taco

Today, my sister came over to play with me and help out with some chores. My house was a bit chaotic and we have two grandmothers coming to visit, and a birthday party to host. And I generally like to get into everything so we were past due to get some things put away and cleared out. My sister is so good at chores. You should see how tidy my tupperware cupboard is. wow. My sister also convinced my mom to part with the baby bottles that I never used and will never use.

It was a long morning waiting for my sister to arrive. I woke up at 6:00am and then I put on the bright white Mr Cool shirt that my sister bought for me. It was really hard to stay clean until she got here! I was a bit grouchy until she cuddled with me for my afternoon nap and then I turned into my usual showboat self. I really enjoy to show off for my sister.

While my sister was here, she taught me how to say taco. But I will only whisper the word. No, I didn't eat a taco. Technically, it was my first two-syllable word. taco taco taco.

I also tried brushing my teeth for the first time today. The baby books say I am supposed to start brushing as soon as I have four teeth - which I do - so I was a bit late. It will take some practice.

this is the best photo of me

My mom and I have been working feverishly for days trying to create an e-vite for my birthday party. You would think it would be easy but it really is not. We did a combination of birthday invitations (cards for those who don't use computers, and e-vite for the modern folk - which clearly does not include us) mostly because we are running out of time. My great-grandmother sent me two packs of cards to mail out so I have been working on those too. We had really hoped to include this photo of me on the e-vite but got stuck with a generic image.

This photo was taken at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on April 11. My mom cropped it recently (she is smart enough to do that!). You can tell that it was a special day because my dad licked my hair down to tame it. My mom says "don't lick the hair down . . . we don't live in Oklahoma." Plus, my dad should know that, in this day and age, you don't use saliva for grooming purposes. My mom says in the movie Fahrenheit 9/11, there is a horribly disgusting scene where Paul Wolfowitz (Wolfie) licks his comb to fix his greasy hair. gross. so gross. Wolfie is just a terrible man . . . one of the architects of the war in Iraq. Shame on him. While we are passing out scorn: shame on BP, and shame on the State Board of Education.

I have this photo in a frame beside my bed and I look at how cute I am every morning when I wake up. It makes me giggle.

My updates for the week: Marcie kindly agreed to fix the blanket that Tuesday tattered. On Thursday, I learned a new trick; I can now climb stairs. There is no stopping me now.

cat for sale - cheap!

Here is a photo of me almost but not quite showing off my top teeth. These have become known as my "beaver teeth." Soon my two top teeth will have some neighbors.

Today I went swimming. We all went swimming - even my mom. We had been searching for a bathing suit for my mom for months and she finally found one. Well, she found a top and a bottom and they don't match! But she doesn't care. You might even get a headache if you stare at the busy mismatched patterns for too long.

We might have a cat for sale soon. Let me know if you are interested in a cat with special needs who eats clothes and blankets and generally ruins everything in the whole world. Not too long ago, my mom gave Tuesday to me (uh, gee, thanks) since she likes me and she lets me pet her and pester her as much as I want; I can even pull her ear without her getting mad. Even now I have so had it with Tuesday. I was her last friend in the house.

We have to go to extraordinary measures to keep Tuesday out of my nursery. There is a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and another in my doorway. Anything precious is put away for safekeeping. I am just sick about what happened yesterday. My dad's co-worker Marcy knit me the prettiest softest yellow blanket before I was born. Since I started cruising in my room, my latest activity had been for my mom to set the blanket on the crib rail and I would pull it down and cuddle with the blanket and roll around with it on the floor. My mom had been trying to take a photo of me doing this to show Marcy how much I love the blanket but every time I see the camera come out, my head pops up! Whenever we left the room, though, we would faithfully tuck the blanket away in the middle of the crib on the unlikely/impossible chance that Tuesday busted through two baby gates and got into my nursery. SURPRISE, she did. And she jumped into my crib (another surprise to us) and started to tatter the edges of my beloved blanket. It is not as bad as what Tuesday has done to other objects but I have never owned such a precious blanket. While I am waiting to get the blanket repaired (I am going to beg Marcy to help me), I have taken up with the matching lamb Marcy gave me. I have named it Marcy.

