Yay video!!

So the little guy is finally 2. And even better we got a new video camera to replace the one left behind in the taxi debacle.

I picked a few of my favorites on the new camera

1) One of our first experiences with discipline:



2) How old is the little guy now?



3) Nobody's this happy are they?

It's Disney Time!

Because it's a great idea to take a toddler to Disney World and an even better one to do so over a holiday weekend when the parks are guaranteed to be packed, we did just that.

Memorial Day weekend marked Anthony's first foray into the magical world of Disney, and our first stab at navigating a busy theme park with a child in tow. Look how fresh we appear in the ubiquitous "family-in-front-of-Cinderella's-castle" photo at the start of our journey...

...compared with four hours later in the ubiquitious "toddler-asleep-in-stroller-in-front-of-Cinderella's-castle" photo.

Actually, we had a lot of fun, and Anthony really seemed to enjoy the experience, even more than I thought he would. As Brandon accurately pointed out, the place is basically one big moving cartoon, and Anthony is nothing if not a fan of cartoons.

We started with Peter Pan's Flight, which Brandon deemed "lame" but was a nice, low-key way to kick things off. Anthony didn't seem altogether sure what was happening, but at least he didn't scream!

Later, he took it all in on everybody's favorite, It's a Small World. Yep, it's still in my head.

We even took a chance on the scarier Pirates of the Caribbean, and the oh-so-child-friendly themes of raping and pillaging and boozing seemed to go over just fine with Anthony. Not sure if that's a good thing.

By this time, Anthony was definitely warming up to the experience and enjoying the amazing sites all around him.

Brandon and I saw some amazing sites, too, not the least of which is this:

No, it's not amazing because our water-averse child - my ears are still ringing from the screams from last night's bath - is playing in the water.

It's amazing because....

THAT'S NOT OUR CHILD!

Yes, introducing Quinn, Anthony's 3-year-old doppelganger. Seriously, that's not Anthony. And somewhere out there there's a family not quite sure if they're OK with the fact that some crazy lady from Miami took a picture of their kid soaking wet in only his diaper.

Moving on, after Brandon and I got over the amazement of meeting Quinn, Anthony got to meet some new friends of his own.

He was pleased by this cat, whom I admit I don't recognize...although Brandon looks strangely giddy about the encounter...

...and more-or-less OK with this guy, who I think is from The Lion King?

However, the Stormtroopers on hand for Star Wars weekend? Not so much.

Fortunately, we quickly moved onto greener pastures in the form of The American Idol Experience. I may or may not LOVE American Idol (I do. I am woman enough to admit it.) so I was pretty excited about this one. I may have even told Brandon that if Anthony started getting antsy, he was going to have to take him outside while I finished watching the show...

As it turned out, Anthony was fine, and enjoyed clapping for the singers. One piece of advice, though: don't try to take your toddler's picture in front of a giant TV screen (that's Kris Allen as a baby, FYI). Said toddler will stare at TV screen, not dad with the camera.

OK, apparently the same is true about me when it's American Idol that's on the TV...

In any case, later on I managed to get this shot of the world's cutest Idol ever.

OK, second cutest Idol ever.

While Anthony seemed pretty into most of that stuff, there were a couple experiences that, for some reason, he was CRAZY about.

At Disney's Animal Kingdom, we decided to visit the petting zoo, and I braced myself for another 10 minutes of trying to get Anthony to show some interest in the animals while avoiding stepping in goat pee and simultaneously holding my nose. We've ventured to Miami Metro Zoo twice, and both times Anthony's response to the petting zoo has been to sit down (probably in goat pee) and read a book instead of interacting with the animals.

But, hey, drive four hours and shell out hundreds of dollars for tickets, and suddenly the petting zoo is the BEST THING EVER.

I guess we have a goat elitist on our hands; only Disney goats will do.

Later, Anthony surprised us by taking a major liking to another activity - playing in water, his sworn nemesis, at this fire-hydrant cooling station.

He was predictably unsure at first...

...but quickly warmed up.

Anyway, we had a great time, and taking a toddler to Disney World on a holiday weekend proved not nearly as terrifying as it originally sounded.

Now Stormtroopers or the image of TWO ANTHONYS...that's another story.

Anthony is 23 months old!

On Friday, Anthony reached a big milestone: the last time I'll be able to refer to his age in months. From here on out, he'll be 2, then a little over 2, then almost 3, then 18. At least that's what it feels like!

To "celebrate," we took him to the beach. Because nothing says "celebration" like taking a child who is suddenly deathly-afraid of the water and is genetically disposed to dislike oceanfront activities (direct quote from Brandon: "I hate getting all sandy and wet") to Miami's famed "clothing optional" Haulover Beach.

Don't worry, we stuck to the non-nude portion of the beach, although Anthony did take off his shirt.

At first Anthony wanted nothing to do with any of it ("bye-bye, beesh; bye-bye, beesh") and tried to point the way to the exit.

He especially wanted NOTHING to do with the ocean, making a break for higher ground at his first opportunity.

We decided to give him a chance to get acclimated, and the introduction of a pail and shovel helped immensely.

