Photo Fun

During one of my naps the other day...mommy went a little hog wild having some Photo Fun, putting my face into different picture scenarios!! Here is what she came up with...I think we need to get her a hobby!!!

It's My FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

The day has finally arrived- I am turning the BIG 0-1!!!!!! Now I can officially be called a toddler!!! YIPPEEEEEEE!!!!! From the moment I woke up (at 5:30am, much to mommy's dismay) there was a celebratory feel in the air and an electricity surrounding everything, so I knew there was somethin' a brewin!!!! Never did I imagine that I would have so many friends, family, and loved ones helping me to ring in my first birthday!!! The house was packed, food was abundant, kiddies were playing in my new playroom, and tons of sugar was present in the form of cake & cupcakes!!! It was such a special day that I cannot even seem to find the words to express how happy I was, and still am, that I had such a spectacular party!!!!! Many, many, many thanks to all that were in attendance!! I appreciate all the FABULOUS presents and most importantly- just having everyone spend the day with me and celebrate Lishy style!! It was indeed a ROARING GOOD TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What kinda party is it if there is not a little bum cleavage??? Check me out- even though I was the "Birthday Boy"- I wanted to help clean up!!!!!

Day Before Tradition

Last year, the day before I was born, mommy, CiCi and Uncle Boog went to Pei Wei and ate Thai food. Little did mommy know that the next day, I would be out of her tummy and part of her life!! She is convinced that the spicy Thai food and a foot rub from daddy were what spurred me on to come into this world a week early. So- mommy and CiCi decided that this would become a tradition every year. Daddy also begrudgingly agreed to rub mommy's feet on the 27th every year as well, around 10pm, when mommy first felt those initial contractions! So...at Pei Wei, I started out with some steamed veggies, and a piece of cheese that mommy had brought from home. The veggies were not that filled with flavor and I boycotted them, so CiCi kindly ordered me a second meal- a massive bowl full of steamed noodles. They were so yummy!!!!!!!!! I am now a Thai noodle fan for life! I was a good boy through lunch. I like the idea of this tradition (it extends the birthday celebration) and am looking forward to getting out of school if the 27th falls during the week once I am of school age!!!!! You will take me out of school at lunchtime for this tradition, right mamma & CiCi???

Please Touch

In an effort to socialize me (and for me & mommy to maybe make a friend or two) mommy and I joined a playgroup near where we live. They are pretty active and meet a few times a week. Today was our first attempt at interacting with this group of mommies and kids. The activity was going to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. When we got there we immediately met a very nice lady named Lindsay. She had a super cute little girl, Lilly- who I liked immediately. I was so enamored with her that I even kept playing "happy hide" in her lap and getting her pants all spitty!! Mommy was a bit embarrassed- but hopefully Lilly and her mom did not mind. Mommy and Lilly's mommy walked around together- so I got to spend some time staring at Lilly, and she stared at me a bit too!! A lot of the "exhibits" were for older kids, and mommy could not let me roam free or I would have gotten trampled- but there were some places were I was able to get out of my stroller and explore. My favorite place was the kitchen and grocery store. I loaded up my cart, bought my groceries, and had some fun in the kitchen. Guess my 50's diner early birthday present gave me some expertise when it came to handling food and cooking, huh?? I thought I had a lot of food products (which came with my diner) but apparently there are a lot more things that I will need to get my hands on to add to my collection! I also had a fun time in the garden area- lugging around a rake, planting flowers, and mowing the "lawn." All in all it was a good first experience with the "playgroup" and I hope mommy decides to go to another meet up...then I can play with kids and have some fun- but really I just hope to see Lily again and flirt some more!

