The Popeye trick

Not sure how long it will last, but we finally found a trick to get Ty to eat his vegetables (for more about our past challenges, revisit a post from last April). I told him about Popeye and how eating spinach gave him big muscles and now he's much more excited about eating vegetables and does the following pose for us every time he takes a few bites.

A week-long celebration for his 3rd birthday (Sept. 3, 2008)

Ty's 3rd birthday celebration included a school party, a trip to the "Choo-Choo" restaurant with Granny and Grandpa, a joint celebration with Nana (who shares his birthday), the Burke's and Chernesky's, and a treasure hunt back in NY--quite a way to begin his 4th year. For pictures of his birthday and some videos (and a few bonus pictures of a recent trip to a church carnival and a fun trip to the city with our friends Julie and Dave), click here.

How was your day?

Every night at dinner, we ask Ty about his day at school. For a while, he would respond to the question "How was your day?" with an exhausted look on his face, saying "It was too busy." (Yes, our child has become a parrot.)

Although that response was pretty funny, Jeff decided to teach him something a little more positive. Here's his new response:

It's about the journey, not the destination

This past weekend, we spent three days camping at North-South Lake campground in the Catskills. We had absolutely beautiful weather (80 degrees during the day with blue sky every day) and loved our time outdoors. We did a short hike each day, rented a row boat, played on the beach and had a campfire every night with s'mores. Jeff and I also got a lesson in hiking with an almost three-year-old. Ty's getting too big for our backpack carrier and the hikes we went on were no place for a stroller, so the only option left was to allow Ty to walk. It's a good thing we started out with a hike that was .2 miles long, as it took about an hour. You see, for a toddler, it's not about following the path as efficiently as possible to get to the "destination," but instead, it's about finding every possible stick, rock, etc. to play with along the way. Although that did limit our hikes, maybe it taught us a little bit about a good way to live life.

For more pictures, click here.

One week, two parties, and a big announcement

Last week, we took Ty to the Greater NY Hot Air Balloon and Music Festival. Although we didn't actually see any balloons in the air (since we got there at noon and they launched at 6pm), Ty did enjoy the monster trucks, the boat show, and the pirate show.

A few days later, he had his school party which was a luau complete with a grass skirt, pinata, and a limbo. I got the chance to meet his friend Kiera's parents (he talks about Kiera non-stop and apparently they were caught hugging and rolling around on the ground a few weeks ago). Ty decided to use the oppportunity to ask Kiera's dad a very important question.

For details and more pictures of the festivities, click here.

His 16th? birthday

Ty has a birthday coming up. Although most of us know it's his third, Ty is convinced that he's now 16. Why 16 you ask? Well, a few weeks ago, he wanted to drive our car and we told him that he couldn't until he turned 16 and got his driver's license.

Oh, by the way, did you know that 16 is the age that you get to climb up a ladder to the roof of the house? And watch the Cat in the Hat movie? According to Tyler, 16=the age of ultimate freedom when he can do anything that Mommy and Daddy won't let him do now.

A ray of hope smothered by some sunshine

Early this Saturday morning, Ty awoke after a small toy dog let out a few shrill barks outside of his window. He started calling my name and I figured that was it for my sleep for the night. However, I had some hope when I went upstairs and said "Good Morning" and he said, "It's not morning yet; I want to sleep with you and Daddy." Excitedly, I agreed and brought him downstairs. Here's how the rest of the conversation went (after us meeting his requests for a cup of milk and all of his animals):

Jeff and I: "Okay, Ty, go to sleep; it's not morning yet."
Tyler (peering under the blinds in our room): "No, I think the sun is up. It is morning! I want to play!"

Oh well, at least we got an early start to the day...