labor day weekend 09

My friends and I celebrated Labor Day weekend with a nature walk, picnic and ice cream at Great Brook Farm.

We tried to get a picture of all the kids. It didn't work out so well.

We are all technically in this picture, but Sammy was trying to escape.


I am in mid-sneeze in this picture.


The boys + Leah who was not amused.


Okay, everybody face the camera.


Just the boys.


My family.


My daddy getting some coaching practice.



After our picnic and impromptu soccer game, we walked to the barn to visit the cows and get some ice cream. I had my favorite kind "dinosaur crunch".



We were disappointed to see that the honey bees had gone on vacation. We decided they must have gone to Florida, because that is where you go on vacation.


There was a new baby calf in the barn and the farm was taking suggestions for a good name for him. Our contributions were as follows.
Ben: Jesus Guy
Zach: Elephant Head
Leah: Flower Head
Alexandra: Owen Bad Owen
Owen: Mine
Sam: Cow Moo




After finishing our ice cream and pretending to be a train, we paid a quick visit to the goats and chickens in the barnyard and then headed home for a bath and a good night's sleep.

Race Day

Last weekend I ran a 5k with my friends. Okay, my friends and I were pushed in strollers while our parents ran a 5k. Same thing. All the kids wore red shirts so we could look like a cohesive cheering section. It was fun!




Afterwards, everyone came over to my house for a cook-out.




We had ice cream bars. Best. Race. Ever.

Kick

I like to build "Star Wars ships" with my blocks then make them fly around the house and shoot things.
I asked Mommy how we kick bad guys.
Mommy decided to be cool and show me some of her kickboxing moves, demonstrating front, side and back kicks.
Sigh, so silly.
"No, no, you're not doing it right" I told her. "Later, before I go to bed, I will show you the right way."

Okay then.

Compliment

My friend Max's mom has what I believe to be the coolest job ever. She works at the Lego store. If they would let me, I would live at the Lego store. My second choice would be to live in Max's playroom because he has almost as many legos as the store.

I told Mommy "Max has all the legos because Jen has a compliment at the lego store."
"A compliment?"
"Yeah, a compliment is when you have a job and you buy legos too fast. That's a compliment."

I think the word I was searching for was "discount" but "compliment" is close enough.

Bounce!

My friends and I visited the "Backyard Party Place" which has a big room of huge bouncy houses. It was so fun, I can't even explain the fun-ness of it all.

This was the big slide. Mommy and I even went down this one together!


Zachary and I paused for a moment to pose for our Gap ad. You'll notice we were dressed alike that day. That's because our super smart mommies put us in bright orange shirts so they could find us easily.


I bounced and bounced until I couldn't bounce anymore and then went home and took a great nap. Best. Playdate. Ever.

o.k.

Ben: Does heaven have coconuts?
Mommy: Um..........yes?
Ben: I thought so because squirrels like coconuts and heaven likes squirrels.

A pavement

I have lots of questions. In fact, I can regularly be heard saying "I have a question". Sometimes I would follow this up with a question and sometimes with a mere statement.

For example:
Me: "Daddy, I have a question."
Daddy: "What's your question, Ben?"
Me: "My favorite donut is chocolate".

So, Daddy tried to explain to me the difference between a question and a statement. He told me that a question is when you have to ask something and a statement is when you just have to say something.

The following morning:

Me: "Mommy, I have a pavement"
Mommy: "You have what?"
Me: "I have a pavement"
Mommy: "a pavement?"
Me: "Yeah, a pavement is when you have to say something"
Mommy: "You mean a statement?"
Me: "Yeah, a statement. I have a statement"
Mommy: "Okay, what's your statement?"
Me: "Can I have another waffle?"

I am working on it.

Ben's quote of the day:

"Mommy, you look kind of like a princess but you kind of don't"

Not a fireman (or a puppy)

I have a hooded bath towel that looks like a puppy. Every time I put it on, Sam gets really excited and says "puppy, puppy!" and wants to hug me. I usually play along with this little game but a few days ago, I decided I had had enough and I firmly told him "Sam, I'm not a puppy."


So that there would be no confusion, I brought my fireman towel instead (see picture at right - old picture, but same towel) when I went outside to play in the sprinkler.

Apparently, I do not appreciate being mistaken for a fireman either because when Mommy asked me, "Would you like some apple juice, Mr. Fireman?" I responded "No! I'm your son!"

