Hi. I'm Avery.

Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:38:00 +0000

Hey guys, just as a quick note, I uploaded some new videos. You'll have to go here to see them, because Dad's drum corps video is in the front and as such the one featured in the little window. I'm gonna try to figure out how to make my badge just have my videos so you don't have to mess with his other stuff.

EDIT: I figured it out. Now the video player on this page will always have me on the front.

Fifteen Months and Then Some

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:10:00 +0000

Auntie Tara reminded me today that I owe everyone a post. Sorry, guys. I didn't intend to take this long of a hiatus.

So. Since the last time I posted, I had a doctor's appointment. I don't know if you guys are still tracking stats, but here they are (in metric too for the scientists and Canadians):
Height: 30 3/4 inches (78.1 cm)
Weight: 23 lbs 3 oz (10.52 kg)This puts me a little closer to the center of the charts in terms of percentile. It also promises (as long as the height-prediction method Dad's found multiple places is accurate) that I'll be taller than five feet when I grow up. (If you don't know it, the method is to double your height at two years old. I'm already over 2-6 now, so as long as I don't shrink.) I got a couple more inoculations too, but hopefully next time will be the last of those for a while.

Other growth stuff is coming along as well. I'm saying more words, as well as responding yes and no to questions. Granted, I don't always understand what Mom and Dad are asking me, but I'll nod or shake my head with varying intensity depending on how much I do get. ("Do you want more juice?" is a dumb question, but then so is "Are you ready for a nap?") I'm exploring my surroundings more, which can be scary for the parents when I take a step that I wasn't quite prepared for. I'm also doing a lot of imitation -- this morning, when we were all up before dawn, I totally copied Mom in giving Dad a hug and a kiss and saying "bye." Of course, she wouldn't let me go to work with her anyway. Stupid med school.

My grandma and grandpa came a few weeks ago, and we hung out at my house for a few days, and then we went to Tampa. Grandpa had a doctor recruiting conference to go to there, and Mom took the opportunity to talk to a guy about a position in New Mexico. He took her and Dad out to dinner, so I got to have dinner at the cafe with Grandma and Grandpa, which was cool. We also played in the pool and at the park right next to the hotel. Then on Saturday evening I saw my first Rays game. I've adopted the Rays as my home team, so it's nice that they're doing so well this year. They were playing the Tigers, who are Dad's and Grandpa's team, and my boys totally whooped up on them. I also got to have nachos for the first time, and they were delicious.

After Tampa we went to New Mexico for a week. Mom had another interview, this one in Las Cruces, so while she and Dad went to that I spent a day with Grandma and Grandpa, visiting their coworkers and playing with their dogs. I also got to spend three whole days in Santa Fe with Nona, including an evening with just her when Mom and Dad went to see Uncle Clayton perform in the Santa Fe Opera. The cat let me pet him this time, even though he wasn't too sure, and Nona got me a pool and played with me on the trampoline. Uncle Mike got married that week, too, so on Friday we came back to Albuquerque for the rehearsal dinner. I was supposed to be a flower girl, but I didn't sleep very well the night before, so I was grumpy and nobody could make me walk down the aisle. I slept through most of the reception, but was awake for another baseball game that night (Isotopes this time, and they won again).

As you can see, I've had a pretty busy couple of weeks. This weekend we were going to go with Dad for his drum corps competition in Atlanta, but Mom and I are too tired to make another trip so soon. (Mom has to work early on Monday, but Dad won't be done until 7 or so Sunday night, and it's not fair to make her sleep in the car even though she wants to see him perform.) Instead, we're going to try out a different gym and then maybe go to Disney with one (or some) of Mom's friends if we can talk them into coming along. Basically, we just need to rest and unwind, and nothing does that better than a weekend at home.

Long one this time! I'll try to write again before the month is out.

On the Run

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:25:00 +0000

Walking is totally easy now, so I'm experimenting with what else I can do. Running? Check. Spinning in circles? Check. Climbing on furniture? Check. Pushing my toys around? Check and double check -- including sliding furniture on the tile and rolling my empty stroller across the living room. I certainly keep Dad busy, and Mom too when she gets home and Dad collapses from a full day of chasing me.

It doesn't help that my gym closed. Can you believe it? Mom said the owners couldn't concentrate on running the place and their family at the same time, but they couldn't find a buyer to keep it going either. So on Saturday I had my last class with Miss Staci at the Little Gym. There's another place close to our house, but since Dad can't come to class until his drum corps is over we're going to wait until September to start a new membership. Unless Miss Staci starts working there before that -- she said she'd call if she did, and I could see Mom signing me up a little earlier than we've planned so I could start new classes with her.

After class we went to the beach. That made two weekends in a row for me, actually. Mom and I went with Mallory and her parents after class two weeks ago, and we had tons of fun. This time, it was just our family, but I still loved running in the sand (and eating a little), smashing Dad's sand castle, eating jelly sandwiches, and splashing in the waves. I did have a little accident, though. Not long after we got there, I was leaning on the umbrella, and it came out of the sand and bopped me in the eyelid. Man, it hurt, and it even bled a little. I had a scab and a pretty good bruise for the better part of four days, but it fell off this morning.

