Happy Birthday Phineas!

Phineas turned three on July 13th.  Mom made him a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting.  For months Phineas requested a firetruck cake but, despite major efforts, we couldn't quite get a dark enough red food coloring to make it work.  Instead, we put a truck on top driving along a chocolate road and then had Phineas help it put out the candle flames.

He got lots of truck toys, including a Hess truck and many Matchbox toys.  He got a play car mat that has streets laid out on it that is the perfect size for the Matchbox cars.  And he got a balance bike, which he helped Dad put together and then took for a test drive in the house.

Mayflower

May passed away today after short but debilitating illness.  From the day we brought Phineas home to their last hug, May was a great family dog.  She was patient, tolerant, kind, and very loving.  She would let Phin do just about anything with her, from riding her to bracing for over-exuberant hugs.  She even kept watch over him if he was outside and she didn't think we were close enough.  Phineas knew that May was sick and he gave her lots of pets and hugs over the last few days.  We will all miss her very much.

Derby Saturday

As you may imagine, the Kentucky Derby is one of the biggest sporting events in our house.  This year Phineas, Mom, and Dad watched it together (Mom picked I'll Have Another -- good job, Mom!).  After the race was over, Phineas jumped up and decided he was a jockey.  Thankfully his mount was very good about it.

Worker Breakfast

It's the first day of April vacation and Phineas started the day with an outside worker breakfast. He put on his worker boots, his sweatshirt, and his hat and took his toast and banana bread outside. Phin wanted to eat on the lawn but it was foggy and cold so he brought breakfast into the garage instead, and ate it on his fire truck.

Phineas Being Silly

Playing in the snow!

Phineas likes playing outside, regardless of the weather. He wants to drive his fire truck when he gets home every night but it's been too dark lately. So, today he drove it all over our driveway and lawn, on the icy snow. Then he got out his trucks to clear off our driveway!

Playing

Phineas got some really neat new toys for Christmas. In fact, it was almost overwhelming. But he's managed to find the time to play with all of them. Here are two pictures of him playing with his new toys.

Reading before bed

Here are some pictures of our nightly bedtime book routine. Phineas picks a book and usually a toy or stuffed animal to read with us, then we sit down and May comes over. Tonight he chose Rosa and Ollie and we read Goodnight Moon.

Getting Ready to Go

Today was Phineas' first day of school. Here are some pictures of him getting ready for the day.

He had a really good day, according to the teachers. He didn't miss his parents very much and when he did he was easily distracted. He liked playing with the boat on the playground and having lunch with his new friends. He was very happy to see Mom and Dad at the end of the day, though!

Phin Loves May!

Playing on the shore on a hot August day

Phin, Mom, and May went down to the shore to play today. It was a hot day so Phin put on his swimsuit and went into the cold ocean water. In the first picture, Phin is pretending to be a clammer. In the pictures near the end, he's pointing out the lobster boats in the bay. The other pictures are of him running around and genuinely having fun.

Reading to May

When Phineas went outside to play this morning he took a book with him. Then he spotted May, lying on the driveway, and decided that she might like to read with him! So he sat down, opened it up, and started telling her all about his favorite pages.

Easter Egg Hunt

We set up an Easter egg hunt for Phineas on Easter. We filled a bunch of eggs with chocolate chips (and a few with peanut butter cups) and hid them around our lawn. Phineas caught on quickly and really had fun running around and finding the eggs. Once he realize they had chocolate in them, it all got that much better!

Looking for eggs:

Running to an egg he'd just spotted:

Eating some chocolate chips:

Calling out the different colors of the eggs. Phineas has learned his colors and likes to call objects by their colors (blue egg...red egg...):

More candy please!

Running back to the basket with an egg:

The end:

The Ghost of Phineas!