Easter bunny; unfortunately, he apparently needed to take a bunny bathroom break, so we had to stand in line a little longer. Next we went inside to color, eat grapes, make a mask and plant a seed. I also got a temporary tatoo on my hand. Lastly, Mom was amazed that I also sat still in a chair (probably about a whole 2 minutes) while a young lady painted a bunny with whiskers on my face.

On Easter morning, I found that the bunny had visited our house and he/she left me a very special Fire truck Easter basket and a Bob the Builder Easter pak which contained Scoop, Travis, Trix and Jackaroo. Each truck also had a special Easter haul of little eggs, etc to use with each one to which I exclaimed "Cool!" Baby J received a special blue Easter lamb to cuddle with. That bunny sure is a pretty awesome bunny dude or dudette as the case may be.

See the pics above of me hanging out with the bunny, a close up of my face paint and a special Easter picture of my little brother.

Return to the Shark Tank

2008-03-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

If you are a fan of my blog, then you will remember reading my post about my first trip to a San Jose Sharks hockey game. If you aren't a regular reader, then let me sum up that first trip to the hockey game for you in three words - Excitement, crying & unhappiness!

This weekend, Daddy and I decided to try out another trip to the Sharks game - you see I am now older, wiser and I don't get scared so much anymore. Anyway, we had a blast and I want to go again soon. Unfortunately, Mommy didn't go this time as we only have 2 seats and I qualify as a real ticketholder now. We missed her, but she didn't really seem that upset to stay home and catch up on her shows.

Here are the details of our Dad/Peanut outing. After we parked our car at Dad's favorite parking lot, we began our walking trek to the Arena. Daddy insists on parking at this out of the way parking lot as there are always lots of spaces - read further and you will understand why. This apparently has been a source of consternation on my mother's part for several years, as she hates to park there and walk in the cold all the way to the arena. Let's just say that all mommy could do was smile a very satisfied smile and chuckle, when Daddy told her that I INSISTED that I walk the WHOLE MILE to the stadium on my own. Of course, not only did I take my time and walk at a Peanut pace, but I had to stop here and there and check EVERYTHING out on the way. Daddy says this ONLY took about 45 mintues - I don't see what the big deal is.

Upon arrival at the stadium, we went to get some dinner. I decided to have some delicious chicken nuggets and fries and Daddy had a hamburger. We took our food to our seats and sat down to watch all the excitement. At our last Shark outing, everytime the Sharks scored, a loud horn went off and it scared me a lot. Let's just say that I didn't have to worry about that horn on this trip as the Sharks NEVER scored. Nevertheless, I cheered, GO SHARKS. For some reason I also yelled out GO BOBCATS too! Of course, Daddy didn't correct me as he thought this was adorable.

The last exciting event of the trip was watching the Zambonis resurface the ice. I pointed out to Daddy that there were TWO Zambonis and one of them was painted like a shark and had a fin. Before leaving, we tried to find SJ Sharkie (the Sharks mascot), but he was no where to be found.

I was so tired at the end of our evening that Daddy carried me on his shoulders back to the car and I couldn't wait to get home to tell Mommy all about my latest adventure.

See the above picture of me and my daddy before the Sharks game in our matching jerseys. Aren't we cute?

Baby J update

2008-03-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Baby J is officially just a little over 4 months old now and he has really changed a lot over the last few months. He smiles and laughs all the time now and he has a VERY healthy set of lungs which he diligently uses to express his desire for food and more food. We are very similar in that we both have big appetites and mom and dad wonder where all the food goes that enters our mouths. Baby J is also very cuddly, which is a good thing, considering that we love to give each other hugs these days.

His stats from his 4 month check up are once again very similar to mine. He was 26 inches tall (85% percentile) and weighed in at 14lbs, 14oz (50% percentile). Mommy and I feel that he is actually taller than this as he is already too tall for some of the clothes I wore at his age, but who really knows. I was just a bit taller and a bit heavier at my 4 month checkup. I am sure it will all change again at his next check up.

Baby J has mastered rolling over now and is working on sitting up by himself. He is already sitting up pretty well with a little help from me or mom and dad, but if left on his own will slump down onto the floor:). Mommy says that I am a great little teacher and my next task is to continue to teach him how to sit up on his own.

I just love my little brother! See attached pics of what he is looking like these days. Also, attached is a picture of me practicing my baby care skills on my beloved horse, "Neigh-Neigh". I figure if I practice feeding my horse and perfect my skills then I can convince Mom to allow me to feed J all on my own one of these days.

For Goodness SNAKE!

2008-03-14T03:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so since you probably wouldn't believe it, my mom made sure this event was documented with a picture. Thanks to our friend, Dawn (my friend Samantha's mom for the pictures of this one). Read below for all the details!

