Flying the friendly skies on Fletcher Airlines

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

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!

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

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

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!)

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?

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

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!

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!

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!