Grandma Kay meets Pet Dragon

Grandma Kay came for a visit last week for a few days. As usual, AJ loved having her here. He stayed home from daycare with her while she was here and they played and swam and played some more. Grandma thought she was here to baby sit AJ so Dave and I could go to a concert. Little did she know, I would ask her to go in my place. So, Dave and Grandma Kay took in a Tim and Faith concert while she was here. Kay's plane didn't get in until 2 AM, so AJ did not see her until the following morning. When he got up and saw her, he was very excited and wanted to get started playing right away. He introduced her to pet dragon immediately. Kay looked at me like, "What?" I had to explain that a few weeks ago, AJ pulled a "pet dragon" out of my pocket and this friend of his has been around ever since. The imaginary friend's name is Polka dot, but he usually just calls it Pet Dragon. We thought at first that his new friend was just something he played with here at home. One day his teacher informed me that when they sat down for circle time at daycare, she accidentally sat on Pet Dragon. At tumbling class, the teacher there has figured out that she has to help him put pet dragon in his pocket so he will open his hand up to grab the rings or parallel bars properly. Otherwise, he will walk around with his fist balled up holding onto pet dragon. Sometimes he'll get pet dragon back out, and mommy has to hold him for a while. Pet dragon swims with us and takes baths too. AJ told me to be more careful when we wash hands because I almost washed him down the sink once.

Goldie...the horse

After our last post, I got a lot of comments re: Goldie being the size of a horse and some questions about whether or not AJ ever tried to ride her. I know that was asked in jest, but the truth is....yes, he does try to ride her. Unfortunately (for him), while Goldie does not seem to mind him crawling on her back, she just lays down. She won't actually ride him around.

Peace Out!

Several months ago, Dave and I had taken AJ to eat at an Olive Garden. As we were leaving the restaurant, the waitress said goodbye. Dave and I each said good bye and AJ says, "Peace Out!" We have no idea where he learned this, but must have been daycare. The funny thing was that when he would say it, he would hold up one finger instead of the peace sign. AJ's grandma in Kansas asked me to get a picture of him doing his peace out, so I recently asked him to say peace out and when he did, he shocked me by showing the actual peace sign! Apparently, Dave spent the time to show him the correct peace sign.

Goldie and AJ

The dog is huge and a nuisance. She is the biggest puppy. She is just such a puppy. She gets so excited, jumps on everyone, and chews up everything she can get her mouth on. She loves AJ to death and gets excited when he runs through the house or in the yard, so she runs right into him and knocks him down. Fortunately, AJ is tough. He just gets back up and keeps playing. I've been annoyed enough at times with Goldie that I would consider getting rid of the dog, but AJ loves the dog to death and would never forgive me. AJ must think Goldie capable of taking care of him because a couple of times now, when I've wanted him to get ready to leave the house with me, he has suggested that he could just stay home with Goldie.

States and Capitals

Okay, not really.....but a few months ago, we taught AJ the names of the states of where all our family lived. So, if you ask him, "where does Papa live? Uncle Barry?" etc., he could name the state that person lived in. All total, AJ now knows the following states and who lives in them: Ohio, Kansas, Arkansas, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Arizona, and most recently Texas (well, he sort of knows Texas). My mom came for a visit the end of June through the beginning of July. While she was here, I was discussing with her that Dave's brother, wife, and kids were moving to Texas. So, one morning, we were talking about this and I told AJ that Dean was moving to Texas. He repeated Texas. Then later that afternoon, we were in the swimming pool and AJ just started talking about states and where people lived. My mom wanted to know if AJ would remember what I told him in the morning, so she asked him if he remembered where Dean lived. AJ said, "Yes, Texas Roadhouse." For anyone reading this who does not know, Texas Roadhouse is Dave's favorite restaurant. My mom said this was a sign that we eat out too much. She's probably right. Now my son thinks his cousin lives in a restaurant.