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.

Hug bugs

We have been taking it easy this week and Hazel and I have taken the opportunity to be really snuggly lately. We both have been giving Mom and Dad lots of snuggles, hugs and kisses. I have also been playing with my new birthday toys. I am especially loving my bingo game, a game called Cariboo Grandma and Grandpa sent me, a Very Hungry Caterpillar felt board Aunt Lauren sent me, and of course, snuggling (and jumping on) Big Duck.

One fun thing we did over the weekend was we all headed to South Austin to visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. We looked at lots of fun sculptures, plants, fish, and turtles. They had story time and paper flower making for kids, but I wanted to run around outside instead. Here's a great photo of a moment when I tried to break some of the art at the center.

Today was not such a fun day for Hazel. She had to go to the doctor for a well visit. They found out that she is now 29 1/2 inches tall (20th percentile), weighs 18 pounds, 10 oz. (3rd percentile), and her head is 43.6 cm around (4th percentile).

The other big news is Hazel has molars! We didn't know it, but she has two just coming in on the bottom and one that has really come through on the top. The doctor was really impressed with how loud Hazel can scream. She really has a great set of lungs, which she put to work when the doctor tried to look at her.

Here's a link to Hazel's latest growth chart, also available by clicking the small chart on the right side of the blog.

Here are a few photos of me and Dad, mostly at the Wildflower Center, but also a few from around the house.

Happy birthday to me! It's good to be three!

I turned three Friday! In honor of my birthday, Bubbe and Papa came to visit. I was really excited to see them, and they came bearing gifts. Papa came in wearing a special safari hat for me, which he likes so much he wore it on the plane here, and Bubbe gave me some fun fish glasses that Mom says make me look like Elton John. We all love them because they are hilarious.

Bubbe also brought me a new toothbrush. It's nothing like the other toothbrushes I have. It's electric and it looks like a train! I love it and it makes me a lot happier about cleaning my pearly whites.

We did lots of fun things while Bubbe and Papa were here. We ate at Taco Cabana, Waterloo, P. Terry's, and Threadgill's. Mom and Dad had to work Thursday so Hazel and I kept Bubbe and Papa company. We took them to one of our favorite places, Jungle Java.

Friday was my birthday. I woke up to find a new resident in my room, a giant duck. It's name is Big Yellow Duck, but I usually call it Big Duck for short. I am crazy about him and my old pal, simply known as Duck, likes him too. Big Duck sure is making nap and bedtime a lot easier.

I got loads of great presents throughout the day. Bubbe kicked off the day with a special singing bear we can only play with on our birthdays. Hazel and I really like jamming to it. I also got lots of stuff from Mom and Dad (highlights include a ViewMaster and some cool vintage reels, my own copy of Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3, some awesome duck slippers, and of course Big Duck), a bingo game and alphabet stickers for my room from Aunt Laurie and Uncle Jonathan, Rainbow Rollers and a clock puzzle from Aunt Susan, Uncle Stuart, Aunt Pat and Uncle Neal, cookie and pizza sets from Grandma and Grandpa, and lots of things from Bubbe and Papa (my favorites were an alphabet puzzle, number flash cards, make-a-face toy for the tub).

While Hazel took a nap Friday morning, Papa and I thought it'd be a good time to put together another present I got -- a big wheel bike from Oma. It's great. It's red, flashy, and really, really fast when I'm behind the wheel. It was so fun putting it together. Turns out I'm really good with a screwdriver.

Lunch Friday was a treat in itself. Dad joined us for lunch and we went to my favorite lunch haunt -- Costco! We had pizza and hot dogs, and Hazel and I really chowed down. Friday afternoon when I got up from my nap, we celebrated by eating more, this time cupcakes and ice cream. It was great!

Saturday we continued celebrating by having a party with all my buddies at one of my favorite haunts, Champion Park. We had lots of food -- turkey wraps, fruit, veggies, hummus and best of all, banana cake made from my great-great-grandma's recipe. Her name was Mimi, she had the same birthday as Mom, and my great-grandma (Mom-Mom) sent the recipe to Mom a few weeks ago. Everyone loved the cake, which reminded Mom of Pennsylvania.

The party was very fun. About 40 people were there and we played in the sandbox and on the swings, dug for dinosaur bones, and played in the whale splash pad. My friends brought me so many cool gifts, we haven't even opened them all yet. I'll let you know how that goes later.

Today we slowed down a little and met up with Bubbe and Papa at their hotel for a swim. Even though I hated the pool the last time we went a month or two ago, I had a blast today. I hung out in the hot tub with Dad for a few minutes. I really liked it because of all the cool bubbles. I even spent some time in the pool with everyone. Hazel liked the pool too but screamed anytime Mom went underwater. I guess she didn't like her disappearing into thin air like that. It was too bad because until we figured out why Hazel was crying, Mom kept doing cannonballs to make me laugh.

So, we've had a very busy weekend, and even aside from that we've had a lot going on. Wednesday, Hazel really started walking a lot more. She hasn't done it as much since that afternoon, but she walked a quarter of the way across Mom and Dad's bedroom. She kept taking steps until she fell over, and a few times started dancing while walking, which made her lose her balance. Every time she cracked up. We're hoping when things settle down around here, she'll pick it back up again soon. It'll be fun when Hazel walks everywhere!

Since Bubbe and Papa have been here, Hazel has also said two words, "cat" and "dog." And since our last blog entry, she has grown more teeth. She is now up to eight! She's growing them so fast, we can't even keep up with it on this blog. She's happy about it all because she can eat so much quicker.

We've been dancing a lot lately to a song we have enjoyed since I was born, "Mahna Mahna." You'll have to watch our video to see how much we dig it.

It's still really hot here, and we are still enjoying our sprinkler in our backyard. Last week it was so hot, even Peepa joined in the fun.

You may remember, for the first 15 months of my life, I wore cloth diapers. Then Mom was pregnant with Hazel and couldn't take it so we started using disposables. Well, after a potty training effort gone wrong, both Hazel and I are wearing cloth diapers. I am not thrilled about it, but the point was to make me dislike diapers enough to use the potty. As a side benefit, Mom and Dad are hoping Hazel will potty train earlier/easier because of it too. So far, it's not working for me but I am complaining about it a lot. The other day Mom showed me some Cat in the Hat big boy underwear I am pretty excited about, so maybe that'll take it to the next level. I'll keep you posted.

Here's a link to pictures from my fun birthday weekend, and here are a couple of videos:

• Fun clips from my birthday weekend
• Me and Bubbe spelling words