'Tis the Season to Be Busy...

Well, I know it's been a while, and it'll probably be another while before I get another post up. Mom's been busy with the end of the school semester, and Dad's been busy writing for Kingdom of Loathing, and we've all been busy getting the kitchen remodeled! I do love the new kitchen, though; so thoughtful of Mom and Dad to bring all of my snacks down to my level!

The kitchen cabinets got in right after Grandma and Grandpa. I enjoyed spending time with them while Mom and Dad got the kitchen ready, and then spending more time with Mom and Dad while Grandma and Grandpa worked! Even though it was hectic, we had a great Thanksgiving with Mom's aunts and uncles and cousins. Are they my second cousins, or once removed, or -- ah, forget it.


What else -- oh, yeah, apparently Minnesota's football team is doing well this season.


We're all looking forward to seeing Dad's side of the family for Christmas. I'm practicing my walking, talking, and singing for the occasion.


Yup, it's hard to catch me crawling these days, unless I really have to get somewhere fast. Most of the time, I'm walking. Sure, I look like a drunken midget, but hey -- I'm new at this, okay? Anyway, this video's over a week old -- you should see me cruise now.

Watch this space!

P.S. Dad says this batch of pictures had an incredible number of adorable pictures, and that you should go here to see them all.

Ready For My Close-up.

Well, Dad hasn't loaded any new pictures in a while, but at least he uploaded the last six months' worth of videos to Youtube. Here's a sample, and you can see 'em all at http://www.youtube.com/ollienite.

Halloween and after.

Well, here we are chugging into November. Thanksgiving is coming, and I'm practicing eating solid food so I can take full advantage of the holiday. These days, Mom and Dad can mash up some of whatever they're eating and I'll eat it. Now, if I could just get the rest of these teeth in, I could *really* chow down. . . .


The weekend before Halloween we had another wedding, this time for Raederle and Salsa. I got to get all dressed up again, and this time I told Mom and Dad I couldn't be seen at another wedding in my suit. I'd already worn it twice, and I simply had to have something new to wear. Fortunately, Old Navy helped a brotha out, and we found a most excellent shirt and some slacks for me.


Last weekend was my very first Halloween. It's a weird age to celebrate, though. My dissected frog costume was awesome, but I can't have any candy, so what's the point? Oh, right -- to look extra cute and get a lot of attention. Hopefully next year I'll get my sugar high, too.


I've also been enjoying hanging out with Mara and Adam. As you can see, Adam and I are rapdily becoming best buddies.


Other than that, there's not much to report. I'm still climbing on everything I can get a handhold on, and talking non-stop. I'll repeat "mama" and "papa" if you want me to, but I still don't quite get what they mean. I just know it makes Mom and Dad really happy when I say them, so I try and oblige. What also makes Mom and Dad really happy is that I've discovered the joys of playing by myself. I like to crawl into the nursery and pull out my toys, and I'll spend twenty minutes just playing and talking to them. It's a good chance for Mom to do homework and Dad to do . . . well, whatever Dad does.


Hopefully Dad will upload some of the thirty dozen videos he's taken of me recently. I'll link you here if he does.

Watch this space!

I Am the Pumpkin King!

Well, it's been a fun couple of weeks! I cut two more teeth in the past week, and Fall has finally fallen. Since I'm a winter baby, I've been overheated all summer, and now I can finally enjoy hanging out in long sleeves and pants. My new clothes are almost unbearably stylish, aren't they?

I'm getting closer and closer to standing on my own. I can stand up without holding onto anything now, and can stay up for almost ten seconds! Fortunately, all the practice is making me better at falling, too. I hardly ever bonk my head on the floor any more, and Mom and Dad can trust me to play with some of the more advanced toys without constantly shadowing me.


This weekend was pretty cool. On Saturday, Mom and Dad took me to the Waterpark of America. Then they took me home, and I spent the night with Abby while they slept in a hotel. I missed them a little, and they missed me a lot, but we all got through it. Now that I'm sleeping through the night in my crib, once I got to sleep I didn't notice they were gone.

On Sunday, we all went to tromp through the pumpkin patch! We got a big pumpkin for Dad, a smaller one for Mom, and even a little one for me. They had a little petting zoo, too. I wasn't sure about the goats, but I really liked the pig!


Then we went to our friend Claire's house and I got to play with some people closer to my age, for a change! Sofie's really fun, and super-cute...I wonder how she feels about younger guys?


