You might be wondering what sorts of things I like to do these days. I love to color. I love to play in the gym at school. They call it "creative movement" and I love it. I can say many words, like nose and mouth and eyes. I like to point these out on people and my doll that I named "baby." I like to stack things and I really like to knock them all over. I am a good dancer. Mommy and I dance in the family room all the time. I like to clap, especially for myself or when someone sings a song with clapping in it.
I still love my bath and now I have my mini basketballs and hoop that I play with. It always falls from the wall and I say "uh oh." I am getting better at saying "please" and like saying "thank you" too. I still prefer to grunt for the things that I want, especially food or anything I want in the car. This, of course, is done when Mommy or Daddy can't do anything about it so I get more and more persistent with my grunting. Mommy and Daddy make me say a word (like "please") before I get something, but I still like to start with the grunting.
I like to take things off shelves and put them in Mr. Fancy Pants' bed. Mommy has had to move many solid objectives because I have not mastered the art of placing things gently and she wants to make sure that Mr. FP does not get hurt. Bella still does not let me get close to her so Mommy is not worried about Bella's wellfare yet.
I prefer to walk up and down stairs like a big girl. I have not ventured to the stairs by myself (yet) but Mommy and Daddy are very quick to stop me before I get too far. I can really take each step one at a time though, you should see it!
I am sure I will think of other fun things about myself to tell you, but that is probably enough for now.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Losing Mr. Fancy Pants
Friday, February 13 was a very sad day for our family. Mr. Fancy Pants, our beloved kitty cat passed away that day. Mommy and Daddy knew that Fancy was not feeling well because earlier in the week he stopped eating and drinking. Mommy took Fancy to the vet and found out what she had suspected, he was a very sick cat. The vet recommended that Fancy stay over night so they could try to get some fluids into him, but by the next morning they said that it just was not working. Luckily, both Mommy and Daddy made it in time to be with Fancy when he died. Mommy said that Fancy put his head on Mommy's arm and had the same sweet look on his face that he always did.
Mr. Fancy Pants was a famous cat. He was one of the original Eukanuba kittens, was in Time and People magazine, was in video on TV, was on the Iams website and even has his very own life-size standee. He was a loving, sweet kitty who enjoyed going to work with Mommy when she worked at Iams, got his teeth brushed every night and was good to me and let me pet him. He loved to help "make the bed" by jumping and playing in the sheets, he slept on Mommy's pillow with her and in the middle of the night if she woke up and could not get to sleep, he would "purr her a lullaby" so she could get back to sleep. He liked to go outside on our patio (only supervised), he was very convincing when he wanted a treat, and he was a heat hog and many times Mommy had to make him step away from the space heater in my room on cold winter nights. Many of you knew Mr. Fancy Pants and I am sure have more fun stories than I will ever have since I only new him for 19 months. Mr. Fancy Pants lived a good, long life, as he was exactly 11 years and 5 months old when he died. One of our friends, Sharon, said it well, "No matter how long they are with you, it is never long enough." Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and understanding about this loss.
Our other kitty, Bella, is doing pretty well. We can tell that she is sad and misses him but she is also spending more time with us now. I even got to pet her two times the other day. We are not sure if we will get another kitty just yet. We don't want Bella to be lonely, but we want to make sure we are bringing in someone who will work well with Bella and us. If you know Daddy and Mommy, you know that we do not make decisions on a whim and this could take some time.
Mr. Fancy Pants was a famous cat. He was one of the original Eukanuba kittens, was in Time and People magazine, was in video on TV, was on the Iams website and even has his very own life-size standee. He was a loving, sweet kitty who enjoyed going to work with Mommy when she worked at Iams, got his teeth brushed every night and was good to me and let me pet him. He loved to help "make the bed" by jumping and playing in the sheets, he slept on Mommy's pillow with her and in the middle of the night if she woke up and could not get to sleep, he would "purr her a lullaby" so she could get back to sleep. He liked to go outside on our patio (only supervised), he was very convincing when he wanted a treat, and he was a heat hog and many times Mommy had to make him step away from the space heater in my room on cold winter nights. Many of you knew Mr. Fancy Pants and I am sure have more fun stories than I will ever have since I only new him for 19 months. Mr. Fancy Pants lived a good, long life, as he was exactly 11 years and 5 months old when he died. One of our friends, Sharon, said it well, "No matter how long they are with you, it is never long enough." Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and understanding about this loss.
