Sea Adventure

Nov 4 - This morning after the regular morning routine it was time to get moving on what we will refer to as our "Sea Adventure." It all started a few day before when cousin Aidan kept telling Aunt Lynn he wanted to go to the sea. So Aunt Lynn and Mommy came up with a plan to go to the DC aquarium and see fish from the sea.

After my morning nap we were ready to go. Aunt Lynn met us at our house with Aidan and Gavin in the backseat. We jumped in our car and Aunt Lynn followed us to the metro. We had some trouble finding parking spots but we made it. We got on the metro. Mommy let me out of the stroller so I could look out the window again. I really enjoyed that. Mommy and Aunt Lynn counted with Aidan the number of stops til we got to our destination at Federal Triangle. Once we got off we got a little turned around trying to find the aquarium and got a little wet in the rain.

We found the aquarium and once we got a little dried off in the bathroom it was time to visit the sea. We started at the piranha tank where the fish lady was going to feed them. We all sat on the floor to watch but I started to fuss so Mommy and I got up and stood in the back. When the piranha were done eating we visited the alligator tank. Aidan, Gavin, and I all stood up against the glass to looked in. Then we moved around looking at eel, frogs, sharks, and one gigantic turtle. After we were done with the fish we hung out in this hands on exhibit with this big wheel. Aidan would spin it and I would just laugh and laugh.

Here are some pictures of some of the things we saw:

colorful tank

spotted sting ray

porcupine fish

catfish

electric eel

seahorses

cute little gecko

smiling shark

leopard shark

After we were done there it was across the street to the food court for lunch. Then back on the metro to head home. I slept on the metro and so did Gavin. Then it was home for more food, a little playtime with Daddy and then bedtime. It was an awesome Sea Adventure.

I'm sleepy, Mommy

Nov 3 - This morning Mommy and I woke up early. We ate breakfast and played. Then Ms. Bridget came to clean. Mommy and I hung out with her for a little while until I told Mommy that I was getting sleepy. Mommy and I went out to the couch and took a nice long nap.

When I woke up I ate and played until it was time for group. At group today I weighed in at 15lbs 15.4oz - so no gain. Ms. Betty wasn't there today but Ms. Kelly was in and out to help out. I played around with James a lot today. We crawled around and he was really nice to share his toy phone and his moose. I really enjoyed hanging out with him. After James and Eleanor left and it looked like group was going to end early Lincoln and Nathan showed up. So Mommy and I hung out for a little while longer until I told her again that I was sleepy. So we headed home.

When we got home we found out that Daddy didn't have school tonight - yay! So we got to play and hang out with him. He made chicken and steak for dinner. Of course I didn't have any but I did get to eat some of my veggie puffs. They look like cheese curls. Then we watched the Caps game until I couldn't stay awake any longer and finally crashed.

Me and Gavin at the park

Nov 2 - This morning I woke up before 7am had breakfast and went back to sleep. Then Mommy and I got ready for storytime. Today's theme was the circus. The librarians showed us pictures of clowns, lions, tigers, and tents. They even had a big clown costume and the librarian put on the big red clown shoes. We did all our regular songs. I held my blackbirds for Two Little Blackbirds and shook my egg shaker for If Your Happy and You Know It. I sat on Mommy's lap for One Wheel Off and Open, Shut Them. After story time was over I led a lot of the kids out of the room in a crawling caravan. I think I had five kids crawling behind me. Even the ones that could walk got down on the floor and crawled after me. Come on, everyone. Follow me. I led them out to the children's section of the library where Caylee, Sam, Noah and I played on the the busy box.

After a little play time with my pals it was time to go. We had to meet Aunt Lynn and Gavin. I fell asleep in the car and woke up in the McDonald's parking lot. Aunt Lynn was standing outside the window. We drove over to the park. It was a bit chilly but we had fun anyway. I played in the tunnels and swung on the swing next to Gavin. Mommy held me and Gavin on the merry-go-round. Then Mommy and I went down a few slides together while Gavin did it by himself. Then I sat on the ground examining everything I found and talked to Aunt Lynn while Mommy chased Gavin around. I decided to explore and crawled up these big steps under a giant alligator all by myself with Aunt Lynn behind me. When Mommy caught up with us I had crawled all the way up the steps and half way down the ramp of the big kid equipment! Mommy was really impressed.

