Bipedal preambulation

Today I decided to take my first steps! Only a couple of them at a time -- just enough to get from Mama to my Moo-Moo Cow. But I'm so proud of myself when I do it, so I laugh and clap. After all, I'm very clever, aren't I?

Mama hasn't been able to get a video yet, but she'll try to get one in the next couple of days if I agree to cooperate. In the meantime, here's a picture that Mama thinks is funny. I wasn't very happy when she went outside without me.

Bet you didn't know lunch could be so much fun

Merry Christmas everyone!

Can't write much now. Must play with toys.

Snowshoeing in Greenlake

Mama, Cowboy and I went snowshoeing around the neighborhood today (well actually, Mama's the only one who wore snowshoes). It's been snowing almost non-stop since yesterday afternoon, so there's lots of snow to play in! Cowboy seems to really enjoy it, even though I still haven't made up my mind about it. I don't cry when Mama sets me down in it anymore, but I'm still not sure if I want to move or touch it. Mama thinks part of the problem is that all of my shoes and boots are soft-soled, so they get cold and wet quickly. I think the problem is that the snow is cold and wet, soft-soled shoes or not. Mama tells me that once I'm running around and learn about the joy of snow angels, snow balls, and sleds, I'll change my mind. We'll see.

C is for cookie

So far I haven't been a big fan of sweets. I haven't liked cake or cupcakes, and I've had lots of them already: my birthday cupcake (red velvet), my birthday party cupcake (apple pumpkin), a cupcake (carrot) and some cake (pound) when I was in Colorado, and a cupcake (banana) for Oliver's birthday. But today, I had a treat that I really like: a sugar cookie. Oh yum. Mama made a whole bunch of cookies for a party tonight and she shared one with me after lunch. Sugar cookies are her favorite, and I can see why! Tonight's party was canceled because we're supposed to get the big winter storm of '08, so now we have a houseful of sugar cookies. Yay!

Friday photos

(The first two Friday photos are old because Mama forgot that she had them on her iPhone)

1. Checking out the Christmas tree options
2. I want this one
3. Loitering in front of the house again
4. Why do Mama and Daddy think it's so funny how I just stand here in the snow?

Does plaid make me look fat?

It snowed again today and this time I didn't mind it so much. Maybe because this time Daddy didn't smear snow in my face the second we got outside? Anyway, I hung out with Mama while Daddy built a snowman. Mama set me down on the sidewalk and I just stood there. I'm not convinced that I can move when I'm all bundled up in my snowsuit, so I think the best idea is to just stay as still as possible.

I like the snowman Daddy built because he's got the same proportions as I do: round with a big head. My neighbor friend Ella came over to say hi and meet the snowman too and we looked pretty cool in our matching boots. I guess this snow thing isn't so bad...

Pamperin' my crib

Mama and Daddy should know better than to put my diaper stacker where I can reach it from my crib.

Let it snow

But please let it snow elsewhere. Or at the very least, if it must snow here (which Mama and Daddy seem to want), please refrain from putting me in it.

Today Mama and Daddy got me all decked out in my snowsuit and warm boots so that I could play in the snow. Apparently I didn't mind snow at all last year (baby shredder), but I must have just been too young and foolish to know better. It's kind of similar to how I didn't mind that Santa guy when I was only 5 months old. It takes maturity and experience to learn about what you like and what you don't like, after all.

Anyway, once I got on the snow, I immediately -- and loudly -- made my thoughts about the whole situation very clear. Even though I look exceedingly handsome in my snowsuit (not many people can pull off head-to-toe plaid, you know), I prefer to enjoy snow from the safety of Mama or Daddy's arms.

Friday photos

1. Trying out Oliver's rocking horse for the first time at his birthday party. All of the older women (2-5 years old) seemed to LOVE it, so I figured it would be fun.
2. Not a big fan of the rocking horse. I started crying right after this picture.
3. Trying it out again about a month later. Still not a big fan, but Mama says I look cute. And once I get the hang of it, it's a great way to pick up older women. And you have to admit, the hat is pretty studly.

Sick of it

I've been sick for at least a week and you know what? I'm SICK of it! My nose is always running, my upper lip is chafed from having my nose rubbed so often, I cough and hack, and I drool constantly because I can't breathe through my nose. I'm tired of this. At least Daddy got me a nice Froggy humidifier for my room so that I can breathe more easily AND I have a friend to keep me company at night!

