Tobey’s Corner

After Growing to Greatness today, my Papa picked me up for a “boys night”. We decided to play tennis. My Mama and Papa have tennis raquets but they are pretty big so we went to Sports Authority and found a sweet blue one more my size. We also got some new tennis balls so they would bounce high. My Papa loves the smell of new tennis balls from a fresh can, but I don’t think they smell very good.

We played on the same side of the net, and I hit it past my Papa a ton of times. I had a lot more fun than I thought I would, and I look forward to playing again.

Here’s a short video of me hitting the ball when we were almost done:

We have a park near our house that has baskets that can be lowered to my height. We ride our bike’s to the park and I help pedal on the hills. Check out this video my Papa took of me making a lay-up. I’m pretty proud of it:

Here’s what I say in the video, after I make the shot: “I’m a star… who’s gonna try to defeat me, man?”

Tobey gives thumbs-up after swimming the width of the pool

My sister got me off to a great start last summer and taught me a lot. My Papa spent a lot of time with me in the pool late last summer while we were in Florida and I started getting close. Early this summer, my Mama signed me up for some swim classes at a rec center and I started to remember what I had learned.

This summer, we joined the neighborhood pool and I’ve been practicing and trying hard to reach with my arms and kick. A weekend in Texas with my cousins was great because we spent a lot of time in their pool and at their lake house - I played a lot in the water with Jack and J.T.

Yesterday, I realized I could do it! So, I put on my goggles, took a few deep breaths and then swam the width of the pool! It was a great feeling… and tiring! Today, I did it again, and here’s a video of it. The video is a 62MB download - so I hope you have a fast internet connection that you can watch it from:

Or download the full high-res version: Tobey swims (54MB)

Swimming sure is a blast!

Another Halloween, another Superhero!

Originally uploaded by aswitzer

For Halloween this year I dressed up as Raphael, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - my favorite.

This is my fourth Halloween, and so far I have always been a superhero. When I was not yet one year old, I was Spiderman in Florida when the Lockwoods took a family vacation with us. The next year I was Dash, one of the Incredibles. Last year, I was Superman.

For awhile this year, I really wanted to be General Grievious - one of my favorite Star Wars characters, even if he is a bad guy. I think he’s really cool because he swings four lightsabers at the same time!

Tomorrow night, Grammy and Gramps are coming down to go trick-or-treating with me, and my friend Alex from across the street might join us. He’s dressing up as a vampire.

Happy Halloween!

Tae Kwon Do!
Originally uploaded by aswitzer

This week, I started Tae Kwon Do (or Taekwondo) at a nearby ATA Family Martial Arts center run by Mr. Stan Shields. He is a 4th degree black belt.

I learned three Korean words during my first class, and I also learned a high-block, a punch, and a kick. Mr. Shields said that he was very impressed with how quickly I learned what he taught me. In my next class, I can earn a white belt and a uniform if I can show him the same moves again.

I love the light rail ride. Thanks Papa for taking me on the light rail. Thanks Gramps, for joining us. The light rail was fast. Thanks to the guys that built the light rail station with a top on it, so that it won’t rain on me. Thanks for the light rail, and thanks for giving me the paper bus!

New clothes from cousin Jack

Originally uploaded by aswitzer.

When we were in Michigan a few weeks ago, Aunt Tracy brought a bunch of Jack’s old clothes for me.

Almost everything fit, and they all look great. I had a lot of fun trying them on last night and running around in the shorts to “test that they’d stay up”!

Thanks cousin Jack!

It looked a little like this picture.

Yesterday, I went with my Papa over to my neighbor’s house. His name is Pat. He has an HO gauge train setup in his basement. He had two diesel engines pulling more than 10 freight cars.

Upstairs, he had a black steam engine in a box (display case) with a coal car, and a caboose.

Banana pants,

Tobey

… of potty training!

My Papa says its official - and I no longer need to be rewarded for my efforts. I guess that’s okay, I’ve received a few Matchbox cars, stickers, and other toys along the way when I did well. Lately, I can do nearly all of it by myself, and don’t need much help at all. My Mama and Papa seem very excited and proud. I’m just happy that they don’t have to bug me about it as much now.

As a final reward, Papa got us these cool remote control cars. We can both race them at the same time.