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April
2004 Journal
April
showers bring May flowers! Let's hope so, that way all
this rainy weather will have been worth it!
Lots going on this month! A visit from the Easter Bunny,
Grandparents, a trip to Florida and getting ready to move into
our new house! Plus, my swimming lessons start up
again...yea!
I am going to be very busy but will try and keep things up to
date!
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I'm
Getting Soo Big!
April
4, 2204 |
Thought I would
give a little update on how I have been doing...developmentally,
that is! I am starting to test my parents a lot lately with
refusing to do things, doing things I shouldn't be doing, temper
tantrums and stubbornness! To be honest, I haven't been
getting away with much :(.
I am wearing 3T pants, got too tall for my size twos! I am
still able to wear the 3T in shirts, but the 4T's aren't all that
large. I am still in diapers and quite attached to them.
I was a little bit interested in the whole "potty/big boy"
thing but that has quickly faded. Mommy said we would try
again once the weather gets warmer and we move to our new
house! I'll be too busy getting adjusted to that to want to
try going on the potty.
I am still pretty picky when it comes to eating...it's not uncommon
for me to barely eat anything all day long and the next day eat a
lot. My favorite things are waffles, peanut butter toast,
butterscotch pudding and McDonald's cheeseburgers, French fries and
milk shakes!
I like to play with my trains, trucks and color in my coloring
books! The black crayon is my favorite...I only have a stub of
a piece left, but I still choose it first! I love to
run! It's even more fun if I can get Daddy or Mommy to do it
with me! Hiding and jumping are fun activities too! I'm
not very good at the hiding part, can't seem to keep quiet...but
it's still fun! I like jumping off of things...the couch, the
stool, the steps, my train box. I am pretty cautious about it
though...I don't like getting hurt. My sandbox is still a
favorite, I could play in there all afternoon! I like watching
cartoons, but aren't especially addicted to any certain one
anymore. I enjoy SpongeBob, Max & Ruby, The Rugrats and of
course the ever so "child appropriate" (well, that is what
Mommy says) Simpsons! Homer makes me laugh! I really
enjoy family movie night...that means I get to pick a movie and we
make popcorn. I love popcorn! Our new family hobby of
"geocaching" is a lot of fun too. I like to look for
"treasures". When we aren't going for
"real" outside, I like to pretend with my "treasure
box" at home (John Deere lunch box filled with Mardi Gras
beads!).
I am talking up a storm too. I catch on to things people are
saying around me and I remember things too! Mommy said that
she and Daddy have to be careful about what they say and do
now! I have been quite fascinated with anatomy lately....it's
made for some very interesting conversations around here!
I am looking forward to seeing my grandparents and Uncle Mark this
month! I remember that he said he would take me to a zoo where
you can pet a giraffe!
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Coloring
Easter Eggs!
April
5, 2204 |
Tonight Mommy,
Daddy and me colored eggs for Easter! I made one for everyone
in my immediate family. I told Mommy whose name to write and
then I picked the color. I liked dropping the egg in the
dye...I had to be very careful not to drop or crack it. This
was tricky work, but I did a really good job! Orange was my favorite
one to use...and I liked mixing up the colors too! Then I had
to wait for the dye to stick, then very carefully get the egg out
with the spoon and put it on Daddy's plate. They came out soo
pretty...even the "ugly" one that Daddy said we needed to
make for Pa-Pa! We colored 18 eggs and I wanted to do
more. Mommy said maybe later we would do it again! I
hope so...and I hope everyone enjoys their eggs!
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All
Aboard the Easter Bunny Train!
April
10, 2204 |
Today, Mommy,
Daddy, me, Grammy, Grandma & Pa-Pa, Aunt Atina & Nickoli all
went down to the Strausburg Railroad to ride the train with the
Easter Bunny! This was Nick's first ride on a big train!
