Jonah Gino's Blog

We went to the beach!

2010-07-19T18:56:00.001-07:00

I wasn't so sure about this sand and surf at first...The water was pretty big.
But Grandma took me by the hand.
We got our feet wet.
It turns out that I LOVE the beach!

2010-06-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Summer is shaping up to be pretty cool! Mommy and Daddy took me to a carnival on Saturday, and I rode my first roller coaster. The Dragon Train!

It went up and down and AROUND really fast.

I got to ride on some cars, too -- all by myself. Well, my friend Alex was with me, too.

And I won a jaguar!

Today Mommy & I went to Holcomb Farm to pick up our CSA share, and we got to pick some sugar snap peas.

Yum! The peas inside are like candy!

I've Been Cownapped!

2010-06-09T18:48:00.001-07:00

Mommy got me involved in the Simsbury Farmers' Market, which started last week. There was a cow named Nellie there and she COW-NAPPED me!

There were also a bunch of chickens and a bunny running around, so once I got free from Nellie, I was at liberty to chase them.

The farmers market is pretty fun, actually -- last week I got to eat carrot cake to celebrate its 3rd birthday! I wonder what treats will be in store for me tomorrow???

Great weather!

2010-05-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

Gigi got a new hairdo! Mommy and I went to visit her and we didn't even recognize her. For real, I mean, we walked right by her! Doesn't she look great?

Nice weather is made even nicer by chocolate, don't you think?
I went running with dandelions.
Here I am helping Mommy with the garden. I sprayed her with the hose today. She got really mad.
We picked some Saxa II radishes today, and I eagerly tried one. It was yummy...at first. But after about 20 seconds, I had to spit it out -- it was too spicy for me!
Mommy and I went for a walk and found this. I think it's called a holy moley, because that's what she said when she found it at the side of the path!

Easter Fun

2010-04-01T13:17:00.001-07:00

I went to Gigi's house this weekend to meet the Easter Bunny.
He was funny. He rubbed Grandpa's head.Mommy, Daddy and I took a picture with him.
And I got to ride on Gigi's lap.

Mommy and I colored Easter Eggs this week, too. I loved to watch the color tablets dissolve in the fizzy vinegar water.
Perfect!

Spring is coming!

2010-03-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went into the garden to help Mommy get it ready for planting. Go away, snow!
I am now happy to report that the snow is all gone and the weather is gorgeous! Come on, Spring!!!

A week of cake and presents

2010-01-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

Yo, birthdays are fun! I've been told that this wasn't my first birthday, but I really can't remember ever having such big fun as I did last week. Even washing up to get all of the frosting off of my face was fun!

I wonder if it was as fun for ND Emily? Man she's cute, even covered in frosting!My friends and family kept giving me presents, and Mommy kept on baking cake and cupcakes. I think she was trying to fatten me up so that I would weigh more at my 2 year check-up, but that was all in vain as I REFUSED to cooperate at my appointment. I KNOW what goes on in those doctors' offices -- nothing but shots and throat cultures. So I would not get on the scale and I absolutely would NOT stand against the wall to be measured. I screamed so loud I know they will never take me back there again. Haha!

But back to the good stuff...presents! Even though I had to wait to open them while Daddy figured out how to Skype with Babu and Papa...

And kisses! I am so lucky to have TWO Emily's to love!

Mommy also took me to the Connecticut Science Center, which was pretty awesome because I got to play with balls...

AND water...at the same time!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-01-24T06:00:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is my 2nd birthday! Can you believe how fast I'm growing up? Mommy made me a train cake, and we had a little party to celebrate. The cake was delicious!

And everyone sang me a song.

Fish in the water

2009-12-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

I'm taking swimming classes!

I sorta like it...

I even jumped into the water!(when Mommy held my hand)

Hi everyone!

2009-12-02T18:47:00.001-08:00

Did you miss me? Well, I sure missed you. But I have been so busy playing with my friends, taking swimming and gymnastics classes, and running around the house screaming that I hardly have a chance to get on the computer anymore. Oh, and also, Mommy thinks I pound the keyboard too hard when I use her laptop, so I have to sneak on to update my blog when she's not looking. And she's hardly ever NOT looking -- it seems like Mommy is ALWAYS watching me. I can sometimes get away with things before she's had her morning coffee, and I can ALWAYS get away with things when Daddy is home and Mommy goes out, but other than that, I'm on a short leash.

Anyway, here is a cute little video of me acting like a monkey and saying something I probably shouldn't be saying. Enjoy, I'll post more soon!

I'm trying something new here

2009-12-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Let me know if it works!

2009-08-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

It's finally starting to feel like summer around here, and the rain has let up for several days in a row. Thus, I've been getting some pool time.

Blueberries are ripe, and Katie, Mommy and I went to pick some. I may have squished more than I put in the basket, but Mommy had enough left to make a yummy blueberry buckle!ND Emily and I have been hanging out at the Simsburys Farmers Market pretty much every Thursday afternoon. We eat J. Foster ice cream, run around and dance. Last week Em chased me under a tree and tried to hug me!

It's been pretty hot and muggy at the market, so to cool off I like to enjoy some nice, cold

lemonade. Sometimes I share with Em.

With the sunshiny days, Mommy's garden has started producing some cool stuff, like this giant zucchini

and these blue potatoes.

Jack and I enjoyed some fresh Rosedale corn, the perfect late-summer dinner treat!

We were supposed to go whale-watching with Aunty in Gloucester this weekend, but the weather wasn't very good so we moved it to next weekend. I can't wait to see Aunty and the whales!

Instead, Mommy and Daddy took me the Bridgewater Country Fair. I knew it would be a good time as soon as we got there because Daddy got the car stuck in the mud in the parking lot and a HUGE tractor came to pull us out. It was so cool!!!

By the way, do you like my new pork pie hat? I got it yesterday and haven't stopped wearing it since!!!

Mommy and I went on the Merry-go-Round.

I got to pet some sheep.

Do you know what sheep say?

They say, "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

There was a cool dune buggy

and a cornbox...like a sandbox, but filled with corn instead!

Mommy and I also signed up for a fall share of produce from Rosedale today. We're so excited to see what will be in our shares each week! I hope there are plums. I ate one today while we were walking around the farm. It was so yummy!

But I wasn't crazy about eating the skin.

Brady is THREE!

2009-08-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

My big cousin Brady turned three years old yesterday! We went to his house to have some pizza and cake.

After wishing Brady a happy birthday, Mommy and Daddy took me to my very first wedding reception -- Mommy's friend Kim was her marriage to Mike!

This shindig was LOADS of fun -- it was on Kim's family farm

and there was a big tent and lots of space to run.

Mommy let me slide down the pole like a fireman

and the pretty bride Kim sang beautiful songs.

I had to leave early due to bedtime, so I missed the fireworks, the bride on the tractor

and the heavy metal band,

but Mommy and Daddy said they had fun.

Summer is GREAT, even without the sun

2009-07-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

As you know, I was on vacation last week. I'm going to tell you all about the beach and my cousins and family, but that's not all that I've been up to, so you might want to get comfortable and have a seat while you read this marathon update!

This summer has been the wettest one I have ever experienced! I know that's not saying much since it's only my 2nd summer, but all the grown-ups around me are saying it too. Mommy isn't too happy about the constant downpour, since the garden needs sunshine as well as water, but I kind of like the rain!

The Simsbury Farmers Market has been going on every Thursday, and it is one of Mommy's and my favorite activities -- we look forward to hanging out with our friends there every week. There is live music for me to dance to, fresh fruit and veggies, yummy bread, and best of all, ICE CREAM from J. Foster's!

This sign from La Petite France Bakery is one of our favorite market features.

Okay, truth be told, my absolute FAVORITE vendor at the market is Lisa's Garden Designs. Every week I RUN to their stand to play in the beautiful hypertufa mushrooms -- I really love the one that is also a dog water bowl, because the proprietors fill the mushroom with water for me to play in every week. And I do mean they fill it for ME, because I saw them pour more water into the bowl when I came running over, and then they laugh every time I get myself all wet. They are so nice! They even had a turtle at their stand once, and that tickled me pink.

We got fresh corn this week -- YUM!I've been really into trains lately, and Mommy and Daddy took me for a ride on the Essex Steam Train.

We also went to the beach BEFORE our vacation -- Mommy, Daddy and Gregor (aka "G") took me to West Haven to give me a preview of the ocean before our upcoming trip to the Outer Banks. I loved it! Water AND sand, as far as my eyes could see! I met Rocky, the New Britain Rock Cats mascot -- ME-OW!!!

I've been building my vocabulary -- I need to work on pronunciation, but I'm kicking butt on quantity. Here you see "wawa" and "doggie" as well as part of a "pool"...

Did I mention that I love to play with water?

I've been on vacation

2009-07-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you about it later -- just have a look for now...

NYC and a new girlfriend

2009-06-05T11:11:00.001-07:00

I've been busy, again...I went back to New York City last weekend with Mommy and Daddy! We stayed with our friend Gregor -- he's funny and makes me laugh a lot.

