Black Friday

Shopping and a Carousel Ride!

Today was something called "Black Friday". Grammy said that it is a day that marks the start of the Christmas shopping season and lots of people go to malls looking for something called "sales" so, that what we did too. Last year, we went to the King of Prussia mall on Black Friday but this year, we decided to go to the Willow Grove Park mall.

My Pop-Pop and Grammy took me to this mall before and they told me all about the amusement park with the same name that was there a long, long time ago. I was happy to know that we were going there again because I remembered that they have a really nice carousel. I like riding on carousels a lot, especially with my Pop-Pop. Here are some of the pics that we took while we were there...

I had a nice time at the mall today and my Mommy got me this really neat T-Rex dinosaur to take home as a pet. He is almost as big as I am!

TO: All Of Our Family & Friends...

Happy Turkey Day!
From Pop-Pop, Grammy, Mommy, & Me

Today, we all went over to my Great Grandmother Pumpkin Pie's house to eat Thanksgiving dinner. This was the third Thanksgiving that I spent at my great grandmother's house and I always have a nice time there. She makes the best turkey wings that I ever tasted but this time, she also made some spare ribs that were really good too. Of course, when I first got there, eating was the last thing on my mind because I just wanted to play. But, everybody made it quite clear that I had to eat first and I wasn't getting up from the table until I finished!

After we ate dinner, me and Mommy went to visit my other Great Grandmother Mama and Great Grandfather Pop-Pop. While we were at their house, my Great Aunt Ronnie stopped by with her kids, my Cousins Trylanna, Early Jr., and Aaron. I guess I don't have to tell you that when they got there, we turned the house "upside down" running and playing together. I'm only sorry that we forgot to take the camera and left it at Pumpkin Pie's house so, we didn't get to take any pics... bummer! But, I had a really good time with my cousins just the same and I didn't want to leave when it was time to go home.

All in all, I would have to say that I had a pretty good Thanksgiving Day. By the time I got back home, I was all played out and fell asleep in no time so, Grammy slipped into the room and took this pic of me. If anybody were to ask me, I guess the thing that I am most thankful for is my family and I hope that you and your family had a fun-filled Thanksgiving Day too. Tomorrow is something called "Black Friday" and I need to get my rest so I can get up early and go to the mall tomorrow. Sweet dreams!!!

Back To Booga

Now that something called "OBAMAMANIA" has passed, we can go back to focusing on the true "star" of this blog... ME!

Lately, there hasn't been much to blog about because the weather is a lot colder and we have been staying at home more. But, Grammy said that is going to change soon because we have some really fun holidays coming up... Thanksgiving and Christmas! I remember celebrating both of these holidays before and I'm really looking forward to doing it again.

On the day care front, I'm still riding on the bus with my Mommy everyday to get there and back home again. One thing that has changed is the ride back home. It's really dark outside (and something I call "spooky") when we leave the day care to go home now. I have made some new friends and I must like it there because I don't cry anymore when my Mommy drops me off in the morning. I stopped doing THAT a long time ago. As for life on the home front, I've been busy just being me and doing all of the stuff that 2 years olds do and then some. And, yes, I still play with my Thomas & Friends trains everyday... without fail!

So, this post is not about anything special and this was just a typical Sunday for me. But, I did do one thing that I'm quite proud of and I wanted to blog about it. My Mommy, Grammy, and Pop-Pop said that I was a really good boy in church today and when we got home, Grammy decided to take this pic of me to mark the occasion. I'm all dressed up in my "Sunday Best" and on my best behavior!

A Grandmother's Love

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Obama is hugged by his grandmother, Madelyn
Dunham, at his high school graduation in 1979.

Obama Loses His "Toots"

By Jenice Armstrong, Philadelphia Daily News Columnist

Maybe I've gotten too caught up in the lives of the players on the political stage lately. It's hard not to, given the internet and 24-hour news cycle, as well as all the twists and turns of the presidential campaign. But, I see incredible symbolism in the passing of Senator Barack Obama's grandmother a day before the election. I'd been one of those people rooting for Madelyn Dunham to hang on so she could, hopefully, see her grandson make history by being elected the 44th president of the United States. Hang on, "Toots". We're almost there, I'd think whenever there was a news report on her condition.

