Mitch In Action

Mom spent some time taking video of me rolling around, playing peek-a-boo, hopping like a frog, saying "ba", and blowing kisses. It's a little long, so if you don't want to watch the whole video, feel free to jump to the 3:10 mark to check out the best part, peek-a-boo.

New rides

I've had quite a week so far. I am getting so big, I needed a new car seat, and Oma was nice enough to get me one. Daddy put it in the car Tuesday night after I went to bed and Wednesday morning Mom and I had it checked to make sure it was in safe and secure. I like it. It's black just like the grown-up seats in Mommy's car, and it's higher up so I can see out the window.

I'm also big enough now to ride in the shopping cart at the grocery store, and I have a cool cart cover to sit on. Since I like to eat the cart handles, it keeps me from getting sick and it also keeps my skin safe if the cart has been in the sun. Mom likes it when I ride in the cart because she can see and talk to me the whole time we're shopping. Before I was big enough for the cart, I rode in my stroller while we shopped, which made it so Mom couldn't get as much (which Dad liked) and it made it hard for us to talk to each other in the store. The other cool thing about riding in a cart is it's easier for me to look at other people in the store and if I sneak up behind them and scream, I can scare them. It's fun!

You can see pictures of my new rides here.

Just like Daddy!

Before Dad came home Sunday, I wanted to remind Mom what he is like. She put me in my playpen so she could make my breakfast. There were so many toys everywhere, she had to clear a little space for me to sit amongst them. When my bananas and oatmeal were ready, she came out to get me and I had cleaned up all my toys! I put all the toys I could reach on one little pile, just like Daddy would have done. Mom was so amazed, she took this picture of me. I hope you like it!

Welcome home, Daddy!

I am so excited Daddy's back! He came home Sunday night with fun presents for me and Mommy. He got me a little bee teether, which I really like and have been chewing on a lot. Mom likes it because it was made in Germany, not China, and is made of wood instead of plastic. He also brought back a little wooden doggy pull toy, which I will have loads of fun with when I can walk. Mom likes that one because it's really cute. Daddy brought Mommy one of her favorite things in life, a box of chocolate.

To celebrate Daddy's homecoming, he took the day off today. Mommy and I are so happy we got to spend some time with him. After Mom put him to work pulling jungle weeds out of our front yard this morning, I convinced him that we should escape to the pool this afternoon. Mom packed our towels and a great lunch (but she forgot the camera, which is why we have these pictures I drew), I ate some zucchini and we head out. Once we got to the JCAA, we had a little picnic in the shade. Since I already had my lunch, I had to stare at Mom's sandwich to tell her she should share with me. She finally felt bad for me, so she made me a little cheese sandwich too! I've never had bread before, much less a sandwich, and it was really exciting. Dad said there's more where that came from, the wide world of sandwiches awaits me.

After lunch, Mom ignored Dad when he said we had to wait a half hour to get in the pool, and we took a swim. The water was cold, but that didn't stop Mom from swimming around underwater and we all had fun sitting on the steps. Over the weekend, inspired by my friend Ellie and her mom who is always well prepared, Mom got me some pool toys, so I had a good time chewing on those in the water as well.

We had a good time relaxing with Dad today, and I'm glad he took the day off to spend with us.

Pennsylvania came to me!

I had a pretty happy, busy week because Grandma and Uncle Daniel visited me. I was sad because Daddy wasn't here and I missed him, but we did lots of fun things and I am glad I got to see them. Mom says she had a good time too!

It was really fun showing Grandma and Uncle Daniel around Austin. We went to lots of yummy restaurants while they were here, and we went to South Congress Avenue, where we visited lots of interesting stores and Mom showed us where Dad asked her to marry him. I think that was a good move on his part. He has good taste.

Grandma and Grandpa got me lots of fun new books, and Grandma spent lots of time snuggling me and reading them to me, in between the nice songs she sang me. The weather was a little iffy most of this week, but we squeezed in some walks and even took Peepa and Matty to the park a few times. Uncle Daniel is really cool. He wouldn't change my pants, but he alerted Mom and Grandma when I needed help in that department. He is good at making funny noises and calling me Boop-a-Doop. He has nice fuzzy hair and says he will teach me how to use the Internet one day.

