Happy Thanksgiving

We all drove down to Southern California over the holiday to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mama's family. I have made the drive before, but somehow it seemed to take longer this time. Maybe it was in anticipation of seeing my cousin Jacob. Remember? He was my partner in a monkey suit at Halloween. In the first picture, Jacob is the one trying to escape the grasp of Pop-pop Bob. You of course know GrannyM who is watching lovingly over her grandchildren. We enjoyed a huge meal hosted by Patti and John in Ventura. Thanks for all of the yummy treats!

One doesn't know how exciting stairways can be unless you have access to them. In both of the houses where I have lived (and both daycare centers too), there are no such entertainment devices. GrannyM has a good one. It has two landings, bends around two corners, and is carpeted all the way up. I made sure to go up and down as many times as I was allowed because stairs are good for infants like me.

In the last picture, Papa is taking a photograph of me in the mirror. He's always taking photographs just like his father. I think he takes them because he wants to preserve the myriad developmental stages of my life. Or maybe he takes them because he likes to look at them whenever he misses me. Da, da, da.

Evening walks and warm coats

Unlike last week, sometimes we don't get to go to the playground until later in the day. Today's weather was strange, it was like when we used to live in Montara. There was a misty haze when we woke up and it stayed around all day. Zadie dog and I needed to get outside, so off to the school playground we went just before five o'clock in the evening. The school was busy at that hour; lots of other families, some dog owners with their pets out for a walk, and a boys soccer practice in session.

I got to play with the wood chips on the ground. I like to stack chips atop the red pedestals like I am making a pizza. I think the older kids like to move from pedestal to pedestal without falling off into the 'lava.' Someday, when I can walk and jump, I'll play the lava game too. Today I am making pizza.

It was cool outside so I needed to put on a warm coat. Sometimes my parents find clothes in the closet that they think are still too big because of the size on the label, but actually wind up fitting me now. The clothes marked for 18-months fit currently, but who knows about tomorrow.

Some new vocabulary this week. "Da" definitely gets Papa's attention, but "Da" can also mean a lot of other things - like Mama. I can say "uh-oh," "ball," and "poo-poo" in the correct context. Mama thought I said "football" tonight, but Papa thinks she is just projecting her love for the Denver Broncos.

Lazy like Sunday morning

Sometimes days just turn out right. I got up this morning (actually my parents wanted to sleep longer) and we decided to go for a walk after breakfast. Autumn has definitely arrived in Mountain View; it is cool and crisp with lots of bright direct sunlight. That's ok, we can dress for the cool weather and I like having the sunshine.

We live very close to an elementary school with acres of well-kept grass, along with plenty of climbing gyms and big red slides. I had not tried the slide yet, but what better day than today. Mama decided to slide with me, because I am too small to go solo. How fun! I hope we visit the school often.

I wish

I have a story on my bookshelf that was given to me by Mama's best friend Tracie. It is entitled, Wishes for You by Tobi Tobias and illustrated by Henri Sorensen. Sometimes Mama or Papa will read it to me because I can't read words.

The reason I mention this book is because it is a simple collection of warm thoughts for small people like me. Those thoughts let us know that our parents love us deeply. For example one page says, "I hope you will have moments when you're so happy, you'll feel the Sun is shining from within you." I wouldn't have thought the simple sentences or illustrations would have much impact, but they do. Both my parents get a little sad when they read it to me. But I think they are sad in a good way. It is almost like they are sad because they love me too much. I wish I could let them know I love them just as much.