April 29

Early this morning, hours before I even woke up, Prince William married Kate. They will have no trouble remembering their wedding anniversary because it falls on the same day as Jo's birthday. her 80th!

Earlier in the week, I got the sad news that the love of my life is moving to Seattle. Her dad is an aerospace engineer and he landed the job of a lifetime so away they go in June. I am devastated but the timing could not be better as I have located the girl of my dreams. See the bottom corner of the wedding photo. This girl, three years old, fussed around with her flower crown all through the wedding and then thought it was too loud up on the balcony. My mom probably wouldn't even take me to a wedding, nevermind enroll me as a page. That is just asking for trouble. big trouble.

More about Jo. It has been way too long since we last visited. I had to cancel my Christmas visit with her because I was sick. And she keeps busy so a visit with her and Terese never seems to happen. Last week, I had a tantrum because we couldn't visit Terese - and Jo happened to be there that day. My mom has trained me to wave and say "hi Terese" every time we pass by her house. And, on that particular day, I so desperately wanted to go there. I cried "Terese" all the way home. I just hope I can visit with them before I run off and join the royal family.

Happy birthday, grandma Jo!

dentist

I visited the dentist for the first time today. We arrived early so I had time to play. You would not believe how incredibly well stocked their waiting room is with all of the right toys. trucks and buses and cars and ambulances and one baby doll and wow it is just like heaven. I met a sweet little boy and we played together until I got called for my appointment.

The woman who cleaned my teeth was nice enough and I was surprisingly agreeable. I did get mad and cried when she tried to floss. No one likes flossing though.

My teeth are healthy and my gums are perfect.

I have two complaints about my dentist.

1) He has flat screen televisions on every wall: in the waiting room and in front of all of the dental chairs. I couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to them but it sure does pollute the environment when kids are trying to play. They also have video game consoles in an area near the waiting room.

2) The first question my dentist asked was "are you still nursing." And then he proceeded to tell us it is time to stop. He erroneously believes that night nursing is linked to tooth decay. Drinking from a bottle at night leads to tooth decay. Night nursing is safe though because the milk doesn't pool in the mouth as happens with a bottle and it only goes behind the teeth. Although breastmilk is high in sugar, it also contains enzymes that fight tooth decay. I will side with my beloved doctor on the nursing issue.

Despite my two complaints, we will continue seeing this dentist.

famous last words

On Sunday, we paid a visit to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Some of you might remember that last year's visit on my ten month birthday yielded some of the loveliest photos ever taken of me. Our April visit always coincides with Wildflower Days. Last year, the flowers were lush and brilliant and abundant. Not so this year.

My mom was a bit worried that I might try to pick flowers. I didn't. To pick a wildflower in Texas is a crime punishable by life in prison. I cannot even imagine what would happen if one chose to commit that crime at the Wildflower Center of all places. gulp.

In the top photo, you will see me enjoying the gardens, running and frolicking as I do. Then my mom decided we should stop to take photos before we got too involved in our fun. You can see what I thought of that idea.

After I was forced to sit for an entire minute for photos, we set out on the path through the fields. We walked for a good long time. It was a nice walk with lots of plants to look at and rocks to turn over. We saw some insects too. And a bunny! I had the time of my life (as usual).

I wonder if kids who sit like zombies in front of the tv realize what they are missing out on. What a tragic waste of time.

Next year, I should be able to tolerate posing for photos.

22 months

Today, we celebrated my 22nd birthday. I started the day by giving my mom a gift: an 8:15am wake-up call. Nevermind that I kept her up all night.

I requested smoothies for breakfast. She let me eat in the big chair instead of relegating me to my highchair. I also had some carrots and oatmeal.

By 10:30am, I had pooped three times and eaten two bugs. We did have a nice morning with lots of playing though. I also managed to squeeze in some time to play my new guitar; I played it for so long, in fact, that my mom was able to unload and load the dishwasher. (Normally, it takes her all day because I enjoy taking things back out of the dishwasher and standing and bouncing on the open door.)

No day is complete unless a long walk is involved. I took my mom down through the woods to look for my neighbor's puppies. She is starting to doubt that the puppies exist. I always con her into looking for them but she has yet to see them. I have even made the story more credible by naming them Lily and Daisy. One is brown, and the other is black. really.