Our other kitty, Bella, is doing pretty well. We can tell that she is sad and misses him but she is also spending more time with us now. I even got to pet her two times the other day. We are not sure if we will get another kitty just yet. We don't want Bella to be lonely, but we want to make sure we are bringing in someone who will work well with Bella and us. If you know Daddy and Mommy, you know that we do not make decisions on a whim and this could take some time.
February 8, 2009
There was another snow storm the first week of February. This one started in the middle of the afternoon, do you know what that means? It means that there were already too many cars on the road for the clearing crews to clean it up. Do you know what that means? Traffic jam. It took Mommy over 45 minutes to drive the 5 minute trip from her work to my school. It took some of Mommy's team over 4 hours to get home! Luckily everyone we know made it home safely and just had stories to tell the next day. Guess who went out and snow-blowed the driveway again? Mommy. Luckily her wrist feels much better than it did back in December!
The next weekend was another fun time for me. Friday night Mommy and I went to happy hour with some of her friends from work. I love happy hour! Saturday night we went to our friend Jana and Dan's house for dinner. I love Jana and Dan and I really love their dog Regan. I am not sure if he loves me or not because he does not want me to come to close to him but he does not growl so I figure he is my friend. We had a very good time with our friends! I even got to stay up past my bedtime so we could visit longer. They have a really fun basement (or "lower level" as decorators on the Style Network would say). They have a really big bean bag, big enough for five little people like me! I love to run and jump on it of course. Jana lets me do what I want to. I am going to remember this as I get older.
Sunday was Nana's birthday and she came to spend it with me. Grandma and Grandpa also came to visit because they are going on vacation to Arizona (another state I will go to someday) and would not get to see me for a long time. We all went to dinner at Max & Erma's and even got a free dessert because it was Nana's birthday! Then we went to Jungle Jim's, you know, the really cool store with dancing and singing on the ceiling? At least from my vantage point it looks like they are on the ceiling. I am not sure if they are real or not and they don't really look like people, but I think the songs are fun to clap to. I think Nana had a great birthday with me too. I just love to hear Nana talk to me, she says such funny things and makes such silly faces. I laugh and laugh just thinking about her! And of course I love Grandma and Grandpa too! It was in a dreamworld being with all of them on one day. It felt like vacation.
The next weekend was another fun time for me. Friday night Mommy and I went to happy hour with some of her friends from work. I love happy hour! Saturday night we went to our friend Jana and Dan's house for dinner. I love Jana and Dan and I really love their dog Regan. I am not sure if he loves me or not because he does not want me to come to close to him but he does not growl so I figure he is my friend. We had a very good time with our friends! I even got to stay up past my bedtime so we could visit longer. They have a really fun basement (or "lower level" as decorators on the Style Network would say). They have a really big bean bag, big enough for five little people like me! I love to run and jump on it of course. Jana lets me do what I want to. I am going to remember this as I get older.
Sunday was Nana's birthday and she came to spend it with me. Grandma and Grandpa also came to visit because they are going on vacation to Arizona (another state I will go to someday) and would not get to see me for a long time. We all went to dinner at Max & Erma's and even got a free dessert because it was Nana's birthday! Then we went to Jungle Jim's, you know, the really cool store with dancing and singing on the ceiling? At least from my vantage point it looks like they are on the ceiling. I am not sure if they are real or not and they don't really look like people, but I think the songs are fun to clap to. I think Nana had a great birthday with me too. I just love to hear Nana talk to me, she says such funny things and makes such silly faces. I laugh and laugh just thinking about her! And of course I love Grandma and Grandpa too! It was in a dreamworld being with all of them on one day. It felt like vacation.