Ever so often, you hear of people on the edge of death who somehow manage to put off dying until Christmas has passed or perhaps, until a loved one arrives at their bedside. But Dunham, Obama's beloved "Toots", died in her sleep late on Sunday, November 2nd with Obama's half- sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, by her side. Perhaps Dunham figured that was as good a time as any to go. After all, when Obama stopped campaigning for a few days to visit the 86 year old in Hawaii last month, they probably said their goodbyes. She'd already shared all the wisdom she had to bestow upon Obama, whom she helped raise from birth until he left home for college. Dunham had voted for her grandson already via absentee ballot (and yes, it still counts).

Whether Obama won or lost, "Toots" had done her job. One can only imagine what she thought of how things have gone for her history-making grandson. Dunham hasn't given an interview for several years. Obama credits her with teaching him about hard work and with instilling in him strong values. Not only did she rise from being a secretary to becoming one of the first female bank vice-presidents in Hawaii, but the Kansas native had been a white woman raising a brown boy despite what had to have been incredible social pressure.

Although his Kenyan-born father abandoned him, Dunham apparently didn't teach Obama to hate him. Instead, she helped Obama figure out his place in the world and to learn that skin color was irrelevant, regardless of how he might be treated. You get that from hearing Obama talk about her or from reading his memoir, "Dreams of My Father"...

"She was one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America. They're not famous. Their names aren't in the newspapers," Obama said earlier this week about her. "But each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They sacrifice for their children and their grandchildren. They aren't seeking the limelight. All they try to do is just do the right thing."

Apparently, she succeeded. Then, it was time for her to leave her grandson to his destiny.

The article and photo above appeared in the Philadelphia
Daily News on Wednesday, November 5, 2008.

The New First Family-Elect

Barack, Michelle, Sasha, & Malia Ann Obama

YES WE DID!!!

Barack Hussein Obama II will be

the 44th President of the United States

We pause to celebrate this historic moment and the election of the first African-American president in the history of these United States of America. May God continue to bless him and his family as he now prepares to lead this country in a new direction with the "audacity of hope" and the promise for a better tomorrow. Amen.

Touchables Vs. Untouchables

If you're 2 years old like me, I'm sure you are learning that there are lots of things in your house and other places that you CAN'T touch. Sometimes, it seems like everything I even think about touching in my house is off limits. I can't tell you how many times a day I hear, "No!", "Stop!", "Don't touch that!", and "Leave that alone. It's not bothering you!"

Well, today my Pop-Pop and Grammy took me to a really neat place called the "Please Touch Museum". It is inside of another place called "Memorial Hall" in Fairmont Park, right here in Philadelphia. I guess I don't have to tell you that the thing I liked most about this place is that you can touch E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G and they have some really great stuff to play with and touch...

There's a ball pit construction site, car garage, Septa bus, city park, flying machine, nature pond, water works, slides, tunnels, doll house, supermarket, a place to build things, something called an "Enchanted Colonial Village", an old train station, and a train table playset. It wasn't a Thomas & Friends playset but, it was trains that I could play with and that's all that mattered!

I also liked the play area they have called "Alice's Adventures". It has a long thing called a "ramp" that takes you down to a place called "Wonderland" and I found a lot of fun things to do down there. Somebody named "The Mad Hatter" was having a tea party but, there were too many girls at the table so, I decided to go and see what the boys were doing. I also found something called a "showcase" of The Wizard of Oz but, that was no fun because everything was in a glass case and I couldn't touch it!

After we saw all of that stuff, we decided to take a break from touching things and get something to eat. Pop-Pop and Grammy kept telling me that they had a surprise for me before we went home and I found out what it was after we ate. There's also a great big carousel at the museum so, my surprise was a carousel ride with my Pop-Pop!

I had a really nice time at the "Please Touch Museum". Pop-Pop and Grammy made me a promise that they would take me back there again sometime. Until then, I guess I will have to keep working on NOT touching things that I shouldn't touch at home. Here are some of the pics that Grammy took while we were there. If you want to go to the "Please Touch Museum", Grammy said to click on the logo above to get something called "more information" about it.