Rides please

I miss rides. On vacation we went on rides every day. Fast rides, slow rides, scary rides, dark rides, loud rides. You name it, we did it.  Everyday since we came home, I've ask to go on rides, by mommy says there are no rides here. That is until today. We went to the mall and went up and down, up and down, up and down 15 times!

I'm two!

It's official, I'm two! We had a party at school today, but I wasn't feeling that good. I got my first ear infection. It was not what I was expecting for my birthday. I really thought I was going to get a Minnie doll. But I'm mature now, so I'm taking it well. Plus I got to go home early with mommy and there was a surprise waiting for me. Balloons and a trampoline!!!! Best gifts ever!

Why won't this hat stay on?

This hat doubles as a horn.

This ice cream cake is cold!

Does everyone have a napkin?

Flying ball pits

I went to a birthday party yesterday and discovered the best toy in the whole world--a ball pit!!! I want one, I want one, I want one! Do you think I can get mommy and daddy to get one in our house? To make room, we can get rid of the couch or my crib. We don't need those. We NEED a ball pit.

Wheeeee. Throw me again, daddy.

It feels gushy and I love it!

Hookie and Growls Galore

Now that I'm writing again, I have a lot to catch you up on. My friend Yael taught me how to jump on a trampoline! I got my first real face painting. I picked an Elmo in a bathtub--two of my favorite things! I got to go swimming in two different pools, one time with floaties and one time without! Without floaties is so much better. I got my first tricycle, but I couldn't reach both pedals, even with mommy taping sponges to the pedals to make the space between the pedals and my legs smaller. Guess I'll have to wait to grow a little bit. Mommy and I played hookie (that means didn't go to work or school) last Friday. Instead we went to the children's museum and walked around Boston and went on a merry-go-round and played in sprinklers and eat yummy North End cookies. It was the best day ever!! Then on Sunday we celebrated Daddy's Day. Have I told you I have the best daddy in the world? He taught me how to do knuckles and how to swim and I love when he tries to scare me by growling. It doesn't scare me. It makes me laugh. That's why I started saying "Daddy so silly." I love you daddy!!! Extra hugs and wet kisses coming your way.

Weeee!

Stop taking my pool toys!

Playing on the Greenway.

Face painting success!

Face painting is exhausting stuff.

There will be twirling

Whenever I hear music I need to dance. But sometimes, when I really like the beat, I need to twirl!! Sure, I usually end up falling and bumping into something, but twirling is still super fun.

Heel time

I don't know why big ladies complain about high heels. This little lady has no problem walking in them.

Leader of the band

In addition to playing the piano, I've gotten really good at the tambourine. I'm thinking I should maybe start a band, or go out on my own like Wayne the Music Man. I would need a catchy name. Hmmm. What could it be? Perhaps, Lexi Lou and the Who. What do you think? I also need to work on how to end my songs. Mommy told me hitting someone on the head with a tambourine is inappropriate (that means bad). Geesh. You're killing my artistic creativity, mommy!

Halloween hoot

Halloween was awesome. First it started with a party at school. Once we all dressed up in our costumes--I was an owl--we had a little dance party to get warmed up. (Check out the video below.) My friend Vera was a peacock and Adi was a tiger. I kept swiping at their headpieces, which they didn't seem to like very much. Then we went over to the park and Wayne the music man came with his guitar and we danced and sang some more.

Next we met up with our friends the Ingermans and went trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was amazing. You just ring the doorbell, walk up to the person holding a candy bowl, smile at the person and take a piece of candy. So simple. I got it down by the third house. Sometimes I even grabbed two or three pieces of candy and other times I didn't grab any. Instead I put my hand in the candy bowl and just moved it around. No one seemed to mind as long as you smile.

Then today we had some friends over for a Halloween party. Mommy and daddy made all this spooky food, like mummy hotdogs, ghost bananas, vampire teeth, cheese spiders, human cheese fingers, vegetables shaped into a big pumpkin and we even had a pumpkin puking guacomole. (He he he.) That was my favorite. Halloween is the funiest holiday!

 

Waiting for wings up

We're at the airport waiting to go visit Nana and Poppy. There is so much room here. I've been walking up and down, up and down, up and down the aisle. So fun! All the people waiting keep giggling at me, which makes me giggle right back.

Look who's walking*

Check out my new trick! I've been thinking about walking and decided to just do it today. I did so many laps around the room that by the time mommy took a video I was pretty tired. Will you fly up and go shoe shopping with me now, Nana?

(* = with assistance)

Pull up master

I've mastered pulling myself up. I can go from my butt to feet in three seconds flat. I pull up on my play table, on the couch, on the coffee table, on my crib, even on people. Now that I can do it, I'm addicted and can't stop. I even took a few steps today while mommy held my hands. If it took me a week and a half to go from crawling to pulling up, at this pace I could be walking on my own before my 9-month birthday. How crazy would that be?!

Chomping and crawling

Mommy has been sick so she hasn't been able to help me post. Now that she is a little better I have so much to share! My two top teeth have come in. Now I got me four chompers. They aren't fully down, but they are out. It makes it so much easier to chew stuff, real food like chicken and pasta. You can see the teeth sometimes when I smile, but they are elusive (that means difficult to catch) so I have no photo proof yet. It's so hard to see them because I'm constantly on the move. I finally figured out how to crawl. Mommy and daddy may never catch me for a photo ever again. Sitting still is for babies!

My favorite things to crawl toward are shoes and cell phones. Sometimes crawling around makes me so tired that I just pass out where ever I am, like standing up in my jump-a-roo. Pretty funny, huh.

I'm one tired turtle, as mommy likes to say.

Shake your booty

I got a few requests to see my dance moves, so here you go. In fairness, I was a little tired when we shot this video. Mommy and daddy dragged me around to a ton of stores all day again. We were in the car, out of the car. In the car, out of the car. It was exhausting! We also strolled around the mall for a bit. Have you ever noticed how almost every store has its own unique smell? A lot of them are overpowering (that means really strong). I nearly passed out between the combination of Lush and Abercrombie. Those stores make my poopy diapers smell good!

On a roll

Today is another holiday; it’s Martin Luther King Day. I learned Martin Luther King was a man who had a dream that all people are treated equally. He was very smart. I have lots of dreams, but nothing as profound (that means deep and thoughtful) as that. I mostly dream about the characters hanging from my mobile coming to life and us playing together in the park. Since it is a holiday like Halloween, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, I thought I’d get dressed up in a costume, but daddy says we don’t dress up for this holiday because it would be in poor taste. I’m not sure I understand what that means—how do you taste a holiday? To mark the day in my own way, I rolled over for the first time. Then I did it a second time and a third time and a fourth time. I couldn’t stop doing it. Mommy caught it on video.

Piano Woman

Everyone is always saying I have piano fingers because they are so long, but I prefer to play with my toes. College scholarship here I come.

And just in case the piano doesn't work out, I've been practicing my air guitar ... mainly when I have my rocker pajamas on.