He really liked it and so did I! I love watching the
country-side go by the windows. It was really extra special because
the Easter bunny came by and gave us kids a lollipop! I got a
blue bear and Nickoli got an orange rocking horse! We ate 'em
up! Then we got the grandparents to go in the
"Thomas" shop!! Grammy got me a cool milk truck for
my train set and a set of Thomas dishes! THANKS! Then
Nickoli and I got Pa-Pa to take us on the little train! That
was great fun...we laughed and laughed! It was a fun day and
we all had a good time!
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Happy
Easter
April
11, 2204 |
The Easter bunny
came to my house this morning and left baskets of goodies for both
Nickoli and me! We got train stuff and lots of candy! It
was raining pretty good so we didn't get to hunt for eggs this
year. Maybe next year the weather will be nicer. Plus,
Mommy had caught the flu, so she spent most of the day in bed.
Aunt Susan and Uncle Allen came up to visit. I sure did have a
good time playing with them! They let me take the cushions off
of the couch and everything!! We built forts, played
"hide Aunt Susan" and Uncle Allen and me tickled Aunt
Atina till she was in tears!! Everyone helped to chip in and
make dinner. I didn't eat any of it but everyone else seemed
to be enjoying it and themselves!
Hopefully next year everyone will be able to come and are feeling
better!
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Florida
Vacation!
April
16-26th, 2204 |
~Friday, April
16th ~
We are on our way to Florida! Daddy worked for a little while
in the morning and Mommy & me finished packing up our
suitcases. This was my very first ride on an airplane and I
loved it! I really enjoyed looking out the window. When
the pilot told us we were over Florida, I told Daddy that I could
see Uncle Mark's house!! I also thought the clouds looked like
milk. Uncle Mark picked us up at the airport. I was soo
excited to see him that I ran across the terminal and into his
arms. The airport we flew into was small and we had about an
hour and a half ride to his house.
Uncle Mark lives in, what they call, The Indialantic. We tell
everyone Melbourne, since it's a more familiar term. Melbourne
is about 20 minutes away. We drove over a big big that went
over the ocean to get to his house.
After we were settled in, we went for a quick drive to the
beach. It takes about 5 minutes in the car to get there and
that includes loading and unloading yourself and stuff! It
wasn't quite dark yet and the tide was just coming in. It
didn't take me long to find some stranded sand toys and start
playing and running around. I can't wait to see what we do
tomorrow!
~Saturday, April 17th ~
Today, we decided to just get up and go to the beach! Our
friends Jeff & Stephanie sent over a bunch of sand toys for me
to play with. They live in Melbourne and are expecting their
first child sometime in September. We are excited and happy
for them. Anyway...after breakfast and a rub down of
sunscreen...we hit the beach! WOW...were those waves big and
the ocean is a noisy thing. I wanted absolutely nothing to do
with that. Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Mark tried to get me to
stick my feet in it....NO WAY! I'll stick to the sand...and
boy did I!! Mommy said that saying I loved the sand, was an
understatement! Heehee! Mommy, Daddy and me made a big
dragon out of the sand. He lasted long enough for a quick
picture and then I knocked him down! Uncle Mark dug a big hole
that went all the way down to the water....he had to work extra
hard...for every 2 scoops he took out I put in one! After
about 5 hours at the beach, we went home...then Mommy and Daddy
found out they were sun burnt! Oops!
Later, that night we went over to Jeff & Stephanie's
place. They sure do have a nice house with a screened in pool
and hot tub. We took some quick dips in the pool but it was a
bit chilly, the sun had gone down. So, we spent most of the
night in the hot tub...I liked that. My favorite thing about
their house was their pet cat.
~Sunday,
April 18th ~
We are going to the zoo today! First, we all went for
breakfast (me, Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Mark, Kathryn - Mark's new
roommate). I ate yummy pancakes. We then drove and got
Jeff & Stephanie. We went to the Brevard Zoo.
Melbourne is in Brevard County. It was a really nice zoo and
we all had soo much fun there! Some of the highlights
were: petting a giraffe, that was weird. They have
really long tongues. Jeff got me a cracker to feed him, boy
did he gobble that up. I had giraffe drool all over my arm!
