For Aunt Katie

Better This Than Nothing At All

So a few weeks ago I was watching Glee with my mom... maybe my dad was in the room too. I couldn't resist the urge to get my groove on. Here is the not-so-hidden camera footage of the event. Get ready, (insert dance competition tv show here), here I come!





P.S. I'm a little naked because I had just had a bath. And my gut hangs out over my diaper in an unflattering way, and yet balances my center of gravity so that I can bust moves like these.

More Cowbell

Well, kids, you haven't seen the last of me yet. It was either me or one of my parents who took the video camera in my room, left it on the table which is within my reach, after which a disorganized pile of hand-me-downs covered and hid it for weeks.

Those weeks are over, though, and we celebrated today by taking several videos for your viewing enjoyment. Here we present just two, which happen to be the least lame ones of the bunch. The first one speaks for itself. My mom is saying "boom" because that's what I usually say when I throw a ball. I guess it's kind of endearing or something. Anyway...





Now what we have in this next one is some not-sleeping, which happened last night. I had an unexplained high fever (39 degrees C, since the thermometer was stuck on metric units), and this made sleeping totally uncool, for me and both my parents. I was fine by this morning, but I did discover a great little show called Yo Gabba Gabba! on YouTube with mom. This is a show that is a little strange, but completely redeemed by the fact that it was created in part by the band leader (aka The Bat Commander) from The Aquabats, which, in my considered opinion, are one of the best bands to come out of the late-90s Orange County ska movement.

Here's me dancing the night away to this song. It was the only prescription for my fever:

"Listening and dancing to music is AWESOOOOME!"


In other news, one morning I woke up with something really funny going on with my hair, especially seeing as how I sleep on my tummy. This might not look that crazy, but since I was born basically bald, and continue to be so, anything hair-related is cause for celebration.



And here's me loving the attention, first thing in the morning:



Today we went on something of a field trip to a park in the neighboring town of Gilbert. There was a wicked-awesome duck pond there, but for some reason, the native peoples of this civilization have the strange custom of throwing bread into the water for the ducks to eat. The ducks, apparently not opposed to bread soaked in pond water, eat it right up, and even fight over it.



My dad duly taught me how to perform this bizarre and pointless ritual, then handed me a piece to throw in. Seriously? I'm going to give a perfectly good piece of bread to THOSE guys? So I popped it in my mouth without hesitation, which was hilarious to all the adults in my vicinity.

Food Network

Do you think I could have my own cooking show?



It needs a little work, but I got potential. Lots of it.

Exploration and Discovery

I like to explore my surroundings. Now that I can walk - like a pro, I might add - my exploring skills have improved by leaps and bounds. Or at least I can see higher up and therefore see more things that I want to touch. Lately I've discovered the following:

1. Hairbrushes and chapstick are not as exciting as they first appear.

2. Wax paper - let the good times roll

3. A place called the library has great long rows of books that are perfect for me to cruise down. Seriously, I could spend a good 20 minutes cruising before I even notice the books.

4. I move faster when my shoes are on my hands. I move so fast sometimes that my mom only gets a blur of me on her camera.

5. Using an exercise ball provides a great workout. My mom bounces it down the hallway and I bring it back if it doesn't come back. My dad says that this is what dogs do, but I dare Amber to ever come near this one.

6. Loading the dishwasher is a piece of cake. My cell phone, truck, and race car were looking a little dingy so I decided to load them up while my dad was doing dishes.

7. My new birthday swimsuit makes me look ultra buff - as opposed to just regular buff. Watch out ladies!

Computer Tech

Grandma took me to her computer lab before school started. She needed help setting up the lab, so I lent her my expertise for the afternoon. Check out my mad skills in action.

This keyboard needed inspecting, so I took a look at it. It was in working order as far as I could tell. I did need to plug it into a computer to be 100% sure. I ran out of time, and more importantly interest, before a complete analysis could be performed.

The most enjoyable aspect of this commissioned job (I got a glowing frog ball out of it) was exploring the lab. There were so many desks to crawl under, buttons to touch, and mice to catch.

