Bye-bye 2009

It's a little overwhelming to say good-bye to NeeNee, Uncle Yo, Mormor, Morfar and 2009 all in four days.

Bye-bye 2009

I'm a realist and I love my sleep. I'm not even pretending to try to stay up past 7pm. I'll see 2010 at 4 or 5 in the morning. I'm sure it will look the same as it would at midnight.

Absence

I CAN'T BELIEVE IN ALL THE HYSTERIA OF OPENING PRESENTS OVER THREE DAYS AND HOSTING FAMILY AND GETTING VISITS FROM ROTO-ROOTER THAT I NEGLECTED MY BLOGGING DUTIES. I resolve to not forget in 2010.

Non sequitur

I asked my Daddy how to become a famous piano player when I grow up. He replied: Der-der-der.

I sure am

Mormor: Are you adorable?

n: I got a boogie in my mouth.

Goodnight moon

D: "In the great green room

There was a telephone

And a red balloon"

n: . . . I have a red balloon downstairs!

D: Yes, you do!

"And a picture of

The cow jumping over the moon.

And there were three little bears

Sitting on chairs . . . "

n: . . . I don't have those.

The true meaning of Christmas

Time to teach Mamma and Daddy that the true meaning of the holidays is spending time with family and not their filthy materialism.

M: Time to open presents.

n: No. I want to watch my movie.

D: Maybe there's a new movie wrapped up under the tree. Do you want to open a present?

n: No. I want to go play in the playroom with Mormor and Morfar and NeeNee.

M: Maybe there's a new toy under the Christmas tree.

n: No. I don't want to open presents. Let's go play in the playroom.

Santa

M: I'm going downstairs to help Santa.

n: Santa's here!

Sick

I wonder if I should have asked Santa for more presents. Because as early presents I've gotten a cough and sore throat, Ewan has a bad cold and throws up lots, Mamma's got the throw-ups and sleeps all day, and now Daddy feels sick too. Good thing NeeNee is here to take care of all of us, and Mormor and Morfar arrive tomorrow to help as well!

Candy

n: I'm sad. I need candy. I need candy for my sad.

Sharing

So if Nina gets more toys for Christmas will that mean she'll share them with me?

New car seat (not shown)

Took 'em long enough to figure out I don't fit in this infant car seat anymore. Mamma and Daddy finally put me in a (rear-facing) big kid's car seat.

Quotables

Looking at a photograph...

n: That's my Uncle Yo. Oooh, I love Uncle Yo. He's family.

At 7am...

n: You want some candy?

M: No. I don't want any candy right now.

n: Okay. I have candy.

Snow!

It was the second snow of the season, but the first to stick on the ground (at least for a couple hours). I found out that Ewan is allergic to snow - he threw up this morning - so it's a good thing we moved him out of Wisconsin! Me? I think the snow here is too wet. I'd rather go back inside and watch my movies.

8 months!

Daycare had a pyjama party today! It was so kind of them to have it coincide with my mirthday.

I love to stand. I've pushed myself up to standing. Perhaps I'll skip crawling all together. Especially as I can usually get to where I want with my elaborate dance of long-reaching-bum-twirling-side-lunging. Or smiling nicely at my sister and she brings me what I want. Although that doesn't always work because often she'll then take the toy away after she's given it to me.

Food is my friend. It cooperates very nicely at attaching itself to my hand or the spoon and crawling into my mouth. I haven't quite figured out the sippy cup thing... water is kinda bland.

My favorite toy is usually the one that Nina is playing with. So that currently includes eating Duplo toys and pulling the piano keyboard towards me. Yes, I can move a piano by myself.

My future professional career may be an Olympic diver. I love to lunge myself out of parental arms to grab for whatever is catching my eye. Or I might become a professional pick-pocket. Because in that same lunge I am able to one-hand palm whatever I was reaching for.

In general I don't complain. If people don't get around to putting me in my bed, I don't complain. I just wait until they remember it's past my nap/bedtime. However. I have learned at daycare that one is supposed to cry before being fed. I see that there is a survival aspect of this behavior at daycare. And it's now generalized to dinnertime and weekends.

Holidays

All the family is coming to town for the holidays! So Mamma and Daddy are making an effort to clean the house. I kindly pointed out that sweeping dirt under the rug might not be the best way to clean.

Ferber

Mr Ferber is my friend. We had a chat for 2 nights, and I was able to sleep all night without visiting with Mamma and Daddy. And the best part? I wake up happy and cheery and wanting to cuddle. Now I think Mr Ferber needs to have a talk with Mamma and Daddy so that they'll wake up with me at my sensible hour of 4:30am.

Stockings

My Bedstemor knit new stockings for us! It's good they're so big - Ewan will easily fit in my stocking, and he's my best present ever this year.

