That's right. I got to go to the Rodeo with my buddy Holden, his Mom Erin, and my Momma! It was a lot of fun. I got to watch big men fall off of cows! (my Momma keeps telling me that those were bulls, but to me they are all cows). I also got to see all the other animals at the fair with my buddy Ezra and his family. I got to touch goats, a chicken, sheep, and then in the reptile exhibit I completely fearlessly petted a boa, an aligator, and a large tortoise! I didn't want to leave that aligator, and the lady had to tell me several times not to touch its teeth... she didn't seem too impressed by my "I be very careful!"...
Anyway, here I am hiding in my "Mark house" (one of the empty kitchen cabinets) wearing my cowboy hat. Playing hide-and-seek is a new favorite game of mine. I have a strategy: I alternate my two hiding spots, one being this cabinet, the other being the hall closet. I then yell loudly to come find me, and after my Momma or Dad looks ALL over the house, they finally find me. I can be surprisingly patient.... and when I get found I laugh and laugh!
Typing "E-i"s (letters) on my Momma's laptop is another favorite passtime of mine. I recognize all the (capital) letters of the alphabet, as well as the numbers "0" "1" and "2"... and I can spell "MARK" and "DAD" all by myself. (On a side-note, doing things "all myself" is VERY important to me right now). Sometimes my name ends up saying "MRAK" or "ARKM" but I always get the right letters....hooray for the Leapfrog refridgerator magnet alphabet toy!
Of course nothing beats playing with good old "bwee-yas" (aka cars) and building houses and towers out of blocks...
Look at the Zoo my Momma and I built today! Please note that the dinosaurs live in the parking lot with the cars...
Oh yes! I almost forgot! 2 weeks ago, we went to the Wilsonville childrens' Fest with my friend Ezra and his family! That was great fun. Everything except the food was free! My Dad and I got our picture drawn, I got to hop on some really cool bouncing castles, got to get soaked while fishing for magnet fish, and participated in lots of other fun activities. The door prizes were great: I have some more dinosaurs, a ball, a rubber ducky, and some other fun goodies. Anyway, how do you like the cartoon version of my Dad and me?
Speaking of drawing, I really like to draw, too. I have moved on from random scribbles since I figured out how to draw circles and "bananas" (ovals) which I then meticulously color in. That is, when I am not too busy drawing streets and then commanding whichever adult is sitting with me to draw cars and trucks and ambulances and fire engines onto the road...What else is there to report? Potty training is going well, I can go for a morning and/or an afternoon in big-boy underwear as long as my Momma or Dad remind me to go potty every 45mins to an hour. We've had a total of 4 (wet) accidents... one of them in the closet on my Dad's boots. Hey. I was practising my aim. My Momma and Dad always tell me that it is ok, that accidents happen. I am able to tell you "I need to pee!" and have successfully gone in the potty at friends' houses and at the restaurant, even though I still wear a diaper when we are out of the house. I have gone #2 in the potty 6 times now, too... but I prefer to do that in my diaper.
Oh yes, I almost forgot! The most important and exciting news of all! My Dad had his first day of work today at his awesome new job!!! He gets to play with computers, the Internet and other telecommunication technologies all day... lucky guy. We are so happy! Well, we are sad that Dad doesn't get to spend as much time with us during the day anymore... but we are happy that now we can house-hunt in earnest! And because the job is in Vancouver, we may even get to see Dad for lunch sometimes.
That's all for now, folks! We hope to have more news soon!