I got to hang out in Central Park almost all day on Saturday. I met Mommy's friend Claudine, or maybe she just met me --I don't remember, I was sleeping in the stroller the whole time! We also spent a lot of time with Carra, but Mommy accidentally deleted those pictures. Carra is fun and makes me smile, and she thinks I'm super-cute, so that's always good for a boy's ego!

Yesterday was the kick-off of the Simsbury Farmers Market 2009 Season. Mommy was wildly excited about this event, but I didn't know what all the fuss was about. I couldn't remember it last year, when I was just an immobile little baby. But if I knew how much fun it was going to be, I would definitely have been more excited for it to start!

First of all, there were these wickedly sweet, wonderful, fresh strawberries to munch on...not to mention all of the other treats we enjoyed.

Jack and Sammy loved to eat them too. And little Eva ate a whole quart of them by herself!

There was also live music and dancing. I got to watch Emily dance. Mmm mmm, that girl can move!

And then there was Nellie the Cow, who I couldn't stop hugging.

She had a nice tail.

ND Emily loved Nellie, too.

We had a group hug.

But my favorite part of the market was the pig. Oh, the pig. She held me, cuddled me, loved me. And then she was gone. I think I found a new girlfriend.

A lot to be thankful for

2009-05-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Jackson's back! Okay, he's just visiting, but it's been so good to see him. I know Mommy is happy to see Jackson's Mommy again, too. Luckily, the weather has been beautiful these past few days, so we've been able to play outside a lot.

Emily hosted a playgroup on Thursday so everyone could get to see Jackson again. We were all excited to spend the day with our friend again, we just couldn't wait for him to come home.

ND Emily kept on trying to take my uber cool sunhat.

On Friday I got to see my South Carolina cousin, Tim, and his lady friend Linda.
They flew up to CT for the weekend, and we had lots of fun together. The last time I saw them I was barely 4 months old! So this visit provided us with a lot more opportunities for reciprocal interaction.

We went for a little wagon ride.

And my CT Cousins came up for a barbecue today, so they could spend time with Tim and Linda, too. We played in the sandbox together.

Ate together...that's me eating a whole cupcake, all at once. It was work to get the whole thing into my mouth, but it was waaay worth it. I didn't have to share a single bite! Okay, I'll admit that it was just a mini cupcake, but I'm just a mini person right now, so it's all relative.
Milk is a required post-cupcake libation.

I didn't want everyone to leave, but I got lots of fun goodbye kisses when they had to go home.

And the best part is that it's only Saturday, and Daddy has Monday off! This is turning out to be one of the best weekends ever!!!

The Great Outdoors

2009-05-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

I've been spending most of my days outside lately! When Mommy and Daddy take too long to get my shoes on or to open the door, I scream and wail and holler like I'm being attacked by a swarm of killer bees. It's a neat trick I invented myself, you other kids should try it when you want to have something your way. Just make sure it sounds like something is really, really, REALLY wrong, or all your efforts will be ignored.

I LOVE my sandbox,

and my swing set and visiting the animals at Flamig Farm.

I'm learning to say lots of words and I know many animal sounds, so the farm is especially fun for Mommy and Daddy.

"Quack, quack!"

We live relatively close to the airport, and planes flying overhead provide almost endless excitement for me on my outdoor excursions.

I invited my friends over for playgroup today, and they all really dug the sandbox too.

One my favorite new words is "boat" -- and there is a motorboat in my neighbor's yard at the end of our street. I love it when Mommy and Daddy take me for a walk after dinner to see the boat. I also like to say "bus," "ball" and "baaaa" -- "b" words are easy!

April Showers?

2009-04-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

We haven't had any such thing as April showers for the past few days -- and today it was H-O-T!!! In the 90's! It was so hot that Jack threw a pool party at his house, the first one of the season.

I got to be around all of these babes in bathing suits, it was sweet!

At one point I had both of the Emilies all to myself.
Did I mention that we had cookies?

I missed this bear!

2009-04-27T06:36:00.001-07:00

I thought it was pretty clear that I did NOT want to take a nap this morning. I was screaming and crying in the best possible way, trying to tell Mommy not to put me down for a nap, because I knew I was going to miss something. And then I fell asleep.

And when I woke up, Mommy had this picture, from our backyard.

Maybe he'll (she'll?) come back later...

Yay, Grandpa and Ray!

2009-04-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa and our friend Ray made me the BEST present ever -- a sandbox!

They brought it up to our house in Grandpa's truck, along with a ton of sand. 1100 pounds of sand, to be exact, so while it's not quite a ton, it's a LOT of sand!

I love my new sandbox! I play in it every day, and I am very good at tracking sand into the house. Thank you so much, Grandpa and Ray!
By the way, I *heart* ravioli!

I didn't get to see Bo

2009-04-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I kissed my best girl Emi goodbye and boarded a plane to Washington, D.C.

One of Mommy's dearest friends lives near there, and we hadn't seen her for over a year. We had a blast staying with Theresa and Greg -- and I got to stay up really, really, REALLY late one night.

I also got to see one of my very best buds, Jackson! We met up with him and his mommy in Virginia.

Jackson and I got to hang out on the porch and eat cappucino sticks and fresh-baked pumpkin loaf.

Besides just hanging out with friends, Mommy and Daddy took me touring a bit on the National Mall.

The World War II Memorial was really cool, but Mommy wouldn't let me go into the water. I just wanted to play with the ducks!

The Carousel was fun! My first one ever!

I wanted to take a nap after all of that walking in the beautiful sunshine, and so, being a one-year-old, I did -- isn't that a beautiful thing? Don't you wish you could nap whenever you wanted, too?

You know, this trip to D.C. has given me some ideas...someday I could be president!

Easter and things I've been doing

2009-04-13T07:46:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm sure you've all missed my once frequent postings. I've been really busy now that the weather is nice, too busy to be inside on the computer. About the only things I like to do indoors nowadays are sleeping and eating. But I know it's been a long time, and I've got lots to share, so I'm sacrificing some sun time to catch you all up.

Yesterday was my second Easter, but the first one I really participated in. We had an egg hunt at my cousins' house!

Those eggs had good stuff in them, like pretzel fish and honey bunnies!

Marissa was too little to hunt for eggs, but we made sure she had a good time anyway.

We had tons of delicious food at Kerry & Mike's house, along with some yummy desserts.

We celebrated Aunty Kerry & Courtney's birthdays with some yummy cake...Brady couldn't keep his fingers out of the frosting!

I also went to visit Gigi in her new apartment. She had a cool necklace.

And an even cooler walker with a basket that I got to ride in.

Here are some random shots of my cousins hanging around.

Literally...

I smiled when Sammy kissed me.

And I laughed at Brady stomping around in pink boots.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-06T11:46:00.001-07:00

The Easter Bunny is fun. He gave me a book. I asked him to read it to me but he wouldn't. I didn't know rabbits couldn't read!

Outside!

2009-03-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Every time Mommy and Daddy say that word, I'm instantly at the door wailing to be released. This sunshine and warm weather are INSANE!!!

Jack and I hung out at the playground this weekend, watching the girls.

Jack loves the slide.

I found some sidewalk chalk in Emily's driveway and used it to write our names -- don't I have nice penmanship?

Then we hung out on the stoop watching the school busses go by.

I love the outside!!!

Spring Fever

2009-03-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend we enjoyed some BEAUTIFUL weather! I loved being outside. Yesterday, I went to visit my CT cousins.

And we went to see some animals at the park.

There were swings to be swung on, too!

Even Marissa got to ride.

Today I hung out near home with Mommy and Daddy. We went to the playground -- it is so very enjoyable to go to a playground once you learn how to walk!

I went down my first slide, all by myself.

I liked going head first.

And the sand box was pretty awesome, too.

Blue Jonah

2009-03-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling too sad to blog lately...my good friend Jackson moved to Virginia last week. Sigh.

I really didn't want him to go -- I begged him to stay. I even cried.

But still he left.
I went out looking for him the other day, but I didn't get much farther than my driveway, because I didn't know if Virginia was to the left or the right.I still remember how to smile.But I'm not sure that I like these sweeping changes. I really really really miss Jackson, and Mommy is sad, too.

Time to show my face

2009-02-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been busy working on my facial expressions. I'm getting pretty good at the traditional smile, but I've also got some new funny faces, like CRACKER EATING face...
...and DON'T MAKE ME SIT STILL FOR ANOTHER PICTURE face...

Oh and there's my PEEK-A-BOO face...

Yeah Jackson and I probably should have been paying attention during his Baptism instead of chasing each other around the church...

But our way was more fun!

6 More Weeks of Winter

2009-02-05T06:34:00.000-08:00

I saw my shadow! I wish Mommy had taken this picture on Monday. But better late than never.

First Haircut

2009-01-30T11:50:00.000-08:00

My buddy Jackson and I thought we needed a trim to make our fine baby locks look extra special for the ladies at playgroup. So we got our parents to take us down to the local Snip-Its for our first ever professional haircuts.

At first glance everything looked good. There were comfy chairs,

a nice warm cape to shield our little bodies from bits of itchy trimmed hair, and even a TV for us to watch while the hairdresser worked on us.

But things went south quickly. That lady had sharp scissors!!!