What's good for the gander

Ewan gets all these fancy foods and new sippy cups. Well, I want them too! If I have to share my toys with him, he's going to share his food with me.

Food

Ever wonder why Mamma only takes pictures of me in my high chair? It's because that's where I spend a LOT of time. I love to eat! I love carrots and squash and sweet potato and rice and oatmeal and green beans and peas and spinach and corn and bananas and apples(auce) and apricots and pineapple and pear and peach and turkey and beef and chicken and ham and cheerios and puffs and that's just my breakfast!

H1N1

Ohbytheway:
I HATE flu shots that precede bed. I hate them, hate them, it is said.
I hate the fever that comes after; hate it, hate it, bye-bye laughter.
Bandaids do not help at all and neither lollipop nor doll
can stop the tears on Nina-face; do not like Health Department place.
I'm up, at least, past bed-time now; that would be fun, if not for how
I'm throwing up the food I ate; hey Daddy's up! and wow, it's late.
And Mamma's here and now it's time for medicine for me and I'm
a little drowsy, now I'm more, but don't know how I'll ever . . . (snore)

I don't know who ate all the carrots

I don't know why you think I had anything to do with two jars of carrots going missing. I'm only a baby.

Heels

I'm still learning how to walk in heels. But then again, so is Mamma.

Three major food groups

Hands

Knuckles

Forearm!

NEWS FLASH: Bath strike is over!!!

After an 8 month long strike, the sitting in the bathtub dispute finally came to a calm resolution. I sat in the tub and splashed and enjoyed myself like the last 8 month stink of refusing to sit in the tub never existed. I refused to bend to any of Mamma and Daddy's behavioral interventions, instead just calmly choosing to sit down by myself.

Gender confusion?

Singing in the car...

n: Ewan-boy.
M: Nina-girl.
n: Daddy-Daddy.
D: Nina-girl.
n: Mamma-Daddy.

Pain = Delicious

n: Can I have some chips?

D: Sweetie, these aren't chips; these are jalapeño-cheddar Cheetos.

n: Can I have some cheetahs?

D: Here you go.

n: . . . I have to drink my water.

D: Are they too hot?

n: Yeah. Can I have some more please?

Spiderwick chronicles

Daddy and I watched a new scary movie.

n: Ooh, what's that?
D: That's an ogre. Is that scary?
n: Yeah!

D: Is it too scary?

n: No. Scary for two boys and a lady! (the characters in the movie)
D: Is it too scary for Nina?
n: Nope.

Mammas are not allowed to leave town

Nina had a good time while Mamma was out of town. Me? I'm not a fan. Sure, I was a good boy. But bottles are no substitute for the real thing.

Big sisters have their benefits

When I'm playing with a toy, she takes it away from me.

When I am bored, she entertains me.

When I feel sad, she gives me hugs.

Multiple interpretations

1) Intervention to stop me from picking my nose.

2) The conclusion of me telling a long story, as I'm quite animated in story telling.

3) My subtle way of telling Mamma and Daddy to turn up the heat.

4) My attempt to communicate to Daddy to not tell me a boring story again.

5) The culmination of me always wanting to be upside down, I now need socks on my hands instead of my feet. Next up, pants on my arms.

Third tooth

Daddy's smart. He sees that I've been drooling up a storm, a good sign that I'd be getting a new tooth. But while Mamma kept checking to see if my top teeth were coming in, Daddy smartly looked all over my mouth. And he found that I hid my third tooth on the bottom right! I have to keep my parents on their toes.

New job: Alarm clock

Mamma wasn't waking up to her alarm clock this morning. But she surely woke up by my repeatedly saying "ma-ma-ma, ma-ma-ma" softly beside her.

Culture

Architecture. Yes. I see Mamma and Daddy are trying to give me culture. Personally, I prefer poetry. I could look at Dorothy Nolte's poem all day long.

Curbing her enthusiasm

Every Monday night for the last 10 weeks, Daddy has had to work late. So late we don't see him until the next day. Generally, Ewan and I have been on our best behavior for Mamma. But we kept her on her toes tonight. As soon as we got in the door, one of us was constantly demanding food, to be picked up, or to be rocked/read to sleep. All in an effort to remind Mamma how much she should enjoy that quality 1:2 time with us.

Natural talents

Drumming comes naturally to my Daddy, but I have to practice. What does come naturally to me is palming orange balls (oranges for now, I'll work up to basketballs) and loving to jump and watch people jump. But then again, I'm also really good at palming $20 bills.

Visitors

GranDen (aka "Bran-den", because it's hard to say gran) and NeeNee have been living in my playroom for the last few days. But that's okay, because they help me build amazing bridges and buildings and lakes and statues with my blocks. For hours and hours and hours. While I knock everything down. I'm testing their resolve. So far they're doing well. Their reward? I let them read me bedtime stories!