The other big thing from these last two weeks is that I'm not sleeping in my crib anymore. Nope -- now I have a toddler bed. OK, so technically my crib is what's called "convertible," so all Dad had to do was take off the front rail and put a little brace/roll guard on. It's not like I got a whole new piece of furniture. (The rail goes back on and turns into a footboard when I'm ready for a full-size big-kid bed.) We decided to give it a shot, and turns out I really like sleeping in it. I've slept through the night in it for two nights now -- Tuesday I woke up at 6:30, but last night I slept nine hours straight. I didn't realize how nice it was not having to fight Dad for bed space. The only problem is I still don't know how to get down by myself. I have to yell for the 'rents.

That's all for this time, I guess. Next time I post will be after Dad's birthday. I can't believe he's so old.

Take It Outside

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:36:00 +0000

I've gotten a lot of new stuff to play with outside recently, which is good because I love it out there. I posted about my pool before, and I might have put up pictures of the sand and water table (which Dad just filled up with sand today). But then Mom found a cool slide on Craigslist for totally cheap. My stuff is so awesome out there that a couple days ago I went out the dog door out of sheer determination to get outside. Just the one time so far, though -- I'm not totally positive that will work every time, or that I won't get in trouble for doing it. But it's been great to hang out in the yard. Of course, Mom and Dad won't let me play out there when it's raining, which I don't get because they let me splash in the pool and that's water too. Whatever. Parents.

This week I've also been fascinated by books. Not all of them, mind you. A select handful. Mom said she's so tired of reading me Biscuit's Snowy Day that it might get lost. I don't really know how that works, but I haven't been able to find my Dog pop-up book for a week or so either. Dad said he had to fix it after I tore off some of the moving parts, but now it's just gone. I don't know. I can still get Ten Little Ladybugs for some fun reading time.

Dad's going away for the weekend for his drum corps. It's lame and I'll miss him, but I know he's going to have fun and do great. Mom and I have fun plans for the holiday, too -- playing in the yard, of course, but also going to gym class, going bowling with some friends and hitting a party on Friday night. So we'll have fun even though he's not here.

Fourteen Months

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:17:00 +0000

Sorry, everyone. I've been really bad about updating my blog lately. There's a lot to do now that I can walk -- chase dogs, splash in the pool, get my books down, carry toys to various rooms, take things off higher shelves than before, and (perhaps most importantly) run around in circles. With all these new responsibilities, I don't have as much time to sit at the computer. Plus Dad's usually playing Wii when he should be helping me write.

Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary was a couple of weeks ago (nine days, to be exact), and so they went out for a fancy dinner and a movie. Without me, that is. Yes -- for the second time since I was born, they managed to get a sitter and have an evening out, and they went to CityWalk again. Some people have no taste for adventure, I guess. While they were there, I was at SeaWorld. Pretty cool, huh? Dr. C and his wife (that's who was watching me) wanted to take me and their daughter Mallory (about four months younger) with an auntie and a cousin in tow. And it was a lot of fun! I loved Shamu and the dolphin show, but I fell asleep before we went to the penguin exhibit so Dad says we have to go back.

We've been experimenting with going to movies, too. Mom took me to Kung Fu Panda over the weekend while Dad was at drum corps rehearsal, and today Dad took me to a free show of Robots. I haven't really been able to get into it, though. Movies are really for sitting still, and that's not where I'm at right now. I'd rather run around and play with stuff and explore. Dad said that if the theater today had been empty he would have let me run on the floor in front of the screen, but it was packed -- people other than Dad take advantage of free stuff for kids in the summer, I guess. Both times we ended up leaving about 40 minutes into the flick.

Otherwise, it's just business as usual in the house. I'm learning more words to go along with pictures and toys -- baby, bear, cow, fish, sock. I've slept straight through the night in my crib three times since my last update, now that the worst of the teething is just about over. (My molars are mostly in now, and I'm enjoying crunching on apples with them.) Along with the walking, I'm doing a little bit of experimental tumbling, rolling myself over in different ways on the carpet to see how I can get up. And of course I have to keep Dad on his toes by reminding him that he hasn't properly closed the pantry or put away his laundry yet.

So that should about catch me up. See you next time!

Step Off

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:54:00 +0000

Four months worth of videos finally uploaded here.

Walk It Off

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Sorry about the lack of updates, everyone. I've been too busy walking.

Yeah, we've decided it's official -- even though I still prefer to hold someone's hand and cruise around, and I'll crawl when I really want to get somewhere, I am now a biped. It's increasingly likely that I'll step away from the couch to follow the dogs or get something from Dad, rather than dropping to my knees first. I'll even push up on a wall for balance rather than looking for something low and horizontal. (My favorite is the end of a wall, where it's short and squared-off.) Today we went to the park, and I was traversing the gaps between play equipment and benches with no problem (even with shoes on). So yes, this means I'm now one step closer to being that marching band geek that Dad seems hell-bent on grooming me to be.

That's it for this time. Sorry so short. I'll try to post a video tomorrow or the next day, depending on when I can manage to get the camera hooked up.

Splish Splash

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Wow, everyone, it's been a while. But honestly, not that much has changed since my last update. I'm still not walking by myself, I still don't like peas, I'm still having fun in gym class. Basically, I'm the same fun Avery you've come to know and love.

I did get a pool, though. Since it's getting even hotter out there, and I still love playing outside, we have to take advantage of it. We went to the store and got me an inflatable pool with a sunshade, thanks to some of my birthday money. I broke it in by going skinny-dipping. Hey, it's my pool, it's my yard, and I'm not old enough for the neighbors to be scandalized yet. Over the last couple days, I've been playing in and out of the pool, getting more used to it and starting to have more fun. Mom actually got in with me today, but she wouldn't let Dad take pictures because she didn't want him putting her in a bikini on the Internet. (She is old enough to draw catty comments -- which is dumb, because my mom looks better in a bikini than a lot of people.) I'm also getting a sand and water table in a few weeks, whenever it gets delivered. That ought to be fun, and might even distract me from playing in Kucha's water dish.

