1 year = 4x the Size

It's official, I'm a number. One to be exact. Check out these pictures with my little wagon. One was taken today and the other was taken a few weeks after I was born. I'm four times bigger than I was a year ago - who am I, the Incredible Hulk?!?! (By the way, my mom says she NEVER hopes to be four times bigger, but I think it's pretty cool.)

I had my birthday party a few weeks ago, so tonight was a family birthday. They let me eat spaghetti and some chocolate cake. To state the obvious, I like food, and spaghetti and cake are no exception.

Bring on #2! 

Thanks

We headed to New York City for Thanksgiving to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. While I've never been alive for another Thanksgiving, this one seemed pretty cool. Our awesome friends, the Spencers, got us reservations at a restaurant on the parade route which ensured - rain or shine - we had a perfect viewing area. The restaurant even had a private section on the sidewalk so short people like me could catch all of the action.

The parade was fun. I liked the marching bands and the giant balloons the most. I tried to see it all, but that parade is LONG so I might have taken a little nap. Joan Rivers, Kanye West, ICarly, and Jessica Simpson were some of the mixed bag of celebrities on the floats (honestly, I have no idea who any of them are).

This holiday is cool. It reminds us to say thanks for everything we have - family, soccer balls, friends, toy trucks, sippy cups, books, fruit smoothies - I could go on and on. Anyway, if I haven't said it lately, thanks. My family and I are sure lucky to have you in our lives.

Best Morning Hair Competition - Vote!

My dad and I have pretty ridiculous hair in the morning. My mom says it sometimes looks like I've wrestled an alligator in my sleep. My dad says I'm a lot like him, and when it comes to crazy morning hair, I'd have to agree. I'm also a Piantanida, which means I'm competitive. So I think my morning hair is MUCH funnier than my dad's. My dad, of course, thinks HIS is better than mine. So we've decided to leave it up to you to decide - who's got the best (or perhaps worst) morning hair, me or my dad? 

"Seussville"

With my Utah grandparents in town last weekend, we celebrated my first birthday a bit early (the actual day is November 30th). We had a Dr. Seuss themed party complete with funny hats, flying kites, and wacky lawn cut outs.

 

My mom and dad channeled Van Gogh and painted a Cat in the Hat cut out so each kid got a photo with their head sticking through it. Using lots of bright colors they also painted a bunch of other Dr. Seuss signs including a "Once-ler" sign (from the Lorax book) and a "Zoo" sign (from Put Me in the Zoo).

The bigger kids played games including a socks race (from Fox in Sox) and a Thing 1 and Thing 2 relay (from The Cat in the Hat) while us little guys got pulled around in my new Radio Flyer wagon - thanks Grandma & Grandpa.

My Uncle Eduardo was the only adult to take the challenge to try and balance 10 hats at the same time (from I Wish that I had Duck Feet). If I put the ten hats on, you can't even see me. He got creative an actually did it! What a stud.

I got my first taste of cake and let's just say I'm a fan. Everyone thought I'd smash it or play with it, but boy were they wrong. I patiently ate every last delicious morsel and when it was gone, I even took a bite of my paper plate, just to make sure I got it all. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.

I definitely could get use to this birthday stuff, bring on #2!

Nothing is Better than Grandparents

God sure knew what he was doing when he invented grandparents. They are so much fun. My Utah grandparents flew out to see me this past week and we had a blast. We played at the park, went for walks, threw the ball, and my grandpa even gave me a lick of his fudgesicle.

Because they were in town, we also celebrated my first birthday a few weeks early (next blog post will have party pics, so stay tuned). They surprised me with a Radio Flyer wagon. It's really cool because the bench folds up into two seats so my buddies and I can go for a ride together. It also has drink holders for my bottle - those guys think of everything. My mom says the "cargo bag" on the back is her favorite. She said it's so huge it can hold a Thanksgiving turkey.

I think the best part about grandparents is how much they love you. They will spend hours telling you how cute you are, practicing going up and down the stairs, and explaining why one football team is better than another. Lucky me for having four terrific grandparents!

F is for Fins!

My dad's favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins, affectionately called the "fins." He's told me - perhaps 10,000 times - they are the only team to ever have a perfect season. Today, I got to see them live. He took me to my first NFL game - the Miami Dolphins vs. the Baltimore Ravens - he's the greatest dad ever!

There's really no need to talk about who won the game - at least that's what my dad said afterwards - so let's focus on how awesome it was to be a part of all of the excitement. The jumbo tron said there were 71,305 people in the stadium, but they were wrong...they didn't count me! (apparently I was free) Everyone cheering and clapping - I loved when the stadium would shake from all of the feet stomping.

I had so much fun that now I can't wait to go to my first 49ers game...hey mom........

A Sweet Country!

Candy AND democracy - does this country rock or what!??! Where else in the world do adults give away candy to kids who simply knock on their door and say three magic words? The whole stranger-danger thing is thrown out the window for one night as your parents take you to random homes and encourage you to eat candy from people you don't know - it's awesome.

 

Ridiculous attire is a definite requirement; the more ridiculous, the larger the loot. My parents must have received this memo because they dressed me up as a 2 1/2 foot tall golfer - which is apparently very funny. The polyester knickers and argyle sweater vest kept me warm. The goofy hat didn't do much for warmth, but topped off the costume nicely. I also had a set of clubs that were a bit tough to carry. Luckily my parents came as my caddies and carried them for me (along with my scorecard, extra balls, and tees).

We had more than 400 trick-or-treaters at our house again. Luckily we also had lots of fabulous friends to help pass out the 80+ bags of candy - it was crazy. We had a graveyard with two smoke machines, six carved jack-o-lanterns, and a giant cut-out for kids to stick their faces in for photos. My favorite part was the smoke machines. If I sat in front of them long enough, the smoke would completely cover me and you couldn't see me, cool, huh.

Then today we headed to the polls to cast our vote. My parents' polling place is down the street so we walked over and saw lots of neighbors along the way. Listening to my parents, I understand that the candidate with the most votes wins. His/her prize is a job where lots of people call/write complaining about all of the things they don't like. Hmm, while I'm not quite one years old, this sounds like an odd "prize."

Anyway, the part I do like is that each one of us gets to vote for the person we like and agree with. While they didn't let me "pull the lever" today, they did give me a "future voter" sticker. Apparently you're suppose to be able to say your name and address before they trust you with picking the leaders of our country - I guess that's fair. One thing is for sure - this is one sweet country!