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.

Welcome to my new place

Please make yourself at home in my new and improved big boy blog. I know I'll outgrow this one too, but Mama says by then, my new brother or sister and I can share. She's using this word "share" a lot. To me, it seems like whenever she says it, she takes something away from me. But she acts like it's such a fun thing to do! I'm not so sure, but I suppose I'll give it a chance...

Sharing

*** Please pardon the interruption by Mama ***

I'm going to be making some changes to this blog soon, but I'm not really sure which direction to go. The problem is that our little boy isn't a baby anymore and his blog needs to grow with him! Plus, well...he needs to share. I haven't decided if he'll get a whole new blog (with a different URL) or if I'll just make some alterations to this one. Any preferences?

*** Back to your regularly scheduled blog ***

Wait. Does this mean I'm going to have to share my toys too?

It's not the texture

Mama thought that I don't like ground beef because I don't like the texture of it. Well, I turned that idea on its head today! Mama gave me a garden burger (same texture as beef with none of the flavor) and I scarfed the whole thing down. Mama hasn't seen me eat with that much enthusiasm in a long time! I wanted more, but she wouldn't give me another one (she says one burger is plenty for a little boy, but I KNOW there's such thing as the "double double" out there). So I ate some carrots and peaches instead.

Bring on the garden burgers!

Drinking and driving

The Bumbo

Remember when I could barely hold myself up in the Bumbo and I'd lean over and slump on the side of it? Back when Mama didn't have to put the tray on just to keep me in? Well now she can barely snap the tray on over my belly. I still like the Bumbo, but it's getting to be a tight squeeze. And now I can squirm my way out of it, even with the tray on.

3 months old, 14 months old

I'll have what you're having

As I've gotten older and my tastes are more refined, I've gotten a little pickier about what I'll eat. I still have my standards that I'll always eat (lentils and barley, sweet potatoes, avocado, cottage cheese, applesauce) and the things that I'll never eat (I do NOT like meat sauce or anything -- other than Käsespätzle, see below -- cooked with cheese) but I'm choosier about other stuff. Sometimes I like peas, sometimes I don't. I like pasta cooked in some ways, not in others. I don't like bread crust, but I love crusty toasted English muffins. And to make it more fun, I never know how I'm going to feel about something so Mama has to just give it a go (and have a stash of lentils and barley on hand just in case).

Lately, Mama's been cooking more food that she likes, and I'm a big fan of this trend. She made homemade Käsespätzle the other night and then tried to convince me that I didn't like it. It didn't work. Now she has to make more, because I ate it all. And she also tries to give me stuff like macaroni and cheese (yuck!) while she eats spicy Taiwanese noodle soup. Hah! I end up eating at least half of her noodles. And just today, she tried to give me some pasta and sauce while she ate spinach lasagne! Granted, I don't like the cheese and sauce on top of the lasagne (Mama takes it off of hers too), but I LOVE the spinach and the lasagne pasta is pretty good.

Mama says she's going to make some Spätzle mit Jägersoße sometime this weekend, and I can't wait to try it! She'd better make a lot because I'm probably going to eat more than my fair share.

In other news, I taught Mama some sign language! Well, I guess she actually taught it to me first, but she forgot about it. A few weeks ago, she taught me the sign for "water". Then she forgot it and stopped using it. The past few days, I started using it during dinner to tell her that I want some water to drink. She didn't recognize it at first, but after talking to a friend who knows sign language, she realized that I was using the sign she'd shown me weeks ago. She thinks I'm pretty clever for remembering it.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Today is the first day of the year of the Brown Cow (Earth Ox), and you all know how much I like cows. I can already tell this is going to be a good year!

Rock and Moo

Grandma Hill is having a tough week and I know how much she loves to hear me sing, so I put together my latest piece for her. I do my best singing when I rock and now I can even rock myself on Moo Moo (I only need Mama's help to get on and off)! Sometimes I rock a little too vigorously and then I throw up on Moo Moo's head, but not this time.

Where's the beef? Not here.

Mama's been trying to figure out ways to get me to eat meat for awhile now. I'm just not a big fan. If she purees it so that I can't pick it out of my mouth, then I'll eat SOME beef, but not a lot. I will eat chicken though, as long as it's ground up. Here's the tally so far:

NO - beef, chicken chunks, ham, pork, turkey, tuna
YES - pureed or ground chicken, cod, crab, salmon

Luckily I get plenty of protein from milk, cheese, tofu and beans, so that's not a concern. Mama's just wondering if I'll ever eat a ham sandwich, or will she be packing crab rolls and salmon burgers into my lunch box.

First haircut

1. What's going on?
2. Bye-bye baby mullet
3. Oh no, not the comb-over too!

Words?

Mama keeps waiting for me to say my first word, but now she's starting to suspect that I've already said a few and she just didn't recognize them. I tried to TELL her that she needs to work on learning my language!