I guess that's all for this time, actually. See you next time!

Cinco de Moya

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Oh, boy. My birthday trip to visit the grandparents was so much fun that I was too exhausted to write yesterday. I seriously napped for almost six hours.

We got in to Albuquerque on Saturday and went to see my grandpa and grandma Moya right away (they were leaving on a trip of their own the next morning), and that was pretty nice. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Harrison's house where we were staying. Uncle Mike was there too, and I got to meet Erin as my auntie for the first time. (Last time I met her, it was only for about an hour and I was busy eating, so we didn't really get to play. But this time we had a lot of fun.) I also got to play with Grandma's dogs, which I love to do. They're even more tolerant of me than Kucha!

Sunday was my birthday party in Albuquerque. I knew we had a big family, but I didn't realize I had so many friends in the area until they all showed up. It was a big group, and a lot of people close to my age even. Some people even drove from Tularosa or Scottsdale, and Auntie Coop actually flew in from Ohio to be there. Grandma made me a butterfly cake, and my Auntie Shauna hooked everyone else up with cupcakes that looked awesome. (I think Dad ate six over the next three days.) We had fun playing with balls and bubbles and cars, and the bigger kids played monkeyballs, which looks fun but I can't throw far or well enough to play it right yet.

We stayed in Albuquerque until Thursday morning. Well, Mom had a job interview in Socorro on Wednesday and Dad went with her, so I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and met some of the people they work with. On Monday we all went to the Isotopes game. That's the biggest stadium I've been in so far, and the game was fun too, especially since the Isotopes won. (Mom has never seen them lose! She should get free season tickets.) Tuesday we went to the zoo, and I loved all the animals, but especially the ducks. I fell asleep before we left, though, so I didn't get to see the eagles or parrots or apes. Then Thursday Mom had a second stage of her interview down by UNM, so Dad took me on a little tour and we went to the Duck Pond to feed the ducks.

As soon as Mom was done, we drove up to Santa Fe to spend some time with Nona and Pa-Pa. GG and Great-Grandpa were there too -- they flew down from Canada just for my birthday party. I was a little shy around him at first, but Nona says that Mom didn't like Great-Grandpa until she was two years old, and I sure did better than that. We had a lot of fun watching the birds (there are tons of them where Nona lives!) and playing with some of Uncle Clayton's old toys, including his beloved Thomas the Tank Engine set. I even saw a coyote a couple of times. Plus, I busted the cat trying to hunt birds no fewer than three times by pointing at him when he got up where they keep the bird houses.

Saturday I had my Santa Fe party, and Fiona and Chloe showed up for that with their parents. I'd played with Fiona before, but Chloe is just a baby (three or four months old) so she couldn't play with us. Nona made a trifle, but Mom said it had sherry in it and I couldn't have any. Which is weird, because she didn't have a problem with Auntie Shari holding me on Sunday. Oh well. I got an awesome cupcake with chocolate frosting, and I demolished it because by now I was an old pro at eating cake.

Even though I requested no gifts for my parties, I got a lot of really nice ones. Thank you to everybody who got me such great gifts! I'll be sending actual thank-you notes later this week.

And even though it's nice to be home, I sort of miss New Mexico already. Mom and Dad say we'll be back there for good in a year, though. I'll sure be happy to be closer to all these people who love me.

Oh yeah -- there are tons of new pictures on Dad's Flickr site. You'll have to go back three pages to see them all.

My First Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:48:00 +0000

If you didn't already see them, Dad put up the pictures of me dealing with my birthday cake. It was good stuff! Too bad I dropped it before I got very much.

Happy Birthday To Me

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:34:00 +0000

Hey everyone! This is just going to be a quickie with the vitals on the day, since I didn't get to upload new pictures this week.

Yep, it's my birthday! I'm a whole year old now, and I'm really happy with how it's gone so far. I've got a warm bed, a family that loves me, and lots of encouragement to keep growing and learning. It's awesome.

Today I went to see Dr. B for my one-year checkup. I know, you're all appalled at me going to the doctor on my birthday, especially when I needed to get shots. But it was better to do it today than try to squeeze it in next week before we go to New Mexico. Besides, my Orlando party isn't until tomorrow, and I'm already over the ill effects.

Oh right, some of you keep track of this:
Height: 29 1/4 inches
Weight: 21 pounds, 14 ouncesSo I'm two ounces shy of being able to turn the car seat around. Probably by the time we get back from our trip, Dad can do that for me. It'll probably be cooler to watch out the windshield when he's driving than just staring at the headliner.

I guess that's it for now! I'll try to update again Monday or Tuesday with party pictures.

Almost There

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:12:00 +0000

Sorry, everyone. I've been too busy running around lately to come update my blog. No, not by myself yet, but when Dad's just sitting there at the computer I'd much rather make him get up and help me trot around the house. Walking is within my grasp, but so is Dad's finger and I feel more secure if I have him helping me.

It's not like I haven't been exploring more things, though. In the last couple weeks, we've been going outside and playing in the grass. Dad prefers to take me into the front yard, in the shade of the big tree, where the grass is shorter and less weedy and not full of ant hills and dog poops. Plus it's a good place to sit and watch the neighborhood kids play basketball. I'm having fun picking up leaves, pulling blades of grass, and just sort of experimenting with the feel of it between my toes. Being outside in general is fun, and the opportunity to explore a new surface out there is one I can't pass up. The bugs can get annoying, but otherwise it's a lot of fun. We're going to try going to the park next.