I'll leave you with one of the rare pictures of our whole little family. Are we not lovely?

Fall has fallen!

As you might have noticed, the more mobile I get, the less time I have to sit down and write a blog. I have to keep a couple steps ahead of Mom and Dad at all times, so it wouldn't do to get caught sitting at the computer! These days I'm all over the house -- whether it's crawling across the kitchen floor looking for tiny scraps of food, or the living room looking for tiny scraps of paper, or standing up on the furniture and cruising around until I fall over, or playing with the toilet paper roll in the bathroom, I do try and keep busy.

So what all has happened in the past few weeks? Well, the 16th-19th of September, we went to KoL Con VI in Mesa, Arizona. I got to go to a couple of the Con events, but mostly I hung out with Grandma and Grandpa. It was nice to get in the pool again! Grandma and Grandpa got me all kinds of new toys, as is their right as grandparents, and I really enjoyed spending time with them.



Oh, and I also got to meet my biological father, M.C. Frontalot. We weren't quite sure what to make of each other.


When we got back, Mom and Dad knew that the weather was about to turn cold, so we went and picked up a few items for fall and winter. That's where I got the swell hat in the picture up top. We didn't get anything extravagant; just the essentials.


It's a good thing we did all that shopping, because last week Mom and Dad decided to go to the apple orchard, and picked the coldest, rainiest fall day you can imagine. The apples were big and beautiful, though, and delicious! I got to eat a few slices of apple when we got home, but they still won't let me have any pie. Ah, well.



Mom and Dad finally let me have my room back, and I've taken to sleeping through the night in my crib. That's good, because my room is the warmest room in the house, and theirs is the coldest! Mom and Dad said it'll probably snow soon, so I'm keeping an eye out.


Watch this space!

Huzzah!

Yup, Mom and Dad took me to the Renaissance Festival again last weekend. Only this time, Mom made me a costume! We got to see a lot of our friends, like Andy from Four Pints Shy:


The only scary part was when the gypsies stole me. Well, scary to Mom and Dad -- I was having a blast. I think it's because they've always threatened to *sell* me to the gypsies, so they didn't want to give me away for free.


In the past few weeks, I've gotten more and more sure on my feet. I love to pull myself up on furniture, or people, or anything that'll sit still. I'll stand up on one edge of the couch, then walk along the whole thing! Mom and Dad want to encourage me to walk (though I'm not sure what's in it for them), so they bought me a toy that I can walk behind. It's supposed to be for older babies, but I'm advanced, so it's not a problem for me.


Right now, we're in Mesa with Grandma and Grandpa, and I'm meeting all of the weird people Dad works with. Nana and Granddaddy haven't sent any pictures of when they were here, so I'm still waiting on those. For now, I'll just leave you with a picture of me at Psycho Suzi's, doing my best tiki impression:


Watch this space!

I like to move it move it. . .

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks yet again. It's funny how the less Mom and Dad do outside the house, the less they get done inside! I guess we're all just enjoying spending all day as a family again, now that Mom's going back to school. Anyway, let me look through the photo album and see what jogs my memory. . .

Oh, yeah! A couple of weekends ago, we went to a cabin in Wisconsin owned by Aunt Rhiannon's friend, Lou. Mom and Dad went shopping for the trip, and got me a life jacket that I didn't like very much. To make up for it, they got me the best toy ever:


It's a podium for me to stand up! Well, it's also full of musical toys, like a tambourine, sleigh bells, and a maraca. But the standing up's the fun part. Most of the pictures of me these days are standing. Take, for instance, this one at the cabin:


I also am starting to notice animals now. Auntie Rhiannon's dog was very interesting, and I've figured out there are three cats at home! I'm enjoying chasing them down and trying to pet them. For now, they're faster than I am. For now.


I'm also better at sitting up, now, which means that bathtime is way more fun. Nana and Granddaddy just got me some tub toys, so I'm learning how to splash and fill and empty cups and all kinds of fun stuff!


Mom and Dad are bathing me every day, now. I'm not sure why.


Last weekend we went to the Renaissance Festival. I got to see Uncle Matt do Vilification Tennis, and Aunt Raederle eat fire! Hopefully they'll let me learn how to do that when I'm older.


Nana and Granddaddy came to visit after that, and they just left (they snuck out while I was asleep!). Mom and Dad let them take the pictures while they were here, so I'll write about it next time and we'll use their pictures. Until then -- say it with me --

Watch this space!

