2008 Cherry Blossom Festival - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Don't remember this. I'm just glad I didn't have any serious drool issues going on. As you can see mommy and daddy took me to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Thanks for waking me up, guys!

Hmm, still sleeping.

Yep, I missed that pond.

Hey! I'm awake! Okay, I'll stand still for just one picture but then you have to let me go play.

Now, aren't you glad you let me go run around? I knew exactly where the mud was.


A fun day at the garden, I must say. So I thought I'd give you a little update on me and the things I like. TV. What a magical box. So many things to see on the TV and the music, oh the music! Plus, some of the things on TV make me laugh. I used to just watch the TV with a blank stare on my face but now, I laugh at some of the things I see. What do I like to watch? Of course there's Elmo and Thomas the Train, or as I call it, choo-choo. And the one movie that I like to watch over and over - The Little Mermaid. I think I like it mainly because there's a doggy in it. Kickin' back and relaxin' in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Am I a Maui Boy?

Everyone kept saying I was such a Maui boy. What does that mean? Well let me just tell you about my average day while we were "on island" (I learned that from the locals) and you be the judge. I really didn't like to waste much time because there's only a limited number of hours that can be spent in the sun; after all it too goes night-night just like me. So by around 9am I was out the door and down at the kiddie pool by one of the hotels.

That would last until about noon and then it was nap time for me. After my nap the fun started all over again. There are so many things on Maui that I can't find back home in Brooklyn. I mean just look at some of these flowers!


Then came dinner (should be dessert but the rest of the world hasn't caught onto my suggestion). We had ribs one night and I tell you, I fit right in with the rest of the crowd.

And when the big sun would start falling towards the ocean, I was cliff diving off Black Rock.


Landen Cliff Diving from Brian Giambalvo on Vimeo.

I mean c'mon people, doesn't that sound like the typical day for everyone on Maui? Well if it's not then a tourist I am not. So then what am I? To quote one of my favorite songs,

Oh beep, beep, honk, honk
Can you spare a dime
Grab a bagel and a schmear
And we'll see the Guggenheim
From the Bronx to the Battery
It's all mine
I'm a city kid!

Singing loud and proud in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Something Fishy Going On Here

Still on Maui. I could get used to it here. After all, there are water slides! Someone definitely knew two of my favorite things - slides and water. What a pair! Why don't they have swings in the water? Or what about grocery carts? I love riding around on both of those. Anyway, the kiddie pool has this water slide and daddy and I went for a ride.


Landen and Brian - Water Slide at Hyatt Maui from Brian Giambalvo on Vimeo.


Remember how I said the water shoots up out of the ground? I figured out if you put your foot on top of the shooting water, it sprays everywhere!


We also went to the Maui Ocean Center. We saw long fish, short fish, flat fish, round fish, one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Oh no wait, that's one of my books. And there were sharks, turtles, lobsters, eels, and stingrays. If it lives in the water, they had it! Plus, the center had some parts where I could put my hands in the water and touch the animals. Getting a hands-on education here in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Leave the Trowel. Take the Rake

Why I love Maui, reason #329: we play in the pool every day! Today we didn't play in our pool, instead we decided to visit one of the hotels because they have this cool kids pool. And since I'm a kid, why not! This one had dancing fountains and water shooting up from the ground. It's so much fun because it's like playing at the beach without those waves. I don't think I like the waves because they're so big and I'm so small. But there is this beach just for babies because there aren't any waves. It's called Baby Beach. And since I'm a baby, why not! Maybe we'll go there tomorrow.


Then we went to lunch. I don't remember what the restaurant was called. I don't remember where it was. I don't remember what mommy, daddy, or tutu ate. But what I do remember is the dessert I ate. Okay let me just say this was the most amazing thing ever. Sure hummus and pretzels and hot dogs and clementines are great, but, why bother? Why can't we just go straight to the dessert? And another question - I'll share my shovels and pails at the beach, I'll share my blocks and cars at home, and I'll even share my hot dog with daddy, but, share my dessert? Who do these people think they are?


So they told me it was Hula Pie. Sounds good to me. It's Hula Pie for everyone in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Leaving On a Jetplane

Seriously though, nine hours on a plane? Mommy and daddy tell me that I'll love Maui, but c'mon, nine hours? I have trouble sitting still for nine minutes. Guess I'll just sleep. Racking up some serious miles in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Saturday Morning Pancakes

Saturday mornings are special because daddy makes pancakes. He lets me stir the big blue bowl. There's something about daddy's pancakes that make them different from pancakes I've had anywhere else. Well, not everywhere. I remember having the same kind of pancakes when we visited my great-great-great-great-great-great-wonderful-super-smart-funny-loving-amazing-grandfather. Hmmm, I wonder if daddy learned how to make his pancakes by watching my great-great-great-great-great-great-wonderful-super-smart-funny-loving-amazing-grandfather?


Oh! And let me not forget. Mommy had some good news for me and I want to share it with all of you. I'm going to be a big brother! Can you believe it? I'm finally going to have someone smaller than me around here. Mommy already tells me to kiss the baby and I kiss her belly. It's soon going to be +1 here in LANDEN'S WORLD!

Oh My Darlin!

That's what daddy sings when I eat one of my new favorite foods. Clementines! It's a catchy tune and a tasty treat. And I get to eat them everywhere I go. Whenever we're out at a restaurant, and it really doesn't matter which restaurant, at some point mommy or daddy will pull out a clementine and peel it for me. Funny thing is, they always pull it out right around that time when I get a little bored with whatever it is I'm doing and want out of the highchair. Sometimes when we're at home and I wander over to my stroller, if I reach into the pockets of the diaper bag I might just find an extra clementine. Jackpot! Oh I just run right over to mommy and daddy and bang - I'm in my chair eating that clementine. I wish it were that way with pacifiers but unfortunately when I find one of those in the diaper bag and stuff it in my mouth, they're so quick to yank it out. Oh so close to happiness. Just another day in LANDEN'S WORLD!