Did I Mention that it is Hot????

Well...It was another hot day. I thought I would share with you some pictures of me when it was not so hot. The first two pictures were taken a few weeks ago when we were at the Rose Gardens. In the bottom picture, I am inspecting my great birthday present from Green Bay Grandma and Grandpa. As you can see, I am also holding my trusted buddy, Bun, in the picture. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a little bit about my great friend, Bun.

Mommy started putting Bun in the crib with me every night when I was about nine months old. At first I was a little hesitant about this new sleeping situation, but Bun quickly grew on me. Now, I cannot even image life without Bun. If I see Bun out of the corner of my eye, I get so happy and start making a bunch of noises that I specially reserve for Bun.

Bun loves me, even though I torment him sometimes. For example, if mommy puts me into bed and I am not ready to sleep, sometimes I will throw Bun outside of my crib and give him a wave. I usually regret throwing him, but Bun cannot get back into my crib on his own. Today, I decided it would be jolly fun to stuff Bun's head repeatedly into a drinking glass. I also suck on Bun's face--it is my little way of showing him that I care. I will also hold Bun out to mommy and daddy so that they can kiss and snuggle (and suck on his face, if they would ever want to) with Bun, too. I am so lucky that I have a stuffed animal friend like Bun.

A/C at Grandma's

Today we went to my Grandma's house to beat the heat. They have air conditioning over there. But I wasn't the only one with that idea. My uncles are college students, so they can't afford air conditioning either. It turned out my Grandma's house was one big party with all the people trying to escape the heat.

My aunts and uncles sure were impressed with how well I can walk. I walked around the house over and over again, and I even climbed up the stairs several times.

At my Grandma's house there are toys from the 70's, 80's and the 90's, but nothing newer. Who knows how she managed to save all those things. My favorite is the plastic baking set that my uncles used to play with. Combined with my aunt's tea set, I can play all day. I also like the the "Echo-Mic". It makes and echoing sound when I shout into it. You know how much I like to shout.

I hope this hot weather doesn't last too much longer, because I'm starting to miss playing outside.

Global Warming?

I thought Minnesota was supposed to be cold! It's so hot, that in the photo above, my Daddy and I were sweating just standing there. When I look around outside, there's nobody there, even though it's a beautiful day.

So what did we do? Shopping at the mall.

Trying to Keep Cool

Since it is so blazing hot, I thought I would post a picture of me in the desert in Arizona last March. We are doing our best here to stay cool, but we are running out of ideas! Today, we went to the new downtown Minneapolis library. The library has a great children's section. I walked everywhere in the library. I enjoyed playing with the bigger kids. One girl kept giving me hugs. I really liked walking along the floor-to-ceiling windows that ran along the perimeter of the building. Sometimes, I ran so fast that mommy had to chase me!

After we went to the library, we visited Grandma in White Bear Lake. She has air conditioning. Grandma let her parakeet out of its cage and I was allowed to gently touch it! I also had dinner there, but ended-up feeding a lot of it to Phoenix, the dog. It was just so exciting holding my hand down by the dog and having her take food from me. I also went up and down the stairs at Grandma's house (and up and down and up and down). I could have done that all day. I have going up the stairs pretty well mastered, but I do not really know how to go down. If it was up to me, I would just leap from the top stair, but no one was letting me do it.

Pray for cooler weather tomorrow, or I may be going to the library a lot this weekend.

Lunch at a Restaurant

Here is a picture of me sitting with daddy a few months ago reading one of my favorite books, "Go, Dogs, Go." I like to read my books out-loud. This is what it sounds like when I read a book, "Blag, doggg, blaget, botty, gagda, dddaadd, blgagag, blahhggg." I sound just like daddy when he reads the book to me!

