Happy Independence day

Oops, you caught me snacking at my favorite bagel place. You see, we drive past this little non-chain bagel store every day on our way to daycare. I can sense when we're getting close in the car, so I may even trumpet "bagel" out loud, just to plant the idea in your head.

Happy 4th of July. It is America's birthday; the day we celebrate our independence from British governance. The day when everyone gets the day off to BBQ and watch some fireworks in the sky. Except for me; I went swimming at the community pool and ate dinner in downtown Palo Alto to stay cool. I couldn't stay awake for the firecrackers, bottle rockets, and professional pyrotechnics. I turned in for a good night's sleep instead.

Weekend meanings

So what do weekends mean to you? In my World, it means I get to spend two whole days with Mama and Papa. During the week I hardly get to see them at all; instead I am fed, dressed, and whisked off to daycare. In the evenings, I come home, bathe, brush my teeth and go to bed early. Daycare is well and good for me, but being home on the weekends is what's important.

I know this because last weekend, Papa had to go on a business trip to Cleveland. It was a dumb rescheduling thing, but it forced him to miss Fathers day. He's a father because of me and Mama. He's only had two opportunities for Fathers day so far, but 50% is not the kind of average we family members like.

The good thing is when Papa returned from Cleveland, he said he missed me and was sorry for being away. I forgave him for being gone so long. We spent some time over at our favorite playground. The weather has been really nice lately, typically in the high 70s and sunny most days. The days are so long at this time of year too. Happy summer solstice.

For now I can pretend that I am piloting a big jet airplane, but tomorrow it's back to Daycare. I look forward to the next weekend when we can all be together again.

Remains of the day

Sometimes it's nice to just lie still and enjoy the remains of the day. Sometimes it's better to resist sleep and squirm around until Alex Trebek calls Jeopardy done. Either way, the outcome is the same. After a snuggle with Mama or Papa, we make the short trip to my bedroom, put any toys to "nigh-nigh" on the bookshelf, and I crawl under my blanket for a nice sleep.

I have a new cat friend who sleeps with me because he's very soft. He's the one accompanying me on safari in the backyard. Most days he doesn't get to come outside, but stays in bed and awaits my return. Hey, how come cats never have to wear any pants? Unfair.

New caregivers

I just had to put in a plug for my new daycare providers. They are the friendly people in the photos; I have to confess these pictures were taken last month, but Papa hadn't uploaded them until now.

Hua is the woman with the great smile. Yang Duo is Hua's handsome husband in the other photograph, but we all call him yéye for grandpa. She had been an educator, and he was a surgeon when they were living in China; I am in very capable hands. They've been caring for me ever since I left BabyWorld a couple of months ago.

It has been a great change for me. I have a small gaggle of new friends there and we all get to learn Chinese (Mandarin and a little Shanghainese) along with English. Hua is also an excellent cook and tries to expand the repertoire of foods that I'll eat. She's already potty trained some of my older friends, so I'm up next. It will be nice to do away with stinky diapers someday.

Lots of new vocabulary since last time: alligator, zebra, monkey, Zadie, please, shark, octopus, bear, turtle, pie, pickle, strawberry, cherries, sky, meow, outside, inside...

Monterey Bay Aquarium

We joined the hordes of people on the road this weekend and made our way South to Monterey. Fortunately for us it was only about 90 miles and took about an hour and a half. It was well worth the trip; the Monterey Bay Aquarium highlights the unique local marine habitat and it piqued my interest in fish.

One of the many exhibits is the Outer Bay tank which holds over a million gallons of seawater. This tank contains many species of fish, familiar and not so familiar. One of the weirder ones is the Ocean Sunfish. It's the very large 'head' swimming by in the second picture.

The jellyfish are another big attraction at the aquarium. So graceful yet alien in their movements, I could watch them all day. These are the Black Sea Nettles, their stinging tentacles can grow 25 feet long or more. Yikes.

Perhaps the signature tank at MBA is the two-story kelp forest tank. This is truly local habitat for the Northern California coastline. The water comes directly from the ocean and is filtered during the day so we can see all the happy creatures inside. At night the water is left unfiltered and as such contains food for many of the creatures to eat. Neato.

The drive home took about the same amount of time, but we had to divert through Santa Cruz because of holiday traffic. No worries though, I slept the whole way. It was a good day for the family.

Rock hunting

If you thought that I was able to drink from a glass like a big boy, you'd be mistaken. Mama bought some giant acrylic tumblers for drinks on the patio, but I am using one to collect backyard rocks. If one looks closely in the second picture, one sees the beginnings of a rather large collection. Nevermind that I am not wearing pants. I'd bet Papa would gladly run around without pants if Mama would let him.

Happy Memorial day weekend. Tomorrow America commemorates those who've died while serving military duty. Both Mama and Papa get the day off from work so we are going to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium. There are supposed to be lots of fish and otters. I hope it isn't too crowded.

Transient bal-noo

Sometimes life is great; a nice sunny day, a new yellow bal-noo (balloon), a full tummy and the beginnings of a walk to the park. Life is good. Could it be any better?

Maybe, perhaps the bal-noo wants to have some freedom too. Let me wriggle out of the ribbon loop tethering the bal-noo to my wrist. There, what a beautiful sight. The bal-noo is rising up softly, up above Papa's head, up past the trees, over the neighbor's house my new yellow friend goes. I'm happy for the bal-noo.

Wait. It's getting pretty far away. Now it's really far away. It's up where the airplanes are. It's not coming back is it? Papa? Wah, bal-noo is gone. Bal-noo, BAL-NOO!

Head over heels

Happy Mothers day everyone. I hope everyone called their own mother today. I didn't have to because Mama is already here flipping me upside-down. I like it. How much do I like it? Almost as much as Thomas the "choo" or my new red sandals. Maybe what I like even more than being upside down is how good Mama is to me. Happy Mother's day Mama, you're the best.

Lots of new words for my vocabulary this week; two, nine (not sure about the other numbers), wawa (either the ocean or a flower in Mandarin), pee-pee, onion, please, on, nuts (don't ask), star, and purple. There are probably others but my parents sometimes misunderstand me.

Orange fastball

Backyard orange picking again. Here in Northern California the climate is such that one can grow citrus trees in the backyard. I get to find all of the goodies and pick them up. I actually don't like to eat oranges, but find they make a good thump when you throw them. I am lining this one up to throw at Papa. He's watching me from across the yard. He'd better watch out.

Bal-noo!

I am excited about today, but then again, I am pretty excited most days. Today I have a bal-noo; actually it's a balloon and I've had it for a week, but balloon is too hard to pronounce and it's been hidden away in the closet. Today I got to play with the bal-noo in earnest. The plastic Easter egg tied to the end of the string is to prevent it from flying away like the one GrannyM got me last week. I was very sad when that happened.

I mean what could be better than waking up from a nap, playing with a bal-noo, and not wearing any pants? It is a great day when that happens. Speaking of great days, I enjoyed my stay in Thousand Oaks with GrannyM and Pop-pop Bob last week. They took good care of me and Mama, and I had great fun playing with my cousin Jake in the pool. I hope I get to see everyone again soon.

Sometimes the best thing about travelling is coming home. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so they say. Papa's exuberance upon our return proves it. Now the problem is that I miss my grandparents. I just know they miss me.

p.s. New vocabulary: boo-boo (small owies), bye-bye, done (I'm full), down, bus, Bo-bo and Aaron (my new daycare friends), help, baay-be (small things/animals), I even said "Zeke" once this week.