I'm Spartacus

Now let me guess Mom, horses go "nay", and cows go "moo", and ducks go "quack". Yawn. Can we move on to the good stuff? How about Teen People? No. Tiger Beat? No. How about Cosmo? So ladies what did you think about the latest episode of Oprah? No way! Tell me more.

I mean it's not like I'm a baby, I am almost 12 months old. Besides, look at all this hair I have and me without any idea what to do with it. It is not easy to find a hair-do that really frames your face. Most of my hair is standing straight up...a little too 80's is you ask me.

Well this week was the big sleep study at Riley Children's Hospital. We were all very worried and hopeful that the outcome would be favorable. It was so important that we even held a few trial runs here at home. As you can tell we were all really concentrating on being good sleepers! Even Daisy put out her very best effort.

We hope it all paid off. I had lots of REM sleep and the Sleep Center technician said that I did fine. We won't know until the doctors review the test results if I "passed" or not. But, I think that I did okay.

To give you an idea how easy this test was picture this....four adults trying to stick about 20 different electrodes on the head of a highly aggitated baby who has her arms in restraints (at least until I managed to take them off) at about 9:30 at night. By the way, I started the evening by immediately removing the "non-removable" patient ID bracelet. But, I digress, the sleep study went almost as well as ice-fishing in July. Mom ended up holding me almost the entire time. She sat in a rocking chair that she described as being made from the hardest substance known to man this side of Dad's head. After I took off my supposedly immobilizing arm restraints, Mom used them to throw at Dad to get his attention when she needed something. All in all, 5:30 am didn't come fast enough for any of us. If I could walk, I would have probably beat both of them out the door.

But once I made it home, everything was back to normal. Here I am reading a book with Mom. Now Mom, how many fluffy chicks are there?

Very good Mom! There are three fluffy chicks.


Geez. This parenting stuff is a snap!

And now the moment that everyone has been waiting for.....my first bike ride! Grandpa took Megan and me around in his Burley bike trailer. We had lots of fun that day.

It was so much fun! I have one questions though. Where's my yellow jersey?

Here are some pictures that Mom and Dad took of me when I was playing.

Did you see my teeth? Did you see them?

Mommy was trying really hard to take my picture while I was playing. But, I am really fast these days. So fast that an Olympus D-595, 5.0 megapixel camera has got nothing on me. Dad took over and managed to catch me when I wasn't looking.....or was I? Aren't I cute?

Just remember this picture when I paint your walls with chocolate pudding, shave the dog, or empty your purse of your make up, liberally applying it to every flat surface in the house. Just remember this picture and my voice saying, "I love you, [insert name here]."

Speaking of Dad..... I have a favorite toy. It is a Playmobil figure. He has dark hair, an orange shirt, and yellow pants. Mom calls him my "Daddy Doll".

Here he is.

I also have a "Mommy Doll". She has light brown hair and a red shirt. Here she is.

The interesting is that my "Daddy Doll" looks a lot like the real thing. Check it out.

Daddy Doll

Daddy

Remarkable isn't it? They are almost indistinguishable! Doesn't it remind you of the movie Spartacus with Kirk Douglas? Who is Daddy Doll? I'm Daddy Doll! No I'm Daddy Doll!

Next week, maybe a video of me in the park. Until then, I think I will have a couple of cheesy-poofs. Thanks Kathleen.

Picture Perfect Day

Today was a big day for me. I went to the park for the very first time! This is me and Mom standing under the entrance to the park near my house. Mom brought my pink hat for the sun, and I am wearing my favorite pair of shorts. They are terry cloth - very retro.

The park has lots of fun things to do. It is built like a castle, a Viking ship, and a locomotive . There are lots of fun tunnels, slides, and games to play there. Best of all there are lots of kids my age!

I am still a little too small to try out most of the neat stuff there, so I mainly went to the park to swing. I really like to swing. Mom and Dad push me higher and higher each time. Mom even brought a "wet-wipe" to wipe off the part of the swing that I was most likely to chew on! Isn't she something? What's that Dad? Just keep typing.