I had a great time showing Grandma and Uncle Daniel all the neat things I've learned since the last time they saw me, and I really hammed it up for them this week. I've been eating more adventurously, including spitting it out everywhere, sharing with Peepa and flinging my food from my spoon at Mom. I also worked my fourth bottom tooth out, which Mom finally was able to spot today. It really hurt me the past week, so I'm glad it's out. And I'm moving around a lot more. I'm rolling around more than ever, pushing myself in different directions with my arms, and I figured out how to push my knees off the ground this week. Mom says I look like I'm trying to do push-ups. I can't wait to show Daddy when he gets home tomorrow!

You can see pictures of our fun week here.

Happy Mother's Day

Step 1: Pick up cheese
I'm continuing to work my way through the world of food. Mom says she added cinnamon to my cereal, but I didn't really notice it. Our farmer, Miguel, introduced me, Mom and Dad to a new squash, calabacita. Mom likes it so much I've had to fight her for it! She is right though, it is very good. Miguel also gave us some beets, which I tried for the first time. I wasn't crazy about them, and since Mom thinks they're kind of a pain to cook with, we probably won't see them again for a while. I'm also getting much better at feeding myself with my fingers, and I've been eating lots of cheerios and cheese. This morning I had blueberries for the first time. They are delicious! Here are pictures of each step in the process - first I pick up the cheese, then I put in in my mouth, then I yell, "Hooray!"



Step 2: Eat cheese

Another fun thing that happened this week is Mom took me to the pool Thursday. We met up with our friends Ellie, who is six weeks older than I am, and her mom, Suzanne. It was a beautiful day and it was a very nice pool. I hadn't gone swimming since my lessons, and this was a little different. While my swimming lessons were inside in a big, deep pool, this pool was outside and it was shallow enough for me to sit in. It was fun because Ellie and I sat next to each other and she was nice enough to share her fun toys with me. Mom wasn't really prepared - all she brought for me to play with was a little cup. Also, she put lots of sunscreen on me so I was safe, but she forgot about protecting her skin. She is still very sunburned and sore and said she is now afraid of the sun. Dad says Mom gets hurt a lot.



Step 3: Celebrate!

Today is Mother's Day, which is nice, and Mom and I are excited because Grandma and Uncle Daniel are coming to visit me today, but the sad thing is Daddy is leaving for a week. He is going to Munich, Germany, which I hear is very far away. I am sad; I will miss him. He does funny things to make me laugh, like say "Uh-oh." Daddy says he is very sad too. He doesn't want to leave us. Mom says she will miss Daddy too.

You can see pictures of my new-found eating skills here.

I hate my hat

I've had a pretty exciting week, full of discoveries. The other day Mom washed my Jumperoo and when she put it back together, I showed her I can turn around in it to play with the toys on the back. She was really surprised to see me do it, and now it's like I have two new toys!

This week I also learned what my least favorite food in the world is - brown rice with lentils. It is so gross. Dad tried to trick me into eating it by mixing it with my parsnips and carrots, but I'm too smart for that. At least I'm now able to wash stuff I don't like down with all the water I've been drinking from my sippy cup.

I also finally figured out how to pick up Cheerios with my finger and thumb. They aren't my favorite because I'm not crazy about anything I have to chew, so I've only eaten a few so far, but Mom and Dad are pretty excited.

Next Sunday Daddy is going on a work trip to Germany for a week, so we celebrated Mother's Day today by taking Mom to Kerbey Lane, a fun restaurant. It was really exciting for me because I got to sit in a high chair and eat my breakfast (oatmeal with milk and a banana) there. At first they didn't have a high chair for me, so Mom fed me while I sat on Dad's lap. Mom said I was a moving target and Dad's knee ended up with as much of my breakfast as I did. It was very fun, and Mom was happy to have a morning out with someone else serving her breakfast.

We continued our celebration in the afternoon by taking a walk to the park with Matty and Peepa. We found a cool tree, and while Matty collected all the burrs he could find, Peepa ran around and tired herself out. The sun was shining and Mom was worried I'd get sunburned so she kept trying to make me wear my hat. Every time we're outside she tries to make me wear it, and every time, I take it off. Here are some pictures of what I think of the hat.