And a spray bottle! I got it away from her at one point.

But then she gave me some animal crackers and started rubbing my head, and it felt really, really good.

And then she showed me a whole new Jonah in the mirror. Damn, do I look fine or what??? Emily, how ya like me now??? (I know how she likes me -- I saw her the next day and she couldn't stop staring at me...)

Jackson doesn't look too bad, either!

And...Mommy let me feed myself some yogurt!Boy, is that fun!

Belated Birthday Post

2009-01-27T11:33:00.001-08:00

As you know from my previous post, I turned one year old on Sunday.

Lots of friends and family came to my house for a party. We had cake and cookies...

and presents...

and balloons! I LOVE balloons!!!

Tom and Dianne gave me a brand new metal sippy cup for my milk. That's right, MILK! From a cow! No more powdered formula for me, I'm a big boy!

Wake up, Sam and Brady, it's time to party!!!

I missed Babu, Papa and my Michigan Cousins at my party, but the CT Cousins were all there, as cute as ever.

I'm ONE!

2009-01-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

You'll have to excuse me for not posting more right now. I need to go sleep off the sugar/fun overload from my party today. Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Day!

2009-01-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

Today was a wonderful day! For starters, my man Obama was finally sworn in as President of the United States. Mommy let me and all of my friends watch it on TV. We saw so many excited people on the Mall in DC, and they were all clapping, so we all clapped, too. Yay, Obama!

The next good thing about today was that Mommy made red, white and blue cupcakes for playgroup to celebrate the inauguration. AND to celebrate my birthday, which is coming up on Sunday. Can you believe I am going to be one year old???

Lots of my friends came to celebrate with us. ND Emily was really cute in her ladybug shirt. She liked the blue cupcake.

Jackson didn't even pause to bring the cupcake up to his mouth, he just dove right in.

Emily looks like she's trying to keep her cupcake a secret. Maybe she doesn't want Bogey to get it.

I could really get used to all of these cupcakes! And the singing. Did I mention that everybody sang to me? That was sweet!

Even our young friend Aiden enjoyed the cupcakes -- his first taste of frosting AND cake, how about that for a good day???

For my birthday, Emily let me give her a little snuggle. I missed her, she was sick last week and I had to avoid her, and it was so sad! I'm not saying I didn't think about sneaking out my window to visit her once or twice, but it was really cold and this whole walking thing is so new for me, I don't even have shoes to wear. So I just stayed in my crib and waited for her to get better.

Last but in no way least, I received an awesome birthday present from my friends Sarah, Michael and Danny in Chicago. It's a huge bag, so big that Mommy can fit inside it with me!

Okay I found out later that the bag itself wasn't the present, there was a really cool truck inside. But come on, this bag kicks butt -- every kid should have one!

Happy Birthday, Jackson!!!

2009-01-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

A lot more went on in the past week than me eating chocolate, but man it was so good I just couldn't wait to show you this picture. I'll tell you about the rest of my week first.

Sammy, Brady and Marissa gave me an AWESOME chair for Christmas.

I LOVE climbing on it! But I'm not so good at climbing down OFF the chair...

Jackson and I practiced for Superbowl Sunday.

I've also been W-A-L-K-I-N-G!!!!

See how I can give my friend a ride?

Speaking of my friend Jackson, he turned ONE today! Happy birthday, Jackson!!!

That's where the chocolate came in. Jackson, Emily and I went to get some ice cream at October Farms to celebrate the big day.

We had such a good time! Oh, and I got a new hat.

Holidays!

2009-01-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

We've had a crazy week or two. First was Christmas, when I got a really really cool present -- a Discovery Playhouse! It was waiting for me near the Christmas Tree when I woke up on Christmas morning. How cool!

I also got a new book. Daddy read it to me. I love books!

We spent most of Christmas Day at Sammy, Brady & Marissa's house. I dressed up in one of Sammy's Christmas presents.

We cousins had a lot of fun playing, but we weren't very cooperative when it came to sitting still for a group picture.
We were really excited for the day after Christmas -- we were going to visit my Michigan cousins! But disaster struck in the form of a miserable virus, and I was sick for the whole road trip, and for a few days after, too. Don't worry, I shared my misery with lots of my relatives in the Midwest, as they caught the lovely bug as well. Sigh. I'm better now, and it was really fun to see all of my family. My Godmother, Anne, is really fun.

We got to hang out with crazy cousin Jimmy and Uncle Joey.

Mommy didn't get any good pictures of me with Alek and Annika, but we played together a lot.

We also visited Mommy's good friend Bevin. My favorite and least favorite part of Bevin's house is her puppy, William H. I loved him...I was terrified of him...I couldn't stop touching him...I couldn't stop crying when he licked me.

Later today I'm going to have a cupcake to celebrate Jackson's first birthday! Once I wake up from my nap...

The White Stuff

2008-12-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning and Mommy and Daddy bundled me up in so many layers of clothes that I COULD NOT MOVE! And then they took me outside, strapped me onto a piece of plastic and pulled me up and down the street. Everything was covered with cold white stuff -- it was fantastic!!!

Later on we went to Flamig Farm, where we went to pet the animals in the summer, to have breakfast with Santa. Mommy didn't get to take too many pictures because she was busy feeding me her delicious breakfast of waffles, eggs and potatoes. Lots of my friends were there, including Jackson, Emily, Olivia, Jillian, Jack, and Samantha. Santa gave us all a present! This guy isn't so bad after all.

I found love in the aisles at Shaw's

2008-12-18T11:18:00.001-08:00

I think I'm finally getting somewhere with Emily...

At one point she TOTALLY kissed me! ON THE LIPS!

It was true!!!

2008-12-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

Oh sweet week of sugar, there WERE cupcakes at playgroup yesterday!!!

Isn't the birthday girl cute?

Yum!

Holiday Magic

2008-12-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

You know, I think I really like this holiday stuff. On Thursday night, a big red box arrived for me. I think boxes really are the neatest things. You can use them to help you stand up, climb on them, climb IN them...really great. So I was excited that this one had a handle on it, too! I've never seen one like that before. It was my early Christmas present from my MI cousins. I was so happy to receive this box!

But guess what, people? THE BOX WAS NOT THE GIFT!!! I know, right? There is stuff INSIDE the box that is even better than the box itself. I had no idea! Mommy's been telling me to think outside the box so it never occured to me to look INSIDE the box, too. You know what was in there? The coolest wagon EVER!!!
I can walk around with it, put stuff in it, take rides in it if I can get Daddy or Mommy to push me...it's a miracle toy! Thanks Aunty Leah, Uncle Joey, Annika, and Alek!

MORE wondrous things happened to me in these past few days. On Saturday, we went down to Grandma and Grandpa's house to celebrate Daddy's and Uncle Mike's birthdays. Of course my CT cousins were there, and Marissa was looking so beautiful in her pink ballet outfit.
Now that was great and all, but that's not the wonderful part. I got to eat a cupcake!!!
I have to admit that when Mommy first put the spongy little cylinder in front of me, I had no idea what to do with it. The frosting seemed kind of sticky. But then I touched my fingers to my lips and...

OH!!!! SWEET REFINED SUGAR HEAVEN!!!

There was no stopping me.

It was a little bit messy, but very very good. And it taught me a valuable lesson that Mommy has been trying to teach me for several months...I can put that good good stuff into my mouth all by myself, I don't have to wait for my parents to do it for me. And I've been feeding myself pretty well ever since the cupcake experience!
I was trying to tell Marissa to try it, but she passed out just from watching the feeding frenzy. I don't think she even got to try one lick of her frosting!

Brady, on the other hand, didn't want to waste any frosting and so he licked it off of the table.

Poor Marissa, sleeping through all of the fun. Should I wake her up?

Hey listen to this -- I was reading some of Mommy's emails over her shoulder (don't tell her I can read, she'll stop letting me see whatever she writes) and I saw something about having cupcakes at playgroup tomorrow for ND Emily's first birthday...I hope it's true!

Always a Party

2008-12-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

It seems like there is always some kind of festive activity going on around here lately...antlers on Mommy's head, Santa at the mall and the library...

Christmas tree in the living room...

and now COOKIES all over the house (or at least the kitchen and dining room).

Yesterday my mommyand Jackson's mommy baked a helluva lotta Christmas Cookies. Jackson's daddy played with us while the mommies cooked. They all kept swigging from some fancy looking glasses with limes in them -- maybe that was some magic potion to give them cooking stamina, because they were at it for HOURS!!!

Emily came over after most of the cooking was done to sample all of the goodies.

I liked the Snickerdoodles and the Shortbread Cookies, but that's all that Mommy gave me so I'm not sure how good the Rolo Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies or Peanut Butter Hersey Kiss Cookies were. Everyone else was chowing down on them, though, so I'm guessing they were pretty delicious.

Holiday things

2008-12-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

We did some holiday stuff last week. Don't I look cute in my Christmas PJ's?

Mommy and I went to the mall with my cousins Sam, Brady and Marissa. Grandma and Grandpa were there too, as was Aunty Kerry. We were going to take some pictures with Santa, but he was charging way too much money for a little tiny photo and I told Mommy I'd rather spend my money on yogurt and vanilla ice cream, thank you very much. So we just walked around and went out to lunch instead.

