week 51

mom was trying to get a close-up of my lashes...she says i'll be the envy of all the girls

...i'll just fight them back with my trusty water bottle if they try and get too close. i can even do sound effects...cchht-ccchhtt-cccchhhhttt

whoa nelly! i knew i had a horsie around here...get along lil' doggie (look ma, no hands)

the saturday before my b-day (dec 6th) mom and dad took me to the please touch museum. my friends mia and jude told me all about it and told me to make sure i go before i turn the big 1 because it's free (it's $15 after that...talk about inflation).

here i am with dad playing at the water play station...i brought my own water (drool) for the boats and duckies

here i am in wonderland...i was late for a very important date...

and they even had a hospital play area. how young is too young for a hip replacement?

i had fun building a tower made out of blocks...and knocking it down, but the lady rained on my parade when she told me not to put the blocks in my mouth...doesn't she know i'm still on the oral exploration phase of my development. the sign said 'please touch', but it wasn't specific, so i thought i could touch with my mouth...who knew?

OMG mom, do you see this little red wagon!

yes, we got a pic of more than just mom's shoes...

i had to put my fancy pony-ridin' skills to use on a larger, moving steed...oh what fun! i loved the please touch museum and would recommend it to all little (and not so little) kids.

week 50 (wow the big five-oh!)

so this week i experienced my first thanksgiving (on the outside), and boy was it busy...every time i went to sleep and woke up...i was in a different place. we started out the morning by having tea with the evers'...thank you for your hospitality sis. eva and bro. kenny...

then we drove up to north wales to have lunch with the nelms'. daddy met them when he first move up to PA five years ago and they are pretty much like family. this was their first time seeing me. we had so much fun sharing stories (actually we were having fun listening to daddy tell his stories...i had no idea he had had such a colorful life...who knew?). clockwise from the left there's bro. walter, sis. jackie, miss sharelle carrying the turkey, and miss stephanie carrying a little turkey (AKA me).

i also had my first exposure to fish. this is hannibal, miss sharelle's gold fish. he was pretty amazing...i could've watched him swim around in that little bowl for hours. santa, if you're reading...i thought this was pretty cool...wink...wink.

so when i woke up again we were back in philly

we went by to bro. bill and sis. joyce's house (sis. joyce is the mom of my 1st baby sitter, mrs yvette).

in the pic above clockwise from the top left...bro bill, sis joyce, mrs. yvette, and miss ashanti. in the pic on the left, the man in gray is mr elhaji, mrs. yvette's hubby she met in burkina faso.




by the time we got to the johnsons' they had already finished dessert, but dad was ready for round 2 of dinner...i could get used to thanksgiving

then we left the johnson's and went to see the bailey's. this is me peeking around auntie claudia to see roxy. roxy is uncle mike and ti ti monica's jack russell. this was my first encounter with a doggie. roxy had a lot of love to give, which overwhelmed me at first, but after i warmed up, i started to like it...maybe i can get one of these too...

here's baby micaela soaking up all that turkey day lovin'...

i don't know how she learned so early, but she figured out how to get her index finger out of the way so she can suck her thumb. you go baby girl! maybe you can show me a thing or two.

she's also got a death grip on the binky...don't even think of trying to take this out. thanks to all our PA 'family' and friends for having us over for good food, great fun, and gracious fellowship...we love you all!!!

baby steps

so all that cooler racing paid off...i was able to take my first baby steps on thursday. mom chased me around with the camera all weekend and finally caught me on film...it's on now...hide the breakables!

cooler races

so mom was trying her hand at making me some yogurt (unsuccessfully with breastmilk) and needed to bring the cooler up from the basement. but it wasn't just any cooler...it was a wheelie cooler...woo hoo! needless to say mom and dad felt very sorry for me and know exactly what to get me for my birthday...a real push toy. but who needs playskool when i've got igloo?

week 49

i had an exciting week this week (even though daddy was out of town)...

i went to my buddy jude's birthday party on sunday...

and boy oh boy did i have fun playing with all his cool toys...

oooh, i gotta get me one of these!

this was jude's first encounter with cake...

and from the looks of it...i can't wait to get my lips on some too...yum yum! i had a great time at your party...thanks jude.



there was also another birthday celebration on sunday...