Fabulous Flooring

You might be wondering why I have not blogged in a while...well, it is because we are getting ready for the BIG DAY!!! What big day, you might ask?? My BIG 0-1 Birthday that is looming just a few days away! Mommy has been working tirelessly getting the house in order after the dust, construction, and mess of renovating 2 bathrooms. Daddy has even been doing a lot to help out and get the house looking gorgeous for my party on Saturday. Well, mamma had to enlist some help so that she could do some massive cleaning this week- so she called in reinforcements- NANA!! Nana showed up today with my birthday present a few days early...This super cool flooring for my playroom. She wanted to give it to me so that I (I mean mommy) could have it all set up for my party and my kiddie guests & I could have a rumpus on the foam tiles and not get hurt!! Isn't that so sweet of her & Grandpa George to give me such a cool gift?? Mommy went right to work, taking time out of her cleaning, to set it up for me so Nana and I could play in that room for the rest of the day. Boy did we have FUN! We played and played and played- and then played some more!! I was worn out by the end of the day...but it was a good kinda tired. Can't wait until Saturday so Nana can see my & my friends having a blast on her present! Thanks for the cool gift & more importantly for spending some nice time with me today, Nana...I love ya!!

Antonella Turns 1!!

I got to go to a birthday party today at a kiddie fun place called "Betty's Fun Palace." I was in utter awe of what I saw when we walked in! I was a bit shy at first, but then all I wanted to do was PARTY PARTY PARTY!! There were toys, inflatable bouncy lands, slides, video games, basketball hoops, and MUCH much more. I tended to stay in the 5 & under area- where I played in a little kitchen, slid down the sliding board & tried to climb up it, played with an abacus, rid a rockin' horsey, and just toddled around at breakneck speed- just absorbing everything that I could. Of course, the main event was just being near the Birthday Girl and wishing her a wonderful First Birthday! She looked adorable, as usual- in a pink tutu dress and a princess birthday hat. Her mommy and daddy said that she was being a bit crabby- but I could not tell at all! She seemed like she was having fun- crawling all over the place, getting tons of attention, eating pizza & yummy cake, and in general just being a queen for a day! I liked hanging out with Antonella- but I also got to met some other cool people today too! Miss Lisa was there with her little cutie pie, Elizabeth. I have heard about Elizabeth forever now...but this is the first time that we have met! I liked her a lot- she was kinda like me- with no fear and a zest for life! I also met one of mommy and daddy's friends, Mr. Dave. He was a cool guy- getting right down on my level to play- which made me like him right away! All in all- it was a super fun day. I definitely need to go to places like that more often- too much fun! Hope you had a great party, Antonella!! Happy Birthday!

Me & My CiCi

CiCi and I have had some serious bonding time recently. The trip to California is the most time, all in a row, that I have spent with CiCi since she lived with us for 2 weeks after I was born. It was fun to see her every night when I went to bed and every morning when I woke up! Because of all the good quality time we were able to spend on our travels, we were both going through a bit of a withdrawal period since it had been more than a week since we parted ways after the flight back from the west coast. Well- lucky me...CiCi came to see me and we got some special one on one time while mommy put the finishing touches on the upstairs bathroom. We played with my 50's diner, played peek-a-boo, went for walks, played outside in the gorgeous weather and just had an exhaustingly good time! Mommy said that she got so much done and has not felt this good about her accomplishments in a long time- so it was a good day not only for me & my Cic, but for mamma too!!

Happy St. Patty

Mommy and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day today. I am using the word celebrate a bit loosely, because I was really not in a mood to celebrate anything today- except maybe (hopefully very soon) finally cutting these two top teeth that have seemed to be plaguing me for the past few weeks. Not only have I been teething, but I am also (we think) still adjusting to the east coast time, a cold, and the remnants of a tummy virus. On top of that- mommy noticed a red rash on my back and arms today- so I'll keep ya posted on that!! Anyway- mommy did her best (even through her thinning patience) to get my mind off my ailments and to cheer me up by partaking in some St. Patty's fun. She tried to feed me as many green foods as possible...avocado, peas, green beans, spinach artichoke nugget, green pear, and a pasta with a veggie sauce that was kinda yellowish-green hued. Luckily, she did stop short of feeding me the unripe green banana and green food colored milk!! She bought me this funny head piece at the Dollar Store to get me in the Irish mood (since I am of Irish heritage) and we had a nice time. I actually did not mind wearing the green shamrocks on my head...they kinda made me laugh. So- wish me "the luck of the Irish" that I am 100% healthy soon- and Happy St. Patty's Day!!

