Gaining My Independance

Since I am 10 months old, I thought it was about time I start doing things for myself. I'm really good at feeding myself (I really love small chunks of asparagus, green beans, cheese and chicken) and I'm learning how to hold my bottle and let mom and dad know when I want some milk (I finally mastered the sign language signal for milk this weekend and made them so proud!). My next big challenge is getting toys for myself. Now, mom thinks she is so clever putting a few of my toys up high so I can only play with them when I'm getting my diaper changed. Well, I decided that those toys are just too good to only have access to them a few times a day. Mom said she caught me "red handed" trying to get one of these toys. I'm not sure what she means by that since I checked and my hands definitely aren't red. I just really wanted that toy!

Warm Winter Clothes

For the past few days, it's been pretty warm up here in MA. Let me clarify: by warm I mean around 44 degrees, but mom says that's really good for January! The past two days have been sunny so mom and I have been taking Emma out for long walks. Since it is still winter, mom has been having me wear my cool bear outfit when we go out. It's pretty warm, especially when mom is carrying me in the Bjorn. I love wearing it so much, I didn't want to take it off once we got back today. That gave mom the perfect opportunity to get some candid shots of me in my bear suit. I know you are all soooo jealous you don't have a cozy bear suit of your own!

Playing With Emma

I'm so lucky to have Emma in my life. She is always interested in what I have to say and always wants to pay attention to me. Sometimes she does get tired though and she doesn't want to play with me as much as I want to play with her. But that's O.K., I'll just keep on playing until she's in the mood!

Weekend Fun

I had such a good time this weekend with mom and dad! On Saturday, we went to my friend Spencer's house for his 2nd birthday party. There were a ton of big kids there and I loved watching them play with all the cool toys that Spencer has. Mom and dad also had fun catching up with friends and watching me play with the big kids. But the best part were the bright balloons there were everywhere! Mom even let me take one home! Unfortunately, it was pretty deflated today but I still had fun batting it around the house. Thankfully mom gave me some yummy blueberries for lunch today so I could keep my energy up. Boy, blueberries sure are messy but soo delicious!

Blowing Kisses

Mom and dad have been trying to teach me a bunch of new things lately. Cool stuff like waving 'hi' and 'bye' and eating more solid foods, like chunks of chicken and cheese (my current favorites are cheddar cheese cubes and grape tomatoes!). They have also been working really hard to teach me how to blow kisses. Mom was so surprised when I finally blew her some kisses on Monday that she wasn't sure exactly what I was doing at first. Then she gave me a huge hug and lots of kisses. I know I won't always want to be smothered in kisses from her, but I sure do love them now!

Keeping Busy!

With these chilly days of winter, we can't really spend too much time outside (I sure do miss our long walks!). But mom has been busy looking for things to keep my occupied and engaged. We recently played a game of hide and go seek and it was a riot! I hid in my bathtub, but mom is so good at the game that she found me right away. Today, we met my friend, Quinn, and his mom at the mall and we got to watch a really cool magician (he had so many good jokes and could even make an egg appear out of nowhere!). Then mom took me with her to vote in the Senate special election (check out the cool "I Voted" sticker on my shirt!). There weren't too many people there, but mom says it's a big election and that a ton of people voted today (she was really happy with this). Once we got home, I broke out the cool finger puppets that grandma Joyce got me for Christmas. I just love when mom puts them on my fingers for me and then I can show my puppet friends all my cool toys. I tried to show Emma the cool tiger puppet, but she really didn't seem too interested. That's O.K., we have plenty of other toys in the house that we both love playing with together!

Appreciating The Little Things

Mom thought I should write a little about appreciating the little things in life. Granted, I haven't been around that long, but I can definitely appreciate the simple things in life that I've learned from my family. Like an after dinner cigar (I learned about this pleasure from grandpa Cal). Just kidding, it's really a veggie stick! I've also learned about fresh laundry right out of the dryer from my pal, Emma. Nothing is better on a chilly winter day that burying yourself in warm clothes. I also just love playing peekaboo with my dad. It just makes me happy down to my core to know that even when he disappears, he will always come back for me. Thanks for being so good to me, dad!

Discovery of Ravioli!

Did I mention that I am really into finger foods right now? No spoons means a yummier meal! Since I was getting a bath tonight anyway, mom decided it was time to see if I liked ravioli. I loved pushing the little raviolis around my tray with my finger. And I really love the tomato sauce. In fact, I love the sauce so much that I just suck it right off the raviolis and spit them back out. It drives mom a bit crazy, but I gotta be me! Enjoy watching me play with my raviolis and make sure you stick around for the surprise ending! I'm growing up soo fast!

Technology Sure Is Tasty

In my 9th month of life I've developed quite a taste for expensive things, particularly electronic things. Have you ever tasted a remote control? Delicious! Cell phones? Even better! But I recently discovered my new favorite piece of electronics: mom and dad's digital camera! Before I try anything (whether food or electronics), I like to poke it first. That way, I can truly have a better appreciation of what I'm about to taste. Bon appetit!

Cool Christmas Gift

Did I tell everyone about the cool wooden mower that grandma Joyce made for me? It was such a cool present! It makes the loudest noises and is just the right size for me to take everywhere. Here's a quick video of me playing with my cool mower. Wonder if I can use it to help dad with the lawn this summer...

Showing Off My Christmas Loot

Just in case I didn't tell everyone how much I loved the wagon Santa got for me, here's a video of me taking it out for the first time. I am a natural!!

Holiday Fun!

Happy New Year's, everyone! I had a wonderful vacation back in Michigan with mom, dad and Emma. We were there for 2 weeks and had so much fun catching up with everyone. I loved seeing my uncle Matt and aunt Nikki and meeting their new puppy, Doozer. He gives the best kisses! Well, the best kisses next to Emma. I also got to spend a ton of time with grandma Bina and grandpa Cal. I just loved hanging with them in the morning while they drank coffee and talked with mom and dad. And the mornings got even crazier when my crazy uncle Marc got into town! He was so much fun to play with and don't worry, I don't believe any of the things you said to me (I know you can't get enough of me, just admit it!!). I also loved seeing my grandma Joyce and grandpa Terry. We had such fun hanging out and I loved watching mom and grandma play Mario Kart on Wii, what a great cartoon!

But nothing could prepare me for the chaos that was Christmas morning! There were so many presents!! And of course the cool paper and bright bows were my favorite part. Santa brought me a cool wagon that I can use to practice my walking skills on. I also got a musical cube that plays Mozart music when I push a button (mom says Mozart was a famous composer, but I just love the music that comes out of that thing!). Since I'm such a big fan of music, grandma Bina bought me the coolest little piano toy. It plays cool tunes and lights up when I push the keys and the best part is that I can carry it in my mouth. Grandma Joyce gave me the greatest wooden push mower which she hand-painted just for me! Trust me, it is soo much fun to play with and the noise it makes is nice and noisy (sorry Emma!)!

It was so fun being back in Michigan, but I hope we can fly there next time. The trip out there wasn't so bad, but it was just awful on the way back. From what I could see, it snowed the entire drive and I felt bad for poor dad since he drove the whole way. And can I tell you how much I hate being in my car seat for 13 hours?? I couldn't wait to get back home in my crib so I could stretch out. We got back in late Friday night and Saturday was just a weird day trying to get back on a schedule. Saturday night was great for all of us though: I slept 12 hours and dad slept 11 hours! And of course, Emma slept a lot more than that! It really is nice to be home, but I miss all my family already. Hope you can all come out to visit me soon!!!