Sunny Days

After a week of heat, humidity, and thunder storms in Massachusetts, we were fortunate enough to have sunny days during our trip to Pennsylvania and "Sesame Place". Or, as Mikie calls it "Elmo's World".

I have to say that Anheuser Busch could stop selling beer tomorrow and still make money. We spent $16 on parking, $45/person on admission, $12 for a locker to hold our stuff while we were in the park, $47 on food, $20 for pictures taken of Mikie with Elmo and Oscar the Grouch, and I can't even remember how much in the gift shop. And, we went on 5 rides. Or, Mikie did. Ernie's Bouncy Bed was for kids only, and we couldn't really climb on the sand slides either. So, Grandma Pookie, Mike, and I went on 3 rides. Mikie went on 5. In spite of the cost, we had a great time. We were all excited to see Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and the other characters.

Here's some highlights of our trip:

Mikie, Mom, and Cookie Monster

There are three, THREE people in this picture. . . Mikie, Dad, and The Count pose for a picture.

Mikie runs to give Elmo a hug.

We were informed by the photographer that Elmo is not a "monster", that we should call him an orange "creature" because that was less scary. Obviously, Mikie was not scared. And, I am sure the writers of Sesame Street would find it amusing to know that they have to change character names to "Cookie Creature".

The last ride of the day: Mikie bounces on Ernie's Bed. If you click on the picture, you can watch some video footage. If you listen carefully, you can hear some Mikie catch phrases such as "Man Down" and "Go Mikie Trahan!"
Shortly after filming this, I got to break the rules and climb on Ernie's Bed to retrieve the Trouble maker who PROMISED he would get off when the lady told the kids time was up. Obviously, listening and following directions are still concepts we are trying to master. Although, he was quick to listen when Grandma Pookie went to buy ice cream!

Love, The Trahans

"When I Was A Boy"

Mikie was enjoying his dinner of peanut butter on banana this evening, when he informed me that peanuts are crunchy. Every trying to infuse learning into a conversation, I ask him what the peanut butter is (smooth, creamy, soft, all would have been good answers). Mikie's answer: "it's peanut butter". I start explaining that peanut butter is smooth and creamy, and that peanuts are crunchy. Then, Mikie informs me that peanuts make teeth come out. Curious (and half wondering if he lost a tooth) I asked him how he knew this. He told me the following story:

Mikie: "When I was a boy. . . "

Mom: choking on my drink while laughing "When you were a boy?" (thinking to myself, what are you now, a girl or a man?)

Mikie: "When I was a little boy, I ate some bread and my tooth came down and fell right out."

The story went on, very serious, about opening the refrigerator and another tooth falling out, and about sleeping and climbing up, to where, I never found out. All I could focus on was "When I was a boy. . . " Next week he'll start telling me how he had to walk up hill to get to school.

While life was less exhausting, it was also far less entertaining before Mikie.

Love, The Trahans

Mikie and the "Max Sound Blaster"

One of Mikie's favorite movies is Toy Story (aka The Buzz Woody Movie). He has both a Buzz Lightyear action figure and a Sheriff Woody action figure (aka doll). At the time we bought them, I did not think that Disney could make a more obnoxious toy then these two dolls. Don't get me wrong, I love Toy Story. It is a great movie. But, when all you hear for an hour after your toddler climbs into bed with you at four in the morning is "Howdy, Partner" and "Your my favorite deputy", you would be praying for the days of silent movies.

Fast forward to August. The catalogs of halloween costumes are appearing in our mailbox. And, Mikie, flipping through "his magazines" as he likes to refer to them, sees a Buzz Lightyear costume. Not wanting to find out in a few weeks that they are sold out of his size (which happened to the dinosaur costume we looked at last year), I went online and ordered the costume. And, as all good websites do, the Disney website suggested other items that would compliment my Buzz Lightyear costume, including the "Max Sound Blaster". The description says it all:

"Defend the galaxy alongside Buzz! This awesome light-up blaster comes with 10 different sounds, and side pump to warp sounds."

For the low price of $12.99, of course I added it to my cart. I could picture Mikie in his Buzz Lightyear costume, running from door to door, armed with his "laser" yelling "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!"

And then came UPS. Today we received the costume, complete with "Max Sound Blaster". Let's just say, Disney succeeded in creating a toy more obnoxious than those talking dolls. The "Max" in "Max Sound Blaster" stands for "Maximum Volume, Maximum Noise". The description failed to mention that there is no on/off switch and no volume control. Translation, buying this toy means an end to any peace and quiet you may have had. I am sure Disney assumed that if you were purchasing the "Max Sound Blaster", you must have a boy between the ages of 3 and 12 and that peace and quiet were words permanently blasted from your vocabulary.

Moral of the story: Think twice before buying any toy with the words "Max", "Sound", and "Blast" in the description.

Love, The Trahans

Peacock

In celebration of the fact that Mikie used the potty all day today (we'll forget the fact that he informed me this morning that I needed to clean his bed because it was "wet"), we took Mikie to Friendly's for dinner. As I told Mikie, everyone's a winner when we eat at Friendly's because Mikie gets hotdogs, french fries and ice cream, and Mom & Dad don't have to cook or clean.

So, we placed our orders and settled in to coloring and small talk while waiting for our meal. Every once in a while, Mikie likes to blurt out random words. Usually, when he gets excited, he yells "MEATBALL", "GREEN BEAN", or on occasion "CHEESEBURGER". But, this evening, while sitting at Friendly's, he turned to the table of girls behind him and yelled "PEACOCK". It may not sound funny to you, but there is something about the enthusiastic sing-song way in which he screams these random words that makes me laugh out loud.

Thankfully, the waitress brought our dinner immediately after this outburst. We have managed to convince Mikie that all restaurant personnel are taking notes to make sure he eats all of his dinner. If he does, they let the "chef" know to make his ice cream. If not, no ice cream. This ploy has worked amazingly well in that Mikie always finishes his hot dog, and intentionally stops eating his french fries before filling up so that he has room for ice cream. Well, this evening, after finishing his last bite of hot dog, he noticed our waitress at a nearby table, replacing all of the bottles of ketchup. Eager for his ice cream, he turned around and announced:

Mikie: "Look, I ate my hotdog all up!"

Waitress: "Good job! Are you going to have ice cream?"

Mikie: "Yes, bring me my chocolate monster with ears."

Waitress: "Let me finish putting away these bottles of ketchup, and I'll come back to take your order."

After "PEACOCK", this was too much for me to handle. I tried to compose myself long enough to explain our deception to the unwitting waitress, but I couldn't stop laughing.

I think next time I am having a bad day, I am going to try yelling a random word to see if it helps. If I laugh half as hard as I did this evening, it should do some good.

CHEESEBURGER!
Love, The Trahans