These last two weeks have been kind of hard on my schedule, too. Mom's working the night shift again this month, which basically means that my main source of comfort in the night is gone. This is where all you experienced parents will shake your heads at Mom and Dad for letting me co-sleep. Hey, I'm comfortable, and that's what matters, right? Plus, in their defense, it's hard for my parents to have a consistent plan and attack when Mom's work schedule changes so drastically every month.

In case you forgot, my birthday is at the end of the week. Mom and Dad already gave me my presents, though ... I guess they couldn't wait to play with them either. They got me the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn House, and it's awesome. I love opening the door and the window to hear the songs, or pressing the doorbell or flipping the switch to watch the porch light go on and off. They got me a couple smaller things too -- a Tampa Bay Rays padded mini baseball bat, a few new elephants, and a swing for the porch (which Dad hasn't installed yet). This weekend a few of my local friends are coming over for a barbecue and to play some games in the backyard. (Guess Dad'll have to clean it up some.)

It's just about my bedtime now. Good night!

April Showers

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:50:00 +0000

Wow, I've done a lot in the last two weeks. No real new developments ... er ... developmentally (other than my increased inclination to feed myself and/or throw food off the high chair), but we've been to a lot of places.

Last weekend, to celebrate Mom's birthday (which was a while ago, but she didn't have a full weekend off then) we went to Savannah, Georgia. I'm not sure why we went -- I guess it looked interesting and fun to her, but all I knew about Savannah was when Dad sometimes watches Paula Deen's TV show. Still, I'm glad we went, because we had fun. We tried to go to Paula's restaurant on Sunday, actually, but when we got there an hour before it opened, the line already went down the street and around the corner -- and that was just to put your name on the list! So instead we ate at the Pirate's House, which was really good. (I just had the cornbread, but it was awesome. Mom and Dad really liked the fried chicken and sweet potatoes.)

We spent Saturday walking around the town squares, looking at the old statues and beautiful landscaping and architecture. That night, we tried to go to a bluegrass concert, but I wanted to dance in the seat and the people around us got agitated, so we just left rather than bugging them. (We did get to dance and hang out in the upstairs lobby of the theater for a while, because they were piping the music out from the hall.) On the ride back to Orlando, I was so tired that I slept for more than three hours, which meant by the time I woke up we were almost home.

We went bowling again this week with some of Mom's friends from work. I had more fun this time, because I've been playing with balls at home and so I was interested in them. Did you know bowling balls are really heavy? I couldn't pick one up, but I pushed it down the lane (with Dad's help, though). But then Dad wouldn't let me crawl down the gutter to check out the pins, because there was oil on the floor or something and he didn't want me to get hurt or too messy. Whatever, Dad!

This weekend we went to the Magic Kingdom again. It was just as fun as ever. We rode the Haunted Mansion (it was my first time, but Mom says they updated it and made it cooler than it used to be), It's a Small World (still my favorite) and thought about Dumbo -- but then it started raining. (That's not why I'm wet in the picture -- I played in the kid fountain for a while before the rain started. It's a good thing Mom and Dad brought me a change of clothes!) The 'rents were hungry at that point, so we decided to go to Epcot and get an early dinner at the new Japanese restaurant. Dad says it's pretty authentic, but I just had Cheerios, so I wouldn't know.

My birthday is at the end of this month! I've sent out party invitations to a lot of my family and friends, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. Just as a quick note: I don't really want or need anything for my birthday. I have lots of clothes and toys, so I request no gifts. However, I know that my grandparents and great-grandparents are going to scoff and do what they want anyway, and some of you might want to do the same. So Dad helped me put together a wish list, and if you insist on getting me a gift but are short on ideas, these are things I think would be fun.

Wow, long one this week. See you next time!

Eleven Months

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Just one month until my birthday! I can't believe I'm almost one. It's exciting and sort of weird at the same time. Celebrating your first birthday is supposed to be a major milestone, but at the same time it doesn't feel like I'm that old. Which is silly if you think about it, because I don't remember not being here, and Mom and Dad say they can't remember what life was like before me either. (Well, Dad says he had to put CDs and DVDs back on the shelf a lot less often.)

One thing that makes it feel a little less weird is how much I've learned and how much stronger I've gotten, even just in the last couple months. I love to cruise now, and I make Dad hold my hands and help me walk around the house at least a few times a day. This week, I started to bear-walk on my hands and feet, rather than just regular crawling. I'll crawl when I want to get somewhere fast, but I'm starting to figure out that I can get around on my feet -- I just don't have balance enough to walk on my own yet. But I have started working on standing by myself, without holding on to things. Saturday I kept my balance for a good ten seconds before I had to sit down.

As it gets warmer, we're spending more time outside. (This is probably the last you'll see of that hat I'm wearing in the picture!) Besides our usual walks, Dad and I like to stand out by the back fence and watch ducks and herons and other birds at our pond. On Monday, too, we went to a baseball game to see Dad's team play the one closest to us. I had fun there -- it was a nice day, and they have a big grassy hill just beyond the left-field fence that I could crawl around on. One of the nice guys who works at the stadium gave me a baseball, too, which was really cool to roll around with the other little kids. Dad says that when the minor-league team plays there, they have a kids' playground set up, which should be fun for all of us.

