Uncle Misha

I have a surprised look on my face because I am unsure of Uncle Misha. He sort of looks like Papa, which means he sort of looks like me. I guess he's alright, just a bit startling for a small boy such as myself. Uncle Misha lives up in Oregon, but came to visit us one last time in Montara. It is the first time that we've met each other. Papa was a bit stressed out because work has been busy and moving house is no longer a small matter. That's ok, Papa was glad to spend some time with his brother. Misha was pleased to meet me. I promise not to be so surprised next time.

A kiss goodnight

Papa's brother came down from Oregon for an impromptu visit. That's ok, he needed a break from work and had a few days off. He has visited us several times before but this time I was more accepting of his likeness to Papa. I can even pronounce "Uncle Misha" without much problem. He keeps a blog about his going-ons too (see right-hand sidebar). This picture is of me giving Uncle Misha a kiss before bedtime. It helps him sleep better; I know it.

Not much going on right now but we do have a big weekend planned. Uncle Billy (Mama's brother) is getting married this coming Saturday on the central coast. I expect to see lots of Mama's relatives from around the country. It will be fun to go on a little mini vacation.

Sunny Saturday

The arrival of Spring heralds new growth; flower blossoms in full glory, small light green buds on the tree limbs, and the return of green grass to Northern California. It seems as if Spring arrived early this year - last weekend's time change has made the mornings darker but extended the evening sunshine. I find it harder to go to bed and now possess a strong desire to sleep well into the morning. You can't really blame me, I'm a small boy afterall. The biggest benefit though is the warmer weather. I enjoy being outside, playing in the grass, and soaking up the sunshine.

Both Uncle Misha (Papa's brother) and Uncle Billy (Mama's brother) celebrated their respective birthdays yesterday. How neat is that? Uncle Misha is going to visit from Oregon next week. Last time he came to visit I was kind of unsure what to think. He looks like Papa but different. I hope everyone is well, gotta go investigate some no-handed sippy cup maneuvers. Take care.

In Toddler We Trust

So I did a little research on the web the other day. They say the average age of a US coin is about thirty years. Sometimes, if I am good, Mommy or Daddy will give me some coins to put in my cat-bank. Why be normal? A piggy bank would have been a bit too pedestrian. The penny you see in the picture has an entirely different story.

I found it in my bedroom in the corporate housing where we are staying. I like it when I find neat shiny things like coins. If you look closely at the picture, the minting year is 2002. That suggests the penny should be in existence until about 2032. This will not be the case because I accelerated the aging process. You see, I ate it. Even after Daddy just asked me to not put it in my mouth. It just went down and it was gone. Daddy called Uncle Misha (the Emergency Room Physician) to see what we should do. He assured us that most times it would simply pass and we would just have to monitor the, erm, output.

Well - Daddy found it tonight. The penny was in the bottom of the potty after a careful poo-poo dissection with the blue silicone spatula (also supplied by corporate housing). I am not even sure it was in tonight's delivery. We've been dissecting poo all week so it may have come out earlier and we missed it. All I know is it looks worse for wear, all nicked up and considerably shinier than when it started. Who knows, maybe its lifetime will be extended. I overheard Mommy thinking of making a necklace out of it for me to wear. I can hear it now, "ask me about my penny."

Happy holidays 2007

Happy holidays everyone, we are getting ready to spend Christmas week up at lake Tahoe. I am going to experience snow for the first time. GrannyM and Pop-pop Bob will be joining us from Los Angeles, while Uncle Billy and Auntie Carolyn will also be making the pilgrimage from the SF bay area. There is even an unsubstantiated rumor Uncle Misha from Oregon may join us for a day while we're up there.

These are the Christmas lights on our neighbor's fence. They were first ignited on Thanksgiving day and thus were the first in the neighborhood. I can see them from my bedroom window when I am getting ready to go to sleep. They're awfully pretty in the evenings, so much so I had to touch them - every last one of them.

Water in Florida

I thought so. It's a good thing we found some water down in Orlando. It was uncomfortably hot and sticky humid every day. Lucky for me, many of the separate resorts (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom...) had built-in water parks like this one. The fountains of water were randomly programmed to squirt up. It was my job to find out which ones were going to be active and put myself into the stream. These water activities were probably my favorite part of the trip. Oh, these and the hotel pool. The pool had a water slide and shallow entry area. I could've stayed there all day if only Mommy and Daddy would've let me.

