Monday, August 17, 2009

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!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

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!

Monday, July 27, 2009

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!

Monday, July 13, 2009

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!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

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!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

How I Roll. . .


Well, it's been another exciting week and a quiet weekend. Sorry I didn't write earlier; it's amazing how a whole week can just slip by!

This week I changed a whole lot, and Mom and Dad are still trying to catch up. I talk all the time now, whether it's little coos and whimpers or nice LOUD yells. It doesn't matter if I'm happy, sad, bored, or tired: I just like to hear what my voice can do, at all volumes and pitches.

On Saturday morning, I decided it was finally time to ease Mom and Dad's minds and show them that I do know how to roll over. I started rolling on Saturday morning and pretty much haven't stopped since! This leads to some new challenges for Mom and Dad; like, last night they put me to bed in the co-sleeper, but I wasn't sleepy yet, so I kept rolling over in there and popping my head up. Since I'm also getting bigger, there's not too much room in there, so I couldn't roll back over, and that didn't make me happy at all! That'll teach them to put me to bed before I'm ready to go.


The rolling over is a little problematic with the crib, too. Mom and Dad put me in there in the morning so they can shower, but the past two days they've heard me crying over the monitor and come in to find I have an arm or a leg stuck through the slats! Looks like they'll have to get me one of those mesh breathable bumpers (since I also like to sleep with my face pressed up against the side of the crib).

I'm also getting better at grabbing and manipulating things, and I've started to figure out that everything's a toy, especially the stuff Mom and Dad are always playing with. Mom and Dad were taking turns taking pictures with me, and I decided *I* wanted to have a go with the camera:


So most of the time now I like lying on my space mat, either face up or face down, and hanging out in my jumper. I can spend a half hour in there, just dancing around to music and happily chewing on the ropes. Dad can't believe how I can jump and spin around and almost control where I'm going. Looks like I'm going to have the walking thing figured out pretty soon!


This weekend was pretty quiet, since we needed to cower in our air-conditioned bedroom. We did try some new food for me: fresh peas from the farmer's market. I wasn't quite ready for something with a flavor, but I still like eating from a spoon, and I really like drinking from a cup. The oatmeal cereal is great, but I think I'll skip the greens for a while!


On Father's Day we had a quiet day at home. We spent some time outside in the morning, but most of the day we just hung out together and Mom and Dad watched me roll over and half-crawl around. I've got the back half of the crawling worked out, but my arms won't cooperate, so I just scoot along on my face. Mom and Dad aren't thrilled with that arrangement, but it works for short distances on a soft surface.

Can't wait to fly on a plane again to visit my family in Tennessee! I'm meeting my Aunts for the first time, and going to my Aunt Eve's wedding, and I get to meet my cousin Isa, too!

Watch this space!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Another Busy Weekend. . .



I know we're only halfway through the weekend, but we have such great pictures from the last few days that it seemed like we needed an update. As you can see up top, there, Mom and Dad are still taking pictures they can use as blackmail when I'm older.

Yesterday was a long and busy day, but we had so much fun! In the morning, we went and picked up a high chair for me, and then Mom and Dad took me to the lake again. We didn't stay very long because I didn't want to eat outside, but I still got to stand in the water, and that was awesome. Today, Mom and Dad are going to let me get all the way in the water -- they got me a floaty-thing so I can get in.


Then in the evening we went to a housewarming party for Rachael and Scott. Their house is very nice, especially their backyard. There's lots of soft grass, and I got to play with some other kids! I love meeting new people and I've got nothing but smiles for everyone (at least until my teeth start hurting, but that's always late at night). Here's a picture that's got to go in my modeling portfolio. It's me and my new friend, Sophie:


I'll let you know how today goes, and hopefully soon Dad will upload all the videos he has. Oh, one more thing -- Dad says that when I'm really asleep, I'm poseable, whatever that means:



Watch this Space!