On Saturday Emily and I took our parents to a tree farm to pick out our Christmas Trees!

Why were Emily and Mommy wearing antlers on their heads??? Must be a girl thing. I'll never understand women.

I had some guy time with Jackson, too.

Guess what we did today?

2008-12-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

More news of the week to come, I just had to show you how cute we look!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T06:48:00.000-08:00

I am very grateful for my family. I love Mommy and Daddy so much, and I know they love me, they show it every day in their smiles and hugs and laughter. I have wonderful grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. And I got to see most of them this past weekend!

My Michigan family came out to our house to visit for Thanksgiving. While I napped through the entire meal, I did get to eat some pumpkin pie and ice cream. And to have a lot of fun with my family!

Annika and Alek dressed up for the holiday.

Mommy and Daddy had fun showing the family around town, and just hanging out with me.

I got to show off some of my new skills, like stair climbing. Daddy had to put a gate up at the bottom to keep me from non-stop ascending!

Since my Michigan relatives live pretty far away, we don't get together that often. That means that when we do, Mommy, Aunty Leah and Babu take a LOT of pictures. I was getting kind of tired of all the flashing by the end of the visit...

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit the day after Thanksgiving -- there were plenty of leftovers to go around.

Gigi visited, too! She read me a story about a hungry caterpillar. I liked it!

Here's a picture of my MI cousins and aunt and uncle. Uncle Joey is a birdman. He got up really early one day to go bird watching and get hit on by a McDonald's drive-thru worker. Even though he is happily married, I know he was secretly flattered by the attention. Aunty Leah is funny, she made me laugh. A lot.

I miss my MI family, they left on Saturday for the long drive home. But we'll see them after Christmas, out in Michigan!

Chicago!

2008-11-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Mommy and I have been getting around lately -- NYC last weekend and Chicago this week! We flew on a big plane to go visit Mommy's very very good friends, Jen-nay and Sterbs. They have 3 kids and one dog who were all so much fun to stay with!

I'm not sure Basil loved me as much as I loved him...

Jen-nay makes amazing cakes, and when we arrived this masterpiece was waiting for us!

It was DEEE-licious!There were lots of fun things for me to do at Jen-nay's house. She made us feel so at home. She set up a bunch of toys for me to play with, set me up with a REAL crib to sleep in, got me my favorite foods, and made me laugh -- Jen-nay always has the best expressions.

Sarah was TONS of fun -- she let me climb on her while she was painting.

And she fed me! Very well, too!

I had fun with Danny, who shared his toys with me.Michael was really funny, too -- I loved watching him run around and learning how to be a big boy from him. And I think he learned how to make some fun expressions from his mom.

At one point the boys all swarmed Jen-nay.

Sterbs gave all of his kids a horsey ride -- at the SAME time!I really miss my new friends in Chicago. It was so wonderful to wake up every day and have playmates right there, in the same house, waiting to share the day with me! Mommy says we'll go back, and I cannot wait. Thanks Jen-nay, Sterbs, Sarah, Michael, Danny, and Basil, for an awesome time!

I HEART NYC! Again!

2008-11-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Daddy took me to the Big Apple again this past weekend. There is so much to see and do there, I could hardly nap. And I hardly did. But I did lots of other stuff. Like checking out the playground in Madison Square Park.

There was a fun mirror there!

We stayed with Gregor -- he is so funny! He brought me this Hugh Heffner outfit from Singapore -- don't I look gooood, ladies? I was going to wear it out and about the city, but then I peed in it. So I don't think I'm quite ready for the Playboy Mansion.

Saturday afternoon we all went downtown to meet up with some friends at a German bar called Loreley.

My new friend Rosemary came, too, with her parents.

Mommy's friends Karen, Will and Billy came to the bar, too. They serve good beer and great soft pretzels there.

On Sunday morning, Daddy and Gregor slept in so Mommy and I went out to breakfast at Veselka. They have the yummiest pancakes there! But not better than the ones Mommy makes for me. Then we took a long walk around the East Village, and went by Mommy and Daddy's old apartment. People, the building is HOT PINK! I mean, neon eye-burning HOT PINK! I don't know how they slept in that building, but at least they never got lost coming home at night -- you can see that thing from Central Park! I couldn't stop staring.

On Monday Mommy and I took the train to New Jersey, to visit Mommy's friends Becca & Ryan. They have two sons, Eoin and Kurt, and Becca is expecting a baby girl in February. I'm not sure if Mr. Bones is always sitting in their living room, or if they didn't have a chance to take down the Halloween decorations yet.

I had a lot of fun playing with -- or rather, watching -- the two older boys. Kurt and I helped to unload the dishwasher.

We took the train home on Tuesday night, and Daddy met us at the train station. It was so good to see him!

While NYC was fun, I missed my friends at home. Especially my boo Emily. She came over for lunch on Wednesday.

I had a ball, of course.

ND Emily came over to visit this afternoon. I am up to my armpits in Emily's -- and that's the way I like it!

YAY!

2008-11-05T06:35:00.001-08:00

We have a lot of hope in our house today! I just wish I hadn't spit carrots all over my Obama shirt, I want to wear it today!

Total Wackiness!!!

2008-11-01T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I couldn't get back to you yesterday, but my parents kept me out SO LATE last night that I didn't have time to get online. Check this out...they put me back into those weird clothes and then pushed me around in a stroller for hours, stopping at random people's houses along the way!

In the dark!

My peeps Jackson and Emily were there too, they can testify to the madness...

The weirdest part is that we weren't the only ones out doing this last night -- there were all sorts of people walking around our neighborhood in weird clothes. And at every house we went to the occupants were giving out candy! Daddy was really excited about the candy part.

There was one house where a crazy British couple was giving out free shaves instead of candy.

Daddy got into the chair for a shave.

Yeah last night was really weird. I just remembered something else baffling...Mommy and Daddy and their friends were pushing around 4 strollers, but there are only 3 of us kids...I don't know what was in that 4th stroller but all the mommies and daddies were pretty happy last night.

What the...???

2008-10-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, and Mommy put THESE WEIRD CLOTHES on me...

Then I went to meet up with my friends for a hayride and they were ALL wearing weird clothes...

Mommy said she's see them later...what the heck is going on here??? I'll report back in a bit if anything else strange happens today...

Never Enough Fall

2008-10-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

I hope no one was worried about me in this blogless past week. I was busy enjoying the fall -- again! You might think it was just more of the same old colorful leaves, pumpkin picking and hayrides, but this past week was so full of new things for me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Luckily, Mommy and Daddy took pictures so I can show you!

I tasted lots of new things, like my foot...
an apple...

sand...

and frosting! I knew I wasn't supposed to put my hands into Gigi's cake, but I was soooo close, I just coudn't resist.

The toys at the library taste pretty good, too. I hung out there with Emily and some other friends a few times last week.

Sam found a "spyglass" in Mommy's bag.

I went to the playground with Mommy and Daddy and checked out some of the equipment.

I don't think I'm quite ready for this slide...

But safe on Daddy's lap, this one is lots of fun!

I heard that Jackson hung out at my place one afternoon, while his mommy and daddy were moving their stuff to his new house. But I never saw him, because I was napping when he arrived, and then he proceeded to go down for a FOUR HOUR NAP before I woke up! I know he was there, because Mommy took this picture of him in my Jumperoo.

ND Emily came to visit, too, and her mommy brought us COFFEE!!! ND Emily is pretty smart, she showed me how to pull the safety bumpers off of the TV stand. Now I love to play with their rubbery goodness!

I went on TWO hayrides...one on a very cold, windy day last weekend...

And the other one today, in the beautiful and warm sunshine!

Mommy carved our pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns and roasted their seeds to eat -- yum!

In this week of doing new things, I also perfected my clapping skills. I can now clap on demand...if I'm in the mood.

And the BEST new thing I did this week? Attend a 90th birthday party for Gigi, my great-grandmother!

Here is Mommy with some of her cousins (Christy and Lauren) and Gigi.

This party was THE BOMB!!! I mean, I already told you that I got to eat a lot of frosting. AND I got to hang out with Grandma and my newest cousin, Robbie.

I happily spent some time with my fun Aunty, who lives in Gloucester.

Aunty is Gigi's sister. I love these ladies! I don't get to see them enough, though.

Okay I'll try to be better and increase my posting frequency, but this week is Halloween, another hayride, a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house, AND my 9 month check-up -- I'm going to be a busy little boy! I hope I don't have to get any shots...

Outdoor Activity

2008-10-19T06:52:00.001-07:00

Fall seems to be a great time for doing all sorts of fun stuff outside. One day last week, Mommy and I played under the maple tree in our back yard, and she took all sorts of pictures of me amongst the colorful leaves.

Almost 7 years ago, Mommy and Daddy had something called a wedding. And one of the presents they received was a gift certificate for The Publick House in Sturbridge, MA. Let me repeat that they received this gift 7 years ago!!! And they never used it. And it expires in about 3 weeks! So, that meant it was time for a car ride to Sturbridge.

