Happy Holidays

Here are my quick thoughts:

- Thanksgiving was a blast. Grandma Judy and Grandpa Rich came to visit and we went to the beach, joined the Sullivan/Angrisani Thanksgiving feast and enjoyed my 3rd birthday party with our families. Theme, of course, was Thomas the Tank Engine.

-I've been to a few birthday parties; my best buddy Brady's at an indoor "play park" and went bowling for the first time at Marchello's birthday party.

-I can spell! K-Y-L-E. My name and many friends names from s

chool.

-I still sing a lot. I love the A-B-C's and often have a fun game where I sing the song and run back and forth in the red-room.

-I think it is funny to say "boog" and use it a lot but mommy and daddy just ignore me. I listen attentively and sometimes repeat words they say...especially when we see "bad drivers."

-I am very talkative and make many funny statements - while I can easily throw a tantrum, I also can make everyone in the room laugh with my words.

xoxo

October 2011

These were my school pictures in Spring. I look so handsome that I wanted to include them. The past two months we have been busy. I went on Jeremy the Jet (Thomas' friend) to visit Grandma Judy and Grandpa Rich in Minneapolis. It was quite an adventure watching all the planes take-off at the airport. We visited a great Children's Museum in St. Paul, the Mall of America's LegoWorld and Nickelodeon's Amusement park. I also had an amazing time with new Owen and the long (tall) Woodman boys because they, too, love Thomas the train and both houses had great train sets.

I'm getting really big, no longer a baby except for using my binky. I wear big boy und

erwear, go potty all by myself, have a big-boy bed, am in pre-school, can spell my name yet I still use my binky.

My favorite sayings right now are:

-No Thank You (yelling it when I'm mad and want to say NO)

-Why?

-I have to go potty (as mommy and daddy are putting me to bed so I don't have to fall asleep)

-Mommy - you pretty

Summer 2011 Should be Dedicated to Thomas

The summer ended Labor Day weekend in Newport taking a ride on a real engine. Thomas the Train came to visit the Newport train station and I saw him and rode Annie and Clarabel aka the passenger cars.

I adore Thomas and his friends. Some people would say I'm obsessed. I personally own over 100 trains; some the wooden, others plastic and even more engines that come in all shapes and sizes. My favorite pastime is playing at my train table and could sit there for hours. I watch episodes of the PBS hit series, "Thomas and Friends" before bedtime and can recite some of them word-for-word. I sing the tunes and even make up my own words to the theme song. I tell mommy every morning that I dreamt the last night about Percy, Thomas, Gordon or James.

I started going potty in July and was rewarded each time with a train adventure. Mommy and daddy really meant for it to be a fun experience with a train theme, but it turned into a Target or toy store run (by my choice) so now my collection is really impressive.

Summer went by quickly. We went to Cleveland early on, Newport over the 4th of July and then back again this past weekend. Spent lots of my free time outside this summer. Sometimes at the local beaches where we walked or played in the sand. In the neighborhood with my buddy Brady and his brother Charlie Barley at our playpark. I'm now big enough that I run around and go down the slides myself. I spent a lot of time next door. My cousins Sophie and Nicky have a trampoline so I sometimes do ring-around-the-rosie on it.

Other fun activities this summer included seeing my first two movies "Cars 2" and "Winnie the Pooh".

I best be going to bed as I'm off to pre-school tomorrow, still at the same daycare but now on the second floor in the big boys room.

Summer Highlights - June/Mid July

Lots of fun in the sun this summer. Here are some of the highlights:

-Visited Cleveland to meet Scarlett and hang with Cousin Elliott. I have a great memory so recollect that Scarlett got me Rosie the train and Elliott bought me Kevin.

-Every weekend is a train extravaganza. I am obsessed with Thomas the Train and so every Saturday or Sunday I want to go on a train adventure, which just means mommy and daddy will buy me more trains and visit the toy store.

-The benefit of loving Thomas is that I have learned all my colors and numbers. Thomas is blue and #1, other blue trains include Gordon and Thomas. Emily, Henry and Percy are green and James is red.

-I'm a funny guy: I told my daddy the other day that a pineapple was in my ear. I was poking in my ear and out dropped my tube (with a lot of icky wax.) I thought it was a pineapple.

-I've been to the beach a few times. We live a mile away from the Long Island Sound so I've been there with my friends Brady and Charlie and have done picnic dinners a few times with our family and theirs.

- I still sing a lot. I often make up my own lyrics about my engines to popular songs like "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Old MacDonald." However, I also know some of the real words to the Thomas theme song and sing that with Thomas Percy...dah, dah, dah and it is close to the real tune.

-I'm still eating the same foods. Grilled Cheese, pizza, chicken, meatballs, brocoli, bananas and blueberries are my standards. Chocolate milk, cookie monster cookies and Hood ice cream are my favorites. I've recently tried a real hamburger.

- I can put on my crocs by myself, insert the straw in the juicebox, sit on the potty ("I'm trying") and pretend to read my own books. I still enjoy doing puzzles but am more mesmerized by playing with my Thomas trains for hours upon hours.

-The iPad and iPhone are great, I know how to use them well. We've started to watch Thomas books on digital DVDs, which is pretty cool.

