My how we've grown

To start off the year in the best kind of way, my girl Kirsten came by to play. (I had no intention of making that rhyme but, hey, it works)

After what seemed like hours of listening to Mom ooh and ahhh over Kirsten's fancy buns covers with the ruffles and bright colors and hearing repeatedly: "ohmygoodnessifrigginloveheroutfit!" We finally kick-started our playtime when I began to covet a sticker Kirsten had. I was certain she would pull away and run off with the beautiful piece of artwork screaming "Mine!" while looking back with major disdain at the poor, sad, stickerless boy she left behind. At least thats what I would have done if the tables were turned.

Being as sweet as she is, she selflessly removed the sticker from her own shirt and placed it on mine. How nice was that?

So I decided to return the favor of her kindness and allow her to use my rocket, which she had some trouble maneuvering, but what do you expect from a female driver? (Disclaimer: I'm learning a lot of funny statements like this from Daddy who doesn't realize how much I pay attention).

We then attempted to shoot some hoops, I've still got a lot to teach her about which ball to use for which sport. But what do you expect from a girl? (Sorry, its my Daddy coming through again-he thinks he's so funny)

One thing that Kirsten and I have in common is our great love for books (aka Bobbies). When we heard the familiar sound of a bobby cover opening, we both came running and took our places front and center so Kirsten's Mommy could read to us. Note to Parents: Pop up books are very attractive to us young toddlers and when things pop out at us from a book page, its an automatic assumption that we should grab it and tear it off. If you are concerned with keeping your books in pristine condition, you may find these are better suited for children a few months older. But, it seemed like Mommy thought it more funny than anything.

After the bobbies, we each got one of Daddy's birthday cards and sat and relaxed on the bear (Prounced "beah" with your thickest Boston accent. I refuse to call lions and tigers by their proper names-they are all beahs to me.) and elephant chairs. Can't you just picture us in about 70 years on our recliners or porch rockers with our respective newspaper sections (if they even still exist then) making these same faces at eachother? Well, my Mommy can.

Things have certainly progressed since our first meeting back when we were both under 6 months-we didn't share as well, but rather I took every toy that Kirsten was given and proceeded to gnaw at them with all of my might. I hoped to leave my gum marks on as many of her toys as I could for her to remember me by.

And here we are in all of our chubby-cheeked glory a few months later. I don't mean to sound vain, but I would really like to pinch both of our cheeks in this picture, we are seriously cute. I can't wait to see how much we grow in the future! Love you Kirsten!

Someday

SOON I will post a real blog again.

But as I'm sure most of you can relate, the Holidays were quite hectic. Between corralling the horses, cows, pigs, goats, and the myriad other animals I've been left in charge of and learning to throw some serious toddler tantrums, life has not afforded me much time for blogging.

There is so much that you need to be caught up on, including my most exciting day so far...Christmas. Ripping paper off of toys and books combined with my cousins and family coming over made for such a memorable day.

Here's a taste along with a promise for an update soon and possibly a lesson on creating as many tiny shreds of paper out of one large sheet as humanly possible...

October recap

The past month was soo much fun!

*It started with Kirsten's Bday where we played house together on her new fake house toy. Maybe in 25 years or so we'll be playing in our real house together?

They also had a neat backyard, but I couldn't find their dog though I called out "dog," repeatedly and tried to search for him in the hopes that he would come out of hiding, but he never showed. They also had a basketball (I've never seen one that wasn't deflated from a maniacal dog attack). I thought the basketball was the funniest thing I'd ever seen but it scared Kirsten! Maybe aired up basketballs are something to fear?

Kirsten's party was so much fun and her Mommy's strawberry cake made my Mommy happy and she even shared some with me. We should do this more often.

*Another weekend we went to the circus, I've heard my Aunt Stephanie telling her children she would sell them to the circus if they acted up. After attending my first circus I'm thinking that if I were one of her offspring I'd be a serious troublemaker.

I sat in Daddy's lap most of the time in awe of all that I saw...there were elephants, tigers, camels, and even dogs! I got the opportunity to pet the camel, which looked like a gargantuan Shiner dog but nowhere near as friendly, so I just let Mom and Dad pet it while I stared at it suspiciously. There were also a lot of men dressed up in vibrantly colorful outfits and face makeup. One of them gave me his business card and I ate most of it before Mommy could retrieve it from my mouth saying something about how we don't eat clowns. Who makes up these rules?

