Is this thing on?

Hi, guys. I've been waiting for Mommy to download and sort my photos, but she says that every time she sits down to do it, I divert her attention to my wants and/or needs. So, for now, I'll just tell you about what I've been up to, and when she gets it together, I'll post the pics. OK? OK!

I should tell you first about my visit to Florida, to see my cousin Johnny. This time, I could play with him and converse with him way better than I ever could before now, so it made playing together so much cooler. One of my favorite things was to play cars with him, with his cars and racetrack from the "Cars" movie. My favorite car is Lightning McQueen ("NYT-nee MaKEEEE!") but I like the others, too, like Chick Hicks and the Sheriff. Johnny taught me how to run the racetrack this time, because I was too little last time I went to his house, and I was really, really proud to do it myself.

Another thing I liked doing was riding the carousel at the mall. I learned the word "carousel" the week before, when I rode the big carousel in Buenos Aires, and now I am a big fan. One time, Johnny rode a motorcycle while I rode in a car, and another time I rode in a duck. We also had a good time at home, in his backyard, hanging out with Nonna. This time, I was big enough to climb up on Johnny's slide by myself, and sliding is probably my favorite outdoor activity ever. We also played with some balls and did a little digging in the backyard, and one evening Uncle John even put on a little fireworks show for us, and I couldn't stop saying "wow!"

We took a little road trip while we were in Jacksonville to Orlando. We got to eat awesome ("awesome" being one of my new favorite words) snacks in the van, like Doritos and vanilla sandwich cookies, and watch "Caillou" over and over again on the DVD player. Johnny and I both love to watch "Caillou" and always agreed that we wanted it turned on whenever we got in the van.

When we got to Orlando, we went to the airport and picked up my daddy. I was happy to see him and sit by him in the van after not seeing him for almost a week! We put on my "No!" CD, and when the song "Fibber Island" came on, I turned to my daddy and smiled and said, "Good song!" Then we went to a condo where we could all stay together, and Uncle Jon came, too, and then Johnny and I were really happy, because Uncle is one of us boys! We had fun eating pizza together and watching Dora and Diego and going swimming with our daddys and taking baths in the giant jacuzzi tub. An extra treat was the arrival of Alex and Jessica and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dave. We had lunch together, and they brought Johnny and me each our very own microphones. That evening, we put on a little concert for everyone, and they all cheered for us.

One other thing I wanted to tell you about was my last night in Jacksonville. Nonna and Aunt Lissa were hanging some pictures, and I saw some baby pictures in the hallway. I asked Nonna about them, and when she said they were of my brother, I said, "Hans." My parents talk to me about my brother sometimes, but they were surprised I put it all together. Listen, I pay attention to everything. Just because I don't always say so doesn't mean I don't know what's going on, people.

After being away from home for three weeks, I was happy to get back to my favorite place - home (or as I like to call it, "MY-no's houth!"). Mommy and I went to Target to get some fresh milk and stuff, and when we walked down one aisle, there were three big girls talking to other in Spanish. I surprised everyone when I turned to them, waved, and yelled, "HOLA!" But I had just spent a week and a half in places where everyone was speaking Spanish, even my parents sometimes, and I know Spanish when I hear it!

I've been having some good times since I've been home. One day, I went to a big outdoor mall with my parents where there was a different kid ride in front of almost every store. I got to ride a train and a bulldozer, but after that my parents walked me across the parking lot instead of down the sidewalks, because I was obsessed with riding those machines! After we shopped, I thought we were going to Oma's house because the road looked like the one going to her house. My parents explained that we were in Aurora and later Peninsula and not in North Olmsted, but now that I was thinking about going to Oma's house, I could talk about nothing else, so my mommy called Oma and then I talked to her one on the phone for almost eight minutes, which is a personal record. I felt a little better after we talked, and then we ate dinner in a restaurant next to a train station, where I saw a navy blue locomotive and an orange caboose, and after dinner (at which I ate four pickles and a few french fries but nothing else) the two big guys at the table next to us leaned over and complimented me on how amazingly well behaved I was, and my parents were extremely proud of me.

Another day, my friends Zelda and Orson and their parents David and Toni came over, and I got to eat pizza in the living room! I was thrilled to get to play with such big kids, and after dinner we three kids rode together in my wagon to the Gather Round Farm. The chickens were having a first birthday party, and we took them some beets as a present, and we got to run around between all the crops, and it was wonderful. When they got in their car to go home, I yelled, "Bye, friends!" and then "Thanks for your help!" which was a little confusing to my parents but I knew what I meant.

This week, Mommy and I went to the Natural History Museum, which was the coolest museum I think I have ever visited. There were all kinds of animals and fish, plus all of these HUGE dinosaur skeletons. Downstairs, there's a big room of stuff that kids can touch and do, which was my favorite part. I helped some big kids sift some sand to search for fossils, and I did some puzzles and also looked through microscopes. I can't wait to get back there!

Yesterday, I went to Maggie's house for dinner, and I got to play on the porch with Maggie, which was cool, because Maggie has started walking and we can do more stuff together. She has a fire hat, which I loved, and two dogs, who loved me.

I have been putting new words together into ever-more-complex sentences lately, and I'm grasping some new concepts, such as the fact that food and drinks need to be prepared before I can have them, and that the preparation takes time. When I was younger, I used to freak out if I asked for milk and it wasn't handed to me that very second, but now when someone is filling my cup or cutting my fruit or cooking my veggie sausages, I remind myself to be patient by saying "makin' it" or "cookin' it" and it makes it easier to hang on. I'm also toying with the concept of "you" and trying to sort out how to use it exactly. Sometimes I get it turned around, like when I ask my parents, "Carry you?" or "Read it to you?" or (my mommy's favorite) "Bring it to you?" - I'm asking to be carried or read to, not offering to put them on my back, but thank goodness my parents understand what I mean, or I would need to see a chiropractor. Other times, I get the "you" part right but get the word order turned around, like when I was saying good-bye to my daddy in Houston a couple of weeks ago, I held his face and said sadly, "Daddy miss you."

I'm also getting the whole birthday concept down. I'm still talking about the ice cream cake and singing "Happy Birthday" from my cousin Bailey's birthday in June, and I like to practice singing "Happy Birthday to Milo" all the time. When I was in Jacksonville, I got to help Uncle John blow out his birthday candles and eat his ice cream cake, which made me so happy, and I've been watching an episode of "Blue's Clues" about Joe's birthday over and over again. When my birthday comes, next week, I am going to be totally prepared!

Today, I'm going on a picnic, but I need to get a nap in before I go if I want to have a good time later, and I think I've at least covered the highlights of the last couple of weeks, so I will sign off for now, but I'll be back with pictures as soon as I can. I promise!