Tip-toeing through the tulips

For a couple weeks of the year, we have the best garden on the block (the rest of the time, our garden is...well...let's just say that no one's stopping to admire it). A couple years ago, Daddy planted a whole bunch of tulips because they are Mama's favorite flower. The plan was to enjoy the tulips for one year, dig them all up, and then plant a "real' garden the next year. Daddy got as far as planting the tulips and then digging them up, but never got around to planting anything else. And you can see how the garden looks after Daddy spent several hours digging up every single bulb. Apparently, tulips are pretty tenacious around here.

After a quick game of being tossed in the air, I ignored the tulips in favor of a dead leaf and then I wandered off to investigate some rocks. Daddy and Mama finally forcibly encouraged me to enjoy the tulips (I couldn't get off the rock wall without their help, so I had no choice) and I guess the tulips are pretty cool...for flowers. I do think it's a little weird that some of them are taller than I am though -- aren't flowers supposed to be dainty?

Oh so tired...

...but that won't stop me from eating.

Friday photos

1. There's nothing quite as great as laughing with your mouth full and food all over your face.
2. Mama, I changed my mind about pulling you in my wagon. You're too heavy.
3. I've got my water, wagon, and sneakers. Ready to head to the playground!
4. I need a quick water break before getting back on the see-saw.
5. Pondering life in the swings.

Making tracks

I just pooped on the floor, stepped in it, and tracked it all over the house. I learned that trick from Cowboy, even though he hasn't done it since he was a puppy. He told me about it and I thought it sounded fun.

Friday photos

1. What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine. Including your smoothie...
2. ...and your cereal
3. Is this where the place mat goes?
4. I'm coming for the camera!

Big shoes to fill

I like shoes, and I really like putting on Mama's and Daddy's shoes. I can actually walk in Mama's shoes if I shuffle my feet, but I can't go anywhere in Daddy's shoes. Mama is glad that I'm not trying to chew on their shoes anymore, but I can't tell if she thinks it's as fun as I do when I pull all of her shoes out of the shoe cabinet by the front door. I can't imagine that she'd think it's anything but a good time, though.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It's Easter, but it's also my Daddy's birthday! He's really really really old. But not as old as Mama. So that means he's not allowed to complain about it too much.

We've had a quiet Easter/Daddy-Birthday, mostly because the Masters is on TV and it's Daddy's favorite golf tournament. Plus, it's been pouring rain all day long. We made it out this morning for church, but since then we've been hanging out around the house.

Daddy and I both wore stripes today, and we both had Hiroki's quiche for lunch. I shared mine with Mama, and I think I'm quite good at sharing. I ate all of the inside of the quiche and I left the whole crust for Mama! I don't mind sharing at all, as long as I don't have to give up anything that I like.

Daddy's really excited about the golf tournament, so I'm going to take this opportunity to climb on things while he's distracted by the TV. Happy birthday, Daddy!

Now, how can I climb on top of the dining room table to get myself some more strawberries...?

Happy Easter!

For Easter weekend, Mama, Daddy and I went to the Woodland Park Zoo for the Bunny Bounce Easter Egg Hunt! We showed up right when the gates opened at 9:30 AM, along with half of Seattle. I had my wagon and my basket, and I was ready to go! And since this is Seattle, I had my fleece sweatshirt, rain coat, and fuzzy wool hat too. We got in quickly and made our way to the Toddler Egg Hunt in the north meadow.

The Toddler Egg Hunt was so much fun! At first I had to look really hard to find the eggs. I'd see a bunch of eggs and watch as the older kids swooped in and filled up their baskets. I was a little wobbly walking on the bark, so I couldn't get to the eggs quickly enough. But one little girl was really nice and gave me one of her eggs to start my collection, and then I discovered that I just had to stand there and someone from the zoo would come by and sprinkle eggs all around me! Mama and Daddy helped me fill up my basket, and then I found a stick and was really happy. We left the Toddler Egg Hunt (recycling our eggs on the way out so that other kids would have lots of eggs to find) and I rode in my wagon with my stick and a yellow egg that I really liked.

