"U" is for up, up, and away

It's official - I turned the Big One today!

It's official, I turned the Big One today!  Do you remember where you were on March 30, 2008?What a year it's been!  I experienced my first earthquake; my first airplane ride; my first sip of Coca-Cola; my first road trip; my first camping trip; my first pair of shoes; my first tooth; my first steps; my first time typing on the computer's keyboard; my first Christmas; well, you get the idea - everything was new to me this year!  

"R" is for refrigerator; "S" is for soccer ball; "T" is for telephone

Today as M was preparing for my birthday celebration, I helped with the food preparation by reorganizing all the dressings and sauces from the door of the refrigerator to the shelf. Do you see the BBQ sauce I already moved next to the milk? I was very efficient if I do say so myself.
I love throwing balls these days. Another of my favorite actions is to kick the soccer ball. It's almost as big as I am. M & D entertained me last night by lifting it off the ground together using only their heads.OK so I'm almost one, going on thirteen - I am crazy about talking on the telephone these days. M thinks I may be setting up play dates with all the young toddlers I meet at the gym. She'd be able to figure out what all I'm talking about if only she spoke baby language like I do.

"Q" is for question

How did those bowling pins grow in my garden?

Today I played hard in the gymnasium at playgroup. I climbed aboard the scooter all by myself and pushed around in circle after circle because I kept the steering wheel turned to the left. I'll figure it out eventually. It was a great day complete with chocolate pudding for my before bed snack.

"N" is for nature's boy; "O" is for off-roading; "P" is for performing

It actually felt like Spring this past weekend, so I spent a great deal of time outdoors. D and I pulled a nasty root out of the ground. D liked using his Jeep and chains to get the job done while I supervised from a very safe distance in my own vehicle - my red wagon!Then I enjoyed walking along the fence while M did some outdoor Spring cleaning and raked the out leaves down the hillside. I also sat on the grass drinking my milk and eating some crackers while D tool apart the old garage door. Later on I did have to get my hands dirty - and I mean pitch black on the palms - when I was "inspecting" D's motorcycle wheels. Cool!

Here I am off-roading in my Jeep stroller - check out all the glorious mud! Gertie and Bongo loved this walk with us! They found some sticky stuff in the grass to roll around in, and got so carried away that they rolled down the hill. It was funny!!

One last thing to share. I must take after my mom, because I love performing my tricks - sometimes I get so excited that I do them all at once in a very confusing pattern. Here's a quick video showing off some of my sing-song movements:

"K" is for keypad, "L" is for lion, "M" is for mud

On Tuesday, my item of the day was a keyboard. I walked around with it for awhile. Don't you love my cool, green St. Patty's sweatshirt - it was a gift from my second-cousin, David, who's studying hard at MST. Mom let me sip a little green kool-aid; Dad had some other green, bubbly drink.

Yesterday, I celebrated my other fav university - Mizzou. Check out my cool jersey:


Yesterday, I also played in the mud in my whitey-tighties!



Today, I was just busy - going to playgroup, running errands, working out in the rock garden, taking M for a walk in my Jeep stroller, and napping.

"J" is for Jokes!

Did I tell you about the time I pushed mommy on the tricycle? She loved it.

I tried Jell-O for the first time today. Gertie helped clean-up because I was really messy. It's nearly impossible to pick-up Jell-O on a baby spoon, you know! Later on, M and I went outside and played in the backyard - considering my outfit would need to be laundered already anyways, what harm could a little more dirt do?! What did I play with outside you ask? I filled my Tonka truck with leaves and sticks then pushed the lever to empty the truck bed. I picked up Gertie's toy tennis ball and would hold it teasingly over my head then sometimes give it a little toss into the yard. I found the rake and shovel M was using quite intriguing -- they had long handles on them. I laughed as M pushed me high in the swing. And, I went "off roading" in my red wagon. Oh, this spring and summer are going to be so much fun!