Old Sturbridge Village was our first stop, and we met Rebecca and Joshua there, with their parents. The village is a sort of live museum of a New England Village in the 1800's. There were animals and people in costume and lots of old buildings. I even got to go to school with Mommy! I paid very good attention to the teacher.

Then we went to The Publick House for lunch, where we also met up with Cate and Michael and their parents. I have to tell you, Baby Cate is a bit of a bruiser...AGAIN she tried to pull my hair and bite my head, but Mommy protected me better this time. But Cate sure is cute, isn't she? I mean, despite the manhandling and all.

The Publick House was SO MUCH FUN! We had our own private room where we could yell and crawl and loudly laugh all we wanted. And the food was so so yummy -- I ate real people food, and LOTS of it. The butternut squash/roasted corn bisque was exquisitely pleasing to my as young palate, as was the pureed squash that I enjoyed from Daddy's plate. And I LOVED the corn bread! In fact, I think I'm changing my name to Cornbread. I was so well-behaved, and I mean, seriously, this was my best restaurant experience EVER! Except for the part when I gagged on a piece of fuzz that I found on the carpet and forcibly vomited out most of my lunch. But Mommy caught most of it in a burp cloth, so we were all good.

Outside the restaurant was a Harvest Festival. I danced with Mommy to the sounds of a live band! Also, there was this really weird looking guy walking around...I didn't know what to make of him. People said he was a scarecrow, but I wasn't scared. I really wanted to pull on his dangly things but I didn't know what would happen if I did...

Here are Becca and Joshua with their parents.Michael and his daddy got to ride on a train!As we were leaving, Mommy gave me a bit of a sugar cookie from The Publick House Bake Shoppe. OH, yum. Heaven is licking the sugar off of a little crumbly disk. I was sooo tired at this point, though, it was all I could do to keep putting the cookie in my mouth.

J Cubed

2008-10-11T19:00:00.001-07:00

This afternoon we went to ND Emily's house to watch the ND football game. ND Emily has 2 little kittens and one really big dog, all of whom were quite tolerant of me "petting" them and climbing on them and even pulling on their paws and tails.

We had some very yummy lasagne and cookies, and I got stuck inside a cube.

Just before we went home, Daddy and Emily's Daddy started yelling really loudly at the TV. I never heard some of those words before. They sounded angry, but it wasn't at us. We were just playing. I wonder why they were so mad?

I love this weather!

2008-10-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Mommy and I went up to Boston to visit a few friends. First we saw Mommy's ND friend Courtney and her new baby Brielle.

Brielle is only 8 weeks old.

We went for a nice sunny walk through Inman Square, and I ate my first cookie at Rosie's Bakery. A Snickerdoodle! Not a whole one, Mommy helped me finish it.

Later, Mommy and I went to see Amy, Matt, Cate, and Michael. Cate is just a few months older than me, but she can totally kick my butt. She bit my head and pulled my hair, and then we took a bath together. I can't show you those pictures on the blog, though -- too much blackmail potential for when I'm older! I can show you this one of me with Ollie, who I LOVE!

The next day we went out to eat at Sound Bites with Courtney, Brielle, Amy, Cate, Andrea, Rebecca, and Joshua. I ate some French Toast and a bit of a blueberry muffin. I forgot to chew part of the blueberry in the muffin before I swallowed it, though -- and it got stuck in my throat! Don't worry, I just puked it out and went on with my business.

Which included admiring Brielle.

After breakfast we went to a very cool baby store called Twinkle Star. There were lots of toys in the play area, including my favorite, a mirror with a bar mounted at just my height! I loved climbing on it and looking at myself.

The whole time we were out and about in Boston, the weather was warm and sunny. Today was no different, and it was a special day because Emily's mom made some carrot cake cupcakes to celebrate her first birthday! OK the real day is not until next week, but I didn't mention that to Emily's mom because I wanted to eat the cupcake NOW!

Emily ate her cupcake.

Don't you think Emily should gel her hair with frosting every day?

Today Mommy and Daddy also took me back to Flamig Farm to see the animals. We were supposed to go with Emily and her friend Kaitlyn, but I napped through most of their time there and so we just went later. Speaking of napping, my good buddy Jackson napped almost ALL DAY today -- totally missing the farm (although he did get some cupcake).

I like the donkeys.

And the llamas.

AND the ponies!

Fall

2008-10-06T17:30:00.001-07:00

For the past few weeks I kept hearing about how this thing called "Fall" was coming and how wonderful it was. I know Spring and Summer were pretty awesome, but never having experienced Fall I was a little bit nervous -- would it be anything like Winter, where I was ripped from the cozy dark warmth of Mommy's belly and laid naked and screaming on a cold metal scale under bright flourescent lights?

No, no, no, Fall has been nothing like that unpleasant journey! It's been full of festivals and colorful leaves and apple picking!

Take last Friday, for instance...Jackson, ND Emily and myself decided to take our Mommies apple picking at Bushy Hill Orchards. We hung out on the porch, playing and eating some cider donuts while we waited for the tractor to take us to the orchards.

It was a BIG tractor, the biggest one I've ever seen!

There were lots of different types of apples to choose from.Emily wasn't shy about chowing down.

Jackson posed in front of some of the trees with his mommy.

We all got quite a lot of apples to take home with us. Mommy has already made me some applesauce AND some apple crisp...yum!

Mommy and I stopped at ND Emily's house on the way home. She has the cutest kittens, Leo and Daisy.

And Gus is the most ginormous dog EVER!

Mommy and Daddy also took me to some festivals this weekend -- we went on another tractor at the 4H farm!

AND I got to see my cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We celebrated Grandpa's birthday with chocolate cake! But I didn't get to have any.

I Heart Goat Cheese!

2008-10-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

We went to the Simsbury Farmer's Market yesterday, for the last market of the season. There were dogs and a wandering goat and a talking cow and corn cob! Jackson, Emily and ND Emily were there, too -- and so were their mommies and some of their daddies, including Daddy!There was live music, too, and we babies do love to dance. Emily knows how to boogie!We also love to put everything into our mouths.And I do mean EVERYthing...
Mommy bought some delicious goat cheese from the Griffin Farmstead. I LOVED it! Daddy doesn't like goat cheese, though. I think that is really weird. More for Mommy and me!

ND Emily brought her purse.
And her mommy.Jackson gave his daddy a big smile.Emily got a ride from her daddy.I generally don't like little yippy dogs, but this one is still cute because she's just a puppy. She licked and jumped on me! It made me giggle.
I think this pretty much sums up how I felt about the farmer's market yesterday. Goofy fun!

Harvest time!

2008-10-02T10:28:00.001-07:00

I went to visit my cousins yesterday -- I hadn't seen Marissa for almost a month and holy crap did she get big!

Isn't she beautiful?

We all got together for a group photo. Sam is a Rock Star.Then we went apple picking. Grandma came along, too, and she pulled us in the wagon.This is my Garden of Eden shot.
Practicing for Halloween.

Sam and Brady at a lot of apples. Actually, they ate a lot of apple, in a general sense. Take one down, bite it, put it on the ground, take another one down, bite it, on the ground...
We had bales of fun.

Animals!

2008-09-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

I had a low key but fun weekend. Jackson and his mommy came over to watch some of the ND v. Purdue game -- and ND won by a good margin! Mommy and Daddy are trying to teach me how to celebrate a touchdown by throwing both arms up into the air, but I don't quite get it yet.

Jackson is a fair bit smaller than me -- look how Mommy is leaning to one side as she holds us.

I have been making a lot of noise, lately. Jackson doesn't like it! But I do -- I've been babbling dadadadadadada and just basically speaking in tongues. And I've been standing up in my crib more consistently. It's lots of fun to do, especially at 4AM when I get the munchies. Mommy and Daddy never look happy to see me at 4AM, but I don't understand why -- aren't I just as cute then as I am at 8AM?

On Sunday, Mommy and Daddy took me to see some animals at Flamig Farm. There were sheep, pigs, donkeys, chickens, goats, horses...and more! This goat scared Mommy and me when it suddenly jumped up onto the fence to look for food.

But Daddy was the one with the chow.
Isn't this pony cute?
The donkeys were funny.

I wanted to touch them.

After the farm we went home and played on the swings.
A very nice weekend indeed, despite the rainy weather!

Napping and standing

2008-09-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

I've had a pretty busy week! On Tuesday morning I put a Cheerio into my very own mouth for the first time! I haven't had much luck with the self-feeding thing other than that, but I'll catch on eventually.

On Wednesday Mommy took me to the library for storytime, which I love. And making that experience even better was the walk there and back -- Mommy and Jackson's parents, Melissa and Matt, walked us to the library because it was such a beautiful day! But me and my boy Jackson decided to nap on the way back.
Last night I had a dinner date with Emily at the Simsbury Farmer's Market, but Mommy forgot her camera. Dang Mommy, I was looking go-o-o-oood in my Baby Baja!

And look at me waiting for Mommy and Daddy this morning! I stood up in my crib for the first time! After I woke up, I went to my swimming lesson with Jackson and ND Emily, took a big nap, and then went to playgroup. Now I should take another nap, but I'm too excited and would rather chase the cats and play with their dinner bowls.