One thing this cold has not affected is my appetite. Big surprise there, huh? Although today I wouldn't eat the grilled cheese sandwich Mama made for me. I'm not a big fan of grilled cheese. I much prefer the pan-fried sesame noodles with bok choy that Mama made for her lunch and ended up giving to me instead. I also like the cheese sticks that we shared for a snack (if by "share" you mean "I hang onto Mama's cheese stick while I eat mine, and then I eat Mama's").

I'm still working out whether I want to take one or two naps per day. Today was a one-napper, but yesterday I took two long naps. The day before was a one-nap day. I like to keep Mama on her toes.

Speaking of which, I also like to be on my own toes! I'm quite good at standing up on my own now, although I haven't tried to take a step yet. I do like to stand and clap my hands or wave my toys in the air. I also really like to walk with Mama or Daddy's help, and I barely need to use their fingers for balance anymore. I just like the security of knowing they are there.

I've emotionally recovered from that traumatizing "Santa" encounter last week, and I hope that I never have to do that again.

Me myself and I (plus two more)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Eep!

Friday photos

That's a lot of Santa pictures for one boy!

All the pictures except the middle one were taken last May when I did my little Santa photo shoot. The middle picture was taken today, and I was much less pleased with the whole Santa thing this time around. I can't believe Mama just plopped me down on this guy's lap and expected me to smile! Right after this picture was taken, I burst into tears and screamed into Santa's face. They didn't get any good pictures of that though.

Mama keeps singing this to me

At first I thought she was making up the words (like she does for most other songs she sings), but this one really was written just for me!

Since we're talking about food...

What? We weren't talking about food? Oh sorry, that must have just been me. I'm a little obsessed with it, you know.

I like to be fed, I like to eat with my fingers, I like to try to eat with my own spoon, and now I really like to feed Mama too! She has to make me extra food now (even more than before) because I like to share with her. If I'm eating finger foods, for every third or fourth piece of food I put in my mouth, I like to put one piece in Mama's mouth. I won't eat my next piece (but I do hold it in my hand so it's ready to go) until she eats the one I offer to her.

I also like to eat Mama's food. For dinner tonight, she made me some pasta with homemade tomato mascarpone sauce. It was pretty good until I noticed that she was eating something else: a bowl full of Taiwanese noodles in spicy sauce. I kept staring at it and trying to grab for it until she finally gave me a little bite, warning me that it was kind of spicy so I might not like it. Is she kidding me? After that one bite, I refused to eat the rest of my boring pasta and sauce. She ended up sharing her noodles with me instead.

Eventually she'll figure out that she can stop making me my own special meals and just give me some of what she eats. I like it better.

No reason

Just adding this picture of Mama and me taking a walk because the Bat Boy picture is kind of disturbing. I need something cheerier at the top of the page.

I can already do the echolocation

I'm practicing my Bat Boy impersonation. It'll be even better once I get more teeth.

I yam what I yam

My latest achievements:

• I bit Oliver on the hand today. Hard. Hard enough to make him cry for at least several minutes. And then when he was crying and his mom was comforting him, I pulled on his mom's leg and looked at Oliver like, "What's going on buddy? Why are you crying?"
• In spite of biting him, I recognize and enjoy Oliver's company. When we were little, we played near each other without really paying attention to one another. Now we follow each other around and play with the same toys together. Which, incidentally, is what led to me biting his hand.
  
• I like to stick my tongue out.
• I'm still enjoying my food. To give you an idea of what I eat, here's today's menu: an adult-sized serving of oatmeal and blueberries plus one banana for breakfast; stew (red potatoes, parsnips, leeks and spinach) and apple-apricot sauce for lunch, and an egg stir-fry (with baby bok choy, leeks and tomatoes), rice, some taro root mantou, and carrots and pears (mixed together) for dinner. Plus two snacks and several cups of milk. Yum.
• I spend more time just standing around without holding onto anything.
• My hair is getting unruly -- long and wispy in places, shorter and wavy in others. It kind of looks like I have a combination of a comb-over/mullet/mohawk/buzzcut.
• I say "MA-MA" very clearly now, and I still practice with "DAY-DEE".
• I talk to Cowboy during meals (he waits underneath my high chair while I eat). I lean over the side of my high chair so I can see him and have long and active (albeit one-sided) conversations with him. I also consistently call him "GN".
• I don't like it when food spills on the table in front of me, so Mama has to be really fast about cleaning it up before I notice it. Sometimes I pick it up and put it back in my bowl, but I usually prefer to just sweep it onto my lap or the floor.
• I can't decide if I'm taking one or two naps per day. I'll take one nap for a day or two, then switch back to two naps. I still sleep 13 hours at night (6:30 PM - 7:30 AM).
• I throw full-body tantrums. I scream, squirm and kick my legs frantically if someone picks me up when I want to crawl. I throw myself face-first on the floor and either bite the floor or bang my head on it (good thing we have those padded floors in my playroom) when I don't get what I want. If I'm not on the floor, I throw my head back and/or try to bite whoever or whatever is near (Mama, Daddy, the table, a book, a toy, etc.). This is just a preview of what's to come.
• I like to head-butt people and things. I do it softly though, so it's different than my head-banging tantrums. Oliver likes to head-butt too, so we spend a fair amount of time touching foreheads.

