And For My Next Trick...

So I woke up this morning and had a shirt on. And I said to myself, maybe I'll try to take it off. As you can see, I didn't get very far:





I've also been learning to type. I usually dictate to dad and he types, but I've been trying my hand at the keys:

n i cvxcddd[p\
[;ppp0,kiop mb cg bnvy hj8u,.ji99ilmj 8yv bn.., vv c f gg uif u t5 u4b7 b7 ty tyt ytyyty8 ty8tew4 qccccccccccccccccccc2ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwfi l m, 9op '" ;

Yeah, that was all me. I'm just trying to be like my dad. How'd I do?

"So This Is The New Year" or "I Need To Get Back To Tempe"

Wow, what a trip. I've really been around since I last updated everyone. So here's the big honkin' post I know you've all been waiting for. The huge Christmas road trip. First things first, I guess. We drove from Provo to Page, AZ on the 16th of December. It took about 8 hours because of a snowstorm, but luckily I'm a whiz behind the wheel and I got us to the hotel safe and sound.
I wish I'd snapped a couple shots of the rim of the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas, all snow-covered cuz it was amazing.

The next day we made our way down to the Valley. I met LOTS of people, which I must say, I dealt with much better than before. In my younger days, I thought my parents and grandparents were the only people who existed, and learning otherwise... well it kinda freaked me out. But enough talk. Let's get to the pictures.

Here I am, just passing the time with a balloon on Grandma J's living room couch:




I didn't really understand all the festivities and what they were about, until on Christmas morning, I opened up my present...



I guess you could say I was pretty excited. I even got a little inappropriate with the giraffe's ear at one point:




Yeah, I got a little carried away. But that's what little kids are supposed to do. What can I say? I like my toys in a very personal way.


We also went to Grandpa Robinson's house, way out in Thatcher:


It was a long drive, but I did get to meet some horses:




...and mess around with my cousins:



It was my first time to see that part of the Grand Canyon state, and I'm already a fan. Maybe one day we'll go back to Tempe.
From Arizona we went to Vista for New Year's Eve. Mom and dad were going to go to Escondido to see some fireworks, which sounded like a good idea to me. But then it turns out that they just drove through Albertaco's and watched 16 Blocks at grandma's house. I worry that this might mean I have lame parents. Then again, who am I to talk, since I just slept through it all? Besides, as this post's title suggests, I have no resolutions.

For me, New Year's Day was the really big event. I finally got to go to the BEACH. Wa-hoo!



We went to Carlsbad beach for a little bit, but it was actually cold, if you can believe that. There was a really nasty cold wind right on the water so we only stayed for a little bit, but I was still very pleased with what I saw:





It was high times in California, as always. And the beach is so cool I can barely stand it. I got to put my feet in the sand too, but I don't quite know how I feel about it getting all stuck on there, and then it gets tracked into the car, and so on. Then once again we hit the road. Vista to Mesquite, Nevada to stay for the night, then Mesquite to Provo.

On the way we stopped at a place I've been to once before. Not being able to eat solid food is already annoying, but it was close to unbearable when I once again beheld the glorious fast-food heaven of... In-N-Out Burger:




Speaking of food, I turned five months old the day after we got back to Utah, which is the time that the doc said I could start having rice cereal. Let's hear it for that stuff, although calling it "solid" food is a bit misleading:

"Well Looky What We Have Here!"

Oh, I think I see something... is it.....?





Yay! My first big snowfall ever! I hear so much about the "greatest snow on earth" and how awesome it's supposed to be, and man, I can't wait to see. Let's go check it out.....




Dang. It's cold. What a disappointment. I tried to muster a smile but I just couldn't. Dad took a picture when he woke up this morning and it looked like this...




Sheesh. Everyone here says snow is soooo great, but I'm gonna have to call "B.S." on that one. Here's another view:



Just get me inside already. I definitely couldn't be happier about going to Arizona tomorrow. Christmas in the desert southwest- now there's an idea.

So I'm gonna switch gears here a little bit. Here's me and aunt Katie at Thanksgiving time. She really liked holding me. I have no problems with that:







Switching gears again, it's.... 80's FLASHBACK TIME!!!!! This is where we try to figure out who looked the most like me as a baby. The winner gets $10,000 and a trip for two to Cancun! Our first contender is my mom, circa 1986:


Here she is, showing an early preference for her favorite kind of shoes. Definitely some resemblance.




Our next contender is my dad, in a picture taken in March of 1984:






Truly a sight to behold, but I think we can do even better. Here's my uncle Owen, in 1989:

And I think we have a winner! Too bad he can't claim his prize though.*



*Contest open to current U.S. residents only. Void where prohibited. And in Newfoundland. So there.