Today mommy and I went to a restaurant for lunch. We saw mommy's friend Liz and her new baby. I liked to look at the baby making funny faces. I did not like eating at the restaurant, however. Mommy got to sit in a nice comfy chair and I was stuck in the hard, wooden high chair. Then, mommy actually expected me to sit there while she ate! I was not a big fan of that idea and subtly voiced my opposition by throwing food on the floor, squirming in my chair, and whining loudly. Finally, mommy got me out of my high chair to walk around with me, but I wanted to just sit on the floor and eat the crusty morsels that I had moments earlier thrown there. She tried to pick me up off of the floor, but I had another new trick to thwart her. When she tried to pick me up, I turned into a rag doll and became really heavy and limp. It is like I have bones made of jelly and it is super hard for mommy to get a good grip on me. I am still in the early stages of this new trick, but it was quite successful at the restaurant today. I will let you know if it continues to be effective in getting my way.

Have a wonderful night.

I Know a Few Tricks

Today I tried out a few tricks that I recently learned. Mommy and I went on our morning walk and, as usual, I got a little antsy during the last third of the walk. Mommy let me out of the stroller so that I could push the stroller for awhile. As I was pushing the stroller, I remembered that I knew how to walk on my own. I stopped pushing the stroller, let go, turned around and ran away from mommy. Oh, what fun!

The second trick that I recently learned, I have dubbed the "yucky" trick. As you well know, I love to put just about anything into my mouth--the smaller and crustier the better. Mommy and daddy often see me pick-up a crusty little morsel off of the ground. As I am slowly bringing that little piece of yummy crusty delight to my mouth, one of them will shout "Yucky, yucky, yucky." I know what that means. It means do not eat that thing that I want to eat so badly. So, what I do is hold out my hand and PRETEND like I am going to give them the yucky crumb. I then pretend to put the morsel in mommy or daddy's hand. Sometimes, I will hold out the WRONG hand to trick them. It is great fun, albeit only moderately successful. Mommy and daddy are smarter than they look.

How do you like my latest pictures? The ones in the crib are great because I am doing one of my favorite things in my crib---not sleeping! The other picture is of me having a great time playing on the play ground at Fuller park. Enjoy them!

Hot Hot Hot All Over Again

The month of July--I've discovered--can be quite hot. My mommy told me that last summer, when she was 9 months pregnant with me, her feet looked like hobbit feet because they were so swollen from the constant heat. Luckily, I did not have to see that crazy sight! When it's this hot, there are only two things to do: 1) Swimming 2) Shopping.

My Daddy has taken me shopping twice in the last several days. The best thing about shopping with Daddy is that he lets me walk and shout. Walking and shouting is way more fun than riding in the stroller. Plus, today Daddy let me have ice cream.

Happy (early) Birthday to Me!

My birthday is August 6th, in case you did not know or (heaven forbid!) forgot. All of the glorious presents you may have purchased for me can be mailed to Sophia, c/o mommy and daddy.

We had a family party for my birthday this weekend because we are going to be out of town in Wisconsin for my actual first birthday. I tried to convince mommy and daddy to throw a big party for me with ponies, jugglers, a three-tiered cake, a ball-pit, clowns, balloon animals, a petting zoo, and tons of people. They decided against it this year, but promised me that I would have all of those things for my next birthday (stay tuned).

Wow! Birthdays are great. I am so glad that I get to have one every year. First, there are the presents. My presents included the beginnings of my fall wardrobe, an Amish rocking chair, toy cars, books... Then there was the cake. Mommy and daddy put a big piece of cake on my high chair and I just dug right in. They have never done that before! I got to stay up late, but the party was still going on when mommy and daddy tried to put me to bed. I cried. "It's my party, I can cry if I want to, cry if I want to..." Happy (early) Birthday to Me!

Six Weddings at the Rose Gardens

Wow! What a day! My grandparents came into town from Green Bay on Saturday. I love it when they visit---they bring presents and spend hours playing with me. We decided to go to the Rose Gardens at Lake Harriet. It is one of my favorite parks. Now that I can walk around, it is a good place to go nuts. Oh, yeah, I forget to mention that I am officially walking now. I still get a little scared walking long distances by myself, but I am starting to realize how great this walking thing is.

The Rose Garden is great because of the roses (duh!) and the fountains. But, who knew that the Rose Garden was Minneapolis' wedding Mecca? There were at least six wedding parties there (yes, I said six). We knew that something was going on because my daddy almost got run over by a couple of stretch hummers on our way to the Rose Garden. I could not take my eyes off of the beautiful brides in their sparkling wedding gowns.

