Cincinatti

We went to see my college roommate, Karen, this weekend in Cincinnati.  We had a lovely time.  She showed us around her neighborhood---very cool, eclectic, pedestrian friendly...  We went to the Children's Museum & played on Saturday.

That evening we strolled around her neighborhood, had dinner and ice cream.  While we were eating our ice cream, John David decided to take off running (a new favorite thing of his to do).  David noticed he was headed full speed towards a small curb so he yelled, "STOP!"  John David turned to look at us, but continued running, with a huge "you-can't-catch-me grin"......right over the curb.  He fell head first onto the pavement.  Ouch!  It was hard not to laugh though.  For a couple of minutes, I wondered if he'd need stitches.  But it *did* stop eventually.

This is him posing with his band-aid.  :)

On Sunday we went to the Cincinnati Zoo.  John David loves animals and hadn't been to the zoo in quite a long time.  He had a blast.

Getting away from Pittsburgh for a few days was fun but seeing our friends was priceless.  :)

penis conversations

John David talks about his penis a lot.

Here are some recent conversations:

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We were driving to the gym a few days ago, when John David asked, "Mom, do germs have penises?  Or princess parts?"  I said, "Neither."

Him, "YES!  Which one???"  He thought I was holding out on him.

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At his three year well-child check up, Dr. Kim told him she needed to look at his "bumps."  As she pulled down his underwear, she explained that boys have "two bumps" and that she needed to look at his really quick.  He pushed her hand away saying, "Heyyy!  Don't touch my peeeeeeenis!"

Dr. Kim, "That's right, only Mommy, Daddy, and your doctor can touch your penis.  No one else."

I was glad he stood up for himself.  He's good about saying no if someone pushes him around on the playground.  I'm not sure why he knew no one be touchin' his junk, because I haven't explicitly taught him about the private nature of his "private parts" but he seemed to understand the concept...

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At Costco today, out of the TOTAL blue, John David said, "My daddy has a giant penis."  Sadly, no one else heard him.....oh how I wish he'd embarrassed David the way he embarrassed me at church the other day.

In case you hadn't heard....before walking into church this past Sunday we had a discussion about being quiet, using an inside voice, etc.  So we walked in, and he ran, SILENTLY, to the front of the church, while the pastor was speaking, and made a huge lap around the congregation.  Oh, the horror.  Why me God?  Why?

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This last one happened several weeks ago but I didn't want to forget it.

John David:  Mommy, you see Thomas' penis?  [Thomas the Train---he's pointing at the TV].
Me: No.
JD:  It's right there!  [pointing at screen].
Me:  I don't see it.  Trains don't have a penis.  They are trains.
JD:  Yes!  It's right there!  You see Percy's penis?
Me:  No.
JD:  It's right there!!

He did this for every character on the show.  Thomas, Henry, Edward, Gordon, Toby, Bertie.....

he's 3!

Our little boy is 3 years old.

On Friday evening we had some friends over to help us celebrate John David's birthday. We had pizza, cake, and lots of fun.

On Monday (his actual birthday) we took the boys to the Carnegie Science Center. John David always has fun there and this time Rex seemed to really enjoy exploring his surroundings.

Getting ready for the party.  We had a Cars theme this year.

The balloons became weapons during the party.  The kids would round them up and beat each other with them.  :)

Singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out his candles.

Opening presents.

On his actual birthday, he opened up more presents from family & us after eating breakfast.

Then we went to the Carnegie Science Center and he got to pet the Eastern Box Turtle.  He loves petting the turtle.

They have a gigantic Operation game for kids to play.

He planted corn too.

He played air hockey against the robot.  (And lost).

His favorite thing was jumping on the trampoline with the bungee cords.  This was his first time doing it because they have a weight requirement of 32 pounds.  He LOVED it.  The guy helped him jump pretty high.  John David asked him, "Is that scary?"  Which meant that he thought it was scary!