I Am Baby, Hear Me Roar

Just a few new things for everybody tonight. Sometimes I get really amped up, and I start growling:




Then tonight, I was having some tummy time, only I rolled over, so I was on my back... obviously. So out of nowhere, dad decides do some impression of a southern black woman telling me to go to bed. It's not bad, considering he's getting over a cold. And I don't know why, but it was darn near the funniest thing I have ever heard. Mom had the presence of mind to grab the camera and caught it all on tape:





Something tells me I'm never going to learn political correctness in this house.
And I've saved the freakiest part for last. There's this thing in our house... that has a baby inside it, and he looks just like me. He's a good lookin' kid, anyway:

"Just Greenery And Humid Air"

So it turns out I never did post an update from California. Just way too much going on. And can I say, a 12-hour drive was way more than I bargained for. I definitely had a few moments in the Mojave desert that I'm not proud of. And then there was the poop explosion in a parking lot in Yorba Linda. But lemme tell ya- all things considered, what a great trip. I met tons of new family members...

(my dad here with his mom and her mom)


(my great uncle Dennis and great aunt Linda)

saw the ocean for the first time (albeit at night):

(from the end of the Oceanside pier)

....visited 3 new states, and most importantly just enjoyed the comparatively warm weather.
I loved walking around outside. Unlike here, all of the trees at grandma's house still have all their leaves, if you can call them that. Some pretty strange plants down in those parts. Palm trees, citrus trees, plumeria flowers, that one tree with the purple leaves... crazy, I tells ya. Let's not forget that I spent almost a whole day with my grandma while mom and dad went up to Balboa Island. They told me it would be really boring so I should stay and have fun with grandma. Sounds like flawless logic to me. I was sad to leave that place, and I could tell mom and dad were too. Just a few lyrics in memory of the trip...

"Been on the road a while
I gotta get back to a place with style
Hang out, havin' fun
I gotta get back to the beach and the sun

Southbound I-5
Windows down and music on the stereo
I'm drivin' and I'm dreamin'
There's no place I'd rather go"


And guess what, gang, I'm four months old today! This was me, four months ago, having a close encounter with a camera flash.



Ah, how time flies. I think my fans will agree that I photograph much better these days:



That's from this morning. If you look at my shirt, you'll notice the drooling problem I'm dealing with right now. It's a little embarrassing.
I went to the doctor yesterday for shots (I recommend against those, by the way) and a checkup, and the winning numbers are....
15 lbs. 12 oz. (70th percentile)
25 inches long (56th percentile)
43 cm head circumference (72nd percentile)

Yeah, I don't like to brag, but, you know, that's a pound above average for my age. I'm just sayin'.
I think that about brings us up to speed, although there are some pictures I don't have, which I know were taken, of me and other relatives, so hopefully I can get some more for the next post. Until then, stay warm out there.

"Get Into The Car And You Point It At The West Coast"

To start off, I'm pretty stoked about next week, when I get to go on my first official big road trip. When the sun goes down on Monday we're heading to St. George for the night, then driving on down to the Golden State for Thanksgiving. I hear the weather's gonna be pretty good, and something about turkey, which from what I can gather is something really good that everyone keeps raving about. I didn't really gather much more than that. At any rate, I'll be posting next from Vista, California- a northern suburb of "America's Finest City", hence the Mates of State lyric that is the title of my post today.

But that's not all, friends, no, not by a long shot. The last couple of days have been especially noteworthy, because here's why. A couple nights ago I was SUPER ornery, not unlike last Saturday night. Somehow, it wasn't any more fun than that time, but when my dad tried to put me to bed, I was so frustrated and fidgety- and I don't know really how I did it- that I rolled over! It was way freaky at first, but I've been able to replicate this feat several times since then, including the next morning when mom came to get me out of bed, and I looked like this:





So mom took a picture. I always sleep on my tummy, even though that's supposedly not the right way anymore. I'm over it. I just won't tell my doctor, since mom and dad haven't. As you can see, I definitely rolled onto my back after I woke up.
I'll admit, I feel very pleased with myself.

It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To

Hey guys, me again. Ready for some edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting action this week? Well so am I:





But, sadly, that is not exactly what we've got on tap. Just funny stories and goofy pictures. First we go to Saturday night. I really got myself into a heap of trouble, let me tell you. Worse than a blowout in a blizzard on a mountain grade. My mom and dad got invited to a surprise birthday party all the way out in Saratoga Springs. They were asked to bring a box of ding-dongs to contribute, and I got to hold it on the way there:




Only part of the box is in the frame, so it just says Dongs. That's awkward. So anyway, we got there, and it was before the surprise, and some older kid, maybe like 2 or 3, blew a noisemaker right at me as soon as we got inside. That did it. I turned on the sirens and the waterworks and I was going at full bore for about half an hour, before mom and dad decided to give up and go home. And as soon as I got in the car, I was quiet. For the whole way home. Take that, mom and dad, for trying to have some semblance of a social life.

In other news, I've been enjoying some quality tummy time while dad's been at work. These were taken close together, and they illustrate just how moody some babies can be. One second I'm confused, worried, not enjoying myself:



The next minute I feel great, like I've had a bit too much adult beverage, and tummy time is happy hour:



Here's a video of (hopefully) an early predecessor to crawling. At the end I put my head on my arm and rest a while.



And to wrap things up, this one was taken today, around the same time as the picture up top:



Also, happy birthday to my mom tomorrow! The big 23. A year ago today, I was a still-unknown little embryo, and none of the three of us had any idea what we were getting into.