"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.

Wet Roads, While Dangerous, Are Certainly Intriguing

Well, here we are again, folks. So after Halloween it got pretty cold and it rained a lot, which I've only ever seen once before, but this time I sat with dad by the front room window and watched it, and watched... mom managed to get me to turn my head away enough so that she could get a picture of how fascinated I was by it all:




I have slightly more control of my hands these days. They've been hard to tame, but I'm finally making some headway. And, as a prelude to getting my first "solid" food in about a month, I've kept up practicing eating the very same hands I just mentioned. It's terribly convenient and an easy pastime. I mean, it's not like I got a whole lot else goin' on. Anyway, the darnedest thing happened the other night. I was trying to have a bite, and my bib was in the way and WOULDN'T MOVE! I have to wear that dumb thing because my drooler has been working overtime the past few weeks, and it's really overstayed its welcome. Note my frustration in the following clip:






And here's a still of my exercise in futility:

Pit Stop

Today I saw a ladybug for the first time. While at Sunflower Market, mom was picking out some kiwis when she saw a ladybug crawling on one. She picked it up to show me. It was pretty dang exciting. Sorry no picture.

And its been 3 months today since I made like a baby and headed out.

Various And Sundry Things

Hey gang. I've been on the road a while, and it's good to be back to reconnect with my public. We had Halloween this week, so I'll get to that first. This is me in my trick-or-treat onesie, my leg warmers that mom made for me, and the socks from Grandma J that say "hocus pocus" on them. I also had my fingers inextricably tangled up, and I was so engrossed that I didn't realize the picture was being taken, but what else is new:




Mom and dad carved pumpkins one day when I was taking a nap, and really enjoyed it. It was all I could do to keep them from carving me into a jack-o-lantern too, but reason prevailed and they merely dressed me up as one. Then we all sat out on the porch for a photo op:




Then yesterday we hit the road for my first trip up Provo canyon. Mom and dad always talk about the fun they've had up there, so of course I went into the experience with high expectations. And boy, were they ever met! Dad put me in my carrier and we went on a super hard-core 1/2-mile hike around the grounds at Sundance. I saw so many trees and cabins and streams, and little wood bridges. We definitely have to go back again:




It got a little cold though, and it was getting dark so we went home. It was too bad since I was enjoying our outdoor excursion so much. But I guess it's kind of like warm bottles and naps and shootin' the crap with dad when mom's in class... they all come to an end. It was a happy time though, all of us up in the mountains and such:




And here's me with mah bear: