Learning about the world

I learned about a lot of new things this week. Wednesday, Mom was on the phone with Grandma and I was eating a nice snack when we started hearing a strange noise. Mom thought it was Peepa wreaking havoc in the living room, but it kept getting louder and faster and Peepa was just taking a nap, and finally she realized it was a crazy hail storm. Golf ball sized hail was pummeling our house and yard. In case you don't believe me, I posted a picture of it. It lasted about 10 minutes. After it was over, we went outside and I held one of them. I didn't like how cold it felt, so I threw it at our house.

In addition to learning about weird types of weather, I am learning all about a new color - pink. Our house is now full of it. The other night I came out of the bathroom, and this laundry basket was in our hallway. I've never seen so many clothes all the same color in my life. Mom and Dad say I will learn what this is all about in a week or two. All I know is Mom's tummy is getting really big and she's too tired to be much fun. I wonder if the two are connected somehow.

One of our doggies, Matty, has been sick for a long, long time, and Thursday he passed away. Mom and Dad are really sad. Our house sounds really weird without his barking, but I am keeping his spirit alive because he taught me my first word, "arf," which I make any time I see or think about a dog. We all really miss him a lot.

Today was a really nice day out, so Dad, Mom, Peepa and I went to the park. We hoped to get pictures with bluebonnets like last year, but they weren't there. We had a great day anyway. We ran around the park, looked at some ducks, Daddy played with me on a playscape and took me down a big slide, and we went to the sand pit. It was great. We all were exhausted by the end of the day.

Another thing that was interesting is I got to try out a new contraption - my monkey leash. I don't walk anymore. Instead I just run everywhere. Mom and Dad can't keep up with me and are afraid I'll run into traffic or something, so they got this monkey backpack for me so if I get away, they can quickly reel me in by grabbing the monkey's tail. Mom thinks it is a little weird, but Dad and I like it. Mom said if it keeps me from getting hit or lost, then it's worth it.

This week I proved I'm my dad's kid because I found that I love watching sports. First, we saw a guy playing basketball in his driveway the other day and I was so mesmerized Dad and Mom drug me away after staring at him for a while. Then when we were at the park today, I saw a group of people playing volleyball and was just as fascinated. Dad says I have perfect timing - I learned about basketball just in time for March Madness. He's pretty excited. Both my grandpas, who are also basketball fans, will probably be happy about it too.

Here are pictures of the hail storm, our trip to the park, and all our pink clothes.

A natural artist

I did great at school again today. I no longer care at all when Mom leaves. When we got there, I just ran away from her and started playing.

Today was a very fun day. Finally it's Purim, which we've been anticipating for weeks, and to celebrate we dressed up in costumes and had a parade. I wore my shark suit from Halloween and we marched in the hallways all around the school. We got to see all the kids, who were also in costumes, from the other classrooms and teachers who were also dressed up and singing fun songs.

My teachers told Mom they can't believe how much I like art projects, especially at my age. Yesterday while I was fingerpainting at home with Mom, she thought the same thing. I did it for a really long time and was very interested and focused on it. Today at school I painted for 15 minutes - I made a castle picture and a crown - the two projects everyone did - and then went on to do an extra painting! My teacher gave it to Mom and said, "Look at this, it's a really nice piece of artwork!" Mom and Dad are happy to have their own little Picasso.

Bubbe's visit

This week we had a special visitor. Bubbe came to visit from Atlanta. She and I had a really fun week. I got to spend a lot of quality time with her this week while Mom and Dad worked.

On Wednesday, she took me outside to play in the sandbox she gave me. It was the first time we've gotten to play there together, and I was happy to show Bubbe how to play in the sandbox. I also showed her how I can hit a ball off a tee with my bat and how fun it is to throw gravel and sand.

Wednesday night, Mom and Dad joined us for dinner at Hut's. I had a delicious grilled cheese sandwich. It was 2 for 1 burger night at Hut's so everyone else got burgers and we had extra for lunch the next day.