And by the way, you're welcome!

One Whole Year Old!

Sorry to have kept you all waiting, but I've been learning to walk. Now that I have that mastered, I'll catch you up on the excitement of this month. At the beginning of this month, I had a birthday! Never before had I eaten cake. It was pretty good, but frankly I prefer ice cream over frosting. There were two different parties for me. The first party was with my cousins when they left AZ. They left before my actual birthday, but they talk so much about wanting sweets and such that I couldn't let them leave without giving them another reason to eat cake.

Mom made brownie cupcakes and covered them in frosting. At first, I had no idea what to do with it. The frosting felt funny and it stuck to my hands.
I would have eaten the thing whole, but Mom broke it into pieces for me. I took the largest piece and shoveled that into my mouth. Yum-o!
It may have been all the attention, the stickiness of the frosting, or the coldness of my belly (I spilled water all down my front), but not long after all the birthday fuss started I was so over it. I was ready to get out of that chair and away from that mess.

The second party was with my Grandma and her posse from CA. They came over just for me! Great Grandmama even came. She really likes to tickle my toes.

This party went down much like the first. I played with the cake a little bit and then was quickly over it. Had the cakes consisted of yogurt melts, the outcome would have been much different.

FYI, this is how I spent most of my birthday - pulling out the side table drawer, emptying all of its contents, and standing (or sitting) inside it. Obviously, I know how to party.

Science Rules

On another outing with my cousins, we went to the Arizona Science Center. I enjoyed playing with legos,

seeing an airplane up close and personal,

being the master in control of something cool,

and holding ping pong balls for my cousin while he built a pipe route.

My favorite moment of all was when I discovered a plethora of wooden cars that were just right to fit in my hands. It was like this little area was made for me.

There was a little house where I cooked cars for dinner. Yum!

Anyone want some sauteed ice cream truck? Anyone?
I was sad when it was time to leave. Next time we go, I vote that I should just start with the cars and stay with them while everyone else plays with the big kid stuff.

water park

Mom took me to the water park at Tempe Beach park with my cousins. It was unlike anything I had seen before. Water was squirting from EVERYWHERE! It took a while to warm up to the idea that this place was safe, but once I was sure I took full advantage of the place.

Strapped into my new big kid car seat I could see everywhere I was going instead of everywhere I had been.

Telling the mosaic turtle all about all the ladies that were checking me out in my muscle shirt was a good choice. He had some good advice.
This frog was very deep. We discussed the mysteries of life, mainly things like how much milk I can really consume in one sitting and how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop.
The ladies were very receptive to my charm and muscle shirt. I know how to work it.

I've got this new trick where I stand up all by myself. It works pretty well until I want to get anywhere. No fear, but instead of trying to step I spare myself the embarrassment and just get down and crawl.

When my cousins were good and tired, I was more than ready to go. Maybe I should try this walking business. My cousins can walk (and RUN!) and it seemed to help them enjoy the water park more. Lets just say I'm waiting at least until my other-one grandma comes to get my walk on.

skate park

While uncle Alex was here, I got to visit a skate park. It was so cool! Those skateboards are almost as cool as semi trucks.

I took lots of notes in case of the event that the X-games are in my future.

my days off

Mom and Dad have been super busy with school, so I haven't been able to dictate to them lately. I really need to get on top of getting my typing skills up to par. There is only so much practice I can get in before I hear "No! Computers aren't for babies!" Please. Like I'm doing any harm randomly pounding of keys. Am I right? Anyway, a lot has happened this past month. So much has happened that it should be broken down into installments. I don't want to spare you any details or pictures. To start, here is a photographic breakdown of how I keep myself entertained on the days that I stay home.

I snack on cereal - high chair or the floor - location doesn't matter.

I put the kettle on for Mom so she can have some nice raspberry tea while studying.

Good hygiene is always a top priority, so I always comb my hair and hydrate my lips.

Since Dad likes snacks after work, I try to prepare a little something for him. Sadly, I never get past playing with the wax paper. It's the thought that counts, right?

Stay tuned for my adventures with my cousins. You won't want to miss it.