Moving...

Moving.  What to say about it?

I went through this trauma about, oh, 2 years ago.  Some people came, put my things in a box, took them away.  Several days later, they showed up in a new house and I celebrated Christmas by opening all sorts of boxes and finding cool things inside them!

This time?  Mommy spent days stuffing stuff in boxes.  Then,  some people came and put things in boxes.  Then everything went on a truck, an hour later, it started coming off a truck.  I was left with lots of boxes -- which, I thought contained cool new things.  Nope.  They contained my old toys.  And while some were cool, I've clearly outgrown -- they were soooo 6 weeks ago!

This new place is in "Evanston".  It scores over the younger, less pedestrian "Northbrook" in numerous ways.  There is a park across the street.  Another one a block away.  A school playground a block away.  And another two parks on the way to downtown -- one with coffee for early morning park trips!  So, that is definitely a plus!  There are more places to eat at.  There are shops I can be pushed to.  There is a library to play in, a bookstore to run around and play with the trains in, and not one, but *two* train lines to watch trains on!  And my elementary school is just 2 minutes walk away.  And my pre-school? It's across the street!

What more could I ask for?  Other then trains, more trains, lasagna, pizza, more trains, more toys, planes, still more trains, lots of dirt and sand to play with, more trains, better sofas to jump on, more things to climb, bubbles, yet more trains, fewer repeats of SuperWhy, and still yet more trains, that is...

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of this time -- Daddy's lack of one working arm makes holding a camera impossible!  Besides, pictures of me crying just aren't cute.  I'll stick to the pictures of me being ... cute!

The Zoo, the LAST Part...

I think I mentioned something about Monkeys!  Yes, there were more monkeys.  Well, I think they were Gibbons, actually.  But something big and white and swinging from tree to tree....

Interestingly, I don't swing from tree to tree.  How is it mommy calls me her little monkey?  There were also an otter family.  They were cute and cuddly and all snuggled up in their den...

Then I moved onto More Fish Watching!  You can see a shark lying on the floor of the tank in the picture below -- it didn't look too scary, and nor did it look like it would eat me!

There was also a strange guy in the tank cleaning it.  The fish mostly ignored him -- so, there must not have been any man-eating critters in there.  I'm not sure what to make about that; why don't they let all of us go for a swim with the sharks?

We moved onto the red pandas.  There was one guy who decided that we were supposed to be the show!  He just meandered out and watched all of us wander by while munching on bamboo.

I wonder if he eats, shoots and leaves?  Hmm....  Lastly, there was turtles!  They were swimming around quite happily!

I watched them for a bit...  It was fun!  After a great visit to the zoo, it was back to Grandma's place we went!  It's THAT way!

So, that covers a zoo trip!  Next up ... MOVING!  There aren't any pictures of that, just stories...

The Zoo, part N...

Meandering on, we got to see lots of birds!  And no, for those of you in Great Britain, I do not mean girls -- I mean birds!  They are far more interesting!  For starters, I can point them out to other people like mommy!  Behind me are some pink ones, and Daddy needs to go look at them!

It was kinda strange just watching them stand there on one leg.  I tired it, but it got quite boring after a while!

...they also seemed to like hanging around and chatting...

Then there was this guy -- he was kinda sleek and cool looking...

Or this guy -- he just looked as mad!  Like he didn't want his picture taken...

Tomorrow -- I get to talk about monkeys!  Mommy will tell you I'm a regular monkey as well!

The Zoo, part IV...

Lions and Tigers and Bears?  Oh My!  Well, there weren't any Lions, and the Tigers were about as far away as possible and only visible when they swished their tails.  But there were Bears and Otters and Leopards!  How Cute!!

These bears were really relaxed, and really big!  They were swimming as well as lounging around on the rocks!  

Then there was this wild boar thing.  And no, I'm not talking about Daddy either!

Then there were the leopards.  They were really neat to see, with their bright coloration and cool personality.  I think they were showing off their beauty to all of us lucky visitors!

Neatest of all were the otters!  They were having fun swimming and playing around for what seemed like hours!  They must have been having more fun then I was having!

Ok, then there is the obligatory pose with mommy...

Ironically, this bear seems to have a much better idea -- sleep in the sun!

The Zoo, part III

Reptiles!  The creepy cold-blooded critters living in a nice, warm sun-drenched building...  This tortoise was just massive, as was his friend.  He was bigger then I was -- which albeit isn't too difficult, was still impressive.  I wonder if they would offer a kid like me a chance to ride him!

This guy just looks mean!  Look at those fangs!  Look at those cold, calculating eyes just staring at you!  I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark swamp!