Photographs

We will sit beside each other. But to ask us to both look at you at the same time, with smiles on our faces, without fingers up our noses or up each others noses? That's a lot to ask for. It's not that we're selfish or self-centered. It's just that we have a hard time thinking about anyone else but ourselves.

Breakfast

NeeNee: What day is today? Oh, I remember, today's Friday.

n: Time for cheesecake!

Thankful

I'm thankful for cookies and candy and cheesecake and lollipops and ice cream and bubbles and hugs and cuddles and family.

Thankful

I'm thankful for food and hugs and snuggles and swaddles and soothies and sleep and family.

NeeNee's coming back!

The best thing about grandmothers: They will go to all lengths to amuse their grandchildren.

n: NeeNee's coming back and she'll give kisses and hugs and change my diaper.

Gunshow

My uncle missed this gun on his t-shirt print. I guess it's okay. He did design it before I was born.

Great big huge massive gargantuan poopoo

M: WHHHOOOOAAA!

e: ah-uh-dun.

Tomatoes

n: Can I have some tomatoes for dessert? Look. They're red. Red is so beeeautiful!

Got it

Okay. I get it. My sister loves me. NOW WILL SOMEONE GET HER OFF ME SO I CAN BREATHE?!

NeeNee?

NeeNee always cries when she leaves me. She didn't cry this time. Did I do something wrong? Has she been replaced by an impostor? It couldn't have anything to do with her return in 3 days, because any time away from me would be sheer torture!

Nagging works

I was finally given the chance to feed myself. Sure, most of it went on the floor. But I was able to grab a whole bunch of these tasty little circles in my hand and eventually gnaw through my fingers to get them into my mouth! Told you I could do it myself if given the chance.

Misses

n: Where's Uncle Yo? Where did he go? We need to find him.

Money

NeeNee: Here's money for dinner.

M: Thanks.

n: NO! Give me the money!

And then I safely put the money in my oven, because that's where dinner comes from.

Slight/Minor hearing impairment

M: We're going to do a research experiment today.
n: Oooohhh. Sounds fun.
M: They're going to put things in your ears and you'll hear noises.
n: Like birds. We don't put bananas in our ears.

What Mamma didn't share with me was that the researcher would share my secret of having a slight to minor hearing impairment in my ears. He ruined my excuse for not listening when Mamma and Daddy are trying to tell me to do stuff I don't want to do. Especially when they yell at me from across the room. Sure, it could be temporary or left-over liquid from being sick the last couple of weeks. But it was my secret!

Big Bath!

I outgrew bathing in the kitchen sink. Much like I'm outgrowing my clothing, my swaddling blankets, my shoes...

Boogies

Mamma and Daddy told me I shouldn't eat the boogies I pick out of my nose. They didn't say anything about eating the boogies I lick out of my nose!

7 months!

I decided to go for a Pretty in Pink theme for my mirthday party. To go along with my case of pink eye. However, I don't understand how Daddy leaving for a conference on my mirthday is a present. But NeeNee came to see me. Now, if only I could remember who NeeNee is, I'd be a happier boy. Maybe she'll give me food.

Because. I love food. I can't get enough food. Please feed me during the night, all day, many times, as much as you can. Thank you. I'd feed myself if I could. And maybe I can if I'd be given the chance. I can hold two items at a time, and I'm getting better at grabbing for small objects (it's quite reinforcing to see Mamma and Daddy quickly running to get the small items away from me). And I put everything I grab into my mouth. I especially love grabbing for Mamma and Daddy's food while they carry it and me somewhere. Messy messy!

I sit very well (especially in my high chair - have I mentioned how much I love food?). And am learning to lunge for items out of my reach. Which usually ends up bruising my forehead. So I'm now trying the roll/scoot/pivot. Still don't have an urge to figure out crawling which I'm told will get me places faster. I'm still content to take things slow and steady. As long as I get what I want, I'm happy.

And speaking of happy. I've always got a big smile for you. Unless I'm hungry and not being fed, or too tired to think happy thoughts. But I keep my biggest smiles for my sister. We've have this special bond that doesn't require words.

Perseveration

M: Will you help me do the laundry?

n: Yes. We go downstairs.

M: Yes, the laundry is in the basement.

n: And then we have lollipop.

It's the little things

So many colors, so few nails. I'd like my right toes blue, by left toes purple, my right fingers pink and my left fingers light blue. Thanks.

Names

Of course I know my own name! Why else would I look at you when you call me? Do I look at you when you call me Sweetie, Honey, Pookie, Skully? Okay. Sometimes. But I know my real name too!

Bonding

I'm teaching Ewan the essentials of Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks.