Anybody Seen My Tree?

You might have seen this picture before, but it is soooo good that I had to put it up again. This is my mom and me. I love her so much. She is always there to play, read books, and rock me to sleep.

She teaches me all sorts of good things. I like to watch her smile. I like watching her fill up my bath. She is even teaching me the baby sign language for water, Mom, and Dad. The sign for Dad looks suspicious like something she made up just to see if he would do it.

She helps me pick out my clothes in the morning. We watch Elmo together and listen to lullabies at night. She usually changes my diapers. Somehow Dad's work schedule coincides with my diaper changes. Interesting..........

When I wake up in the morning, she is there to scoop me up and out of my crib. When I go to sleep at night, she turns on my night light and tucks my blanket in around me. But most of all, day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute - she loves me and I love her too.
Mom put out my Easter eggs on the floor in a nice big pile. It didn't take very long before I had them spread out all over!

I am such a good crawler that I can crawl from room to room. I must have chased those darn eggs all over the house. The kitchen floor is so slippery that everytime I got close to grabbing one, it squirted out from my hand.

I keep looking for the candy in the eggs. Someone seems to have already eaten it. Dad the "Easter moocher" beat me to it.

I crawl so fast that my feet don't can't even stay in my sleeper! Usually, I will crawl for a little bit and then look up to make sure everyone is watching me. I can also pull myself up to standing. That's right, I figured out how to use the couch to stand up! I stand up in my crib now, beside the couch, on the side of Mom and Dad's bed; the list of places is endless. (By the way, did you notice that last semicolon? Not only am I standing, but I am also using punctuation correctly to combine independent, but closely related clauses. Check out the big brain on me!)

This is my favorite tree. It is Mom's favorite too. It's in the yard of one of our neighbors across the street.

Mom and I like to look at it when we take stroller rides. We have no idea what kind it is though. If anyone has a guess let us know!

It is very pretty and smells nice - just like Spring should smell like. Mom says that the blooms won't last long so I should enjoy them while I can.

Dad took this picture of Mom and me. We were sitting on the couch together in our pajamas. I have to pack my pj's for Riley Children's Hospital this Monday. I am getting tubes place in my ears.

Mom, Dad, and me had just got up in the morning.

I am wearing macaroni and cheese in this picture. Mom says that it is a nice shade for evening.

I prefer more of a sweet potato or carrot.

Easter Eggs in Orbit

A little late, but this is me wearing my Easter dress! I even went to Sunday Mass with Mom and Dad. Dad says that you never really know how loud your child can be until you bring her to a quiet church. I had a lot to say that morning. Everyone was praying so I thought I would cheer them on - like "Go Team!" and stuff. Except, I only know "rah, rah." You know, like...."Let us pray.... rah rah" or "Peace be with you....rah, rah."

See the pretty flowers behind me? Am I outside? Nope, Mom took this picture in our guest bedroom right after church. You'll notice that I'm not wearing my shoes. They stayed on my feet for about a quarter of Mass and then I discovered that they tasted better than they felt. I wonder if Mom feels the same way about her heels. Dad's feet smell like my diaper pail so there is no way that could be true for him.

I had lots of fun that day. Mom and Dad took me on a stroller ride through the neighborhood. Daisy came along too. I met some of my neighbors. It was a little breezy so Mom made me wear my pink hat again. Check out what my cousin Liam did on Easter.

This is Liam, Grandpa, and Aunt Maresa coloring Easter eggs. Grandpa goes all out for Easter. He even got me an Easter basket. Grandma and I played with the stuffed pink bunny.

I was sorry that I wasn't able to make it home for Easter this year. Every went over to Aunt Maresa and Uncle Casey's house.

Aunt Maresa had a big spread of food. The macaroni and cheese was a big hit. I don't blame them because that is my favorite too!

This is Liam and Uncle Mike at Easter!

Mom, Dad, and I did not make quite as much food but we still know how to have a good time on Easter. Things got a little out of control at one point. I am a little embarrassed about this picture, but hey - it's Easter!

More eggs, more eggs, I've got to have more eggs.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit this weekend. We had lots of fun together. I have a little stranger anxiety so I cried what little hair that Mom and Dad have left right off of their heads in the beginning. But after a minute or two I remembered who Grandma and Grandpa were.