I guess that's it for this time. See you soon!

Erin Go Brach

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:26:00 +0000

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everybody. I'm one-eighth Irish, after all, so I do celebrate it.

It's been a while since my last update, hasn't it? Sorry about that. By the time I thought to do it, we were on a plane to Vancouver and then I didn't get a chance while we were there. We went to visit Auntie Lourdess in the hospital again -- she was coming up out of her stem cell transplant, and it seemed to go well because she was feeling great pretty much the whole time we were there. (Of course, since then there have been more complications, so keep on with the good thoughts.) I had more fun this time, because now that I'm mobile and able to entertain myself, I was able to play with the toys in the hospital playroom. We spent a lot of time with Auntie Georgette, too. I love her so much -- she loves to play with me and she's so funny! We went to the World of Science and the aquarium together and had a great time. And of course it was nice to see Pappy and Grandma again (as well as give them a break to have some together time while we took care of my aunties).

The teeth have made tons of progress since last update. I officially have five now, with the sixth almost all the way out of the gum. If you have to grow some teeth, let me give you a piece of advice: Don't do it. This nonsense hurts like nobody's business, and I have not been thrilled with the whole deal. My folks should have bought stock in Orajel, because it's always gotta be on hand to help me cope. (Dad keeps saying I can eat steak soon, but that doesn't really help.) The upshot is now I can crunch on Cheerios and my rice crackers, which makes eating them even more fun. I'm also starting to eat peas and carrots, sliced bananas, and (if I don't throw them overboard instead -- they can be a little too sour sometimes) apples that haven't been pureed to within an inch of their life.

In other areas, I'm still making progress. Sleeping on my own is no longer the fight it used to be -- I'll go down for two to four hours at a time, depending on what time it is and how tired I am. (I still prefer to share the bed with Mom and Dad, naturally, but one step at a time.) I'm wanting to walk more -- I still can't do it without help, of course, I make Dad hold my hand -- and the last week or so I've been trying to figure out how to stand on my own, getting my balance so I can get going. Kucha's been really helpful for that, actually; she lets me push up on her back away from furniture and doesn't get mad when I fall down and land on her.

That's about all I can think about for tonight. Slainte!

Marching Onward

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:53:00 +0000

Well, time keeps going on here at the house, bring its little pains and travails with it. Dad and I had colds last week, which was no fun at all -- I'm still coughing a little bit as I push the last of the grossness out of my system. What's more, those two new teeth I mentioned are starting to break in earnest. Last night they really hurt -- I just wanted to nurse, but Mom's trying to teach me that I don't need a nipple all night long, and it wouldn't have actually helped with the pain anyway. I know that logically, but give me a break; I'm just a baby and I want soothing. Finally Dad got me some Tylenol and rocked me to sleep in the study, where I wouldn't miss or be tempted by Mom's boobs.

Since I have so much fun playing with the balls in gym class, Dad got me this one a couple weeks ago. It has since become my new favorite toy. I'll make him walk me over to it so I can sit down and grab it right away, and when he or Mom rolls it to me I sieze it with a shriek of delight. Pushing it around the living room is fun too. Other toys I'm particularly digging right now include my fridge farm (you're supposed to match the front and back halves of animals, but I mostly just like banging it on the floor to make it play music) and my stacking cups (the rings are fun, but they're harder to chew on and they don't make quite the same satisfying noise when you knock them together). Of course, I still mostly prefer to play with things that aren't actually toys.

Lately I've been starting to wake up and go to bed earlier, too. I know, all you grandparents and aunties and other adults with child-raising experience were probably starting to freak out about my 11:00 bedtime. But I've been conking out with Mom at closer to 9:30 the last few days, and waking up at around 8. It generally depends on what kind of a nap I get, and I'm finally hitting a routine on those too, getting one in the morning two or three hours after I wake up and another after lunch around 3 or 4. But sometimes I'll fight off that afternoon nap so hard that I only get 20 minutes or so, which either means I fall asleep early and wake up starving or I just plain can't get to sleep. I mean, whatever, right? You can sleep when you're dead. I have too much to learn right now.

That's all for this time, I guess. I'll try to write again before the weekend's over.

Ten Months

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:26:00 +0000

Wow, in two more days I'll be double-digits in age. It's weird to think about -- but then again, I guess I have made a lot of progress from lying motionless on my back, after all.

Last weekend, my grandma and grandpa Harrison came to visit. I always love having family to see me, and we had a good time playing. Along with visiting, eating and shopping, they came to watch me in my gymnastics class, which I just realized I haven't talked about. It's basically a fun and somewhat organized way to make us little ones who are just learning to move around by ourselves a bit more aware of what our bodies can do. We sing songs, we walk and run, we play with a parachute, we practice all sorts of gymnastics skills like tumbling and supporting our weight on our arms. Mom used to teach a class like this when she was in college, and she says that my teacher, Miss Staci, is really great, so that means something. (I like Miss Staci too, because she's nice and helpful.)

Dad finally got his new car over the weekend, too. It's a Chrysler PT Cruiser, which is a lot bigger than the old one. Well, it's bigger inside -- Dad says it doesn't feel a lot bigger on the outside than the Sentra, and it's actually only as long as Mom's two-door Civic. But now I'm less likely to bump my head getting into my car seat, and the sun doesn't get in my eyes as easily because of the shape of the windows. I am still getting used to it, of course ... it looks different, so sometimes I get upset if we're in the car a little too long.

