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:

I Need Some Sleep!

Or should we say my parents need some sleep! The problem solvers they think they are thought that it was time for me to get a big boy bed. I should mention that for what feels like an eternity to some in this household I have been waking up anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30 am and visiting my parents where I nestle myself between my two awesome creators.

The day was set, it was going to be Saturday. Better yet, I was inheriting my daddy's bed from when he was a little tike. It has a draw underneath that allows me to either put another bed in it for when I want a friend to spend the night or just use the draw as storage. For now, it will be storage as I'm not quite ready for sleep overs...or should I say my parents are ready for sleep overs. So Saturday we woke up bright and early (that's how I roll...why waste the day sleeping).

First we deconstructed the crib/toddler bed which was a bit devastating as this is the only bed I have ever known. After getting over that, the construction began and of course I had to help! I had my tools are ready to screw or pound what needed to be put into place. Next was the shopping trip to pick out my mattress for the King. Of course this endeavor could not be complete without a boo boo! While daddy was sawing the board to place under the mattress I was mowing the driveway when BAM! out of no where there's a board in my forehead and scraping my cheek. Nothing a little tears and ice can't fix.

Once we were over the pain and tears, we slide the board into place, threw the mattress on top and...we need some sheets and a comforter. So off we went to Target to pick out some fancy duds. The Mickey Mouse sheets were courtesy of Grandma and Papa Basner. There was some decent selection at Target...so decent that it was as if they had my room in mind when designing. We brought our treasures home, made up my abode and voila!





And did it work...no I was in my parents bed at 5 am Sunday morning ;)

A Whole New World

So many changes going on around here that I just can't keep up with my blogging to fill you all in. Let's go with the big ones:

Swimming on my own. Yes, you read that right. I took the plunge, let go of the hand/wall, and am keeping my head above water (kinda) and kicking like a fish to survive and spinning in the water. I still swallow an ocean because I haven't learned that my mouth should remained closed at all times. I have a new teacher, Mr. Mike, that I absolutely adore. For being my first male teacher he's sheer awesome and awesome at what he does. He's the assistant aquatic director at the Y. He developed this unique class that is something like a stepping stone into the "big" swim classes. It begins with parents in the water, but slowly over the course of eight weeks, the parents move out of the water leaving the kids to hold the wall. I'm not the best at keeping two hands on the wall, challenging my bubble to see if it will hold me up while I take on Mike's authority. But I'm learning and eventually I'll figure it out, but first I'll have to learn that drinking a lot of pool water and coughing like a smoker on a bad day, is not the way I want to spend my half hour.

Preschool! Oh yeah, call me advanced Thad! Mommy pushed, I moved, and now I have an awesome teacher, Ms. Susanna. Just as camp got underway they decided I was smart enough to move up to Clowns, skipping Monkeys (Preschool I) all together. This class has 20 kids which is much larger than my previous classes. My cognitive skills such as sequencing and matching; social skills in similarities and diversity; and language art skills of storytelling and writing are now being developed. We have visits from all types of people and agencies to introduce us to the outside world. Lizard Guy has been my favorite so far. We have a computer in our classroom that I get to play on everyday, allowing me to practice and expand new skills; I love the Dora game. Finally, we have fitness which includes water day two times a week and Karate on pizza days. Needless to say, I'm busy!! In September, camp will be over and the real preschool begins with books, crayons, glue and scissors.

Sports Class! I have now transitioned into the Sports Skills Development class at the Little Gym. As much as I loved gymnastics and playing with mommy and daddy, it was time to get brave and venture out on my own. This class will prepare me for team play by teaching me the rules and strategies of team sports. We run drills and simulate games for many popular sports including soccer, baseball, basketball, football, hockey and golf. I'm also learning about teamwork and sportsmanship. In fact, when I couldn't do a handstand on the wall, another little boy helped me up. This class is definitely testing my patience as I have to wait by the wall until its my turn. This is especially difficult when in gymnastics I was able to run and play on anything whenever I wanted. The best part of this class is that we're playing so many different sports each time that I get to use lots of different things, like bats, hockey sticks, and basketballs. I am taking the summer off, but start up again in September!

