Dada, We're Gonna Have Company!

Lately it seems as if there's always somebody new sleeping in my living room; sometimes there's more than one person. For the record, since early October Nana Mary was here, then Nana Joan, followed by Auntie Joan and baby Connor, Uncle Randall and Aunt Christine, and now Tutu Kathleen and Uncle David. It's a constant stream of people and they are ALL HERE TO SEE ME! Well, maybe they're also here to see my new baby sister but hey, a boy can dream! Tutu Kathleen and David arrived and boom we were off to see the neighborhood. One of our first stops was the bookstore so I could show Tutu one of my hot spots for book reading.


Saturday rolled around and despite having visitors I still stuck to my regularly scheduled activities. That included swimming class, however, this time I switched things up and had Uncle David take me into the pool. Let's be honest here - even with dada I'm a little fussy when it comes to swimming class. So, I wasn't promising Uncle David an easy half hour. It took me a while but I eventually came around and we had a good time.


After a long day of activities, there's nothing I like more than some couch time. Uncle David felt the same way so we curled up next to each other to catch a couple Pingu videos.


Oh! Let's not forget one of my favorite activities - tumbling! Tutu came with for my tumbling class. Rolling around and around in LANDEN'S WORLD!

I Wish They All Could Be California Girls

I met someone. Her name is Keely and she lives across the street from my cousin Ava. She's a little older but my dada fell for an older girl. So, why can't I? I played with Keely quite a few times while we were out in California and we had a great time together. Some days we'd play at Ava's house and other days we'd play over at Keely's. I know the whole she-lives-in-California-I-live-in-New-York thing isn't the best but we can ichat. See, I'm learning!


One of the nights I was in California, my cousins had a little fun with me and dressed me up. I guess these things can be expected when you stay with two girl cousins.


Probably the best part of this trip was that I got to sleep in a big boy bed. I'm still not sure if I like it because some nights I would roll off, wake up, and then hop into bed with dada. That would last about an hour and then he'd put me back in my bed. I did really like taking my naps in the big boy bed. Plenty of room for me to move around and the bed was so big that I didn't have to worry about my pacis falling off the side.


We celebrated the turkey day with Keely's family across the street (you know I was more than happy to head over there for the day). There was so much food - I couldn't believe it! The best part was being able to help myself because the chip bowl was at just the right height.


Celebrating a happy turkey day with my family and friends in LANDEN'S WORLD!

AAA Club

It's the All About Ava Club and I'm the founding member. Ava is my cousin who lives way out in California (seriously too far away). We took yet another trip out there to see our family and I think the best way to explain what I did on this trip is to say what I did, I did with Ava. Where she went, I would follow. A typical day would start with a show or two. Sometimes it was Dora and other times it was Spongebob. Oh! And she got me hooked on a new show - Andy Pandy.


Then we'd clean up and head on out in the car. I think things on the west coast (I'm learning my geography) work a little differently than they do over here because Ava and I were able to do our own driving.


Our usual destination was the playground. We both love the park. We'd do the swings, the slides, the bars, and sometimes get the ball out and toss it around.


There would be a break for lunch at some point and we'd gather the troops (my other cousins were usually with us). The best part about lunch was always the dessert!


Trips to the playground always had to come to an end and that usually meant nap time for me. It worked out quite well because we'd get back in the car, I'd fall asleep (I guess Ava did most of the driving), and before I knew it I was back at home playing some more with Ava. We loved playing in the sink.


Back outside we went - sometimes to the front.


And sometimes to the back.


Our nights would start to settle down with a little dinner. I learned foods are even easier to eat with a toothpick.


Bath time was always a major event in the house. I never knew who would be joining me.


Then before bed, we'd settle in for another show. Ava certainly knows how to lounge in LANDEN'S WORLD!

I'm Going Back to Cali

On my way back to see my cousins in LA. You'd think with all this flying around I'd get something for it. Dada, you better have enrolled me in some of those frequent flyer programs!!! Racking up the miles in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Growing Up Giambalvo

I have lots of friends who are all very different from me. Some friends are girls, some are tall, some have really dark hair, some don't take naps (are they optional?), and some don't live in Brooklyn. So like I said we're all different. But what makes me different from them? What would they say about me in their blogs? I guess the best way to explain what makes me different from all of them is to understand who I am. I'm a Giambalvo. Well what does that mean? How the heck am I supposed to know? I'm only two! Were you expecting me to say something about being cool?


I just know that I see it all over and it always comes right after my name. Landen Giambalvo. I see it on cards from my nanas, on blankets, on pictures, it's everywhere. Oh well. So while I can't necessarily tell you what it means to grow up being a Giambalvo (give me a few years), I can tell you one thing. I most certainly am growing up. I mean look at me, all my clothes are too small and I can barely fit into my first stroller! Getting bigger here in LANDEN'S WORLD!

A Walking I Will Go, A Walking I Will Go

I went out with mama, dada, and my sister the other day to lunch. After lunch I remember being in the stroller walking past some stores and then the next thing I knew I was at the park! Those naps sometimes sneak up on you out of nowhere. So dada and I hung out at the park. There were a couple balls in the bottom of my stroller so we played with those.


I really liked it when dada was playing with me but he wouldn't put that stupid camera down. I finally had to tell him to stop. We really had fun that day, too bad it's getting colder outside. The last couple days I've had to wear my big winter coat. Getting ready to see snow here in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Free Candy Night

Very few things excite me more than what I did a couple nights ago. I've celebrated birthdays, had family visit, flown in airplanes all over the country, and eaten Hula Pie. But none of those adventures compared to that crazy night where people were walking around town, dressed in silly outfits, and stores were giving out free candy. Okay, perhaps I didn't say it clearly enough - FREE CANDY!