We visited the zoo last weekend with my friend Samantha and her parents. Upon arrival, we met up at the little wildlife theater and took a seat to catch the show. The animal handlers brought out several different kinds of lizards for us to see, but the grand finale animal was none other than an enormous female BOA CONSTRICTOR!!!! Mom 's reaction to this animal was along the lines of "get me out of here", but my reaction was closer to "hey, can I play with it?". The animal handler talked about the snake and what it liked to eat which included WHOLE animals including rats, whereupon its jaws unhinge and it swallows its lunch, bones and all. Cool, huh? I wonder if the snake also likes to eat PEANUTS, ha, ha. Gosh, I hope not.

At the end of the show, we were allowed to come down and pet the snake if we so desired. Of course, I wanted to, but daddy seemed hesitant to take me down. After some prodding from mom (you will notice that my mom didn't volunteer for this one), daddy and I waited in line and I got to give the snake a little pat. Mom and dad are certainly grateful that I haven't yet realized that I might be allowed to have a pet one day. They are hoping that I don't continue to like reptiles in the future. By the way, Samantha loves snakes, cool girl that she is.

A new plane? Are you Cirrus? (sp SERIOUS)!

2008-03-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

I think I am the luckiest little boy in the world. I now officially have my very own real live airplane, a Cirrus SR-22, and I am only 2 1/2 years old. Actually, the plane belongs to my daddy, but I have a very strong feeling that he will be itching to share it with me as I grow up and possibly become a pilot myself. Mom and I were discussing the plane and where it came from and smarty pants that I am, I said "Daddy went to plane store and got a new plane". Based on my understanding there is a store for everything including honey which comes from the honey bear store:)

If you will remember, Daddy's previous plane ended its last flight with a swim in the bay. When Daddy said we were getting a new plane, I pointed out that "this one doesn't go in the water!" Mom and Dad vigorously agreed with me and we all had a good laugh.

Daddy's new plane came here from Denver. His plane partner flew it back on Saturday and we had lots of fun welcoming the plane to its new home and sitting in the plane and checking out all the cool knobs and gadgets.

Check out the pictures of Daddy's new prized possession. Mommy has been referring to the new plane as "The other woman". I am not sure what this means, but it seems to get a reaction out of Daddy each time she says it! No problem, we all know that Mommy, me and J are most important in the whole world to Daddy and ALWAYS come first in his book!

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin - Baby J update

2008-02-23T03:19:00.000-08:00

(Above title sung to the melody from Rawhide).

Baby J rolled over last night on his own and now that is all he wants to do! He has been trying and trying to roll over for a little while now. Sometimes, when he starts this, I have been known to get down on the floor and show him how to roll over - I really feel that my instruction has been instrumental in helping Baby J reach this developmental milestone at only 16 weeks.

Mommy says she didn't actually see the very first "rolling over" episode. Baby J had almost made it over from back to front several times, but never without a little assistance. She says that last night she put him on the floor on his back and stepped away for a minute. Upon returning he was on his tummy, head held high and grinning from ear to ear. He is certainly a cute little fellow.

I am very pleased that Baby J is making progress in becoming a more mobile little guy. He is very interactive and likes to laugh and smile and watch me at my daily antics. I am a one man entertainment show for him and he loves every minute of me!

See attached pics of me and the little guy hanging out. Also see a picture of Baby J grinning from ear to ear to celebrate his newest accomplishment.

Exploring my career options!

2008-02-21T18:55:00.000-08:00

Now that I am officially a "BIG BOY" I have decided to start thinking about what I might like to do when I have to choose a career. In an effort to establish good work ethic, every day I pack up my little tool set and my Curious George backpack and say "See you later!" When asked where I might be going, the usual response it "I going to work!" In reality, I just make a lap around the kitchen and I am back from work in a second!

Based on the pictures above, I have also been trying out some other career options. In the first picture I am pretending to be an olypmic swimmer (I just love mom's swimming goggles and I think it is hilarious to put them on and run around). My second idea was to join a convent and become a nun apparently (See the pic of me with my bib on my head. Isn't this funny?) The third picture shows me thinking of becoming a famous chef (In this particular picture, I was cooking Kool-aid soup, tea with noodles and of course, my specialty these days, cheese and pickles with sauce).

However, after researching all these various careers, my favorite job is to be "Big brother"! I think I will stick with that job for a while.

NEWS FLASH!

2008-02-12T21:16:00.001-08:00

Baby J's expression in the picture above says it all! "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON HERE?"

FYI - Mommy had to enable a feature on my blog which allows her to approve and/or reject comments BEFORE they are posted to the blog. She decided to do this as a few spam comments have been posted lately which contained links to questionable or undesirable web sites (if you know what I mean), the last of which would have made anyone blush!!!