To the Fair!

2008-09-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

I've been busy -- I went to TWO fairs in as many days! On Sunday, Mommy and Daddy took me to the North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival.

There were lots of booths to see, musicians and performers to entertain us, and food to eat. But my favorite part was the ducks. They quack! Quack quack quack! They made me laugh.

Daddy and I tried out a hula hoop.
Yesterday, Mommy took me to the Big E with Jackson and Emily. I thought we were the ones who were supposed to enjoy the fair, but our mommies (and Jackson's daddy) seem to have had a grand old time too.
I took a little snooze after we fed the goats and llamas.At lunchtime we all checked out Jackson's ride.
Look at Jackson, he can feed himself Puffs and Cheerios! Mommy and Daddy still have to feed me everything, but I'm working on that pincer grasp.

At least they let me try yummy new things when they feed me -- like a cider doughnut! I'm normally not a fan of putting anything thicker than water into my mouth, but this was dee-licious!

Speaking of delicious...

I got to ride in the car with Emily! Mommy kept telling me to take a nap, but there was no way I could even think about falling asleep with Emily sitting across the seat from me. And her mom was in the back, too -- right next to me, smiling at me the WHOLE time. I was staring at two beauties all the way to the fair and back again. Sleep? Yeah, right!

Emily's Grandma Z came to the fair with us, too. She gave Emi a new doll -- look how cute she is hugging her doll! Hey, I like hugs too!

Mommy hugs are the best, though...
Oh, and we have a new visitor to our house -- Grandma and Grandpa's cat, Doc, is staying with us while they are away in Maine. It's interesting to have three cats to chase around now!

I got baptised!

2008-09-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a crazy one for me. My babu & papa, two cousins Anne & Jimmy and my Cio Cia Pat all came out to visit me from Michigan. They wanted to see me get baptised on Sunday! Anne is my Godmother, and my Uncle Mike is my Godfather.

Deacon Tom did a fantastic job of baptizing me, except for the part where he poured holy water directly into my eye.

Sam & Brady were very excited to see me get baptised.

Sam even let me hold her beautiful white purse. Do you like my special dress clothes, by the way?
Of course this weekend we also watch the ND game -- it was so fun because we beat U of M and cousin Jimmy is a big U of M fan. Hahahaha he was so mad!
Jackson came to visit the day after the baptism, to help me finish all of the delicious leftover food. But I yelled so loud that I made him cry.

Grandpa came to visit and read me stories.I'm totally into making funny faces.Oh look at the SWEET sweater Mommy's talented friend Heather made me. It is so soft and will fit me perfectly in a couple of months. Thank you, Army of Knitters!

I like when Mommy unloads the dishwasher.

My friends

2008-09-10T05:05:00.000-07:00

I love my friends. It cheered me up so much to see them Tuesday, at Emily's house, even though we were late because I was taking a big nap.

Emily welcomed everyone with a smile.

Jack and I gossiped.

ND Emily was looking sassy!

Jackson looked pretty serious today. I think he has some big decisions to make, like what color should he paint his new room?
Jillian was looking good!
Jack got beat up on by the girls. First, sweet little innocent Sam stole his toy from him.

Then that fiesty Olivia started playing with his curls.

Jack had to climb into a basket to escape.

ND Emily was teaching Jackson something here, but I'm not sure what. Maybe she was giving him decorating advice for his new house?

What a fine looking pair of ladies!
Hey remember how I told you guys that I couldn't get Emily to notice me? Well look at this, she TOTALLY notices me now.
I let her play with all my toys -- including my new favorite toy, a vibrating teether that Jackson gave to me yesterday. It feels soooo nice on my gums. But Emily is so cute she makes me want to SHARE.
I even let her try on my pumpkin hat -- Mommy made it just for me.

You see, when it comes to what women want, I am totally on the ball.

Just playing around

2008-09-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

I hung out with my friends on Friday morning at Olivia's house. Even though she napped for most of the playdate, she was looking oh so cute when she did wake up! And btw, her mom is a fantastic hostess.
Cute little Sam also had some naptime instead of playtime.
Jillian lounged around.
Jackson communed with the (strangely colored) animals.Emily was really excited about watching her first ND game on Saturday. She wears her emotions on her sleeve.Jack and I practiced for watching the big game.And here's me watching my first ND game! Luckily, ND pulled through in the end. And don't worry, the bottle I'm playing with is empty...because I drank it all, hahaha!Sunday was such a beautiful day that Mommy, Daddy and I decided to go to Litchfield for the Annual Borough Days, held on the Green.There we lots of people dressed up in funny clothes doing weird things. How do I look in Union Blue?Or at a civil war soldier's encampment?The hoop and stick game was cool, but I bet it will be better when I can run.These horses are huge!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

So you know I've been way behind on my posting. Besides the sad news that knocked us all for a loop last week, I've also been sick with a cold. But I think I'm feeling a little bit better now, and I want to catch you all up on my last week. I'm going to write about Labor Day tonight, and then I'll tell you about my playdate and the Civil War Soldiers tomorrow.

BTW, they don't call it Labor Day for nothing. I worked HARD last weekend at my new skill -- crawling!
I also started driver's ed. Pink isn't really my color, though.I was the meat in a Sam and Emily sandwich.They think they're so cute but they're NOT when they're squishing you!I went swimming in Grandma & Grandpa's pool.I gave up my bouncy seat! Marissa really likes it and I'm getting too big for it.I like Marissa.Sammy's a ham.I caught her with her hand in the pretzel jar.
Don't you wish these people were your family, too?
Maybe not this lady...just kidding, I love my Aunty Kerry!

Sad Days

2008-09-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been out of touch, we had some very sad news this week. Cate and Michael's grandmother passed away on Sunday. Mommy's so sad that her good friend Amy, who she's known since she was three, lost her mom. The wake and funeral were beautiful and sad, and Amy gave a wonderful eulogy. We even saw a beautiful rainbow outside the funeral home.

All our thoughts and prayers are with Amy and her family.

My friends came to visit!

2008-08-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

We had another playdate today, this time at our house! From left to right, Samantha, yours truly, Jack, Emily and Jackson.
Unfortunately Olivia had to leave before we took the group shot.Let me tell you, this little cutie puts the "date" in playdate! She was flirting with me like mad, but the second I turned my head to pick up my wooden frog, she was off making eyes at Jack!Actually, I think the ladies in this group are going to be a handful. Check out the big beautiful eyes on Emily!
And look at her head butting Jackson!
I needed to touch Jackson's head, too.He tried to escape by crawling underneath the couch, but his head wouldn't fit and then he couldn't get himself back out again.Even though I was pulling his hair, Jackson is my buddy and fun to hang out with. We're going down to the Farmer's Market this afternoon for some live music and girl watching.I think the entire Jackson Three will be there. There will be bread, and there will be cheese. Oh yes. Cheese.
In another part of the living room, Samantha and Jack were doing their own little song and dance, Samantha happily playing with toys and then crying as Jack took each one away from her.
I wore my favorite shirt to celebrate Obama's nomination.

Happy 7 month birthday to me!

2008-08-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

I celebrated this momentous occasion by eating a lot of grass.And happily yelling.
Currently one of my greatest joys is yelling. I know it makes my face look funny but the satisfaction a good holler brings is well worth the temporary grimace. Yelling + grass + naked = one happy Jonah.
Check out this cool Jonah-sized toy at the library!
Aunty Kerry spent a lot of time holding me today, and Brady spent a lot of time hugging me (or maybe those were wrestling moves...)
Mommy loves us all!

I think I'll go to Boston

2008-08-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Okay so we never actually went into Boston proper this weekend, but we stayed with my friends who live pretty close to the city. Here's Cate with her mommy, Amy -- Cate's about 2 months older than me and she likes to pat my head.
Look how much bigger I am than 1-month-old Joshua!
Cate's brother, Michael, likes to play with Becca, Joshua's big sister. They both liked the cookies that Mommy made.Cate liked the cookies, too -- here she is eating one with her friend, Gregor.
This picture sums it up -- I had such a very happy weekend with my family and friends!

Lots and lots of people!

2008-08-22T18:44:00.001-07:00

I was so busy today, hanging out with oodles of people, I am POOPED right now! I need to put these pictures up tonight though, because tomorrow I'm going to Boston and I'll have even more photos to show you.

Emily (ND Emily, because her daddy's a domer, just like mine) hosted a playdate at her house this morning, and it was so much fun! I met some new friends -- here is Olivia, doesn't she look like she could be my sister?And here is one of Emily's cute and fun new kittens. The kittens names are Daisy and Leo, but I'm not sure which one this is. The ladies sure loved those kitties! And I did, too -- they climbed on me and I laughed and wasn't scared at all!
Only boys whose names begin with "J" are allowed at these playdates. Jack and I hung out on the couch watching all the ladies.Mommy's high school friend, Fredi, came to our house this afternoon. We had fun playing!Then Mommy & Daddy's friend, Gregor, came to visit too. It was such a beautiful evening that we all went out to eat on the deck at The Maple Tree Cafe.I kept my blackberry in my back pocket in case anyone needed to send me an urgent message. After dinner we stopped to get some booze. Look at all the bottles! I love bottles, but none of these had nipples and no one would let me suck on them. I thought that was pretty rude.

