Happy Birthday to Me

Wow. What a day. I woke up to Mommy singing "Happy Birthday" to me. I tell ya, I was not in the singing mood. She sang it anyway and I decided I could crack a small smile. Then we went on an adventure to the farmer's market, Target and the meat store to pick up tenderloin steaks. Hmm. I don't eat steaks, why are we eating steaks?

Oh yeah, duh, it's the year of 02--my birthday! Jakie, Lily and auntie Rasa stopped by with McDonald's and Cars cupcakes. I sure like my birthday. Lots of sweets. Then, the low part of my day: naptime. But, after naptime, auntie Bonnie was here. We had fun playing and running around. She even got me to laugh a little. I'm very discriminating. For dinner, Mommy, Daddy and auntie Bonnie had steaks while I had a delictable hot dog/pea/noodle dish. Highly recommended. Then it was time for the cupcakes. Not just any old cupcakes, but flaming 02 Thomas cupcakes! As you can see, they didn't let me get too close to the flame. That's allright. I had a ball listening to that silly "Happy Birthday" song again. That's the funniest song I know.

I like my birthday, lots of frosting and sweets.

Next it was on to the gifts. I still don't really care to open my presents, so I made Mommy do it. I just couldn't watch. But I got some cool stuff. Auntie Bonnie, uncle Todd, cousins Ellen and Ryan brought me a doctor kit complete with blood pressure kit, thermometer, syringe, and stethoscope. Gee, it sure will be nice to have a doctor in the family--finally.

What's next, Mama?
Awesome, a book. I love listening to books.

Auntie Bonnie and I posed for a few shots.

Then I kissed her bye-bye and she was back on her way to the hotel. It sure was a good birthday. Mommy checked her email later and showed me all the birthday email wishes and e-cards from everyone. Thank you! I especially liked the Lego e-card from Z and J, AKA: West Des Moines' number one Say Cheese fans. And I liked the cards I received from both Deeba and Deepas (Grandma and Grandpa in my language). I can't wait to see my Deepa and Deebas this weekend at my birthday part two! Thanks, everyone, for making it a wonderful 02 birthday.

Tired

What are you staring at? Sorry. Didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just a little tired.

You see, life is busy around here. I just recently discovered the advantages of adult sized furniture and I wear myself out climbing up and down. Good thing I found Mr. Blankie and my paci nearby (go Twins!).

The satin part of Mr. Blankie is the bees knees.

Dive bomb Mr. Blankie! I love attacking him. Well, gotta go. I need to rest up for my birthday tomorrow...more to come.

While Daddy's Away...

...I like to match socks. But not any old socks, only Daddy's socks.

Here's the process:

1. Find the basket with clean, already folded clothes and pull out all of Daddy's socks you can find. If any of Mommy's get in your pile, throw them back. They are like carp of the sock world: undesirable.

2. Run around and through every part of the house you can while holding the socks. Try to get Miss Kitty to play with the socks. Use the socks to 'wipe' the window. Suck on the socks. Try putting the socks in your cup. Put the socks in your crib to play with during your nap. Bring the socks in the bathroom and try to put them in the bathtub for your bath later on.

3. Finally, when you have exhausted yourself, take a break in the newly cleared out laundry basket. Promptly ignore Mommy if she starts harping on you about throwing the laundry out. Hey, if she would actually put the laundry away in a timely fashion she would not be in this predicament! I'm sneaky...

My New Best Friend

Hi again. It's me, hanging out in my backyard. I really like summer and I love my backyard and pool.

Whenever Mommy or Daddy say the
magic word, "outside", I run to my sandals and try to put them on myself. I know. I'm a genius.

Let's go on a short tour of my backyard.

This is Cassius. He is my new best friend. Since I am a big boy now, I can stand up to his craziness. He doesn't knock me over anymore and I know to pet him nicely and run away from him if he gets too crazy. That is, if I don't want him close to me. On this occasion, I felt it necessary to show Cassius my cool sandbox tools.

Cassius asked if I could scratch his coat with my sandbox tools. I gladly obliged.

Next on the tour is the ever-famous Beth Shed for Homeless Lawn Equipment. Notice anything new? Here's a hint: it's neither Cassius nor is it the shed. It's the garden and gutter! Daddy put a nice cedar border around the shed and Mommy planted it with pretty plants. Word is one of the bushes has been planted in my honor. A bush? Why not a tree? That's a whole other can of worms I'm not about to open today.

Finally, a trip to one of Mommy's gardens. This is a milkweed plant. Do you see something stripey in the center of the plant? Yup, that's a Monarch caterpillar. I think I shall call him Clarence. Mommy lets some milkweed grow every year so the Monarchs have a place to lay their eggs. Word is we've had a bumper crop of Clarences this year--seven and counting. Can't wait until I'm older so I can watch it transform to a chrysalis and a butterfly.

That concludes today's tour. I'm sure there's more to come. Have a happy holiday!