Father's Day, 2009 (June 21)

This is me on June 21, 2009. Father's Day. I was only ten days old. Beverly (Millie's mom) brought over a card for my dad and she made me a blue knit teddy bear in her church group. She is a good neighbor.

Happy Father's Day to my dad and my three grandfathers. This year, I am one grandfather short.

In this photo, and the other ones from the roll of film, you can see what kind of personality I would get. Back then, I preferred to go naked, wrapped only in my receiving blanket. I would run about naked still if I could but people really expect to see a handsome boy like me well dressed at all times. You can also tell that I am a bit stubborn and I know I am king of the world.

My mom also showed me a photo of my first bath. Back then, my little whale tub (that later became a toy bin) was placed on the kitchen counter for my sponge baths. I couldn't take a real bath for about two weeks because of my, uh, sore spots.

Larry Dallas or Ned Flanders?

Today, my dad got out of the shower and I did not recognize him. This is what his new style is. Like I have just learned to say: ay ay ai. And I can roll my eyes too but it takes my whole head to do it! I mastered this trick on my grandmother's last evening with us.

This has been the busy whirlwind of a week. I have lots of stories to tell about visiting, birthdays (observed, and party), swimming, and eating. Yes, you heard me right . . . EATING!

Let me catch up on my sleep and get my photos organized and then I will tell the best stories ever. I do not know where the year went.

busy week

This is how exhausting it is to be almost one year old. I had a date to meet my dad yesterday at the art museum and I would have been late if it wasn't for my yappy alarm clock of a dog. My mom set this up with Photobooth to e-mail to my dad so he could see why I was almost running tardy. This is how I will probably be by the time my birthday party rolls around, too.

My grandmother arrived from Canada yesterday (bonjour). Now I have two grandmothers to play with! I have to clown around a lot to entertain them.

Tomorrow, we have a full day of errands. I need to finish (more like start??) getting ready for my party so I can relax on my real birthday. I ordered my cake today from Whole Foods. I picked the puppy dog cake with a ring of 17 cupcakes. bow wow. I have two distinct barks now: a yappy terrier bark and a deep one like Sybil. Sybil passes by every morning when I am standing at my fence.

I almost forgot the exciting news that my first birthday gift arrived in the mail today. It was from Liola. I love getting mail.

countdown to my birthday

As you know, we met my sister and Hector for brunch at Jack Allen's. It is a new restaurant where the food is all (mostly) locally grown. Everyone said the food was so yummy. I even braved up and tried several bites of cinnamon croissant. Mostly, I tried it to show off for my sister.

Then we went to the supermarket. My mom wanted to buy lavender ice cream to taste if it would be suitable for my birthday party. The verdict: way yummy (so say my parents) but too weird for the masses. I don't even know what kind of cake we will serve yet.

When we got home, Luka brought over some leftovers from his party - including a piece of angel food cake. He also gave me his extra "happy first birthday" napkins. I have a lot of work to do to get ready for my party. My dad mowed the yard today. The menu is almost set.

We have lots of playing to do too. My great-grandmother played with me a lot and we also danced. She makes noises that are fun to mimic. Fun times!

me and my great-grandmother

This is me and my great-grandmother. She woke up about the time I got up from my nap. Naps end early when you wake up at 4:00am. Now we are playing. I like her flashy watch. We are off to brunch soon. More later.

birds etc

My great-grandmother arrived from Washington last night while I was sleeping. I went to bed at 7:00pm because I was so sleepy after attending Luka's first birthday party. Happy birthday, Luka! It was a lovely party and I saw lots of my friends and two brand new babies.

It is just after 7:00am now on Sunday and I have already been out for an hour-long walk. We saw lots of birds (I am the master of birdcalls) and deer. And then we came home to read the news. Why doesn't anything good ever show up in the news?

This photo is of a pelican coated in oil. We are more than mad about this oil spill and we wonder what kind of dummies are running the show at BP when they cannot even stop the gushing after however many days (like 50 or 60). They have tried robots, stuffing the pipe with golf balls and tire bits, duct tape, bandaids, praying for it to stop, and ignoring it. SURPRISE none of that has worked. The pelicans are dying - along with everything else. Don't buy gas at BP. And don't go to Arizona (for entirely different reasons).

good riddance, tool of satan

Today, we traded our tv for the promise of a homemade loaf of bread. A famous baker lost her tv in the lightning storm early this week. And we have no use for our god-forsaken tv. The perfect match . . .