The best of times, the worst of times

We've had a crazy couple of weeks around here. There have been lots of changes.

First of all, Hazel's done with breastfeeding! Her last day was Saturday, August 21. It was probably sadder for Mom -- who is very proud of Hazel but thinks we are both growing up too fast -- than it was for Hazel, who is doing great without it. She looked around for it a few times the first day or so but otherwise doesn't seem to notice it's gone.

The other big change is our school situation. I am now going every day to a preschool program. It's still only three hours at a time, and I am loving it! My new teachers and friends are great and there are lots of activities and toys that have to do with my favorite thing -- the alphabet. I like it so much, I don't even look back to say bye when Mom drops me off and most days I don't want to come home at the end of the morning!

Another very cool thing about my new school is it's right up the street, so close we can walk in the mornings. Most mornings Mom takes me, but sometimes we all go. It's a fun walk. We like greeting the crossing guard and Hazel likes waving at everyone we pass. It's still too hot to walk home at the end of the morning, but twice it's been "cool" enough (or we have been crazy enough) to try it. We're ready for some cooler weather, which probably won't happen until October, so we can walk both ways every day.  I can't wait. I get mad when Mom shows up with the car.

Meanwhile, Hazel's taken my old spot at Leaps n Bounds twice a week. She isn't crazy about it and cries when Mom drops her off. She's too little still to appreciate how fun school is.

We had a rough weekend. With all our new school attendance, someone brought home a tummy bug. Hazel threw up all Friday night, and recovered almost immediately. Then it was my turn Sunday afternoon and Mom's turn Sunday night and Monday. It took me until Monday afternoon to return to normal and Mom is still sore and tired. Dad hasn't really come down with it yet, although he's been tired and achy, and we're still crossing our fingers it doesn't hit him. It was a rough few days.

Despite that, we made it to some fun birthday parties Saturday and the pool Sunday morning, when everyone was feeling okay or not known to be sick yet. It's hot and all the birthday parties were outside with splash pads. Click here to see pictures Elizabeth's daddy took at her fourth birthday party, which featured a pinata and, as you can probably tell, delicious cake.

Here are some funny pictures of our latest adventures at home with Hazel's new shoes, watermelon popsicles and a boo I got at school today.

Mitch is happy and Hazel has shoes

Last week, Hazel got her first pair of shoes. We can see her from miles away because they are bright pink. She really likes them. Here's hoping she walks all over in them. I lucked out and got a pair too -- blue Saucony sneakers. They passed my test. I can run fast and jump high in them.

I have a new phrase. I have been telling everyone, "Mitch is happy." Today Mom said she was making blueberry waffles, for instance, and I yelled, "Yay! Mitch is happy." The best thing about it is when I say this, it makes everyone else happy too.

Another good turn of events is, after months (and months and excruciating months) of HATING taking a bath, I suddenly can't get enough of it now. All week I've been asking to take a bath. I like it so much, I don't want to get out and today Hazel and I took two baths. I still don't love to sit in the tub but I am getting there. Mom and Dad are thrilled and Hazel's happy I am taking the time to play with her in the tub.

I'm still growing!

Monday I got to go someplace all by myself with Mommy while Dad and Hazel stayed home together. It was pretty exciting. Unfortunately, I wasn't crazy about where we went -- to see the doctor.

The first thing they do when Hazel and I go to the doctor's office is measure our height and weight. I am now 37 1/2 inches tall (50th percentile) and weigh 32 1/2 pounds (60th percentile). I am big!

Next, they usually measure our heads. But I am old enough now that they don't do that anymore. Instead, they gave me an "arm hug" to take my blood pressure. I didn't really like their arm hug. I said I wanted to go home when the nurse did that.

When the doctor came in, she talked to Mommy about all the things I can do. She was very impressed with my pronunciation of "stethoscope" and "otoscope" and everyone is very excited about my reading and counting skills.

You can see my latest growth chart here, or click on the growth chart on the right side of the blog.

Party! Party!

