Getting ready for Christmas!

One more day until Christmas...boy have we been busy.  Daddy has torn out the galley in the boat and mommy has been shopping until she was dropping for all of our family (only to be reminded later that she agreed last year not to buy the adults gifts...shoot.  She told them to enjoy it, no more gifts for at least the next five years.  Shipping is probably really expensive from Figi!).

Last weekend, in order to give daddy some room to work on our new refrigerator, mommy and I went to see Gigi and Papa.  I helped Gigi decorate her Christmas tree (since we only have a teeny tiny one on the boat and mommy says the ornaments are in the back of the storage unit) and we made a fantastic gingerbread house!  This is probably my favorite thing to do each year.  I asked Gigi if we could make another one on Christmas.  It's really messy, but I get to do whatever I want.  This year I put a rocket on the side of the roof with twizzlers (no, that is NOT a christmas tree).

After we finished all of that, Papa drove us to Riverside to see all of the Christmas lights at the Mission Inn.  It looks like they have a gazillion, billion, trillion lights there!  They even have a skating rink where  I saw a Zamboni!

We ate at a really good restaurant where I had spaghetti and meatballs.  When we got home, I got to eat a little bit of a cupcake and ended the yummiest day ever!

Tomorrow we're going back to Gigi's to wait for Santa!!

Mommy said to tell everyone to have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My day on an aircraft carrier

I did the coolest thing yesterday....I got to go on the U.S.S Midway.  A real live aircraft carrier.  For the last month, we have passed an aircraft carrier while driving daddy to and from work every day.  I continue to ask mommy if I can go on and she continues to ignore my question.  Well, not yesterday.  After we dropped daddy off at work (he had to work with the Reservists this weekend), and had the most yummiest breakfast ever (chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream), we spent two and a half hours going through the Midway.  I saw the bunks the sailors slept in, the engine room where they made the ship go (the steam gets passed to the propellers and makes the ship move), and even the jail!  They call it the Brig.  Incidentally, there are a lot of potties in the Brig.  I made mommy read all of the signs and I even stole her earphones so I could listen to the important, yet interesting facts they were telling her through the recording.  But the best and most super part of all was getting to see and sit in the airplanes.  I got to sit in a few of them and flew many missions.  I never crashed...but I did push all the buttons and call out all the proper commands.

After we finished our tour, we went in the gift shop and with much persuading (I pulled out some of my best moves), I convinced mommy to buy me an aircraft carrier complete with little bitty airplanes and a helicopter.  It's been hard to concentrate on anything else since.

Even though we were there for most of the morning, there are still some decks that we didn't get around to.  I'm looking forward to my next trip!

I have some new pictures for everyone to see.  When mommy went on her last trip and I stayed with Gigi and Papa, I met some new friends.  One of them even had a spaceship in his room!  I had a lot of fun and hope I get to go back soon.  

 

I've been up to a lot of other things too. Mommy and daddy let me bring my bicycle on the boat. I ride it up and down the dock, to the playground, and to the Galley (that's a restaurant we eat at when mommy and daddy don't want to cook...they have great macaroni and cheese).

Mommy got some new collapsable mixing bowls for mixing things while she's cooking. But I found a better use for them...hills for my Monster Trucks! You would be amazed all of the things that have more than one use!

Mommy is trying to keep up two blogs now so she's asking everyone to be patient with her.  It's hard deciding what goes where.  The other blog is about moving onto the boat and our sailing adventures.  It will be a good read for those of you who want to follow along.

More soon...Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween!

One more Halloween under my belt and I think this was the best one!  I had the coolest costume ever...Astronaut.  AND I got to wear it to school for our Fall Festival.  For Halloween, mommy and daddy took me to Gigi and Papa's house and we went trick or treating in their neighborhood.  I did really good and had a super good time.  I said trick or treat (without the rest of the song that mommy says isn't very nice...what's wrong with smelling my feet?) and I said Thank You really loud.  My bucket got heavy really quickly.

It's been a long time since I've written.  The most significant thing that's happened is that we've finally moved onto our boat!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my room.  It has everything a kid could possible want in it.  My bed is like a little cave and I have a net for all of my animal friends.  My toys are within arms reach as are all of my books.  Mommy says I sleep at least an hour later on the boat than I ever did on land.  As soon as we clean it up, mommy will put a picture of it out here for you to see.

Oh yeah...daddy broke his foot.  Mommy has had to pull double duty these days.  She said she'll quit giving daddy a hard time about all the stuff he does...she really didn't do everything like she thought she did (but now she does).  He'll be in a cast for at least 4 weeks, probably six.  He was working and making a special for some people called NatGeo????  Anyway, he stepped wrong when getting out of the water and twisted his foot and poof, snap, bang...his foot was broke.

I get to spend the week with Gigi and Papa while mommy goes on her business trip and daddy gets to chill at home.  I guess I'm harder to take care of with one foot than with two.  Anyway, I don't mind.  Gigi and I are having a blast building things, cooking things and going places.