I just wanted to let you know this in advance so that next time you post a comment you will understand why you get a message to that fact. Please just go ahead and comment as before and your comment will show up as soon as mom approves it!!

Stay tuned for an update on my cousin Justin's birthday party. We had lots of fun!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

2008-02-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

We have had lots of birthday celebrations lately and yesterday was my mom's birthday. She says she can't believe she is now only 29 years old. Hey, wait, isn't that what she said her age was on her birthday last year????? She said birthdays stop at 29 - however she also told me that her favorite cake is carrot cake with cream cheese frosting because it doesn't have any calories. I guess it is true, because I think my mom knows everything! (News flash - Mom enjoy these days because once I get a bit older, it will be ME that knows everything!)

Anyway, daddy treated mom and her friend Kristine (aka Carter's mom) to a "surprise" shopping trip into the city and he even had a private chauffeur drive them. Mom spoiled the surprise with that busy brain of hers and figured it all out ahead of time, but nonetheless, they had a leisurely day of talking, eating and shopping. Mom says that it was truly amazing to have a complete conversation without having to stop in mid sentence to say "no", "stop that", "come back" and answer my all time favorite question to my mom "what that called?" She was also able to sit and enjoy a complete meal without gulping her food down as well.

Friday night, Kristine baked my mom an amazing carrot cake and it was beautifully decorated. We had lots of fun and I helped sing to mom and blow out her candles. I love birthdays, birthday cake and I love my MOM! Happy birthday mom!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Jack!

2008-01-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

What a fun week we had! Grandpa Jack and Grandma Anne (or as I collectively referred to them "Grandma Jack") visited over the last few days and I really loved hanging out with them. We had to rent a mini-van to fit all of us into one car and I really thought that was so much fun!

Best of all, it was a momentous occasion as we were able to ring in Grandpa Jack's 80th birthday. One night we went to Hana Japan and had a big dinner. The "man" who was cooking our dinner made fried eyeballs (eggs to go in our fried rice) and he created lots of fiery creations on the big stove. He flipped a shrimp into my dad's mouth (dad wasn't able to catch it) and then I decided to tip my head back to see if the man would also flip a shrimp to me. Although he seemed ready to do it, he decided to just serve my shrimp on a plate as to avoid any resulting heart attack by my mother. After dinner was over, they brought out a big candle and we sang happy birthday and ate some delicious pineapple. Daddy fed chicken dipped in ginger sauce to me on chopsticks and I loved eating that way.

Tuesday evening, mom baked a birthday cake for Grandpa Jack and it was very "yummy". Mom bought 8 candles (one for each decade) and a special "80" candle to go on the cake. We had lots of fun and lots of cake.

Happy Birthday Grandpa, I love you. (And I love you too, Grandma Anne!) I miss you already.

Brotherly Love

2008-01-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

I have recently decided that I REALLY, REALLY LOVE my little brother. I like to help Mom to take care of him whenever possible (translation - when there is not something else more interesting to do) and I am apparently really good at it as I get lots of praise for being helpful and sweet. Here are a few examples of how much I have grown to love the little guy:

Just last night, baby J was sitting in his chair and he was starting to cry as he was hungry. Mom was preparing his bottle, so I decided to see if I could console him. Mom says that my actions made her heart melt (that sounds like it hurts - sorry mom). Anyway, I proceeded to go over to Baby J and say "It's okay, little guy. Mommy is getting your milk". While saying this I was gently petting his head and speaking in a high sing song voice. Baby J stopped for a minute and smiled at me. Next, I found his Lullaby Glowworm and brought that over to him and turned it on so he could listen and coo at the Glowworm. I also got my favorite blanket "Choo, choo" and draped that over him to make sure he wasn't cold. Baby J just loves to watch me and I was able to keep him happy until Mom could feed him.

The other example of my undying love for my brother happened this past weekend. We have some friends that have an identical car seat for their baby as ours - a blue GRACO carseat. We were all getting into our cars (by the way, we also have the same car as they do which is really confusing at times). My friend's dad was putting their baby into their car (the blue GRACO carseat) and I proceeded to get very upset and yell in a really pitiful voice "Don't take my little brother!". Mom explained to me that it was their baby and baby J was just outside the car in his car seat and not to be upset. I was so relieved to see baby J get into our car - I thought he was a goner.

Just for laughs, see the really bad picture of mom and her two favorite little guys above. If you look closely at this picture you will notice that my right arm appears to have been amputated. No worries, I was just moving (as per usual). Mom was letting me hold baby J and it was a lot of fun. I have also been allowed to hold his bottle and help Mom feed him. He is a lucky little guy to have "moi" for his big brother. I guess I am a lucky little guy too! Later.