-Visited Newport, RI again this year. Just a beautiful place. We walked around a lot and watched the boats. I saw a marketing sign for the Thomas live show in September so mommy and daddy say we need to come back. xoxo

Lots to Tell

HI fans. I'm a busy man these days and have a lot to say. I wanted to give a brief overview of my fave's in case you haven't been in touch lately.

10. I LOVE Thomas the Train, more than any other character, TV show, toy or food. You can convince me to do almost anything if a Thomas train is involved. In fact, most things in life have a Thomas twist: going to Barnes and Nobles means playing with the train table there and behaving well at the dentist earned me a new Skarloey train.

9. Speaking of the dentist, I went for the first time and was incredibly polite. I told mommy I got new teeth...which really just meant they cleaned them up so they are now shiny white again.

8. I often tell my mommy "you look pretty mommy" even when she just wakes up in the morning with messy hair and sloppy PJs.

7. I also say "yes sir" and "yes boss" as daddy says that to me as a joke. Now I repeat it often.

6. Yes, I'm at that stage that I'm repeating everything that is said. I'm quite smart, I received my report card from school and they say that I'm cognitively advanced. I guess doing all those 30-piece puzzles as a two year old and playing games on the iPad has helped.

5. My regular routine is still around daycare and neighborhood play. I hang with the same small crew from daycare and I'm in an older class now. I still love Circle Time but now we have jobs; my favorite is being snack helper.

4. Weekends and some weeknights I hang with neighbors Brady and Charlie. I still love going to "play park" every weekend morning with them. Now Brady and I walk rather than ride in the stroller. I still see Cousins Nick and Sophie a lot. Sophie is a big helper and keeps me occupied when mommy and daddy are working the grill, something that doesn't come naturally for my parents.

3. I still play with the potty; sit on it sometimes, even pee'd once and pooped another time but it isn't a habit yet.

2. While I know I need to start being a professional potty person, mommy and daddy still think of me as a baby even though I'm sooooo big. I don't use my binky at school anymore, just at home before nap and bed. I drink with a big boy cup and can even use adult utensils.

1. Last but certainly not least I'm looking for a summer filled with adventures. Mommy and daddy love to take me to fun kiddie places. Last week's adventure was at the Beardsley Zoo. While I did roar at the lions and bears, I seemed most amused by the water fountain and table umbrellas. I will post soon my most recent adventure in Cleveland to meet baby Cousin Scarlett and see Elliott. Stay tuned for those..and lots of beach stories, too.

Happy Spring - Enjoying the Great Weather with Cousin Abe

Way Overdue

It has been nearly three months and this posting is way overdue. I don't even know where to begin. Happy Spring everyone. Here are a few notes on the past several months:

I took swimming lessons this winter. My first class didn't go over well. I held onto mommy tightly and only smiled when the balls were thrown into the pool. The second lesson was more relaxing and I actually enjoyed splashing in the water.

Grandma Judy came to visit in March. She brought me my new favorite toy, a wooden Thomas the Train puzzle. I'm obsessed with puzzles. I play them hours a day. Unlike most, I start at the middle (as opposed to the border) and find Dora or Thomas' eyes and then put together the pieces from the inside out.

I saw my first theater production, Thomas the Train LIVE. I was so excited to be there I wanted to sit in my own seat even when I couldn't see the show. Ten minutes later I climbed onto dadddy's lap and was "wowwed" by the sight on Thomas and Percy on stage. I love Thomas the Train and all his friends. James is my favorite. I likely learned my colors by understading which train is which color. Before I just made it up, but through Thomas I learned that he is blue, Percy is green and James is red.

In April I pee-peed on the potty for the first time. I didn't realize I was doing it, but mommy and daddy have been putting me on the potty and reading Dora potty books so that I learn to use it. Slowly but surely, I will understand.

I also attended my first wedding and traveled to Saratoga Springs, NY mid-April. Cousin Chris and new Cousin Beth got married and I had a blast. When I walked in the reception, I heard the band and danced for 15-minutes. I had the guests laughing hysterically. I had a lot of fun with my cousin Ethan, Sophie and other Nick, as well. I got so tired, I thought I saw Chloe (Sophie and Nick's dog.)

I still go: to the park every weekend with Brady and Charlie to run around and play soccer

I now love to eat: chocolate milk, cookies, pizza, grandma cheese (muenster cheese,) quesadillas (tortilla and cheese) and strawberries

I sing all the time: Bootsie Bootsie Kai-lan, No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Rain-Rain Go Away

Just a few quick notes - as there isn't too much to report in 2011

• Every morning I still wake up singing, but now I try and climb out of my crib.
• I talked for weeks about swimming, even practiced in my bath but hated my first swimming lesson. I only began to smile when they threw balls in the pool.
• I know all of my ABC's and can't count well. 1-2-3-4-6...oh well... I'm pretty close to doing it correctly.
• I'm very tech-savvy. I can use my parents iPhones and navigate well on the iPad. I play some puzzles and games, but also know how to find Netflix so I can watch more Dora.
• Mommy and daddy hibernate in the winter, as well. After I go to sleep they watch GLEE and so this photo is to honor, Sue Sylvester, the funniest character on TV.