Uncle Ryan and Aunt Liz got this car for me for my second birthday. I’m getting better at driving it now.

I always read books before bed with Mommy or Daddy.  Since Christmas, one of my favorite books has been Airport from Aunt  Liz and Uncle Ryan.

I love all of the machines and people that are in the book, and telling M&D what they’re doing.  From the passengers (“Mommy, Daddy, and little boy” and “Guy with the 10 gallon hat”) to the skycaps to the pilots, this is a fun book!

(Ed. Note: Maybe Ben’s next room design will have to be the view from an airport control tower?)

M&D got me this neat Play-doh squisher for Christmas.  You put the “doh” in one side…

…push down on the lever…

… and it comes out the other side in all kinds of different shapes.  Even though it is not a truck, it still is lots of fun!

The more I watch M&D, the more I can figure out how to use their gadgets.  Take my phone, for instance:

Flip it open, and talk.

What could be simpler?

(Ed. Note: Wait ’till this kid is 12…)

We had a last hurrah Indian summer day before it got cold and rainy again, and Mommy put my tent outside so we could have a picnic lunch.

Daddy showed me how to find shapes in the clouds while we were gazing up at the sky.  I found a bunny rabbit!

It was time to give M&D a checkup, so I got out my doctor kit to get started.  First up, Daddy:

I started by listening to the heart and lungs with my steth-o-scope.

Then it was time to check out Daddy’s ears.  I thought I would see if there is something wrong with his ears since he doesn’t always do what I tell him.  Maybe he just can’t hear me?  Turns out there was ‘food’ in there!  Maybe he’ll be able to hear me better now!

Next up was Mommy.  She got a blood pressure check…

… an ear exam…

… and I listened to her chest, too.

Overall, M&D are in pretty good shape.  Not bad after over two years of taking care of me!

Ma and Pa came to visit this weekend, and we went to Train Town!

We went for a ride on the train…

…and the train stops at the petting zoo where I got to feed the goats with Ma!

After that, I got to sit and drive this fancy blue and red car.

After going on the Merry Go Round, it was time to head back home for my nap.  Boy was I tired!

Thanks for coming to visit Ma and Pa!  It was fun to see you!

Sometimes I get to help Mommy put the trash cans out on the curb before the garbage man comes to pick them up.

This is the best way to make sure that the garbage man stops at your house so you can watch him!

And I always like to make sure that the sprinklers go down, which can involve much running!

For Halloween, I had a great time handing out candy to all the trick-or-treat-ers that came to our door.  And there were soooo many of them.  (M&D say “one hundred fifty three”, as if that is even a number!)  There were princesses, clowns, Thomas the Train, and lots of others.

I didn’t work up the nerve to go out amongst the crowds until it was time for jammies, and even then I didn’t want to put on my pizza slice costume, but M&D still let me go out in my skeleton shirt to a couple houses, and I got some candy!  Can you believe it?  You just say ‘trick or treat’ and they give you candy!

Next year I’ll be sure to wear my real Halloween costume and visit a few more houses.

Update: Here’s a picture of my pizza slice costume that I didn’t wear:

This is the part where we make the crust, and I get to add the frozen butter.  Then Mommy helps me push the mixer button to mix it all up.

It seems like practically forever until Mommy bakes the crust and we get to eat the extra pieces.  Daddy said something about it just seeming like it takes 18 times longer because of the relative fraction of my life the wait time represents.  I don’t know about that, but I do know those extra pieces were yummy!