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It's A Small World After All

The potty training has paid off and Mickey did not disappoint! It was so exciting packing our bags and getting ready for the trip we talked about all year. Our flight left on Saturday out of LGA and we're so excited, not only to see Mickey but to see the Castle and everything that Disney World had in store for us. Of course I was the exceptional traveler in flight. We met up with Josh and his family at the airport and headed to the resort, All Star Music, where we were staying just for the night. It took some time to get there so the first night was pretty chill in that we grabbed some grub and hit the hay as we all knew with the time change I would be up at dawn, and I was. We had breakfast and packed up to have the bags transferred to the next resort while we headed to Downtown Disney where we did some shopping and wandering. The afternoon was spent checking into the Keywest Resort and did some swimming. Needless to say we did some relaxing to gear up for the week ahead. Sunday night we had a great dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe located in the beautiful Wilderness Resort. This restaurant is a rowdy, family-style place right out of the Old West where if you ask for a glass of water they bring a teeny tiny one or a refill comes in a gallon jug. It was a good time!

Monday morning we were up and at 'em ready for the world to bring on all of the glories of Mickey as we had a breakfast date scheduled at the Animal Kingdom. But first, opening ceremonies with Mickey and a stroll through the Park before we arrived at the Tusker House. The food was great but the guests were even better. We took pictures with Donald and inside we were greeted by Goofy, Mickey and Daisy. The rest of the day we spent wandering through Animal Kingdom and riding the rides. Of course we spent lots of time checking out the animals and learning that paper straws are great for recycling but not so great when they dissolve. Monday night we headed over to the Magic Kingdom, you know the park where Mickey rented out his castle to Cinderella and it's all lite up at night. It was so beautiful and even more so when the fireworks started. We also got to see the electric parade with tons of characters. We stayed after the fireworks, where I discovered my favorite ride, the cars. We did these a few times, both with mommy and daddy, until I was exhausted. We also wandered around the castle and picked up a beautiful necklace for my lovely Emily.

Tuesday we headed back for a full day at the Magic Kingdom. First things first we had to get pictures with Mickey and Minnie. We spent the remainder of the day riding the rides. Of course we missed a few, but this left us something to do when we returned later in the week. We also caught the Monsters, Inc. show where I was the star, okay actually Zach was the star but its not my fault they couldn't understand what I said. Once again, I'm pretty sure Broadway is not in my future, but I did pretty good. That night we had dinner together at Boma which was located inside the Animal Kingdom Lodge where we were able to check out the animals again out at the Safari view.

Wednesday we toured around the world at Epcot. We rode all the rides and then we tasted several different fares from all over the world. We spent the whole day hanging out eating and then we headed over to the Boardwalk resort where we had dinner at Flying Fish Cafe. We grabbed some dessert, watched a boardwalk performer and wandered back to Epcot to get a good seat for the Illuminations. Lots of fire and a big cookie kept me entertained.

Thursday we found ourselves in love with Hollywood Studios. They had everything a little boy loves, Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story, need there be more? Rest assured there is. They have a great toy story ride and lots of shows that you can see. We saw Disney Jr. Live which had all the characters on stage. For lunch we grabbed a bite to eat at the Primetime Cafe which took me back to Grandma & Grandpa's time. It also had great rides for mommy and daddy. We loved this park so much that we had to come back on Friday morning. We didn't get all of our character pictures in so we returned to greet Woody and Buzz, as well as Sully and Mike from Monsters, Inc.

Friday was such a great day! After spending the morning with my favorite characters, we hopped a bus to Epcot and ran around the world to eat lunch with Chef Reme at Chef de France. This was an exceptional lunch, not only because the food was so good as was the price, but so was my visit with Chef Reme. He was so little, so cute, and I loved talking to him. Not sure who liked this lunch more, but I'm pretty sure my mommy did. After stuffing ourselves beyond belief we headed back to the bus and traveled over to the Magic Kingdom where we were able to ride the train, and catch a few of those rides we missed the prior days. Of course we drove the cars again and the people mover. That night while the park emptied out we stayed and had a big Christmas party with Mickey. The parade was awesome and it even snowed on Main St. We had our fill of Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. We rode some more rides, caught a few Christmas shows and thoroughly exhausted ourselves to the point where there was no feeling left in our feet.

This brings me back to a plane ride home on Saturday where I slept the whole way. We came home telling stories, reflecting on what we saw, remembering details that we hope to never forget. It truly was a magical week that won't be topped for a long time to come.

