Give Thanks

Hey, check it out, I'm updating my blog before a month has passed. Part of that is because we're going to visit family for Thanksgiving, so I want to make sure and write an entry before we do. But another, bigger part of it is that I've been so lax about writing here. I genuinely regret that, and it's something I'm going to try to fix. I know you all care what I'm up to, and I hate to make you wait so long or guess or hound Dad while I don't do it.

So what's new of the last two weeks? Not a whole heck of a lot. I'm experimenting more with words, stringing them together and parroting Mom and Dad when they say new stuff. Dad's working on teaching me the concept of "please," and I'm starting to get that it's something he wants me to say when I ask for snacks. The whole logical problem-solving thing is fun, to be honest. I can find my toys in the toy boxes, I can climb in the stroller when I want to go out, and if I want Mom or Dad to show me pictures I just bring them the photo album. Or else I can just shout "pics" until they cave and get the album for me.

As far as outings, there's been some new stuff. Mom and I went with Mallory and her mom to the Central Florida Zoo, which wasn't as good as the one in Albuquerque but had a really cool petting zoo section. And last week, we all drove out to Cape Canaveral to watch the space shuttle take off. It was really amazing how it lit up the whole sky. Otherwise, we just keep going to the gym and the store, or to restaurants where I can amaze Mom's co-workers by being congenial. (I guess some other toddlers scream or throw food. Amateurs.)

I think that's most of everything for the last little bit, actually. Totally looking forward to seeing so many grandparents and aunties and uncles next week, though!

Oh yeah, gratuitous plug: I added a link to my wishlist in the sidebar. Probably anybody who wants to get me a present for Christmas already has an idea, but if you're coming up short, it's there.

Bonk!

Whoops, I totally missed October. Sorry, everybody. I've been really busy growing, plus our weird family schedule (with Mom working nights) threw me off. The last month and change has been awesome, not just because my team made it to the World Series (go Rays!) but because I'm becoming even more capable and independent. I climb on stuff, talk up a storm, and start to understand better what Mom and Dad are saying. Mom's pretty amazed too; she says every day I bust out another word she didn't realize I knew. And I'm stringing words together now, which is a progression of the last couple weeks ... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I had my 18-month doctor's appointment today. Stats, first off, for everyone keeping track:
Weight: 26 lbs 1 oz
Height: 31 3/4 inchesDr. B says I'm still slightly above average, and doing everything I'm supposed to be doing at this age: eating with a spoon, stacking toys, and (like I mentioned) putting two words together. Of course I had vaccinations -- three this time, with a fourth to come in a month (they have to do the flu vaccine by halves, since this is the first time I'm getting it).

So let's see ... what all has happened since the last time I deigned to write? Some of my aunties came to visit, first of all. Aunties Coop, Tara, and Vieng, as well as Uncle Jason, were here in the beginning of October for something of a reunion. Mom says she and all the aunties lived together during college, and this was the first time they'd all been in the same place since she and Dad got married. We spent a lot of time at Epcot, because they're doing the Food and Wine Festival, but we also goofed off around the house playing games and drinking. That is, the adults drank, and I spun in circles and passed books around.

I've had more time at my new gym class too. It's a lot of fun ... not as directed as Little Gym, but a lot more to climb and see and explore, and there's still gymnastics time so I learn how to hang and balance and roll and all that stuff. It's funny, though, that at the old place I was one of the littlest kids in class, and now I'm one of the biggest. Most of the other kids are younger than twelve months, it looks like, and only a small handful of us are walking on our own. Plus, with the good training, it goes without saying that I'm the best at doing forward rolls.

We also did a little bit of traveling this last weekend. Mom had a meeting with a medical group in Las Cruces that wants to hire her, and she's verbally committed to them. Now it's down to her signing the contract. I'm excited to be closer to a lot of my family. It's still three hours, but three hours in a car is easier than in a plane. (Dad likes it too, because he's actually got legroom and doesn't have to hold me the whole time.) The desert is really different than what I'm used to in Florida, but Mom says I'm still going to have a yard where I can run around, and she also says we'll have a pool so I can learn to swim. So that should be fun. But I will miss my friend Mallory. As she's getting bigger too, she's a lot more fun to play with, and I am forever asking Dad if we can go over and see her.

Oh yeah, there was a big election this week. I went with both Mom and Dad when they voted, in the new jogging stroller that Nona bought me. Mom's was better, because I got a cookie ... with Dad I just got a sticker. But they said we'll have a new president, which is pretty exciting for history, I guess. It won't really affect me directly unless he tries to take my swing and give it to the troops. But he's got daughters just like me, so I kinda doubt he'd do something like that.

Well, it looks like I touched on everything. I'll probably be another month, because not much is happening until Thanksgiving and I want to write all about that after it happens. I'm not a future-reader, people.