Little Aviator

2008-01-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

I love airplanes and visiting the airport! Hmmmm....I wonder where I developed an interest in such things? Well, anyone who knows Daddy knows the answer to that question without hesitation. Daddy keeps saying he is a pilot and has been since he was 18 years old, but I haven't seen a plane in the hangar lately...oh yeah, that's right...it took a swim in the bay and now it can't fly anymore:). Anyway, Dad is on a mission to find a new plane with his plane partners and we should have another one soon. Mom still says that I am not allowed to fly until I can say "Mom, I understand the risks of flying and I absolutely do want to get in the plane and fly with my crazy father"! Lately, she seems to be a little worried as I am nearing the ability to say this (of course, we all know that Dad has been covertly coaching me to say this exact sentence, no doubt!) Now, she has amended her initial requirement to include that I must be able to wear headphones and leave them on. That will buy her at least 1-2 more years, don't you think?

In the meantime, we go to the empty hangar a lot to play and run around. Daddy refers to the hangar as our $/month "indoor playground", which is a nice thing to have these days since it has been cold and rainy lately and this Peanut's energy level seems to keep increasing. I love to watch planes take off and land, look at the airport fuel truck, sweep the hangar and pretend to use the radio and other items. Mom says she GASPS to think of the things that are lying around, but Dad says that he has "babyproofed" the hangar and not to worry. Mom just replies that she is so tired that she is leaving it in his hands to keep me safe which, no doubt, he will. Mom visited with us the other day and noticed a "toddler sized" gap in the hangar walls - one in which I could easily slip into the next door hangar. When she asked Dad what he would do if I slipped next door, he just shook it off. Hopefully, the next door hangar owners are local and can respond quickly if called just in case I did venture through the wall and decide not to come back into our hangar on demand - RIGHT!!!

On a funny note - when Mom was talking about the next door hangar and my ability to slide over there, she said these exact words "What if Matthew slipped next door and got into all that CRAP?" Of course, although I was on the other side of the hangar at the time, I immediately came over and asked, "Mom, where did the CRAP go?" Ooops!! Mom just acted like she didn't hear me and she thinks I have forgotten, but I plan to pull this new word out in a public place sometime in the future as I think it refers to something fun!!!

Take a look at the pics of me at the airport this past month. Note that I am wearing my aviation bomber jacket - really cool, aren't I? All I need now are a set of Ray Bans and my own toddler sized plane and I will be set!

Baby Joshua Update

2008-01-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

Baby Joshua had his two month checkup yesterday and he is doing great. Mom says that he received his first immunizations at this appt, which he was NOT happy about, but he seems to have recovered today and is his usual mellow self.

Apparently, he is going to be long and lean like me. The doctor said that that he is 96th percentile for height at 24 1/4 inches and 75% for weight at 12lbs and 9 oz. These are virtually identical to my stats at 2 months ( I was just slightly shorter, but a few ounces heavier).

He is a happy, healthy little guy and continues to look like his older, wiser and handsome big brother as a baby. He has already outgrown his 0-3 month clothes and is wearing the next size up. Mom has gone out and purchased him a few new outfits, but all in all, most of the stuff he wears is curiously and strangely familiar to me! Hmmmm! - I wonder why that is?

See the attached picture in which his CUTENESS will astound and amaze you. As you can see from the picture, Baby Josh loves to take baths just like me. Mom says that we can take baths together when he is a little older - I am really looking forward to that day.

Stay tuned for more updates on my trip to the airport and the zoo (yes, the zoo again)!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T22:17:00.000-08:00

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!!

2007-12-10T21:50:00.000-08:00

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.....

2007-12-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-29T20:55:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-10-28T21:16:00.001-07:00

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?

2007-10-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

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.....

2007-10-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

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'

2007-09-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-07-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

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.

Fearless is my middle name

2007-06-18T19:24:00.001-07:00

The last fun thing that we did in Monterey was visit Dennis the Menace Park. What a great park it was! They had a real steam engine on the park grounds and you could climb into it and yell out the window and pretend you were traveling the rails. We also played on play structures with slides and ladders and I covered every inch of every structure around.

One of my very favorite activities at this park included this enormous, green wavy slide. You had to climb a very long set of stairs to get up there, but Dad helped me while mom gritted her teeth and tried to smile while standing at the bottom ready to call 911. The first time I slid down, Dad accompanied me, but the second time I came down all on my own. Whee! That is what you must say when flying down a slide of this magnitude. All that, and I even managed to hang on to my hat too.

