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:

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.