Photo Phriday

My little Gilligan. He refuses to wear a baseball hat. The toddler bucket hats are too small for him, so I had to give him mine. It's a little big, but it keeps the sun off his face, protects his head from sunburn and most importantly he keeps it on!

How do I capitalize on this?

Bobby is car obsessed. Not with play cars or trucks but with the real deal. At only 2 years old, he can identify cars by their logo and knows who drives what. And he is not limited by color, model, or type of car. He notices and points out all the different cars while we walk along our street, while we're driving anywhere or just walking in a parking lot.

He knows I drive a Subaruand that Rob drives a Nissan. Grandma Pat has a Ford (or "sword" as he says it)PapPap drives a Mercury, Uncle Matt drives a Cadillac, EeEe has a "v-dubya". And he even knows cars that he doesn't see everyday. He knows his friend Nate's mom has a Chevy.

Roman's mom has a Honda. My parents' neighbor has a Dodge.Every car brand, whether it's a car, pick-up truck or SUV is identified correctly. He can even identify the keys by the emblem on the key!!

He loves to look at the cars and touch the logos...whoever he identifies the car with first is what he sticks with, so although my brother also has a Cadillac...it's always and forever going to be "Matt's car" even though he knows which car is Uncle Brian's and which is Uncle Matt's.

Maybe I should print car logos like flashcards, videotape his "rainman-like" skills, post it on YouTube, become a viral video sensation, get on Oprah, and cash in on this talent...

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS...AGAIN!

Marian Hossa turned down a lucrative, long-term contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to accept a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings. He thought he had a better chance of winning Lord Stanley with Detroit. He thought Wrong! YOU LOSE!

Pittsburgh fans are nothing if not rabid. and loyal. That's why we'll never forgive Hossa for his defection.

'NUFF SAID.

NO DOUBT!

I attended the No Doubt concert on Saturday.

I. Love. Gwen. Stefani.

If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as Gwen Stefani. She has such a great and unique voice. She has killer abs! Even performing live, her voice was spectacular. She has a great energy and dance style. Her abs were amazing. She is so cool and fun. Did I mention her abs? No Doubt really performed a great show, and she absolutely rocked it!
Along with her amazing voice and stage presence, she is a mom of 2 boys. Here is what she looked like pregnant:

and here she is post-babies:She is one kick-ass Mama!

Kennywood's Open (and I don't mean your fly is down)

My parents took Bobby away to the beach a few weekends ago. He was gone 5 days--the longest I've been away from him his entire life. He had a wonderful time and as any smart parents would do, we decided to fill our weekend with things that we cannot (or do not) do when Bobby is around. For me, this included a Saturday filled with beauty treatments: haircut/style, manicure and pedicure. (Thank God I was finally able to catch up on all the Jon & Kate drama covered in all the celebrity rags).

However, in a more curious decision, on Sunday, we decided to go to Kennywood. Now, most parents probably don't run to an amusement park without their kids, but then I remembered this:and I thought this might not be the summer for Bobby to explore the rides at Kennywood!

So, Rob and I went and rode the bumper cars and The Whip and we enjoyed all the roller coasters: Phantom's Revenge, The Thunderbolt, The Racer and The Jackrabbit. We didn't go on any "wet" rides (although I need to go back for the LogJammer), and I don't do any "puke machines"(i.e. any ride that just goes in a circle, upside down- or both -and will just lead to nausea).

We enjoyed a sampling of the food fare: Potato Patch Fries and a corn dog for me. Turkey dinner at the Cafeteria* and an ice cream for Rob, and a shared funnel cake for both of us.

*Due to my insider knowledge of Kennywood cafeteria workers and the inner workings of what goes on there, I cannot really enjoy eating a meal in the Cafe as I was privy to the "Mutant Parade" of Cafe workers every year during the Health Department seminar on food safety.

Anyway, I got to relive my 3 summers working at the Park. It was THE BEST summer job in College--it kept me motivated to finish school (I had my fill of flipping burgers and cleaning up the condiment/seating area), I got to work with and get to know people from other schools, we got to ride the coasters early in the morning during the "test runs" and it was a fun, hijinks-filled summer job, in spite of the motto, "If there's time to lean, there's time to clean."

So, that brings me to the greatest revelation of the afternoon. I may just bypass Kiddieland altogether*. At 2 years old, Bobby is more than tall enough to ride my favorite coaster, The Jackrabbit. The Jackrabbit was the first coaster I ever went on. I think I was about 4, maybe 5 years old.

It is a wooden coaster built in 1921. The only safety device is a strap (I can't even call it a seatbelt) that goes around both riders in the car. Now, when I was little and I would go on with my dad, when we sat down and fastened the strap around us, it was so loose around me because he was so much bigger that it really was useless. The Jackrabbit is famous for a "double dip" hill. I can still remember the panic thrill of feeling like I was going to fly out of the coaster--the force of the ride made me fly up to an almost standing position...I was definitely airborne by the 2nd dip! (check out the dips at 1:22 in this video):

How many years of therapy do you think he would he have to endure if I strapped him into this ride at 2 years old?

*DISCLAIMER: I am a responsible, educated, worrisome, somewhat overly-protective parent and in no way do I intend to put my 2 year old child on a roller coaster, even if he is big enough.

Now, this is the scene from the front car of the Phantom's Revenge:

I feel like the coaster is going to go right off the track and plummet to the Earth when it crests the first hill. It's fantastically scary. I can only hope that Bobby will progress to someday enjoy roller coasters like Rob and I do, even though they scare the bejesus out of me.

Photo Phriday

Bobby got this car for his birthday and I have a hard time getting him out of it. Anytime we go outside he heads straight for it...

Unfortunately, he may have inherited the automobile enthusiast gene from my father. Bobby identifies cars and car types and loves everything about them. I wonder if this is just the first of many automobiles he'll enjoy driving...

Moose A. Moose and Zee D. Bird

We had Bobby's 2nd birthday party on Sunday. It was a "Moose and Zee" party. They are his favorite characters from Noggin.I made him a special t-shirt to wear with Moose and Zee in party hats, and it even had Frisco the FireAnt! But my greatest endeavor was trying to make a Moose cake and Zee cupcake. I found the instructions on the Noggin website. I am ok with the baking aspect of the cake-making. It was the decorating that had me a bit nervous. Thankfully my sister came over to help. I don't think it would have turned out as well if I did it on my own. Here is the masterpiece:

and here's the Zee cupcake. I did this one all by myself :)
My ever-artsy and crafty sister made Bobby the greatest gift. His very own Moose and Zee dolls:

I really think she should start selling these on Ebay!