I’m not feeling good. I have a cold. Or a fever. Or a virus. Or all three. I had a small cough the other night and was just kinda “meh” yesterday. But today, it’s sick… and I’m not taking it laying down. No… I’m acting goofy and silly while I munch on Lunchables and a DQ Blizzard (because you get ice cream when you’re sick – duh!).

I have to get better for tomorrow anyways. Tomorrow is my first “official” day of preschool. I was going to start in September but my babysitter needed a day off and Mommy decided to let me try my new school for the day to check it out. Well, I liked it! There are other kids – note, GIRLS (because I’m the only girl at Kay’s house) – and they are all my age. We did a craft project and heard a story and had lunch. Even had a nap on a tiny little bed. We all think that going to school now will be a lot of fun and I’ll learn a lot. AND all my neighbor girl friends will be there too. Now to fix this cold…

I think I got the sickness too. I’m not coughing, but I have a little fever. I hope we didn’t get this from our day at the school… Mom and Dad will not like school if my sister keeps bringing home illnesses with her art projects. I’m taking a really long nap right now – going on 3 hours. And if all goes as planned, I’ll take another one before dinner and then off to bed early. I don’t want to be sick either.

I didn’t much like going to the little school. I cried and cried when Mommy left and I couldn’t play with my sister. I had to play in the baby room and I’m definitely not a baby (compared to those other babies). So that was my one day. I don’t think I’ll go back for a while. I’m liking the boy’s club going on at daycare.

Went to an art fair today. Saw them setting up on the way to the grocery store for some tasty breakfast items (deli bagels and strawberry cream cheese – delish!), and came home excited to get over there quick. They had clothes there for Little Baby! We needed to get back there right away. Sadly, the clothes were too big for her. But that didn’t stop us from shopping! I got a flower headband, a flower barrette and a ponytail holder with an “E” on it. And this art fair was along the river, so we got to dip our toes in the water – and even got ice cream from an ice cream man boat! How cool was that?

The ice cream man has been getting rich off us this past week. He stopped by our house yesterday too. We all got rainbow popsicles that turned out mouths green. We needed the refreshment after the afternoon of backyard pooling we had going on. Me and Mom were playing nice and relaxing with our feet in the water and then Daddy turned it into a full-on water fight. Mommy got thrown into the pool, but we got Daddy back with ice cubes in his shorts. And then they both got me with buckets and buckets of water. I screamed, but it was fun. Poor Evan missed it all…

I was so tired yesterday that I slept and slept and slept that Mommy had to come in twice to make sure I wasn’t dead. I missed pool snacks round 1 (round 2 happened with all the girly neighbors when they put their pool up too. I stayed clear of them and just ate crackers and fruit). I missed the water fight and popsicles. I missed playing outside all afternoon. On the upside, I’ve been a pretty pleasant kid to be around.

If you keep me out and I’m hot, hungry and tired, do not, not ever, try to take away my water bottle no matter how wrong I’m trying to drink out of it. I will scream and yell and make you miserable. (Fortunately, the ladies next to us at the art show food tent said I was still cute and that this screamy stage only lasts so long and then quickly I’m 16 and driving away with the car. I can’t wait for 16.)

Oh – and don’t try to show me how to eat an ice cream cone. I don’t want to lick it. I just want to hold it. And let it drip. And spill it. And run around carrying it. That screamy thing happens again when you take it away. Just sayin’…

And we’re back! Did you miss us? We were off vacationing at a water/amusement park by Starved Rock State Park. This place was pretty cool – we had our own house, got to ride a train trolley to the different buildings, played in the waterpark, and rode carnival rides and played games in the amusement park. We tried to go hiking at Starved Rock, but the mosquitos ate us up so bad before we even started that we decided not to go. We’ll have to go back – maybe camping next time.

I liked the rides a lot. There was one ride that was really high and spun around and around with lots of flashing lights and music. The carousel was more my speed, but I had to hang on because the horses went up and down and around. But my favorite part was the water jets in the pool. I played there all day! It was fun to splash and run around them.

It should have tired me out, but it made me pretty crabby (maybe staying up late and missing naps was part of it too). I would wake up in the middle of the night and cry. Mommy and Daddy tried to calm me down and have me go back to sleep, but the only thing that worked was to put me in my own room and let me cry it out.

I liked the rides too, but the waterpark was the most fun! I even got to go in the lazy river by myself in my own tube! And the wave pool was fun when Daddy came with me – those waves got so big! And I even made some friends and we played “hop” and we pushed the water as a game. At the rides, I was “this much” away from going on the rides by myself, but Daddy wanted to go on them anyways. We went on the tilt-a-whirl, a car spinning one, a tall drop one and the Growler. I went on the rollercoaster by myself. And of course the carousel – I can do that. I rode on a beautiful horse.