Otherwise, it's just the same old progress. Crawling is still fun, and becoming moreso as I get better and faster, but I'm cruising and walking assisted better than ever -- in fact, a lot of the time I'll go over to Dad, pull up on his legs, take his hands, and make him help me walk across the room or around the kitchen. I've got two more teeth threatening to poke out on the top right, and am biting harder than ever (Mom was surprised at the indentations I left in her finger the other day). I'm also using these teeth to my advantage to tear shreds off my books ... or magazines, or video cassette cases, or anything else paper that I can figure out how to get into my mouth.

That's all for this time, I think. See you next week!

Growth Tabulated

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 03:41:00 +0000

This is just gonna be a quick one, everybody. I've been keeping Mom and Dad busy, so we're all wiped.

I came out of my doctor's appointment with flying colors. The new stats, for those of you keeping score: 28 1/2 inches tall, 20 lbs 14 oz. So I didn't quite outgrow the car seat like Mom and Dad expected, but all the same it's safer to get a new one anyway after the old one was in the accident. (I did, by the way, last week.) I'm still in the 75-90% range for my growth, and the doctor was pleased with how I'm progressing with everything. Plus this time I only had to get two shots, which is still not awesome but better than four or five.

I have three teeth now and a fourth is threatening. Bad news for Mom, since I'm still nursing (we're trying to make it to a year, since that's what they say is optimum for my immune system). Bad for Dad, too; I still want to bite his nose and fingers and toes, and now it hurts him. And I guess it's bad for me, since I'm starting to learn not to bite my own fingers. But on the bright side, I can enjoy crunchy things like baby crackers and Cheerios now. (Dad was planning to hold out a couple more months before introducing me to wheat. He found cornmeal apple crackers and generic organic Cheerios that don't have wheat flour. But then Dr. B mentioned Cheerios, and he saw in our baby food book that eight months was usually the milestone, so we're less adamant now.)

Nona was here over the weekend. We had fun as always, playing and going for walks. I think I impressed her with how mobile I am now, because last time I saw her I was just sitting up on my own. This weekend my grandma and grandpa Harrison are coming again, and I'm prepared to awe them as well.

What else has been going on? Not much -- just continuing to explore my boundaries. I'm spending more time in the kitchen with the 'rents as they make food and clean up, and those dog bowls are pretty fun to splash in (except Mom and Dad always take me away too fast). I've also figured out that I can see the backyard if I push the dog flap aside -- I'm not ready to go through it myself, but it's cool to swing it.

I guess that's enough for this time. Good night, everybody!

Eventual Post

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:19:00 +0000

Well, ten days again. Not two weeks, though, just like I promised.

It's been an eventful ten days, too. I'm practicing my crawling and getting a lot faster at it, going from wobbly insecurity to doing speed laps around the kitchen and living room while yelling with excitement. Mom and Dad are now forever chasing me to make sure I don't eat leaves or steal the dogs' toys. No more breaks, guys! In the last couple of days, too, I've figured out cruising. I can go left to right along the couch with no problem (right to left is a little trickier), and this evening I even walked along behind the car/walker toy Auntie Coop got me for Christmas. (It still goes a little too fast for me, so I ended up on my knees a few times.) Mom got some video, and Dad will help me put it up before next Wednesday.

She was here, too, Auntie Coop. She got here last Thursday and left on Monday afternoon. We had a lot of fun hanging around the house playing, me showing her all the new stuff I've learned since last August. We went shopping with Dad on Thursday, too, but not to buy anything, just sort of looking around. (He wanted to buy a scanner, but I say what do you need that for when you have a digital camera and no film pictures of me anyway? The store that was supposed to have the huge deals didn't anyway.) She also came with me and Mom to the gymnastics class I started on Saturday, which I'll tell you more about next week. (Teaser opener: it's fun and I like it.) We were going to do some other stuff, but mostly ended up at home because someone was cranky (not always me).

We did have kind of a hectic day today, though. It didn't start out that way. Dad and I took his car to the brake shop, and then we went to the park where I napped in the stroller and he read a book in the sun. Then we went to the library, and I squiggled around the kids' room. It was awesome, because I've never seen so many things to take off shelves before. But then the brake people called and told us our car got in an accident. It was really broken -- seriously, it looked lopsided when we went to get my car seat out of it. Don't worry, though; I'm going to get a new car seat within a week, and Dad should have a new car before too long. (He wants a bigger one, because he says I'm getting too big for him to squeeze into the back and help get me into my seat.)

I guess that's it. I know, it's way past my bedtime, and Dad's too even, so we'd better go to sleep.

Down Time

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:39:00 +0000

Wow, I'm having so much fun crawling that I haven't wanted to sit down and update my blog. But I know I need to -- everyone I love who's not here still wants to know how stuff is going. And the answer is "fast." I can get across the room easily now, which is good when I want to go pet Kucha. (Dad tries to stop me, but Kucha doesn't care. The other day when he went to pick up the phone, I leaned on her back to stand up, and she was fine with it. I love that dog.)

So let's see. What's happened since my last update? Last weekend we went to the Animal Kingdom, which was pretty fun. Mom and I rode the Triceratops Spin, and we saw lots of cool animals like meerkats, tigers, gorillas, bats, and naked mole rats. We got prime seats for the parade, too -- I bounced in my stroller and drummed along with the music, and a couple of the characters came over to say hi to me. Afterward we got to see Auntie Shene at dinner, but I was pretty tired by then so we didn't push it too hard.

