Moving on up

I was kindly informed today that it is time for me to move to the big kids class at Gymboree. What, it's not cool for me to steal toys from the babies that can't walk yet? But it's so fun and easy! And I like having all of the big equipment (like the slides and ladders) to share with Oliver. Now we're going to have to fend off bigger kids? Just when I get to be the biggest kid in class, I get moved to a class where I'll be one of the smallest? Hmm. I'm not sure if I like that.

Mama said, "Now that you're the big fish in a small pond, time to move you to a bigger pond!" Why can't I just eat up all the other fish and happily be king of my pond? Daddy said, "Get used to a lifetime of this. Once you get big, you'll move to another school or job where you'll be little again. Until you're old. And then you're just old. For the rest of your life."

Gosh, that's a cheery thought. I think I'll stick to pretending I'm a fish in a pond. Glub glub glub!

Patience is not a virtue

Why I cannot be left unattended

When I'm in my stroller, car seat or high chair, I'm strapped in with a 5-point harness. But when I climb, I prefer to free solo. And I've found that Cowboy makes a great crash pad.

Last-minute trip

Last weekend, we took a last-minute trip to Colorado to attend my Great-grandma Marie's service. I never got to meet her, but I'm glad that I got to go and hear stories, see pictures, and meet so many people who knew her. She loved the color pink, so I saw lots of pretty pink flowers and I even got to walk around during her service and say hello to everyone in the church! I also got to meet some of my relatives from Kansas and some of Papa and Gramma Hill's friends.

I had a fun time on the trip, even though the plane rides were not my favorite. It's really hard for me to stay still for more than 5 minutes, so nearly 3 hours of having to stay on Mama and Daddy's laps did NOT please me. I kicked, screamed, hit, bit...pretty much did everything I could to express my extreme displeasure before I finally passed out on Mama's and Daddy's very uncomfortable laps. They said that next time I either get my own seat (a couple rows away) or they're sending me FedEx overnight.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. I'm calling everyone Aunt and Uncle because it's too confusing to count how many "Greats" are supposed to be in front of their names. And how come you go straight from Uncle to Great-uncle? What happened to Grand-uncle? (Oh yeah, I do call Great-uncle Jim and Great-aunt Marsha by their "great" names, because I have an Uncle Jim and I didn't want to confuse you.)

1. After finally wearing myself out on the plane
2. Gramma Hill and Papa read me a bedtime story
3. I try to climb up on Mama's lap
4. Cheri, Daddy, Aunt Robin and Uncle Ray look at old pictures of Great-grandma Marie


5. Uncle Brendan gives me a beer (not really...Daddy gave it to me)
6. I show off how I can do "no hands" while I eat
7. I brush my teeth on Papa's lap
8. Aunt Robin and Gramma Hill admire my extraordinary handsomeness


9. Aunt Kimberly teaches me to play the piano
10. I make sure to Swiffer under all of the furniture
11. Pink flowers for Great-grandma Marie
12. My uncles David, Brendan and Patrick with Gramma Hill and Daddy


13. My aunts Jenny, Meghan and Kimberly with Mama
14. Everyone plays cards while I eat dinner
15. Hanging out with my Great-uncle Jim
16. Cuddling with my Great-aunt Marsha


17. A last-minute Swiffer before I go to bed
18. Watch out people, I'm coming through!
19. I shake my Uncle Darren's hand good-bye
20. Wore myself out again on the plane ride home

Strapped in

Mama strapped me into my new toddler chair harness today. It's actually half of a grocery cart/high chair cover, but she's hoping that we can use it when we travel. I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it turns out that it works pretty well and I don't really mind it. I even laughed and clapped to make Mama feel comfortable...but I'm actually laughing because I know that I can probably rock this chair enough to tip it over. And then I will be free to grab my tea kettle, a couple of remotes and a book and carry them around the house.

Time for an upgrade

My play room may be baby-proofed, but it's not toddler-proofed! I can now open the closet door to pick out my favorite shade of Mama's nail polish, and I can climb up onto the futon to lounge around. Next goal: opening the window for my big escape.

Busy bee

I am a very busy boy. In addition to eating, drinking, napping, yelling for Mama and having my diapers changed, I've got many tasks to accomplish each day. Here are some examples of my workload:

1. Move things (such as the tv remote) to the kitchen
2. Move other things (such as the tea kettle) to the living room
3. Move the dust buster to my play room without Mama noticing and then proceed to take it apart and play with the Cowboy fur, dust and dirt
4. Play with Daddy



It's amazing I can fit it all into one day!