Did I forget to mention that we went pontooning too? We went on a boat on the Illinois River and took it to a beach and had lunch. The water was really warm and I found lots of rocks and shells. And the sun was shining… had to wear lots of sunblock, but we still got some sunburn (not too bad). But I lost my swimsuit. I was changing and I kicked my suit over the edge of the boat! We tried to find it, but it sank. I’m really sad and I want to throw away all my swimsuits now. My brother Daddy’s fishing pole in the river too, but he doesn’t seem sad at all.

When we got home from vacation, we went to fireworks! We took our blanket and sat on the sledding hill. We got blinky necklaces and had ice cream. The fireworks were so cool! And BIG! And LOUD! (And we got to stay up really really late again.)

But Mother says no.

Until I can convince her otherwise, we’ll stick to juice and lemonade – my beverage staples this summer. And I drank a lot of juice and lemonade on July 4th! It was hot and sunny and nothing goes better with lemonade than a huge, inflatable slip-n-slide! We rented one with our neighbors for our block party and all my friends and our moms and dads went slip-sliding on it. We also had our swimming pools set up to splash around in. I ate lots and lots of chips. And then I had lots and lots of cupcakes. And I stayed up way too late, but I got to see fireworks from our driveway. It was a very fun 4th.

I got to try out the slip-n-slide a day early during the test run, but I did not like it. I tried climbing in, but the water spray got me and it was cold. My mom tried sliding me down part way, but that was un-cool and I cried. I also got Velcro burn plus a sunburn. Boo. I was happiest splashing in the runoff (where my dad had to leap over me to do his Superman slide move). And I really just like the pool.

Today we went to Monkey Joe’s again. This was my second time there and I think I finally “got it”. I need help climbing the ladders (thanks Mom), but going down the big slides is so fun! And they’re really big. I am such a “big kid” when I go down too. It’s like no big deal and once I slide I’m ready to climb up again (as long as I have my “pusher” to get me to the top).

And I almost forgot! We grew butterflies! The caterpillars turned into butterflies and the other night we let them go in the front yard. There were five of them and it was really neat to let them go and see them fly around our house. I can’t wait to do it again, but Daddy may have something to say about that.

I did it! I got to go strawberry picking with all the ladies – my mom, Nana and her friend. Just the girls. I got to sit in the big girl booster seat in the van and we drove a long way to get to where the strawberries were. Mom showed me how to walk carefully on the straw path and then showed me where all the strawberries were growing. There were so many! Mom said that I picked the best berries – they were super sweet and perfect.

I guess I’m too little to go to the strawberry patch. I like to sit just wherever, so I’m sure sitting on a strawberry plant and getting a red tush isn’t what Mom wanted to deal with. I like to run away too (not good if I’m supposed to be staying close). Instead Papa took me to the park where all the other park people there said I was really cute. I ran all over and got all wet and dirty playing on the swings and slides. That’s I call “boy fun”.

But I did get to eat the strawberries when everyone got home. And we had bowls and bowls of strawberry shortcake for the next few days. I like it with Cool Whip best. My sister likes it with ice cream AND Cool Whip. Yum!

Introducing the newest member to my baby family: Louise Ballerie Carrier nicknamed “Ruby”. She’s my new baby I got at Target. She eats and sleeps and cries and laughs. She has a headband and her own baby bottle that really drinks. Even my brother likes to feed her. She’s very real.

And gymnastics finally started! And you know what?? My friend is in my class! And HER brother is in MY brother’s class. Isn’t that awesome? I get to be in my class all by myself – no parents allowed. I did a chin up and then did the rope swing into the pool full of blocks. I did the balance beam too. This is going to be a great gymnastics summer!

Yeah, I went to gymnastics if that’s the place with the spongy floor mats and cool lockers. There were some other kids and moms there doing running, bouncy and swinging things, but once I saw the cool orange lockers, I couldn’t be distracted any more. The doors open, and then you can shut them. Amazing! But I did go on the bouncy walk and dangled off the bar and climbed through a tube. Maybe next time I’ll do more gymnastic-y stuff.

Me and my sister are all about the Apple iPad! No one really lets me play with it (and really I don’t get it because I only want to touch the power button), but that doesn’t stop me from wanting it!

Oh – I almost forgot! We’re growing butterflies! We got the caterpillars this week and they eat and eat and eat. They are so big now! And pretty soon they are going to spin themselves into a cocoon and we get to put them in our butterfly house. And then we wait some more until they become butterflies! But we can’t keep them forever. We’ll let them go to be with their friends when they are ready to go.