So Big! As days creep by for me, they are flying by for my parents, or at least they tell me so. The independence stage has begun and I am excelling. I have now started dressing myself, well that is if we're not in a hurry and need to get out the door. And I am fantastic at undressing myself. Potty training is in full swing and when I use the potty at school sometimes I feel the need to get completely naked first. My teachers don't quite understand this but hey! i'm attempting to go pee pee on the potty. I have now started using pull ups like they are just a new diaper. Yup, my parents got the letter that I was ready for pull-ups from Ms. Susanna so they drop the big coin and wouldn't you know, I quit going on the potty! They say you're not supposed to threaten to put me back into diapers...this is working well as I hold this over my parents head. What's awesome about my pull ups is how fancy they are; they put Buzz Lightyear on them which screams, "there is big boy stuff going on around here!"

Bad Trick! Just when we thought the teething had wrapped up, someone forgot to inform my mom that there is such a thing as 3 year old molars. I'm whining and not able to eat but no one can figure out what's wrong with me. Hello! my teeth hurt and you're not getting me! So after a little research and discussions with Ms. Susanna, my mom was clued in on what's to come. Even my baby book doesn't include a spot for the 3rd Molars! They haven't popped through yet but when they do I'm sure I will let everyone know by sticking my finger in the back of my mouth and in jibberish I will say "I have a new tooth!"

Firework

If one weekend had to represent the season, July 4th delivers. I think it's appropriate that we bask in sunshine, barbecue with friends, and splash cannonballs in the pool to celebrate a day that commemorates our country's freedom. Live it up. For the entire weekend, we wrung the goodness out of the summer sponge as we filled every possible moment with fun and late nights. Let me stress the late night part as I stayed up until almost 11:00 every night. Starting Friday South River had their annual fireworks which gives us cause to have good friends over for good food and drinks. I played late into the night with Sammy.

Saturday we awoke early as it doesn’t matter what time I go to bed, I can’t miss a thing during the day. Up and at ‘em is how I roll. We did some shopping in the morning, early nap in the afternoon and out the door to the Platkos annual 4th of July party. We have never been as its always conflicted with Red Bank’s fireworks. But I tell you, they sure did put on a great party. There was so much to do, starting with the pony rides, a bouncy house and water slide, followed by swimming, the ice cream truck and lots of kids to play with. To top it all off, a bigger than average private fireworks show that we sat way to close to comfort for. It was an awesome day. Home late, but again early to rise as I couldn’t miss my weekly outing to Sam’s.

I’ll be moving into a “big boy” bed soon so we went to price the market at Costco and Sam’s. My parents keep telling me they are not going to buy any more diapers but seemingly they give in to my demands. As I was extremely tired, we headed home for an early lunch and nap to prepare for our big night out in Redbank. But the rain just wouldn’t keep falling so I kept sleeping. We finally headed over to the Platko’s for our annual outing. Once there, the rain really started to fall so we had a picnic inside with sandwiches, chips and drinks. After fitting in some Jake and the Neverland Pirates into our schedules, Josh and I were ready to go as the rain had finally stopped and the sun had broken through. We arrived in Red Bank at Riverside Park and step up shop at 8:40. With only a half hour left to wait until the big ones started popping we played and enjoyed the space as the park was very empty. Once the fireworks started we settled back and peered up into the sky as it turned various shades of every color of the rainbow and shapes including hearts and letters spelling out U.S.A. Every time a firework would burst I would shout out the type and quickly developed a love for frykids and fireflies. Frykids are the ones that are big circles that drape across the sky and hang for a long time, like a McDonald’s frykid. Fireflies are a new firework of sorts as they burst and then next thing you know there are tons of little fires racing around the sky similar to lots of glowing fireflies in my backyard.

Monday brought a cranky me with very little sleep but hey you know my parents motto - why slow down when there is something fantastic around the corner. There’s always time later to sleep. So we headed over to Staten Island with the Hare’s for my first Parade. I thought I was going to get to ride on a fire truck but instead I was able to view them, get sprayed by them, and drive one after the parade. I wasn’t in the best of moods and often turned Jekyll and Hyde when I wanted something, I think the day was pretty grand. It wasn’t a comfortable experience by any means, my exhausted parents dragging us in a wagon, water filled balloons bouncing, and crying babies. But it seems we have made some sort of a tradition. I’m sure looking back at the pictures of us smiling it will look deceivingly like oh, what joy, what a fabulous time we had. In reality, it was a good time. Needless to say, I turned in early after a quick dinner, bath and a book.