I Put a Spell on You

My costume this year was picked out in a line up of sorts, but for the last few months my parents have been asking me what I wanted to be for Halloween. I constantly replied that I wanted to be a fireman. Throwing suggestions left and right, every which way possible, they tried to convince me to be a pirate like Jake, or even an Army guy (what's that?), but I was steadfast in my desire to be the hero, the good guy, the one with a great costume. Only problem was, there was not a "great" fireman costume to be found. That was until the side trip to Costco with daddy. There it sat, like some sad puppy in a line up waiting to be taken home. We quickly approached to only find out the size was 5/6 and without trying it on, we walked away disappointed; but not before shooting a picture of it and sending it off to never land to end up in mommy's hot little web browsing hands. A quick search on Costco.com brought more information and it was soon decided that it had to be purchased and pray it works.

It finally arrived and I tried it on and guess what, 5/6 really means 4/5. So its a little big but that just means extra playtime. Of course I had to have boots to match and a hose to save the day. What good is a fireman without a hose that shoots water?!? The costume was complete and of course I rocked the hero look like you wouldn't believe. The only problem was, my costume stayed hanging on the back of the front door ready to be thrown on at a moments notice, or upon the happening of a fire alarm. Thankfully neither happened, but I guess it's true, waiting is the hardest part.

Finally, the day is here, the one that I learned an extra special song. You know the one that goes trick-or-treat, smell my feet, I don't care, you pull down my underwear. Oh, you don't know that song? Well neither did my parents who held a crash course in what not to say when standing on a door step begging for candy. It was stressed to the max that underwear shall not come out of my mouth otherwise I just may get what I ask for.

I woke up and threw on my costume like I was heading to a fire. Dressed to the nine's I was out the door and on my way to school to show off my duds. We had a parade, sans parents thanks to a snowstorm, and a party afterwards. Mommy showed up early with my "Thad" labeled Halloween basket being told 100 times "I want to go trick-or-treating." We headed over to Emily's where I mastered "trick-or-treat", and because of this I kept my clothes on and got lots of candy. The parental units were so proud!

The first of the end-of-year holidays is in the books and we're eating up all the candy that was thrown in my basket. It's time to hang up the duds that I am sure will be pulled out for fun for months to come. Bring on November!

Nice Guys Finish Last

If you didn't think I absolutely loved and adored my Emily, that first love is truly blossoming. While we were at school today, Emily began to cry and revealed that our classmate had hurt her. I also started crying and when asked why, I responded "because Steven hurt my girlfriend." I was then told by my teachers that I should tell Steven that it was "not nice." So, in my most angry voice, I did exactly what I was supposed to; "Don't you ever hurt my girlfriend again!"

Then it comes to light that Steven was only trying to help Emily with her jacket. So much for being a nice guy.

Please Don't Go

If you haven’t heard lately, my momma is the traveling kind. She flies all over the country to take depositions of sick men. Sounds like a good time, right? Recently I have come to realize that she leaves a lot and it is suddenly sinking in. I often ask if I can go to whatever amazing destination in her suit case. Lately she's been to Buffalo, NY, New Mexico, Ohio and even Texas.

Tonight was the first night that I expressed my desire for her not to go and that I would miss her immensely…maybe not in those exact words but something like this “I don’t want you to go cause I’m going to miss you.” Yes, leaving for vacation, as daddy calls it, is getting harder for her to do. But she usually returns with some type of goody for me, which is a nice constellation prize for the part-time motherless child.

Let's Hear it for the Boy!

I am fully potty trained and it’s all thanks to Mickey Mouse. I was having difficulty understanding why I couldn’t use my underwear like a diaper when it came to pooping. Everyone around me was losing their patients when it came to this part of the potty training because I got it, just didn't want to be a part of it. It wasn’t until my mother informed me that Mickey doesn’t allow boys who don’t poop in the potty to enter the Magic Kingdom. With that in mind you can bet my butt found that toilet promptly when the urge arose. Knowing that we would be traveling to the Magic Kingdom within a month really motivated me. So there you have it folks! It’s a miracle worthy of a visit to Mickey’s castle who I have been told rents it out to Cinderella who was evicted by the evil stepmother from her itty bitty apartment above the mansion for not properly cleaning the floors. Mickey is clearly a generous guy.

Adventures in Potty Training

This serves to all an update that as quickly as you learn to pee in the potty, the same does not go for poop in the potty. There is a civil war brewing in my pants and it’s not looking good for my parents. At times my parents think we are turning the corner and get full of hope that maybe just maybe these times are behind us, but I fool them over and over again. The weekend that Hurricane Irene (August 27) hit was a prosperous and exciting one filled with lots of ice cream as a reward for my outstanding potty behavior. It carried over into the week but then I decided to back track; Who needs the potty when you have clean underwear! So the OSHA count has returned to see if I can make it just one day without a school related accident. It’s not looking good folks, the fines are going up by the day.