I think I’m going to be a singer and dancer when I grow up. Never had a day of training and I’m already quite accomplished with many adoring fans. I should add songwriter too, as most of my ditties are original works that only I know the words and music to. And I can only sing them once. If you didn’t hear it the first time, I cannot do it over. It’s art… and once it’s over, only the memory lasts. Mother – you should start recording these sessions for when I’m famous.

I’m getting very demanding in my youth. I am getting so good at pointing at exactly what I want, there’s no need to talk and everyone can help out getting me what I need. I want a toy – bam! A toy. I want to clink glasses for “cheers” – Clink! I want my snack cup when it’s not snack time – darn! I don’t get everything. I’ve tried screaming to turn the “no” around, but it just gets me tossed into bed for a timeout. But again, one night I used that timeout to get caught up on my sleep and slept through dinner all the way to breakfast. Boys need lots of sleep… and often.

Did you hear about Monkey Joe’s? It’s a bounce-house place where kids can run and bounce and climb and slide in these big inflatable houses. The place is so cool! I tried out every one! My brother didn’t really “get” it until Mommy made him go down a slide. Then he was hooked. Going there was much better than playing in the rain. I hope we get another rainy day soon!

Mom and Dad are now “Mother” and “Father.” Don’t ask me why, but that’s their names now. It may be because we’ve been reading a lot of Junie B. Jones books lately and that’s what she calls her mom and dad. I want to be like Junie B. Jones. My mom wishes I’m not, because that girl gets into a lot of trouble. And she yells a lot.

I had a special treat day this week too. My friend Maddie came to her grandma’s house and I got to sleep over! I love having sleepovers. But we didn’t get to go swimming.

I’ve got a new “thing.” It’s called lets-do-everything-with-our-tongues-hanging-out. I’m not sure where I picked this up, but I think it’s cute. Everyone else thinks it’s gross that I’m so drooly.

This whole communication thing would be a lot easier if I could talk. I am a very good pointer, it’s just that pointing at what I want doesn’t always work. Like, never. That’s when I resort to throwing a fit and I get a timeout. I will admit that sometimes the timeout in my bed is just what I needed (but shhh… don’t tell my Mom and Dad).

I guess I was tired. Mommy and Daddy have realized that when I get screamy and crabby, the only thing that calms me down is to lie in bed. The crabby times are just before dinner and I usually calm down enough so that I can come back down and eat with everyone. Sometimes I nap for a bit, but I mostly just find comfort in my pillow and animals and I’m all good.

But the other day I fell asleep. And not just a little asleep. I was out for the night. Mommy was afraid that I’d wake up at 9pm and then want to play until midnight. Daddy said I must just be tired, but he didn’t argue when Mommy went to check on me to make sure I was still breathing. I slept for 13 hours that night. And boy was I hungry when I woke up! Starving! And you know how I act when I’m hungry… (I almost got tossed back in bed).

Summer is here! Hot and muggy and sunny every day. I love playing outside all the time. Playing with my friends, riding my bike and playing with sand and water are my favorite activities. We went to visit Nana and Papa and I got to water all their plants and their deck and their house and my brother and myself. I guess you can add changing clothes to my list of favorite activities too – I get dirty (and wet) a lot in summer.

And with summer here, summer treats are here too! Mommy got popsicles and she made ice cream cones for me. I have to watch out for those ice cream cones because I don’t want to change my clothes too much! And I know Daddy has some money set aside for the ice cream man… I can’t wait for that!

Yo. Beeb-to-the-Z here. Beeb-Z. Sometimes I’m in. But then I’m OUT.

Mostly out… Have you read or felt the weather lately? It’s been hot and sunny and awesome. Every day this week, except when it was raining, we were out playing. It caused Mommy to fret about how to get dinner ready in 5 minutes, but somehow we all got fed. One day it’s off to the park, another it’s playing with the neighbors in our driveway or front yard. Summer is going to be awesome!

And today we had our first swim party of the year! It was close to 90 degrees today and that pool was necessary to cool off. Between splashing and spraying and snacking with my friends, you would have thought we’d be a shoo-in for going to bed early. Sadly, no. Stayed up later than usual. I bet we’re gonna be sweet as peas in the morning.

Wasn’t too sure about this pool thing today. I love the bath (never want to get out), but something about all those screamy girls made me want to stay on my side of the driveway and just dig in the sand. But it was pretty hot. And they had all the snacks over there. And Daddy kept spraying me. So I had to venture over to get dipped into the pool. It was pretty nice, but there were no cool water toys, so I didn’t stay long. What was the most fun was running… In my soaking swim trunks, off I went to run around the cars, up and down the driveway, chasing my golf ball and just running away. So much fun.

And no, going to bed nicely was not in the plan. Screaming until Mommy brought me downstairs was more of what I planned. I got an extra hour of playtime!