Change is a-coming....

I have good news, bad news and news that is neither.

The news: Change is coming.

The good news: Even though it will cost az anyam and az apam a few bucks, this kind of change is not going to cost you a couple few trillion dollars.

The bad news: You may have to update your Bookmarks.

Due to the changing dynamics of the Strada family in Connecticut, this blog is going to become less about me, me, me and more about us, us, us. Therefore, az anyam and az apam and She Who Must Not be Named will also be posting. That said, the new address for this blog is:

http://stradact.blogspot.com/

See you on the flip side.

The name of our patrol is a matter rather droll....

Years ago, az apam stole a Disney music CD from Robi Bacsi. This has become one of my favorite CDs. I really enjoy many of the songs even though I don't know the movies.

Last weekend, I finally got to see The Jungle Book from the library. I am totally into being an elephant. You can see in the picture above that I'm clearly an elephant and that is clearly my tail.

From New Folder

Especially when the music's going, I march around on my hands and legs just like an elephant.

A Star is Birthed

Congrats to K-Pap who had his Carnegie Hall debut last night.

It was wicked awesome.....from what I hear, of course, I wasn't allowed to go. I never get to do anything fun.

Getting Ready for Bed

I have been spending loads of time in my awesome new room. Since it is called a bedroom, a good amount of my focus has been on the bed.

Here is a shot of me practicing my esti ima, which is interesting because I don't usually pray kneeling next to my bed like this.

And here is a video of my putting my doll to bed:



Yeah, I'm cute. Way cute.

Movin' on Up

As a pre-Easter (non)-gift I got a new room with all new furniture. This allegedly has nothing to do with a new family member who is on her way.

Az anyam and az apam were a little worried about how I'd take to the new room with the nagy fiu agy and everything.

Silly anyam and apam...it ain't no thang. I wanted to sleep in my new bed the second day it was there. I've actually been climbing out of bed less at night. Az apam's theory is that it is more difficult to climb out of this bed in the dark with the side rail installed. I am sooooo totally comfortable in my new digs.



It's been an overall pleasant experience. Az anyam and az apam worry too much.

Food for Thought

All the Husveti Nyuszik were busy over the weekend. I got some gifts from Nagymama's nyuszi and Mama's nyuszi:



And then I got some gifts from our nyuszi. Are toys supposed to be educational? Does it count as a gift if it is educational? Should it?



I'm not saying, I'm just saying.

Another year older....

Somebody in the picture below just turned another year older....this person is pretty darn old....

Not sure who it is? I know it's hard to figure out who because everybody knows my birthday is in June and if it were az apam, there would not be a blog posting about it. Still not sure....Here's another clue....it's the woman who looks FINE in her Easter getup in the following picture.

Happy Birthday, Mami.

Eggs and eggs and eggs

Yesterday was Easter and it was awesome. It was like Palm Sunday, but even better.


By that, I of course mean that I got to hunt for Easter eggs twice yesterday, where on Palm Sunday I only got to hunt for eggs once. The other nice thing yesterday was that I had a lot less competition for the eggs.



The first time I was on the prowl was yesterday morning. It took me a while to notice the eggs laid out around the house, but as soon as I did I was a kek tojas machine.



The second time was at Sam Neni's house next door. Her nieces were there and gave me a bit of a run for the eggs, but I stuck with my master technique of blue eggs first and I got my fair share.

Older Kids are Cool

I am thankful that I get to go to parks where I can learn all sorts of cool things from the older kids.
These are the useful skills that I need for life that I'm not getting from az anyam. All she does is teach me school things like letters, number, colors and shapes. I need to learn life skills like climbing and throwing and hitting. Maybe, if I pay close enough attention, someday I'll learn profanity from the older kids at the park. Here's hoping...



Until then I'll content myself learning how to climb onto things just like the cool, older kids and Peti Bacsi.

Has anybody seen the egg?

I'm going to tell you about my post-Mise Sunday to the tune of The Crunge by Led Zeppelin:

I wanna tell you 'bout my tojaskereses
I ain't disclosing no names but--
The Nyuszi was there and!
He didn't come just out of nowhere, no!
He came hoppin down the bunny trail! Hey!
And Charlie was there and we hugged the nyuszi, but I know, yeah!
I should do but I know now let me tell you bout my girl:
Go to the tojaskereses and what do I see?

Ahh, didn't See my Leah, ah, looked for her Ooh,
Instead I got some eggs, Ooh, lemme tell ya:
When I look for eggs, I find 'em and
When I see the blue eggs ----
I love the blue eggs and I make them all mine
And then I open them up and what do I find?
I find sweet and sour candies, you gotta love those Swedish Fish, too?
Ain't gonna call me Mr. Tojas-less, no!
I don't need no respect from nobody...