In addition to my baby signs (I sign "more" and point when I want something, I sign "eat" when I'm hungry, I kind of sign "all done" -- it's closer to waving my arms in the air -- when I'm ready to go, and yesterday I started signing "milk") and my baby language ("gn" for Cowboy, "ayyy!" to say hello, along with a wide variety of screeches, yells, coos, squeaks and babbles), I also say a couple word-like sounds.

When Mama gives me something to eat that's a little too warm, I open my mouth, wave my hand in front of it, and say, "Haw haw haw!" I learned that because Mama always asks me, "Is it too hot?" I also say "mama", "mum-mum-mum" and "daaaay-dy", and Mama even caught me saying "milk" and singing "moo moo" while rocking on my cow. I sometimes say something awfully close to "cow", and I bark "arf arf arf!" when Cowboy barks.

So even though Mama may not have realized it, I've been talking for awhile. I hope that she learns more quickly from now on.

Watching history unfold...

...while chewing on a book

Like lightning

Today I was out walking with my wagon again, and Mama tried valiantly to get non-blurry pictures of me. These were the three best out of over 50 pictures. She's going to have to work on her technique if she wants to keep up with me!

Walkin' in my 'hood

I've got my hat...on
I've got my sneakers...dusty

I've got my wagon
And my pup
His name is C-c-c-c-cowboy
Wassup



Walkin' with my friend
Mama helps us steer
Moving so fast
Everything's a blur

Veering off the path
In the grass we go
Trying to steal her hat
I'm a Steeler too, ya know

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

There's nothing I like more than pushing my wagon around. I can do it all day long, and today I even got to do it outside! With my fancy new big boy shoes on! It's SO much more fun to walk up and down the sidewalk than go around and around the living room. And once I get the whole steering thing down, I'll be ready to hit the road for longer excursions. Jammy, Oliver, Soy -- wanna go cruising?

Here fishy fishy fishy

I had my first taste of sushi today, and I loved it! Mama only gave me pieces of rolls that were made with cooked fish or veggies (California, caterpillar, futomaki, etc.) and I really liked them. I especially like the rice with the seaweed! Next up: sashimi!

Two more teeth broke through today too, making a total of seven teeth. That might explain a bit of my crankiness, although the never-ending transition to one nap plays a part too. Today I took two naps of 2 hours each, trying to make up for the last several days when I only took one nap of 1.5 hours or less. Both Mama and I are anxious for things to settle down.

Happy Birthday Mama!

Today is Mama's birthday and we had a really fun time celebrating. We went to Gymboree, where I freaked out and clung to Mama the whole time (she thinks it's because I'm still transitioning to one nap, so the lunch hour is pretty tough for me). Daddy, Cowboy and I gave Mama some really nice presents and she was so happy with them and gave us all kisses. Then we went to the store and I got my first pair of big boy shoes! I'm so excited to wear them (they're blue and yellow and look SO cool), but Mama says I need to practice walking a little more (I don't walk very well unless I'm barefoot).

While we were at Gymboree, I didn't want to play with anyone else except Mama, Oliver and Oliver's mom, so Mama rocked me on the pony and the blue boat and anything else that rocked, and I snuggled and sang my songs. I sing everytime I get rocked.

I've learned how to give kisses really well, and I like to surprise Mama by coming over to her and giving her a big "Muah!" on her cheek. She's always so happy when I do that. I gave Daddy a kiss today during dinner, and he was happy too. I also picked up some fuzz off the floor and put it in Mama's mouth. I'm not sure how happy she was about that.

Even though it kind of sounds like today was all about me (what day isn't?), I hope that Mama had a really nice birthday! She tells me that I made it the best ever. That's awfully nice of me.

Brush brush brush your teeth...

I'm trying to teach Mama about good hygiene. I've found that she'll let me brush her teeth if I let her brush mine at the same time, so we brush together. It's pretty fun.

Now that I've figured it out...

...there's no stopping me. Watch out, world!

Cow should I know?

When I was just a little kid, I had a definite preference for giraffes. But now that I'm older and wiser, I'm showing a marked affinity for cows. I have my Moo-Moo rocking cow who I kiss and hug and sing to when I ride, and I have a little figurine of a cow that I carry around with me wherever I go. And of course, I have Cowboy. Who is not a cow, but he's called the Cow. Oliver's mom pointed out that I might have a unique idea of "cow" when I get older. Here's how Mama explains it to me:

"Moo Moo is a cow, not the Cow. And the Cow is not a cow, he's a dog. And a dog goes woof woof, a cow goes moo, but the Cow goes woof woof. Got it?"

Perfectly clear. Moof.



By the way, I'm 14 months old today. I'm practically a man.

Wobbly toddler

I waste a fair amount of energy with my drunken sailor sideways motion, but I'm getting the hang of it nonetheless!