Anyway, Mom and Dad took lots of pictures of me swinging at the park. The first couple were really blurry. But they finally figured out the right setting for the camera and the rest of them came out really nice. Here are some pictures of me swinging!

Here is another picture of me at the park. I think that Grandpa's love of the railroad rubbed off on me already. I have a train whistle at home that I can't get enough of although I think Mom and Dad can both get enough of it. At the park, I found this neat train so I could be an engineer.

Did you know Grandpa was a fireman on the railroad and worked with his Dad?

I even convinced Mom to go down the slide with me. She was a little frightened at first. I told her if she got really scared to suck on her thumb and everything would be fine.


See what I mean.

By the way, I am getting even more teeth! I have two teeth on top and two teeth on the bottom. Watch out, I'm catching up to you guys fast. I was feeling a little under the weather this week. Mom and Dad took me to the doctor but I am lots better now.

Here are some pictures of my first bicycle ride! Grandpa pulled my cousin Megan and me around the driveway in a Burley bicycle trailer. It was lots of fun.

Faster Grandpa, pedal faster!

For all those safety conscious individuals out there....Grandma and Grandpa had a Dora the Explorer helmet for me. However, I immediately took it off. Don't worry, Grandpa kept the speed slow and the bike path was the driveway. I don't think that I will be following Grandpa around for GOBA anytime soon. Dad would like to add that my new found love of two wheeled transportation will not translate into dating boys with motorcycles.

During the same week I got my first bike ride, I visited Dad's parents too. Aunt Maresa and cousin Liam were there. Grandma served cheese puffs on a silver platter. Not only are cheese puffs delicious, but.................

they are fun to throw too!

Liam and I got along famously. He was very patient when I whacked him a couple of times. I haven't quite gotten down using fine motor skills when I get excited.

Check it out, Liam has a nose just like me. Hey buddy, let me get that for you.

As I mentioned last week, I have an overnight sleep study at the end of this week. I have to spend the night in the Sleep Lab at Riley Children's Hospital. This test is especially important. I have to be a good sleeper so I will be ready to have my palate closed. If I complete it successfully, the surgery to close my palate may be scheduled during the next appointment with the plastic surgeon. Sleep studies aren't a whole lot of fun. I get wrapped in electrodes, tape, and gauze. Then I have to lay very still so I won't disturb the instruments. Making a baby uncomfortable by taping her head like a mummy and then restricting her movement is not what I would call a recipe for a good night of sleep. So, please, everyone keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

I thought you might appreciate seeing what all of your kind thoughts have done for me over the past 11 months. So here are two pictures to compare.

Then


Now

That's it for now. One last picture and I will see you all next week.

Can You Believe I'm 11 Months Old?

I can't believe it either! I am 11 months old now! Dad went away for a week and now I'm all grown up. I can stand up on my own. I am starting to babble a lot more and giggle now and then. I am a very fast crawler and love to chase Daisy all over the house.

I also have quite a few teeth coming in. I won't be eating corn on the cob anytime soon, but I have three teeth that you can see quite well and a bunch more that will soon be there.

I am glad that Dad came home. He had lots of fun stories to tell about his trip to Africa. Dad was responsible for coordinating the security for a pediatric hospital that former President Clinton visited. President Clinton attended an event there with former South African President Nelson Mandela. Dad told me that President Mandela said "hello" to him as he walked by.

Dad also said that he saw NBC Today Show co-host Campbell Brown there. He told me that she was as tall as she looked on television.

Dad buys me a doll from every country he visits. But this time, he bought me a doll and a giraffe! Doesn't it look real? Dad said that he found it at an open air market in Johannesburg. He told me that he had to bargain with the vendors to get a good price. I think it is neat and will try and put it in my mouth as soon as Mom isn't looking. Dad also bought me a wooden elephant, leopard, and impala. They will have to sit on top of my bureau until I am older and not so inclined to eat my toys. Dad got Mom some very scary African masks to hang on the wall too!

