Don't bother me...

I'm eating. An asiago cheese bagel at that. This is serious stuff. I know my hair is all crazy from last night's sleep, but right now I am tucking into one of my favorite foods. Come back later when I am done, then we can talk. For the moment this bagel is more important than you.

Just kidding, I know you are important too. But a kid has to have priorities. Things like riding a bike, Thomas the tank engine, warm milk, bananas, and bagels. These are all high-ranking items. You and your silly antics, not so much. Don't take it personally, that's just how it is.

Trainspotting

Here we are again, down at the Mountain View Caltrain station. Papa sometimes takes me here on Sundays because he knows there are other things to do besides watching trains (although I don't see the point). The Sunday morning Farmers market is there which means we can go buy the freshest produce and find other goodies like fresh bread, frozen Chinese dumplings and local cheeses. Today Papa discovered a man shucking Swedish oysters for service on the half shell. A small squeeze of lime, a dash of Tobasco, and down the hatch. "So simple, yet so deliciously briny," Papa says. But I digress. We are here for the trains.

The rain was coming down pretty much all day. No worries, there was a nice shelter to hide underneath for the heavy showers and cozy hooded coats for the drizzle. Trains are part of my life and a little water won't keep me away.

Happy days

I am happy and Zadie, our dog is happy. Me first. I am happy because I'm over at my favorite playground running around on a sunny cool January evening. As you can see, I am wearing a big coat and little gloves to keep myself warm. It feels really is cold out here but we shouldn't complain - it's not as cold as either NFL playoff game today (minus 4 degrees in Green Bay, right around zero in Foxborough). Northern California is a pretty nice place to live when you think about it.

Zadie is happy because she got a bone this morning. She has been a good dog, and we updated all her vaccinations last week with nary a complaint. Mommy and Daddy bought a quarter of a cow at the end of last year. They found a rancher up in Cotati (near Napa valley) who raises organic, steroid-free, grass-fed cattle. My parents have been cooking at least one beefy meal for each other on the weekends. Today was Daddy's turn and he had an extra bone from a chuck roast. One bone for Zadie, lucky dog.

Back into the swing of things

It's well into 2008 and it has been wet out here in Northern California. That's ok, that means there are lots of puddles and mud for me to play in. That also means the reservoirs have been filling up for the long dry summer ahead. The sun was peeking out today so Mama and I took down the Christmas lights (as much as I love them, they wouldn't have the same appeal if they were hung up all year long). While she was up on the ladder, I watered all the flowers in the window boxes. She gave me the 1/2 cup measuring scoop and a watering can. I like repetitive tasks like this, especially when water is involved. But I think we'll have to wait until summer to go 'nudies' again.

We can't really complain about the wet weather though, most of my relatives are probably in freezing conditions, with snow and ice on the ground. I hope everyone can be warm.

New helmet, new bike and a puddle

Mommy got me a cool new bike helmet today because I've outgrown my old bumble-bee one from a while ago. Santa also brought me a bike because I was a very good boy this year. The Northern California weather created a big puddle in front of our house, but then the sun broke through. What a perfect confluence of goodness for me!

This bike is a "balance bike" and is called the Skuut. It is a cheaper knock off of the German-made LIKEaBIKE. It is made out of laminated plywood and thus lightweight, but the main features are; no pedals, chain or gears, no spokes to catch my hands or feet, and limited steering angles so I can't jackknife the entire affair. It has two wheels and a handlebar so it does teach me to balance and steer. Eventually when I graduate to a pedal bike, I should be able to skip training wheels altogether. The astute viewers will also notice the labeling is upside-down on the main body of the bike. That's because my legs are too short to have it the right-side up. The head tube angle is a little slack now, but eventually I'll get tall enough to switch it back. Catch me if you can.

Sledding is fun

I am not sure if Mama is enjoying this, but I sure am. She thinks we're going to run over Papa who is taking the picture. I just like going fast, no matter the vehicle. We are on a neighborhood street up in Tahoe where we spent Christmas vacation this year. The roads had been plowed, but not completely so they made for a nice slick track.

There were lots of things to do up there, but primarily it was a nice relaxing vacation for my parents with lots of eating. GrannyM and Pop-pop Bob, as well as Uncle Billy and Auntie Caroline all joined in for a memorable time. Lots more pictures of the vacation are posted on Papa's Flickr account. We hope everyone had a safe holiday break.

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.

Ladders are mine

Something must have not registered with my parents before this weekend. I can climb ladders. Zeke do. Papa was certainly surprised when I helped myself to this blue one over at the school. It really isn't a ladder in the sense that I don't have to use my arms to pull myself up, but it does have rungs and stands vertically near the bottom. I've been climbing the gym ladders at my daycare's park but neither parent has ever seen me do it. They are so easily amused. To be sure, I ran around and climbed it two more times.

Still watching

If one does a search for "see you" in the box at the upper left, one will find many different posts that use that phrase. I've been watching the World for quite a long time, a little over two years in fact. Well... I still like to watch. It's fun to watch. Here I am hiding underneath the stairs of one of the playground sets over at the school. Sometimes I like to go under there to make piles of wood chips or to find especially big ones.

I'll come back out later when I get hungry or have to go potty. But for now, I'll stay in the comfort of my toddler-sized space as long as I have a good vantage point on the World outside.

Sunset limits

Papa didn't take any pictures this weekend because both of us were sick. I think we have the same chest cold Mama had over Thanksgiving; she endured it and so will we. Instead, this photograph was from last week when we were looking at the birdies down at Shoreline. Papa kept trying to take a picture of me with the sunset in the background but I kept trying to catch him. This is one of the few he managed to salvage.

A photograph's exposure is determined by three things; aperture, shutter speed, and ISO setting. This photo has all three pushed to the extremes. Maximum aperture, at the expense of a shallow depth of field. Slowish shutter speed, at the peril of camera shake and subject motion. High ISO speed, with loss of resolution and increased digital noise. But what is not taken into account is how cute I am. The technical stuff behind the camera means nothing if the subject in front is not interesting. Cute trumps tech any day. I win.