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.

2 years (+1 month) post-op

Wrote this blog July 26th and just realized I posted to my old blog...oops.

Can't believe it's been (over) 2 years!  We haven't decided whether or not we're going to St. Louis this year for his TEAM check-up.  His speech seems pretty good to us, any teeth/cranio-facial stuff can't be done for years, don't really need to talk to the geneticist or psychologist again, and hearing seems to be good as well so there doesn't really seem to be a need.

Picture from May '08 compared to today:



If Adam were a dog, I'd say he has a strong prey drive.  Anytime we go to the Community Center play area, mall petri dish (-er, I mean, play area), or a park, Adam gravitates to anyone running.  The kids running may not even know he's there but he's running after them, screaming if they scream, and laughing.  If they stop, he follows them around thinking they are his new friend.  I see him talking to them - probably asking them to run again. I usually have to tell him to leave them alone because he really gets stalker-like sometimes.  Today at the Community Center, a little group of boys were being really nice and letting him play with them.  When some left, 3 decided to play duck-duck-goose.  Adam sat down with them and I tried to explain the rules but anytime someone else was "goose", Adam went chasing after them.  When he was "goose", the other little guys let him win.  It was soo cute! Much better than last weeks experience with a 4 year old named Giovanni.  It started off cute with this kid wanting to play chase with Adam and tickle him but then he started tackling Adam to the ground.  Then it turned into what looked like wrestling moves so Adam couldn't get up.  A couple of times he grabbed the back of Adam's shirt to stop him from running.  I told the kid to be careful but he thought that the rubber floor made it OK or something.  The nanny tried to tell him he was being too rough too but I just wanted to get away from the kid, so we left.  Good times!

1st Day of School

Adam was very excited to go to school this morning! He finished his breakfast and said "Let's go!" I tried to explain that we still had 45 minutes until we needed to be there but we still ended up leaving about 15 minutes early. We wasted a little time checking out the bathroom and taking pictures outside.

We parents got to stay for about 45 minutes while the kids played, did a craft, and had snack time. We were the snack-bringers. I wanted something creative to go with the Teddy Bear Picnic theme of the day. My original idea of making bread in a jellyroll pan (thin) and cutting it out with bear-shaped cutters didn't work because I didn't have enough batter. I ended up making banana bread muffins and gluing a chocolate Teddy Graham on top with icing (thanks Mom!). I actually made some apple-carrot muffins first but they looked too healthy and I was afraid the kids wouldn't touch them. Anyway...one of the other mom's said I was setting the bar a little high for the rest of them or something like that. Oh, well! I'll bring Goldfish next time!

Adam's craft project was a picture of a Teddy Bear that they had to color and glue on pom-pom noses and googly eyes. They had different colored pom-poms and eyes for the kids to choose. Adam chose yellow everything..."like Winnie the Pooh." I thought that was really cute!

Parents left after snack. Adam was ignoring me at first, absorbed with all the toys in the room, while I was trying to say goodbye. Finally he started following me but decided to yell at a sleeping baby and then rock it's car seat really hard on the way to the door. Part of me was mad at him and part of me was mad at the parent for just leaving their baby in the middle of the floor like that. I left and I could hear the teacher by the door trying to distract Adam.

Pick-up time was 12:00. I was running a little late because I thought Dave was coming with but he had gotten a phone call. I got there with a couple minutes to spare but parking is across the street and the light takes FOREVER to change. Luckily, Adam wasn't the only one still there. :) The teachers said he did really well and even helped pick up other kid's carpet squares. Adam said that they went to the gym and played basketball, sang songs about teddy bears, the teachers blew bubbles, and he knocked some kids over. He said he had fun!

Another big thing for him today is that he finally figured out how to ride his big wheel!! He no longer pedals backwards! We did a test drive around the block and then he said he wanted to ride all the way to the park. The park is a straight shot down County Line but it's about a mile to get there. Well..he did it! It took a long time with all the steering into the grass but he did it! He played a little while on the slides and then wanted to swing. He was totally beginning to zone out so I called Dave to come pick us up. When he saw Dave he ran to him..and became very awake again! We managed to get the overly tired crazy man to sleep just after 8! Whew!!

Next week - the beach with my parents!