The Park

Yesterday Daddy took me to Fuller Park. I played in the sand.

Daddy also taught me how to draw. I drew on the paper, on my face, on Daddy's face, and on the table. It was fun. Later, Daddy had to clean it up from the table. That didn't look like fun.

Breakfast with the Heff's

I love the mornings. Mommy and daddy always seem so bleary-eyed and tired, but I cannot wait to get my day started. First, I have my own breakfast. Mommy helps to feed me. This morning I had bananas, steamed carrots and yogurt. Then, I helped daddy make his lunch. I even watched the kitty eat her breakfast of cat food. In fact, sometimes I try to sneak a few pieces of cat food for my breakfast, too. But, mommy and daddy usually get to me before I can get a few of those tasty fish-flavored morsels into my mouth.

Picnic at Daddy's Work

I went to my first picnic at Daddy's work today. It has been super hot outside, but today it rained all day! Luckily, the picnic was not cancelled because I had so much fun. This is a picture of Nicholas and me at the picnic. We are almost the exact same age. In fact, we are similar in many other ways too. When we were tiny babies, we cried all of the time; we do not like to sleep; naps are something we can both do without; and we wear the same diaper size! I know that we wear the same diaper size because my mommy and daddy forgot to bring an extra one, and let's just say, I really, really needed a new one. We look like we are bored in this picture, but we actually had a lot of fun.

I had Mexican food for dinner at the picnic. My favorite food was the beans. I grabbed them by the handful off of Mommy's plate and tried to shove them into my mouth. That particular eating technique would seem like it would work, but most of the beans fell into mommy's lap. I just get so excited around food! After dinner, one of the big kids (Joanna) wanted to walk with me around the park. So, Joanna, daddy and I walked all around the park. Joanna and I played a fun game where I would hand her my cup, she would hide it behind her back, and I would try to get it back. I just wish I could explain to you how much fun those games can be.

See you later alligator!

More Swimming

This is a classic picture of me from the winter when I was about 6 months old. It's about the only time I ever smiled in my car seat.

Anyway, I had a great day yesterday. First I went shopping with my Mommy at the Galleria. Here is my advice to you: if you find yourself in a place with an echo, you should shout as much as you can. That's what I always do. The best places for shouting are Art Museums and Libraries. The Galleria had a nice echo too. So I whooped it up as much as I could. It was a blast.

But the best part of my day came later, after Daddy came home from work. We went swimming at my favorite pool; Fuller Park. I held on to my Daddy's hand, and I went around and around. I greeted all the kids with my famous wave. Mommy and Daddy thought we'd just stay for a little bit, but I was having so much fun that we stayed for 40 minutes.

I know it's a tough life, but somebody has to do it.

Fun Day at the M.I.A.

Here's me and my Mommy in the new outfits we bought yesterday.

Don't we look cute?

Here I am walking to the art museum with my Daddy.

Here we are at the entrance to the art musuem.

It's too hot to write very much today. I'll see you tomorrow.

The Hottest Day of My Life

Today was the hottest day of my life so far. No lie. It was 102 degrees outside. It was so hot that I had to wear and orange sweat band to hold back the dripping sweat. We decided to spend most of the day indoors with the air conditioning. But that's OK by me. Today was the weekend, and I love weekends because Daddy stays home all day. Nothing is more fun than a day full of activities with Mommy and Daddy.

The first thing we did to beat the heat was go shopping. I picked up a couple of cute onesies and a tank top. My Mommy loves tank tops, and so do I. In the photo you can see me shopping for jeans. (Actually, what I'm trying to do in that photo is eat the security tag, but don't tell.) I also got a new pair of shoes.

While my Mommy was trying on dresses, I grabbed my Daddy's hand and started to run around the store. Once I ran under a rack of clothes and my Daddy had to follow after me so that I wouldn't fall over. It was pretty funny to watch Daddy crawl under a rack of clothes in the middle of a department store. After that first time, Daddy wised up, and steered me away from going under the racks.