Ewww! Then we went into the aviary and I got to see some
really pretty birds. Daddy bought some sugar water and they
perched right on his arm and finger to eat! We got to see them
feed the alligators too! That was cool. They put some
chicken on a stick and the gators jumped right out of the
water! There was a fun playground to play in and a petting
zoo. I love petting zoos! I brushed a deer...he seemed
to like that.
After our zoo adventure...oh, I got some cool stuff in the gift
shop. A giraffe pen for me and one for Amanda (for taking care
of our house while we were gone), a t-shirt, magnet and elephant
train engine! We all went back to Jeff & Stephanie's house
for more swimming and cooking out dinner. Uncle Mark can run
and make big splashes in the water! I showed everyone how I
can jump from the side of the pool too! My splashes aren't
quite as big as his though.
~Monday, April 19th ~
Today, we all slept in really late. That was neat! I
didn't get up until 10:30! I have been sleeping really good
though, considering the change. Mommy & me are sharing a
bed, while Daddy has the blow up mattress on the floor. Funny
thing is, I always start out on the side of the bed closet to the
wall...but wake up on the complete other side. Mommy
"says" that I keep pushing her out, so she has to
switch...heehee! ANYWAY...today, once we all got moving
around, we packed up our stuff and some lunch and headed off to the
beach! Uncle Mark lives soo close...it takes about 5 minutes
and that includes loading me and everything up in the car! We
go to the un-crowded beach that is behind the hotels...there are a
lot of rocks in the water there...which make it harder to swim
in...but we don't really care about that. I'm not a big fan of
the water anyway, especially moving waves. Uncle Mark decided
that it was good weather for fishing, so Daddy went and got a
license and they came back with all their gear. They fished
for a long time but only got "trash" fish. They
caught a few catfish...those are funny looking. Daddy caught
this really ugly fish. Uncle Mark calls it a "rock"
fish because they like to take your hook and run under the rocks
with it. It sure was an ugly little fish!
After lots of rolling in the sand...it was time to head
home.
Giving me a bath after the beach has proved to be very challenging
for Mommy! We will need to get Uncle Mark some Liquid Plumber
before we leave...heehee!
~Tuesday,
April 20th ~
We all had a bit too much sun yesterday, so we decided to do some
geocaching around Florida. Daddy & Uncle Mark had already
done a few little ones without Mommy & me. We found a
SpongeBob one. It was cool...and only filled with SpongeBob
stuff. I took a really cool key chain and left a
pencil/stamper. We stopped at a few other little parks and
found some "micros" (this ones are really small, only room
for a logbook) and the last one we did was called "Sharks and
Coconuts"...I got a really cool dump truck and blue van out of
that one...so, I left some playing cards and another little
car! We stopped after that one...everyone was getting really
hot and we wanted refreshed!
We got back to Uncle Mark's development and decided to go for a
swim. "Kat" was home from work...so, she went with
us! The pool at Uncle Mark's is really nice. The only
thing that was hard is that there wasn't any shallow section for
me. I was apprehensive at first but Mommy coaxed me in.
The water was really kind of chilly but we got used to it.
Uncle Mark did some silly jumping again...he's nuts! I did
some good jumps too! I did much better showing how I can
"swim" and go under the water. We were having tons
of fun and then realized it was almost time for dinner! Uncle
Mark had some Pompano fish he had caught earlier that he was going
to cook up for us.
"Ewwww"...that is what I said when he took the whole fish
out of the fridge and started cutting it up and seasoning it.
This after he chased me around the kitchen with it! Daddy and
Mommy thought the fish was really good...I simply enjoyed my peanut
butter sandwich, thank you very much!
