Internet fame

We found out we're Internet celebrities once again. If you want to check it out, click here, then go to the "Blog" link on the right side of the screen.

New school

Today I started an enrichment program at the Jewish Community Center that I'll go to for two hours twice a week instead of my co-op. It went really well, and we're excited about it.

As Mom was leaving, I started to cry, and Mom was worried that I wouldn't have a good time. Before Mom even made it out of the building, another mother told her that I was happily playing already. Mom was relieved and thought it was really nice of the teacher to ask the other mother to give Mom the update.

My teacher said I was very engaged and happy and that I'm an easy kid. I painted a picture while wearing a little Home Depot apron - the teacher seemed very impressed with this; she told Mom a lot of kids won't let her put the aprons on them. You can see my beautiful artwork, which we were allowed to bring home, to the right. My teacher said this was a very impressive first painting - I used two paintbrushes and mixed my colors (red and blue). I also made doggy, kitty and firetruck noises, laughed, and played in a little toddler-sized playground outside. I really surprised my teacher with the amount of snack I ate - two bowls full of Chex and half of a Nutrigrain bar! Mom said they probably think she doesn't feed me. Including me, there are six kids in my class. Mom and I have seen some of them before at the Parenting Center. I am excited to make new friends and see some familiar faces.

The teacher told Mom that 90 percent of the other kids in my class are also going to have new brothers or sisters soon. What a coincidence!

Mom's really excited about my class, my teacher, and her assistant. I was very happy when Mom picked me up, and Mom thinks the teacher seems like she knows what she is doing and was happy to answer questions. We're so thrilled to have found a good fit.

Employee appreciation week

Saturday we celebrated Dad's employment by attending his company's employee appreciation event at the Austin Children's Museum. It was a great time! Although I fell asleep in the car on the way there and didn't wake up until we'd been there for an hour and a half, once Dad and Mom woke me up, it was totally worth it. We started out in a little area made just for kids my age, where I made some friends and found a red ball and a chicken coop with a button I could push that made a chicken noise. It was fantastic, and I was happy to be able to run around. Dad and Mom were proud of how polite I am - when other kids were in front of me playing in the chicken coop, I patiently waited in line behind them. Next, we went upstairs to a space where I could sort blocks into different shaped holes, then to the top floor where I found a little clubhouse filled with some great foam blocks. I also tried on a yellow construction hat, which was fun for a minute or two but then I decided I didn't like as much as my denim hat at home. We knew we had to leave when they turned the lights out on us, and it was a really great day, topped off with a chicken burger from my new favorite burger stand on the way home.

Sunday we had brunch with my cousins, Chuck and Kim. I don't like waiting, so we went to a restaurant that never has a wait, Hoovers. Mom ordered three blueberry pancakes for me. The waiter only brought one because he thought I had a little appetite, but he didn't understand how much I eat. They ended up bringing three more, and I ate two of them. I ate the leftovers for lunch. It was so good! Mom and Dad can't believe how much I'm eating these days. That's what happens when your main purpose in life is to grow, I guess.

You can see some pictures of me playing at the Children's Museum here.

18 month doctor's visit

Man, am I tired of the doctor's office. All they ever do is poke me, prod me, and give me shots. Yuck. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad insist on taking me there. Today we went for my 18 month check-up. The doctor said I am very healthy. She was really impressed with how much I'm growing. I'm up to 25 lbs 3 oz, which is all the day up to the 40th percentile! Mom and Dad thought it was getting a lot harder to carry me up the stairs. I grew to 30.75 inches (15th percentile), and my head size is a brainy 47.25 cm (35th percentile). Just when we were all happy with my results, they insisted on giving me another shot. Once I again, I expressed my displeasure rather loudly. The good news is that Mom and Dad said I don't have to go back for another check-up for 6 more months. Woo hoo!

Thursday, I went to my co-op for the second time. This time, Mom hung around for about 15 minutes and then she left. I played with my friends, climbed in a little clubhouse, ate some fruit and graham crackers, and some mulch (don't tell Mom!). When Mom came back, I cried everytime she got the near the door because I was afraid she'd leave again. Other than missing her, I really enjoyed my playtime with the other kids. Now that I know how it really works, we'll see how it goes next week.

Tonight, we celebrated no more check-ups for a while by taking another nice long walk around the neighborhood. I like these long walks.

Obama and the burger stand

So far this week, Mom and I have been doing a lot of things I'm not usually allowed to do. Usually we don't watch tv, but yesterday we made an exception to watch the inauguration. Mom said for a change, there was something on that we should be proud of, so we watched President Obama take the presidential oath. Because I don't watch tv, I don't really like it. When Aunt Lauren was here last week, Dad and Aunt Lauren were watching the NFL playoffs and there was a play late in the game where the quarterback threw a long pass into the endzone. The ball was flying right toward the receiver with a few people guarding him, and that's when I decided to show Aunt Lauren how good I am at turning off the TV. They were pretty impressed.