My Broom

A fun toy in Uncle Paul's backyard that kept me quite occupied was this very large industrial sized push broom. I loved this cumbersome object and had a really fun time with it. Well... mommy went to Jo-Ann Fabric the other day to get some supplies and found the cutest kiddie sized push broom for me. She is such a thoughtful mommy who is always on the look out for things that she knows I will like- and this was no exception! The broom was supposed to be a little birthday gift...but no such luck! Mommy had put it where she thought I would not get to it- but I managed to make a break for it, when she thought the kiddie gate was barricading me into the front of the house. I was able to make an unaccompanied trip to the back of the house and found the mini broom immediately. Well- the HUGE smile on my face and jubilant giggles were all that mommy needed to let me have the gift early. I have been having so much fun just walking all over the house with it. Mommy has tried to get me to actually use it for its purpose, but I am not really interested in learning how to sweep just yet. Actually- I can sweep- but I don't want mamma and daddy to know this, for fear of them putting me to work and giving me chores!!! So- for now I am just gonna walk around the house lugging my broom (my new fav toy) and lookin' cute!

Pre Birthday Bash

When I was in California- I got a major surprise!! Aunt Susan, Uncle Paul, Miles & Annie had a pre-birthday bash for me. This was perfect because it gave me the opportunity to practice how I wanted my face to look when the "Happy Birthday" song is sung to me on my actual birthday. I think I have it down- a mixture of shock, pure joy, and utter anticipation of digging my little hands into the delicious cake that mommy and CiCi are going to make! Speaking of cake- I think I have found my new favorite food. Forget all this "healthy" fruits, veggies, and protein mommy and daddy have been feeding me. I want SUGAR!! How cool that not only did I get the GORGEOUS cake that Bud made and Miles, Annie & Paul decorated- but I will get another one on my actual birthday as well!! I am one lucky lucky little boy. Thanks for thinking of me and throwing me a fabulous pre-b-day party with yummy sweets, cool presents, and good fun- it rocked!!!!!!

California Cousins

I have some of the coolest cousins EVER!! I did get to meet them a while ago when I was only a wee little baby of 1 & 1/2 months old, but that visit was nothing like this! I actually got to interact with them and play! There are just so many fun things that we did. We went to the beach, Balboa Park and rode the mini train, the playground, we played in the back yard, and just had a blast!!! My biggest CA cuz Miles, was super sweet to me and he really made me feel super special. he even was kind enough to give up his room for the week so I could have a private room to nap and sleep in! Pretty nice of him, huh?? Annie was nice too0 because she let miles bunk in with her on her trundle bed. I played a silly game with both of them (but more so with Nugget) where I would walk towards them with determination, lunge into their chest and give chest kisses. It was almost like I was trying to rough house with them! They had some awesome toys and the coolest backyard with swings, a really big Thomas the Tank Engine wood cut out, a tree house, a play house, a play kitchen, tons of balls, and my personal favorite- a large industrial sized broom. OK- this last one was not really a kiddie toy- but it was still the best thing to play with! Oh- that and the numerous lemons from the lemon tree. They were great teethers and yummy to boot! Ah...the life of a California baby- sand, sun, grass, open doors, no snow- what a place to grow up! Thanks for letting me come visit and take over your house for the week, Miles & Annie- and you too Elknu Paul & Aunt Susan! I had a fun time and can't wait to come see you again when I am a bit bigger and those pesky naps will not disrupt our days of fun!!