Over at the school

We had another fun weekend at home. On Saturday, we went to see our friends on the coast for a crab feast. You remember way back when Papa was trying to introduce me to crab? Well John, Alison and their daughter Skye celebrated the season with a party at their house. John is a good fisherman and always gets enough crab to feed everyone. I haven't been back to the coast since we moved in June - that's too long not to see the Pacific.

We also went over to the school to look for more slides and stairs to climb. There are so many to choose from - all shapes and sizes. I even slid down some by myself today. In the picture you can see a musical instrument with different length bars that make different notes when you bang on them. I am distracted at the moment by the ever-present wood chips. They are always good fun too.

Mama put up some Christmas lights on the front of the house. All of our neighbors put theirs up this weekend too. It is nice seeing the holiday cheer in this part of town. Off to bed, it gets dark so early these days.

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.

Balls and daylight saving

Ball, ball, ball. Three colors, two sizes, lots of them. They are pleasing to me. Mama and Papa hide this tent and associated balls during the week (they think I already have enough toys). But, they do bring it out on the weekends. Especially on nice sunny days like today, when the air is warm and the days are still long.

Tomorrow will be different. It is the back end of Daylight Saving Time, where we turn back the clocks and gain an hour overnight. It will be brighter in the mornings, but darker in the evenings. I hope I still get my milk on time.

But it is still today; I'll enjoy the Sun, the tent, and the balls.

Monkey cousins

For Halloween this year, GrannyM sent me a monkey suit. She sent my cousin Jacob in Ventura a monkey suit too. Even though we are spending the spooky day apart, I can get dressed up and look like my slightly older cousin. We are going to see everyone for Thanksgiving. Eee, eeee!

I got to wear this outfit early because my daycare had a celebration on Friday night. Each of the caregivers wore costumes and participated in a small dance competition. The parents were welcome to wear costumes too, but many only had time to bring a potluck dish. Mama made her special macaroni and cheese. Yummy. Monkeys like pasta and cheese.

Mama and me

Crawling around the house is tiring. I am getting pretty fast at it, but sometimes I have to take a break. Usually I tackle the dog or maybe give Mama or Papa a hug. But not for very long, I have stuff to do.

I must take all of the Tupperware out of the drawer, unload and load my blocks, chase the new big bouncy ball, and ride on Thomas the Tank Engine. Phew, bang Zadie's dog bowls together, check if there is any water in her big drinking bowl, stand up next the couch, pull my books off the shelf - you get the idea. It's enough to wear one small infant out. I still nap once or twice a day; I tend to get two small ones during the week at daycare or one long one at home on the weekends. It's a good life, but a tiring one. I like the time out hugs with Mama though. I think she likes them too.

Feeling better

Life goes on. I am feeling better after my bout of hand, foot, and mouth disease. We have settled into a routine such that on weekdays, either Mama or Papa will get up with me. It is a standard production of a small bottle of milk, breakfast of some sort, a little playtime in my room while my parent grabs a shower, and then getting dressed and shuttled to daycare.

Whichever parent did not get up with me has the evening shift. Evening pick-up at daycare, some more short playtime, a warm bath, big dinner, and a milk nightcap sets me up for sleepytime at 7pm. It is a nice routine.

Weekends are a bit different. It is a bit more relaxed in the morning. I still get a bottle and breakfast, but then I get to play in my pajamas with my parents and Zadie for a longer period. I like the weekends.

I've been doing lots of standing lately. No real walking, though the small rocking chair in the picture is at a nice height and light enough to push around the room. I hope everyone is well.

Pile of clean laundry

Here I sit next to a big pile of clean laundry. It is on the floor next to Papa's side of the bed because he isn't feeling well. Me neither, I was sent home from daycare last week because of hand, foot, and mouth disease. Please don't confuse this disease with foot-and-mouth - that's a different virus that one contracts from farm animals. Mama took me to see my pediatrician but she did not find any sores in my mouth and I wasn't carrying a fever. She gave me a note saying it was ok to go back to daycare. I am trying to be a good sport about it but my appetite is off and I am not my usual self.

Papa went to see the doctor last week too. He was complaining of leg pain and decided to see if the doctors could find anything wrong. Several blood tests later confirmed that his hematocrit was low despite having normal numbers of red blood cells. What was surprising though were the results from a test called the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Papa's values were high indicating that there is some sort of chronic inflammation or infection ongoing in his body.

Mama is not feeling great either. We are the house of sick at the moment. She is going to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) next weekend, the first one since having me. I hope she gets better. She's been training hard for this and deserves to do well.