Celebrating Family Birthdays & the Generator
On February 1st, we went to Dayton to celebrate January birthdays (my cousin Michael, Aunt Jeannie, Mommy) and Nana's birthday that is in February. We went to a really cool place called "BW-3's" which means nothing to me, but a restaurant they should call "place with lots of TVs and games to play." I had such a good time! I realized that I really like popcorn shrimp too. Aunt Jeannie was nice enough to share hers with me. I am a big fan of dipping stuff too. Do you know what happens when a 18 month-old (almost 19 month-old) tries to dip stuff? It's kinda a mess. Mommy and Daddy are also getting really good at cleaning up spills. I always let them know that I have spilled by saying "uh oh" then promptly trying to clean it up myself. I don't quite have the technique down because the spill does not go away like it does when Mommy or Daddy get to it. Then I realize that it makes a cool shape, color or something and figure I should manipulate it some by running my finger, spoon, shirt or whatever back and forth for a bit. This becomes as interesting as anything else I am doing which sometimes means I drop the thing I tried to dip all together. You know what I say then? "Uh oh" then try to wipe it up myself. Do you know how the story continues? If not, back up a few sentences and reread, you will get the idea. After lunch, Uncle Robbie and Nana helped me drive a car. No silly, not a real car. But it had a steering wheel and the screen had really neat pictures on it!
After our very fun lunch with Nana, Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jeannie, Michael and of course Mommy and Daddy, Nana, Daddy, Mommy and I went to Sam's to buy a generator. You might know this about Mommy and Daddy but they like to be prepared. Even though our power did not go out during the ice and snow storm I already mentioned, they wanted to make sure that if something ever did happen that we would be ready. So, when Nana was off school the week before (during the same storm I already mentioned two times now), she called around to the different Sam's Clubs in the area to make sure the generator Daddy wanted was in stock. On Wednesday there were 12. Do you know how many there were on Sunday when we went to buy ours? We bought the last one except for the display! Daddy made Mommy stand by the shelf so he could get help to buy it. I think Daddy was very relieved! He already had the electrician lined up to install a special switch so we could just hook up the generator and pick and choose what we want to have running if the power ever goes out. That sounds prepared to me!
By Sunday it was really warm and most of the snow had melted. Can you believe that it was almost 60 degrees outside? It had just been 10 degrees with ice and snow (again, the same storm I have now mentioned at least three times. I hope you remember which storm I mean.).
After our very fun lunch with Nana, Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jeannie, Michael and of course Mommy and Daddy, Nana, Daddy, Mommy and I went to Sam's to buy a generator. You might know this about Mommy and Daddy but they like to be prepared. Even though our power did not go out during the ice and snow storm I already mentioned, they wanted to make sure that if something ever did happen that we would be ready. So, when Nana was off school the week before (during the same storm I already mentioned two times now), she called around to the different Sam's Clubs in the area to make sure the generator Daddy wanted was in stock. On Wednesday there were 12. Do you know how many there were on Sunday when we went to buy ours? We bought the last one except for the display! Daddy made Mommy stand by the shelf so he could get help to buy it. I think Daddy was very relieved! He already had the electrician lined up to install a special switch so we could just hook up the generator and pick and choose what we want to have running if the power ever goes out. That sounds prepared to me!
By Sunday it was really warm and most of the snow had melted. Can you believe that it was almost 60 degrees outside? It had just been 10 degrees with ice and snow (again, the same storm I have now mentioned at least three times. I hope you remember which storm I mean.).
January's Ice & Snow and Kelly's visit
Our friend Kelly came in town for another storm. I think she really came to town to work at what people at P&G call "the GO" (meaning "General Offices") but it seemed to be that she came to town to a) see me and b) for the storm. Do you remember me telling you that she was in town for the hurricane way back in September? She lives in Boston now and thought it was funny that everyone in Cincinnati shut down because of the weather. She did not get stuck this time but just wait a minute and I will tell you what happened by the end of the week!
Kelly arrived late on Sunday, there was an ice storm on Tuesday and then the snow storm came. Mommy and Daddy did not seem to be concerned too much about the weather either, because I did not miss a day of school. One day the school did close early, but Mommy would have stayed all day if she could have. She said it was nice not to have so many people on the roads! There were a few drawbacks for Mommy with this weather coming when it did. Remember how I told you that Daddy hurt his back? Guess who spent two hours clearing off the driveway? You got it, Mommy. She is getting to be quite a pro with the snow blower, that is for sure.
