Pots of gold

Mom and Dad often wonder why I insist on examining (I'm sure others would call it "messing up") everything I see. Here's why: over the weekend I was snooping around and came across this cardboard box on the front porch. I opened it up and voila...


Pots and pans for me to play with!


And look at myself in. And munch on. And bang on (hope you guys have earplugs!). Let that serve as a lesson to everyone: you never know what goodies you'll unearth, so it's best to (literally) leave no stone unturned.

Ask Julia: Turks & Caicos edition

I really wish I was back in Turks & Caicos with Mom and Dad! That's not happening anytime soon, so I'll have to make do with reliving the trip by answering your Ask Julia questions about my vacation. The first came from my friend Isabella:

It looks like you had so much fun on vacation! What was your favorite part?
I'd say it's a tie between going in the pool and meeting all the Sesame Street characters. My favorite moment of the trip would be the parade, which was probably the most excited I've ever been!

Mommy and I were reading your blog and I couldn't believe you were hanging out with Elmo. I didn't know he was real! I've seen him and all his friends on my diapers, but who knew they all really existed? I think my parents are holding out on me too! I'm so glad that we're friends and can keep each other in the know about important stuff like this.
Trust me, he's definitely real! (And by the way, so is the Easter Bunny, who I saw a bunch of times in the spring.)

Here's what Grandma asked me:

Grandpa and I are so happy you enjoyed your family beach vacation, including your many close encounters with the Sesame Street gang! I'm curious if you think your Mom and Dad will relent a bit now and let you view Sesame Street on TV, at least occasionally, so you can catch up with your new friends!
You would think so, but no, my TV viewing hasn't increased at all since we got back and I still haven't seen even a single moment of Sesame Street. Mom and Dad point out that I will probably be disappointed by simply watching my friends on TV after getting to interact with them in person. That's why they've already talked about taking me back to see them, not in Turks & Caicos (darn!) but at Sesame Place theme park in Pennsylvania. Dad says it has Sesame Street characters and pools, so what's not to like? Grover, I'll be catching up with you soon!


My final vacation questions came from Aunt Paula:

I have really enjoyed a whole week of Fantasy Island. I hate to see it come to an end. Do you think that you can talk your parents into more fun vacations soon?
As much as I loved the trip, I was very happy to be back home, so I'm content not to do any other big trips for awhile. I did hear that we might go on a smaller trip in a couple months, so that should be fun.

Were you the youngest child at the resort? Did you make any new friends besides Elmo and Grover?
While there were kids younger than me, I certainly was one of the younger kids there (keep in mind, however, that there were a lot of kids of all ages). And yes, I did make friends with people besides Elmo and Grover. Abby Cadabby, for one:



If you're talking about kids my age, yes, I did have contact with a few kids that I kept running into all week. I'm not really old enough to interact with them other than waving and saying "hi" but it was still nice to make friends.

I really liked all your bathing suits. Did you get a little sun tan?
Not on my face, as Mom and Dad kept that darn sunhat on the whole time, but I did get color on my arms and legs. Thankfully I did not get burned, so I'll begrudgingly admit that all that sunscreen Mom and Dad made me wear seems to have worked.

I am looking forward to seeing you next weekend. Do you think that we can play together? Do I have to dress up like one of the Sesame Street characters?
I sure hope that we play together, unless I'm in one of my moods where I don't warm up to people I haven't seen in a long while. But I had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa last weekend so let's hope for the best. If you dress like a Sesame Street character I'll probably be interested for a few minutes, but inevitably my attention will wander and I'll start focusing on something else. So it's probably not worth the effort.

State of playground

After weeks of my staring longingly at the box with my mini-playground set, Mom and Dad finally got the hint and assembled it for me. They tried to show me the finished product, but I was distracted but other objects.



Then they took me outside and let me test it out.


The verdict? My response is lukewarm for now. The swing and slide are very tiny—I prefer the big ones at the park. I think I'll get more out of this set in the summer when I can walk and should be able to navigate around it on my own. Until then, I'll pine for the good old days when it was still in its box.

Double down

This photo is for those of you who think, judging by the photos I post, that I smile all the time. Mom, Dad, Babcia and Dido call this my Abby expression, in honor of my cousin who flashes this scowl from time to time.