"J" is the new pink

2008-08-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

Meet my very new friend, Joshua!Here's a shot of Jackson and I cruising for babes at the Simsbury Farmer's Market. Older woman totally dig us.

Visitors!

2008-08-19T18:52:00.001-07:00

Grandma and Gigi came to visit me and they stayed all day, helping Mommy make me food and do laundry. That was fun (for me at least -- I got to play all the time that they were working!)
Emily came over to play, too. She is so cool, just like her mom.Emily is a little bit braver than her mommy, though -- she's not afraid of bees, see her eating one here? Put in the same situation, her mom might, say...run screaming down the street...Just before bed, I spent a few minutes rolling around screaming happily and nakedly in my bedroom. What a great way to end a day!

Say cheese!

2008-08-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

I finally got to see Emily again -- she was sick all last week so we couldn't play. She's so cute (and her mom's not bad either), and she's crawling so well! I saw her take off like a shot across the living room to try to release Bogie from the playroom. I like to learn things from her.

Also, finally, a picture of my teeth!
I enjoy making funny faces and sideways smiles when I'm eating, and tonight Mommy gave me some shredded cheese that really made my face go all gaga. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it when she put it in my mouth -- it felt kinda funny -- but I swallowed it and then I wanted more. I think I like it! Now I just have to figure out how to put it in there myself.

Family Days

2008-08-17T17:15:00.000-07:00

This past weekend has been so wonderful because Daddy had Friday off from work, and he hung out with Mommy and me for three straight days! We went shopping, out to lunch in Collinsville and dinner in town, to the playground, and even for a hike up Talcott Mountain.
Daddy carried me up in a special backpack that Mommy's very very good friend Jen-nay gave us. I felt like a little prince being carried around in a chair like that!
We had lunch near Heublein Tower, where my cousin Teddy used to work.I practiced my pointing skills.Then I started to get a little tired from all of that "walking," so I took a snooze while Mommy carried me down the mountain.I was a little confused when I woke up and my seat wasn't attached to anyone anymore!On the way home, we stopped at Rosedale Farms where I got some yummy butternut squash, plums and peaches to eat this week!

You can't see this in a still picture, but I have been on the move big time! I've perfected the commando crawl and I really enjoy screaming and rolling around on the floor. I especially love reaching for everything that I am not supposed to, such as cups of water that my parents have left on the floor, plates on the dinner table, remote controls, and telephones.

My Cousins

2008-08-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have some sad news to share. Jesse, my doggie cousin, passed away this weekend. We'll miss him, he was such a good, loyal dog and he died much too young. His family is feeling very blue. We love you, Jesse!
Some other not so wonderful news, too -- my Michigan cousins, Annika and Alek, were supposed to arrive today, but poor Annika broke her leg riding her bike! I'm so sad that they had to cancel.
But I do have some happy things to share. My CT cousins came to visit me instead, and despite all the sad stuff that happened, we managed to have a bit of fun.
Marissa is starting to smile already! I checked back in my blog, and Iwas about 5 weeks old when I started. We couldn't get a good smile pic today but next time we will. Here's a shot of Marissa looking very happy in my (Mango's?) bouncy seat.My friend Jackson came over too with his mommy, Melissa. They wanted to meet my cousins. Jackson liked his first ride on the swing.Jackson eats so nicely and neatly. I'm a little less tidy.Sam and Brady had lots of fun with Daddy. In another year he can throw me around, too!I forgot to look at the camera.
Aren't these ladies beautiful?

If I can make it there...

2008-08-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, after waiting for 6 months, my parents took me to NYC!
The city had closed some of the main streets to vehicles for Summer Streets, so Park Avenue was all pedestrians and bikes when we took a stroll on Saturday morning.Daddy, Mommy, Gregor and I went to the farmer's market in Union Square (Mommy's favorite!)Then we sat in the park and had lunch.Then things really got good -- here's a pic of me drinking in a BAR! I didn't even get carded.
Lots of Mommy and Daddy's friends came to meet me. My drinking buddy is Mia, with her mom, Yumi.Some of Mommy's knitter friends were there -- here are Kara and Johanna.Leland, our public transportation-loving friend. I hung out on the couch for a while with Daddy and Carra.I took a nap in the wrap.Isn't Rachele a hottie? She's single right now, do you think she'll wait for me???No visit to the city is complete without a ride on the subway, so Sunday morning we hopped the 6 train up to Central Park.
Mommy's high school friend Katie came back to CT with us to hang out for a few days. She is SO MUCH FUN! She knows lots of songs and games and how to make me laugh. I can't wait to see her again in Boston next week, when we all go to meet my new friend Joshua.
To make my week even more exciting, Grandma and Gigi came to visit.And now, after all of that excitement, I have to go take a big rest. It's nighttime, and I think I have to do something unpleasant tomorrow. I heard Mommy say "shots", and I don't think she's talking about the fun kind. I'll let you know if I can get out of these.

Playdate!

2008-08-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

We had some friends over today to play, and what a lovely time we had! From left to right is Samantha, Jack, yours truly, and Emily (not to be confused with my other friends Jackson and Emily, who were out of town today).
Sam is my age, and Jack and Emily are about 9 months old. They can teach me things, like how to crawl and eat finger foods and share...okay, maybe we all need to work on the sharing part a little bit.
Emily and I had to make some calls.
Lots of fun toys!
Leaves taste good. And look at my posture!

Peas and Carrots!

2008-08-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

I love them both!
Mommy keeps saying something about "sitting still"...I don't really understand why anyone would want to do that, there are too many things to look at, touch and put my mouth on!
I am, however, sitting UP. Tonight I even got myself from my belly into a sitting position! Mommy and Daddy cheered, but I don't really understand what the big deal is. I don't cheer every time they sit down. In fact, I cry, especially if they do it while they are holding me. You see, I prefer to be carried about like a prince. But that's a story for another day.I like to jump.
Why did Mommy give me this Jamaican Patty to hold? It's hot!

You bum-looker, cheeky monkey!

2008-08-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

Are you looking at my bum? It's cute, right?

I'm all better and ready to take on the world, or at least the Simsbury bears.

Do you like my new blog? Mommy's still working on giving it a little more of a seamless appearance, but you've gotta start somewhere.

Poor Me!

2008-08-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have been a little bit sick these past few days. Daddy and Mommy both had this awful stomach bug, and then it was my turn. I had a big fever of 103.1 and I was so unhappy. So were Mommy and Daddy, they hated to see me so miserable. We were supposed to go to the Big Apple today but we are just chilling at home. And I am feeling so much better now. I'm taking a big nap.

But in other news, I had my 6 month check-up on Tuesday. I weigh 19 lbs. and am 28-1/4" long. I'm 75% for weight and 90% for height, and everything checks out well!

I'll be back with some happier photos in the next few days!

Lots of family time

2008-07-28T17:26:00.001-07:00

We have all been away from our "country house" for quite a while! Daddy was on a business trip for a few days, and it was really hot out, so Mommy and I decided to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house and hang out in their pool.
Isn't this the perfect float for me? But I think I look a little bit exasperated in this photo -- maybe I was tired of my photo being taken.
Mommy and I also got to meet our new cousin, Robbie, who was born about 2 weeks ago. Congratulations, Cousins Christy and Rob! Isn't he cute? And small? He is going to be a Notre Dame fan when he grows up, just like me. His daddy said so.I really wanted to touch him, but I'm not quite sure how to be gentle yet.I had fun playing with some balls before I went to bed that night.
The next day we went to visit Gigi!I also got to play with Zachary and Emily, who showed me a real good time.Mommy and Daddy left me with Grandma and Grandpa for two days this weekend, because Mommy's very very good friend Amy was getting married in Ohio and they wanted to go celebrate with her. Congratulations, Amy and Nick! I'm sure Mommy will post more pics of the wedding on her own blog once she finishes tending to my every need and want.When my parents got back, I proceeded to get very cranky and grow another tooth! That's TWO bottom teeth now, for anyone who's counting. No pics yet because I still don't like to show them off -- when they're big and ripe, I will smile for the camera so you can see them.

We had a BIG storm here yesterday, with lots of loud thunder and lightening. At one point during the tempest, we heard a tremendous crack, followed by a crash. One of our big maple trees fell down! It took up more than half of the back yard. Daddy cleaned up a bunch of it before Mommy got a chance to take a picture. We're not sure if it was lightening or wind that caused the tree to fall, but we're sad that it's gone. It was such a nice tree!
Our friends Amy, Matt, Michael and Cate came for a visit yesterday. We were supposed to grill out but the persistent rain put a damper on that, and we had to "settle for" pizza. Oh, Little City Pizza is so so good! I can't wait until I am old enough to try it!

Last but most certainly NOT least, our friends Paul, Andrea and Rebecca welcomed a son, Joshua, into their lives last night. I'm so excited to have another friend near my age! Joshua went from comfy womb to birth in about 2 minutes -- Andrea had a FAST labor and delivery. Congratulations, we can't wait to meet Joshua!