Otherwise, we've mostly been hanging out at the house. Mom finished her night shift, and on the first week of this new rotation she got home before 2 for three of the five days. That ruled, because I love spending time with Mom. She and Dad are working on painting a toy box they picked out for me, which I got with my Christmas money from my grandparents and great-grandparents Moya. (Thanks, Grandpa, Grandma, Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma!) It should be done this week, and then I'll have another place to store all my stuff in my room.

Today I'm going to get my nine-month pictures taken. The photographers actually called a couple weeks ago and said that if we pose with the Valentine's Day prop, Mom and Dad would get a free picture and they would put it up in the studio. So basically I'm going to be a model. Don't worry, though, I'm not letting it go to my head; I'm still crawling around and getting dirty with the best of them.

I almost have a second tooth, too -- that one next to the first tooth on the bottom is gonna poke out any day. Yesterday, Dad said he saw something white on the top, too, but he hasn't been able to see it again. Of course I'm not cooperating with his trying to get his fingers in my mouth. Would you like it if some big dude was pulling on your lips and jaws all the time? He'll see the tooth when it's time.

That's probably it for this time. The next update will come before two weeks pass, I think.

Forward Progress, and Some Backward

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:07:00 +0000

First of all, if you haven't seen it yet even though Dad blogged it twice:

Yep -- I'm officially crawling. On the second, I rocked forward, brought my knees with me, and I haven't stopped since. We're all totally excited, too. Me more than the folks, because now I can get to the dogs or their toys or the magazines or junk on the floor with ease. (Yeah, Dad thought he'd babyproofed!)

The tooth is even more prominent this week, and its neighbor is threatening to join it. Today, Dad said I'm officially no longer allowed to chew on his nose (which has been sort of my fun, loving gesture with him) because it's starting to hurt him. Well, if he thinks he's hurting, let me tell him how I feel. Why does he think I keep putting everything in my mouth? Those frozen pacifiers are a godsend, even though they really only stay cold for a minute. I have a teething ring, too ... it might be time to stick that bad boy back in the fridge, assuming we can find it. My grandpa the doctor-hunter is all on my case to go to the dentist ("first tooth, first visit," he says), but we're going to talk to Dr. B first at our appointment in a few weeks and see if she can recommend someone.

Thanks to the new pain, though, I've slipped with the sleep so far this month. Dad tries to put me in the crib (which he had to lower today because I pulled up on the dishwasher), but I'm not falling for that nonsense anymore. No sir, the only way I'm going to sleep is lying next to him in the big bed. Plus it sort of hurts to eat, so I'm not getting as much out of my regular meals and wake up hungry twice in the night instead of just once (or not at all, which happened a couple of times in December). Since Mom's still working nights, none of us sleeps very well. Oh well ... luckily she goes back to a day shift next week. I think most of the problem is just that I miss her.

In terms of food, I'm trying all kinds of crazy new things. Dr. B said we could start introducing some protein-rich stuff at eight months, so we've tried yogurt (love it), lentils (they're OK), chicken (delicious) and turkey (nasty crap). Dad made edamame puree for me to try tomorrow (which will be three days since introducing chicken), and we're going to have black beans this weekend. We're also experimenting with herbs and spices -- when Dad made my food yesterday, he put oregano in my zucchini, cumin in my carrots, parsley in my peas, and (if you believe it) adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in my sweet potatoes. I know, the spicy food thing seems like it's way too early, but I already ate some of the potatoes and they're great. Trust my dad to start serving me chile before I'm even a year old, though, right?

Speaking of food, it's just about dinner time, so I ought to sign off. See you next week!

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:07:00 +0000

It's 2008 now, but I'm not sure what that means exactly. All I know is I have a lot to write for the last couple weeks.

On the 21st we went to Vancouver for a long weekend (including Christmas). Mostly we wanted to see Auntie Lourdess, who was stuck in the hospital thanks to a low blood pressure that they had to tend to and monitor. She still was happy to play with me -- we had a good time for most of it, and she only got too sick to play for one day. But I spent a lot of the time visiting with the rest of the family members. Pappy trotted me around a lot, showing me off to the nurses who had already heard so much about me. Auntie Georgette was thrilled to help me with my toys and show me new stuff. (In fact, she helped pick out that Santa suit I'm wearing.) I also got to meet my great-aunt Bernie for the first time, and she was super nice.

The other big thing: remember the tooth issue I first blogged about four months ago? Well, one finally busted out on the front bottom left. I know, it took forever! This evening I bit Dad on the nose with it to let him know it had finally broken through. It feels like the one next to it could come in any day, too, and I might have a top one soon as well. All I have to say is it's about time. Of course, now I'll have to get used to having teeth, but at least I'll be able to eat steak when the time comes.

Also, I'm starting to get more into playing on my own these days. Because of that, Dad's letting me have more practice crawling. Any day, I tell you. Today I did a little better with forward motion, but I've also figured out how to turn myself around and reach more stuff. It sort of makes the 'rents nervous, because now I can get to the tree, the dog, the magazine rack if they aren't too far away. How little they know. Before long they'll have to chase me! Bwahahahaha!

I hope you have a great 2008! Stay tuned, because I've got a lot to learn and write about in the year when I get digits on my age.

Merry Holidayness

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:24:00 +0000

'Tis the season and all that. We celebrate Christmas in our house, but Mom and Dad are pretty open to everything. I mean, I don't know if they want to give me presents for eight days, or if they plan to get toasted on mead and make me sacrifice a toy to the pagan gods, or anything like that. But whatever you celebrate, we hope you have (or had) a good one.