It was getting later and Mommy decided it was time to go since it was getting close to meal time and nap time. So we said goodbye to Aunt Lynn and Gavin and went home. When we got home Mommy had me eat in my carseat because Daddy was home and waiting for us. Daddy hopped in the car and we all headed to Mount Harmony Elementary so Mommy and Daddy could vote. The voting people thought my jacket with the ears was really cute. Daddy started voting first then Mommy and I had a turn. I watched her pushing buttons until Daddy finished and grabbed me and walked me outside. When Mommy came out she gave me a sticker that said I Voted!

When we got home we napped. Mommy noticed that I have finally cut my sixth tooth. And I also practiced standing up for a few seconds on my own before plopping down on the floor. Today was a good day.

I told the witch doctor I was in love with you

Nov 1 - I woke up before 7am this morning and even though Mommy hoped that we would go back to sleep in her bed for a while (she stayed up late last night watching scary movies) I would have none of it. I was ready to go out to the family room. So she caved, brought me out the the family room and shortly after breakfast I fell asleep in her lap. Hehe, Mommy can't sleep like that.

When I woke up we played for a bit until it was time to get to some chores done. Mommy collected all the trash and we went to the dump. Then we went to CVS to get a couple of things. While we were there Mommy took me down the Halloween aisle where everything was on sale. Mommy sat me down and would put one of the moving singing Halloween toys in front of me and I would just watch it dance around. There was a vampire, a mummy, and a witch doggie. The witch doggie sang I Told The Witch Doctor as he rocks back and forth and his ear flop around. People would walk by and see that I was enjoying all the singing toys and tell me that I was cute. Mommy decided to get the witch doggie since it was 50% off and only $5.

Then we went home. Daddy got home right about then too. He had gotten off work early since he went in early and came home to sleep. I thought, that is a good idea. So Mommy laid me down for a nap in her lap and I slept for a couple of hours. We got up and went to check to make sure that Daddy was waking up so he could go to school. He was. He got ready and I watched him. Then he gave me a kiss and told me bye and left for school.

Mommy and I had some chicken and apples, which I really didn't like as much as the first day, and then played around with Mommy on the carpet. I watched Mommy get the ground beef ready for tonight's dinner - tacos. Daddy got home and we all had dinner. I ended up going to bed around 10pm.

My first Halloween

Oct 31 - Today was Halloween and to my surprise Mommy did not dress me up in that goofy elephant costume today. She must have thought I had enough of that.

Today was Daddy's only day off and so we hung out with him all day. Mommy and Daddy thought about going and getting new phones at the Verizon store but the place in Dunkirk was closed so we just went to the grocery store instead. I sat in the cart as Daddy pushed me around. Daddy got a big plastic container of chocolate chip cookies and put it next to me and told me to pretend it was a drum. I played those cookies well! Then we went to the baby food aisle and got me a bunch of new food including chicken, turkey, and beef.

Then we paid for all of it and went home. I had chicken and apples and loved it. I gulped it all down.

The rest of the day we watched football and played on the floor. Daddy had to get to work really really early the next day so he crashed early. Mommy got me to sleep on her lap but I woke up when she put me in the crib and I started to cry a little. She didn't want me to wake Daddy up so she brought me back out to the family room and got me back to sleep.

Oh, and Mommy told me that we should have called and wished Grandmommy a happy birthday today but I forgot to remind Mommy to call her.

Granddaddy and Grandmommy's day with an elephant

Oct 30 - This morning Mommy and I woke up and called Grandmommy and Granddaddy to tell them we were going to go to St. Charles Mall for the Halloween festivities. They said they would meet us there. We had breakfast and headed up to the mall. Mommy dressed me in my elephant costume in the parking lot then put me in the stroller and into the mall we went.

