Talking about Fun!

I don't know if I have actually mentioned this, or if it comes out in my blogging, but I really love to talk. Sometimes Mommy and Daddy giggle to themselves about the amount that I can talk. I can just be minding my own business, doing my own thing, but I'm talking for anyone that wants to listen.
Last week Mommy thought it would be exciting to go to the dump. We had to drop off some electronics and batteries that we don't use anymore. It wasn't all that much fun, but luckily the park next to the big hill is by to the dump so I had fun there. I had fun playing at the park for at bit, then Mommy and I took a hike up to the windy summit. From there I could see all the way to downtown Raleigh. Daddy said he could see me in my green dinosaur shirt on the top of the hill!
A few days later, I actually went downtown with Daddy to help him hang something in his office then organize the conference room. After that we met Cora and Mommy at the cool museum with dinosaur bones. (or the NC Museum of Natural Sciences). When we got there, Cora was outside blasting a rocket that she made into the air! She let me use her rocket and I got to pull the string and blast it into the air! The next day, I was blasting along a zip line at a park that we went to in Raleigh. It was a big, really cool park that Mommy and Daddy took us to experience. Daddy pushed me really hard on the zip line chair!! I loved running around trying to find Cora and Mommy and Daddy were impressed at how well I was managing all of the play structures.

New Year's Firsts!

It's been a whirlwind past two weeks, including the weather! As soon as the ice melted, it was warm again and we were back to outdoor things. On Martin Luther King day, Cora and I went for a nature discovery walk back behind the greenway. With our binoculars in hand, we traversed small streams, sand and tree branches to see what we could find.

The day before that, we had our first McDonald's Happy Meal! It was fun finally eating at McDonald's, we hear so much about the place it's nice to know what it tastes like now. I don't know that I have to go back anytime soon though. The apples didn't have any flavor and I couldn't finish my hamburger, but the french fries were good!

Dressed up for my first Mass at school

That week at school we had a coffee social where my class and I sang songs for the parents. We sang a song about Martin Luther King and Zippity Doo Dah! SATISFACTUAL!!! I overheard one of the other parents commenting to Mommy at how well they could hear me singing all the words.

 

A week after our first McDonald's experience, we packed up and drove north. It was my first time in Delaware and New Jersey! We visited Richard and Louisa in Woodbury, New Jersey for the baptism of their baby Winnie! During our visit we drove to downtown Philadelphia. As we approached the city we crossed over a cool bridge. We parked the car and walked around seeing some cool pieces of artwork, my favorites were the paintbrush and airplane. I sometimes would hold hands with Owen, he's my age. We stopped by Reading Terminal, a crazy place with LOTS of different foods for a bite to eat before walking to see the Liberty Bell (I called it Taco Bell a few times). I could explain though that the reason it cracked was because they didn't use the right combination of metals to make it. We passed by Independence Hall on the way back to City Hall. It was cool how you could walk through the building! It was a short visit, but I had tons of fun! On the way back to Richard and Louisa's house we stopped at a place called Gino's where Mommy and Daddy ate steak sandwiches. I had no interest in eating one, but they seemed thrilled to be eating them. 

I loved being at Richard and Louisa's house. They had so many fun toys and it was nice playing with Owen. He is my new favorite friend! We got some dinner there and stayed for a bit playing, relaxing and having a light saber dance party before we had to go back to our hotel. In the morning we would wake up and go to church to celebrate Winnie's baptism; Daddy is her godfather. People I didn't even know commented on how well behaved Cora and I were during mass. We drove back to Richard and Louisa's house for a short stint, and before I knew it our weekend was over and we were driving back to North Carolina. 

New Year's News

New Year's came and went so fast, I'm having trouble keeping up with it! We enjoyed a fun New Year's Eve. After a late lunch we too a trip to Downtown Raleigh where there were all sorts of festivities. We walked around taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of the First Night festival. By the time we finished watching the people's parade, we were pretty cold, so we headed to Daddy's office where we warmed up with some hot chocolate. While enjoying our hot chocolate we counted down and saw a huge crane drop an acorn to bring in the new year. (It was 7PM but we pretended it was midnight).

