Happy Birthday to Me!

This week I have been practicing singing the Happy Birthday song. MaMa would find me humming it or singing it as I did something else. I was so excited about my birthday! I would tell people when it was if they asked me--"November 22nd!" And how old I was going to be--"Two!"

MaMa told me that Winnie the Pooh was coming to my birthday party, and he did! On the wall there was a HUGE picture of him. And there was a real Winnie the Pooh on the table, holding a balloon that said "2" on it! Tigger and Eeyore and Piglet and Owl and Roo were also on the walls.

On Thursday I woke up and went in the living room. There were some presents for me to open! I got some Mega Bloks to add to my collection. I love building with them. I even got a Mega Blok pirate ship! It's really cool!!

That day I had two parties: one at nursery and dinner with MaMa and DaDa and a couple of other big people at home. The nice cook at the nursery baked me a Victoria sponge cake and the nice ladies made me a really big card--nearly as big as I am! MaMa and DaDa came in at teatime for the cake. We had to eat our meal first though. I didn't want to blow out the candles on the cake. I really like candles and I don't see why we have to blow them out!

Then we came home and I saw the decorations for the first time. Wow! I was so excited! I got to open presents from my grandparents, including this cool Black Hawk helicopter . . . . and the fantastic microwave I'm opening here. It cooks all sorts of things, including the chicken and hamburger and popcorn that came with it as well as my Mega Bloks and playdough and any other toys I can fit in it. It spins them around and bings when they are done. I played with it for an hour and a half straight on my birthday, and then wanted to take it into my cot with me when I went to sleep.

In the evening we had dinner. It was also sort of a Thanksgiving Dinner, MaMa and DaDa said. But they apologized that there was just chicken rather than turkey. Mommy went to the grocery store the day before and no turkeys to be found--it's not Thanksgiving in England, so the turkeys have a reprieve until Christmas! I liked my dinner though. My Auntie Jacqui got me to eat by letting me tell her what to eat, then she would tell me what to eat. Everyone got a kick out of how I said "Butternut squash," squinching up my eyes and grinning while saying it. They laughed and laughed. At the end of the meal, MaMa said, "Well, JoMo, it's time now for you to give a little speech, thanking your friends and telling them how you feel about them." I looked around the table, paused, and said loud and clear, "ByeBye!" Wow, everyone laughed so hard that at first I cried! Then they reassured me that it was just because I was so funny. "JoMo funny!" I then started repeating all my great one-liners from the past, including "Honey, no no no!" and a reprise of "Butternut squash!" with eyes squeezed shut and cheesy grin.

MaMa and DaDa made a yummy cake--MaMa made the banana cake in the middle and DaDa decorated it by covering it with marzipan and royal icing and then little figures of Pooh and Piglet and Eeyore and Tigger. Again, I didn't want to blow out the candle!

On Friday I ate corn on the cob for the first time, or as I called it "Corn Off Cob, " because once you bite into it, the corn comes off. "Corn in hole" I pointed out. Each corn piece has its own hole. Very cool. I never knew corn came that way!

On Saturday a few of my friends--the ones closer to my age--came over to play and have lunch. We even played "Pin the Tail on Eeyore" which was lots of fun. MaMa put a cool Winnie the Pooh cloth on the table and DaDa created his version of Pooh's 100 Acre Wood out of Mega Bloks on top of it!! It filled the whole table!! When everyone came in they admired it for a long time. I was amazed no one started taking it apart--at least not for a little while! We played and played and ate and ate. And I had ANOTHER cake!! This one was chocolate marble and had chocolate ABCs around it and on top! MaMa made the middle and DaDa the outside. Good teamwork! My friend Cool Dude Joel (that's what I call him) and his sister Millie helped me blow out the candles.

Here are some more pictures from the party. (Don't forget, you can make them bigger and easier to see by clicking on them.) It was lots of fun! And then I had a nap and then we went to a Thanksgiving party with other people from MaMa's college. We didn't stay long there. Gee, I wonder why? Could it be we were partied-out??

November 22nd!

If you ask me when my birthday is, I'll tell you: "November 22nd!" In fact, yesterday, when MaMa was working on her poot-poot [computer], I saw a calendar page on the screen, and I pointed at it and said "November 22nd!" Sure enough, it was a calendar page for the month of November. MaMa was shocked! But she should know that I would take every opportunity to remind her when my birthday is.

This morning while talking with MaMa just after I woke up, I told her, "Amanda and Julia have kitchen. Amanda and Julia have car. MiMi has kitchen. MiMi has car. MiMi has trains." Then I paused--did I dare?? I decided, why not? And so I said, "Mothercare [a store with everything from maternity wear to strollers to toys] has cars! Mothercare has trains!"