At the end of the day, Rex was so worn out that he fell asleep by the stairs.  I was busy upstairs and heard him fussing downstairs for a couple minutes and tried to hurry but by the time I got down there he was fast asleep.  What a long exciting day we had.

bumps, bruises, & more

John David jumped off the stage at Parents' Morning Out with a Hotwheel in his hand and look what happened! When I arrived to pick him up, I asked what happened and he said, "I gotta ice pack Mommy." Lol. :) They had a Cookie Monster ice pack and put it on his face. Honestly, I'm glad I wasn't there because he probably cried pretty hard! This photo makes it look like nothing, but trust me, it was worse in person.

When we came home that day, the sun was shining and John David wanted to go out and play. The backyard was a giant frozen puddle. I didn't want to take Rex out there, so he stayed in the kitchen and crawled around. He was so cute, popping his head up occasionally to watch what we were doing out there.

Over the weekend we went up to Grove City (about an hour north of here) and went to an outlet mall. John David's 3T's have been looking too short in the arms and legs so it was time to get some new clothes. We found some steals at Carter's and Osh Kosh. Long-sleeved t-shirts for $1.99!! So he got 6 new shirts at that price! I can't even get them that cheap at thrift stores. At Carter's I found some zip-up sleepers for Rex for only $3.99, which I thought was a bargain until I went to Walmart an hour later and found similar generic Carter sleepers (Just One Year) for $1! Oh well.

This morning I went to a thrift store and found an NFL Steelers shirt for John David in size 4/5 for only $3.95! He'll be starting preschool in the fall (hopefully) and it's practically a requirement for children to wear Steeler gear on Fridays. Also found a pair of jeans in 4T for $5 and a Lightning McQueen long-sleeved tee for 95 cents.

Speaking of preschool---I'll be turning in John David's preschool application in March. Right now we are waiting for his 3rd birthday well-child checkup and a dental exam. Those are scheduled for 2/28 & 3/1. As soon as I get the paperwork completed for those visits, I'll have all the documentation I need to mail his preschool application in. In order for him to go to public preschool for free, we need to win the lottery. That's right, the lottery! There aren't enough slots for all the kids who apply to the schools in our neighborhood so they have to draw for slots. We chose the 3 closest preschools to us and hopefully he will "win" a slot at one of these 3 schools. They draw for the lottery on April 15 and we should know by April 30. If he gets chosen, school will be from 9:15-3:15.

Pittsburgh Auto Show

A few weekends ago we went to the Pittsburgh Auto Show. John David got to see some real race cars! Keeping him behind the ropes wasn't easy.

After we looked at the race cars, there was another floor for just regular cars. David and I got a chance to browse...there's a potential minivan in our future. I know, I know! I swore I'd never drive a minivan but David has a way of sweet talking me into things. He's right--they are nicer than SUV's. They have more room. They have better gas mileage. They are safer. I know I always referred to them as "giant diaper bags on wheels" but.....no matter. I'm a mom. And I love being a mom so I'm cool with that. :) I just hope I won't have issues parallel parking the dang thing! This is Pittsburgh...

playing catch up

I need to get better about updating this blog. Sorry guys! We have just been so busy lately.

Here are a few photos from when my family came to visit in late December.

Rex wearing Grandpa's Airborne hat.

Gigi reading a book to Rex.

Uncle Sam and Grandpa walking around while John David pedals his car up and down our street.

Graduation

Wow, I am really getting behind on this blog. We are halfway through January and I still haven't written about our family visits in December. Guess I better get started.

David's mom and grandma came to see him graduate last month. It was super cold when they came. We went to the Phipps Conservatory---they had the gardens all fancied up for the holidays.

At Phipps.

David and I at Phipps.

David's mom Tina & Rex. I love this pic.

David's grandma Pat and mom Tina at Phipps Conservatory. Her knee was really hurting her so we were thankful they had an extra wheelchair on hand. She is considering getting a total knee replacement sometime soon.

Here is David getting his diploma.

Here we all are after his graduation ceremony at the Omni in downtown Pittsburgh. We are all so proud of him. Any patient is lucky to have him at the head of their bed. We love you David. It was so nice to have his mom and grandma in town so close to the holidays. We enjoyed their visit and can't wait to see them again. :)