This guy was a bit more relaxed.  He just crawled along slowly, ignoring everything...

I'm looking forward to the lions and tigers and bears -- oh my!

The Zoo, part Deux

One of the things that surprised me the most about the zoo were the fish!  There were lots of fishes at the zoo, and some were mega-colorful!  I really liked this spiny thing with the bright colors!

Another fish looked like something even stranger -- like floating leaves or the like.  It's hard to believe this is a fish, somewhat related to a seahorse!

Grandpa was fantastic at pointing out interesting fish as well.  There were sharks and lots of big ones that look like they could eat someone like me in one bite!

He's a fisherman -- someday soon, he's going to teach me how to catch these things!

Zoo Trip, Part 1...

It's always nice to have a day out, and it's doubly nice to have a day out where I get to go to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa!  Zoos are cool things where I get to see lots of animals, like monkeys!

Mommy often calls me a monkey, and after watching them frolic and play, I'm not quite sure why.  I'm much cuter then any of the monkeys!  The zoo also has lots of other things to play with and sample and try.  I think I'm supposed to be learning something, but mostly, it's just fun!

There was also a train that took you around to see the animals in luxury!  I enjoyed sitting on Grandpa's lap and looking at the animals out the windows!

There were gazelle-like things...

...and wild horses with baby wild horses!

Next, came the BEARS!

Now, here's where things get interesting...

Now, remember lots of those events that I mentioned waaaay back at the beginning of May?  Well, here is where things get interesting!  It goes like this:

Daddy goes for a run.  He hits a lose piece of pavement, falls, and hurts his wrist and arm.  But, being too stubborn, and it isn't that badly swollen, he doesn't do anything about it.  EXCEPT fly off to Montreal, Canada for the Grand Prix -- abandoning me to the grandparents for a few days (Yes!)

I spend three days playing with Grandpa and Grandma and having a really great time.  Mommy and Daddy are off having a really miserable time  getting rained on, suffering with a broken arm, etc...  Clearly, I got the better end of the deal -- now, if they would only just listen to me and stay and have fun with me.

Daddy gets back.  Goes to doctor.  "Oh," the doctor says, "you have a displaced fracture of your radius" or something like that.  I think it means "ouch! You Fool!"  And if it doesn't, well, I'll just say "Ouch!  You Fool!"  The broken wrist isn't diagnosed for another 4 weeks or so...

Fortunately, I still have some pictures of a zoo trip to post -- which will have to occupy the next few entries as this is the point where daddy's ability to hold a camera could be described as non-existant.  Or, more precisely, I've got a few weeks of freedom from having my picture taken!  Wahoo!

Vacation, at last!

What does one do on vacation?  After meeting the new dog, I mostly spend my time wandering around exploring things and looking cute!

Mommy particularly likes me with this silly hat!  It magnifies my cuteness, or just makes me look like a baaaaad boy from 'da burbs!

But I don't like it that much...

Grandma's New Puppy!

Grandma has a new puppy dog!  His name is Murphy, and he's big and black and the sort of dog I could ride like a horse if they would let me!

He's just about the perfect puppy for grandma -- a bit big and energetic, but otherwise, a really cute lovable little guy!

He's pretty good at walking too!  After all, grandma needs someone to walk with, and Murphy is just about perfect.

I think he's almost as big as me!  And he does seem to like me (I just hope he doesn't think I'm dinner!)

Of course, now that Grandma has a dog named Murphy, you realize what this means -- Grandma's house is now under Murphy's Law!

Vacation?

Ahem.

Somebody -- who shall remain nameless -- bundled me into a car today.  It was hot and miserable outside, and I then spent most of the next 8 hours staring out a window.  It was interrupted by the occasional nap (which, I might add, was NOT long enough!) and the occasional Elmo video (which, I might add, was NOT long enough), but that is  no excuse for subjecting a Spencer like me to a long, hot, boring car trip.

So, with that in mind, I'm implementing a new rule : no long car trips without lots and lots of videos.  Even if it is to go on "vacation"...

The Annual Cuteness Competition

Welcome to June!  This summer's Cuteness Competition is between Spencer and ...

SWANS!

These are baby swans swimming around...

This is very clearly proud daddy swan, surveying the waterscape!

Everybody knows that the ugly duckling grows up to be a swan.  Cute ducklings grow up to be ducks.  And those little guys?  Well, they're ugly ducklings.  Therefore, Spencer is trivially cuter then the ugly ducklings as everybody already knows that Spencer is, well, CUTE!

Whenever I'm out, everybody always reminds me of that fact.  So....