fishing and digging

You probably won't recognize him but this is my dad. When my mom took this photo, he had been asleep for about 28 hours . . . and was only halfway through his nap.

He endured a botched surgery on Monday. It was supposed to be a simple procedure but he was in surgery for hours and hours, with lousy results. He will be lucky if he still has two hands at the end of this ordeal.

best party ever

It was a grueling wait between my real birthday and my party. Every minute, or sometimes much more frequently, during the week, I would ask my mom "is my party ready yet" and tell her I wanted to put my dress on to go. At long last, Saturday arrived. 

We arrived early to set up the food that my mom had stayed up all night Friday preparing. It was a relatively simple menu - especially compared to previous years - because toddlers generally don't eat at parties. (We proved my mom wrong.) Gone from previous parties were the samosas, caprese pasta salad, and sushi; instead we had fruit, veggies, hummus and pita, chips and dips, and my favorite: organic pickles! Though it was simple this year, my mom had to gather all of the serving dishes, brew the hibiscus mint tea, and cut the fruit and veggies into pieces suitable for toddlers (grapes had to be halved etc). Somehow I managed to sleep soundly while all of this busy work was going on.

We arrived to find Gorgeous Millie set up so beautifully. They had made trains to drive, train tracks, and there was the hugest train table I have ever seen in my whole life. There were train whistles, tickets, a train tent, and books. Anything you can think of that has to do with trains, it was there. I enjoyed playing until my friends arrived. (Beautiful and impeccably mannered Ava was the first guest to
arrive . . . wearing a crown, nonetheless.) I lost count but I hosted about 12 friends and their parents. We all had the best time. I have the nicest friends.  Sadly, there are no photos of us all together because 1) Gorgeous Millie is a large space and 2) we were all moving about at a frantic pace.

While we played, the Gorgeous Millie guide worked at the play doh bar and custom made each guest a batch to take home. We got to pick color, scent, add ins like glitter. Nicholas got cinnamon play doh!

I had requested no gifts for my birthday party since I only wanted to focus on spending time celebrating with my friends. I got a few really nice gifts though. Ava gave me a fun magnetic building set. It's almost like she knows I spend countless hours each and every day building. I also got a white t-shirt that I am proud of. And two books that we read over and over and over. Travis gave me a digger.

This is my mom's favorite photo of the day. Grover appears to be chasing me but I am fast. My dad deserves credit for this photo.

The only hitch we encountered with my party was with the cake. For my previous two parties, I had a cake from Whole Foods and I had fully intended on going through life only ever ordering cake from them. But, alas, the staff at the Whole Foods near us have absolutely no clue what they are doing and they would NOT make me a train cake. really? We went back there almost every day (to get a snack and) to ask every single baker who works there if they would make a train cake. no no no no no NO. Their excuses ranged from "we would have to outsource it" (what is the point of that?) to "we don't have that capacity."

Side note: my mom has a long list of complaints about this new Whole Foods.
They don't sell organic russet potatoes.
They cannot make chai, mocha, or lattes that are worthy of drinking. (Once they even asked my mom how to make chai.)
They won't sell half loaves of bread from the bakery.
Some of their clerks have to ask us to identify vegetables when we are checking out.
They never have slices of pizza ready during the dinner hour.
They only have breakfast tacos with meat in them.

None of these issues are as serious as them not making my cake, however. We took our business elsewhere and watch out Whole Foods: you will be getting a letter from my mom and she is the reason why you have been so profitable. My cake turned out to be cute and it was delicious anyhow. Everyone loved it. HA!

three in June

Up until just a few days ago, I had been telling people that I am 2 1/2. Then I said that I will be "three in June." Today was my big day. It is June. I am three. 

I started the day bright and early with my kitty. She still needs lots of care and attention. mostly attention. I happen to be her best friend. Then I decided that I should go to Seattle. today. I even got the face cloth out of the bin and asked my mom to wash me up. Normally I run and hide when it is time to wash up so she knew this Seattle plan was serious. And I insisted that I should wear a dress.