The picture above shows those big chompers I used to bite my friend. Watch out, I'm armed and dangerous now!

To sip or not to sip

When it comes to trying new things, I can be really stubborn. It takes a magical combination of all the right things before I'll give in, but usually once I give in, I'm pretty accommodating. Two examples:

• Taking a bottle. Do you remember how adamant I was about refusing a bottle, back when I was just a baby? Boy, I did NOT want that bottle. While trying to convince me, Mama gave me 3 different kinds of bottles in 5 different shapes and combined them with 4 different kinds of nipples. Eventually she found the perfect combination and I gave in. I would only drink out of that particular combination (the tall skinny 10oz Dr. Brown's bottle with a Nuk nipple) for awhile, but once I was used to it, I was willing to drink out of any bottle with any nipple. So she switched me over to the wide Born Free bottles and we were both happy.
• Drinking formula. That was another, more recent, battle. When I decided to wean myself suddenly, I had no idea that all of the gazillion bags of milk Mama stocked in the freezer had gone bad! I'd cut myself off from the milk-drug cold turkey! Mama had to give me formula for the first time, and I was not very pleased with it. She tried a bunch of different ways to get me to take it, including mixing it into my applesauce, watering it down, giving it to me at various temperatures, in a bottle, sippy cup or regular cup. She tried 4 different brands before she finally found the one I warmed up to (Similac). Once I was used to drinking it, she decided to try mixing in some of the other brands, since she could only buy them in 10 gallon tubs and she didn't want to throw them away. Like before, once the novelty had worn off, I was completely accommodating and I used up every last tub of formula in my 3 weeks of formula-feeding.

My latest stubbornness is around sippy cups. After working so hard to get me to take a bottle and drink something other than the milk-drug out of it, Mama is weaning me from the bottle. Is she never happy? I'm already drinking whole milk instead of formula (that was an easy switch -- have you ever tasted formula?), and I've been drinking it in my bottle for the past couple of weeks. Instead of taking my bottle away from me completely, she first removed all of the regular bottle nipples and put in "trainer" soft spouts instead. And then she switched the soft spouts to firmer spouts. She's trying to be sneaky about her machinations, but does she really think I don't know?

The past week, she tried to completely replace my bottle with a sippy cup instead. Ummm, I don't think so. I'm perfectly willing to drink water out of a sippy cup, but milk? No. So what do you think she did? She went out and got a bunch of different types of sippy cups, offering them to me one at a time. I was determined to refuse them all, but darn it, she found one I like! It's got handles and everything! So now I'm willing to drink milk out of my blue and red Gerber sippy cup. Or out of a regular cup during mealtimes. But that's it.

Awww, who am I trying to kid? Just like with the bottles and formula, once I'm used to drinking out of my Gerber sippy cup, I'll be totally willing to drink out of all of the other ones I have. I know that's why Mama doesn't mind getting a few different kinds for me to try -- she'll have me use them all eventually. I'm so easy.

Pass it on

Well, I don't really seem to be sick, in spite of all the hoopla on Wednesday night. I had that fever that wouldn't quit for about 12-15 hours, but after sleeping for a whole day it hasn't seemed to develop into a cold or flu (Mama's knocking on the wood desk, for some reason). However, I did manage to give whatever I had to Daddy -- he was up all last night with a fever and he's still in bed now. Poor Daddy. Mama made him some of her famous Taiwanese ginger sake chicken soup and he ate almost all of it last night -- six chicken legs plus two giant bowls of soup! It made him feel better. I wish I could have some of it, but Mama says I'm too young for sake. Hmph.

Friday photos

1. Bundled up and ready with a snack for my walk
2. Attentive parenting
3. Getting ready to give my drum a beating
4. Trying on my new hoodie from Gramma Hill

Happy Turkey Day!