I was happy to see all of my relatives from around North America. Uncle Ru, his wife Soomi, and cousin Toshi came down from New Hope, PA; Auntie Maria and her husband, Lawrence with cousins Akio, Maya and Sasha from Montreal, Quebec; Uncle Misha and his new fiancee, Melanie from Springfield, OR; Grandpa Tetsu and Grandma Linda from Mahwah, NJ; Grandma Mira and Great-Uncle Kevin also traveled down from New Hope. A large group for sure, but we managed to find time to ourselves.

Anyway it's good to be home. We ate in restaurants all week. Yep, that's right, three square meals plus two snacks a day were included on our premium dining plan. We tried our best, but still had left over credits by the end of the week. Lots more photos of the trip on Papa's Flickr account (see link in sidebar). Stay cool.

We're going to Disney World

No, we didn't win the Superbowl or NBA finals, but we are going to Walt Disney World in Florida. I think Papa went when he was a kid but doesn't remember it very well. Besides, at that time there were no such things as Epcot center and Hollywood Studios, let alone the water parks. Good thing about the water, we are traveling in the last week of June and there will assuredly be hot temperatures and high humidity.

The good thing is the whole clan will be in converging in Florida. Uncle Misha, uncle Ru and auntie Maria; their respective spouses/fiancee and all of my cousins. Also Papa's mother, father, stepmother and my great-uncle Kevin will be in attendance. He is, after all, the gracious and generous sponsor of this trip. I hope we can survive the weather and any family differences that may erupt amongst the group of 17.

In the meantime I'll just play with this sprinkler in the backyard. It has been hot in the SF bay area, triple digits at times. Small boys like me need water to keep cool. See you when we get back.

It's official

I am a boy, therefore I adore Thomas the Tank Engine. He is pretty much ubiquitous these days if there is a small boy like me in your house. Thomas comes with the territory; I've had a Thomas ride-on toy since I was very young, and a couple of the small wooden trains from my cousin Toshi. This particular engine is from Kem and Uncle Misha from their last visit. It has some bottom sensors so it can follow a water trail that is drawn on a special canvas mat. Sort of like a free-form track set. It plays the same saloon music as the ride-on train, but I like it just for pushing around on the ottoman.

Papa says he didn't have Thomas when he was a kid. Grandpa Tetsu has a big train set that I saw when I visited them at Christmas. I think all small boys must like trains - maybe dadas and grandpas too.

p.s. New vocabulary: fish, shoes, socks, num-num (meaning I'm hungry), more (meaning I'm still hungry), apple, eyes, and hat.

Almost crawling

Funny how I am almost eight months old and haven't yet learned how to crawl. That's okay, I am showing signs of pre-crawling activity, like spending time on my tummy, doing baby pushups, rolling back-to-front and front-to-back, even rocking and pivoting. We babies develop at our own pace and most reference texts don't give a timeframe for learning to crawl since this milestone is highly variable. Some infants skip crawling altogether, instead scooting on their butts or graduating directly to walking.

Either way, I am happy on my handmade quilt (Thank you Kem and Uncle Misha). I especially like the fish pattern on the big squares. Mama and Papa like to place toys just out of reach to encourage crawling activity. How mean. Sometimes I get frustrated because I can't get to them, but life is not always a bowl of cherries.

Oooh, forgot to mention that my first two teeth have come in. Another baby milestone under my belt. I haven't given Papa a chance to take a picture yet, besides they're just little nubs at the moment. Someday I'll be able to use my teeth on solid food - mmmm meat.

Identity switch

Last entry I was trying to swap places with Bear. This time Mommy was in on it, she bought a big doggie towel for my after-bath drying. It has big floppy ears, a black nose, paws on the corners and even a small nub for a tail. A much better disguise if you ask me. I wonder if Zadie will think I am a new dog friend. Maybe Papa will think we went to the animal rescue shelter and adopted another dog. Do you think he'd wonder where his son went?

Life is passing so quickly these days, each one is slightly different than the last. I am not sure how much the World is changing, but I certainly am. I may not be experiencing the large weight gains like when I was really small, but developmentally there are always little things. Like rolling over back-to-front, and maybe even front-to-back. Singing little songs to let my parents know that I am trying to formulate language. Being able to grab my feet and stick them in my mouth. All of these events are new (to me) and bring joy to my parents no matter how small a feat they may seem.

p.s. Happy birthday to my uncle Misha and uncle Billy. They both share the 16th of March as their birthday, how auspicious.