After shopping, we went to the Heffelbower Grandparent's house for dinner. (We made sure that they would have the A/C turned on before we agreed to come over.) They served Chinese food for dinner, but I hardly ate anything. I was way to excited. There were so many Aunts and Uncles to play with. And did I mention that my Grandparents have a dog and a bird? You know how much I love birds. Now, when I say I didn't eat very much...I mean I didn't eat much dinner. But I did eat my entire dessert; Key Lime Pie.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another hot one, but it's also a weekend, so I'm sure it will be fun. Good night.

It is Hot Hot Hot!

I think it was almost 100 degrees today. It was really hot, so we tried to spend a lot of time inside. One of my activities today was going grocery shopping at Lund's with Mommy and Daddy. A lot of people hate grocery shopping, but I love it. Here is why: (1) The Food. You can't argue with the food. You know how much I love to eat. (2) All of the friendly people for me to wave and point at. The grocery store is full of them. (3) Free samples. Need I say more? (Especially the cheese.). (4) Pushing the cart. A couple of days ago I told you about pushing the stroller, but that is nothing compared to pushing the cart. The cart is great because I have a clear view right through it.

Earlier today I tried out a new--although somewhat scary--trick. I climbed up three stairs. Fortunately, my Mommy was standing right behind me while I was climbing. I think Mommy was curious to find out how far up the stairs I would go. I would love to make it to the top of the stairs, but I heard some mention about another "baby gate", so I think my plans may be thwarted.

Remember yesterday when I told you about getting my knee stuck in the crib rails? Well, I did it again! I think I'm on to something here. I successfully avoided another afternoon nap, simply by sticking my leg through the crib rails. It works like a charm, but it is a little painful. It is a tough call, but I think the pain is worth it.

Mommy and Daddy were a little dim today. I had to remind them repeatedly where my head is. They kept on asking, "Where's your head?" I would then point to my head. My head is where it is every day--right on top of my body. They would cheer and shout every time I correctly pointed it out. I guess it can take Mommy and Daddy a little while to learn those things.

Well, it's time for Bun and me to go to bed. If you could see me right now, I'm waving at the computer. Good night.

It has been quite a day

I do not even know where to begin! First, mommy put me in the crib for my "afternoon nap" (ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!). I do not like to take an afternoon nap and I usually protest so loudly in my crib that mommy comes to get me after a little while. I have her wrapped around my teeny tiny baby fingers. Today, as usual, mommy put me in my crib and I cried and whined. I also tried to climb out of the crib (or, I as I like to call it, "my jail cell") to free myself from this mommy-imposed bondage. As I was doing so, my leg got caught in-between the bars and then my knee got caught, too. If you have not seen me lately, my legs and knees are perfectly round and fat. The more I struggled, the more my knee got stuck! I started to scream and shout. Mommy did not hear me right away and I screamed and shouted some more. After a few minutes, she heard me and came into my room to rescue me. Mommy had to push really hard to get my knee out of the crib rails. We thought it was broken. (I am a little dramatic and probably screamed a little more than I needed to when she pushed my knee out of the crib rails). Luckily, after I calmed down, we looked at my knee and it was a little red but I could move, walk, and crawl just fine. No broken bones here! Mommy also called the doctor, who said not to worry unless I refused to walk or crawl. I think we are A-Okay.

Speaking of crawling, first I learned to walk and then I learned to crawl. I am a little odd in that way. I started crawling on all fours today! I like walking much better, but crawling certainly has its advantages. For example, it is not quite so breezy when you are on all fours; it is not very far from the ground when you fall; your toys are within easy reach, and you do not have to bend over to get things. I like to crawl, but I think that walking is going to be my primary means of movement for the long-term.

After I hurt my knee, mommy must have felt extra sorry for me because she let me do something a bit naughty. She let me take all of the toilet paper off of the roll in the bathroom. I was pretty thrilled at this fortunate turn in my day. I pulled and pulled the toilet paper with such glee and delight you could hardly believe it. After I had finished with that roll, I played peak-a-boo behind the shower curtain. Who knew a bathroom could be so thrilling!

It has been a long day. I will write about more adventures tomorrow.

A Long Time Ago

This is me when I was a teeny tiny baby. I'm being held by my auntie Katie. Can you believe that I used to be this small?