We actually opened our presents this weekend, since we aren't going to be here on the actual day and this was the most convenient time to do it now that Mom's working nights. (I mean, we could have lugged them with us, but that's kind of inconvenient, don't'cha think?) I got a lot of cool toys, plus some great warm clothes for the next few months as well as a few things I can wear later. My grandma and grandpa in particular want to make sure I remember my roots, and sent me a bunch of Lobos gear to counteract the nearby UCF presence. Thanks to everyone who gave me such awesome gifts! (I intend to send personal thank-you e-mails as well, hopefully before the end of the week.)

This week is going to be a long and tiring one. We still have to mail presents to everybody, clean up the house so our dogsitter doesn't think we're slobs, and pack to go see my aunties and grandparents in Canada. I think I mentioned that Auntie Lourdess got sick with leukemia again. She's in remission now, but they're still looking for marrow donors. So if you're inclined at all to get tested, you can find more information about it here.

Oh, and Dad says if you want one of those cards at the top, you should e-mail me or him your address. (You'll have to correct the addresses before it'll send; I don't want any spam.) We got most of the family and others we think would appreciate them, but we still have eight left (nine if you want the one I chewed on).

Back on the Hamster Wheel

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:25:00 +0000

After our busy vacation, it might seem like I don't have anything to write about this week. True, I didn't meet any more family members, but that doesn't mean we didn't do anything.

The trend this week is my overall medical malaise. Of course I got a sniffle from the airplane ride, but luckily it was pretty much just a runny nose -- not anywhere near as bad as Mom's cold. Then the rash in the back of my knees (you know, those chubby folds where sweat collects and I don't get a lot of air) flared up again, so they've been rubbing cream on it and it's helping some. On top of that is the whole teething mess. I still don't have a whole one, and I wish they'd just bust out already. I do have a little point on top that's starting to stab Mom when I nurse (and Dad when I teethe on his nose), and Dad can see some white nubs in my gums, so hopefully in another week or two they'll really emerge and the pain will slack off.

I'm still working on the locomotion deal as well. I'm starting to get better at rolling to where I see something I want, but crawling is as of yet eluding my grasp. It seems so simple -- you get up on all fours, you wiggle your arms and legs, and you go forward. The dogs do it all day long. But I invariably end up sliding backwards across the carpet. Oh well -- maybe I'll just graduate straight to running. That's more fun than crawling anyway.

We are doing some yuletide stuff too. This weekend I made presents for grandparents and great-grandparents, but I can't say what they are because they read my blog. It's time for all the holiday stuff down at the theme parks too. We went to see the lights at Disney Studios yesterday, but we forgot the camera again. Next weekend we're talking about going to Universal to see the Grinch show, and maybe Dad won't be so brainless.

The Land of Enchantment

noreply@blogger.com (Mo) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:32:00 +0000

New Mexico was a lot of fun! The plane wasn't scary at all (I slept most of both ways), and I got to meet a lot of family that I hadn't seen yet and a lot of friends that until this trip I'd only exchanged e-mail with. All my aunts and uncles were awesome, and I finally met my Grandpa Moya, my other great-grandpa, and my great-great-grandma! It's pretty remarkable that I'm so lucky to have all this family and heritage alive to talk to me.

The friends were something else altogether. I haven't really had a lot of chances to spend time with kids my own age since I've been big enough to sit up and hold my own, so it was pretty fun playing with them. I met Ally (who was really nice to let me share her rocking chair), Hannah, Rachel, Fiona, Gage, Vincent, and Abran. Well, only two of those kids were very close to my age, but I had fun with them anyway. And that's not even mentioning the dogs and cats.

Let me tell you something -- when you're used to Florida, New Mexico is cold. It actually snowed on Friday after Thanksgiving, but not really enough for me to play in (if I was even actually big enough to enjoy it). Grandma was awesome and got me a big, fluffy snowsuit, so I was prepared for the weather, especially when we went out and saw the River of Lights at the botanic garden on Sunday night. By the end of the stay, though, it had warmed up enough that a sweatshirt, a hat and the pretty scarf Nona knitted for me did the job. Obviously, I won't need it in Orlando (Dad says the only times he's gotten his coat out are to go to New Mexico for Thanksgiving), the snowsuit will be good for when we go to Canada and see Auntie Lourdess.

We did a lot of stuff over our trip. We had three Thanksgiving dinners, went to Sadie's twice (because it's Mom and Dad's favorite restaurant), had a birthday party for my great-aunt, saw the lights, had a tea party (which one of the guests called a "baby viewing") at Nona's, went to three family houses and four friends' houses, and played a lot. I came ever closer to crawling, and I learned that it's fun to grab people's faces even if it's not necessarily nice.

The big thing that came out of our trip developmentally was my first word: "dada." I started saying it when we went to Santa Fe, but Dad said it didn't count if I didn't know what I was saying. Finally one night at dinner, I had to grab his finger, look in his eyes, and say it just one time without repeating myself before he got it. Next we're working on "mama" because it's only fair. (Dad hopes I don't accidentally say "puppy" first.)

Now we're home, and it's a good thing -- the dry climate didn't really agree with me. I had so much trouble breathing at Nona's that Mom and Dad bought a humidifier for the room. It was nice to get back to the moister air of Central Florida (don't tell Dad I said that), splash with my turtles in my own tub, and crawl into my own bed again. But even though I was all clogged and snotty, I'm looking forward to going back and seeing everyone again in May.