This week recap

Adam had an orthopedist appt on Wednesday due to me freaking out that "all the other parents" of kids with hemi take their kids to the ortho yearly and we skipped last year.  I figured he should probably just get a quick look at and monitor his lower limb discrepancy so that in 10 years if/when they do surgery, they know his growth rate or whatever.  I really don't have any concerns...just thought it was another one of those things I should be doing, ya know?  Anyway...we get there and Adam is fine. He asks me a couple of times if it was my foot doctor and I said no - they want to take a peek at your legs and he said no, but he was not freaking out..just - no.  We get into the exam room and the nurse asks a couple of questions and said a doctor would be in shortly and to take Adam's shoes, socks, and pants off.  As soon as she left the room and I go to grab a shoe, he started screaming and crying that he didn't want to take his clothes off.  I said, "They just want to look at your cute, little, legs." wherein he responded, "NO, I don't want them to see my cute, little, legs!"  I had his pants half-way off when the resident guy came in but Adam was still screaming and crying.  He asked a couple more questions (yelling over Adam) then Dr. VonStein came in.  Adam was now screaming, crying, AND kicking!  I told them that if someone could just grab his pants while I held him up...and Dr.V. responded "I don't want to get kicked!  It's not worth it.  We'll just watch him walk back out to the lobby."  Well...Adam kind of walked really slowly and then ran through the reception area still (you guessed it) crying and screaming.  I asked the Dr. if I should reschedule this or come back yearly and she said to only call if we have any concerns.  OK!

Next day - Adam had his 3 year regular doctor check-up.  I was getting really worried that we would have a repeat of the day before so Dave came with us.  I think we may have bribed Adam with a milkshake after if he was good.  The nurse was fantastic and Adam let her weigh and measure him.  (36 lbs, 39 inches - about 88th percentile for both)  She had him do a couple of things in the room like draw a circle and a cross on the bench paper, stand on one foot, hop and he thought that was fun.  Then Dr. Niland came in and he was fine! She's so laid back anyway that I think it just helps the kids too.  I don't know why there was such a big difference in the 2 days but he's done with her for a year. Next week is ultrasound and blood work time so hopefully that will go well, too.

Last night was Trick-or-Treat night and we stayed in our neighborhood.  It was FREEZING so we put a couple of layers on under Adam's Buzz Lightyear costume and took a jacket just in case.  I had my winter coat on and I was still cold but Adam refused to put his jacket on for the little over an hour we were out.  Our part of the neighborhood is relatively quiet but we went to the couple of neighbors we knew.  Then we turned the corner to the "other" part of the neighborhood and, like last year, was just hopping with kids and families.  Adam would go up to doors without us if he got in a big group of kids but then he's be upset when those kids were faster than him.  "Wait for me Spiderman!!" A couple of times while he was in the group, he would be paying so much attention to the other kids that he didn't see the treat dropped into his bag so he would continue to stand there.  It was hilarious!  AND people would feel bad and give him some more!  My kid is smart!  There was a boy, maybe 8 years old, who stopped and told Adam he like his costume.  We asked what he was and he said he didn't know (he was dressed all in black with a kind of creepy mask and a Wolverine claw hand).  Then he reached into his bag of treats and gave Adam one and said to have a nice Halloween!  It was soo sweet!  It was a really fun night since this is the first year Adam was really into it! We may be going over to Dave's friend's house Sunday for Trick or Treat there since it will be a little warmer.

Today, Adam's class had a little Halloween party (which we were not there for) and a costume parade at the end of the day.  Lots of princesses, a fireman, a crying robot, and Buzz.  I asked him if he knew all the names of the kids in his class and he said yes.  Then I pointed to the picture and he only knew the girl standing next to him (Alyssa who he sees at the Community Center all the time) and the boy on the end, Ethan (he has 2 Ethan's in his class).

102410 Disney clips.m4v

Adam's 3rd Birthday!!

We had been celebrating Adam's birthday all week at Disney but we finally got to sing "Happy Birthday" to him yesterday!  He wouldn't let us sing before because 1),  it wasn't his birthday all week and 2), when it finally was his birthday we couldn't sing until cake time.  He didn't want a party so we just had the grandparents over for dinner and ice cream cake.  Dave and his mom had taken Adam over to Toys R Us earlier in the day and he didn't want them to tell anyone it was his birthday and he didn't want a balloon.  He's so funny!  He also didn't want his birthday banner up until cake time.  BUT, he was more than happy to open his huge stack of presents in the morning!  It was a very "Imaginex" birthday of superhero stuff and stuff we found on clearance throughout the year.

Pictures here:

Adam's 3rd Birthday!

DISNEY!