I am a busy blogger

Here is a picture of me busily typing on my keyboard. I want to keep my blog updated for all of my fans. It is a tough job, but some baby has to do it.

Today I got up at 4:30 in the morning because of a particularly vocal cardinal. If you do not know this about me already, I love birds. When I heard this cardinal singing, I stood up in crib and started to say "Bur, bur, bur." Then I started to cry because I wanted my mommy to come and get me so that I could see the cardinal out of the window. It worked! Mommy came into my room and instantly knew what I wanted. I pointed to the window and said "Bur." Mommy rocked me in the rocking chair and we tried to find the bird outside, but it was still dark. I babbled a lot about the "bur" and rested my head on my mommy's head. Soon, I got tired again and went to sleep in my crib. I wonder why that cardinal was up so early singing just for me?

I am learning how to eat with utensils. It is harder than it looks. I think that I may be doing something wrong. Here is what I do: first, I hold onto a spoon or fork. Then, I pick up a piece of my food (like a raspberry or piece of chicken) with my other hand. I then place the food on the spoon or fork and wait a few seconds. After that, I again pick the food off of the spoon or fork with my fingers and put it in my mouth. I know that I am doing something wrong, but I cannot figure out what it is.

One of my favorite things to do is to wave to people. I also wave to inanimate objects. I like to lean over the side of my stroller and wave at my shadow. She always waves back! I also like to wave at things that I drop. For example, if I throw a piece of bread off of the side of my high chair, I look over and wave to the bread. It is my little way of saying, "Bye-bye bread. It was nice knowing you. You were awfully tasty."

That is all for now. It has been a long day and my little baby fingers are sore from all of this typing.

Me and Bun

This is "Bun" and me. My Mom took this picture about a month ago. She thought it was so cute that she couldn't resist. She's lucky I didn't wake up!

A day in the life of me

I am going to describe for you my typical weekend day. I usually get up between 6:00 and 6:30. I like to pull myself up on my crib rails and jump on my mattress. I get bored of that pretty quickly and then I want my mommy or daddy to get me. I start to whine and cry a little. If they still do not come to get me, I whine louder and start to shout. That will usually get them to come. Usually my daddy comes to get me. I am so happy to see him. As he pulls me out of the crib, I turn around and point back into the crib to my little bunny. Bunny sleeps with me every night. Daddy then picks up bunny and bunny and I snuggle in daddy's arms. Daddy brings us to mommy, who is still in bed. I nurse in bed with mommy and then we all play in bed for awhile. It is fun, but I really want to go downstairs and play with all of my toys.

Sometimes, either mommy or daddy will stay in bed for a little while longer while the other comes down to play with me. Today, daddy went downstairs with me first. I played while he made my breakfast. For breakfast today I had lasagna left over from last night and some yogurt. It was yummy and I ate it all. Then mommy got up and we all went on a walk. It is only about 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning when we go on our walk, so not too many people are outside. First, we go to Java Jacks to get some coffee. Mommy and daddy get me an extra cup of "coffee", too. My favorite part of the walk is hearing and watching all of the birds. I am trying so hard to say the word "bird" but it comes out as "bur." I usually get bored at the end of the walk. I demand to get out of the stroller. The only thing that will make me happy is if I am allowed to push the stroller. You would not believe it by seeing me, but I can push the stroller several blocks. Daddy took a picture of me doing it with mommy helping to steer.

After we go on a walk, I am usually ready for my nap. I take a morning nap at about 9:00 am. I generally sleep for three hours. I like my morning nap and bunny (aka bun) and I sleep for about three hours. After I wake up, I have lunch and then we go out and do a fun activity. Today we met the Heffelbower clan at Lake Harriet for a picnic. I had a great time sampling all of the food and walking in the grass. After that we went home. We played and read books and did a bunch of things that only an 11 month-old would find fascinating.

I love to swim!