Excuse me
Oh will you excuse me
I'm just trying to find the tojasok... Has anybody seen the eggs?


Where are those confounded eggs?

Gifts from Around the World

The other day I woke up from a nap with a wicked-awesome surprise, my cousins Sari and Sandor had sent me a gift. They also sent some stuff for my little sister or something, whatever. More importantly, they sent me some toys they don't play with anymore.

Even though Sari and Sandor don't play with them anymore, I've been playing with them non-stop since I received them. I've incorporated/assimilated the animals with my other farms and animals. I've installed the little people into my secret militia of tiny plastic toys. Another piece to the puzzle has been found...

Little Boy in the Big City

I enjoyed being in the city last Saturday - it was a beautiful sunny day.
I enjoyed having the sun beat down on my face and having the sweet smell of NY street fill my nostrils.

What I really enjoyed was going to the park and climbing on the massive towers. The towers were even more massive than my usual playgrounds. However, they didn't seem as huge with the huge buildings in the background.

Even better than climbing on the playground equipment in the city is getting to climb on the "art" scattered throughout the city.

Little Girl in the Big City

C. S. Lewis called the Chronicles of Narnia a supposition. I would like to present another supposition having nothing to do with wardrobes and lions.


Suppose...
...Martha Neni had been in NYC over the weekend and
...az anyam and I went to see her and
...we went out for brunch and
...I sat next to Martha Neni and
...I was actually having a good time
...we had a camera with an LCD screen that worked and
...az anyam took a picture of me next to Martha Neni



....this is what the picture would have looked like.

But since not all those things are true, az apam cropped together two photos to make it look like...
...Martha Neni had been in NYC over the weekend and
...az anyam and I went to see her and
...we went out for brunch and
...I sat next to Martha Neni and
...I was actually having a good time
...we had a camera with an LCD screen that worked and
...az anyam took a picture of me next to Martha Neni

Change is a-coming

This picture captures much of what is going on in the world of Mate right now:

Mama got me a practice baby. That's what I'm holding in this picture. It's the right kind of baby - doesn't make any noise, can be ignored for long periods of time and az anyam and az apam don't pay any attention to it.

More importantly, I'm moving rooms and getting all new furniture. That is my wicked-awesome, brand, spanking new bean bag chair I'm sitting in.

Swing. Swing a Song.

The nice thing about getting older is that I get to do more adventurous things.

That is doubly true when hanging out with older boys.

I got to get nutty on the tire swing with the Devries boys during their visit. It was fun to be manly and pretend that I wanted it to go higher and faster.

Someday, when I'm really old, I'll get to go really crazy and climb on top of the playground equipment like some other really old people. The downside is at that age I'll probably be bald and have to wear a hat to protect my head from the sun even in March.

Paris in Fairfield

This post has little to do with me, but I'll still put myself at the center of it. We were sleeping Saturday morning when az apam heard a thud-thud just before five in the morning.


He saw a car had run into a neighbor's tree and caught on fire. By the time he got himself out of bed, the police had already shown up and were dragging the driver out of the car.

Pretty soon the tuzoltok and the mentok showed up and woke up az anyam and me. There was mass chaos on the street. It was really a cool way to watch breakfast. Kind of like being at a luaua:

Answer to Super Special Saturday Blog

Sandor is our winner. His guess was the closest. Sari was right about my wanting to go in the water, but that was on a different day. Keresztpapa was totally and typically wrong.

Leah and I were upset that we were hungry and we weren't getting snack. Our mothers were making us go home to have dinner instead. The gall.

PARK IT

As you may have seen in the previous few postings, spring is springing up. It keeps going away again, but not before I had plenty o' opportunities to go to the park. I've even gotten to go with Leah and Charlie.

I really enjoy playing with them at the park. No, I really enjoy playing with them at the park. No, I really enjoy playing with them at the park. No, I really enjoy playing with them at the park.

By the way, that sound is the sound of two 3 year olds having a really good time at the park.

Super Special Saturday Blog

Today is Pop Quiz Day.

A special prize* to whoever guesses why Leah and I are so mad.

*prize = an embarrassing post about the person of your choice or a sloppy, wet kiss from az anyam

Laughing around the House

Mama and Papa are here for a visit. I have had the opportunity to have all sorts of fun with them - going to the park, playing foci in the basement, etc.



What I have enjoyed the best is laughing with Mama.



And I also enjoy laughing with Papa the best.

Strandolas

Winter is over. Long live spring.


I got to go to the beach finally. It has been a long time coming......it's March already. I actually went with a whole gaggle of people - az anyam, az apam and my friends from Grimsby, Ontario (home of Canada's first Chautauqua), Daniella Neni, Bart Bacsi, Noah, Aiden, Eli and Merritt.