My second favorite activity at the park was the suspension bridge. Mom and dad say I have no fear. I took off like a shot and would toddle back and forth all on my own with mom standing at one side and dad at the other. This bridge was really high up in the air, and yes, it did SWAY back and forth as one traveled across it. No matter...there was netting on either side so I couldn't fall below. On either side of the bridge, you could run down the hill and enter these tunnels beneath. I must have run across the bridge and through the tunnels about a million times (or at least that is what it must have seemed like to Mom and Dad).

Needless to say, we visited this park before naptime and Mom said it worked like a charm. Even this Peanut gets worn out from lots of fun and activity. I know that it's hard to believe, but I must admit it is true.

See attached pics of me running across the suspension bridge, sliding down the wavy slide and exploring the tunnels.

Pretend play in Monterey!

2007-06-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

On the second day of our Monterey visit, we went to the Children's museum. Now, I may only be a little Peanut with a short list of life experiences, but when someone says "Museum" to you I would imagine that your mind conjures up something more than a little room with a mess of old toys and other junk in it, am I correct? Needless to say, my family and I were a little bit disappointed with what we saw when we arrived, but troopers that we are, we proceeded to go with the flow, give it a chance and try to have some fun. And we did!

My absolute favorite activity at the "museum" was when I got to put on a fireman costume and "drive" the firetruck. I sat behind the wheel and said "Whoo - Whoo". I also occasionally made sure to step out to the side of the truck and check for oncoming traffic. I also enjoyed pretending to captain a boat which was supposed to be a replica of the SS bubba gump from that movie with Tom Hanks. After my boating adventures it was on to the make believe house under construction where I checked the doorbell over and over to ensure it would ring everytime the doorbell button was pushed....and it did much to EVERYONE'S amusement in the museum! I also had to check the plumbing in the house to ensure the sink worked and I would turn on the pretend faucet and make a "woosh-woosh" noise to pretend that the water was flowing properly.

All in all, it was fun, but after about an hour, we had explored it all and it was on to other things. See the attached pictures of my favorite activities and I will catch you later to tell you all of my fun adventures at the fabulous park that we discovered next.

Otters, Fish and Penguins, Oh My!

2007-06-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my family drove down to Monterey for a little vacation getaway. We had a terriffic time and mom took lots of pictures, so I am going to split this vacation into three separate posts to ensure I convey all the exciting events. I will preface all of this by letting you know that mom says I am an exceptionally good boy. I ate like a horse as usual and I took all my afternoon naps with no issue at the hotel. I even slept in this play pen thing that the hotel staff insisted was a crib. Again, I must say that mom and dad are very lucky to have a Peanut like me!! I wonder if my brother is going to be such a great little guy.

Anyway, on to my adventures in Monterey. Our first visit was to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I had a very wonderful time and I was so excited that I was almost not able to contain myself at certain points during this visit. In fact, we had to break up our visit into two shorter visits over a few days which seemed to work out pretty well. Well, give a little guy a break, I am not yet even two and I just get so excited that sometimes I get a bit frustrated and I have to take a break from all the excitement.

There was a huge 2 story aquarium with sharks and tuna and this bizarre looking ocean sunfish. Mom said she had never seen such a fish in her life. The otter exhibit was really cool and I kept calling the otters "cats". Well, they do have whiskers like a cat, you know!

The second day we got to see another 2 story aquarium in the Kelp forest and there was a diver in the tank feeding the fish. How cool is that? We also visited the tide pools where I was able to reach in and touch an actual starfish and other nasty things. The man at the touch pond seemed upset with me when I picked up the starfish and told me that a starfish can't breathe when it is out of the water. How was I supposed to know that? Lastly, we saw the penguins and all I can say is that they are just crazy. They zip all over the place and splash around...I guess mom would say they are similar to me.

All in all, I give the aquarium visit an A+ and I hope to return again soon. See the attached pictures of me having a great time at the aquarium with mom and dad.

A play date with a pretty girl!

2007-06-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

I have a friend that I met through Gymboree and her name is Samantha. She is a cute little chick and she is a few months older than I am. Obviously, I like older women. We have such fun together and I love to see her and hang out and play.

Anyway, mom and I visited her and her mother at their new home. They used to live right here in San Ramon, but moved a bit further away just about month ago. We loved their new house and it was even more exciting as they were still unpacking things so there was a big room of boxes and other stuff to tempt my curiosity even more. They were also in the midst of landscaping their back yard, so there was all kinds of activity going on that I like to see including a man with a hammer and another with some plastic tubing installing the irrigation system.

Samantha and her mom are certainly "hip" when it comes to all the good toys. I discovered several items that were lots of fun to play with including an animal hospital that I absolutely loved. In fact, I liked it so much that mom went and bought one for me at Target. I love to feed the kitty and dog and give them shots and take their temperature. I also love to give shots to mom and dad, especially in their feet, for some unknown reason.

