I got a new trike this past Christmas, but being that I live in New England, Dad was just able to put it together and bust it out this weekend. It was worth the wait — what fun to zoom around the neighborhood, ding the bell, and take brown bear for a ride!
Flora got the Fisher Price My First Dollhouse for her birthday and it’s one of her favorite toys to play with these days. It came with a Mommy, a Daddy, a Baby, and some furniture … but she also got a couple of the booster packs with a Grandma, a stroller, and nursery furniture. By watching Flora play with it, you would think Marty and I are quite the disciplinaries — the Mommy and Daddy get lots of stern time-outs for “throwing food” or “hitting in face” … but I swear the kid rarely gets a time-out, let alone a stern one! Luckily (and also unlike Flora), the Mommy and Daddy quickly say “sorry,” and Flora excuses them from their punishment. Also of note … the Daddy seems to spend an inordinate amount of time on the potty, where the Grandma has also been known to sit and read, and the Mommy takes lots of baths with the bunny.
I don’t know much about the Boston Tea Party, or the Mad Tea Party that Alice attended, but I do know that my tea parties are so much fun! All my favorite stuffed animals get to attend, and I pour “tea” (dry beans, really) for everyone at the “table.” Dad or Mom usually come, too, and we eat donuts, bagels, cakes, and sometimes I make “hot soup” or “bake cookies” in my oven. Jammies are optional.
Check out my new digs. It’s tricked out with a stove, a sink, a washer, a changing table, and a bassinet … plus windows, a door with a mail slot, and even a sky light! I’ll be hosting a house-warming soon.
Flora recently spied this old (circa early 80s!) Wrinkles dog in the attic, and she has been carrying it around with her ever since. Apparently this is the girl version of Wrinkles (stripped of its clothing, of course), but her Uncle Andrew’s favorite “somebody to love” when he was little was a boy Wrinkles. Here Flora shares her extra “beeyah beeyah” with “Winkles” while dry-testing her winter sled in the garage.
Mom, Dad, and I spent the morning at Strong Museum. They had fun looking at the vintage toy collections and I had fun visiting Sesame Street, shopping at Wegmans, eating lunch with cousin Gregory at the retro Bill Gray’s, and riding the carousel! When I knocked on the door at 123 Sesame Street no one answered, so I went across the street to Wegmans where I filled up two shopping carts — mostly with birthday party supplies and carrots.
Marty repurposed one of his raised flower bed boxes as a sandbox for Flora. All it took was some landscape fabric and 12 huge bags of sand! Flora enjoys burying and finding her Fisher Price people, and filling up and dumping cups, but Florzilla’s favorite thing is to smash any sort of castle Mom and Dad make.
Mom and Dad took me down to Padanaram, MA to visit Dave, Mandy, and Owen. It’s been a whole year since we’ve seen them … and since Owen has stopped by to mow the back yard! We ate hot dogs with lots of catsup, group-sang “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” checked out the barn Dad helped raise (home of the gilded elk head), oggled baby Ava for the first time (she belongs to Lee and Kristen), but best of all Owen shared all his toys. I loved his sandbox and his car the best.
I’m walking a ton these days, but I still haven’t declared it my solo mode of transportation. But Mom and Dad are declaring this weekend as the official weekend where I really started walking the majority of the time. I stand up, walk, fall down, stand up, walk, over and over again. I can travel pretty far! But I’ll still speed-crawl if I need to get to something really quickly. And as far as talking goes, I say a few new words every day — fascinating how every object and action has a name!
Flora discovered that it is actually more fun to eat the art supplies than it is to play with them. Apparently the saltiness of the Play Doh is just too tasty to resist, however, that doesn’t explain why the paint brush was equally delicious.
Flora got this Fisher Price Ride ‘Em Zebra (actually called the Fisher Price Baby Gymtastics Bounce & Spin Zebra) for Christmas this year and is just almost big enough to ride it by herself. If you look closely, you’ll see my hand spotting her from behind.
