graduation

On Thursday evening, we attended my dad's graduation ceremony. Here are two photos of me and my dad afterward. Wow did I ever look handsome. At the end of the evening, I concluded that it was more challenging for me to sit patiently through the ceremony than it was for my dad to finish his degree.

First off, my mom had to park approximately two miles away from the venue - and she carried me all of the way there because normally they don't allow strollers. You can imagine our dismay when everyone else brought a stroller and parked it in the lobby. The one good thing was that we had a vicious thunderstorm earlier that day so it cooled off to the mid 80s . . . the perfect temperature for carrying 25+ pounds of toddler for two miles!

When we arrived and tried to get seated, I cried and cried and cried that it was too loud. So we ran around outside for a while. We went back inside just in time to listen to the beginning and only the beginning of the beloved Senator Kirk Watson's speech. He offered the graduates a top-ten list of good advice. Since I missed it, my own list is below.

10) Do not watch television.

9) Feed/watch the birds.

8) Visit with your neighbors.

7) Go to yoga class.

6) Drink plenty of water.

5) Read for at least one hour each day.

4) Play outside every minute of the day (when not reading).

3) Eat veggies with every meal.

2) Only eat organic fruits and veggies.

1) Wash your hands frequently.

For the rest of the evening, I pretty much just ran around and played with other bored/restless babies and toddlers until just before it was time for my dad's name to get called.

The ceremony ended at 10:00pm. I fell asleep on the way home but then stayed up most of the night because I was starving; I wasn't interested in dinner before I left and I didn't eat the picnic my mom packed for me.

23 months!?!?

Here is me on my 23rd birthday. (Photo courtesy of PhotoBooth.) It was a mostly unremarkable day. Weather was mild. I played outside. I ate the usual snacks. I am still gorgeous.

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to celebrate my 2nd birthday. I have already picked out my cake even though I am more of a pie and ice cream kind of guy.

my first taste of hummus

On Friday, my mom served me hummus for the first time. It is a good healthy snack that is high in protein and iron. She supposed that I would like hummus but she has never quite recovered from her pregnancy-induced aversion to the smell of garlic.

I was supposed to eat my hummus with crackers but I thought it was so yummy that I asked for a spoon so I could just scoop it right into my mouth. My mom's explanation that hummus isn't a spoon food forced me to use my fingers. Then I got a spoon!

16 flavors

Since I did not start on solid foods until just before my first birthday, I skipped the whole baby food phase. (We would have made our own baby food anyhow.) However, I have recently become addicted to the HAPPYBABY banana, beet, and blueberry pouches. I call them "flavors" because sometimes my dad will go grocery shopping and think he is doing me a huge favor by buying another variety. I only like the one flavor.

A tragedy occurred recently when the entire world was sold out of my flavors. My mom even has two cases on back order. (By the way, if you furrow your eyebrows just right, I know to say "tragic" and "tragedy." According to the baby books, being able to read facial expressions is yet another clue to my advanced intelligence.)

So, the flavors. Sold out everywhere.

We had to stop at Target on Wednesday to buy California Baby bubble bath for colds and flu because I suddenly got sick. UGH! But my flavors were in stock so we bought them all. 16 pouches!

This is a photo of me on Wednesday night enjoying my bubble bath.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we woke up to a lovely cool morning. After a yummy breakfast of smoothies, peas, carrots, and cereals, we went outside to wait for my friend Luka to arrive. I was able to wear my yellow jacket one last time. Even though I would prefer to spend every second of the day outside, Luka and I both wanted to play inside. We ate a lot of crackers . . . almost half of a box.

Luka left. And I napped for three hours.

After nap, we went to the playground to enjoy what is really going to be the last tolerable day until at least October. Now when we think back to that morning we went to the playground and complained that it was 82 degrees, it seems stupidly silly. 82 degrees is cool and comfortable now!

The first photo is me listening to music at the playground. We discovered that a well-timed visit to the playground will get you a front-row seat to the soundcheck of whatever band happens to be playing at the Backyard that night. That day it was Arcade Fire. I don't listen to them but they are popular (and Canadian) and they have really big trucks and trailers and buses.

friends

Sadie, otherwise known as the meanest cat in the world, finally made a friend! They sit together for hours each day and stare out the window. oh, to be a kitty.

what a difference a day (or two) makes

We have been suffering through freakishly hot spring weather. Most days, like Saturday, have been in the mid 90s. This means our summer will be miserable. But I have already lived through the hottest Texas summer on record.

Yesterday afternoon, we welcomed an unexpected cold front. The temperature did not even get above 60 today.

The first photo is of me on Saturday helping my dad water the back lawn. I know we should not be wasting water when we are already in an alarm-stage drought and the entire state is on fire. It does no good to water anyhow. I did help myself to a shower.

The second photo is me this evening frolicking in my yard after a delicious dinner of lasagna. My mom was so excited that I finally got to wear my yellow jacket; sadly, it is probably the only time I will ever get to wear it since it will no longer fit once the cool weather is here to stay in November.

We expect another nice day tomorrow with temperatures only reaching the mid 70s. We plan to spend the entire day, from sun up to sun down, in the yard.

My mom also taught me to say "nice temperature" yesterday. That phrase will have very limited use here.