~Wednesday,
April 21st ~
Oh my...what to do today! So, I got to pick! I want to
go to the beach! Yay! I am really beginning to love it
in Florida! Today, Mommy actually got me to sit in the ocean
and let the waves crash up on us! We made it like a game and
every few minutes, Mommy would slide in a little closer. Some
of the waves were soo big that they spun us around or knocked us
right over! It was a lot of fun! We played in the water
a long time!
Uncle Mark and Daddy met up with Jeff and did some golfing this
afternoon. Mommy & me got cleaned up from the beach and
watched Finding Nemo and took a nap! I was really tired!
We have a big day tomorrow...Sea World!
~Thursday, April 22nd ~
Yay! Today is Sea World! We sure did have a fun day at
the park! We saw some really cool stuff! Uncle Mark and
I spied some sea turtles...I called the one "Dude".
We watched a sea lion & otter "pirate" show, a dolphin
show and of course, the Shamu show! Shamu had a baby and it
was fun to see her. Shamu got us all wet! Daddy and
Uncle Mark saved me from getting drenched! I thought that was
pretty funny! I got a beach towel souvenir that says
"Shamu Splash Victim". We also went to pet the
dolphins and the one came right up to us and slashed us all in the
face! It was funny but I had had about enough by then! I
took a nice long nap on the car ride home.
~Friday, April 23rd ~
This morning we got up and went to the pool. The water felt
much warmer today. We visited with some of Uncle Mark's neighbors
and their little granddaughter. I was really showing off my
swimming techniques today. Uncle Mark and me swam around the
pool too. We spent most of the morning there. Uncle Mark
had to go to the doctors in the afternoon, so we did a quick run to
Mc Donald's for lunch, and had him drop us off at the beach while he
went. What another nice relaxing day. We stayed really
late...it was almost 6 o'clock before we left! We all are soo
relaxed...even Uncle Mark said having us there was his vacation! :)
~Saturday, April 24th ~
I bet you can't guess where we went today! THE BEACH!
Sand is pretty much everywhere now and Mommy wonders if we will ever
get it all out of our stuff and my car seat! HeeHee...we don't
care!
Mommy & me played in the water the entire time. I liked
filling up the bucket with sand, water and shells. We were
making soup. I had to hold on tight to my shovel or the ocean
would try to take it away!
Daddy & Uncle Mark did some more fishing. Daddy had better
luck today. He caught a Pompano fish! "Good
eatin'" says Daddy! These fish are popular in Florida
waters but once the summer months arrive they "run" north
for cooler temps. The fish is great for eating, not only
because it tastes great (or so I am told), it is easy to gut,
prepare and eat. There aren't a lot of bones in it, one big
spine that has thick bones coming off of that. You can eat
almost the entire thing! Daddy said the piece right at the top
of the head tastes like crabmeat! He was quite happy with his
catch!
THEN....Uncle Mark decided he was going to fish from the reef
rock. Daddy stayed where he was, Mommy & me are playing in
the sand. Uncle Mark yells for Daddy...Daddy yells for Mommy
to get the camera! WHAT IS GOING ON? Mommy and me go
down and Uncle Mark is reeling in something...he is working really
hard, his rod was all bent over...people start to gather
around. Finally, we could see a bit of the fish....hey,
wait...it that a dorsal fin? Uncle Mark caught a SHARK!
WOW! He said it was called a "bonnet shark".
He's caught them before but this was the largest one he ever
got. It was probably around 3 1/2 feet long...it would lay
still enough for us to measure it. He said that they are
really good to eat, but he had no idea how to prepare or gut it, so
he was going to send it back. There was probably a nice crowd
of 20 people or so. It took awhile to get the shark free...the
hook was stuck so he had to leave it in. He threw it back in
the ocean and it swam right back at us...that was funny!
Finally, we got him to swim back out to the ocean. It was
exciting...and we are really glad that we had a camera to capture
the moment...Mommy even took a video clip!
It was getting late for me, so Mommy and I went home. Daddy
and Uncle Mark stayed to do more fishing. Daddy caught a
bonnet shark too! It was a bummer that we missed his and
didn't get a picture! He was excited about doing that.