Eventually, I dare say he cracked a smile.

Yep, definitely a smile.

Not sure what this is all about.

All said, Anthony seemed to enjoy his day at the beach, perhaps siding with dear old dad on the getting wet portion of the activity, but not appearing to mind the sandy aspect. But still, when we asked him if he was ready to go, he immediately popped up and starting tugging his stroller open...so we'll just go ahead and call the results mixed.

Or, maybe he was just anxious to get home to all his fancy toys....

Who needs to drive to the beach and pay for parking when you can crawl inside a cardboard box ?

I've gotta Sientate for this one

So apparently Anthony is talking in Spanish now.

When the little guy presented me with a paper flower he made at daycare for Mother's Day, he ran to get it sing-songing "flores! flores!" This morning his teacher told Brandon that the other day when the kids were supposed to sit down, our nino told another little boy, "Sientate, Lino."

I'm not sharing this to brag, or to act like my kid's some genius or something. We live in Miami, after all, where even most stupid people are spectacularly bilingual (and trust me, there are plenty of stupid people in Miami).

I'm sharing this because it's terrifying and I want it on record in case something happens.

I am SO NOT bilingual (no comments on where this places me on the stupidity continuum, por favor) and at this rate, Anthony will probably end up conversant in two languages, one of which I completely don't understand.

Can you even IMAGINE how much talking behind my back and evil scheming that is going to allow him and his little friends to do?

Look at him plotting my demise. Ay, Dios Mio!

Mother's Day Weekend

We spent The Holiday Weekend (capitalized because surely Mother's Day trumps all other holidays) attending a friend's first birthday party on Saturday and pretending we were actually serious about taking action on repainting the kitchen on Sunday.

The latter, naturally, never happened, but the party was lots of fun, and made me think Anthony is REALLY going to enjoy his own birthday celebration is just over a month...

Yes, I see the presents, Anthony. No, they're not for you.

I guess we're going to need to get balloons for his party...

Lots of balloons. The party was held at a local park, so naturally there were lots of kids around. I swear, every one of those kids shyly approached our group to ask the hosts for a balloon.

Anthony was no different, and snagged a red balloon all his own...

...which of course was on its way to who-knows-where within about 30 seconds. He took it pretty well, though, looking somewhat confused by the turn of events but forgoing tears for a simple, "bye-bye balloon."

Of course, the appearance of cupcakes helped the situation immensely. I'll have to ask my friend for her recipe, because Anthony devoured his.

After a cake-related costume change (dude got frosting in his HAIR, and Saturday's supposed to be the day I don't have to force him to take a bath!) Anthony hustled over to the playground to burn off come cupcake calories.

He basically did laps around the equipment to get to and down the slide. Fortunately, despite the recent inhaling of a cupcake, this did not result in any puke.

It was a fun Saturday morning, and it definitely got me excited for Anthony's big day next month. Anyone want to take wagers on whether we'll have the kitchen painted in time for a party?

No Good Deed...

Parents always want to make their kids happy...we like to see their little faces light up with joy... ...and, I'll admit it, we like the fact that when the kid is happy, we can sit on the couch and catch our breath.

But sometimes no good deed goes unpunished.

The other day I was out shopping, and I hit a couple kids' consignment stores I'd found on Google. At one of them, I saw this:

Perfect! I thought. Anthony LOVES Thomas the Train. He loves his bath. A Thomas the Train bath toy that has Thomas spouting out water and some other train (I refuse to learn all the names even though Thomas has "cool" status in my mind because George Carlin does the voices. Let's just say it's Percy or Gordon) sliding down a track into the tub. It's going to be a HIT!

Already picturing my hero's welcome and imagining the sure-to-follow enhancements to my Mother's Day gift, I happily shelled out the somewhat steep $5 (this is second hand, people!) and headed off to suction-cup my little gem to the side of Anthony's bathtub.

And later that night, as I walked upstairs to give him his bath, I silently patted myself on the back, knowing THIS time he wouldn't throw a fit when I made him give up the book he was "reading" before taking the plunge - once he saw Thomas, he'd forget about everything else.

It worked like a charm.

For about 30 seconds.

Then, DISASTER!!!

While Percy/Gordon is a separate piece on this little plastic monster...

...THE train - by which I mean Thomas, of course...

- is not removable. And Anthony? Wanted Thomas to be removable. (This picture makes Tommy Boy look kind of diabolical. GOOD!!)

For those uninitiated to the way of the toddler, I'm just going to go ahead and make it clear that there is NO WAY to calmly and logically explain to a 2-year-old that he can't have Thomas because Thomas simply isn't detachable, he's part of the toy. Somewhere between "can't have" and "detachable" the toddler loses interest and becomes unable to understand.

OK, actually it just happens after "can't have."

Anyway, LONG story short, my best intentions were undermined. Anthony was going CRAZY about the fact that he couldn't have Thomas. The screams were deafening. The heartbreak was palpable. I'm pretty sure he was saying some of the seven words you can't say on television.

This isn't the first time this has happened, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I'm just going to go with the idea that it's the thought that counts.

And I should still get points toward that Mother's Day gift, right?