looking back again ...

so after we returned from wisconsin
things got back to normal
the hustle & bustle of the holidays
were in the rear-view
and i eased back into my routine ...

i played some trains,
supported the hawks,
helped dad study,
read a great book,
personified a great shirt,
and got my play-dough on

feel free to use the comments field to caption this gem

so yeah, life was good until ...
something changed

i couldn't put my finger on it at the time
but i felt like the walls were closing in [sorry]
soon ... i was a basket-case [sorry again]

for extra credit ... can you find

the three earth/budget friendly things going on in the picture above ?

after some critical reflection i thought
maybe this was seasonal depression

i turned my thoughts to toastier times
the wild rides & agricultural adventures

i wonder where big al is now ?

but this strategy did little

to clear my blues

and then finally it hit me ...
it had been days since i unwrapped a present !
lucky for me, mom had an event in the works

the local crew was assembled,
there was a balloon,
that grandpa eventually let me play with
we tasted some icing,
then after a few pleasantries ...


... we got down to business !

there were big boxes,
familiar friends,
funky wraps,
and classic games

and the rest, my friends
is history

before they were stars [happy valley edition] ...

i apologize if you have already seen this footage
on a different fabulous toddler-blog

coming to your local theatre soon ...
magic-hands max and his band

please ... don't be too hard on my back-up singers
there is only so much room
@ the head of the class

this will only hurt a little ...

like ripping off a band-aid
we need to just do this quickly
and move forward
it has been quite a while since i typed at ya
and we have a few things to catch up on ...

let's begin with my second birthday party
more specifically, the wisconsin affair
not to be confused with the PA fête
but we will get to that later

for now, let's see if you can identify the theme ...

i don't mean to brag, but this is just a sample
what can i say ... it goes with the territory
of being the only grandchild
more on that later too

cheesy eggs ! one of my favorites
the shadowy figure lurking in the background
is none other than auntie beth

i am not sure what she was doing back there
one thing is for certain ... she was not waiting
to receive a chicken-protein facial

at this point, the party theme has become apparent to me

have you figured it out yet ?
let me give you a more obvious hint ...

that's right ... it's thomas !
& now that you are hip to the game
i can offer you the pièce de résistance ...

oh yeah ... that's right
the graham-parents made me a thomas cake !
purists will no doubt recognize the numeral 2
as part of edward's regalia, but in this case
it is indicative of my second birthday

and how about that photograph ?!
natural light, shallow depth of field
very baked bree

in case you were wondering
the cake tasted as good as it looked
my favorite part ...

might have been the black icing

as i suggested above, i have had the privilege
of being the lone branch at my level of the family tree
well ... that is no more
last month i introduced you to my cousin ben
and during our holiday travels
i finally got to meet the young man

at this point, all is well
i am pretty excited to have a cousin

and then ... i did the math on the whole
boatload of presents divided by 2 equation

i am not really sure what is going on here
methinks it might be some wisconsin 5th quarter nonsense

badger fan or not

that is one good-looking monkey

ok ... we are almost done here people
there is just the little matter of christmas to address ...

as you may recall, i took my holiday prep seriously
i began my gift-unwrapping training early
and i think the results speak for themselves ...

neither bundle, box, nor bag got in my way !

for those of you wondering if any of those packages
confirmed my place on santa's nice list
& revealed the fulfillment of my wishes
i offer you the following image as an answer ...

oh yeah ... that's right

i got my woody

and that's that
did you like how i did not even mention
the color-blind tim burton thing going on ?

see ... that wasn't so bad !
thank you for your patience

as an additional, free* reward
for your attention i offer ...

a cute pose
a fierce pose & a big grin
some more big, happy grins
a teachable moment
a happy family
a laughing baby & possibly deranged dad
and a poorly-time shutter

* just pay separate shipping & handling

thank you, good night
tip your waitress, and on to twenty-twelve