Parsnips

Since we returned from Atlanta, I've had a lot of fun. Friday morning Mom and I started a fitness class with our friends Suzanne and Ellie. When we got there, we ran and walked. Then we joined the rest of the group and I watched Mom flap her arms around with weights and try to do some exercises to make her tummy flat. I enjoyed being outside on a beautiful morning and watching the other kids and moms, and I had a good time laughing at Mommy, who looked pretty funny. She says when I learn to count, I can count her sit-ups for her.

Saturday we walked to our neighborhood farmer and then we walked and ran again. This time, Dad, Peepa and Matty joined us. After that, we watched Dad trim a bush in our yard, and he found some interesting bright green lizards. It was like our own little backyard zoo!

Since the doctor said I can eat most things, I've been trying lots of new foods. Before we left for Atlanta, I tried yellow summer squash, by itself and mixed with zucchini. Bubbe had lots of that for me when I visited her. I'm also working on trying finger foods, so Mom gave me some pasta and bits of cheese. They are too little for me to pick up right now, but I'm plugging away at it.

Since we've been home Mom made me some cauliflower, which I prefer mixed with acorn squash, and tonight Dad, Mom and I all tried a new food - parsnips. Dad and Mom tried it by itself because they wanted to see what it tastes like, but my parsnips were mixed with carrots. While I didn't like carrots the first time I tried them, I loved the two together and couldn't get enough. Dad and Mom couldn't believe how much I ate! Today I also tried picking up some pieces of cereal that are kind of like Cheerios. They were okay, but I still need help getting them into my mouth.

Now that I'm nine months old, they tell me I'm too old for bottles. I haven't used them many times anyway, so it's not that big a deal, but it took a few tries to figure out how to use a sippy cup. Mom put some milk in one for me at the airport Thursday, and that did the trick. Since then, I've been drinking water in the cup every day. Dad tells me it's a good habit to get into since it'll be hot soon. It's important to stay hydrated!

Here are some pictures of me eating parsnips and drinking from my sippy cup and of our new lizard friends.

Atlanta

Wow! We just got back from a week-long trip from Atlanta, and it was action packed. We went to Atlanta to visit Bubbe and Papa, and to celebrate Passover with them. It was also a great chance to see my Great-Grandmother Millie, Aunt Laurie, and some other family friends.

First of all, let me tell you that I did great on both flights. In fact, the people in front of Mom and Dad on the airplane told them how impressed they were with me. Dad did note that even though I was extremely well behaved, I didn't sleep much on the plane. There was just so much to see and do - how could I sleep? However, Dad thinks it's going to start being harder to fly with me from here on out since they can't just count on me sleeping through the whole flight.

We got into Atlanta last Friday, and took Mom out to dinner for her birthday. I haven't had a birthday yet (except for my actual birth day), but from what I've seen, they are pretty fun. We went to a really good Italian restaurant, and I even got to eat at the table with everyone in a high chair. It was my first time eating in a high chair. I decided to eat sweet potatoes instead of Italian, although Mom gave me a few little pieces of pasta to try. I prefer the sweet potatoes.

Then Bubbe showed me all of the toys she had gotten for me. I couldn't believe it. I spent a lot of time in the family room just playing with all of the toys. Aunt Laurie also helped me play with the toys.

Saturday night we had a Passover seder. A lot of relatives came over to help celebrate. There were 20 people in all I think. Bubbe and Papa even got me my own seder plate and haggaddah (Passover book). I really liked the haggaddah - I completely chewed it up. I really enjoyed the Passover seder; I laughed through most of dinner and was really well behaved. It was nice to see Great-Grandma Millie again.

Monday, Bubbe, Papa, Mom, Dad, and I all went to Zoo Atlanta. I saw monkeys (mom really liked the monkeys), a panda bear, goats, sheep, pigs, giraffes, ostriches, and more monkeys. But my favorite animals were the meerkats and the mole rats. Dad doesn't understand how I could love mole rats so much, but he's glad Papa insisted we go see them

On Wednesday, we went to the Botanical Gardens and looked at lots of pretty flowers. I also tried to eat Dad's hat.

On Thursday, we came back home to Austin. It was a great trip, but I am glad to be home. I missed my dogs and especially my Jumperoo. I have been jumping in it non-stop since we got back home. I spent a lot of time in Atlanta jumping on everyone's laps, and while they were all very nice about it, I think it's probably best to have the Jumperoo back.