We had a whole construction crew ready to dig and build and dig.

Foci is in the House

Watching Cribs and other assorted fluff on television, I have noticed a propensity of the well-to-do to build sporting facilities at their homes, e.g., tennis courts, basketball courts, scrabble tables, horseshoe pitches, etc.

Az anyam and az apam just finished the basement and got into the act. They were kind enough to install a foci palya in the basement.



It's way loads of fun. It would only be cooler if it looked a little more like a foci palya.

A Night at the Opera

During Nagymama's visit we had the opportunity to spend time together, just the two of us. Az anyam and az apam went off to see a depressing opera about babies being thrown on fires and gypsies getting oppressed.

We (Nagymama and I) had a quid pro quo sort of thing go. She scratched my back, I scratched her's. She bathed me, I blew out the candles on her cake. She fed me dinner, I acted ridiculously cutely. It went so well that az anyam and az apam were a bit put off by my not missing them enough.

The only issue was when she put me to bed, she left more door too open. I had to holler downstairs to her, "Nagymama, csak egy picit nyitva." She came upstairs and left the door just ajar and then we were all good.

Do Grandmothers Grow on Trees?

It might seem like I just celebrated a grandmother's birthday...and another one rolled around. This time I got to celebrate it with Nagymama here.



Not only did I get to sing to Nagymama in person, I got to have cake and eat it too. As much as I like the production around birthdays and seeing the cake and the joy it brings others, I'm not really a cake kind of guy. I'll have a bite, make a disgusted face and then go play.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We had a beautiful snowfall at the start of last week. With az anyam's help, I used the beautiful snow to build a beautiful snowgirl.



She was so beautiful that I called her Leah and had the urge to kiss her.

Building with sticks. Better than straw, not quite bricks.

Nowadays they have the coolest toys. I enjoy my guitar and my fire truck, but every once in a while it's cool to get down with some of the newest, hottest toys.

I have these wicked awesome TinkerToys to get nutty with. Peti Bacsi is awesome at building szel maloms with them, even if he can't get them to balance neatly.

I dig a girl in uniform

My bestest friend in the whole wide world came over for dinner over the weekend. It was a beautiful event - my favorite girl with my favorite food, pizza. You could say my favorite dish with my favorite dish. (She likes pizza too!!!)

Her family came, too, but I barely noticed. Why would I bother when Leah was over to play with. We played a lot of dress up. (She likes firefighter outfits!!!)

We then chased each other around the house on my trucks. (She likes trucks!!!)

It was a magical evening. How could it not be with firefighter outfits, pizza and construction vehicles? Az apam said it reminds him of when he was courting az anyam...

Warming the cockles of my parents' hearts

For the first few months (years) of my life, I required constant attention. Especially early on, if you weren't entertaining me, I was not happy. Lately, I haven't required as much attention....except to remind me to go pee in the potty.



I really enjoy playing alone with my animals and dinosaurs. I play with them for hours. I have a barn and an ark that the animals climb all over and live in. I play with them in the tub as well.

There are more kids out there

As often as I am the focus of this blog, a world does exist outside of me. Az anyam and az apam sometimes exist outside of my scope. Last week, az anyam took me to a school that was not my magyar iskola and was not my angol iskola. That night, I told az apam all about it at the dinner table.

I started off by telling him about the "szurke gyerekek az iskolaban."

Bounce Me? I don't think so. Bounce U.

Last Friday, I went with az anyam and az apam to Bounce U for my friend Benjamin's birthday. At birthday parties now I get to see all my friends and not just the kids of az anyam and az apam's friends.


In fact, sometimes az anyam and az apam's are my friends. Here I am going over the obstacle course with two of my friends, Benjamin and his father.
I also played with Jillian. She was a little more adventurous than I was. At least with the climbing. When it came to the slide, I kept up with her.

Of course, in the end I won because I had the best time.

Another belated birthday

Happy Birthday to Mama! You did hear me sing the one time on Mami's phone, but you didn't hear me sing happy birthday when I sang it on one of my phones.

It's the most wonderful time of the year....FOOTBALL TIME!

I know it's only February and Training Camp isn't for another five months, but football season has started. At least the important football season has started, Mate Football Season.

It is finally warm enough to get outside on a regular basis to play the sport of kings, football.

Counting Machine

I have enjoyed using my parents' computers. I especially enjoy playing with them when az anyam and az apam are trying to get stuff done. In this spirit, az anyam bought me my own computer. I've been watching az anyam and az apam for years. I know just how to use it.


The other day, after I had gotten my computer, az anyam wanted to take me outside. I told her, "Egy par email-t kuldok eloszor." I sat down at my computer and zapped off a few emails and then we left.

Lunch with Leah

I like Leah. A lot. We really like to play together. When we're not playing together, we like to eat together. We also like to talk to each other.