"I" is for Inside

Recently I noticed a trend. When D comes home, he picks me up high, gives me some loving and then he asks "what did you write today, little man?" He's probably my #1 blog fan (and sometime contributor). One of these days I'm going to dedicate a page to HIM.

So, M was cleaning out my toy box in her attempt to rotate the toys so I think I'm playing with a new toy from time to time. Well, what could be more fun than an empty box? Inside I went. I had a great time sliding the lid off then pulling it back on again.

"H" is for harmonica

Blow, suck, blow, suck, blow, drool, drool, drool...that's how I play the harmonica, don't you? Sometimes I even chew on the end a little and a note or two will come out. My musical talents and interests are increasing. Let's see, there's still the toy saxophone; add to that a toy accordion with The Giggles' tunes; a plastic tambourine that has dials to help me learn to tell time (or to pull off with my own little hands and chew on - whatever); a stand up piano with a total of three keys - all primary colors; and of course the mandatory instruments for all babies, pots and pans and wooden spoons.

Today I was busy trying to toss a balloon into the basketball hoop; put different hats on; and pull a Velcro heart off a dress-up puppet. Oh, yeah, and I got these things at the end of my legs to take a few balanced steps on their own. Hooray!

"G" is for giraffe

I can make a game out of anything. Here I am sitting by the giraffe bookends placing plastic rings over their long necks. At one point I got a blue ring stuck over my own foot! Of course, I simply lifted my foot up to my nose to remove the ring - baby gymnastics!

"F" is for Fort

Know what my favorite rainy day activity is so far...fort building. I "helped" M fine tune her fort building skills by being my usual curious self. I loved touching the ceiling especially when M rolled Nerf balls above my head. The floor of the fort was softened by the couch cushions so M and I had a cozy spot for some afternoon story time. Gertie joined us in the fort too - I think she thought it was a dog den. D enjoyed playing in here with me after work. This was fun, fun, fun!

"E" is for Everywhere!!

Ummm....bananas. And, I just love being a little monkey when I am given a whole banana to eat by myself. M says that I shouldn't play with food; that it is not good table manners to be silly with nutritious food. However, D reminds her that she taught me how to play in food (e.g. Cheerios, oatmeal)!! Boy, this banana was fun to squish through my fingers, smear on my nose and brush through my hair -- I'm going to start my own line of baby skin products.

"E" was going to be for earthworms. While M was digging up the soft earth to plant some bulbs, I grabbed hold of an earthworm. Of course, the best way to figure the squirmy thing out was to try to taste it....don't worry, M saved the little worm from being licked. M didn't have her camera so she didn't get the photo - darn!
This weekend D pushed me in the swing at the park - whee! I also had fun letting the pebbles on the playground fall through my bare toes. I tried to cross over the rope bridge by myself, but M was right there to assist me - what a hovering, helicopter parent she is! Ah, she did help me go down the bumpy slide though, so I guess I'll let her stick around.

"D" is for driving

M says I need to work on my parallel parking, but I think I'm ready for my driver's test.

"B" is for bottle & "C" is for cycle

Taking care of others is easy! Just give them a bottle like I did with my toy puppy and all's good and peaceful in the world.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day - almost springlike - so mom and I jumped in the stroller and checked out the playground. I really enjoyed the slide with rollers. When some older kids came over to play I was in seventh heaven watching all the proceedings. Luckily no one knocked me down. Whew! "C" is for cycle....D headed out on his motorCycle this morning while I zoomed around the house on my triCycle. M must have made 100 loops around the house at least. I love taking my toy puppy or stuffed lion for rides with me. Sometimes G and Bongo like to get in on the action so we go around and around in a tight circle with me chasing after them - they always tire out first! Love to all!!!

"A" is for apple

Finally...something I can really sink my baby teeth into. I loved biting off apple bits with my eight front teeth. In fact, I held onto this apple while standing up on my own for so long, M didn't think she would ever get it back. Watch out Eckert's Apple Orchard - this fall I'll really be ready to eat as many apples as I can pick (up off the ground).