His shark wasn't as big as Mark's though. So...my running joke
is "Uncle Mark caught a BIG (I hold out my hands and use a deep
voice) shark and Daddy caught a "little" (I hold my hands
together and use a squeaky voice) shark. This gets a pretty
good laugh from everyone!
~Sunday,
April 25th ~
Well...it's our last day in Florida. We can't believe this day
is already here. We went out this morning and did some souvenir
shopping. We got some nice t-shirts to remind us of our
visit. We also went for lunch at "Petrillo's"
Italian restaurant. They sure have some good pizza. Then
it was off to our last trip to the beach! It was a perfect end
to a perfect trip. Daddy & Uncle Mark did a lot of
geocaching in Florida...but they went at night after Mommy and me
went to bed. I hope he will do a journal entry about their
adventures!
~Monday,
April 26th ~
Well....I guess it's time for us to go back to PA. We had such
a nice time...and I ended with really liking the ocean. It
only took a few days...heehee. We had a nice relaxing time and
the weather was perfect, not too hot and no rain! Uncle Mark
drove us to the airport and I got to sit with Mommy on the way
home. I really like flying in a plane. We knew as soon
as we entered back into Pennsylvania...it was raining and
cold! Well, we have lots to get ready for...gotta pack up our
stuff and buy/move into our new house!
THANKS UNCLE
MARK FOR THE GREAT VACATION...WE CAN'T WAIT TO COME BACK!
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Bad
News :(
April
27th, 2204 |
Hmmm...came back
from our great relaxing vacation...already planning when we will go
down there again...preparing for the big moving day coming up...and
Daddy gets slammed with bad news at work of a lay off! The
project he is working on is winding down at the end of the month and
apparently the "big wigs" don't think they need so much
help anymore. They are laying off 15 people and it all appears
to be random. Daddy was low man on the totem pole but we
thought his being local would pull some weight. Guess not,
since there are still people working on the project from out of
state and Canada! His contract with this project wasn't
supposed to be up until the end of June, but I guess PHEAA can pull
out at anytime...but needs to give a 30 day notice of the employees
last day. Daddy is kind of hoping it may get extended, as
projects don't always finish as scheduled, but we aren't counting on
that.
The good part, if there is a thing, is that at least he still has a
month of employment. We were afraid we would lose the mortgage
on the new house. Daddy and Mommy talked for a long time about
what to do. I guess they would have lost most of the money
they saved for closing costs in legal fees...so, may as well go for
it and see if we can make it work. Daddy said I may need to
open a lemonade stand on our block...heehee. Mommy is going to
go back to work full-time starting June 1st..so, she can at least
get benefits through there.
Guess, we will keep you all posted on any news. We just hope
it doesn't take a year this time around :)
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Dr.
Hollowell
April
28th, 2204 |
Well...Dr.
Hollowell, my urologist...is leaving the area. We kind of knew
this was going to happen, as she gave us a heads up on it before my surgery
in March 2003. Due to PA's lousy insurance and the high costs
of malpractice insurance...she can no longer afford to work
here. So, we have bumped Cole's July tests up to May...this in
part of us possibly losing insurance coverage too. It's
been scheduled for May 27th and we will be sure to keep everyone
informed on how it goes. I don't like these tests...but I
didn't do so bad last time. We will miss Dr. Hollowell though,
she was a great doctor and so very nice to me!
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Buying
Our House
April
30th, 2204 |
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Daddy &
Mommy did it! This afternoon they sold our townhouse and
bought the new one. Grandma & Pa-Pa came to stay and play
with me. I wasn't allowed to go. Everything ran smoothly
except right at the beginning...Daddy & Mommy were on their way
when Bonnie called. I guess there was something wrong with the
guys mortgage loan that was buying our place! It got resolved
shortly...we have no idea what happened...but it was nerve racking
for everyone involved!
Now...the fun
begins!
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