Everyone took a lot of pictures of the trip. The pictures from our camera are here. Pictures from Bubbe and Papa's camera are here.

Nine month birthday!

I celebrated my nine month birthday by starting my day at the doctor's office. It's not much of a party, if you ask me. The bad news is they gave me two shots that made me feel groggy all day, but the great news is I'm healthy and growing. My weight is 16 pounds, 14 ounces, I am 25.5 inches tall and my head is 44 cm around. I can fit into my helmet when my head is 48 cm, so I'm excited that I'm getting there. The doctor also told us I can eat three meals a day now, and I can eat more things. I'm looking forward to all the new foods I'll get to try.

Mom discovered another new tooth today too. I'm up to seven now - four on top and this is my third on the bottom. I also have a new trick with my spoon. When Mom feeds me a bite, I bite the spoon and hold it in my mouth. Mom thinks I look like Popeye with his pipe, and it makes her laugh. You can see pictures of my funny new trick here.

My growth chart on the right side of the blog has also been updated. You can click on it or just check it out here.

Brushy Creek

Today Mom, Dad and I went to the park again, this time without the pups. Our friend Suzanne told us they had lots of gorgeous bluebonnets there, so we took our trusty camera with us. We got a lot of great pictures. I loved looking around at all of the flowers and cacti, and all of the people fishing, kayaking, and barbequeing. Mom and Dad say I can try all of that stuff when I get a little older.

Mom's birthday is next week, but since we'll be in Atlanta, she got to open her presents from Bubbie and Papa today (she already opened her gifts from Grandma, Grandpa and Oma because she couldn't wait this long for everything - she's bad!). She got lots of fun things for the house and a couple of fun things for me, including a bike helmet. Why does Mom think I need that? I can't ride a bike yet! Anyway, she said I have to wait until my birthday to find out.

You can see pictures from my day here.

A busy week

We've had a very busy week around here. First of all, our camera is sort of working again, thanks to Uncle Daniel. He suggested we stick it in a bowl full of rice to absorb the water, so after they tried that, Mom and Dad were able to salvage our photos and can kind of use the camera. Papa is going to hook us up with his old one when we go to Atlanta next week, so at least we can sort of use ours if we have to until then, and we didn't lose our pictures. Here's one of the photos from the park, before the incident in Bull Creek occurred.

Last night I got to hang out with our neighbor, Candace. We had a lot of fun. I showed her all my books and toys while Mom and Dad went out to dinner with our friends who are about to have a baby for me to play with. I think everybody had a good night, and it was a nice change of pace for all of us. I hope I get to see Candace again soon!

Today Mom and I did a mitzvah by volunteering at a Senior Seder at the Jewish Community Center. We hosted a table, which was a pretty easy and fun job. Mostly it was an excuse to enjoy a nice seder, meet lots of nice new people and see some old friends, but once in a while we helped the people at our table get anything they needed. The nice woman next to me, who was there with her friend, had also never been to a seder, and she said it was a beautiful ceremony. I liked the singing, but the Hazzan told everyone I was too little to ask the four questions. The matzah looked good too, but that's another thing I'll have to wait until next year to try. Oh well, next week I get to go to two more seders at Bubbie's, so that's something a little closer to look forward to. If you want to learn more about what a seder is and why we do it, click here to read all about it.

Here are a few more photos from the park.

The newest feature of our blog - illustrations!

Something bad happened today. It was gorgeous out, so we took our dogs to the park. Peepa was swimming with a ball she stole from someone, and another dog wanted it too. Peepa got in a fight with the dog and tried to drown it. When Mom yelled at her, she didn't listen, so Mom jumped into the water to pull her off. Mom fell on a rock, which caused her to fall the whole way in head first, beat up her knee, and because she forgot she had the camera in her pocket, ruin our camera. Luckily she got Peepa out of the water in time but Mom looked like a drowned rat as she stomped out of the park. Now Peepa is in the doghouse, figuratively speaking.

I guess the moral of the story is 1 - always listen to Mom and 2 - who knew Mom could fly like that!

April Fool's Day

I celebrated April Fool's Day (the day Mom and Dad met each other) by playing a funny trick on Mom. Every time she tried to give me a bite of food (broccoli - yuck!), I made a silly face at her. She thought it was so hilarious she broke out the camera and took lots of pictures of me. You can see them here.