Catching up with the Nites. . .

Okay, it's been a long time since my last entry, but I can explain. You see, I figured out how to crawl, and pull myself up on things and fall over, and that means I've outgrown most of the safe places I can sit while Mom and Dad do other things. So I've been busy running around, and they've been busy just keeping up with me! But let's take a quick look at what's been going on the past few weeks.

The week after Comic-con, we went to our friends Greg and Andrea's wedding. It was a great ceremony, out in the Minnesota countryside. I got to wear my suit again, and see Addy again! I think by the time I'm a year old, I'll have been to more weddings than most people go to their entire lives.


On Sunday, we went to the park with a couple of Mom and Dad's friends. We all took a nap in the park -- not on purpose, it just kind of happened -- and then we all played outside. I got to have my first ride on a real swing! I couldn't stop smiling.


It seems like the weeks go by so fast! Let's see -- last weekend, we went to the Uptown Art Festival on Saturday and the Irish Fair on Sunday. Most importantly, when we had lunch at the Art Festival, I got to sit at the table for the first time. It was delicious! Er, the tablecloth, I mean.


Since then we've mostly been hanging out at home. Mom hurt her back, so she's not as mobile as I am. In the past week, I've figured out how to stand up all by myself in my crib and in my pack and play! I've also started talking non-stop when I'm happy, or grumpy, or pretty much any time. Mom and Dad haven't figured out what "bayabadadabalalala" means yet, but give them time. They're old.


We did get to see Auntie Mara and Uncle Adam's surprise wedding, but it looks like Mom and Dad didn't take any pictures! Oh, well. Mara's mom took some pictures, I know, so we'll post them as soon as we get them.

Dad says he'll try to upload more videos to the Youtube account soon. It's getting hard to take pictures of me, because I'm never still unless I'm asleep, so there are a lot more videos these days.

Phew! So now we're all caught up. Watch this space!

San Diego Round-up...

I'm finally finding some time to sit down and write about what an awesome time we all had in San Diego. First, I should mention that I now have twice as many teeth as I used to have! I've got both of my bottom teeth in, and when I laugh, you can see them both. Anyway, the trip. As you can see, I finally got my own seat on the plane this time!

Of course, right after we took this picture, Dad insisted that was *his* seat and I had to sit on his lap. Ah, well. The apartment that we stayed in was really cool -- it was like a hotel room, only with a full kitchen and a little tiny balcony. The bed folded up and turned into the kitchen table! Dad was a little too excited about that.

On Thursday, we went to the beach to hang out with Aunt Andee, Uncle Franz, and Cousin Isa. Dad finally got to introduce me to the Pacific Ocean. It was a little different than the lakes I'm used to, but I kind of liked it.


I also got to play with Cousin Isa a lot, and finally got some payback for all that splashing in Tennessee. Watch out, Cuz; I'm only going to get more dexterous from here!


The convention center was pretty cool. There was a lot to look at, so much that I didn't like being in the stroller all the time, and made Dad carry me around. Whenever he was holding me, I looked around and smiled at everyone I saw. Lots of people said I was the cutest, most alert baby they'd ever seen. Well, duh! Mom and Dad wanted to collect pictures of famous people holding me, but in the end they didn't want to trust, say, Seth Green to not drop me. No offense, Seth, they're just over-protective. Maybe next year! I did get a photo op with the Joker and Harley Quinn, though, so it's all good.


On Saturday night, Mom and Dad went to do some grown-up stuff and told me, as politely as they could, that I wasn't invited. I didn't mind, because I got to practice crawling with Grandma and Grandpa.


I'll bet whatever they did wasn't anywhere near that fun. After all of that, we were all pretty worn out.


So now we're back at home, and enjoying a nice long rest before we head back to Phoenix in September. Hopefully, by then I'll have this crawling thing down pat, and then I can really keep Mom and Dad on their toes!

Watch this space!

Peek-a-boo!

Hi! Sorry it's been a while since the last post. I'll write more about Comic-Con and stuff soon, but I wanted to real quick show you something I learned while we were in California. It's a really fun game, and Mom and Dad are really good at it, once I taught them how to do it!

As always, there are plenty of new videos on my youtube channel, and new pictures on the flickr.

Watch this space!

A Crowning Achievement!

I've had some haters out there suggesting that I don't write this blog myself; that it's ghost-written, or at least Dad-written. Take that!