Today was a gorgeous day out. The high was in the mid-70s. After an aborted mission this morning (we went to story time at the library but I only lasted 15 minutes into it), I didn't want to take a nap. When Mom figured out that I wasn't going to sleep, probably because of a little cold I have, she asked our friend Zhenya if she wanted to go have lunch with us. Zhenya wanted to go and was craving something from an all-natural, organic and local burger stand called P. Terry's. Mom has anemia and is supposed to eat some red meat, so she said okay. She thought I might sleep through it and didn't know what to pack for me to eat, so she figured if I wanted lunch, she'd get it there.

I fell asleep as soon as we got in the car, but woke up when we got there, so Mom ordered a chicken burger sandwich for me for lunch. I surprised her by not only liking it, but by eating the entire thing! Zhenya shared a french fry with me too, which I also liked. We were happy to spend some time outside with our friend; it was a fun afternoon.

Springtime in January

We've had great weather the past few days, so we have gotten out and I've seen a lot of new sites. Sunday afternoon we enjoyed lunch at a fun restaurant, Shady Grove. The best thing about Shady Grove is that is has a huge outside part. We went around 3pm, after my nap, so we thought it'd be empty. It wasn't. Evidently everyone else in town had the same idea. We made the most of our wait though. Mom took a rest while Dad chased me around. I made lots of friends trying to sit with other customers, tried visiting the kitchen, looked through a big wagon wheel at Mom, tried shutting off their water valve and chased lots of grackles. Dad foiled most of my efforts, but before long we were seated anyway. We all had sandwiches - my grilled cheese was the best of all. I also had some fruit. It was pretty exciting. Thanks to Aunt Laurie, who sent us the Shady Grove gift card that paid for our delicious meal.

When we got home, we had a little time to kill before bath and bedtime, so we took a walk around the neighborhood. Dad asked if I should ride in my wagon or jogging stroller and Mom said neither, that we should see if I can walk the whole way around the block. Sure enough, I can! It was really fun. I held Mom's hand and we followed Dad, Peepa and Matty. Dad was amazed I walked the whole way - he bets it was half a mile. It was a great time. We had so much fun Dad came home from work early so we could do it again Monday night.

Speaking of Monday, Mom had to go to the doctor Monday morning, so when I woke up (late, because I was so tired out from Sunday) she was gone. Dad surprised me by taking me to work with him! They gave me a banana and a breakfast taco because it was employee appreciation day. Everyone asked me what I was going to work on, so I banged on their keyboards to help out. I also tested out the floor by running around all over the place. I used to think all Dad does at work is go to parties because that's what they were doing every time Mom and I visited. But now I know that sometimes they just eat, without having a party. Poor Dad.

I belong to a co-op!

Thursday I had the chance to meet lots of new friends, play with new toys and eat some yummy snacks at a co-op Mom and I joined. Each Thursday morning, I will go there for two hours. Each co-op session is six weeks long, and Mom has to stay twice each session. The other four weeks, she will leave to do work, run errands, hang out someplace by herself or, eventually, spend some time with Peanut. This week Mom stayed. There are six kids - four girls and two boys.

I really liked it. Inside I played with toys and ate some banana bread, oranges and apples we brought for the snack. We also went outside, where I ran through some leaves, climbed in a little clubhouse, carried a soccer ball around and tried to ride in a big plastic car (but lost the battle with another kid who wanted to ride in it more than I did). I am excited to go back again next week.

Mom is proud of, and a little sad about, what a big kid I'm becoming. She says she can't believe it. In addition to the co-op this week, I spent some time with Zhenya as well as in the babysitting room at the Jewish Community Center because Mom had a ton of work to do. I went to the babysitting room for two hours Wednesday morning and about an hour Thursday afternoon, and Zhenya spent two hours with me Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday went well. I was excited about all the toys the babysitting room had and there were lots of other kids there to play with. Zhenya is always fun - she played with me in my sandbox and with my toys upstairs and took me for a wagon ride. Thursday I was the only kid at the babysitting room at the JCC and not quite as excited to stay because I figured out that Mom was leaving. By then, Mom was tired of all of it too though, and we spent lots of time snuggling last night to make up for it. I think we both hope we don't have to do that again anytime soon.

Visiting with Aunt Lauren

We all had a great time when Aunt Lauren visited us last week. We had some nice weather, so we spent some quality time in my sandbox. Peanut is making Mom hungry, so we also ate a lot. Aunt Lauren thinks it's fun to cook so we ate lots of yummy food she made, and we ate at some fun new restaurants, including a Russian cafe and a little restaurant in the back of an Asian grocery store that Mom said may be the best Chinese food she's ever eaten.