We had gotten there a little early but we got to look around the play area. It looked fun. Then Grandmommy and Granddaddy joined us. Boy, did they love me in my costume! They played with me in the stroller while Mommy waited in line to register me for the kids club that was sponsoring the event. And because I signed up, I got all kinds of things like a shirt, a coloring book and crayons, an really cool pumpkin glasses.

There were a bunch of kids dressed up in costume. And the kids club had a bunch of different stations and activities but most of them dealt with food so Mommy said we didn't need to do those and the other one was face painting and Mommy didn't want to do that one either. So Granddaddy and I went and played in the play area. It was fun but I started to get hot in my costume and I was also getting hungry. So Mommy took off my costume and handed me over to Grandmommy and the four of us walked through the mall to get to the food court. As Grandmommy walked with me she showed me a bunch of things she thought I might like.

We were walking for a while and Grandmommy needed to rest so as she sat in one of the chairs and Granddaddy and I rode the escalators. Wow that was fun. Then we all went upstairs to the food court and ate lunch. I had squash and Mommy had Chi-fil-a and Grandmommy had a cinnabun. They were taking too long so Granddaddy and I rode the escalator again.

Then we all went down to Old Navy and we bough socks for me. Next we got in the car and I fell asleep while Mommy went into Babies R Us to get me some new pacifiers since Salem keeps getting a hold of mine and biting holes in them. Silly kitty. Anyway, when I woke up we were at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. We were getting wedding presents for Aunt Erin's friend Jamie. The lady at the store was really nice and thought I was really cute. Granddaddy and I walked around the store and looked at the Christmas display they have up as the lady helped Grandmommy and Mommy.

After that store it was time to eat again so we said goodbye to Grandmommy and Granddaddy and drove home. I got home and ate. Daddy got home right around then but he was really tired so he took a nap. Mommy and I thought about going down to North Beach for their costume parade but we had already had so much excitement. So instead Mommy did the dishes and I played in the kitchen.

When Daddy woke up we played. I even played on my own while Mommy and Daddy read up on the candidates for Tuesday's election. I was having so much fun hanging out with Mommy and Daddy and watching the Caps kill the Flames that I didn't even know I was way past my bed time! I went to bed around 11pm!

Bathtime with Mommy

Oct 29 - Today we took it easy and stayed home. Mommy and I played on the Wii. We also played around with the doggies. We crawled all over the house. I also practiced my standing. There were a couple of times today that I would stand up on something and then let go and just hover for a few seconds before falling on my bum. Mommy got really excited about that.

When Daddy got home from work we played a little. Then Uncle Sean came over and hung out for a while. He makes me laugh. He came over to give money to Mommy and Daddy for Caps tickets. Uncle Sean had to go to relieve Aunt Erin of babysitting duties so we said goodbye. Then it was time for a bath. We did something different today. We didn't use my blue bath tub but Mommy joined me in the big bath tub. Daddy read me a story as Mommy and I sat in the tub and she bathed me. It was so much fun to have all that room to move and splash around.

Once bathtime was over I got ready for bed, played for a little while longer and then went to sleep.

Lunch with Mr. Rashaad

This morning I slept in til about 8:30am. When I woke up I was happy and played in my crib for a little while. When Mommy came in I got so excited I started to wave my arms in the air and squeal. She was happy to see me too and thanked me for sleeping in.

After a regular morning of play we got ready to go to lunch to meet Mr. Rashaad. We were in such a rush Mommy forgot her camera at home. I napped in the car. I woke up and saw Mr. Rashaad peeking in a me through the window. I always give him funny looks. We were at TGI Fridays. I sat in a highchair like a big boy the whole meal and was very well behaved. Mommy fed me carrots and puffs and I even had some water too. I was memorized by the Halloween decorations hanging from the ceiling, especially the skull hanging above our table. One of the waitresses walked by and told me that was was a cutie and I smiled at her. She started to walk away and I turned and called her back. She came back and I flirted with her some more.

After the meal, we all went over to BJ's, that big warehouse superstore. It was pretty big and stuff was everywhere. I sat in the cart and talked with Mommy as she pushed me around. Then she fed me a bottle before we checked out. Mr. Rashaad carried me out of the store and the looks that I was giving him made Mommy really wish she had her camera. I really enjoy spending time with him. After getting everything in the car I said goodbye to Mr. Rashaad and told Mommy to get me home so I could get another nap.