ti ti monica and uncle mike welcomed baby micaela marie into the world at 9:24am (sunday babies are the best...i was born at 9:25am)

glad you're finally on the outside baby micaela...boy have i got lots to fill you in on...congratulations auntie mo' and uncle mike!

this week was filled with surprises...this is what greeted us as we opened the front door on friday morning...SNOW!!!

it was even at the back door too! pretty cool stuff...not quite enough to build a snowman though...maybe next time.

so all in all this was a great week. i saw the allergist again and she went over my bloodwork with mom...so i'm more allergic to wheat and peanuts, a little less allergic to barley, rye, eggs, and dairy, and even though i'm allergic to soy...dr. green said mom can challenge me with it after i turn a year....CHALL-UNGE! i'll have to tell you how that goes. i've got a couple videos mom took this week too...enjoy!

week 48

hmmm, let's see what i can get into this week...

who needs a puppy when you've got me around to 'go fetch'...

hitting high notes improves my balance enabling me to stand alone longer and longer these days...

that and sticking out my tongue...i'm really feelin' jordan right about now...stay tuned for more adventures...my buddy jude turns 1 and is having a party, so i'm sure i'll have pix to post next week.

week 47

happy belated obama day!!! no. i'm not gloating...just really really excited, and for the first time in my life i'm really proud to be an american. wow, our country's first black president (or our 6th, depending on who you ask...click here to see the other 5)...what an inspiration to not just african-americans but people all over the world...mom and dad are still in awe.

how do you spell that sound you make with your tongue (thhhhhhppppt!)? oh mrs. amy you are hillllarious! thanks for letting me hang out with you while mom met with the statistician. i had so much fun laughing...dancing...

riding 1st class in the amyplane...

high-fiving auntie sharon...

yes, so much fun...so..much...getting sleepy...very sleepy...unable to keep eyes open...curses sand man...cursezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

after several attempts mom was finally able to coax the snaggle out of hiding and photograph it. yes, all i want for christmas is my other front tooth. i currently have 2 on the bottom and 4 on top that are in various stages of emerging. but that top left tooth is by far the front runner and mom and dad think it's pretty funny...however...i do not (who am i kidding, a snaggle tooth baby is giggle-worthy)

mom, dad and i braved the lunch rush at reading terminal saturday to buy some goods for sunday lunch...i'm quietly contemplating snagging one of mom's french fries...

enjoy your week...just a couple months 'til inauguration...yes we can and yes we did!

baby for change...

i just wanted to encourage everyone to go out and vote tomorrow (if you haven't already). and in case you've been the victim of some trickery (like the people who got flyers telling them that due to the anticipated high voter turn out, republicans should vote on nov 4 and democrats on nov 5) there are all kind of hotlines you can call like 1-866-our-vote (1-866-687-8683) (http://www.protectmyvote.org/).

and in case this is your first time or if you've moved, check out http://www.voteforchange.com/ to find out where, when, and how to vote. so there's no excuse...go out and vote...like my future depended on it...because it does!

week 46

hello everybodeee! it had been quite a while since mom took me to school with her, so i was glad to go and visit with my penn nursing aunties. i hung out with mrs. amy (she's married now!) while mom went to mrs. margo's dissertation defense (congratulations dr. carthon!!!).

here's me and auntie sharon...

mom said i looked like one of the guards on the wizard of oz......oh wee oh...my ears were nice and warm and that's all that mattered!

on thursday mom and dad took me to the hauntless house that my day care had, but mom left the camera in the car...so sorry, no pix. but here's me on friday with my fav teacher, miss tiffany, she was a rock star.

holy cow, it's my buddy jude! i haven't seen him in ages...

i was so happy (and you know it) to see him and mrs. heather. we had a halloween play date...no tricks, just treats.

when dad came home he even got in on the action...

here jude, lemme roll up your sleeve for you so we can really get down to business...

when it was over he called his people and told them to call my people so we can hook up again real soon...

so ends my 1st halloween. i wanted candy so bad...though my spirit was willing, my flesh was weak...i had too much fun and sleep overcame me before we were able to go trick-or-treating. so i didn't get to see what all the hoopla was about, but maybe next year, so until then...TTFN (ta ta for now for you non-winne the pooh-ers).