We went to Disney World this past week to celebrate Adam's 3rd birthday.  We left here Sunday afternoon and arrived around 3:30 pm, got settled into the hotel (the Wilderness Lodge), then headed over to Chef Mickey's for our buffet dinner with the characters.  Adam loved it!  We met Pluto and Goofy first but Adam had his eye on Mickey.  If he saw a character remotely near us, he would stop eating and want to wait.  We got to meet Pluto, Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, and Donald!  They were all really great staying for pictures and hugs.  Adam was a little shy at first but by Pluto's second time around, Adam was whacking him on the snout..nice!  Dave had told the restaurant that it was Adam's bday so they gave him a little cupcake with a candle on it.

None of the parks were open late Sunday so we all went to bed "early" to prepare for the big day at Magic Kingdom.

We started Monday off a little late (10am) and took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom.  I think Adam's first ride was Dumbo and then the carousel and Peter pan - all the classics.  He rode in the race cars with Pop-pop (it was his bday), flew with Dave on the Barnstormer (roller coaster for kids), and loved the train.  The crazy kid didn't want to see the pirates, the haunted mansion, or Snow White because he thought they would be too scary BUT he rode on Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain!  We had another character dinner buffet at the Crystal Palace where he got to meet Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger.  Dave had told the restaurant it was Bob's bday so he got a cupcake and card signed by the characters and they gave Adam a cupcake too.  Hollywood Studio's park was open late that night so we got Adam ready for bed and left him Grandma and Pop-pop for the night.  Dave and I got our Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roll roller coaster fix before it closed.

Tuesday was spent half at Animal Kingdom.  Adam loved DinoLand and the ride that was just like Dumbo (but a dinosaur).  I think he rode it at least 3 times.  We went to the live 'Finding Nemo' show which was really good.  The costumes were awesome!  We went on the safari and saw some animals, but not a ton.  Then we took the train over to the petting zoo area which was kind of lame.  When we got out of there, we were right where the parade was coming out.  Since the park closes so early and there's not a lot to do there anyway, we followed the parade out and left the park.  We had a little bit of time to chill before we needed to head back over to Magic Kingdom for the Not So Scary Halloween Party.
We had dinner at Tony's then suited Adam up in his Buzz Lightyear costume for some trick-or-treating, dance parties, parade, and fireworks.  The park was open late but Adam was really dragging so we said goodbye at the gate and Grandma and Pop-pop took him back to the hotel.  Dave and I got our Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain (again) fixes since there are no lines on party night.

Wednesday we headed back to Hollywood Studios because we had lunch reservations at another character buffet. Not much to do there other than that. Adam got to meet the Little Einsteins (Leo & June), Agent Oso (who he doesn't know), and Handy Manny.  Even thought he didn't really know all the characters, he still had fun.  Every half an hour or so, they would have a little dance party type thing in the center of the restaurant with the characters.  Adam got out there once and "Leo" held his hand and danced with him.  It was soo cute!  After lunch, it was back to the Magic Kingdom.  Adam wanted to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride that had been broken on Monday.  Then he wanted to find Grandma to ride Dumbo again.  We found Grandma and sat and waited for the Celebration Parade.  Gotta love those Disney parades!  Adam sat on Dave's shoulders and waved to everyone.  We went and waited forever to ride Dumbo one more time then headed back to the hotel for dinner.  Epcot was open late so once again we left Adam with Bob and Ro.  We were a little disappointed in the new Nemo ride and were glad we didn't drag Adam over there for it.  They brought Figment the Dragon back but that ride was pretty lame too....it wasn't the same as the old one.  Captain EO is back too...how can you not love 1986 Michael Jackson in 3D??  We only had time left for Test Track and Mothership Earth before heading back to the hotel...no exploring the different countries.

The flight home was OK.  Adam didn't want to sit still and play with the ipod like on the way there but we survived without any major screaming.  Adam fell asleep in the car on the way home around 3:30.  We let him sleep through dinner with the hope of him staying asleep and he did!!  He didn't wake up until 7 am!

Here's the link to ALL 400 pictures that we took between Bob and us. (click on the picture of Adam)

Disney

The "pink" park

The other day, Adam wanted to go to the park.  I asked which one since there are 4 within walking distance and 1 "new one" we have to drive to.  He said the "pink one" that has monkey bars and things you ride on.   I assumed it was the new one.  He said "No, it's across from the other one!" I have no idea what that means!  I still think he means the new one so  I grab my keys.   He said" no - we walk there - this way - across from the other park".  I'm still clueless but start walking with him.  We are headed to the park he usually rides his bike to.  We get to the path that leads to the park or goes across the street to the bike path and he said - "see, across the street!"  Well, the bike path does lead to another park about a mile and a half away. We haven't gone this way since the spring - he was in the stroller and I was walking the dogs.   Another one of those "I can't believe he remembered that" moments!  There is a quicker/shorter way to get there if I had understood what the pink park with monkey bars had meant.  He walked the whole way..about 3 miles from our house.  He played for about a half hour before we needed to head back for dinner.  He had a hard time walking back home but didn't want me to carry him or give him a piggy-back ride.  He got mad at me for picking him up to cross the street and stared at his feet as he walked slowly the rest of the way home.  We are definitely getting a stroller at Disney next week!