Kelly's daughter, Zoe, who I love, came for the weekend after the ice and snow, so I got to spend Friday night and some of Saturday with her. I really look up to her and wanted her to play with me the whole time. When I woke up on Sunday after she left, I went looking for her in the room where she stayed. The surprise visitors we had were Kelly's parents (Zoe's grandparents) who came on Friday because their power was out where they live in Louisville, Kentucky (I have been through that city on my way to Hilton Head vacation but that is another story). Although Mommy and Daddy were sad that Jerry & Elinor (Grandad and Gran) did not have power, they were very excited to see them! They had to get back to their cold house on Saturday morning, but we did enjoy the short time they were were. We hope to see them again soon! Don't get me wrong, we don't want them to lose power again.
On Saturday, Mommy, Kelly, Zoe and I all went to this place called "Middletown" that is in the middle between Cincinnati and Dayton (I wonder if that is why they call it Middletown). We met our friends Doug and Tara for lunch at Steak & Shake, one of Zoe's favorite restaurants. I liked it too, but I was not very interested in eating anything. I am very good and will sit and color for a little bit. Unfortunately for Mommy and our friends, I am usually done entertaining myself by the time the food arrives. I am good natured about my desire to do something new, but persistent. I think I mentioned before that Mommy is quite a fast eater these days. She is also learning the art of providing me additional entertainment in waves. I like to think that I make her a more prepared person!
Kelly arrived late on Sunday, there was an ice storm on Tuesday and then the snow storm came. Mommy and Daddy did not seem to be concerned too much about the weather either, because I did not miss a day of school. One day the school did close early, but Mommy would have stayed all day if she could have. She said it was nice not to have so many people on the roads! There were a few drawbacks for Mommy with this weather coming when it did. Remember how I told you that Daddy hurt his back? Guess who spent two hours clearing off the driveway? You got it, Mommy. She is getting to be quite a pro with the snow blower, that is for sure.
Kelly's daughter, Zoe, who I love, came for the weekend after the ice and snow, so I got to spend Friday night and some of Saturday with her. I really look up to her and wanted her to play with me the whole time. When I woke up on Sunday after she left, I went looking for her in the room where she stayed. The surprise visitors we had were Kelly's parents (Zoe's grandparents) who came on Friday because their power was out where they live in Louisville, Kentucky (I have been through that city on my way to Hilton Head vacation but that is another story). Although Mommy and Daddy were sad that Jerry & Elinor (Grandad and Gran) did not have power, they were very excited to see them! They had to get back to their cold house on Saturday morning, but we did enjoy the short time they were were. We hope to see them again soon! Don't get me wrong, we don't want them to lose power again.
On Saturday, Mommy, Kelly, Zoe and I all went to this place called "Middletown" that is in the middle between Cincinnati and Dayton (I wonder if that is why they call it Middletown). We met our friends Doug and Tara for lunch at Steak & Shake, one of Zoe's favorite restaurants. I liked it too, but I was not very interested in eating anything. I am very good and will sit and color for a little bit. Unfortunately for Mommy and our friends, I am usually done entertaining myself by the time the food arrives. I am good natured about my desire to do something new, but persistent. I think I mentioned before that Mommy is quite a fast eater these days. She is also learning the art of providing me additional entertainment in waves. I like to think that I make her a more prepared person!