But I have very good reason to be unhappy, as I've been sick for about a month now. After staying out of the doctor's office (aside from scheduled checkups) almost all year, I've gone three times in the last three weeks, with another appointment scheduled on Wednesday. My nasal congestion spread to my chest, which accounts for my coughing the past couple weeks. That finally triggered a fever and double ear infection (that's two infections for the price of one!) last week. So now I have to eat this gross pink stuff called amoxicillin twice a day. They try and slip it into my food, but I know it's there. My fever is gone (though I'm still rubbing my ears), and now everyone is dealing with a very unpleasant side effect of the antibiotics: frequent, explosive dirty diapers. How explosive, you ask? Well, I'm actually soaking through my diapers and my clothes!

Needless to say, we all can't wait for this to pass, so hopefully I'll be all better in time for my birthday.

Mom's the word

Because Mom has been so good to me over the past year, I knew she deserved the best Mother's Day gift ever. And I rose to the occasion, if I do say so myself. I broke my record for sleeping Saturday night, logging a whopping 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep (credit Grandpa for the assist, as he was the one who put me to sleep that night while Mom and Dad were out at a party). I slept from 8 at night to 8 in the morning. You're welcome, Mom!


I had other Mother's Day gifts to give out too, although when the time came to hand them off, I wanted the cards and presents all to myself.


My other gift for Mom was this bracelet, which I bought because I knew I'd get even more enjoyment out of it than she would.


It was great to celebrate the day with Mom, Babcia and Grandma (who came up for the weekend with Grandpa to watch me while Mom and Dad cleaned out the garage).


I had one last gift for Mom to complete the day. That makes three in all! Aren't I generous?



I hope Dad doesn't expect the same treatment for Father's Day next month!

Mothers superior

It's been a busy weekend, but I did want to wish a Happy Mother's Day to Mom, Babcia, Grandma and all the other wonderful moms who read this blog. Hope you all had a terrific day!

Later this week I'll share how I spent Mother's Day, give you a health update (I've been sick!) and answer your vacation questions, so be sure to check back.

Fantasy island, Day 7

It was time to go home today, but before we left, I was able to say goodbye to an old friend...


...and a new one.



I also squeezed in one last "real" Sesame Street encounter, with Elmo, who was nice enough to give me have one final hug.



I saw him during an "Elmocize" class he led, which allowed me to get a little workout in before the trip home.



After that, it was time to leave for home, a trip that ended up taking 12 hours door to door. We waited in several long, hot lines—first at the resort's "departure lounge" and then at the Turks & Caicos airport itself. When we reached the gate, hoping to grab lunch, we discovered that the only food option inside the airport was chips.


At least I had my baby food to eat! I also enjoyed grabbing Mom and Dad's soda cans and squeezing, which was something I did with their drinks during the week as well. We got on board, and while I was awake for the first time to see the takeoff, I conked out soon after.


I was another angel during the two flights and going through customs in Atlanta, saving my dirty diapers for when we were on the ground and sleeping much of the time. I even allowed Mom and Dad to execute a first-time-ever diaper change while I laid across both their laps. The only blip occured after my first midflight bottle. Between all the excitement and Dad bouncing me a bit to keep me entertained, I vomited most of it up all over Mom, Dad and me.


If only I had discovered this air sickness bag a few minutes earlier! Another fun object I played with during the flight was the blanket, still in its plastic bag.

Mom and Dad changed me into my pajamas before flight number 2, and it was very odd being in the Atlanta airport in my pjs, instead of in bed. I was sleepy, but they were hesistant to give me another bottle, not wanting a repeat of the earlier incident. But after I starting sobbing during takeoff, they relented and gave it to me. I drank it down and passed out for the whole trip (it was my bedtime, after all). I did get up when we landed, and stayed awake through baggage claim, our Air Train trip back to the parking lot, the drive home and for some time when we at long last arrived home. But after 2 hours, I finally went to sleep for the night.

To sum it all up, here's a video that Dad took right before we checked out of the hotel.



And that was my trip! Remember, if you have any unanswered questions about the trip, send them to me. Have a good weekend!