I had a really exciting day at school. I didn't go on my usual day, Thursday. Instead, I went for a short day Friday, in honor of my friend Ethan's birthday. His mom arranged a firetruck that drove us around the school parking lot, pizza for lunch and ice cream cake for dessert. I was excited all morning about going. I kept yelling, "Party!" at Mom. When I got there, I wasn't happy about Mom leaving but after she snuck out, I had a blast. Here are some fun photos Ethan's mom took of me on the firetruck.

The other cool thing about Ethan's party was they sent a blue balloon home with me. I like saying "Mitch's baboon" and running around with it. Hazel likes it too.

This week I went to Borders bookstore to use a gift card I got for my birthday. Mom let me pick out any book I wanted, and I chose a Star Wars ABC book. I love it and read it every chance I get. My favorite characters are C3PO and Yoda. I have been running up to Mom at random times yelling random things like "Obi Wan Kenobi!" and running away. It really makes her laugh. Dad is super excited I am such a big Star Wars fan.

Hazel's been busy too.  She's really walking now. In just the past two days, she suddenly wants to walk whenever she can. It's really great and she's taking a few more steps each time. Today she walked almost the whole way across Mom and Dad's big bedroom before she fell over.



The other new thing is Hazel is using the word "no" with relish. It is funny to hear that she has so many opinions, but sometimes it's a lot to keep up with.

Here are some pictures from the past month, and here is a video of Hazel walking.

Cool at the pool

Mitch Fish

We live in Texas, where it is super hot in the summer. Because of this, we haven't been outside much lately, and Saturday, my friend Megan invited us to her neighborhood pool. The last time I went to a pool, I hated it and threw a fit the whole time, so we haven't gone much this summer, but we had a blast Saturday. Megan's pool is great. The baby pool is like a beach; it slopes down to the deepest part, which is about a foot or two deep, and there are a couple of little fountains in the shallowest part. Hazel really liked that pool best. They also had a big pool that I visited with Dad and a medium pool, which was fantastic! That pool had a waterfall that splashed onto a wall I could stand on and jump from, into Mom's arms. She was waiting to catch me in a section that was about 3 or 4 feet deep. Hazel and everyone else loved it too.

We had so much fun, in fact, we went swimming with Megan and her family again Monday. This time we had to go to their other neighborhood pool because the main one was closed for cleaning. The pool we went to Monday was just as good though. The baby pool was attached to the big pool, with a short wall separating the two. I liked jumping off the short wall into Mom's arms in the deep part, and Megan's dad put me underwater (he is a swim instructor and knows what he is doing). I didn't love that but I didn't cry either. Mostly it just surprised me and taught me to stay away from him. Megan's little brother, Ryan, loaned his little inflatable boat to Hazel. She liked floating around, and it freed up Mom's arms to catch me. We also invented a game we call "Mitch fish, Hazel fish, Mommy fish," which entails swimming around together.

Hazel Fish

All this has inspired a new trend. Yesterday afternoon we didn't know what to do with ourselves, so we headed to the pool at the J. Their baby pool is pretty standard, and the best part of that trip was there are pool toys everywhere for us to play with. Also, they have a shower room that is really cool. It's walled off so it's very private, but there's no ceiling! I can't stand taking a bath and throw a major fit every time Mom or Dad try to bathe me, but I really liked taking a shower at this place. We could look at the sky and watch grackles while getting cleaned up. Also, to turn the water on for 30 seconds at a time, you have to push a button. I am a button guy, so I loved that. Hazel didn't like it as much; she is more a bath girl. She liked being in the pool though.

Today we met up with a bunch of our friends. In the morning, we went to Barnes and Nobel, where Megan's grandpa tells stories to kids while playing his ukulele. Megan and Ryan were there with their dad, and Benjamin and his  mommy met up with us too. Hazel and I had so much fun, we both screamed when Mom said it was time to go. She had to haul us both out of the store. I was also mad that she wouldn't buy me all the books I liked.

After our nap, we headed to the J again to have a poolside picnic dinner with Clark. I ate a bean taco for dinner, jumped to Mom in the pool, swam around and then told Mom it was time for a shower. It was a great night.