But she still has fun pulling herself up to it by the handle bars and making it whinny by bopping up and down on the seat.
I took my bran’ spankin’ new Radio Flyer wagon for a spin ’round the ‘hood today. It’s a helluva sweet ride, but I’m gonna trick it out with some 18″ Giovannis this summer. Mad props to GD and GV for the dope present.
My dad and Uncle Andrew kept all of their old toys, so I now get to play with some retro Fisher Price stuff. One of the toys is a cool barn that goes “moo” when you open the door. My stuffed lamb and Heinrich The Pig are too big for the barn, but as soon as I stop putting everything into my mouth, I can play with the little people and animals that came with it. I also have a Fisher Price airplane, camper, mini-bus, and house boat. Hooray! As you can see, I’m sporting some overalls and the Harley Davidson jean jacket that Gram Kaye sent to me to up the on-the-farm ante.
Flora has a favorite stuffed animal — a very soft plush pig made by Steiff that our friends Wally and Marcy gave to her a few months ago. She’s recently become fast friends with the little piglet. She will grab it out of your hands and snuggle it to her face. When Flora is watching videos, she loves to have her friend by her side. That’s why I’m asking for your help naming the pig. Post your most creative ideas to the blog. They can be male or female names but please steer clear of the obvious ones, like Wilbur, Piglet, Babe, Petunia, Porky, etc.
Just what’s inside this ball? How did they get it in there? And what keeps it spinning?
It’s all quite fascinating, especially when the morning sun hits it just so.
My new mirror is pretty interesting, too. I can see inside that, as well — but usually I’m in there!
Since Flora has taken a liking to my talking Pee Wee Herman Doll (I know you are but what am I?), I decided I would buy her a dolly of her own. Cast your vote by posting a comment to this entry: Corolle Tidoo Elf or Corolle Tidoo Striped or Corolle Doucette Cherry or Lei Lei Girls Momo.
Bumpin’ up and down in my little, green wagon … Bumpin’ up and down in my little, green wagon …. Bumpin’ up and down in my little, green wagon … won’t you be my darlin’?
This weekend Mom and Dad took me to *two* BBQs — a State Street birthday BBQ at Chris and Claudia’s house for their now two-year old Andrew (complete with Thomas the Tank Engine gift bags, a pinata, and a big chocolate cake) and a Colby alum BBQ at Ben and Shirley’s house (they promised, and delivered, corn and burgers of the kick-a** variety).
Ben (a frequent commenter on my blog) and Shirley are the owners of three-year old Nate and one-year old twins Maddy and Riley — who shared all their outdoor toys including this little, green wagon. After Dad took me for a spin on the lawn I posed for some photos.
From my Midwest Command Center stationed in the Kansas City, Missouri, kitchen of Grandpa David and Grandma Vicki, I am able to access even farther reaches of the universe.
Donned with my Chiefs baseball cap for cover, I continue to execute my plans for world domination. Now I just need to establish a West Coast Command Center and I will be unstoppable.
On my first full day in Kansas City, we met Gram Kaye in Lees Summit for lunch (see previous post) and then went over to Great Grandma and Great Papa Brittingham’s house for a visit. It was the first time that I had met my great grandparents and we had lots of fun looking through old family photos and memorabilia.
Dad dug out his Fisher Price toys from the basement storage — the parking garage, barn, and camper look super fun! He even found the bear chair he was photographed in when he was little, so he did the same with me.
As you can see, I now have a command center from which I can watch over my ever-expanding empire. So far I have successfully colonized the living room (with my playmat, papasan chair, Bumbo seat, swing, changing station, and toy box … oh, and my Baby Einstein videos, too). I seized an entire cupboard in the kitchen for my burp cloths, bibs, bowls, sippy cups, and bottles. My *mobile* command unit (aka the Honda CRV) houses my rocket-ship harness (Mom and Dad call it the car seat) and my stealth stroller. Plus, I have an entire bedroom all to myself. From the den, I formulate my plans to take over the universe — just try to stop me!