Today I had my very first Thanksgiving dinner! I'm not sure why I didn't get one last year, since this is my second Thanksgiving, but it might have something to do with the whole breastfeeding vs. solid food thing. Anyway, since I was sick last night, Mama and Daddy decided at the last minute to cook the whole meal at home. Mama sent Daddy to the grocery store with a list of what she needed, and then she cooked all morning. Daddy's job was to make the turkey and clean up the pots and pans so Mama could keep cooking. He did his job well.

Mama made quite a feast! I wonder why she doesn't cook like this every day? She made these yummy roasted garlic mashed potatoes, as well as sweet potatoes with marshmallows, almond green beans, rosemary sage stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. She gave me a little bit of everything, but I didn't eat much of it. I didn't like the turkey at all -- I kept taking it out of my mouth and putting it on the table. I'd eat the green beans and stuffing, but I wasn't too happy about it. However, I really liked the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce! Mmm mmm...garlicky, sweet, and tart yummy goodness (respectively).

I also did another first: I fed Cowboy directly. I often feed him indirectly (by throwing/dropping food on the ground), but this time I took my bread crust and handed it to him. I held on to it so he could bite off his end and I could keep my end to suck on. Cowboy was happy, I was pretty proud of myself, but Mama and Daddy weren't very impressed.

Now I'm taking another nap. After my big night last night, I haven't done much more than sleep all day today. I woke up at 9, ate breakfast, napped from 10 - 12:30, played for a bit, ate lunch, and now I'm napping again at 2. Mama is hoping that this is all catch-up (I have 8 hours worth of catch-up to do) and it won't interfere with my sleep tonight!

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving feast. There I am checking out the spread, and then eating some mashed potatoes. Note our fancy serving dishes -- in particular, the gravy boat.


Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Long night

Who knew they made hospital gowns in my size? And as you can see by the second picture, in the spirit of hospital gowns everywhere, my tush is hanging out. Is tush-exposure a hospital gown style requirement? Luckily I have a very cute (even when diaper-encased) tush. You can also see my glowing red E.T. toe in the second picture. That's the sensor they used to track my pulse and oxygen levels.

So why was I donning this lovely hospital gown and E.T. toe? Well last night, we had another first: our first night spent in the ER. Luckily, it turned out to be nothing -- just a 4-hour middle-of-the-night (isn't it always?) excursion.

See, I had a fever yesterday afternoon. I was showing some signs of a cold, but nothing big until the fever. Mama gave me some infant Tylenol to help me sleep, but I still had a fever at bedtime. I couldn't get to sleep (even after more Tylenol), so after three hours of trying to comfort me, Mama finally called the triage nurse. The nurse listened to my breathing over the phone and said we should go to the ER, just in case. She said my breathing was labored and rapid, and just to be safe we should get it checked out.

So we all headed over to Children's Hospital at 10 PM. We visited with lots of people wearing masks, who poked and prodded me while taking all kinds of readings. I showed them how strong my lungs are by screaming as loudly as I could. Finally at 2 AM, the doctor pronounced me "just fine". They were worried it could be pneumonia, but it turns out it's just a cold.

I slept in until 9 AM this morning, but I have a feeling I'm going to be pretty cranky today.

Tooth or dare

I've got another tooth! This might be why I've been so cranky the past few days (in addition to the whole "one nap or two" dilemma). Another tooth popped through right next to my two bottom teeth, so now I have FIVE whole teeth! Enough to grind together loudly, which bothers Mama and Daddy for some reason.

Updating my CV

I'm finally letting Mama and Daddy know that I know more than they realize. In addition to my stellar Chinese, I also understand when they say "hands up!" and I'll usually nod my head or dance from side to side when Mama asks me to. I can point out my head and hair, and when Mama reads "Where's Baby's Bellybutton" to me, I pat my belly to show her. I often wave to people when I see them, and I'll do my Tarzan yell if Mama does it too. I like to burble and motor-boat with my lips whenever I'm bored, and I blow spit bubbles for fun. In addition to taking everything out of my toy boxes, I like to put everything back into them. Not in the right boxes of course, but you have to start somewhere. I know how to turn my garden table on (the little red button) and make my horsie neigh (pat his cheek), and I roll a ball back to Mama when we play. I turn the lights on and off for Mama when we enter or leave a room. I can stand without holding on for a little while. I give zerberts to Mama's cheek, although sometimes I trick her and bite her nose instead. Speaking of which, I have four very impressive teeth. When I eat, I use sign language to show that I want "more" (although I haven't used "all done" yet...Mama and Daddy aren't sure if that's because I'm never all done, or if I just can't remember the sign). And last night in the car when I was talking to myself, Mama said, "Are you saying 'Daddy'?" I said, "Dayyyyyy-dee" and I said it over and over. Mama and Daddy aren't sure if I was actually saying the word or just mimicking, but they were pretty excited about it anyway. I can really get a rise out of them if I say "mum-mum-mum-mum" or "dayyyyyyy-dee".