15 month check-up

I had my 15-month check up with the Dude today and I'm a healthy boy! I weigh 23lbs 4oz (25th%), my head circumference is 47 cm (50th%) and I'm 32" tall (75th%). So I'm still a tall, lean boy. And the Dude was very impressed with my growth. Mama mentioned that I've slowed down how much I eat and he said, "I HOPE so! Otherwise you're going to end up with a 60lb 2-yr old on your hands!"

I'm also right on track developmentally, even though I don't say many "real" words now. Since I understand what Mama and Daddy say, I know how to use my baby signs correctly, and I've invented my own words for things, the Dude said that I clearly understand the association between words and objects. Plus, I'm quite talkative for being a guy of so few (or no) words.

I was very good with the Dude and let him check my eyes, ears, teeth and body parts without complaining at all. He let me sit on Mama's lap during the whole check-up and his voice is so calm and soothing...it's like snuggling with my Thunder Bear, Ralphie, and Mr. Blue all at the same time.

I was in a very happy warm fuzzy place, and then Nurse Ratched came in with the evil pointy needles. She poked me three different times! I was great with the first one and pretty good with the second one, but the third poke put me over the top. I screamed and started crying, but Mama picked me up right away and sang to me. I quieted down and then started laughing when she danced with me, especially when she dipped me so I could see myself in the mirror. I guess it wasn't so bad.

Here's a view of my growth chart. After that little dip below the line at 6 months, I've been doing pretty well!

All in the family

When I had my one-year pictures taken by the fabulous Judith Fernstrom (I know her as Jammy's Aunt Cookie), Grandma Hill sent over an outfit that she wanted to me to wear. It's the same outfit she put my Daddy and my Hill uncles in for their one-year photos, and she wanted a picture of me in it too. I don't know if the outfit goes back another generation (maybe my Great-Uncle Ray was photographed in it too?), but it turns out that it does go back another generation in my Mama's family! Here's a picture of my Grandpa Walt with my Great-Uncle Keith (Grandpa is the older one with the great hair). Great-Uncle Keith is wearing the same outfit! That picture was taken sometime in the 1940's. Pretty neat, huh?

Stuck with you

Something my Uncle Jim and I have in common: getting stuck in tight places. The picture on the left shows my Uncle Jim getting stuck under the bed (Mama turned the picture sideways so it would match mine more closely). The picture on the right shows what happened to me today when I tried to get my sippy cup that rolled under the futon. Mama is not sure how I managed to move the whole futon to squeeze myself in there. And I'm not sure if it's a good sign that both A-Mah and Mama took a picture before saving us from our predicaments.

Energizer bunny

This is why I've graduated from "cruiser" to "toddler" at church. This is what I do all day. And Mama spends the whole day behind me, picking things up as I move them around the house. Some of my favorite things to move around are the tea kettle, the handi-vac, and Mama and Daddy's shoes. And of course, I still love my remotes. I usually have at least two nearby.

Movin' on up

Today was my last day in the "creepers and cruisers" room at our church daycare! My walking has gotten so good that the teachers said I'm ready to move up to the toddlers room! It looks so fun over there. They have a slide and all kinds of big toys. I can't wait to try it out next week! I just hope they have a Cheerios bar too. I love the Cheerios bar.

Today was also the first time I ran across the room yelling "Mama!" and ran into her arms for a hug. Normally I'm rather oblivious to when Mama and Daddy are around, especially when I'm in a room full of toys. But I felt kinda huggy today. It made Mama really happy. I think she almost cried, but she's been kind of teary lately. When she started tearing up during an episode of "Full House" she blamed it on something she calls "hormones". I'm going to use that excuse the next time I throw a tantrum.

Now that I'm getting so heavy, Mama lets me walk all the time instead of carrying me. I walked back to the car from church this morning, and then walked all the way down the block to our house (we had to park a block away because our street somehow became "the" place to park this morning...Mama can't wait until we get our garage rebuilt so that she can actually park near the house). I can even step over the cracks and doormat without tripping! I'm not as fast as Jammy or Oliver yet, but I'm getting there.