This is Mommy and I in front of this big ball cage that some guys rode motorcycles in. They even had a 6 year old boy in there with 5 other guys all at one time. Mommy had to cover her eyes at that point and kept saying how she felt like she might have a "heart attack."
Little did she know that the reason I'm eyeballing the ball so intently in this picture instead of looking at the camera is because I am contemplating conspiring with Daddy to get me a mini-motorcycle so that I, too, can become a motorcyle ball guy by the time I'm 6.
If I understand correctly, the heart is for loving, so when Mommy talked about having a heart attack, she must have been so full of love for the motorcycle show that her heart was going crazy with love when she saw the young boy in the cage. That means she would have an even bigger heart attack if I were to be a motorcycle cage ball boy too! This could be great!

*That same weekend was Mommy's friend Kelly's graduation from college party. Go Kelly! It was a fun party, she even had a bounce house that I sat in while my buddy Maddy bounced around me gently and told me that she liked babies. We discussed which colleges we planned to attend and how ironic it was that we've heard so much about how being an adult is no fun, but from the looks of it, if we still get bounce houses when we graduate college-we're okay with growing up.

Uncle Jason and Aunt Kristy were there too, Jason let me turn the lightswitch off and on repetitively. He then allowed me to pull the chain from the fan too! Talk about fun! This guy grew up in Mommy and Daddy's neighborhood so they've known him for close to 20 years! Talk about Old! None of them even have gray hair, but they are so OLD!

This is me and Kora petting the world's most placid cat. He probably would have let us do anything to him...and believe me we both wanted to try and test this, but there were too many big people around.

*The next weekend Daddy went camping with the boys so Mommy had Ryeland, Abby, and Caleb come over with their Mommies to keep us company. We ate yummy pizza and I got to share my toys with them....or from the looks of this picture, throw my toys with them (or at them).

I let Abby sit in my highchair for awhile and watched her eat pizza, she's always taken such good care of me since I was a new baby and I thought I'd return the favor. Look how captivated she is by this morsel of food. I'm sure she'll love that I posted this picture when she's older.

*The last weekend of October was probably my favorite. The parents dressed me up like a farmer with my farm animals stuck to my legs. Don't all farmers keep their animals this close to them? It was very realistic, I felt as though I was actually on the ranch. My love for farm animals is comparable to my love for Shiner dog so this outfit was very fitting.

Cousin Chandler was a clown (Aunt Stephanie is serious about this circus stuff, isn't she? She's preparing to send them away at an early age) and Josh was a scary doctor (is there any other kind?) and Cadence was Indiana Jones. Judging from their animated faces in the below picture, it seems Mommy and Aunt Steph might be fit for the circus too.

Anyway, we went to Grandma's neighborhood and began to walk up to random houses and knock on the doors. Typically, when we've knocked on doors in the past, we were then permitted to enter that home. This is how I've been taught. Things went awry this night, and when I attempted to walk into people's homes Mommy or Daddy would immediately scoop me up and remove me from the home. The homeowners usually mentioned how cute I was and then put candy in a pumpkin I was required to carry. After a few hours, I was thoroughly confused about front-door etiquette but my pumpkin was full of treats like I've have never seen before. Come to think of it.....whatever happened to those treats? And do Mommy's thighs look a little thicker to you guys too?

On the following day, we went to a Fall Festival at my cousin Josh' school where I got to test out my farming skills on real live animals! I herded some goats and patted bunnies and Mommy even lent a hand and gave a rooster a piggyback ride! Farming must be in our blood. We stayed in this farmers pen for a really long time, I was in my element.

I could have stayed in there all day, but Mommy was deadset on riding the choo-choo train. What an adventure that was! I got to travel around the school's parking lot and see all of the handicapped spots and teacher parking and I wasn't required to be restrained in that awful carseat! I don't see why we don't travel via train more often.


