A Stand Up Surprise

Lately, I have really been enjoying hanging out in my crib, especially when my mom lowers my mobile and I can reach for the stars and moon (and eat them too).

But today, I surprised my mom and decided to pull up and stand like a big boy. You don't get to see the full standing position in this video because my mom decided my safety was a little more important than capturing it on tape. So, she put the camera down and "spotted" me in case I fell over trying to stand up. But, up I went a few minutes later, and I didn't even need any help!

Here I am later in the day practicing my standing skills.

I guess it's time for my dad to lower the crib...

And one more picture - feeling so proud of myself

A Shopping Excursion

Today, I went to the mall with my mom and Grandma Deenie to shop for a winter coat. As you can see, we did a lot more playing than shopping. No winter coat yet....

A Busy Day

Today, me and my mom picked up Grampa G at work and then headed to Tully's for lunch. I was very surprised and excited to see my Aunt Jackie when she met us there!

I like to imitate these days, but I'm not sure that my Aunt Jackie is setting a good example for me here :) Just kidding!

When I was out of my high chair, Grampa G was making me laugh with his funny faces and "claw hand."

But I was "all business" when the food came. "Hey G, please let me have some of those yummy Tully's Tenders."

After lunch, my mom and I went to the zoo because it was such a beautiful day outside. We met my friend, Teddy, and his mom there, and it was the perfect day to be outside at the zoo.

Instead of watching the elephants, we thought it was more fun to watch eachother.

Here Teddy is with his mom looking at some of the farm animals.

Teddy was really interested in watching the animals while I still prefer chewing on my toys and just looking around at everything.

Sending Love Down to Disney

My Grampa Ed, Grandma B, and Aunt Heather are vacationing at their new house in Florida. Yesterday, they spent the day hanging out with Mickey Mouse in Disney World. Since I'm not there with them, I thought that I would bring some of the party up here, and then I could let them know how much I miss them!

This is the box of goodies that they got my when I was baptized. Anything else in here?

Wait, I have a great idea!!!

If I could just somehow get in this box, then my mom and dad could send me down to Florida to see them!

Yessss....I'm in! Can you see me?

PEEK-A-BOO!

I guess my mom and dad aren't ready to let me go down to Florida by myself yet, and since they have to work this week, I'm stuck here. Of course, I miss you guys tons and tons and can't wait to see you when you get home. Say hi to the real Mickey for me!

Road Trip to Buffalo

My mom and dad woke up super early this morning to get ready for the Bills game. Instead of our usual Bills party at the house, they drove to Buffalo to join the real party at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

At first, I thought that I was making the trip with them, but then Grampa and Grandma showed up to babysit.

Mom and dad said that they had tons of fun at the game with Steve and Joanne...even though the Bills lost. Little did they know that we had our own party once they left. Grampa G made a huge pot of chili, and all of their friends came over to our house for a visit. It was lots of fun. They even let me stay up late, so that I could see my mom and dad when they got home.

Dad says that I'll get to go to my first Bills home game next year. I can't wait!

A Pre-Halloween Celebration

Last Tuesday, the Manlius Library had a special story hour for Halloween, and all of the kids came dressed up in their costumes. We got to listen to Halloween stories and sing songs to get us ready for the big day. All of my friends went to story hour, and it was great seeing them. My mom kept saying over and over again how cute everyone looked in their Halloween attire.

My friend, Mark, dressed up like a little monkey, and Jack was an adorable lobster. My mom and Jack's mom kept joking that they couldn't wait to break these pictures out when we graduate high school. Gee, thanks! As you can see from the picture on the left, Mark and I look thrilled to be posing for all of the pictures.

And here I am with my new friend, Teddy. We might be going to the zoo together on Thursday, and then we'll be able to see some real life animals. Do you think we'll see any polar bears?

After story hour, the moms had another big surprise for us. They took us to the middle school so that all of the teachers could see us in our costumes. Here I am with my mom's friend, Cathy, just hanging out in the counseling center where mom used to work.

Aunt Jen took mom's job at Wellwood, and it was sooo cool seeing her there! Plus, she took my polar bear hat off, so that made me even happier to see her.

A few minutes later, the whole costume came off, and as you can see, I was one happy camper. That polar bear costume sure was hot!!

One of my favorite things about being at Wellwood was hanging out with Cathy. Boy, could she make me smile!

All in all, Tuesday was a great day! I can't wait to see my friends again soon.

Trick or Treat

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Although I wasn't too thrilled with the whole costume-thing, I was pretty excited about going door to door and collecting candy from the neighbors. Little did I know that I wasn't actually going to get to eat the candy. As you can see, I ended up settling for the wrapper.

We made a special trip over to our neighbor's house because Meg and Phil couldn't wait to see me in my polar bear costume.

It was great hanging out with them, especially because Mr. Fazio is so silly. They even got me my very own bag of goodies. YUM!

After another quick trip to visit the twins, I was back at our house passing out candy. We had so many kids come to the door, and I loved looking at all of their costumes.

At the end of the night, mom was trying very hard to get a picture of me smiling with dad (but I was really, really tired). Grown-ups always do the silliest things to make babies laugh...but, even my dad thought that my mom and Aunt Heather were being a little too crazy.

Of course, dad made me laugh with just one silly face!

By 8:30, I was completely exhausted. Here's my "I'm ready for bed" face.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

The Bills Really Do Make You Want to Shout

Before the game...

After the game....

Right before half-time when the Bills took the lead....
I finally got to practice my clapping.

2nd half - penalties and fumbles.

Here is me imitating the Bills..... facemask!

Ha...no call from the refs.

Here is Grampa consoling me after the loss. It's no fun in the Dera house when the Bills lose. On the plus side, my dad lost a very big bet to Paul and Marci Baker, and he has to wear a Miami jersey to work on a day that their daughter has gym class. Baker told my dad that he is going to look nice in teal!

I think I'll stick to wearing red and blue.