Yesterday I went swimming at the wading pool at Fuller park by my house. We were walking to the pool when my daddy saw Uncle Brett drive by in his car. Actually, I am not quite sure what he was driving. I heard my daddy call it a "station wagon." So, Uncle Brett went swimming with us, too. We had so much fun splashing in the water. Some of the big kids came over to me to say hi and play with me in the water, too. How do you like my yellow floaty-thingy? I love it. I can kick my legs and bob around in the water. My parents got it for me from K-Mart. I do not like K-Mart very much. It smells bad there--kind of like old moth balls. We usually go to Target, which I think is great. Target has a lot of toys and a lot of space for me to walk around. I have never been to Walmart, but I heard that Walmart sells guns, and I am a peace-loving girl.

Another Crazy Face

My daddy has a knack for capturing my crazy faces. He took this picture of me today. Do you see all of my beautiful teeth? I have eight of them. I use them for eating all kinds of things--steamed broccoli, salmon, cheese, the kitty's tail, books, my mommy's fingers, and the list goes on.

Today my friends Harry (9 months) and Dax (10 months) and their mommies came over to play. I am a bit of a bully with the two boys. I am the only one with any real mobility and the ability to stand, so I can stand over them and push them, or pat their heads (like I did to Dax today). Sometimes I like to share my toys, but other times the only toy that will make me happy is the one my friend is playing with. When that happens, I usually just steal it from him. Sometimes he will steal it back and it will become a war until a mommy intervenes. I will also try to snatch food away from my friends, too. Today, I almost got a "veggie-poof" out of Dax's mouth, but his little teeth were too quick for me. Next time, I will be quicker.

I do not like sleep

Grandma Ann and Auntie Lindsay came to my house today. We played a lot of fun games and they took me for a long walk. Grandma Ann comes over to my house once a week to play with me for a few hours while my Mommy runs errands. I usually do not get upset when my mommy leaves, but I cry almost every morning when my daddy leaves for work. It is so sad that I will be able to see him for 9 long hours!

I am generally opposed to sleeping. I would much rather play all day--no matter how sleepy or fussy I get. There is just simply too much to do! Tonight I did not want to go to sleep at all. My mommy and daddy saw me yawn 15 times in 15 minutes and decided that it was time for bed (7:00). Little did they know that I had other plans. I squirmed and fussed and wanted to look out the window as my mommy attempted to nurse me asleep. She put me in the crib still awake. I whined and cried for 20 minutes. Sometimes I do that just to see if she will come back to get me. Tonight, she did. I was SO happy. She rocked me the rocking chair. I get extra cute and charming when I am trying to get my way. I laid in her lap and laughed and laughed as my mommy tickled me. It was great. But, alas, she finally put me back in my crib. This time, I did not cry.

I have one more funny story to tell. I was eating my dinner tonight in my high chair when I spied a wasp on the ceiling. I was fascinated by it. My daddy noticed it, too. He told mommy to stand outside with the door open and he would attempt to shove it outside with a pillow. My daddy gave the wasp one good hit with the pillow and the wasp was thrown right down mommy's shirt! She screamed and screamed, but could not get the wasp out. Finally, daddy said, "Take your shirt off!" Mommy took her shirt off and the wasp flew away, but only after it sting her two times under her armpit. Mommy was crying (and laughing a little, too). I was a bit shocked by the whole crazy scene and gave mommy a little wave from the high chair to let her know that it would be okay.

How do you like the pictures that daddy took today? In the first, I am eating a graham cracker, which, I believe, is the greatest food ever invented. In the second picture, I am not in jail, but standing at the top of the stairs behind the "baby gate." I love to stand there and jump and shout. I do that with mommy and daddy almost every night.

A Day With Daddy

My Mommy had an interview for a job today, so I spent a few hours alone with Daddy. We went to the beach at Lake Harriet. I played in the water and only ate a little bit of sand. My daddy tried to get it out of my mouth before I ate too much, but I was too quick for him. Yum, yum.

How do you like my new pictures? I know that my hair has been looking a little funny these days. It is partly my fault and partly the fault of my parents. It is my fault because I often smear food in it through-out the day (cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc). It is my parents' fault because they are letting my bangs "grow out." Also, I generally refuse to wear barrettes. My mom will put one in my hair and I will promptly pull it out and attempt to eat it. Please bear with me during this awkward hair phase.