I hope everyone is having a great Fall.  Mommy got a new camera so maybe I'll be better at keeping you up to date.  Mommy says don't hold your breath....

It's my Birthday!

I turned 4 in Mexico!  I had a pretty good day, but I still don’t understand why mommy and daddy had to wait until the end of the day to give me all of my presents.  Let me back up…for those of you that don’t know…we’re on a two week trip on our boat in Mexico!  I get to spend all of my time with mommy and daddy….Mommy is even playing teacher! 

Back to my birthday….I woke up and had a nice waffle birthday breakfast with peanut butter, honey and syrup.  I helped mommy make my birthday cake.  I love to stir and help measure.  Mommy seemed a little frazzled and mentioned something about Celsius and math, but I didn’t really get it.  I don’t know why she was so nervous, dump the stuff in the bowl, crack few eggs, stir…what’s the big deal? 

After that we went to eat lunch and rode in a car with some new friends to a party.  It wasn’t as much fun as they played it up to be but I managed to have a good time. There was a bouncy thing but I didn’t want to go in.  Too many girls….they can be kind of pushy some times.

Finally we went home and I played with my playdoh toys that mommy had given me earlier in the day (hours of fun) while mommy made dinner.  After dinner we finally got to eat my CAKE!!  It was delicious.  Then, just when I didn’t think I could wait any longer, mommy gave me my presents….I got a deep sea research boat with a real deep sea diver, I got a scuba diver in a cage with 2 sharks, and I got a baby doll that has diapers that rip (one of my top requests for my birthday).  Our new friends Amanda and Ali gave me a kit to make a Volcano that actually erupts and a great big poster with all kinds of Sharks on it.  Very cool. 

Now that I’m 4, I decided I need to get on this swimming thing.  I can snorkle with my fins and mask on, but really need to work on it without all of my equipment.  Daddy is a great teacher.

Speaking of teachers, mommy is teaching me to read.  I “read” my first book on Friday.  Mat.  Mat Sat, Sam Sat, etc.  You get the picture.  Mommy said I did great using my phonics.  

More to come...have to go ride in the dinghy now!

More pictures

My cousin Bryce likes to take pictures.  Here's some of the really good ones he took on his visit.

  
  
       

More summer fun

  
Well, lots has happened since I wrote last.  Daddy spent 10 days sailing our boat down from Seattle to San Diego.  We've been busy ever since.  Daddy immediately started tearing things out and making them better.  Mommy said we'll put before and after pictures out here soon.  I LOVE THE BOAT.  I love to play on it, eat on it, sleep on it.  I can't wait to live on it.  I know all the rules about life jackets and getting on and off.  I try to talk mommy and daddy into staying on the boat at least once a week.

Grammie came for a visit this month too.  I spent lots of time with her, Uncle Mark and Aunt Heidi, Aunt Gina, and my cousin Bryce while mommy and daddy worked.  We went to the beach, we went to the zoo and we went sailing!  Every day was an adventure.

I'm getting ready now for my 2 week trip with mommy and daddy to Mexico!  That's right...two weeks!  We're going to sail down and stay on our boat.  Mommy says we're practicing for our cruising trip.

Other things I can do now...I can hold my breath a really long time under water.  I'm learning all the sounds of my letters in my phonics class in school.  I'm especially working on the letter S as I say it kind of funny.  Mrs. Maria says I need to practice saying it with my teeth closed.  I like to tell lots of stories.  Mommy even wrote down my latest story about the toothbrush truck.  It sells fire truck toothbrushes to all the boys and girls.  It also sells all different kinds of toothpaste in all different colors.  It's an eighteen wheeler!

I have lots of chores I do now....I'm in charge of feeding Chili Dog and the fish.  I have to clean my playroom every night and put my dirty clothes in the hamper.  I also have to use my manners EVERY DAY.  It's really hard work.

I have some favorite phrases I like to say...."don't worry"...."aw maannnn"...."you know what I was thinking??"  Mommy says I'm a trip....whatever that means.  I haven't gone a trip lately??

   Here I am getting ready to go deep sea diving. 
  I love to play in my playhouse...mommy tried to make it homey...but I let my plants die.  oops.
    

Summer is here!

Hi everyone.   Summer is finally here.  Living in CA is not quite as warm as mommy and I had hoped.  It's the end of June and it's just now hot enough to go swimming.  Mommy is jealous of the 90+ degree weather on the east coast.  Papa says she's crazy.

So, what's happened since we chatted last.... Daddy has gone to Key West twice and Norfolk twice, Gigi broke her arm, and Mommy has implemented the "chore board."  That's right, I am doing chores now.  Really important ones...I feed Chili dog, I use my manners, I pick up my toys AND I put my dirty clothes in the clothes basket.  I've done so good, that mommy bought me the Buzz Aldrin book I've been dying to have (even though mommy says it's way over my head).  I LOVE SPACE...everything to do with planets, the moon, astronauts, space ships, martians, stars, asteroids, meteors, you name it.  I love space.