We spent this weekend like it should be spent: friends, fun, and late nights filled with fireworks.

Make a Memory

It's that time of year ago where I flash the camera...with my smile that is! We changed up photographers and went with Rebecca this year. She's very kid friendly and has lots of things in her studio to play with, including toys (she's a mommy of an 18 month old)! We had a good time playing around with hats, chairs and couches. We also did a few shots in an alley that was full of tar. We had a great time making sure we documented my goofiness and awesome face.

Summertimes Calling Me

This past week we traveled back to the place where we can frolic on the beach, play in the sand, get sun kissed, and lose track of all time…the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For our 2nd Annual visit we chose to stay in Salvo, North Carolina where we rented a beach house two dunes away from the waves rolling upon our toes. We started out at 3 AM on Saturday, making a pit stop when I woke up at the Sage Diner, somewhere between Jersey and North Carolina. It was discovered that I am not a fan of whole blueberries in pancakes as I prefer them to be chopped into tiny bits. After my refusal to eat anything but the plain section of the pancake, we were out the door and on the road again. Our next stop was Grave Diggers Dungeon. It was here that I learned all about the different types of monster trucks and was able to climb on them. Do you know how exciting it is to see the Grave Diggers of past and the current one! Actually what was exciting was my first monster truck ride; dirt and all! For $5 a person, me and daddy climbed into the back of a monster truck that rolled over mounds of wet dirt and a bus! With speed building and dirt flying I was in a very serious mood as I wasn’t so sure about this. On top of that, the bench seat I was riding on had one large seat belt that did nothing to secure me sitting next to all these adults. To say I held on tight would be an understatement.

After the monster truck ride we pulled into the Brewery with a playground just as I fell asleep. This provided for all of us to catch a quick catnap in the parking lot. We fueled up with food and spent some much needed time on the pirate ship acting like Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Finding ourselves back in the truck, we continued on our way to check into the house.

Once we got to the house, while the parents got unpacked I found myself a nice spot in the sandbox. Just as they finished putting the last of the items away and we climbed into the pool – Todd, Barb, Anna and Kianna arrived – just in time to help us enjoy the pool. Over the week we enjoyed hanging out on the beach and having a few adventures. Of course this week couldn’t go without injury. Barb wacked her foot on the refrigerator door the first night causing her foot to swell up. The next day Anna and Kianna were swept out to sea in a rip current causing Todd and Barb to rescue them. Todd forgot the boogey board so Barb went after him. While running out she stepped into a hole and injured her calf muscle. Unable to walk and in severe pain Barb drug herself back to shore. She spent the night taking it easy. They got up very early the next morning and went to the ER where they found out it would be early afternoon before an MRI could be taken. So with that said, they headed back to the house. The last injury occurred when mommy was trying to be sneaky and scare us but all she did was stub her toe really hard on the boardwalk leaving her limping, laughing and with a black toe nail.

We ventured to a new part of the Outer Banks – Ocracoke Island. The ferry is free and with just enough to do on the island for an afternoon it was a perfect get away. We rented golf carts to tote Aunt Barb and her crutches around, grabbed some lunch and cooled off with some ice cream as we ventured around the island. We also caught up with the professional kite boarders where they showed off their stellar skills while we sat amongst the action. This was my favorite part of the whole week as I was trying to imitate their jumps. We also surveyed the local tourist traps and purchased a monkey kite to fly on the beach. We blew bubbles off the top deck and tried to see how far they would go. Two light houses crossed our path – Ocracoke and Cape Hatteras - neither of which I was able to enter. Daddy attempted the four wheel beach while mommy freaked out insisting we turn around as she thought we were sinking fast; she won! The entire week was filled with relaxing on the beach in the morning and spending the afternoon pool side or taking a nap. Our nights were filled with ghost crab hunting, bonfires and smores. And who could forget the family style dinners including a North Carolina shrimp boil.

Yet another fantastic Outer Banks vacation is in the books with dreams of the next one on the mind.