The walk tired us out so we napped for more than two hours. Then we went to visit with Trinity at the Whole Foods playground. She had her wisdom teeth removed on Friday and wanted to leave the house today to rejoin the land of the living. She doesn't have any swelling but she is pale and even skinnier than usual. We tried to fatten her up with a Whole Foods snack but there is really nothing she can eat. We shared some mashed potatoes. And I had another smoothie and some naan, tofu, corn, and peas.

I had a grand time at the playground. I met a new friend who is close to my age. We were both enthralled with the elastic band you can see in my hands. We did a great job of sharing. The Whole Foods playground is wonderful for listening to emergency vehicles and trains pass by. In this photo, a plane flew overhead and this was about the best thing that happened to either of us.

Happy birthday to me. Oh yeah, and my beloved Jack came back from Hawaii.

swimming

Today, I started swimming lessons. This is my third set. I am far too advanced for this class but, sadly, there are no other classes for me until I am 36 months old. So I am stuck with the babies who cry at the sight of water.

The lesson was chaotic. They are only supposed to allow six babies in my class but my mom said she counted at least ten, maybe as many as thirteen. This does not allow for any individual attention. In my first set of lessons when I was six months old, there was only me and one other boy. The next time I took lessons, there were only three of us and we were taught by the aquatics director herself.

We knew I was an advanced swimmer but we thought the lessons would be a good idea so I had a structured activity with my peers.

After my lesson today, my dad and I went to the outdoor pool and swam laps. That is more my style.

Right now, I think my only recourse is to either get a progress evaluation and beg BEG really beg to get moved up to the class that 36+ months kids take or get private lessons.

No photos because you are not really supposed to take your camera into the pool area but my mom might sneak it in next week.

teeth

This is my sister's x-ray. Tomorrow she gets her wisdom teeth out. She is nervous. You can see that her teeth are quite problematic. She was supposed to get them out about six years ago.

She cannot possibly be nervous as I am. On Wednesday, I will have my first appointment with the dentist. They call it a "happy visit." How can any activity where you have to sit for more than two minutes be happy? That is the only reason I am nervous. I am sure I will adore my dentist as much as I love my doctor. But I hate sitting still and I hate being messed with.

playground

Yesterday, we also broke the rule about no big morning outings before naptime. We were desperate to visit the playground before it got too hot. Little did we realize it would be 82 degrees before 11:00am and the day only got progressively worse. Our playground is lovely but it lacks shade; for whatever reason, they bulldozed down acres and acres of huge oak trees to make a park.

The heat really doesn't bother me. Other people complain - especially my mom. I have to remember: dad doesn't like cold or clouds or rain and mom doesn't like heat. In my short lifetime, I have played outside when it was around 10 degrees and more than 105. I like it all; I just want to be outside all day long every day.

But my mom was nice enough to follow me on my miles-long journey along the path to see the bridge and the wildflowers are in bloom and there are puppies to look at and big hills to climb and run back down. I can identify bluebonnets! smart me.

tractor

On Wednesday, I got a new tractor in the mail. My grandmother sent it to me. I was so excited about it that I was not about to put it down - not even for dinner. I like the tractor because it has bouncy wheels and it is fun to drive up and down hills (i.e., the arms of the couch or my mom's legs).

Another interesting thing to know about Wednesday: I ate six oranges. At dinner, I was eating them as fast as my mom could peel them. I just kept asking for more and more and more.

I might be having a growth spurt. I slept until 8:00am on Thursday.

police

It is generally not a good idea to try to squeeze in a morning activity before my nap. Last Friday, however, we made an exception because the police were going to make a special appearance at library storytime. I slept a bit later than usual and ate a filling breakfast (I am so addicted to smoothies right now) so I would be in a good mood for our outing. I also dressed in my firetruck shirt for the occasion. Most of the kids dressed up for storytime. One little girl wore a frilly pink dress and bows and ribbons and the whole bit. cute.

I was the first child to arrive at storytime and we got off to a good start. When I first saw the policeman outside of the library, I asked if I could drive his car. Actually, I told him I was going to drive his car. He was gracious, but things went downhill from there.

I will gladly sit and listen to my mom read for hours and hours on end but I have little to no interest in sitting still at library storytime. It is held in a big room that is perfect for running around. At first I was the only boy there; all of the little girls just sat so politely and quietly while I did my own thing. (Are girls always so much better behaved than boys?) Then another boy arrived and he joined in with my nonsense. After the story, the policeman came in and read yet another story and then invited us to come outside to look at his car.

As you can see, I DID get to drive the car.