Friday, February 13, 2009
January 25, 2009
I have experienced one of the most significant changes in my life in the last month (along with being born and starting school after spending every day with Mommy for six months). I moved to a new classroom in January. I am no longer in the “infant” rooms, now I am a toddler. This has been a dramatic change for me and I am not sure if I like it. I went from hanging out in one room except for the occasional buggy ride to moving between two to three rooms throughout the day. I used to sleep in a crib and now I sleep on a cot in a room with 10 other kids. I used to be able to sleep when I wanted and now I sleep when everyone else does. Unless, of course, I can’t get to sleep, someone wakes up making lots of noise or anything else that might happen. This does not mean I get to sleep another time, but just means that I am more tired! I like the change of eating at a table versus in a high chair, I feel like such a big girl! I even eat with a big-girl spoon. Every morning when Mommy drops me off, I walk into the classroom, sit down at my chair and wait for someone to bring me my cereal and milk. I am a big fan of the word “eat!” I really like my teachers too. Miss Gina was with me in “infant D” and I like my new teachers, Miss Nisha and Miss Shayla. I love art and projects! I bring home some sort of art every night! I have so much art that Mommy put up a board in my play room to post my “creative” as Mommy would call it at work. After several weeks I am getting more accustomed to this. I don’t cry as much during the day, but I am still pretty tired at night. I really just want Mommy to hold me all through dinner. Mommy and Daddy have many conversations about this but I am hard to deny and Mommy sometimes like to have some peace while eating. To help me be in better spirits, I go to bed earlier now too. I used to go to sleep around 8:15 PM but now since I am so tired, I go to sleep much closer to 7:15. Do you know what this also means? It means that Mommy and Daddy must leave work around 5 pm so they can spend a little time with me before I go to sleep. This makes for a very busy day for them!
January, 25 2009
The weekend after Mommy’s birthday was fun filled as well. Uncle David came over on Saturday to go to the shooting range and gun show with Daddy. Those of you who know Uncle David are probably not surprised that he went to a shooting range and gun show, but those of you who know Daddy might be intrigued about seeing him at either place! They were gone for quite some time and boy did they have fun! When they got home I played and played with Uncle David too! Then Teresa and Anna came over to visit for a little while. I am still not very good at sharing with Anna, but she seems to understand whose house this is and how things work around here. This means that everything is mine and she should obey. Teresa, Anna and Mommy left and I played with Daddy some more. They all went to Kristy’s house to have dinner and play with my friends, Colin and Patrick. They had a really good time, even without me there! Mommy almost took me but it was really close to my bedtime and she did not want to mess up my schedule. I did get to go over the next morning before church for breakfast, and that was fun. We were not sure if we were going, but I woke up at 6:45 so there was certainly enough time to spend with them and go to church. Maybe I just knew there was something fun to wake up for. I like to play with Colin and Patrick’s toys, and even though they do not like me playing with their toys, they let me and only sometimes pull them away like I do to Anna. I was so tired from getting up early that Mommy dropped me off at home instead of taking me to church with her. Daddy’s back still hurt so he was still fine hanging out with me. I sure wish that daddy’s back would feel better!
Mommy's birthday - January 20, 2009
Mommy had a wonderful birthday this year! It was a very cold day, which should not be surprising for January in Ohio, but sometimes you catch a break. Her birthday was a Tuesday so she and Daddy went to work while I went to school. Carol from her team is Mommy’s birthday buddy and Carol brought in a multi-layered chocolate cake to work in honor of the special day. They made an executive decision to eat this cake at 9 am, what a fun idea! For lunch, Mommy and her team (Carol, Jeff, Mary Kate and Lisa) went to a place called the Fox and the Hound (although there are not really foxes or dogs allowed in there). Besides getting to go to lunch with her team, the other special part was getting to watch the inauguration on the big screen TV while they were eating. It was a historic day and while sometimes it’s easy to let things like that pass with the busyness of life, Mommy was really happy that they took the time to experience it.
Did I tell you that Mommy told Daddy back in December she was not that excited about her birthday? Well, Daddy knows that Mommy loves birthdays so this was alarming to him. To help the situation, he decided to buy her a special gift! It worked. That night when we all got home, after I screamed through dinner, Daddy gave Mommy a pair of beautiful earrings that sparkle a lot! Daddy sure is good at helping Mommy feel better.
Did I tell you that Mommy told Daddy back in December she was not that excited about her birthday? Well, Daddy knows that Mommy loves birthdays so this was alarming to him. To help the situation, he decided to buy her a special gift! It worked. That night when we all got home, after I screamed through dinner, Daddy gave Mommy a pair of beautiful earrings that sparkle a lot! Daddy sure is good at helping Mommy feel better.
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