Saturday night, Grandma and Grandpa sent us out to eat at Guero's, the restaurant that Dad took Mom to right after he proposed to her. I hadn't been there before, but Mom told me I would love it. For dinner, I got a chicken taco, and I LOVED the refried beans. I couldn't get enough of them. Yum! Guero's is my new favorite restaurant.

We got to visit with our friends Prabhakar and Zhenya and one day we visited the cows at Amy's Ice Cream, where I got to run around on a path we discovered. Aunt Lauren showed me a fun new trick that involves holding my nose, puffing up my cheeks and sticking out my tongue. Since she left, I've been doing it as my way of telling Mom and Dad I miss Aunt Lauren.

Here are pictures of our week.

Routinely Exciting

One of the reasons I write this blog is to help my parents remember what life is like right now. In a few years, all of this will seem like a blur for them. So they said it's important to record this so they can go back and read about it later. In that spirit, here is a typical day for me the past month or so:

6:30 a.m.: Time to wake up! I usually start the day by saying good morning to and chatting with my stuffed duck. After a few minutes of that, I start making louder noises so Mom and Dad know to come get me. If they don't get me within a few more minutes, I start yelling a little louder and jumping up and down in my crib. Once one of them comes in to get me, I jump for joy. Sometimes, I wake up a little later, but 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m. is typical.

8 a.m.: Breakfast. If it's a work day, Mom usually plays with me while Dad takes a shower and gets ready for work. Once he's ready, he takes me downstairs for breakfast while Mom takes a shower. Dad usually feeds me a banana, some toast, and a glass of milk. He also makes his lunch around the same time, unloads the dishwasher, and feeds the dogs. Mom comes down and makes me a pancake or something if I'm still hungry. Then Dad kisses us goodbye and heads to work.

8:30 a.m.: Playtime. This varies a lot by day, but this is when Mom and I have the most fun. Some days we go visit our farmer Miguel, sometimes we go to the library, run errands, or meet friends for a playdate. Other days we just play in our bedrooms upstairs. My favorite toys right now are books, my Duplo blocks, my percussion instruments, and a fun blue hipster hat.

11 a.m.: Snack time. My morning snack is sometimes a big meal, but it is usually one of my smaller ones. Typically, I get some fruit, like an apple or orange, or some carbs like crackers or banana bread. I LOVE oranges right now.

Noon: Nap time. Mom puts me down for a nap around noon most days, and right now I sleep around two to three hours. The best part about nap time is we read more books before I go to sleep, and I get to spend some more quality time with my stuffed duck. Mom usually gets some work done while I'm sleeping and cleans up the house from my time spent rearranging it all morning.

2:30 p.m.: Wake up! Once again, I wake up with some yelling and jumping. Time to get going!

2:40 p.m.: Lunch. After a long nap, I am hungry. Lately I've enjoyed carrots and cheese, as well as jalapeno bread Mom made this week. When I'm really hungry, I also have some fruit.

3:30 p.m.: More playtime. I usually play outside in my sandbox or at the playground at the park. If the weather isn't nice, we head upstairs to play with my toys instead.

4:30 p.m.: Snack time (again!). More snacks. Pretty similar to my morning snack.

5 p.m.: After snack, we head back upstairs to play and wait patiently for Dad to come home from work. I am usually the first one to realize when Dad gets home, because I can hear the garage door. It's pretty exciting when he walks through the door. I like to greet him with a scream and a big hug.

6:15 p.m.: Dinner. I have whatever Mom feels like making, and whatever I haven't already eaten that day - eggs, chicken, fruit or veggies, and some milk. I let Mom and Dad know when I'm full by throwing my food across the kitchen. Peepa and Matty especially like this, and watching them scramble for my leftovers really makes me laugh.

6:45 p.m.: Bath time. Mom gets my bath ready while Dad takes me to my room to get me ready for my bath. Dad gives me my bath, which I still really enjoy. Sometimes as a special treat, I get to take a bubble bath. Lately, I've enjoyed coloring on the bathtub walls with special bath crayons.

7:15 p.m.: Bed time. Dad reads me a few stories and tucks me in (figuratively - we still don't have sheets in my crib). Duck and I are happy to see each other at the end of the long day. Most of the time I sleep all the way through the night, but once or twice a week, I wake up at night and Mom or Dad read me a few more stories to get me back to sleep.

By the way, right now I go through five to seven diapers a day. A few months ago, we stopped using cloth diapers because it was aggravating Mom's morning sickness. We've been very happy with the disposable diapers.