Later that day.....we went to Uncle Brody's parents annual Halloween party. Mommy and Daddy dressed up this time, Mommy was a farmer like me. Daddy stole the sticker that a policewoman had given me at the festival that said I was a "Junior police officer," and wore some cowboy boots and touted himself as a police officer from our little podunk town. How creative.


I got to hang out with Ryeland the bee and play with a bunch of new toys in a room where a kid with good taste obviously stays. Mommy was lucky enough to get to party with me in that room for the majority of the party, we played with cars and stuffed animals and there was even a cozy coupe I could ride in! Its so funny that we live across the street from Ryeland and his parents but we see them more at other places.


This month I also discovered the "ball" plants that Daddy has in his secret garden on the side of our house. I previously never ventured out much past the concrete rectangle which held my bike and swing in the backyard. Recently, with the onset of my speed walking skills I've decided to embark on quests into the secret abyss' on the sides of our house. It is on these adventures where I have been met with much turmoil and much happiness.

Here is evidence of the aforementioned turmoil, which I had the misfortune of encountering not once, but TWICE. Not with just Daddy, but with MOMMY too:

-Evidently there are small creatures lurking within the green covering in our yard. I found a pile of dirt that was obviously placed in the yard for me to play in. As soon as I stepped near it, small pinching creatures began to crawl up my legs. In both cases, my parents were right there next to me but Daddy and Mommy were no match for these unbelievably fast attack meanies. I ended up with at least 50 bites from these creatures, even one in my bellybutton. Honestly, I think they bothered the parents more than me. I never even scratched them. The funny part is how Mommy came home when the 1st attack happened under Daddy's watch and glared at him with a look that said "How could you let something like this happen to my baby?" and then the exact same thing happened to me when she was watching me! Mommies are so funny.



And here is evidence of the aforementioned happiness, which I experience everytime I bite into one of these delicious, red balls I've picked myself from our "ball" plants:

Unfortunately, Daddy says the ball plant will die when it gets cold.

At least I have Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to since I won't be farming or picking the fruits from my ball plants. This toddler stuff is fun.

Happy Birthday Grandpa's!!!!

I have two of the best Grandpa's in the world and their birthdays are one day apart. That must be why they're both so cool. We drove down nearby our state capitol this weekend to surprise this Grandpa:

It was so much fun and he was so surprised, I was so glad to get to be there!

We'll take this Grandpa to lunch to celebrate his birthday this weekend, I can't wait!

I wish I could write more about these awesome dudes, but I've got tantrums to throw! Mommy says how "she just loves it when I throw tantrums," and I want to keep her happy.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL GRANDPA'S!!! I'm so very lucky to have such great men in my life!

"Was Dat?" Wednesday

Once upon a time, a VERY long time ago, I used to be much less inquisitive than I currently am. In fact, I couldn't have been less concerned with the world around me. As long as my Mommy (or 2nd Mommy) or Daddy were nearby and I had a fully belly, all was well with the world.

Now, the world is my oyster....whatever that means...it doesn't really make sense but it sounds fitting. I guess I'm searching for the pearl, even though I really have no interest in pearls but its figurative. I'm searching for EVERYTHING! Sometimes my brain can't even keep up with all of the knowledge I am receiving when my little finger points to every object within my view and I ask with utmost curiosity: "Was Dat?" "Was Dat?" "Was Dat?"....and so on, you catch my drift.

I feel like a sponge with infinite soaking capabilities. I MUST know what everything is.

From what I hear from my older, wiser toddler buddies (Shout-out Caleb!), this is just a pre-cursor to the ever-dreaded "Why's?" Here is a photo of one of my best inquisitive faces:

From what I understand: You spend your early toddler days finding out WHAT things are and once you've done that you must find out WHY they exist and what their purpose in life is. So, essentially we are budding existentialists, talk about deep! Note to Parents: please be patient with us as we are embarking on our journey into a knowledge comparable to yours! Every repetitive "Was Dat?" and "Why?" is bringing us closer to that college degree and the mental capability to explain similar instances to you when you are old and gray and years of raising angelic children have taken their toll on your brains. :)

But I digress....

Now onto a simpler subject, my favorite "Was Dat?" discovery of the past week: CHEEEEEEESE!!!!!!!!!!