Samantha also had a tricycle, but one that had a really long handle on the back for mom to hold onto and steer for me. I am not supposed to know this, but one of those has been ordered for me as well. Watch out - I will be on the streets soon! My apologies to Samantha's mom for riding the tricycle all over her house, but I am sure she didn't mind.

A great time was had by all at our play date and the most exciting part of all was that Samantha and I got to share teddy grahams, goldfish crackers and milk at her "temporarily" indoor picnic table. Aren't we cute?

It's a boys club!

2007-06-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Well, mom and dad told me the exciting news today. Mom's ultrasound showed that a very healthy baby BOY is on the way. Yes, that is right! I will soon have a baby brother to cuddle, pet and teach all my tricks to. Actually, I don't really understand the whole concept, but apparently I gather that things around our house are going to get a little more hectic and a little more crowded very soon.

Mom and dad said they are very excited, but mom seemed a little tired today as well. Perhaps she was just thinking about how tiring it will be to run around after THREE boys (yes, I mean the large man-child and the two little ones - ha, ha). Secretly, I think she was wishing for a calm little girl that could wear little dresses and play with quiet little dolls, but she is SO GOOD at mothering little boys, it just seems to fit that another little boy Fletcher is on the way.

As Dad said it best, she will now have THREE Fletcher men fawining over her and taking care of her now. Lucky lady!

See the attached pic of me and dad thinking about our new little boy baby and brother Fletcher. Don't we look excited and happy? We are dreaming of all the baseball, hockey and football that we will all watch together ALL weekend long for the next two decades. Poor Mom, she is really outnumbered, but we do love her.

Stomach bugs and Shoe Obsessions

2007-06-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

I bet all you Peanut fans have been wondering just where in the world I have been for the last month! I got really sick with a stomach bug and it knocked me out for about a week. Mom and Dad were concerned about me as I could hardly keep anything down and then I ran the highest fever I have ever had (101.5) for a whole day. All I did was lay on the couch with my head on the pillow, watch cartoons, and cuddle with Mommy and my blankets. No food and no activity on my part...can you believe that? Mom and dad MUST have REALLY been worried.

After I got well, just who caught my bug? Yes, that would be my mom herself. Daddy was out of town, but got back just in time for her to get really sick and have to stay in bed for 2 whole days and it also took her a whole week to feel completely well again. Needless to say we are both well again...and, of course, Dad didn't get sick!

I am back to my old self now as you can see from the attached pictures, which I might add are not the best pictures in the world, but you'll get an idea. My latest obsession is shoes, and I mean all kinds of shoes, including mom's sandals and heels. I like to walk around primarily in the kitchen as there is a hard floor and the shoes make a very loud clapping noise. My other must have accessory? Well, of course, I have a medal that I like to wear around my neck which mom refers to as my "bling bling". I think my obsession with heels and jewelry is a little disturbing to Dad, but don't worry Dad, it is just for fun. Suggestion: Click on the top picture to enlarge it to see the detail better.

Oh, by the way, the tennis shoes I am wearing in the picture are my moms....don't worry, my feet are not yet that BIG, but due to Mom genes, I am destined to have some really big feet anyway, so I am getting in some practice walking with her land yacht sized shoes.

Check back tomorrow to find out the big news. Mom and Dad find out whether we are having a little girl or a little boy "Peanut 2" at her doctor's appt tomorrow.

Wanted: Guest Readers

2007-05-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Over the last week or so, I have had several visitors in my house. My grandpa Marvin came for a short overnight visit and then my dad's friend Bob stayed with us for two nights as he was in town for some meetings at work. Each of them "volunteered" to read my bedtime stories to me. I found this to be a real treat and enjoyed every minute of these "guest reader" nights. Mom and dad seemed to enjoy these nights as well as they just sat on the nearby couch and looked relaxed and amused.

Grandpa Marvin and Bob didn't really know exactly what they were getting into, as you see, there are additional surprise talents and traits that one should generally possess when reading books to this Peanut. I must say that Grandpa Marvin and Bob were excellent guest readers and I would love them to return to read more books to me anytime.

For all of you who may be planning a visit to the Fletcher household, here is a list of "guest reader" suggested talents and traits so that you may be properly prepared for your Peanut reading session in advance.

1. Reader must possess lots of patience to endure numerous instances of story stopping and starting to include identification of buttons and pockets on the reader's shirt, identification of reader's glasses (if applicable), identification of reader's watch or jewelry (if any) as well as identification of reader's various body parts such as hair, ears, nose, eyes, toes or feet.
2. Reader must be prepared to perform loud and realistic imitations of the following animals and vehicles: cow, horse, sheep, goat, frog, pig, duck, fire engine, train and car. Additionally, reader should be familiar with Mr. Brown and all the wonderful sounds that Mr. Brown can do.