This is me and Grandma sitting together. We are both pretending to listen to Dad and Grandpa. We just got back from Mass. I really like Grandma's necklace and glasses. They are shiny and fun to grab.

Grandma and I played together all weekend long. We rolled a ball back and forth, listened to my musical keyboard, and took a walk around the neighborhood.

Grandma cheered me on while I ate my baby food. I showed her my "I am not eating this and there is no way you or any one else is going to pry that spoon between my lips" face. It is very lady-like and pretty.

This is me and Grandpa. Did you notice that I have my thumb in my mouth in both pictures? I don't like my pacifier anymore, but having thumbs everywhere I do is so handy, why wouldn't I put at least one of them in my mouth?

I really liked Grandpa's beard. It was fun to touch. I haven't seen one of those up close since Santa Claus. Grandpa and I had lots of fun hanging out together. We watched the White Sox Twins game. I didn't totally get what was going on, but maybe I can learn how to play when I get older.

This is a picture of me crawling from Google Earth. Dad says it was taken with a Medium Orbit Satellite which according to his grad-school courses, can be anywhere from 1000 to 22300 feet about the earth.

Last train to Dorksville is leaving the station. Woooo, Woooo. Alllllll aboard, Dad. Alllll aboard. I think it is Dad's goal to be as nerdy as possible to scare away any potential boyfriends. "Now Macy, what would ever give you that idea?" - Love, Dad.

That's it for now. I'll see you guys next week. I'm outta here!

Save on Your Cable Bill

Happy Easter everybody! It is me, the Easter Bunny, hopping your way. In addition to the eggs that I will hide in your yard, these ears get really good tv reception when you set me on top of the big screen. Who needs satellite when you have pink fur?

Mom and Dad put me out in the backyard to take some Easter pictures. I did not care for the ears. Mom says that when I'm older I will like these pictures. I don't know. I feel kind of self conscious being the only one wearing a fake set of ears. Dad's ears are so big that at first glance I thought that they had to be fake. But after I pulled on them a couple of times wouldn't you know it - they arrrrrrrre real, really big.

I had fun sitting in my backyard for the first time. The grass was soft and green. I watched some birds fly by and an airplane. It was way up in the sky, and it was moving really fast. It made the same sounds that my spoon makes when Mom tries to feed me squash. I could swear that it's Mom making those sounds, but every time the spoon gets close to my mouth, they get louder.

This is me without the bunny ears. I'm just as cute. Can you see the bunny on my sleeper? It has bunnies and Easter eggs all over it.

I had lots of fun in my backyard. Finding the eggs was pretty easy. Mom strategically placed them all within arms reach. This is a picture of my best side. Actually, Mom and Dad say that all sides look good - except the diaper side.

These are time sequence photographs of me finding all of these Easter Eggs.

"Mom, Dad, it's too bright out here. Where are you guys going? Come back, I'm going to cry."

"Hey what are these? Eggs! I wonder what's in them? Should I play with them? What's this yellow Post-It Note that says 'Choking Hazard. Love, Grandma'?"

"Plastic eggs wear a girl out. It's nap time."

I was hiding my smile from Mom and Dad today. After they were done taking pictures, we went for a stroller ride. I met some of our nice neighbors, and showed off my smile to them. Daisy came with us too. I wore my pink sun hat for most of the ride. It was pretty warm so I took it off close to the end.

Did you notice the "8 months old" card in the other pictures? That's right, I am 8 months old today. I have really grown in that time. Check me out, I'm holding a cup. Mostly I chew on it, but every now and then Mom can get me to take a couple of sips from it.

Eating can be a little messy. So, Mom rolls up my sleeves. Dad has a different approach. He usually forgets what Mom told him about rolling up my sleeves, so he changes my outfit afterward. Tomato, tomaaato.

Tonight, I am falling asleep to Chinese lullabies. Kaiyu and Larry gave them to me. I love listening to them. I hope that when I am older I can visit the place where these songs came from.

"Hey! Remember me? "

"Why the long face you ask? Well, for starters, I'm a dachshund. If anyone knows of some lap space that is unoccupied, let me know."

Rhyme of the Not-So Ancient Mariner

Hi everybody! Mom took me for a stroller ride today! It was a nice sunny spring day here. It was so sunny that Mom put my hat on for me.