I also love scuba diving.  Daddy has taught me how to use my regulator and lets me scuba dive in the bathtub and my kiddie pool.  

Mommy says I have a great imagination and I love to pretend.  Here's a picture of me going to fly my helicopter.  I needed the harness around my waist so I wouldn't fall out.  I didn't have pants on because, well, I don't like pants.

Daddy is leaving again tomorrow, but this time mommy says it's a good thing...he's going to Seattle to sail our boat down to San Diego!   He should be home in a 7-10 days.  Mommy says for what we're paying the boat captain, it better be closer to 7.   When he gets here, my cousins Carter and Caitie should be here too.  I can't wait to see them.  I have so much to teach them about space!!!

I love the beach!

Mommy and daddy made good on their promise and took me to the beach!  Mommy even bought an umbrella so that we could stay out longer than usual.  The water was too cold to play in, but we brought lots of sand toys to occupy us.

  Here I am on the way to the beach...very happy!
 

The next day, daddy drove us to a place where there are tons of seals just laying around on the beach....I really enjoyed this.  Mommy says she counted over 80, but I only counted 16.  Daddy said they originally made this beach for kids to play because it's kind of protected.  But it looks like the seals like it too so when they're there, the kids can't play.  Mommy says from all the signs warning of unsafe water quality and sharp rocks, she's not sure why any kids would want to play there.  I liked watching the seals and I think there are plenty of other beaches for little people like me to play on.

  

Other happenings...mommy wants to take a minute to tell her friend Glenda that she hopes she's recovering ok.  She had surgery on Monday and we've been thinking a lot about her.  We know Glenda will be looking at the blog soon so we thought we would surprise her with a Get Well wish!

Another get well wish goes out to my Papa Jim.  His heart is sick right now but mommy says he's getting better.  We'll go see him this weekend and give him his get well wishes in person with lots of yucky, gross kisses!  I love you Papa!  

Hopefully this is a good start to updating the blog on a regular basis again.  Check back soon...

Spring is here!

Hi everyone. I know it's been a long time since you've heard from me, but mommy has been limiting my time on the computer. She thinks it's equivalent to watching tv (I'm addicted to Garbage Trucks on YouTube). She told me not to mention that she was addicted to Facebook and she's been neglecting my blog because she's putting all of my pictures there....oops, did I say that out loud?

Lots has happened since we got together last. Hopefully I won't ramble too much. Mommy and Daddy say I'm quite the talker (I wonder who I get that from???).

  Mommy and daddy bought our boat! THE boat. AND...we got to spend a weekend on it. The boat is in a place called "Seattle"...it's really far away, we had to get on two airplanes and a ferry to get there. It was super cold but I really enjoyed it.

Daddy let me drive the dinghy (for real, just ask mommy) and I got to spend so much time with mommy and daddy. If this is what it's going to be like sailing around the world, sign me up!
    

We got that pass to Sea World I talked about last time...we've been 4 or 5 times already. My favorite animals are Shamoo (of course), the Manatee, Starfish ( I get to pick them up), Penguins, and the Balooga Whales! I also love to ride the rides...when mommy and daddy let me, of course.

There are so many parks here, it's unbelieveable. They are huge parks, too. Some are even beside the beach. We try to check out a new one ever few weeks or so. Although mommy has a real affinity to the one at Mission Beach. I wonder why? Do you think it has anything to do with the resturant on the roof overlooking the ocean with really good Calamari and Margaritas?? Mabye...

I am learning all sorts of new things....I am learning to recognize all of my letters both uppercase and lowercase. I know that each letter makes a sound, although I can't quite tell you all of them yet. I think I can spell...but I haven't convinced mommy yet. I'm about to start my Spanish class at school along with Phonics. I'm really excited about that. I can already count to 6 in Spanish. I learned how to play duck, duck goose, Hot Potatoe, Baseball, Kickball, and Dodge ball. We have a huge back yard and mommy and daddy are always teaching me new games.

I'm also enjoying all of the time I get to spend with my Gigi and Papa Mullikin.  Here are some pictures from some of our times together...

We have lizards in our backyard. I love to poke their tales with sticks and then try to find out where the went and poke them again.

Gigi stayed at our house with Chili dog while we went to Seattle and she found pots and pots of Orchids that we didn't even know about!  We have lots of pretty flowers in our yard.

  

I almost forgot the most amazing part! I can scuba dive in my bathtub with a real regulator! When I'm a really, really, really, really good boy, I put on my mask and daddy puts mommy's scuba tank by the bathtub. I use the regulator to breath underwater and find my animals. I even kick like I'm swimming. I wish I could have a bigger bathtub.

Hopefully I won't be so slow in updating the blog. Once I start typing, I really get into it. This weekend I think mommy and daddy are going to try to take me to the beach!

I'll leave you with some more pictures of our weekend on the boat...me helping daddy, mommy and me coloring, daddy and me driving a spaceship, and of course me flying my own rocket that daddy found for me in one of the cabins.

Bye for now!