Luka is in Chicago right now and I am feeding his cat. Maybe I could take Tuesday there and bring Max home. They might not notice that it is a different cat, right?

old photo

This photo was taken in April when it was still cool enough to wear a long-sleeve shirt. How I miss those days. There is no point to this story or this photo other that to remind people just how cute I was in April. I am not sure why my mom looks so weird.

e-trade baby

This is not me. This is the e-trade baby. Since I don't watch tv, I wasn't sure what all the hype was about but people ALWAYS tell me I look like the e-trade baby. I am chubbier and cuter. I don't think I would take financial advice from this kid because he has mismatched furniture - white dresser and a brown crib. So tacky.

My financial advice: once it goes in the piggy bank, don't take it out.

meeting

Yesterday, my mom had to go to a meeting in way north Austin. Instead of tagging along and sitting through a boring day like I normally do, I decided to go play with my pal Jensen. He lives five minutes away from where the meeting was held.

We sure had to get up early yesterday to prepare for a 7:00am departure. Now I understand why people complain so much about Austin traffic. It took two hours to get there - which, incidentally, is twice as many hours than we slept for the night before. I am getting a new tooth.

The morning at Jensen's went by pretty quickly. Then my mom came over to feed me at lunch. At her meeting, she had a lunch catered by Whole Foods. yum yum, she said. She left the meeting at 3:00 though because they didn't serve any cookies.

This swing was the highlight of my visit to Jensen's. Today, my mom and I went on a wild goose chase trying to find a swing to put in my yard. No luck. But we did find a new baby store with a decent selection of toys. I came home with a tambourine, a fuzzy pink giraffe, and a butterfly top. I wish they had toy stores here like the one in Victoria with all of the European-made toys. Sometimes, I get frustrated with all of this stuff that is made in China. It is no wonder that more than half of the kids in America are hooked on Ritalin and Aderol with all of these blinky flashing lights and loud noises. It is just too much for a baby to deal with.

Wish me luck in finding a swing. We have already selected the tree from which to hang it. We haven't told my dad yet that he will have to relocate his birdfeeder.

another birthday

Today, I celebrate my 11-month birthday. I thought I would try something new and adventurous so here I am standing in my crib. This is a safe activity because it is still daylight so I cannot be expected to fall asleep in my crib. Right?

Here is me in a nutshell at 11 months:

I have four teeth.

I don't eat solid food. NOTHING!

I weigh at least 23 pounds.

I am the fastest crawler in the world.

I cruise more than I crawl.

I still sleep with my parents so they don't get scared or cold at night.

I can say the following words: oh wow. yeah. dog. duck. mama. meow. yum yum.

I wave and sometimes say bye.

I am the most popular patron of the Bee Cave public library.

I am just learning how to pucker up and kiss.

My favorite game is "where's Atticus?"

Generally, I am just the healthiest and smartest baby ever invented. This is what happens when you spend time outdoors, at the library, and in museums instead of staring blankly into the television.

Now the countdown to my first birthday begins. I suppose it shouldn't be called my first birthday though since I celebrated every week and every month. Sometimes, I got lucky and had two birthdays on the same day or in the same week.

summer

Summer is back with a vengeance. Instead of frolicking away my summer days in the park or at the beach like normal kids who live in normal parts of the world do, I have to head to the mall or the library to escape the oppressive 102 degree heat.

Yesterday started with a trip to the library for story time. At 11:00am, it was only a cool comfortable 92 degrees. From there, we met my dad for lunch and then decided to meet my sister and her boyfriend at Macy's. This is a photo of me trying on the boyfriend's sunglasses. He is good with kids. He knows to step aside so he is not obstructing the billboard-size photo of Martha Stewart that catches my attention and makes me squeal with delight.

Speaking of Martha Stewart, I tore a page out of my mom's Martha Stewart magazine and I keep it in my toy box. The page has a recipe for Chess Tart (a southern classic, Martha claims). The tart appears to be ooozing out a caramel sauce. yum yum. But I still don't eat food.