Official 2 Yr Weigh In

AJ had his 2 year check up today. The doctor said his ears look great and he is very energetic and active - no kidding! In case you are keeping track AJ's stats are:

• Height - 37 1/4" (95%+ percentile)
• Weight - 29 lbs 13 oz (75% percentile)

He has always been on the tall side but this time was off the charts. This is also the highest weight percentile he has ever had. He is growing well :-)

Since our appt was during his usual naptime AJ was in rare fussy form and kept trying to run out of the exam room while the doctor checked him out and talked to me. After the doctor left he sent in the nurse to give AJ a vaccination. After she did that a lab tech came in to take some blood to check his iron level. By that time he had been pricked and poked plenty. When the tech left he marched over to the door and in his best stern and angry voice he hollered "Bad Doctor" and slammed the exam room door shut. I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Chugga Choo Choo Train

On Sunday we met up with Jamma and Jampa for pancakes and a trip to Burke Lake Park. We had never been to this park before and despite the nasty heat and humidity a good time was had.

Our first stop was for a ride on the train. AJ had a rough time sitting still waiting for the engineer to pull out of the station.

Once the train got moving, AJ enjoyed the ride on Daddy's lap. We rode past the lake, a couple of dogs and through the woods.

After a stop at the playground to go down the slide a few times, AJ discovered the merry-go-round.

He got a ticket to ride just before the storms rolled in and enjoyed going for a spin with Jampa. I'm still a bit impressed that he stayed on the horse the entire time!

Wearing Hats

AJ likes to play with Daddy's baseball hat, sometimes wearing it himself. Today he shared his hats with Daddy. Here they are hanging out in the family room with the wagon playing firefighter and construction worker.

Happy Birthday Aunt Sydney!

Wishing you a wonderful 22nd in NYC!

Mommy & Daddy's Adventure

This morning we dropped AJ off at daycare, met some friends at Starbucks and headed over to use our VIP tickets to Redskins training camp. It was great - though it got awful toasty in the sun and we sat on some gravel - ouch! They weren't playing full tackle but there were some pile ups and we saw Stu & Jason Taylor make nice hits. We were right on the sidelines.



We saw lots of cool players - many are HUGE in person. I staked out space to get autographs near some cute kids on the VIP rope line which certainly helped our efforts. Many of the really big name guys were busy doing tv and radio interviews and didn't have much time to stop. :-( It was nice thought that even the rushed ones stopped for a kid or two.

I saw Purdue's Stu Schweigart on the field but never saw him on the walkway for an autograph, big bummer. On a fluke, we went to the back of the tent area and there came Ohio State's Shawn Springs. By then I had quit being bashful and trotted over saying "hey Shawn, go buckeyes" and he signed our ball! A big highlight for Pete.


We also got a great tour of the facilities from our charitable foundation host. Here we are with the 3 super bowl trophies - each is individually made by Tiffanys and worth about $25 k. We got to peak in the locker room too, though no photos are allowed there.



In a couple of years AJ will appreciate the signed footballs we scored and we'll take him with us. Cute kids got the best autographs :-)

One Smart C-O-O-K-I-E

As many of you know, on Fridays AJ's daycare has a basket of cookies at the front desk for the kids. This is the highlight of many Fridays as AJ takes off at a sprint from his classroom and makes a beeline for the front desk saying "cookie day" as he goes. Very cute - except if Mommy doesn't keep up and he is bouncing and hollering "COOKIE" when I get there :-)

On non-cookie days our exit is much more leisurely. Today as he was taking his time, meandering out, another mother commented that some days getting out takes hours. I chuckled in agreement as AJ touched the art projects on the wall, said good night to the fishies in the tank and was just pokey in general. I commented to the other Mom that the only day he moves fast is "c-o-o-k-i-e day" (I spelled it out). AJ stops his farewell to the fish, looks up at me and says "cookie day???" I had to laugh - he now recognizes me spelling cookie for what it is.

First Boat Ride

One of Pete's co-workers invited us out on his boat today. The initial plan was for Pete to go alone because we didn't realize this was the kind of boat with little staterooms, a kitchem, bathrooms and AC. Once we figured that out, pretty late in the game, we decided to make it a family outing.

AJ loved it, peering off the back all the way from the dock out to where we dropped anchor. Once we dropped anchor he suffered through wearing a life vest so that he could climb into the creek with the rest of the gang. He loved the big tubes and splashed around until Mommy & Daddy were so tired we had to drag him in.

He even took a 2 hour nap in one of the bedroom areas and came back up ready to go. Unfortunatly, Pete and I didn't nap and were hurting by the time we got home and had to take turns taking a cat nap!

Happy 6th Charlie

Happy Birthday Cousin Charlie!!!

Unofficial Weigh In

AJ's 2 year doc appt is still almost two weeks off and I'm very eager to see how tall he is and how much he weighs. Our scale at home is working again so I stuck him on there this morning and it said he weighs 29.5 lbs. I"ll tell you what - if you carry him around for a while, you feel every ounce of that nearly 30 lbs!

6'2"

I got an email with this height predicting calculator. I entered AJ's current info and the height of his parents and it predicts he will be 6'2" at 18 years old. Hmmmm, who wants to log this and see how close they are in 16 years?

Party Pics

Leaving town right after the birthday party means I am a little behind in posting pictures from the party. For those who were not here - it was a blast and AJ is still tickled with all his cool new toys.

AJ is a big fan of the movie Cars and had a race car themed party, complete with a cool cake Aunt Megan decorated for him.




Here AJ shows Mommy his great new stuffed Lightening McQueen pillow from Cuddles (really from Aunt Bridget and Uncle Jim)

AJ scored lots of fun Lightening stuff, a Nemo sprinkler, some great books and videos and a cool Diego tractor.





One of his other favorites has been the 18 wheeler that hauls a miniature race car from Grandpa Steve. He carted the truck around for days!

Teeth Brushing Break Through!

AJ isn't a big fan of having his teeth brushed. It wasn't always this way but something happened a few months back and now it is a downright nasty experience for all of us as he screams and has to be held down. He's been to the dentist and she says it isn't that unusual and his teeth are getting clean enough for now so we continue to battle but don't worry much.

Yesterday AJ made a second trip to the dentist who repeated that we are doing alright despite AJ's resistance. On the way out AJ spotted the Cookie Monster and Elmo spinning brush. Well, he decided he needed one of those and desperate to find something to make brushing a bit more tolerable, I caved and bought it for him.

Last night during bedtime prep I wondered if he would like the noise it makes - well, he loved it! It was the best teeth brushing he has had in ages and there were no tears or fighting! He even smiled. Worth every penny of the $7!!!!

Three Smiling Cousins

You would not believe how many bad pictures I took to get this one good one (and this actually came from another family member!). Actually, if you have ever met our super wiggly boy and his equally wiggly cousins Charlie and Nora - you would believe how hard it was to stage this photo :-)

2 Years Ago Today

What a day it was....AJ arrived in our lives!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN.

Birthday Cake Blues

AJ had a blast visiting with all of the family who came last weekend to celebrate his birthday. We had a full house of people and puppies :-)

He had so much fun with the new toys he got that he had to be dragged away to see his birthday cake. Even with the fun Lightening McQueen cake and the singing he wanted nothing to do with it and fussed to get back to his new toy truck.

More on our fun long weekend and the family visit when I have a bit more time.