Yes I know I wasn't dressed up but that didn't stop my Nana Joan from dressing up for me. And since she wasn't getting candy at the stores, I figured I would for her.


Dada liked my costume so much that even he tried it on.


Once I saw dada wearing my costume, I felt like it was okay for me to try it on. But just for one picture. All aboard here in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Lots and Lots of Subways!

Grampa Ryan and Ellie came to visit last weekend and we sure did have fun. The best part of their visit was the day we took a trip to the home of some of the oldest subways I have ever seen. The first part of the place was all educational stuff on how the subways were built, who built them, and blah blah blah blah blah.


The next part is where I got to play with some of the things I see when I'm taking the normal subway.


And the last part was downstairs where I ran around and saw real subways from so many years ago. Look, I'm a straphanger! This baby is taking the morning train in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Double It!

I can count. A bit off the subject but I just wanted to throw that out there. I mean I need a little help when counting but I can get all the way up to nine. And that's actually very close to the subject because for the last couple of months (I think it was nine) mama has been telling me about this baby. The first couple months I would just smile and nod. I mean mama says some silly things every now and again so I thought this was just one of those silly-mama-sayings. Eventually her belly began to grow and grow it did! Then I started catching on and I would point to her belly and say, "baby." Okay so I get it. Big tummy = baby. What's the big deal?


OH! A BABY! Now I get it! Why didn't you just say you were having a baby (not that I would have understood that any better). Hey I kinda like this. Look at this from my point of view. First of all, Nana Mary came to visit. So cool. We've been painting, drawing, playing with play-doh, and I've shown her all my trucks and choo-choos. Oh and better yet, she brought me some new toys!



Not only did she bring me new toys, but some lollipops as well. Thank you so much, nana!


Second, all the attention is now on my little sister so I can get away with so much more. Before Lauren came along, I could only have a paci when I was in the crib. But now, I just fuss a little and out comes the paci. It's great! Everyone wants to see Lauren so they do everything they can to keep me quiet and happy. I'm sure I'll enjoy this for many months to come. But it's not all about me (there's a concept I've learned at a very early age) because mama must have done one serious magic trick to get that baby out of her tummy (not a concept I want to learn at this very early age). Well, however she did it, it must have been tiring because when I visited mama in the big building with patients she stayed in bed the whole time. So I brought her flowers.


Learning how to be a big brother here in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Two Is The New One

When I turned one, it was a magical day. I didn't know much about birthdays before that day, but, after it I knew that celebrating a birthday was something I'd be looking forward to each time it happened. Now, before I talk about turning two I wanna say something about how long I had to wait. Who came up with the one year rule? I thought these birthdays were going to happen once a week or maybe (and this was pushing it) once a month. Once a year? You mean to tell me I'm going to have wait a whole year for my third birthday? Who do I talk to about these things? Okay back to my second birthday. The day started off with a huge and wonderful surprise - mama and dada didn't go to work! That right there made the day special. So dada woke up with me and we made pancakes. I did the mixing.


After pancakes I bummed around the house for a bit and then dada and I were off to my music class; another great surprise to the day because usually my nanny takes me. Music class was a lot of fun. We sang all the great songs, played with the scarves, shakers, instruments, and danced around. Definitely a treat to be there with dada.


And then we were off to this place made just for little kids - The Brooklyn Children's Museum. I had been once before but this time I was able to stay longer and explore the whole place. It's so much fun here because they let you touch and play with just about everything. The first stop was the toddler area. This part opened up before the rest of the museum and it's a good thing because us tiny ones can get pretty antsy without an 11am activity. There was quite a bit to see and touch. I started with the instruments.


Then there was a dress up area with all sorts of silly clothes and hats to wear. Don't mind if I do.


Next, there was a place to play with sand. Now I would have to say I've seen my fair share of sand before but there was something odd about this sand. It was blue!


After the sand, we were off to one of my favorite areas. The water! They had these blue smocks that kids were wearing to keep them from getting wet. Smock? I don't need no silly smock!


I lost the smock battle.


It took some effort on their part but mama and dada were finally able to get me to leave the water and have lunch. Let's see. I had a hot dog, some of mama's tuna sandwich, dada and I shared a chocolate milk, and I finished up eating pretzels with mama. That's some good eating.


We saw a turtle at the museum. Why couldn't I touch him?


Oh and then we played in a bus. It was a real bus that somehow they put in the museum. Well, it wasn't the entire bus because they cut it in half which makes the whole thing even more strange than it already is. How do you cut a bus in half? I got to drive the half-bus.


There was this grocery store there just for kids. All the shelves had stuff on them just like in the real grocery store and there was even a spot to hand over the money just like mama and dada do. I was stocking up!


Half-way through the museum we stumbled upon a bike. I call it a bike but dada keeps correcting me and calling it a scooter. Scooter. Bike. What's the difference? Both have two wheels, right dada?


The pizza parlor was right up my alley. First of all, I love pizza! I was all set to start taking orders.


Second, they had a soda machine that I could reach. I think you have to draw the line somewhere at putting fake stuff in a museum. What a tease.


And third, I was able to reach the ice cream bins. Of course they too were fake. Seriously though.


We wrapped up the day playing with some blocks and magnets. What an amazing place. I sure do look forward to going back again really soon!


Lucky for me (waiting an entire year for the next one will be a struggle) my birthday lasts the entire day. When we got home from the museum, my friend Charlie came over and we had cupcakes. My first birthday I had cake. Still wonder why we can't have cake every day. But cupcakes, well they're just as good and Charlie's mom made them! Mom, can you please learn? First I had to blow out the candles, all two of them.


It didn't take Charlie and me long to get into our cupcakes. So, so good!


Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me! And so many more! Celebrating #2 here in LANDEN'S WORLD!