While Dad was away, I went home and visited both sets of grandparents and played with my cousins Liam and Megan. Everyone took lots of pictures and video. I liked to play with my cousins. Megan and Liam are older than I am so they showed me how to do lots of new things.

One thing that Megan and I liked doing is watching Elmo. Megan calls him " 'mo" I don't call him anything yet. I just know that he is really funny. He has big white eyes and he has a pet goldfish named Dorothy and crayons too. Elmo lives on Sesame Street with all of his friends.

This is a picture of my cousin Megan.

This is a picture of Mom and me , Uncle Ned and Megan.


Mom is reading to Megan and me.

I know I look bored, but how many times can you read the same story?

This is Megan and me with Grandma and Grandpa.

We took lots of pictures that day.

Dad says that I should try new things to see if I like them. Well, I tried eating this plastic duck and I don't like it at all. First of all, it has a rubbery texture and tastes like.......well, like plastic! Go figure.

I have also tried to gnaw on shoes, stroller wheels, blocks, books, and nothing really satisfies my craving. That is until Mom gave me a .........................

Twinkie!

Yep, in Mom's never ending attempt to keep me familiar with eating on my own, we tried a Twinkie. As you can see most of it ended up on my face rather than my mouth. I guess I will have to take Dad's word for it that I will like these someday. Mom said that Dad likes them. She said that he put one on his nose to make her laugh once. Dad, you're not going to be on Comedy Central anytime soon with that one.

This is a picture of me on my 11 month birthday!

Feed me! I'm hungry. I'm a giant now.

I can reach all of the kitchen drawers I'm not supposed to reach and I can eat the villagers in one bite!

Next week you might find another home video of me on my first bicycle ride!

Mom, Dad Can I Pet the Rhino?

Dad is in Johannesburg, South Africa this week! It took him 29 hours to fly there. He flew from Chicago to London to Johannesburg. He had a twelve hour lay-over in London. Dad said that he read two books, a newspaper, and drank four cups of cappuccino.

Dad said that he met some very nice people in South Africa while he was working. He said that he will have lots of stories about his work when he comes home. Dad said that he went on a safari too! He told me that he saw lions, leopards, zebras, tigers, and rhinoceros..ses…ses..ses, oh whatever. I wish I could talk, because I would ask him to bring home a baby rhinoceros for me just like this one. I just know that it would be best friends with Daisy and I could keep it in our backyard! I wonder what I should name it?

Like I said, this week’s blog will be a short one. My Dad misses me and Mom and he thinks about us every day and each night before he goes to sleep. I miss him too.

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Hiya folks! This is going to be a quick blog. To catch you up on this week's events. My main focus was learning what different animals look like. Mom and Dad showed me pictures of a dog, a cat, a mouse, a cow, a sheep, a pig, a duck, a robin, an owl, a parrot, a seagull, a penguin, a rabbit, a squirrel, a fox, a horse, an elephant, a zebra, a butterfly, a bee, a spider, a snail, a caterpillar, a worm, a fish, a starfish, a jellyfish, an octopus, a sea horse, a crab, a whale, a dolphin, and a shark.

I would like to point out to my faithful readers that several of these pictures aren't even animals! For example, crabs and spiders are both members of the Arthropoda (segmented bodies with eight legs). Mom and Dad should know that just because I believe a big yellow bear named Winnie and his best friend who's a pig, can carry on a conversation paralleling the tenets of Taoism doesn't mean I am easily fooled.

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one by me. Speaking of getting up early, Mom and Dad couldn't resist taking a picture of my bed head.

Here is a July 4th picture for everyone.

This is going to be it until July 16. Dad is heading off to Johannesburg, South Africa. He leaves on July 4 and comes home on July 15. I hope he remembers to bring home some neat stuff - just nothing with lead paint. He said he will try to write a quick blurb from South Africa, but no guarantees. Keep checking though, because you never know.

P.S. - To Mom's friend Iney ...... United 0928 on 07/04. If you see Dad, aka Ryan make him sit by the lavatory. Hehe ;-)