Well, it's finally happened. After weeks of sweats, fever, drooling, and chewing on anything I could fit in my mouth and a few things that don't fit, I finally crowned my first tooth! It's my bottom right front tooth, and right now it's so small it just feels like a grain of sand. But it's there, and it's official! Now Mom and Dad can't make fun of me for not having any teeth anymore.


Well, okay, maybe until you can actually *see* the tooth. Now I just need to finish up my crawling, and I'll be good to go. I spend most of my time on my stomach these days, scooting along and playing with all my old toys from this new angle. I finally figured out that I don't have to bury my face in the ground to scoot -- now I can move pretty quick and keep my head up high! If I could just get my arms to cooperate with my legs, I would be 100% crawling. As for now, though, Dad's already having to step up his game. I can go from lying on my back in the middle of the bed to banging on his laptop, or almost hurling myself off the bed, in 0.2 seconds!

With all this new development, it was good to go back to my roots and go see a baby who is only a month old. This is Orion (at least temporarily), and his mom, Lisa.


Mom and Dad enjoyed holding him, and they got a little weepy about how small he is. But everyone could see it's way better to have a baby that smiles, and babbles, and crawls! Orion's a sweet kid, but he doesn't have much personality yet. Oh, well -- I hope Lisa enjoyed seeing what she has to look forward to!

When we got back from visiting with Orion and his mom, Mom and Dad decided I was too big to sleep in the co-sleeper anymore. Since I'm such an agreeable bedroom companion, they decided they'd just move my crib into their bedroom instead of putting me in the nursery.What can I say? They just love my company! Can you blame 'em? As you can see, I've got a sweet setup. I don't know how they're going to both fit in that little crib, but that's their problem!


So I spent one night in my crib, and woke up with a new tooth. By this rate, I'll be eating corn on the cob by mid August.


As always, there are a ton more pictures on my flickr, and Dad just put a couple dozen new videos on my Youtube.

Watch this space!

A Sharp-Dressed Baby. . .

Well, it's the middle of the summer now, and I have another plane trip under my belt. The next one is in three weeks, when we all go to San Diego for Comic-Con.

It's been so hot in Minneapolis that we have to sleep with an air conditioner on. I get cranky in the heat, but for the most part I'm keeping my famous good humor. Everyone who meets me says they've never seen such a smiley baby before! Also, I've learned how to do the Cabbage Patch:


So what's been happening since the last post -- well, Mom and Dad took me over to Abby and Amanda's so they could go out for their third wedding anniversary. Just two days later, we had to pack up and fly to Tennessee for my Aunt Sissy's wedding. The plane ride wasn't as fun for me as the last one, because each way was split into two parts, so that meant a lot of getting packed up and hauled around. Not to mention the plane was small and bumpy and LOUD! But once we got there, I had a great time. My Uncle Francisco made me laugh so hard I got the hiccups, and it was awesome meeting my Aunt Andee, cousin Isa, Aunt Sissy, Uncle Bro-Sissy, and all of my great-aunts, great-uncles, and whatever Mom and Dad's cousins are to me (we never quite figured that one out). It was the very most special for me to meet Great-Mema and Great-Nana and Great-Papa Don, though.


I don't want to toot my own horn, but I think I looked pretty awesome in my wedding suit. It was so hot that I didn't wear it very long, but long enough to take some truly impressive pictures.


Mom and Dad also made sure to get more blackmail pictures with me and cousin Isa, just to make sure neither of us can ever get a date when we're older. Bathtime is always fun, but Isa is a way better splasher than I am! I'm going to have to step up my game.


When we got home, Mom wasn't feeling well, so we got to spend this whole week hanging out as a family! It was most good. Then yesterday I got to go in a swimming pool for the first time! Since the mean people at the Minneapolis Parks Service won't let me use my raft in the lake, I haven't spent much time in the water. But I spent a good hour yesterday floating around in the S.S. This Baby. I loved it! I can't wait until September, where we'll have a house with a pool for a whole week!


You'll notice most of the pictures on the Flickr from this upload are with me on my stomach. That's 'cause I'm hardly ever on my back anymore. I can spend hours on my tummy, playing with toys and trying to crawl. Currently, my back half is really good at crawling, but my front half not so much. Mom and Dad have a fun time explaining to people why I have rug burn on my face!


That's about all I've got for now. Check the Flickr for more pictures, and Dad will try and upload some of Aunt Sissy's wedding pictures with a relative quickness. Watch this space!