After the Egg Hunt, we stopped in the Zoomazium so that I could climb around in the toddler play area and listen to the zoo ladies tell a story about a mommy bunny and her baby bunny. Then I got to see a real live bunny! But at that point, I was already tired and cranky and gearing up for a performance of my full-body tantrum.

You should see my tantrum, it's quite a show: I arch my back and kick my legs out and throw myself on the ground or twist and cavort in the air if someone is holding me. I often hit my head on the floor or a nearby object, which makes me scream or cry louder. For some reason, Mama usually doesn't seem to realize that I'm mad and thinks that I'm dancing with her or calls me a wet noodle (that's when I refuse to hold myself up) and wiggles me around in the air, which makes me laugh. It's hard to keep up my performance when I'm laughing though.

Anyway, I was at the end of my rope so we left the Zoomazium and headed back home after a quick visit with the sheep, rabbits and chickens at the Family Farm. I'll post some of those pictures later -- today it's all about the Bunny Bounce and Egg Hunt!

Friday photos

1. Teeter-tottering with Daddy
2. Swinging with my buddy Oliver
3. When Oliver is a little disheveled after going down the slide, I take the opportunity to kick him
4. Ready to head down the slide again
5. Swinging on the lounge swings with Mama
6. Finishing up a busy day with some pasta at the Spaghetti Factory. Daddy, are you going to eat that meatball?

What goes buzz buzz?

Bees go buzz buzz! And where do bees live? In hives! And where can you find hives? All over my body!

Yes, another first for me. Hives. Everywhere. Apparently I'm allergic to something. I haven't had anything new to eat or touching my skin in the past several days, so we can't figure out what I'm reacting to, but at least the hives don't bother me too much.

Mama noticed a welt on my arm last night after I played at the playground (so it might be some kind of pollen or bug bite that got me) and within an hour I had hives all over my body. She gave me some Benadryl before my bath, which cleared everything right up. I didn't have trouble breathing or anything, so I went to bed and slept just fine. This morning I had them all over my body again, so I got more Benadryl and went about my day. Another dose of Benadryl after my nap, and now I'm back in bed for the night. Like I said, they don't really bother me (except when Mama or Daddy try to look at them) so we're just waiting for them to go away. Hopefully it's a one-time reaction to some mystery substance and I won't have to worry about them again!

Here's a picture of me before my bath tonight. The hives are just starting to come back again, about 3 hours after my last dose of Benadryl.

Sunny days and cats

Since the weather has been so nice, I've been able to spend lots of time outside. Here are a bunch of pictures from the last couple days so you can see what I've been up to. I've been riding my wagon all over the neighborhood and I even figured out how to sneak some of Daddy's herbal iced tea while he was busy pulling the wagon. I made my rounds at a couple of the local playgrounds, where I played on the swings, slides, merry-go-round and in the sand. Daddy got stuck on top of the climbing bars while I found a nice private place under a play structure to sit and play in the bark. I also spent more time focusing on the straw sippy cup A-Mah brought me from Taiwan than playing on the equipment. As usual, I refused to wear a hat or sunglasses (although I wanted to play with Mama and Daddy's sunglasses).

In my non-outdoor adventures, I've started to whisper when Mama whispers to me (I say "pee pee pee pee"). I also really like to meow at cats. I went to a baby shower and meowed whenever I saw the cat (I also tried to catch him, but he was pretty fast). I meow when I see a cat outside, I meow when I see a picture of a cat, and I even meow at my little Lego cat. Today I really impressed Mama when I was playing with my alphabet bus and hit the "c". It said, "C goes ck, like the first sound in the word cat" and so I meowed. Mama was so proud, but really, what's the big deal? My alphabet bus and I were talking about cats.