Fun on the outer Cape

We just got back from a fun week on Cape Cod. The weather this summer has been less than summery so I wasn't sure if the beach would be as fun as I remembered. But, you know me, I create fun wherever I go. Grandpa and Buela got me a knight costume complete with shield and sword for my birthday and I spent a good part of my time at the Cape attacking The Dragon (aka Daddy) and thwarting his "evil plans". We also spent some time at the beach and built lots of sandcastles


It was warmer IN the water.


We went to the Welfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. I liked the nature center which had fish, crabs, birds and turtles on display. It was very cool. We decided to take a walk on one of the trails which I thought would be fun because I was looking for "juicy water weeds" (a term used in a book I read recently). Mommy kept reminding me that the sign said not to disturb the environment, which made me grumpy.


We went to a baseball game in Orleans which we ignored and played on the playground instead. I love the swings the most.



We got some fried clam dinners from Arnold's, a restaurant that claims to have the best fried clams in the world. They were good. "Best in the world"? I'm not so sure. I prefer "The Lobster Shanty" because their kids' meal comes with a bucket and pail. How can you beat that?


We went back to the Nauset Lighthouse which I remembered visiting last year. We climbed up to the top and looked out the window. It was fun to be up so high.

My Daddy = My Barber

My smart and frugal Daddy saved some cash by giving me a haircut himself. That $17 is going right in my college fund!

Before:


I watched movies on the lego website on Mommy's computer while I was getting my haircut.



After:


I'm gorgeous!

Blueberry picking

Happy Birthday to Ben!

I'm four years old!
I was so excited I woke up early to spend some quality time with my legos.



A few of my friends came over to celebrate with me. We had pizza and dinosaur cupcakes. My original request was for a cake depicting a dragon attacking a dinosaur, but you get what you get.


We'd planned to have a picnic outside but since it was pouring rain, we had to improvise. Everyone enjoyed our indoor picnic. This picture shows the one sock look that I was sporting all day. Nobody is really sure what that is about but some guessed that it was some sort of Michael Jackson tribute. I have no idea who Michael Jackson is.



Some general merriment...




I had a great day with my friends and I was pretty pooped when they all went home.

Happy Fourth!

Today Mommy, Daddy, Sam and I celebrated the 4th of July (or as I like to call it, "three day before my birthday") by running a road race and watching a parade.

The race was great. We ran really fast and got free snacks at the end. This was very exciting because Mommy loves free stuff (see how happy she looks) and I love snacks!



We watched the parade with my friend Alex and her family. I loved seeing all the marching bands, fire trucks and police cars and other cool stuff. It was constant anticipation trying to guess what would be coming up next.



Alex and I were pretty tired by the end so we hung out in the stroller for a rest.

Sleepytime

Sometimes Sammy and I climb into his crib and play "Sleepytime", which we think is really funny.


And other times, I get so worn out from playing, I just fall asleep on the living room floor.

Watching PBS expands your vocabulary

A few days ago, we made popsicles with yogurt and strawberries. I was excited to try one and it was hard to wait.

Mommy and I had this conversation.

Me: Are my freeze pops ready yet?
Mommy: Not yet. They will be ready soon.
Me: (dramatic sigh) I'm just so crestfallen.
Mommy: Crestfallen?
Me: It means "sad".

The Big Show - Spring '09

It's the end of the semester at the Little Gym and you know what that means - time for The Big Show! Here I am showing off some of my new sports skills (this includes having a kick fight with my buddy Zach while waiting for our names to be called).

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Getting my medal. TA DA!


Zachy and me showing off our medals.

I made it through Preschool!

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Our Road Trip Adventure

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Farm Fun

This summer, Mommy is going to teach me about where food comes from (hint: it's not the grocery store.) This involves trips to the farm, which I greatly enjoy, because I love to see the animals. We visited the farm to pick up our first share of vegetables this week and I was excited to see several cows right away.
Sam and I went to get a closer look at the cows. They were pretty funny, eating grass and mooing. Our friends Alexandra and Owen were there with their mommy too and we all had fun mooing at the cows. Mommy saw that we were amused and stepped away for a minute to grab our vegetables.
Minutes later I ran over to Mommy, barely containing my excitement and exclaimed for all to hear "Mommy! A cow pooped!"
Best. Day. Ever.