happy birthday +1

As promised, my mom got a snapshot of me in honor of my 13 month birthday. As you will see, she had to cage me up with a scary furry animal . . . I think it is a sasquatch. I am really not one for sitting still. ever. Happy birthday to me.

Next stop: 14.

another birthday (13)

Happy birthday to me. I am now 13 months old. wow. Today was just a typical Sunday. Got up early, went to the supermarket etc. It was unbearably hot again . . . well, everyone thought so but, really, I don't care about the heat. Since I am a ginger baby, I do have to be very careful about the sun though.

In the afternoon, we went to visit my sister at her new apartment. It is so fancy and I played with her cat. meow. My sister will probably invite me to go swimming later this week.

No photos from my birthday today. Maybe I can sit still enough to pose tomorrow. doubt it, but my mom can try.

trouble with a capital t

Since I have been a bit unwell all week, I have been saving up my energy.

This is how my day unfolded.

I woke up at 7:20am and everything seemed fine. We did our usual morning stuff. When we came upstairs to play, I put my fuzzy animal book on my yellow table to read, as I do every day. Today, my red Fisher Price clock happened to be right there so I thought I should see what might happen if I stood on it. I flipped forward onto my table. When my mom picked me up, I was drooling out blood. We still don't know where my cut is but maybe my mom can peek in my mouth when I go to bed tonight.

Then we went back downstairs. The rest is my dog's fault. He is deathly afraid of the rain so I had to follow him around everywhere to make sure he was ok. My mom put him outside FIVE times this morning to go pee. He decided to pee in the corner of the kitchen instead. And I crawled right through it. Into the bath I went. While my mom was cleaning up the pee, I tore the spine of a cookbook. Do not tell my great-grandmother but I chose to deface the cookbook that belonged to her mother. sorry. It looked so pretty though. I only just discovered the cookbooks today. I guess my parents need to relocate the cookbook collection. soon. Everything needs to be relocated.

By 10:00am today, my mom was already on her third change of clothes thanks to my various spills and troubles.

we should have moved

News alert: we have just spotted the first tarantula of the season. yikes. My dad called my mom outside to see it. It had camped out underneath my swing and was visible from the front porch where my mom stayed to holler at us. Boy, did my dad get in trouble for being outside with the tarantula. My mom needs to build some kind of barricade to keep the spider out of the house tonight. This was not my tarantula in the photo. Mine was much bigger and scarier. It was as big as me (if not bigger) and I am 23 pounds and 6 ounces now. big!

23lb, 6 oz

I had to visit the doctor today because my mom misdiagnosed me with a staph infection even though there really is no way I could catch one. So off to the doctor we went. I weigh 23 pounds, 6 ounces. I have definitely slowed down with my weight gain. Some of my friends have lost a bit of weight in recent months. Not me! I am healthy and thriving. And cute. This is a photo of me this afternoon looking suave.

Don't even bother to ask what my staph infection turned out to be. I will never tell anyone. top secret, private matter.

outdoorsy

We (my mom) had decided a while back that we were going to move soon. After meeting with several real estate agents, it seemed more logical to rent out our house than sell it. Everyone is clamoring to live in this school district because their football team has won three state championships in a row (big deal). Little known fact: the daughter of the Green Bay Packer's coach goes to high school in this district (another big deal).

And then we were going to rent something downtown so we could walk more and my mom would be closer to the yummy snacks.

The day before our house ad would have been activated, my mom realized that there is some value in me being able to play in the front yard for hours in the morning. I watch the deer frolic while I sit in my chair in the dining room and I also know all of the birds. I see the same dogs pass by every day (and I know each of their barks . . . Sybil has the deepest bark). So we are staying put for now. This may change when my mom comes face to face with a tarantula again this summer; that will be enough nature for her!

Fête du Canada (July 1, 2010)

Yesterday was Canada's birthday. This reminds me that I recently celebrated my first birthday. Canada is much older than me. Here is a photo of me on my birthday. My mom tried to take several photos of me in my Canada shirt yesterday but I don't like to sit still much anymore so she ended up with nothing but a red blur in her pictures. Maybe next year!

I am way behind on my photos and my stories. After my birthday, I had guests for several more days. Then we got busy with work and getting the house ready to rent. See following story about that.

My birthday was fun - but quite busy. I woke up pretty early (as usual) and then had a bath. You'd think it couldn't get much better from there but then I went to storytime at my library (weekly theme: frogs). Miss Laurie and Bee were SO pleased that I made the library part of my birthday! I got a special sticker for my shirt and the kids sang happy birthday to me. Next, we walked over to the bakery where my mom had a cherry smoothie and a treat. My dad had coffee and broccoli cheddar soup. I tried a bite of bread. We also bought cookies to take to the nurses at the hospital where I was born.

It was exciting to go back to my hospital. Several of the nurses who were on shift when I was born and during the first hours of my life were there when we stopped in - even the nurse who did my first blood test but I have mostly forgiven her. If you have to deliver a baby in a hospital in Austin, I recommend that one. It is tiny, more like a birthing center. They have six delivery suites (which are mostly always empty) and LOTS of nurses on staff so you get lots of attention.

After taking cookies to the hospital, we went downtown to fetch my grandmothers from their hotel. We went to Whole Foods for lunch so I could play on the rooftop playground. It was hot but I never care about the temperature. I would sit outside all day if someone would let me.

My sister and Hector came to see me back at my grandmothers' hotel. My sister had a santa-sack full of gifts for me. fun! My best gift from her was the owl lunch bag. I take it everywhere with me now.

Then we went swimming. This is me lounging by the pool. I was quite outgoing at the pool and stopped to chat with anyone who would visit with me.

And I was asleep by about 6:30pm. slept all the way home in the car and my dad got me to stay asleep while he carried me inside. zzzzzzz it is exhausting to be 1.