3. Reader must know to gather all necessary accessories to accompany the reading session to include my coveted Choo-Choo blanket, knitted blanket (lovingly referred to as "hole"), a cup of milk as well as Neigh-Neigh and my cloud blanket. These last two items are not always required but will be requested on an as-needed basis.
4. Reader must enjoy cuddling, hugging and blowing of kisses.

So there you go! No applications are necessary as I love and accept everyone and I look forward to seeing you very soon. Oh, by the way, the last reader requirement is that you MUST have a picture taken with me! See the attached pictures of my two favorite guest readers, Grandpa Marvin and Bob.

Monkey Fever

2007-05-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

I love Curious George! It has become a daily morning ritual to plop on the couch after breakfast and get my 30 minute daily dose of George cartoons. He is a very funny monkey and I get very tickled watching him do crazy things and get into trouble. I especially love one episode where George tries to build a fence to keep some cows from eating away a wildflower patch. Mom and dad have yet to figure out why I find this particular episode so amusing, but it makes me giggle and laugh everytime I see it. I get very excited, laugh, point at George and yell "GEORGE" throughout. I just love that little monkey!

In addition to my 30 minute cartoon fix, I also LOVE my Curious George books. I now have about 5 George books and I like mom and dad and anyone else to read these stories over and over. There is a book about a visit to the fire station, a visit to the ballpark and a visit to the train station, etc. Might I mention that these are not particularly short books either (20 pages or more, but including pictures) so a reading session can take close to 20-30 minutes if I request a reading of ALL my George books (which I often do). Nevertheless, I love reading so it is all good.

Mom and dad are thrilled that I have taken such an interest in books and reading, but I heard Mom mention the other day that it might be time for some additional and DIFFERENT George books to read. The last few times we have read these stories, mom seems to not even have to look at the book. She has such a good memory for an old gal....or perhaps these stories are indelibly printed in her brain matter from so many repeats. No matter, I love each story as if I am hearing it for the first time every time.

Here is a treat for you other George fans out there. This is a picture from last Halloween where I dressed up as a monkey myself and carried around my baby monkey as an accessory for extra cuteness. Perhaps this is where my love of monkeys and my love of George originated.

More cheese, please!

2007-05-09T13:42:00.000-07:00

So, mom says it had to happen sooner or later. Yes, that is right; we finally went to Chuck E. Cheese. It was a very strangely chilly day last week, so we decided to meet one of dad's friends there with her children for some indoor activity. I sensed A LOT of apprehension and fear from my mom and dad as we approached the door of the building and the horror was evident in their faces as we entered the place. However, after we all three had our hands stamped with a number that glows under UV light (this was so that no one other than my mom or dad could leave the joint with me), it actually turned out to be lots of fun.

There was actually an area of little rides and toys that were just the right size for me and I had an absolute ball, if I must say so. There was a car and a truck that you could get on and ride and a Peanut sized telphone game and a version of "whack a mole" that I took great pleasure in playing with. Although I do enjoy a good viewing of Barney the purple dinosaur at times, the Barney themed ride sort of freaked me out so I stayed away from it.

Needless to say, we DID NOT eat the pizza, but we did order a drink and that made mom happy as they had caffeine free diet coke (you know it is a secret addiction of hers).

I have a feeling we will go to Chuck E. Cheese again one of these days on a poor weather day; however, I think that mom and dad are grateful for our excellent California weather so that maybe that day will not be so soon.

See the attached picture of me on my favorite ride at Chuck E. Cheese. There was a man and a dog in this car and I loved sitting with them and fastening my seat belt. What fun!

I'm a Travelin' Man, yes I am!

2007-04-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

My family and I just returned from a trip to Atlanta. Dad had a sales meeting to attend there, so mom and I jumped on the opportunity to visit all of mom's family and friends. She gets very homesick, you now.

Anyway, I am not sure what changed between now and the last trip to Atlanta in November, but let's just say mom didn't give me a gold star for air travel this time. Don't mom and dad understand that I just have absolutely too much energy to be expected to sit in my car seat on a plane for 4-5 hours? Obviously not, as they seem surprised that I didn't just go to sleep on the plane for three hours like last time . All in all, I didn't think the plane trip was that bad, but I guess 4-5 hours of fussing and stomping all over one's parents in a crowded airplane could color anyone's assessment.

