Happy Nose Dance

Toy Story 4

River fell instantly in love with the first 2 Toy Story movies on her mini DVR player and even now hardly a week goes by when she doesn't ask to watch at least one of them. It was no surprise that one of the highlights of her summer was to see Toy Story 3 on the big screen and, although I thought it was a little too dark at times for a wee one under 3 years old, River seemed to watch and enjoy every minute.
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Soon after we returned from the theater, something strange began to happen. The characters from the movie began to follow her home!
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First came the potato..
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"Mr. The-Tay-Toe Head!" River exclaimed when she first saw him. "He's come to live with me!"

. Buzz Lightyear arrived a few days later on our doorstep like the conquering hero. River squealed when she opened the door to greet him.

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One by one they came. Not in boxes or wrapped in paper but by the front door or simply waiting to be discovered while sitting on the sofa or resting on the mantle because.. well.. it's rude to wrap old friends up in boxes and paper.

The lessons of the Toy Story films seem to have not been lost on River; Appreciate your friends, Take care of your toys and Play nice. We've enjoyed taking advantage of the opportunity to teach her these lessons and have a little fun too.

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Buzz and Jessie reunited with the help of River.
. Barbie, Ken and Etch dazzle with their spelling skills.

.A shocked River shortly after she discovered Jessie on the sofa.

. The Potato Heads enjoying a little romantic time.

. Did you know that potatoes float? (But they're not very happy about it.)

. Stretch prefers to spend his time in the pool.

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After each new arrival River would ask when Woody was coming. Sometimes she would direct her question to her mother or I and sometimes to Buzz and the other toys. Finally he arrived last Monday bringing the great Toy Story migration to an end. He was waiting in her car seat for her when I came to pick her up at daycare and you would have thought Santa Claus himself had been waiting there.

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Play Nice.

Adventure Runs in the Family

Recently while doing some Spring Cleaning, we found some photographs of River's Great, Great Aunt Creek Collier. Creek, even at a young age, was quite an adventurer. Here are a few of the photographs we discovered:
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(Written on the back of photograph) "India, 1908. I have discovered the ruins of the lost Elephant Temple. Later we had iced creams."
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. "Africa, 1908. I asked Mummy and Daddy for a monkey but they said NO. I went and found my own."
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. "Louisiana Bayou, 1909. I made a new friend on the swamp tour. Mummy fainted."
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"Sumatra, 1909. I like rhinos but they are stinky."
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. River has the same sense of adventure. Lord have mercy on us all!

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A great big "THANK YOU" to River's Aunt Cathy & Uncle Michael for the Family Membership to the Cincinnati Zoo! It is a fantastic gift that we all appreciate very much!

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Another Adventure - Another Zoo

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Snow Day

There are few things as magical as a snow day when you are little. Days when Mother Nature decides that you need a break and replaces the normal daily grind with cartoons and pop tarts in bed, comfy pajamas, snowball fights with friends and family and maybe the construction of a snowman or two.
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This ain't one of those days.
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River is two years old now and I think it's just about time for this gravy train to end. Time to get out and earn some money for those pop tarts and Tinkerbell paraphernalia. It's a tough world and no daughter of mine is gonna grow up a softy. I never enjoyed a snow day as a child. HECK NO. School never closed when I was little. If it was too slippery for the buses to operate, well.. we just walked to school. 20 miles. Up hill. Both ways.
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Time for some tough love:
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Nothing builds character like shoveling the deck before sunrise!
. It's good exercise too! Feel the burn, River?
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Hurry up River! Don't forget the front stoop as well!
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Mmmmmm, hot chocolate after hard work tastes even better!

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Pigtail Explosion

"You tink dis funny? Eh, Daddy-Man?"
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This is what Crazy looks like.

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Mmmmmmm! Yummy!

After River discovers that Mommy is baking Cinnamon rolls, she decides to put her cheese & peanut butter crackers some place safe to enjoy later.

"I'll just save this for another time."
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Attack of the Zombie Baby!

"MMMmmmm, Bwains! I wuv bwains!"

