A spoon and no more

So here I am with a spoon. Not a fork or, God forbid, a knife. My parents only trust me with spoons for the moment. It's not even an instrument of eating, rather Mama and Papa placate me with spoons to keep me entertained while they are eating. How unfair. I believe that my eating skills are lagging.

On top of that I don't even use a sippy cup yet. You remember sippy cups, the closed-top spillproof cups designed for small children. I should've been introduced a long while ago. Why do my parents not trust me? I do feed myself from the bottle and even tip it up to keep the flow going when it's nearly empty. But alas, today I have only a spoon. I do find that spoons make nice clattering noises when thrown onto the tile floor. How's that for an eating instrument?

Mr. standing man

I learned something this weekend. Not too long ago I learned how to crawl. This weekend I learned how to stand up and 'surf' around furniture. How exciting. It all started when Papa left an empty Huggies box on the floor in my room. I went to investigate and all of the sudden was standing up all by myself. Did it several times to assure myself it was ok. I wonder how much earlier it could've happened had there been a Huggies box around. I know I enjoy crawling, but this standing and walking could be great.

Crawling is freedom

Much to my parents' dismay, this week I've realized crawling is freedom. Not only is it the obvious one of getting to where I want, but also it is getting away from where I do not want to be. That's freedom. Remember when you were fifteen and received your driver's permit? You were not allowed to drive with friends, or drive after dark, but what a sense of autonomy. Crawling is like that for me.

Although I am not as accomplished or 'smooth' as some of my friends at daycare, I definitely have my own crawling style. As you can clearly see in this picture, I am using my left leg much like one would expect, the right one is being used as a long lever. No knee involved. Sure I could crawl in the traditional manner, but why be conformist? See you later.

I love blocks

So here I am with my box of blocks. The blocks come in three different colors and four different shapes. I don't really understand color or shape yet, but I do understand chaos and disorder. I better dump the blocks out on the floor, increase the entropy in the World. I also understand noise. If I bang two blocks together, or one block with the lid, it is much more interesting than just clapping. Boys like noise, remember?

I'll let Mama and Papa clean up after me. It's their job. I love blocks.

Fishy, fishy in a brook

Mama watched me all this week bacause Papa was away on a fishing trip to Alaska. Papa is grateful to Mama for both allowing him to go up North and also for watching me, he knows it is hard work by oneself. I hope Papa catches some big fish to bring home.

I am glad that Mama and I could spend some time together, but it is strange not having Papa around. I will have to get used to it though, Mama sometimes goes on business trips to Idaho or Oregon while Papa usually goes on a week-long trip once a year for his company. It's okay, but I'd rather have both of them home with me. I am still changing quickly and wouldn't want them to miss anything. Crawling, pulling myself up to my knees, clapping, and new incoming teeth. That's quite a bit of change for a small boy. Lots of new foods on the menu too; melon, peaches, blueberries, asparagus - such a diverse palette of produce is available in California. Lucky us.

Papa is home now, he caught a bunch of fish with some friends around the Prince of Wales Island. Here is a picture of a 77 lb. halibut and the guide who helped him, but it wasn't the biggest fish. There was also a 155 lb. fish caught that day from the same boat. Either way, there was lots of catching going on up there. I guess I'll have to see if I like to eat seafood.

Baby on the move

This past week, I have finally figured out crawling. It has been almost eleven months, but worth the struggle. I can get to where I want, when I want. Electrical outlets and television cabinets are interesting to explore. They are the first things on my agenda. Mama and Papa had better put baby-safe latches and outlet covers throughout the house. Right now, I don't know any better and I could hurt myself. My knees are a little sore, in fact I don't like crawling on the red tile in the house; it acts kind of like a natural barrier for my escape. I'll have to figure that one out too.

I want to ride

Bicycle, bicycle... Congratulations to Floyd Landis for winning the Tour de France this morning. He is the new American cycling hero. It will take some time to tell exactly how Floyd's courage in stage 17 pans out in the race's history - but what a thriller this year. We've been watching 'the tour' in the mornings before we go to work/day care.

I have smaller, more immediate goals. I am dressed up in my new bumble bee helmet and sitting in my new bicycle child carrier. A big "Thank you" to Theravance (Papa's employer) for their annual wellness benefit check which funded the bicycle accessories. Papa has mounted the carrier on the back of his old mountain bike so I can tag along on neighborhood rides. Wheee! We went to visit the Farmer's market last weekend and bought lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for less money than what we'd pay at the big chain supermarkets. The money goes directly to the growers and we get perfect produce. Everybody wins.

More Yellowstone

The first picture is a view of the lower falls in Yellowstone Canyon from Lookout Point. Papa got lucky with the exposure and captured an interesting effect on the lens and toplit clouds. A few days earlier we had visited the upper falls and felt the awesome power of the Yellowstone river as it cascaded down. Impressive.

The second picture is me hanging out with bear. Actually this bear is different from my buddy at home. This one is quite a bit bigger, blacker, and decidedly scarier. Bah, bah! No worries though, he'd be my friend if I spent enough time here. Babies like bears.

Yellowstone vacation

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to Yellowstone. It was my first airplane trip so I was a bit apprehensive about the procedure. Luckily my parents let me play with a plastic bag (not normally recommended for safety reasons). Plastic bags are quite entertaining for their scritchiness and this one kept me busy during the long wait at SFO. We flew into Salt Lake City and changed to a smaller turboprop plane for the final leg to West Yellowstone. I tried to be on my best behavior for the sake of the other passengers and was glad to finally arrive.

Mama and Papa took a day to fish the upper Madison river. The second picture is Mama with her first ever trout caught on a fly. The guide Chris Connor is holding up the small brownie, which went back unharmed to the mighty river. Several rainbows and many whitefish were also caught during their float from Lyons Bridge to just past the Palisades. Papa was proud of Mama for all the fish she caught.

The last picture is the family on top of Mount Washburn in Yellowstone National Park. While on top, a local asked from where we were visiting. Papa replied, "sea level." Teehee. The elevation is listed as 10,243 ft. Mama carried me all the way to the top by herself - quite a workout. I highly recommend this 6.4 mile hike if you do visit the park; it rewards with vistas few get to experience.

Happy 4th of July

I can't believe it is July already. Half of the year gone by. I am excited because being summer means it is time for vacation. We are headed out at the end of the week to visit Yellowstone National Park.

YNP straddles the corners of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming and is the world's first national park. We will be staying near the West entrance with many of Mama's family members. GrannyM and Pop-Pop Bob have even volunteered to watch me while my parents take a float trip down the Madison River. The river is a fly fisher's dream destination for the area's famous cutthroat, rainbow, and brown trout. Yippie.

I promise to make Papa take lots of pictures. See you soon.