Mama climbing the mountain!

I'm the special guest blogger once again while Ingrid is off doing good deeds and climbing Kilimanjaro. However, Fin was very sad when he saw Mama packing to go to the airport since he's been obsessed with "I want to go on airplane!" and "I want to go see grandpa and grandma in New York and go on the F train gelato cannoli." mumble mumble something." So we decided that if Mama was going to be away anyway, Fin and I would take a quick break to NY to see and do all the things he's been talking about for 2 months straight.

As a quick note of explanation, on a previous trip we got him a couple of books - ABC of NYC and 123 NYC which teach the alphabet and numbers with pictures of things in NY. He's been demanding that we read these EVERY night since he got them and has memorized them front to back, so this trip is all about taking him to see all the different things he's been reading about and obsessing over.

As an added bonus, it SNOWED in NY today - the first 'real' snow he's experienced as in falling from the sky snow. He had fun sliding around and trying to make snowballs to throw at Grandpa and has been very excited about everything.

Pictures to follow soon....

Getting Ready for the Big Bye-Bye

When I go to Africa in a couple days, poor Bunky will be without his Mama. He's done it for a week at a time three times before, but this is a little longer and he is a lot more conscientious of time passing now. For example, he understands the concept of "tomorrow" and "later." That might be old hat to some parents but for Bunky it's kind of new.

So I've been trying to spend more patient time with him, and sometimes that's just sitting next to him on the couch while he watches his favorite show, "The Wonderpets Save the Beetles" or some other thing, like "Imagination Movers," which I don't much like but can see the appeal. He doesn't seem to like "Super Why" any more - perhaps it's not challenging enough any more, though it would be if he truly understood the concept of words. Well he was a late talker and will probably surprise the heck out of us one day by really reading on his own. Right now it's memorization. And that's all right. He's not even three yet.

Anyway, his hair still pretty much looks the same, and if I weren't going away I would buzz it off. As it is, Daddy gets to be mortified in public (although he doesn't seem to care, since pretty much any parent would know instantly what had happened).

Bunky's First Haircut... so to speak

There's something sweet and innocent (if at times very frustrating and time-consuming) about a young child who wants to be just like the big people around him and do everything himself. Bunky can unlock anything, memorize the names of five major bridges of NYC by photo, start the car, and dress himself (not to mention having his own sense of taste).

So it stands to reason that after Daddy attempted to cut his hair with the trimmer one day - to which Bunky, at the time, declined - that he would have the presence of mind upon seeing said trimmer one day while going potty to then unplug the electric toothbrush, plug in the trimmer, plug the other end into the trimmer itself, and then proceed to trim his own hair.

Yep. And this is how it came out. A partial reverse mohawk. And one very embarassed and mortified mother.

The really funny thing is - my boss's three-year-old did the same thing a month ago (except with scissors, I think) and she, too, was mortified!

Ah, our little man...

Happy Holidays!

Earlier in the month we went to the Disney Christmas Party which is a private evening in Disneyland. Bunky enjoyed all the rides you would expect and more. At 39-1/2 inches with his boots on, he was just shy of going on the fun ones. Since Toon Town was closed, and that roller coaster was the ONLY reason we went to the party, we had to find other entertainment. So Bunky went on Space Mountain (40" minimum) and Star Tours (40" minimum). He loved them both. I'm sure he would have gone on Space Mountain 500 times if we had not decided that would be the last ride of the night.

Later in the month, Grandma & Grandpa Harwood came to visit. They stayed with us through Boxing Day and cooked us lots of good food. They're fun to have around.

On Christmas Morning we opened presents. Bunky had so many presents that he eventually got distracted by what he'd opened and refused to open any more. However, I eventually got him to open them all.

As with everything in his life, he enjoyed trying to open things himself. "No, I do it!" His favorite puppy was from cousins Logan and Nathan.

Isabel's Bane, that's what I named this guitar. She gave it to him -

and she can listen to him rock out on it all day long ;) It comes with a microphone which he loves.

Another guitar from Grandma & Grandpa Moon - I like this one better because it plays real songs and has actual strings. He liked it too but I didn't get any photos yet.

All in all we had a fantastic Christmas. I wish we could have also shared some time with my parents but that's what life is like these days... they are even making movies about it now! :P

Happy holidays to all!

Level Up! & Legoland

Okay first Bunky leveled up. For you non-geeks that means he went through a developmental leap (or is still kind of going through it). He is so much more like a boy than a baby. His speech is more complex, he has 59/64 pages memorized of a long book (not to mention all the other books), he is starting to (but not quite) make the connection between letters and sounds vs. letters and their shapes (upper & lower case). Reading by 3.5 for sure... Anyway, he's just more mature all around, and it's fascinating to see this change in his behavior and play and needs and so on. Yay!

Now for the Legoland part. It's been there some 12 years or so and I've never been. Yes, me, the legomaniac who would die and go to heaven to be a master builder (or even to have the time to build), the obsessive collector who doesn't open boxes but must have must have must have.

Anyway, the Nanny had a doctor appointment on a Friday so Mark was going to take the day off and stay home / work from home, and so on Thursday I pretty much decided I would too, and then Friday morning we pretty spontaneously decided to go. We got there around noon and by 4:00 had hit every ride he was qualified for. There were no lines, no crowds, no waiting. What took the longest was getting him off the roller coasters without a fuss. So much to see! It wasn't until about 4:30 that afternoon that I got to do a blitz through Miniland seeing the amazing intricate mind-blowing displays. I love that stuff. I can't wait to have a Lego studio of my own to set up my movie studio (though mine will be mini-fig scale). Too bad they close at 5.

Anyway, this is about Fintan, not me and my Lego OCD, so here are some photos.

Airplanes that go up and down!

Yes that Triceratops is entirely lego. Amazing.

Daddy & Bunky on Safari. This was a pretty kewl little ride, better than Jungle cruise with all the animatronic Lego animals. However, it was pretty much African except for the out-of-place pandas. I might have bought into it if they had been last, but they were second to last, just before the pride of lions.

After a fairytale cruise. I was surprised at how many fairy tale characters I could name, even though I don't know most of the stories. It was modernized; the prince had a cell phone.

My two heroes! Well, one hero and one replica.

Another view on that airplane ride.

Up up up in da 'ky! Faster faster!

A bouncy thing... I was surprised he liked it. Since there was no ride, we rode like 4 times in a row.

A different airplane ride. Mama was ready to bust out the blackberry and do email and work on this ride ;) But he clearly liked it.

An amazingly huge all-brick Thomas the Tank Engine.

Daddy has the photos of me & Bunk with R2D2 &Darth Vader.

Photos - we love photos!

Some recent photos of my "little man"...

All Hallow's Eve

Ahoy, mates! Another night of spirits roaming between the Earth and the Netherworld - and collecting loot from strangers!!! We had a great time! Woohoo!

Arrrr! The things I be puttin' up with fer candy!

I grabs me a beautiful pirate wench to accompany me!

And me daddy comes along too, arrr!

That scary ghoul don't scare this here pirate!

Say cheese, wench!