As for the peeing on the potty, I am outstanding. I have only had two full blown accidents where I completely forgot that I had a bladder that was full. It all happened in one Friday. I was at school and had just gotten done with lunch and the next thing I know, the pee was running down my leg. Later that night, daddy was helping Scott at a dj’ing event so it was just me and mommy. We headed to the taco place (Salsarita’s) for some tacos and toy store action. She asked me several times at Salsarita’s whether I had to go, I responded with a resounding NO! So into the toy store we went and within a minute of playing we were heading right back out the door on our way home. It was a rough day folks but one that I haven’t repeated since.

Overall, I’m doing rather well and earning my fruit snacks. I’ve been cut off from fruit snacks at school for peeing and just receiving them when I go poop on the potty. However at home, my parents remain suckers. That may change soon though!

You're the Apple of My Eye

Today we headed south to an orchard filled with lots of apples, but very little variety. We met up with Ellen and Owen to wanders the field of a small orchard located in Bordentown, NJ. It’s been a few months since I have seen my cousins; Ellen’s still taller than me and Owens wearing my very first pair of Striderite shoes now (refer to Vol. I for a picture). Never having been there before, we thought this was a good half way point for everyone. They had the radio flyer wagons available to drag us around in with great big red baskets used to fill up with apples. Being that it’s still early in the season, there were only four or five varieties of apples to pick and they were spread out. We ate walked up and down the aisles eating our way through the orchard deciding what kinds we liked and which ones to take home. When we couldn’t wander any further and had dropped the last apple into our basket we headed back to the general store and checked out. 16 pounds of apples later we were heading to lunch at Chickie & Pete’s. I love this place and their Crab Fries! They even have grilled cheese which has become my new favorite sandwich. It was a great day filled to the brim with yummy apples and good family!

Pumped Up Kicks

It the start of a busy fall with lots of activities.  I attempted my legs at Soccer beginning on September 14, 2011, and found that I just wasn't ready to listen for 45 minutes.  The teachers thought that I should just listen and then practice my skills.  I thought if you give me a ball and you expect me to listen and not kick it, you must be crazy.  We suffered through eight long weeks of being told "no" you can't do that, Thad you have to listen, and Thad do it this way.  I think it will be sometime before I kick the ball around again.  Plus I'm doing soccer at school which is enough for me right now.

I also continued at The Little Gym for gymnastics.  I'm still in the Little Beasts and doing flips.  The summer I spent in the sports class but then they switched the scheduled for that class and the times didn't work out.  So back to regular tumbling I go.

Finally, I'm still fighting the good fight with the water and my ears weekly at swim class.  I'm now a Pike and learning to swim on my own with my bubble.

It's been an active fall but I'm an active boy so this is all right up my alley.

September 2011

One Week

It started at the spray grounds when we pulled up, mommy climbed out of the front seat, opened the back passenger door, and looked at me ever so calmly and said "I don't have a swim diaper, so it's either swim or go home." I chose swim naked under my swim trunks. That, right there, was the end to diapers in my house. Of course this trip was not complete without a trip to the park porta potty. The first introduction to a porta potty went something like this: I opened the door with wide anticipation to find the good 'ol white flushable toilet and there sat a gray dimly lite hole. Looking up with complete misunderstanding, I promptly declared there was no way that I was peeing in a hole. This of course reminded my mother of the time they were in Singapore and when given the option to pee over a hole or the safe white bowl, she choose bowl. But then Emily saved the day, as always, and showed me that if a girl can pee in a porta potty, I could too. After 20 minutes of mother standing by, it happened, lots of praise given, and then we all breathed a sigh of relief and some much needed fresh air.

Saturday morning found us waking up in a diaper but having it pulled off the minute I gained consciousness. The next thing I know I'm being told that I wear big boy underwear. I then proceeded to whimper and attempt to discuss the logic's of why I needed a diaper. It didn't work; I stood naked for a while where after sometime I gave in and put on the underwear. My underwear is decked out with lots of primary colors and covered in Mickey Mouse. You all know your jealous of the stripes with Mickey covering my rear in different facets. I spent that day learning the boundaries of my bladder and trying to make it to the potty in time. Considering it was my first full day where my parents didn't give up or get frustrated, I had two pee accidents and three pooping accidents. By the time Saturday night came to a close, I was out of underwear and going commando, but that wasn't going to stop my mother from diaper refusal. We ended the night with a serious conversation of having to use a diaper only at night, but upon waking ripping it off like a band aid.