Grown up

Adam is such a big boy now!  He can get up, go potty, and get dressed by himself in the morning, he can snap his own button on his jeans, put on a jacket and zip it by himself 8/10 times, put on at least one shoe, and now wants to be in the stall in the bathroom by himself!  Almost 3 going on 13!

The beach again

9/20/10 - Adam and I went back to the beach with my parents this week.  He did fabulous in the car again with only one major meltdown around 9pm because, well, he was tired and tired of sitting in his car seat. He fell asleep a minute after the meltdown and stayed asleep until 6am.  He wanted to go see the beach this morning. I thought we would go take a walk but he got his feet wet and decided he wanted to go back to the house.  We all went back down to the beach around 2:30.  For some reason, Adam didn't want anyone to go in the water.  We were standing on the shore (is that the right word?) and he would come screaming "Don't go in the water!!!".  He even tried to drag my mom on her chair out of the water.  It was pretty darn funny!  I finally got him to start playing with the mushy sand as the tide came in and pretty soon we were jumping waves and he was fine.  He also met a little boy named Jacob (who's 4) that he befriended.  They played pirates finding treasure.

9/22/10 - Southport - Today we went to SouthPort.  We ate lunch at the Provision Company (which I thought was just a bait shop at first) and Adam did SUPER!  We sat at a table that was by the "window" so we could see any boats coming or going.  Then we walked around town a little.  We went to this crazy Christmas shop that has big Mr. & Mrs. Claus dolls in bed upstairs but also has a bunch of puzzles up there too (and Adam LOVES him some puzzles!). Bumma got him a large aquarium puzzle that he loves to do next to his large fire engine puzzle that Grandma got him.  While we were waiting for my mom to check out, we waited outside with my dad.  Adam spotted a little girl with an ice cream cone.  I'm not sure if he was more interested in her or the ice cream but he kept following her around until I finally picked him up to go.  She seemed a little freaked out (I don't blame her) but at least her dad thought it was amusing.  We went to a couple other shops, walked to the park by the water, then went back to the beach house.  Adam wanted to go on more "adventures" but we were all ready to go home.

9/23/10 - Myrtle Beach - We went to the land of crazy mini-golf courses today.  Well, we drove by a lot of them on our way to Barefoot Landing but we didn't stop and play.  Barefoot Landing is just another collection of shops but Adam's favorite thing to do was chase pigeons.  He also got to feed some fish and a turtle and ride his first carousel.  He saw an ice cream place and really wanted some milk when we were about to leave.  We stopped by a pizza place to possibly have lunch but they didn't have milk.  Instead, Adam sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender over a beer.  We ended up having to go all the way back to the ice cream place because no one else had milk!  Oh, and they have a Christmas store there that Adam started looking for puzzles in. He even went looking for stairs since he remembered they were upstairs at the other place.

Next, we went to Broadway at the Beach which is yet another collection of shops.  They also had a cool little arcade where Adam got to play Skee Ball.  There is an aquarium there that he really wanted to go to but it was super expensive. He still had fun running from store to store and playing on the little playground there.

We stopped for dinner in Calabash, NC.  They have a big Christmas store there too! What's with all the Christmas stores?

Bumma and Adam with the 2 Jacobs in the background 

9/24/10 - Beach - Today we went for our morning walk in which Adam insisted on putting his swim suit on for.  He spent the entire week avoiding the water on our walks but today we walked in it the whole time.  We came back to the house for a little bit and went back out at 10:30am.  Mom had bought Adam a little hippo floatee that he loved and the water was soo calm today that he really enjoyed being out in the deep with me.  His friend Jacob came out and Adam got really excited so we had to go see him.  Jacob was not in a sharing mood and kept getting mad at Adam.  At one point, J's dad dug him a hole and he did not want Adam in it.  He wanted to try to fill it up with water.  With bucket of water in hand, and Adam not moving from the hole, he threw the bucket of water in Adam's face.  I couldn't help laughing! He ended up getting a time out and Adam and I tried to stay away.  Jacob came back over by us when Big Jacob (he's probably 5) came out.  He still didn't want to have anything to do with Adam...I guess he realized Adam was younger and that hanging out with bigger kids is more fun? Big J didn't mind Adam and even tried to help him in the water  We stayed out until around 2:30.  Great last day!

9/25/10 - Long drive home!  We stopped at a couple of farm markets (in Fancy Gap, I believe) where they had some big pumpkins among other produce.  We got home at 11pm.  Adam was happy to see Dave (even though he said he didn't miss him all week) and stayed up until  1am showing Dave all the things he didn't play with at the beach.