Thursday morning, Mom and Bubbe dropped me off at school. The teacher said what a wonderful kid I was in class. Bubbe was pretty impressed. On the way out, I showed her how good I am at working the water fountain, and how mad I get when I can't spend the rest of the day with it. In the afternoon, we went to the park and Bubbe chased me around the playground. She also gave me some new toys - a cell phone of my very own (so I'll stop stealing Dad's) and a firetruck that makes real siren noises. Bubbe said it kept making the siren noise on her plane ride down to Austin. She also gave me a doll that is supposed to get me ready for Peanut, but I found it pretty scary. Anytime someone brings it to me, I find someplace to hide. And she brought me some really fun new books! But my favorite new toy is a beach ball - I love throwing it around and chasing it at full speed, even though its almost as big as me. Bubbe also brought a present for Dad - some yummy Krystal's.

Friday, Bubbe and my parents and I all went to the parenting center for playing and Shabbat songs. It was really fun. They had a ball bath for the kids to play in, although I prefer to just pick up the balls and throw them. I really liked the songs - I even got up and started dancing and clapping to one of them. Mom had never seen me do that before. Friday afternoon, Mom, Bubbe and I went to Costco to pick up some groceries. They had some samples of macaroni and cheese that I LOVED. I ate so much that the woman passing out the samples eventually closed the sample booth to keep me from eating her entire stock, but by then I convinced Mom to get some to bring home with us. Friday night we had Rudy's for dinner - I love BBQ!

Saturday morning, Dad, Bubbe, and I took my wagon and went to visit Miguel. Miguel said I am getting very big. After my nap, Mom joined us and we all went to the Austin Botanical Garden. Mom and Dad had never been to the botanical garden before, so it was a treat for all of us. I liked all the space I had to run around, and I liked looking at the colorful flowers. They also had a cool waterfall and a dinosaur! Dad was nice enough to wear a hat for me to play with as well.

Saturday night, Mom and Dad went out on a date while Bubbe and I played with my new toys. Bubbe also showed me some new clothes that she got me. They included some very cute shirts and a few pairs of pajamas. She also brought me a cute shirt from Aunt Laurie. Just in time, because I'm really starting to grow out of my clothes.

Sunday, Bubbe had to go back to Atlanta. I really had a great time with her. Mom and Dad really appreciated having her around too. They got a well deserved break. In fact, Friday night they realized that they hadn't changed my diaper even once - Bubbe had handled all of my diaper changes for the entire day! It was sad that Bubbe had to leave, but she said she would be back in a couple of months, after Peanut is born. I can't wait!

Here are some pictures from our fun week.

Making Mom and Dad proud

Learn more about this project

Today was a great day at school. Usually when Mom drops me off, she hands me to a teacher and I cry until she leaves, but today I didn't cry at all. When we got there, Mom put me down and I ran off to play with a puzzle. Without the crying, it took Mom a minute to realize she was supposed to leave.

At the end when Mom picked me up, I dropped what I was doing and ran to hug her, as usual. Then my teacher raved about me. She said not only am I good and an easy kid, I am really fun because I laugh and run around the whole time I'm there. She pointed out that I sit in my chair and listen really well, and said she tells parents if they're going to have another kid, to order a Mitch! The whole drive home, Mom told me how proud I make her.

We've been getting ready for the holiday Purim in my class. Last week I made a Purim shaker and today we made masks. My teacher was very impressed with my painting, which she said I did all by myself.

Every day, Dad leaves us to go to work as a software engineer. Here is an example of what he does all day. To start the game, push the "s" key. The goal is to help me avoid Matty and Peepa. To avoid Peepa, click the down arrow. To avoid Matty, hit the space bar. To start a new game, click on the green flag in the upper right corner, and then push the "s" key. Don't forget to comment on this blog to tell us what you think of it. Dad says he's open to suggestions. Good luck!