I loved my visit to Atlanta! I got to see my Grandpa and Grandma, my Aunt Julie and Uncle Bob, my mom's cousins Anne and George (I guess this means they are my cousins as well, but I am not sure). My cousins Christina and Eric came by for a visit as well as my newest little cousin, Sydney. I also got to see lots of mom's friends and play with their children as well. Fun was had by all.

By the way, I LOVED baby Sydney. I just love babies and I loved to pet her and talk about her little toes and point out to everyone that she is a "baby". She was a sweet little girl and I can't wait until she will be able to do more than just lay on the couch, drink milk and sleep. Mom and Dad were pleased at my reaction to her as most of you know that we will have our own new baby in about 5 1/2 months. I hope I like our new baby as much as I loved Sydney, but more on that later.

Attached are a few pics of me at a park in Alpharetta called Wacky World. Also attached is a picture of me with my Aunt Julie. She gave me this cool tractor book that had wheels on it. Sorry, but mom failed to get a pic of the grandparents or my new little cousin Sydney. We will have to fix that on the next visit.

I've got the Fever

2007-04-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

My mom made me sick! Well, she didn't make me sick on purpose, but over the last two weeks the Fletcher household has been a very unwell place to be. Mom started out with laryngitis and a cold and she coughed and coughed for days. It seemed that my strong little immunity system would once again save the day, but it was too much. I came down with a very severe cold and cough that lasted for days as well. I was a miserable little boy and we had to go visit the doctor as I was coughing so much. The diagnosis was "just a bad cold" but once that all quieted down, unfortunately, it all settled in my lungs and I got bronchitis.

Let me tell you, I was not happy. I would just cry and lay my head down on my blanket on the floor. I didn't eat much at all (YES, ME) so you know I didn't feel well. When I coughed, it sounded awful and you could hear the fluttering in my little chest. Then to top it all off, I had my very FIRST FEVER. Yes, that's right, I waited until 19 months to get a fever. Boy, mom and dad sure have had it easy with me. Well, at least the terrible twos are coming soon, so I can give them a hard time that way:)

Anyway, after a second trip to the doctor on Friday, I received a prescription for Amoxicillin. No kidding, about 3 hours after that first dose, I was feeling better already and I finally ate a good meal for the first time in about a week. I ate a whole slice of bread, three chicken sausages, eight grapes, a strawberry and a few cookies and a glass of milk. We are definitely on the road to recovery here.

Mom didn't take pictures of me sick, of course, but attached are a few pre-Peanut-illness pictures of me in my new "outdoor" vehicle. It is called the Cozy Coupe, but I think it is a truck. I love it and will just sit in it and play for a long time. I love to get in and out and open and close the door.

Child of Nature

2007-04-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

I just love running around our backyard. Now that warmer weather has arrived, all the flowers and trees are in bloom and there are lots of things to explore and learn about. My current favorite activity is to pick mom's flowers and steal lemons off her coveted lemon tree. No wonder she follows me like a hawk when we are out back, but I think it is all a fun game. She is quite funny when she is annoyed (ha, ha). There are purple, red and yellow flowers (of course, no matter what color something is I will always tell you that it is "YEWO")!

There are also lots of rocks in our back yard. We have the really big rocks that are great for sitting on and taking a little rest. Of course, there are also lots of little rocks, especially around the drains in the backyard, that are just the right size for collecting in my bucket. Mom says that the gardeners must really love the little piles of "rock surprises" that I leave about the backyard for discovery with the lawn mower.

We also have this beautiful Japanese maple next to the patio and it has really filled out. It was just a giant twig a few weeks ago. As you can see in the attached picture I decided to plop my little Peanut self right under it and create Japanese Maple hair for myself. Aren't I cute?

Easter Eggs and Bunny Hugs

2007-04-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

I really love this holiday called Easter! What an exciting weekend I had with mom and dad. On Saturday we went to the Danville Eggstravaganza where I went on an Easter egg hunt. At first, I didn't get the whole concept and I picked up one egg and proceeded to examine it closely...I would have been happy just playing with that one egg forever; however, Mom suggested we look for other eggs and I became a crazy baby egg finding machine. We were limited to picking up 6 eggs, but that didn't stop me. Little did I know my mom was as busy throwing eggs out of my bag as I was putting them in to keep us to our limit. It was all quite comical to onlookers I am sure.

Before leaving the Eggstravaganza, I was able to sit with the Easter Bunny herself and mom has included that picture above for your amusement. Mom and Dad were a little concerned that I would be afraid of the Bunny, but I thought she was great and I just sat there and smiled with her Bunny arm around my shoulders.

To top off the Easter weekend, Mom and Dad invited our Aunt Lori and my cousins, Lindsey and Justin over for another egg hunt and dinner. See the last picture of me taking a rest in our yard and contemplating my egg hunting strategy for next year.

Happy Easter.