Itty Bitty Pool Party

2008-07-16T18:40:00.001-07:00

Mommy and I hit the pool party at Memorial Park today with our friends, Julie and Emily.
Just check out that pink bathing suit on Em! I think she's quite foxy, but she's an older woman -- I bet she doesn't even notice a little baby like me. I mean, she's got 6 teeth to my one, she's already sitting up unassisted, she can say "Mama," and the other day I saw her eat a CHEERIO! I'm still on rice cereal and sweet potatoes and my idea of verbal communication is loud cheerful screaming, coupled with the occasional raspberry blowing. I do look quite cute in a bathing suit, though. That's got to count for something.

Maybe I can read her a story to impress her.I'm impressed when Daddy reads to me.

First tooth!

2008-07-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Yup, I got one, on the bottom! You can't see it unless you look inside my mouth, and first you have to move my tongue out of the way. I don't like it when people move my tongue...Mommy and Aunty Kerry manhandled me to see the tooth and I didn't appreciate it at all. When it gets bigger I'll show you a pic, but right now believe me, it's there!

We spent the morning with Mommy's good good high school friend, AMC, and her adorable and brilliant son Brendan. As you can see, I'm very into blowing raspberries.Since AMC lives so close to my cousins, we had to stop by on our way home. And we got a pic of all four of us together!And one with the mommies and babies, too.

Love Hurts

2008-07-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

Sammy loves babies...
...but sometimes she loves us too much!See, Daddy knows how to do it right.Aren't we a good-looking bunch?And don't I look like a prince?We went to the playground!This is a cute kid, but she has an ugly hat.

I made a funny

2008-07-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

Look at everyone laughing! I made them do that with my superhuman burping abilities. Nobody expected something so loud out of little ol' me!
Brady is teaching me how to be a cute boy. I'm already pretty good at it.
Mommy got me this cool thing today, I can give myself a drink! It's great but my advice to other babies reading this blog is DO NOT HIT YOURSELF IN THE HEAD WITH THE SIPPY CUP.

This is how we roll

2008-07-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

I visited with my new cousin Marissa today. I tried to teach her how to roll, but she could only get halfway there. I guess I should cut her some slack, she's only a week old. But didn't we do a good job getting our act synchronized?
This little baby is quite fascinating. I really can't believe I was even smaller than her when I was born.Kingston is cute, too, but in a different way.

Big Time Update!

2008-07-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

There's lots to tell you today, a whole week's worth of news, so I'll try to start at the beginning. Last week I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa, to hang out a bit before they left for their vacation.

On the way home, we stopped and met up with my friend Jackson at the new Simsbury Farmers Market. It is really cool, very close to town and lots of fresh fruit, veggies, breads, jams and other goodies. Mommy's favorite is the goat cheese.
The next day, I went on my first plane ride! Mommy and I flew to Tampa to meet up with Daddy, who was there on business. I had to sit on Mommy's lap on the way down, but on the way back I had my own seat!It was so much fun to meet Daddy's grandparents.Both of them loved to hold me.
Both of them also found me quite heavy!I ate some good food.I got to meet my new friends, the twins -- Peter and Robert. But we couldn't get a picture together because -- well, have you ever tried to arrange for three 5-month-old babies to be awake at the same time? It's not easy. But this is a pic of me with Peter (I think...)Daddy and Mommy took me to the big pool at Hillsborough State Park.When we got back to CT, my friend Jonas, from Boulder, CO, was visiting. He is 7 weeks older than me and his parents are Mommy's very very good friends. Jonas and I got along very well, holding hands and trying to eat each other's fists. Maybe I can go visit him in Boulder next year.I got to have 2 nights of sleepovers at Sammy and Brady's house, while we waited for my new cousin Marissa to be born. And on Wednesday night, July 2, she arrived! I love her, and so do her brother and sister.When we finally got back home yesterday, we had one more picnic to go to, at Emily's house. I got to see my friends Emily and Jackson, and Mommy and Daddy got to eat some good food and hang out with their friends.After all of that activity, I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I fell asleep on the walk back home and snuggled up with Daddy for a while. It was nice.

Welcome, Marissa!

2008-07-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

OMG! So much has happened in this past week! I went on my first plane ride, met Jonas, hit a lot of 4th of July BBQ's, slept in about a billion different places, and so much more. I have lots of pics to show you, but Mommy's tired right now and I don't know how to upload photos to blogger. So I just have time to show you one very very very important person-- my new cousin, Marissa, born on July 2nd. Here are some pics, and I promise there are more to come of all of my activities soon. Can you believe that I was once this small???

Lazy busy weekends

2008-06-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

I feel like I really spent the weekend chilling out, but when I reflect on these past few days I realize that I did a LOT!

Friday I went all the way to Cheshire with Mommy to see Brady, Sammy, Aunty Kerry and Uncle Mike. This might be the last time I see them as a family of four, as Aunty Kerry is ready to try folk remedies to get Baby Marissa to make her entrance SOON.
Yesterday we went to the Open Farm Day at Town Farm Dairy -- that's where Max lives, and where Mommy and Daddy get all of their yummy milk. Like my Obama shirt?
After that we went to Simsbury Farms to check out the pools. They had this fantastic kiddie pool that we hung out in for a while.
We also hung out with some of our neighborhood friends. And today we went to the Collinsville Farmer's Market, and I watched Daddy cut the lawn.

I just realized something...

2008-06-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

...we have a cat!

And he's really, really soft.I suspect there are actually two different cats living with me, but with my powers of perception being temporarily limited by my extreme youth, I can't quite tell if it is the same cat in different clothing or a whole other feline.

Oh yes, definitely two different cats.Daddy read me a bedtime story tonight.

Why is it still light out at bedtime?

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T18:45:00.001-07:00

I want to wish a happy Father's Day to Grandpa, Papa, Uncle Mike, Uncle Joey and Grandpa L! But especially to DADDY!!!

I spent the weekend with my family. I was so busy!

Sammy and I played together.Aunty Kerry and I cuddled.I went swimming in the big boy pool with Mommy!I captained my own boat.
(My hands taste good.)When we got back to Simsbury, we visited Terry and Kevin. I mean, AUNTY Terry -- I love her!

Happy Birthday Grandma and Great-Grandma!

2008-06-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

I went to visit my cousins today, because it's Grandma's birthday and we all wanted to hang out with her together. We took her out to lunch.

I posed for a picture with Sam and Brady.

Brady and I played together.We all hung out on the porch (well, except for Brady -- he was napping).

People keep sticking their fingers in my mouth lately. It's very annoying. I heard Aunty Kerry saying something about seeing a tooth. If I have a tooth, I am going to use it to bite the next person who sticks their finger in my mouth.

I went FLYING on the jump-a-roo when I got home. Yee ha!
Today is also my great-grandma in Florida's 90th birthday. I can't wait to meet her this summer! I get to go on a plane!

Hanging Out

2008-06-11T18:35:00.001-07:00

Today my friends Max and Emily came to visit for a playdate. It was loads of fun! Max sang to us the whole time, while Emily squealed with delight. I danced. Horizontally -- I can't walk yet, but I can sure kick my feet while laying on my back!Since it wasn't so oppressively hot today, I got to hang out in the yard with Mommy and Daddy. I even got to ditch the diaper, hee hee...I love naked time!
I think I'm teething. I can't stay asleep, I keep on waking myself up crying, I'm drooling like an ice sculpture in the desert and my nose is all stuffed up. So I got out of bed to post on my blog. I hope this ends soon!

Airing my laundry

2008-06-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

It's too hot to even wear a diaper.

I think I'm gonna melt

2008-06-08T18:07:00.001-07:00

It's so HOT here...I'm a January baby, I'm not used to this 90+ degree weather. Most of my day was spent hanging out in my diaper, napping and eating. Mommy and Daddy did their best to cool me off with my very first dip in the pool.
I got to hang out with my friends on Friday, before the heat wave rolled in. Here a shot of me and Jackson surrounding the lovely ladies Kaitlyn and Emily. Emily is always trying to hold my hand. And take my toy giraffe. But she's cute so I'll let that slide.
Saturday was HOT! But fun -- we spent it at Sammy and Brady's birthday party. Mommy played poker while Daddy showed me off. Happy Birthday, cousins! I love you! Only 3-1/2 more weeks until there is one more of you to love!

I ate meat

2008-06-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

Don't tell Mommy, but dinosaur tastes GOOD!Go check out our garden on her blog!

I look good with Aunty Kerry...although I'm not sure why I was afraid...too much Sammy love?

Two Firsts

2008-06-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had my first night away from Mommy and Daddy. They went to a wedding and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. We had so much fun! I mean, I missed my parents, but it's good to get away every once in a while.I got to spend lots of time with my cousins -- here's me, Mommy, Aunty Kerry and Brady.Want to know my other first? I got to eat solid food!Yes well I didn't really know what to do with that brown rice cereal -- was it a lotion? A mud mask? I decided to rub it all over myself.You mean I am actually supposed to EAT it?Oh, right! Eat it! In the mouth!And then I took a nice nap.