Next on our merry whirlwind tour of OC was Grandpa and Nana’s house.  We arrived Christmas morning and it wasn’t long before I got to open my first present!  I got a puzzle with sea creatures from Darren.  Did I mention I like puzzles?

Then Grandpa and Nana got me a Richard Scarry book: Super Stupendous Stories!  I decided that this had to be tried out right away!  It has all of my favorite characters in it: Lowly Worm, Sergeant Murphy, and Huckle the Cat.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, what did Grandpa and Nana have for me but a GIANT FIRE TRUCK!

I’m not sure how anyone got this picture of it as the way I remember it, I was pushing it around for the rest of the time I was there.

Thanks Grandpa and Nana (and Darren, Davide, and Simone)!  I had a great time visiting with all of you!

Well!  M&D and I are back from another trip to “So Cal”.  I had a great time visiting everyone, and finding out all about CHRISTMAS!  Wow!  Everybody has these things called ‘presents’ that they give you.  The ‘presents’ have wrapping paper around them, and while sometimes when you take the paper off they have clothes in them, lots of times they have TOYS!

Our first stop on the trip was to see Grandma and Grandpa Harris.  When we got there, they had made a big FORT for me to play in!

They also got me a digger…

… and Thomas!  Grandpa Harris showed me the ropes.

Then later, he showed me his real truck with the lift gate.  I got to (try to) lift up Daddy by turning the crank.  Boy is Daddy heavy.  It was much easier to lift the gate when Daddy wasn’t standing on it.

I also got to sit in the truck…

… and drive it all over with Grandma and Daddy.

Later, we went on a walk around the neighborhood, and one of the neighbors has their own castle!

I got to climb up in it and play all I wanted – until it got dark.

This is a visit I won’t soon forget!

M&D?  Can we have a castle, too?

Here’s a flashback to this past summer where I was helping Mommy plant the herb pot.

Mommy got Daddy a Hot Chocolate maker for Christmas, and Daddy made some for us.

Yummy!  I like mine with whipped cream on the top!

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…)

My Matchbox dump truck might be small, but it gets put to work hauling and dumping kibble for Atlas.

Like Daddy says, “Use the right tool for the job!”.

Once again, M&D took me out to have our pictures taken with Jeneanne.  This time we went to Spring Lake where I saw a lizard:

went swinging out on the dock:

looked for fishies in the water:

and practiced my boo boo face.

Oh, and I took some smiling pictures with M&D, too:

Ed Note: All photos by Jeneanne Ericsson.  Thanks Jeneanne!

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!