And that's exactly what we did come Sunday morning. It was raw and rough, but I gave up the diaper, sat on the potty and went. And that was it folks, I never looked back, pee wise. We even went to the movies and saw "Cars 2" with no accidents and a visit to the potty in between. Mommy and I were that typical mother-son team running down the halls, she saying "hold it" while I clutched my nether regions in hopes that doing so would prevent any spillage before we hit the white porcelain god. And then when we got there, I didn't even have to go. She's beginning to think that I like to take potty breaks just for fun. We spent the day between home and venturing out for shopping trips and testing my bladder to see how long I could hold it. This kid can hold it ladies and gentlemen. We ended Sunday with not a single pee accident but two poop accidents. It was at that moment I knew it was never going to be the same, no more diapers, no more wipes. I've entered todderhood and I'm not looking back and neither is my parents bank account.

Monday I went to school with under-roos and did swimmingly well! I spent the rest of the week mastering the skill of being King of the potty and stuffing my belly full of fruit snacks fit for royalty. I still remain insistent on testing the patience of my parents with the pooping side of things, going upstairs to get a toy and coming back with junk in my trunk, but I guess all things come in due time. I've had to throw away several pairs of underwear (or at least that's what I think I'm doing) all because the garbage man likes my underwear better than me.

So we find ourselves here...one week later, fully peed trained, with new underwear promptly displaying all of my favorite cartoon characters, a potty chair in the living room so to not interrupt my lifestyle, and proud parents beaming from ear to ear. Yesterday afternoon I said "Mommy when I pee in the potty, you are so proud, but when I poop my pants you are so sad." How can I help it if I think you're funny when you're mad. Trying hard not to smile though I feel bad. It's been one week!

Ahoy Mateys! Since May I have been infatuated with Jake and the Never Land Pirates on the Disney Channel. Every show is an interactive treasure hunt, with a crew of kid pirates--leader Jake and pals Izzy and Cubby--and follows their Never Land adventures as they work to outwit two infamous characters, the one and only Captain Hook and Smee, from Disney's classic Peter Pan. Being that I love Jake so much, my parents decided for my birthday that they would recreate the show but let me be Jake.

Today we woke up and they told me they had a surprise for me. I quickly ate my two bites of breakfast and we headed out the door. A long trip down to the shore, we landed in Brick, NJ. Pulling up to the marina, we parked and headed down to the boats. There it sat in all its glory...The Sea Gypsy II. I was a mini mate and had the opportunity to dress-up like a pirate, got my face painted with a pirate "tattoo", and learned some pirate lingo before setting sail on an hour and fifteen minute long action packed adventure.

Once on board, I participated with all the other mates in an interactive treasure hunt on the high seas. I learned the rules of the Sea Gypsy pirate ship, read a treasure map, discovered a secret message in a bottle, and worked as a team to defeat the enemy pirate who stole the keys to the treasure. I manned the famous water cannons to win back the keys from the nemesis Pirate Pete! Once we won back the keys, we were off in search of the sunken treasure. X marked the spot for our hard earned spoils. I used all of my might to hoist the treasure from the seas below onto the Sea Gypsy. I was picked my "Tiny" to use one of the three keys to unlock the treasure chest. Once it was opened I took a handful of loot. The adventure continued when we discovered the secret stash of Pete's Grog (ice tea) and celebrated by dancing the Pirate Limbo as we sped back to port.

Such an awesome adventure is only fitting with a lunch at my favorite taco place on the shore...Surf Taco. I ate like a champ (always do when it comes to Surf Taco) and fell fast asleep on the way home with loot in my hand.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

It's Getting Better!

Who wants to wish me Happy Birthday...just the entire universe, that's who! As I turn another year older I must reflect on the past year and admit that I have a good life. But as another page turns, I look forward to another year of adventure and mischief as isn't that what three is all about. Today was a day to celebrate once again. Being that it was a Thursday I couldn't not spend the day with some of my besties:











Is this not what birthdays are all about: dangling feet under a picnic table while enjoying ice cream and running around with my closest friends as we have not a care in the world.

That night we celebrated with a little bit (a whole lot) of cupcake and a number 3! Oh and of course there were more gifts to my liking.









Lots of George and a camera to take pictures of it all! Who knew George had fruit snacks...pure awesomeness!

You've Got a Friend in Me

Today we celebrated in grand style because I've been alive for T-H-R-E-E years and I have awesome friends.
(I LUV HER!)
As you can imagine the preparations started early with the decision of where, when and how to commemorate this big event. It was decided that I had outgrown the backyard birthday parties and we needed much more space for my 15+ school friends. So we decided that we would have a joint birthday party with Emily; I mean why not we are four days apart and why make our friends choose who is cooler. Being that we both love Curious George the tone was set, now for the place. We visited a couple of bounce houses, but we both love FunTime America! With a toddler city that no one can rival who could go wrong. The invitation was ordered:



Now for the decorations:




And now for some A-C-T-I-O-N:













And now for the Candles!







An added bonus to the fun: