Christmas came early

Christmas came two months early!

We slept in late today and then went outside to play in the yard. I like to spend at least three hours in the yard each day. It was cool enough for pants this morning so we got fooled into thinking that fall might finally be here. No such luck. We checked the weather forecast and it will be up to the mid 90s again by Tuesday. Tomorrow it will only be 82.

I am getting a bit worried about my Halloween costume since it is really fuzzy and I would bake if I even tried it on. I don't think I will like Halloween anyhow. Several days ago, I saw someone with a costume and scary make-up on and I cried and cried and screamed. way too scary for a boy like me.

After breakfast today, we noticed that my neighbor was riding around on his tractor. He has had that tractor parked in front of his house all week and it has been the center of my universe. Countless times each day, I ride in my wagon over to look at it. "Tractor" is the first thing I say in the morning and the last thing I say before falling asleep. And I talk about tractors all day long.

As if seeing the tractor in action wasn't great enough for one day, my mom had arranged to buy some toys from a Waldorf family. The little boy was selling his entire fleet of trucks and cars. I also got his Duplo collection and science viewers.

After we bought the trucks, we had to go to the mall to return some pants; since it is so hot, I would outgrow them before I ever got to wear them. As soon as we got home, Buddy and Betty came over to bring me some more toys that their grandchildren have outgrown.

I have a busy day planned tomorrow. I am going to play trucks all day. It might rain so it is good that I have all of these new toys to occupy me.

imposter!

Either someone stole me and put me in a PETA ad or I have a long-lost twin.

This dog looks pretty friendly. I also like to drop food off my highchair for Remus. We like most of the same fruits and veggies. Remus cannot have grapes though because they are toxic to dogs. Sad for him. Happy for me though because I am addicted to organic red grapes. I don't like the green grapes.

While my mom was perusing the PETA website today, she noticed that they are hosting a contest right now for cutest vegetarian baby. The contest closes on Friday so I need to prepare my application tomorrow. Cross your fingers that I will become the poster child for PETA. What an honor that would be! I wonder if my chances are ruined because they already have the kid who looks exactly like me.

pumpkins

On the weekend, my sister won a pumpkin carving contest. This is a photo of her creation. Her pumpkin is the owl. (There is an owl on my pajama shirt tonight whooooo whooooo.) Hector made the cat pumpkin; he used a stencil but my sister did hers freehand. She could be a famous artist if she set her mind to it. She won a gift certificate to a fancy fancy restaurant. UCHI.

The first photo is me, dressed like a pumpkin, having a nap with Trinity's black cat. The photo was taken in August but it is never too early to start celebrating Halloween. (By the way, the remote control is in the photo but we did NOT watch tv.)

My mom will make me some pumpkin muffins for Halloween and I have tickets to attend the Parsnip Path.

boo.

August 13: waffles for my great-grandfather

On August 13, my parents went to the Cornerhouse with the two grandmas to celebrate what would have been my great-grandfather's 86th birthday. My mom had the famous (infamous?) strawberry waffles. I didn't go to breakfast because I am too wiggly to go to restaurants and it isn't very much fun for my mom to stroll around outside trying to occupy me while everyone else enjoys a leisurely breakfast. Well, we love strolling together but just not while a plate of food is sitting inside getting cold. My sister didn't go to breakfast either because she doesn't really like greasy food and she was eager to spend some time with me. My great-grandfather would have enjoyed the breakfast. It was Cornerhouse at its finest. I think, though I cannot be sure, that they tried to pull off some whipping cream art and this is maybe a heart. or a flower. Either way, it is cute.

After breakfast, they all went to the fancy bookstore downtown and my great-grandmother bought me this shopping cart even though she already had enough toys to open her own shop! My great-grandmother spoils me, but I am NOT complaining. I pushed the shopping cart around and around her living room and in the kitchen (wow it moves fast on the linoleum) and then we took it outside while everyone else worked on slicing strawberries and making the prettiest flower bouquets in the world.

Thanksgiving 2009

Here is a photo of me with my sister and my great-grandmother last Thanksgiving. I guess people are right that I really have slimmed down! Look at how cute I am and look at how interesting my great-grandmother's watch is. Every time I see her, I am mesmerized by her watch.

For Thanksgiving this year, my great-grandmother is scheduled to visit me for a week. So it is very important for her to feel better. I have some fun activities planned for her . . . like playing with her watch. fun! And I can take her somewhere for gelato. yum! This week, I learned how to say "grandma" and I can also say my own name. I call myself either "Addy" or something like "Aktis."

two of my favorite things

Trucks and wagons.