Tonight I heard Daddy laughing while he was reading his email. It turns out Mommy sent him a note saying I had figured out something called consumerism. I don't know what that means, but I know my friends have kitchens, cars and trains, Mothercare has kitchens, cars and trains and MaMa and DaDa have a car that will get them to Mothercare if they ever catch the hint.

Duckball

Last night in the tub I invented a new game: Duckball!

Yes, that's right. I have a new duck, a gift from my friend Millie. Yep, another duck. I am not sure how many ducks I now have, but it must be more than fourteen, which is as high as I can currently count. But each one is special. Anyway, she brought it back for me from her holiday [Am. Eng.: vacation] in Dubai; he comes from this nice hotel. He wears sunglasses, so he's a pretty cool duck. Anyway, last night I started trying to throw him like a basketball, and then kick him like a soccer ball [Br. Eng: football]. I told Mommy I was playing "Duckball!" Makes sense, huh? After all, there are footballs and basketballs and baseballs (I should know--I have all of those on my shoes and they light up!). Why not a duckball?

Mommy told me to sit down and not try to run around in the tub. I guess she's not into sports the way I am.

I also told Mommy yesterday that I want to fly planes. After all, I told her, "DaDa fly planes, Uncle Bill fly planes." So, "JoMo fly planes, too!"

MaMa's reaction: "Maybe I should let you play duckball...."

JoMo follow Jesus!

On Sunday at church we had a family service. I said to MaMa and DaDa, "Go class!" but they told me there were no classes that Sunday. We all stayed in Big Church with all the mommies and daddies and other big people. Three children got baptized. They were all a bit bigger than I am and they talked about why they wanted to be baptized. I wasn't sure what baptism was. I told Mom later, "Children go swimming church!" That's because they had a little pool there and they went into the pool and under the water, just like I used to do when MaMa took me swimming. She would say "Ready, go!" and then under I would go. I guess someone told them "Ready, go!"

Last night at dinner, I saw a picture on the refrigerator of Mommy and Daddy with my Aunt and Uncle and two of my cousins. Daddy explained to me that it was taken when my cousin got baptized. He showed me the big tub they put the water in, then he told me that people get baptized when they decide to follow Jesus. I thought about that for a while and then I said, "JoMo follow Jesus." Daddy called Mommy into the kitchen and I said it again and again. Later when we were talking on the phone to my Grandma Shirley, my parents told her the story and she asked me if I wanted to follow Jesus. I nodded with enthusiasm and said "Umm-HMMMM!" That's what I say when I really like something.

Then while I was getting ready for bed, I said, "Jesus get it baptize JoMo." That's how I ask for something. Like, "MaMa get it binky JoMo," meaning "MaMa, please get me my binky [Br. Eng. "dummy/pacifier"]." So I was saying, "Jesus get me baptized!" Well, something like that!

Later I heard Daddy tell Grandma Shirley that I probably don't understand it all intellectually, but I have it right in my heart and that's usually the hardest part for people to get. Sure wish I knew what "intellectually" means.

My first day at school!

I still haven't told you about my first day of school! Okay, it's only nursery, but it's a lot like school. I had a few short visits before and after we went to France, and then at the end of September I started going two days a week. Mom jokes that I am already a Rhodes Scholar, since the Rhodes Foundation (as well as the university and some other foundations) contributed money toward the building of the nursery! Here I am (above) trying to open the door on my first official day. I was so eager to get in and get started! (You can see DaDa reflected in the window....)

Here I am (above) with Mom. C'mon! Let's go in!

I love cooking Eggy Toast in the nursery kitchen area. I also enjoy painting and also playing with playdough, gloop, ice, oatmeal, sand, water, jello [Br. Eng: jelly], and whatever else they bring out for us to get our hands in for messy play! They have a miniature airport and what I call the "Big House" [a dollhouse] that are a lot of fun, too. Oh, and a HUGE drum that I can beat. Sometimes they put toy dinosaurs or animals on the drum so we can make them dance up and down to the beats.

My assessment of my first day when Mom and Dad asked me if I liked it: "Nice ladies turn on round-round fans JoMo." [Translation: Of course I liked it!! After all, the nice ladies turned on the ceiling fans for JoMo! What more could I want??] Here I am showing DaDa the round-round fans. And the funny thing is, it turns out that my key worker is related to the owner of our favorite restaurant, the one that I say I like because "Nice mans turn on round-round fans JoMo!" I KNEW there was a connection!!

There's a nice cook who makes yummy snacks, lunches, and teas--what they call the meal at about 3:30pm. We sit at low tables with our teachers, who are all really nice.

One of my favorite parts is the lovely garden [outside play area], with the slide, playhouse, and lots of cars and motorcycles to ride on!

As you can tell, I really enjoy nursery!