This is a yellowy-orange or white substance, sometimes solid and sometimes in shreds that Mom pulls out and sprinkles atop my less desirable meals in order to entice me to eat more. Let me tell you, she is a magician because this works and everything tastes better with this stuff on it. It even tastes good in a block or pile of its own. While its been a staple of my consumption for quite some time I hadn't been able to pronounce that "Ch" sound until this week. Its so nice to put a name to an object and finally have the ability to command the 'rents to serve up "Mo Cheeeee". Note that this is usually a half-signed (more), half-spoken command (Cheeeee) given with all of the exuberance and zeal I'm able to muster...for this deliciousness is worthy of my hardest efforts and I WILL resort to waterworks and tantrums if my commands go unmet.

In other developments:


*I have a newfound love for other animals other than Shiner dog, altough I think he will always be my number one. I can mooooo like a cow and hug on the kiddy cots and talk about the birds in the sky. It would be so nice to find a local petting zoo or someone with animals that I could come visit. If you have any ideas (besides Fossil Rim) please tell my Mommy so we can plan an excursion! Maybe it could be a group thing.

*Though he's not technically an animal, I have a new betta fish named "Bobby." "Why Bobby?" you ask. Thats because I've taken to calling books "Bobbies," I'm not really sure why it is that I call them this, but it works for me. I make sure to sign "book," to assure Mom and Dad that I'm not referring to an imaginary friend named Bobby.

*I've discovered a new pathway to go "owside" where Shiner goes potty and there are sometimes dead rodents and/or rodent parts from the cats. This is great! Talk about freedom! It seems to be stressing Mom out though. There's talk around the household that Shiner may have to be let owside manually and this portal may be closed soon.

* I'm now able to show Mom where my legs are. She must have trouble locating body parts because she is constantly inquiring about the location of my facial features...and her own. Sometimes I worry that she is unable to find these things without my assistance. Shouldn't mothers go through some sort of training or have qualifications for this stuff? She seems fairly intelligent but I question her credibility when she has to ask her 1-year old to point out her own nose. This is a photo of my feet, which are attached to my legs, which I like to put in this hook when I'm in my highchair.

Dancing King

Mommy bought my soon to be one year old possible future wife, Kirsten, a neat magnetized farm animal contraption thing. As it turns out, she already has one of these so I got to keep it! Thanks Kirsten.

Kirsten's Mom told my Mom that Kirsten likes to jam out to Farmer Tad's rocking banjo tunes rather than using it for its intended purpose of matching farm animal parts to one another and learning about them. I determined that if I am going to one day woo her, I'll have to learn to like her music taste and be able to keep up with her on the dance floor. Here I am busting some moves:

I'm also considering trying out for "So You Think You Can Dance?"

Advice for new mothers of toddlers...

My parents are learning so many new things in this parenting process. I'm going through another life change into full-blown toddlerhood and its taking some getting used to for them. Here are a few tips I've taught them the hard way:

1. We toddlers love to help with all of your chores, dishes especially, and will always grab for the sharpest knife first. They're so shiny and pointy! 2. If given large quantities of blueberries for dirty-messy-fun-food-before-bath-time, we will pass black stools. This will send you into frenzied-internet-search-for-"toddler black stool" mode while assuming that your sweet child has some rare intestinal disease.
3. Two wobbly toddlers trying to hug will inevitably end up on the floor! And where there are two wobbly toddlers, there is bound to be an Aunt (or two) with a camera.

4. If you own a dog, you will need to switch his food to a Diet version, as he/she will gain immense amounts of weight from toddler food droppings and handouts. Also, it may be a good idea to invest in pet insurance as the full sippy cup thrown at the head of the dog from a tall highchair could risk injury. Shiner, too, has had a few months of learning about toddler habits and now resides under the highchair during mealtime for protection.

5. Go with your gut and take your baby to the doctor if they are acting strangely and causing you to miss out on sleep for long periods, there is probably a culprit....like a DOUBLE ear infection! That mixed with Mommy's sinus infection can lead to some unhappy times as Mommy discussed here, citing these circumstances, I've decided to forgive her for being short with me.

I think things are changing for the better now that I am out of daycare and spending my afternoons with one of the sweetest women ever! Maybe I'll even go a week without a cold...so far so good and its Thursday. :) Wish me luck.