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Here There Be Monsters!

I'm not sure how it happened but River has become a big fan of dinosaurs. Every time there is a dinosaur on television (which happens more than you think) she will stop and point at the screen and yell "DINE-SAW! DINE-SAW! RAWR!". Thank goodness there happened to be a dinosaur exhibit nearby at The Cincinnati Museum Center! Talk about perfect timing! Now River could get an up close and personal look.
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She saw this guy from a quarter mile away and became VERY excited!
. Naturally, the bones and fossils did nothing for her. BOR-RING!

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NOT BORING AT ALL! River did not realise that this was going to be. .
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. . quite this INTENSE! She quickly adapted. She is her mother's daughter and, therefore, fears nothing. (Jo was reading Stephen King when other children were reading Dr. Seuss.)
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A couple of velociraptors looking for Laura Dern. I told them that I hadn't seen her.
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I told Jo not to wear the "Raw Meat" eau de Parfum.
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This is a. . uh. . uhhhh. . MultiSharpToothisauraus. Trust me.
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And here is another one.
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River had a blast! She loved the dinosaurs and, naturally, the gift shop.
.. BONUS! One of them followed us home! Bad day for Jo. (Please send money in lieu of flowers.)

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River's new dino t-shirt.

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Daddy's Little Squirt

(This picture really has nothing to do with the post. It's just cute.)

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I thought I was in the clear. I thought I might make it through fatherhood nice and dry. That, as it turns out, was not to be.

JoAnna, River and I went out on our bi-weekly grocery excursion and I decided to wear my Father's Day present from Jo which also happens to be my favorite t-shirt of all time! See for yourself. Here it is:

Behold! Ronald Wilson Reagan! The greatest president of modern times AND an awesome t-shirt (Get your own HERE).

So we are almost finished and River is getting antsy from sitting in the cart and wants me to carry her. No problem, I do just that because she's adorable and I'll take any excuse to parade her around in my arms. After a few moments I hear River say, "Uh-oh Daddy" and a second after that I feel an odd, warm sensation on my left side.

THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN HIT!! I REPEAT: THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN HIT!

Wow. This is suddenly a different situation. I never anticipated that all the wiggling in the cart would. . uh. . shift the diaper and cause a complete failure in absorbency.

Well, as usual, Jo came to the rescue. River was taken to the restroom and changed and I purchased a new t-shirt and sent the president to the car. All an innocent accident.

Or was it??

River peed on Ronald Reagan! Does that make her a democrat? A liberal? A commie? Was she trying to make her first political statement? It was on THE LEFT SIDE! Mmmmmm, makes me wonder.

She's free to make up her own mind but I foresee a serious father/daughter talk over juice boxes in the future.

River Discovers Daddy's New Bike

There was a bit of confusion as to who actually owns the bike. .

"Wow! This is great. Better than that Radio Flyer I wanted AND the same color!"

"The seat is really comfy even without my pampers!"

"What do you mean by "It's Daddy's Bike"?"

"Well this is most disappointing."

"I take it anyway!!"

9 Month Portrait

Jo just picked up River's official 9 month portrait today and here it is:
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TA-DA!

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At the time we were afraid that we were going to have to reschedule the sitting. About 3 minutes before the picture you see above was taken, River fell backwards and bonked her head on the table she was seated on. Under that thin, fuzzy black piece of material she is sitting on is a metal table and while Jo and I were changing her clothes (each of us thought the other had a stable grasp) she went down. It wasn't that bad but it sounded terrible: GONG!!! Well, needless to say the tears began to flow and both Jo and I felt as if child services should just haul us in right there. Other than letting a dingo eat my baby or allowing Michael Jackson to dangle River over a balcony I'd felt as if I had committed the worst daddy crime ever.

But she pulled herself together and made pretty pictures. My daughter is a trooper - what can I say?

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More photo fun:
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6 Month Portrait

3 Month Portrait

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Our Little Work Of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York City

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The Taft Art Museum - Cincinnati, OH

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The French Quarter - New Orleans, LA
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The Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago, IL

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