Dad came up with the "Not So Ancient Mariner" bit. What is that anyway? Dad said the hat looked like a mariner's hat. Who says "mariner"? He should stick with the nerd vibe and leave the comedy to people like me. But, to borrow one of Dad's equally unfunny cliches, "You gotta dance with the one that brought you". I guess I will leave the editorial content up to him since I can't type.

I had a lot of fun on my stroller ride. Dad was in Springfield, Missouri guarding a plate of cookies in the hotel kitchen - or so he says. Mom took a look at his stomach and muttered that he probably was telling the truth. I am going to have to work on coming up with a more exciting story for show and tell. Dad will be the Jack Bauer of the neighborhood by the time I get done.

So what happened in the last 24 hours for me? Well, let me tell you. Like I said, I took a stroller ride with Mom. Mom was pushing the stroller, I was riding in it.

After that, I began to plot to take over the world with Mom using ill-tempered sea-bass with lasers! Just like in the movie Austin Powers!

How much money would it take me to not destroy the world? One milllllllllllllllllllllion dollars! How's that? Did I nail Dr. Evil or what!

This is Dad asking Mom if he can hold me after I have already fallen asleep.......

• Dad: Want me to to hold her for you?
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: It's no hassle...
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: But...
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: I'm...
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: All I'm say...
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: They're gonna get a...
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: I'm...
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: I'm just...
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: Would...
• Mom: Sh!... Knock-knock.
• Dad: Who's there?
• Mom: Sh!
• Dad: But..
• Mom: Let me tell you a little story about a man named Sh! Sh! even before you start. That was a pre-emptive "sh!" Now, I have a whole bag of "sh!" with your name on it.

I have noticed that Mom caught a little cabin fever recently. She was really bored and so she started making flowers out of squeeze cheese. She tries to make my baby food macaroni and cheese more exciting. Crazy lady, the next thing you know she will be flapping her arms and saying that she is Batman.

I think that I get my artistic side from her. Don't you?

Cone Hats for Everyone!

In honor of my cousin Megan's first birthday, I thought I would get a little crazy. Mom was reading me a book but I told her that I wasn't here to study. I was here to parrrrrrrty!

As you can see, this party hat does not exactly conform to the old noodle. It kind of reminds of the pictures of Dad that Mom showed me. Something about brains, trains, and Dad getting a slow one. Adult humor, I just don't get it. When I throw sweet potatoes on Daisy, now that's funny. Mom, Dad - not funny.

Can you see my feet? I love this sleeper. I can really get some good traction with my tootsies. I love to stand on the counter (with Mom and Dad holding me) and play with my toy banana. As Gwen Stefani would say it is b-a-n-a-n-a-s.

Did I mention that I sit up on my own - for the most part? I can roll my Winnie the Pooh ball back and forth.

Some other big news is I had my first tooth come in. It is on my left side, the bottom set. Mom was excited. Dad said, two optometrists in the family- couldn't someone have been a dentist? I am working on eating all sorts of things now. I especially like to gnaw on a microphone with an American Idol sitcker on it. Eat your heart out Simon.

This is my cousin Megan on her birthday. She is 1 year old. I like her a lot. I especially like her dress. Her favorite Seaseme Street character is Elmo. I like him too. Gandma and Grandpa (Dad's parents) have a tickle-me Elmo. Dad usually sits on Elmo by accident - never fails. So I guess that makes him a sit-on-me Elmo. He laughs and shakes all over (to clarify, Elmo laughs and shakes).

I was sorry that I missed Megan's party. She had balloons and homemade cake. She even got to put some on her face! I hope that I can put my birthday cake on my face.

Megan's mom, Robin, decorated for the party in everything Elmo. Even the cake was Elmo.

Speaking of Elmo, did I mention that I got some new ring tones for my cell phone? That's right, I have my own cell phone and it looks just like Elmo! I tried to get Kelly Clarkson ring tones, but Mom said I couldn't have them. So I settled for the ones that came with the phone. Want to hear them? Just click on the button below.

Catchy isn't it? Mom said it was insane! Or maybe it drives her insane. That means it really rocks doesn't it?

This is a picture of Megan, Aunt Robin, and Uncle Ned at Megan's birthday party.

This is me in my stroller. Notice that my feet are propped up on the dashboard. Dad totally lost it when he saw that.

"You have to keep your arms and legs inside until the ride stops!" Man, Dad is soooo lame. See you next week when I jump my stroller through a flaming ring and over 13 barrels! Now that is entertainment.