So far it has been a good 2017. We were getting back in the groove of school and activities, but it was interrupted by a huge winter storm that dropped lots of sleet and snow which left us stuck in the house for many days. By the fifth day, I was begging to go to school! The snow was fun the first day. Mr. Greg let us borrow his sleds and I went sledding for my first time! As always, I was apprehensive at first, but after my first slide, I wanted to go again and again! We took walks in the snow, made footprints all over the backyard, and threw ice chunks onto the icy pond to get out of the house. Mom felt bad that we couldn't really play in the icy snow, so she made us some play clay that we could use to build snowmen. It's been fun, but I am ready to get back to my schedule!!

Merry Christmas 2016

The Christmas festivities kicked-off Thursday afternoon when Grammy and Gramps arrived! We enjoyed the afternoon with them, going for a walk in the warm weather, attending Cora's dance class, and eating at a restaurant followed by a drive around town to see Christmas lights!  Friday, we spent decorating cookies, playing Christmas bingo and spending time with Grammie and Gramps. They brought us the Good Dinosaur DVD which we watched that night.

Saturday morning it was Christmas Eve! We had a relaxing morning spent with Grammie and Gramps while Mommy and Daddy prepared for the upcoming festivities of the holiday. In the late afternoon we changed into our church clothes and prepared for Christmas Eve Mass. I looked especially good in my tie and suspenders.When we got to the church we saw Mimi and Papa there! I felt so special sitting in the pew between all of my grandparents who came to be with us for Christmas! We had to get to church early so that we could get a good seat but that didn't bother me, there were so many people to spend time with. I would bounce around the pew between everyone. Everyone at church thought that I was absolutely adorable. One guy even commented, "Wow, you're dressed to the nines!" 

After church we headed home for our traditional speatzel soup and salad dinner. Following dinner we retired to the living room where Cora played a concert for everyone on the piano. I didn't mind listening, but it was more fun when we started to sing Christmas carols. After that we had our family gift exchange. I was happy that Mommy and Daddy got me a new bed spread (or spread bed as I call it) for my bedroom! I opened a dinosaur truck from Grammie and Gramps and I got a Yellowstone gemstone, binoculars and a t-shirt from Mimi and Papa. I also enjoyed watching the grown-ups open presents too! We put out milk and cookies for Santa before going to bed. I had no problem falling asleep that night, even sharing my bed with Cora!

Christmas morning was magical! After Cora and I woke up all of the grandparents, we crept downstairs to find that Santa had come during the night!! With everyone watching, Cora and I tore into our presents! I got the dump truck that I had asked Santa to bring me! I also got some binoculars, cars, a Batman action figure, some green monster slippers, a police Playmobile set and a tow truck Lego set! We opened our presents in no time! We enjoyed a late breakfast, then got to spend some time playing with our new toys. Later on in the day, we went outside to test the new RC car I got from Santa and show the grandparents how well I can ride my bike. When we went back inside, there were more presents under the tree from the grandparents!! I got more great gifts - a wheelbarrow, some clothes, a Penn State chair, and a goody bag with a ToysRUs credit card (gift card) which I can't wait to use! It was so wonderful getting to open all of my presents with our grandparents with us. I could hug and thank them each time I opened a gift!

The morning after Christmas, Grammie and Gramps left. Mimi and Papa would stay a few more days after Christmas. We played games, went outside, played with a marble set that I got, slept in (we stayed up late lots of nights) and enjoyed spending time with them. The last night they were here, we went out to eat at the mannequin restaurant and after dinner we got to see the really cool Christmas lights display that we saw a few nights earlier with Grammie and Gramps. The following day, we had to take Mimi and Papa to the airport. While we were at the airport, we stopped by the observation deck and watched some planes arrive and depart with our new binoculars!