When the other is not around, we call out each others' names. Sometimes we do that when the other person is there too. Or we just grunt at each other.

Nagymama

As I mentioned yesterday, Nagymama was here last weekend. It's always a good time with Nagyama.

Sometimes grandmothers crimp my style just as much as az anyam and az apam. I just wanted to hang out and show Nagymama a new trick I learned from Nagypapa.

Not every 2-1/2 year old knows how to jump on the coffee table. But nooooooooooo......

Maybe next time Nagypapa comes over, he can show me how to jump over the coffee table from a sitting position on the couch.

Shy, Little Mate

Last weekend, Nagymama came for a visit. Naturally, Peti Bacsi came down from Hartford for some non-crockpot, non-microwave, non-pizza food and to visit Nagymama. To my surprise, az apam's cousin Kati Neni stopped by for a visit as well.

Having a new person in the house was odd. I didn't know how to handle it. I was quite uncomfortable. It made me shy.



For about 15 seconds, anyway. Then I was back to my usual, gregarious, punchy self.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day

It's a new life...or at least a new session for swimming lessons. I have now graduated to the class where we go without parents.

As you can see, I don't even miss az apam. Next thing he knows, I'll be packing my bags and moving out....

Don't get az apam started

So I found this awesome new kind of music for dancing. It's called techno.



Unfortunately, this prompted az apam to harken back to many, many moons ago when he was in his early twenties. I heard stories about some dumpy club called Trilogy. I don't remember the rest. It was a boring story. But I do like techno.

Bili Boys Gone Wild

Sometimes you have to seize the moment. I love those moments of nakedness after using the WC. If I run out when I'm done, I can pull a peanut butter/chocolate moment and combine some of my favorite things....like nudity and fire trucks. I'm thinking of making a calendar.

If you decide to follow my lead, don't forget to leave your socks on. We lose way too much body heat through our feet.

Kosarball

Despite the title of this posting, this post has nothing to do with the awesome Browns teams from the late 80s and everything to do with it being college basketball season.

I'm a huge college basketball fan, at least when I get to go to the game in person and eat hog dogs. Last year I went to a game with az anyam and az apam. This year, not only did I get to go with Charlie and his family, we got little red flags to wave and hit each other with.

I'm fixin' to be fixin'

I thoroughly enjoy working on my trucks. Especially, on my "nagy truck"-s. They can tow each other - it's pretty cool. Every once in a while I have to do some maintenance and repairs on them, so I put on my apron, get my tools and go to work.



I never forget safety. I have to make sure I have my helmet.


Sometimes I get a little carried away with the safety and go overboard on the helmets.

Makes it a little difficult to work.

Um papa, oom papa, nagy papa

Please throw a few thoughts and prayers Papa's way.

He had some planned surgery yesterday. He's doing fine, but after surgery we can all use the thoughts and prayers of loved ones.

Becoming a man

Now that I am becoming a man, I must put away the things of a child. I rarely use diapers. I don't have a booster seat at the table. My toys have become more serious, they're about jobs and creating stuff rather than just playthings.



And I enjoy nothing more in the evening than reading the paper...or at least taking apart the newspaper in a way that irritates both az anyam and az apam.

Batteries are AWESOME

Over the summer I got a wicked awesome guitar. It is plastic and has all sorts of buttons and I really enjoyed pretending to play it and calling myself, "Rock and Roll Star."





I had no idea, but it actually plays music. Az anyam put batteries into the guitar and now I'm a real rock and roll star....and az anyam and az apam are getting earplugs.

Jimi Hendrix has nothing on me.

The king may have to walk there, but I don't

This last weekend an event started so majestic and momentous I couldn't even get it on video - my potty training. In honor of good taste, this posting and its footage have been seriously edited.



It's gone decently with 2-3 accidents per day, but I'm getting there. Every time I go #1 on the potty I get a sticker and an M&M. If az apam is there and I go on the potty, he gets no stickers but two M&Ms.



If I take care of extra business, I get two stickers and two M&Ms. This morning we hit a milestone - I did something without prompting and got two stickers and two M&Ms for my efforts.

Hey Good Looking

Here's what I got cooking....

I have been cooking all sorts of stuff lately. My newest, favoritest thing to do is to take a large mixing bowl, chop up all sorts of play food, throw the food into the mixing bowl and put it all in my oven for 2-3 minutes. It is quite the tasty stew/salad/casserole.

Talking at the dinner table

I've been a big fan of Skype for the simple reason that it's easier to talk to someone I can see. The whole phone thing is a bit abstract for a 2.5 year old.


Fortunately, it's not too abstract for a 2.6 year old. I now will hold up my end and take part in both sides of a phone conversation. For a little while anyway.