Snow!

Mon, Oct 9th, we got our first snow of the year. It didn't really stick around, and it was only a dusting, but still, how crazy is that?? Snow that early?

Here is our neighbors' house. You can see a bit of the stuff sticking to their roof.

Bamfa again

Grandpa, er, Bamfa came back for another visit in early October. We went to a pumpkin patch where I was able to ride a horse.

We rode a horse-drawn wagon over to the pumpkin patch, where I picked out my very own pumpkin.

The fire station in Moorhead had an open house, so we stopped by. I put out a fire!! And now, every time we drive past it, I have to let Mommy and Daddy know that I went in there, and want to go back, and even used their potty. I'm pretty sure I want to be a firefighter when I grow up.

More Firetrucks!

I just cannot get enough of firetrucks, as I'm sure you've noticed. Mommy's cousin Denise (whose husband is a firefighter) tipped us off that Lowe's would be doing a firetruck event in late September. We went up to Grand Forks to check it out (not that there's anything wrong with the Fargo Lowe's - you just gotta switch it up sometimes). It was cool and windy, especially because Daddy and I didn't have jackets, but I still had fun.

I would much rather look at the hook-and-ladder truck than the camera. BTW, Daddy's shirt has a block of cheese and says, "It's all gouda." How awesome is that.

I don't think I'll ever sit in enough firetrucks.

Cats

I know you want pictures of me, but I can't forget my furry friends.

Tybalt-cat is on the prowl; Tybalt-cat is loose!

Yard Work

Our house up here has a pretty small yard (this is most of it in the video), so Daddy got a push mower for it. I like to help him mow.

I'm a big boy now!

Starting this spring, I began potty-training. At first it was just being put on the potty every 20-45 minutes, with little success. And then the move kind of set me back, since it was difficult with all the packing and unpacking and 28-hr car rides and exploring a new city to go on a regular basis.

When I started at my new school in late August, after a couple days there Mommy and Daddy and my teachers decided I should just wear underwear there. If reminded to go, I only had 2-5 accidents a week - not bad. By the end of September, I wasn't really having any accidents, so Mommy and Daddy decided to let (make) me wear underwear at home too instead of pull-ups. During the first week of October, it clicked! I started realizing when I needed to go, and I've only had ONE accident, at home OR school, since then (and that wasn't my fault - we were in the car and were unable to stop soon enough)!

I've also been waking up dry at night and asking to use the potty before I go to bed and after I wake up. I even woke up in the middle of the night to let Mommy know I had to pee, rather than going in my diaper! So for the past three days I've been wearing underwear fulltime. No more diapers! Yay me!

(Although I'd like to wear them - I told Mommy and Daddy, "Babies wear underwear and big boys wear diapers. I need a diaper!" They strongly disagreed.)

The great computer breakdown of '09

Our computer with all the pictures on it is out of commission for a few days (bad power supply, Daddy thinks) until the parts arrive to fix it. So, the next few posts may be chronologically out of order. Sorry!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I really love the children's museum here in Fargo. It's open late on Thursdays so we always go then after school, and usually one - or both - days on the weekend. I love the trains, both the wooden ones to play with and the big one to ride.

Sometimes they have a fun activity going on too. On the second weekend of September, they had "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles :

Take a seat in a real Semi Truck, Police Car, Ambulance, Fire Truck, or a Race Car! Race your own car across the grounds, explore, and create. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the beautiful Alphabet Garden. A fun filled day for the whole family."

I had the chance to look closely at a cement mixer, sit in a semi and a race car, and of course crawl all over an ambulance and firetruck. I don't think I'll ever get enough firetrucks.
Even cooler than the firetruck, however, was this thing that I found abandoned by the racecar. How awesome, a rocking airplane that I fit on!

Kansas City trip

For Labor Day weekend we went to Kansas City to visit Aunt Debbie and Uncle Dan. It's a loooooooong drive, so we split it into two days on the way down - halfway Friday night, then halfway Saturday morning.

Unfortunately Uncle Dan wasn't feeling well, so I didn't see much of him.

We went to a really cool farm/petting zoo place, Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park, Kansas. As soon as we arrived, I headed for the best part - the playground, of course. Because there aren't two separate playgrounds just a few blocks from my house, as well as one at school.
After spinning the steering wheel, going down the slide, and riding the duck, it was on to better things.
Goat lovin', of course!

We didn't stay in the goat pen very long though, because those things are aggressive, with a one-track mind focused on food (both the standard pellet type and the wallet type)!
Next was the tractors. I tried to ride one, but my legs were just a little too short.

Then I explored a teepee. After trying to pull it down (there was a rope hanging in the middle that I kept tugging on), it was off to climb on a big tractor, or Terrance, as I called him, because I call everything by its Thomas the Train name.
The best part of the trip though, hands down, was the hotel. I love hotels. I get to stay up late (Mommy and Daddy gave up on trying to get me to go to bed at a normal time during trips years ago), watch TV shows that we don't have at home (we don't have cable), and sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed, and - best of all - I can go swimming! My idea of swimming is putting on my trunks, heading to the pool, and going as far in as my ankles - sometimes my knees. But at this hotel I actually went in. The hot tub temperature was set very low, so I splashed around in there and had tons of fun.

While it was a fun trip, and it was great to spend time with Debbie and Dan, next time we're definitely going to take more time. Ten hours of driving each way on a three-day weekend doesn't leave you much of an opportunity to enjoy your destination!

Psych eval

My new daycare is run by a nonprofit, so one of the things they do is developmental evaluations of all the kids to see if they need any therapy or extra attention to address a developmental lag. I had my evaluation right before Labor Day.

Basically, everything was okay, although there were a few things that the specialist was concerned about:

• My size. I'm tiny. I went to the doctor at the beginning of August for my asthma medicine, and I was still 22.5 lbs, the same I was in Feb. '08. And still 35 inches, like I was for my two-year check-up. I'm now 0 percentile for weight, and 3rd for height (But the doctor also said I was :exceptionally bright", so he wasn't worried). Daddy explained to her that Mommy is tiny too, so she wasn't as concerned after that.
• My strength. I gave her what she described as a "weak" high five. Yeah, that's because I don't like strangers.
• Colors. I know my colors, really I do. For example, when a reddish-orange train goes by, I always refer to it as James. If you ask me to get you a blue crayon, I will. But it's also a lot easier to just rattle off color names until I get it right, or until you stop asking. This is something Mommy and Daddy are working on with me (mostly by bribing me with M&Ms).
• Body parts. She asked me where my tummy was, and I pointed to my tongue. Had she asked where my stomach was, or my belly, I would've pointed to the right spot. However, Mommy and Daddy never say tummy, so how was I supposed to know?
• My last name. When she said my full name and asked me if that's who I was, I said, "No, I Jax! I a big boy!" Because I am.
• Artistic ability. At almost 3, I can't draw a recognizable picture. But at 27 Mommy can't either, so no big deal.
  

However, I did great with my words! I have a HUGE vocabulary, and I speak in complete sentences all the time, as well as correctly using conjugated verbs.

So, while there are a few things to work on, for the most part I'm doing great!