This family in Alaska converted their truck into a wagon. This is my dream come true.

I like to sit and watch the trucks pass my house. I call out "truck" each time one passes. I have been known to wake up in the night and holler TRUCK; I can hear them coming from miles and miles away.

I like to ride in my wagon. Sunday morning is usually when I get my best wagon ride of the week. My dad takes me all around and then we stop in to see my neighbor Jack (who, incidentally, has a truck) and we visit with him a while until breakfast is ready.

bark

This is why I am going to be a dog for Halloween. I haven't had much luck with my crib but I will gladly crawl into the dog crate when no one is looking. My mom says this is gross but I think it is fun.

Once I got caught on my hands and knees about to lap some water up from the dog bowl.

So this all proves that I am a dog.

sweet sixteen

Today, I celebrated my 16-month birthday. We had a quiet day since I am still afflicted with chicken pox and I am not really supposed to be out and about spreading my virus. However, I am a hot commodity right now and some people want to use me to expose their children to chicken pox. We are not so sure that is a good idea.

I got up just before 8:00am today, played inside and then outside, ate a hearty breakfast of organic grapes, pineapple, organic peas, Swiss cheese, multi-grain bread, and water, and then played some more until it was nap time and I really did not want to have a nap. And then I did not want to wake up from my nap. These chicken pox make me sleepy during the day.

One photo above is me playing before breakfast. Maybe if you look closely, you can see the chicken pox on my leg. The other photo is me at the end of breakfast. Now that I am older, I have some chores. At the end of my meals, I wipe down my highchair tray with a clean warm soapy rag. My other chore is to put face cloths back in the box after they come out of the laundry. I can do most chores that require me to put things "back."

For my birthday, I got a new purple ball to play with in the yard.

get well

This evening, we got the sad news that my great-grandmother is sick and she had to go to the hospital. She has always been very healthy and active and she helps a lot of her "elderly" friends and neighbors (some of whom are younger than her!!!). I think she might be stricken with sympathy pains because of my chicken pox. I hope she knows that I am almost on the mend so she can get better too. I have to recover from my grouchiness that set in when the virus started coursing through my veins like poison.

I was going to save this photo of me and her for when I ever catch up on my vacation stories. It is from the day I left Port Angeles. We had just gone to the beach (and we had a fun time) and then we dropped her off at the fair so she could have more fun. I hate goodbyes. So I cried.

My great-grandmother is coming to visit me for Thanksgiving. lucky me.

victim of modern medicine

Last night after my bath, my mom noticed that I had a strange rash that was spreading like wildfire across my chest and back. She made plans to take me to the doctor in the morning. Later, you will see why it is better to get medical advice from your mom than your dad.

I slept through the night last night for the first time in more than a year. In fact, my mom could probably count on half of a hand the times I have slept through the night in my entire life. So we woke up refreshed but my rash was still there.

We got a 10am appointment and the doctor diagnosed me with chicken pox. But this was puzzling to the doctor because I was just vaccinated on September 15. So the doctor got a second opinion (actually, a third opinion because my mom diagnosed me with chicken pox immediately last night while my dad said bug bites or a heat rash, nevermind that the weather has been a cool and comfortable 85 each day) and YES it is chicken pox and I likely caught it from my vaccination.

We don't really think vaccinations are the best idea considering the side effects but we do some of them (like polio) that are strongly recommended. This chicken pox shot was a spur-of-the-moment decision and it was clearly a mistake. We would never ever do a flu shot.

After my appointment, I went to Whole Foods for lunch. Yes, I know . . . I shouldn't be out in public but this was my last outing until I am no longer contagious.

When my sister was little, she got to go to Pag's after her appointments. I have Whole Foods. I hope my chicken pox doesn't get as bad as hers was. She still has scars on her tummy. I have some spots inside of my diaper area.

so that is that. Next time your doctor offers you a shot, say no. Thanks, but no thanks. I am just lucky I didn't catch polio.

kipper

Today, I am a proud graduate of the kipper swim class. I am so great that I am the talk of the pool. All of the lifeguards know me and love me. I am starting to see the same swimmers week after week when I stay after class to practice.

My dad has a nasty NASTY case of poison ivy right now and he couldn't swim today otherwise all of the people would have gone running from the pool thinking he is a leper or something. So my mom gets all of the credit for me graduating with honors. It was a harder class than usual today too; the temperature was a cool 75 degrees this morning so we pretty much froze. They are going to start heating the pool. I am going to register for the next session. I don't know what the next animal is though. I have passed eel (last December) and now kipper. Maybe I will be a dolphin.

yay me. I say "yay" about everything to keep myself motivated.