Look Ma, no hands!

When I'm distracted with something like hitting my drumsticks together or clapping my hands, I sometimes forget to hold on while I'm standing up.

More professional pictures!

These feature just me (OK, Mama snuck into one of them) and I think they're pretty great. I know that I'm a good-looking boy, but I had no idea I'm THIS handsome! Click here or the link at the end of the post to see a few more pictures taken by Jammy's Aunt Cookie! And let Mama know if you'd like to see the full set -- she can send you the link to the gallery and the password. Then you can buy giant wall-sized murals for your living room. After all, a picture of me pulls together ANY decor!

Pictures: Sneak peek #2

Take one away and you're left with one...

I might be deciding that it's time to go to one nap per day. I've been inconsistent with my naps lately -- sometimes taking two per day without a fuss, sometimes spending an entire nap time playing in my crib and talking to Mama through the monitor. Mama's also noticed that I get really yawn-y around noon, even though I often don't wake up from my morning nap until 11. So today, after she listened to me talk and play in my crib during my normal morning nap, she fed me lunch at 11:30 and put me down at noon. I slept until 2 PM and feel pretty good (even though I had a fever again last night from that stupid MMR shot). I might like this schedule better -- it gives me more time to play! But I'll probably need to go to bed even earlier at night for a little while, because I don't usually last longer than 4 hours of awake time.

I'm smart in Chinese too

My A-Mah is teaching me Chinese and I'm picking it up very quickly! When she says "chin chin" ("kiss kiss"), then I lean and touch my head against hers to cuddle. When she says "pai pai shau" ("clap your hands"), I clap right away. Even if I'm busy being cranky because Mama took her duckie slipper away from me. I normally don't clap unless someone else is clapping, but I do it every time when I hear "pai pai shau"!

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

Silly shots

You know how I had another set of shots at my doctor appointment last week? Well, Dr. Tom warned us that I might have a fever 7-10 days later. He said that because the MMR is a live vaccine, the reaction is delayed by about a week. I'm glad he warned us, because Mama and Daddy would have been worried if they didn't know. I went to bed like I normally do, but then I woke up at about 10 PM and started talking and yodeling in my crib (yes, I yodel). Mama finally came in to see what was going on and discovered that I was burning up with a fever! She took my temperature (102 degrees), gave me some infant Tylenol and a bit of water to drink. She sang to me and rocked me in the glider until my fever started to come down and I was able to go back to sleep. I'm feeling a lot better this morning. Those darn shots.

Ahhhhh-MAH! And Opa too!

My A-Mah and Opa are here for a visit! They are stopping by for a few days on their way to Taiwan. It's been so long since I've seen them -- I couldn't even sit up or eat solid food the last time they saw me! Can you imagine that? I was such a baby! But now that I'm a big guy, I'm showing off how well I cruise around the furniture and climb over everything that's in my way. We laugh a lot and I babble and sing and dance from side to side for them. A-Mah is teaching me how to wave "bye-bye" and she's also teaching me some words in Mandarin and German, so I'm quite multi-lingual (especially for someone who has yet to say my first word). I'm eating lots of Taiwanese food and I love it! In fact, after Mama gave me some of her stir-fried rice cake noodles at dinner today, I wouldn't eat my boring pasta with veggies unless I got a bite of her noodles after every bite of my pasta. (You may think that pasta and noodles are essentially the same, but trust me, they are not. At least, not this kind of yummy noodle.) And Cowboy is excited too, because A-Mah and Opa like to take him on walks every day. We're all having lots of fun!


In case you're trying to keep up with who's who in my family: I'm a very lucky boy because I have 6 grandparents! 4 just wouldn't be enough to keep up with my supreme wonderfulness. A-Mah ("grandma" in Taiwanese) and Opa ("grandpa" in German) are my Mama's mom and step-dad (Mama grew up in Germany, which is why I have a German Opa). Grandpa Walt and Grandma Joan (in Pennsylvania) are my Mama's dad and step-mom. Papa and Gramma Hill (in Colorado) are my Daddy's dad and mom.