Instead of going to Seattle today, because it is very far away, I spent the morning and the better part of the afternoon swimming (for four hours!) and visiting and lunching with dear friends at the Barton Creek Resort. It was lovely.

After my very long nap that lasted for almost as long as I swam, we went to Verdes for dinner. Well, I really went to Verdes to play ball on their huge back lawn. I met some sweet girls who played with me while my parents ate.

I got free ice cream with three cherries in honor of my birthday. My mom ate the cherries.

Now I just have to wait impatiently until my party on Saturday.

joyful reunion

At long last, my kitty has been released from the hospital. Tuesday was more than overjoyed to see me. Aside from the bandage around her neck and the feeding tube, you can hardly tell that she came within minutes of the end just last week. Her energy level is good (she seems almost back to her usual quirky self that gets her into so much trouble) and her color is great. She had faded to a dull gray color. ashen. She was ashen.

This is a photo of me visiting Tuesday when we first got to the hospital to be trained about how to take care of her. She needs this medicine and that and she needs so much water and special food and it all has to be doled out in tiny increments at precise times of the day. And it needs to be done in a certain order. There are at least 50 pages of instructions. We should probably hire a nurse.

Oh yeah, you will probably notice my dad with his cast in the background. It finally comes off on Tuesday (the day, not the cat). We have a busy day lined up to celebrate not having a cast. First, my dad will take me swimming. Then we will come home and thoroughly wash BOTH of his hands. (My mom is most excited about him having two clean hands again.) Then he will make panini for dinner. My mom has been longing for panini for two+ months. And then my dad can have a bath with me. Just like the good old days. except now I know how to bathe myself independently and even put my own pants on afterward.

vet in training

Ever since my beloved Tuesday was hospitalized last week, I have been cat crazy. By chance, the theme at Gorgeous Millie this week was animals. I was able to brush up on my vet skills. Tuesday likely gets to come home tomorrow but she will need round-the-clock care; I feel ready.

We are starting to settle into our summer routine. On Mondays, I visit with my friends from school. Twice a week, we go to Gorgeous Millie. The rest of our time is spent building and reading. I am trying, in vain, to teach my mom how to build hotels as well as Trinity could. We have come up with a new design.

Mostly, I am excited about my birthday on Monday . . . especially my birthday box. Some time ago, my great-grandmother sent me a package and you cannot imagine how challenging it has been to wait and wait and wait to see what is inside. I have tried everything to convince my mom to open it. I have even faked accidents to try to pop the box open. I will be awake bright and early (as I say) on Monday to open that box.

And then it will be even more exciting waiting for my party on the following Saturday.

bad news for paranoid billionaires

Disclaimer: this post has nothing to do whatsoever with paranoid billionaires. It just seems like the best headline ever written so why not "borrow" it?

Second disclaimer: I don't exist on a diet of only sugar. The photos you are about to see chronicle an atypical day.

I had a cupcake left over from my recent trip to Whole Foods. All I care about, obviously, is the frosting. I call it butter. While I was eating my cupcake, my mom was on the phone trying to make an appointment with the doctor. I hollered at her repeatedly "get off the phone; I am licking my butter." I don't often tolerate it very well when my mom diverts her attention from me.

As we got ready to leave, I wrapped myself in the flag that my dad put out for Memorial Day. He fails to observe flag etiquette, much to the annoyance of our neighbor who precisely follows the rules about what time to display and then take down the flag. Had we known that I was going to pose for this photo, I would have worn something other than a striped shirt. Or, better yet, we would have swapped out this flag for our Canadian one. The neighbors would have loved that!

After the doctor, we stopped by Starbucks. I had a cocoa. yum. My mom has bronchitis so it seemed like a perfect excuse for her to drink a caramel frappuccino. (After three+ years of abstaining from caffeine, what isn't the perfect excuse for a frappuccino?)

And then, we could not believe our eyes! A freak cold front rolled in and the temperature dropped to 68 degrees. It even rained. Sadly, by the end of the day, it was back up into the 90s but we enjoyed this cold weather while we could.

Despite having consumed an entire pound of sugar, I cuddled up with my new ambulance and fell asleep.

And then my dad brought home dinner from Whole Foods.