I made it the whole way home without falling asleep. We got inside and after a quick meal I started to fall asleep as Daddy got home. When I woke up I was ready for play time. I explored the house and played with Mommy and Daddy on the floor. Mommy played with my blue ball and tossed it to me and it made me giggle. Then I watched Mommy and Daddy play on the Wii. I love watching the play together. They are so happy and it makes me happy.

Then it was time for hockey. The Caps were playing the Wild. We were on the carpet with the doggies as we watch the game. Mommy laid down on Apollo and I laid down on Mommy. I didn't get to watch the whole game but I was close. I went to bed around 9pm.

Halloween group

Oct 27 - When Mommy came and got me from my room this morning she told me that she had a surprise for me out in the family room. It was Daddy. He stayed home from work today. I was so excited to see him.

It was a pretty quite morning at home. Just playing and napping. Daddy played his computer game until it was time for Mommy and me to get ready for group. Daddy held me for a few minutes as Mommy got our stuff ready then we said goodbye.

Group was fun today. Everyone brought their costumes to show off.

James was NASCAR driver Jimmy Johnson


Finn was a kangaroo


Robby was a vampire bat


Nathan was a giraffe


David was a monkey


Hunter was a skeleton


and of course, me in my elephant costume

We all had a great time playing too. I shared my nesting balls again and everyone went wild for them. And I got to sit with Ms. Betty too. I love her, she is so nice!

Mommy also made pumpkin cookie for all the mommies. I really wanted to try one but Mommy said no. :( Oh and I weighed in at 15lbs 15oz again this week. Maybe I would have gained some weight if I had a cookie.

Since Ms. Nicole and David got to come to group today and we rarely get to see them anymore Mommy and I invited them back to our play for a quick playdate. When we got home I was so tired and cranky and needing a nap but wouldn't settle down for one. Mommy put me down in my crib and I lost it! I wanted to be out in the family room with David playing, not napping. But Mommy knew I needed a nap. So I made it a short one - maybe 20-30mins. When I woke up Mommy brought me out to the family room and I played for a few minutes with David before he had to go.

Mommy and I hung out, made dinner and went to sleep before Daddy got home from school.

Halloween themed story time

Oct 26 - I woke up this morning and after breakfast and a little play it was time to get ready for story time. As we were getting me dressed on my changing table we got a pleasant surprise, Grandmommy came for a visit. I was very happy to see her. Apparently she and Mommy planned for her to come over today. So we all got in the car together and went to the library.

Today's theme was Halloween, of course, so Mommy put me in my "My Mummy is the Best" shirt that has a mummy on it. The librarian saw it and shared it with the group. A few other kids had Halloween themed shirts on too and a couple even wore their costumes. I had fun crawling around on the carpet during story time but I came back to Mommy when it was time for the songs that we do together. I even sat in Grandmommy's lap for Open, Shut Them. Grandmommy hadn't done that one before but she is a quick learner and with Mommy's help she did great.

After story time was over I played with Caylee and Sam and picked a couple of books. We didn't stay for very long because I was getting tired and we still had to run a few errands before coming home. So we all left the library after checking out our four books and went to Panera to grab lunch for Mommy and Grandmommy. Then I stayed in the car as Mommy ran into Petco to get dog and cat food. I wasn't sure if I was alone or not so I called out to see if anyone was there and Grandmommy answered me. We talked the rest of the time till Mommy came back.

We headed home and I fell asleep in the car. I woke up as soon as we got home. That was a very short nap. I hung out with Grandmommy while Mommy started to clean a little. Daddy got home shortly after. I sat with him while Mommy and Grandmommy folded laundry then I got more Grandmommy time while Mommy vacuumed. After Mommy stopped making so much noise Daddy decided to take a nap and I thought that was a great idea so I told Mommy I wanted to take one too. So we said goodbye to Grandmommy and Mommy put me to sleep.

When I woke up it was hanging out, eating, and playing. That was pretty much it for the evening.