Thanksgiving 2010, Dinosaurs, and Trains

We had Thanksgiving again at our house this year.  Both my Neenas and Papas came to celebrate with us.  Unfortunately, my cousins Luke and Will and their parents couldn't make it since Luke's feeding tube had gotten pulled out accidentally.  Hopefully I'll get to see them at Christmas.  This year my Daddy made a ham AND a turkey!  We had enough food here for an army.  The next day, My Neena Lori and Papa Dave went with Mommy and I to see Dinousaurs Unearthed.  We also saw the trains at the station.  I loved watching all the little trains zoom around their tracks.  Finally, I got to ride in a train.  I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to get on it- Mommy kept trying one car after another and every time I said, "No!"  Then we got to the last car on the train and I decided that would be the right place for me to sit- at the very back of the train.  It was a good ride, but I didn't smile at all. 

Shrek Party

Evan had a Shrek party to celebrate his 4th birthday and I was invited!  Mommy and I drove to see Lori, Josh, and Evan and to help celebrate.  I liked eating the dirt pudding, but wasn't very interested in the games.  The best part was playing with Evan after the party and checking out all his new fun toys.  My favorite was the cool train Evan already had. Of course we had to make a trip to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner, Murry's! 

Writing, Letters, Singing, & Counting

You won't believe this!  I am starting to write my name.  This past Sunday morning, Mommy and I were hanging out in the living room.  I was doing some coloring and then I asked Mommy, "How do I write my name?"  She was sitting across the room so she said, "Write an O, write an L and write an i."  I wrote each one as she went.  Then Mommy said, "Write a V," but I wasn't sure how to do that so Mommy helped with the V, the E, and the R.  When Mommy told my grandparents about my new skill, I got a really big smile on my face!

Speaking of skills - I now recognize many of the letters of the alphabet - I'm very good at recognizing, O's (of course).  I find O's all over the place and say, "O for Oliver."  I also recognize S, A, M, T, and W consistently.  There are others that I can recognize, but sometimes I still get mixed up.

Lately I have really enjoyed singing.  I often sing to myself when I wake up in the morning before someone comes to get me.  My favorites are the ABCs (I can sing this one almost perfectly), Twinkle Twinkle (also known as "Dinkle Dinkle"), and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  I won't go to sleep unless Mommy has sung me a couple of songs from my doorway.  If she forgets I make sure to remind her.

I am finally counting too!  Mommy tried all summer to get me to count.  She counted EVERYTHING for me all summer long and I just couldn't get it. It would sound something like this when I counted, "1, 2, 3, 7, 4, 9..."  But NOW, I can count perfectly up to 12 and sometimes up to 14.  I don't always count the correct number of objects, but that's o.k.  I'll get it soon.  

Big Boy Bed

Guess what? I'm sleeping in a big boy bed now!! On Friday evening, Mommy mentioned changing my bed to a big boy bed over the weekend. She hadn't said anything about it again so when we were in the middle of playing on Saturday morning I said, "Let's change my bed to a big boy bed." Mommy jumped right up, got the right tool, and we did it! It didn't take very long at all. I was so excited that I got right into bed with my books and started reading. I like how I can go upstairs now and get my animals and blanket all my myself. Mommy put a railing on so that I don't fall out at night. So far (for over a week now) I do a really good job. I just lay right down and go to sleep at bedtime and nap time. When it's time to wake up I just call for Mommy like I used to when it was still a crib. I am so proud when Mommy tells people about my big boy bed!