little man thoughts..

Six months going on three years old; I suppose it's about time for an update from the little [BIG] man, himself!  

The past two months have been non-stop adventure.  (Which explains the lack of updates from my Mama.. she promises to get her act together soon!)  We moved into a new house and now I can play in my very own yard each day.  Mom has a few misgivings about me eating the grass, but I can't help myself!

                                      

Speaking of yummy, my palate is rapidly expanding!  Favorites so far include avocado, butternut squash and pears.  Of course, by 'favorite' I really mean 'perfect for smearing, flinging and finger painting in general'.  Starting solids is more about the parents than the baby, I've decided.  You should see my mom poring over her baby food cook book and blending various vegetables and fruits in her blender.  Dad's into it, too!  Although, I must admit, his version of the airplane spoon is incredibly convincing.. 

Mom says it's bittersweet watching her baby grow up this fast; I guess I'll take her word for it.  All I know is that 'tummy time' is seriously overrated and I prefer to be upright and in motion at all times.  In my defense: it's genetics.  My Dad never stops moving, either.  He's been staying so busy with landscaping and tree climbing that he barely remembers to eat lunch, unless it involves chocolate chip cookies!  He has his very own wood chipper now and I can NOT wait to help him run that monster. He is seriously cool!
                                       
With Dad staying so busy, Mom and I decided we needed a vehicle of our own.  You know, for field trips and picking up coffee from the roaster and other VIT's (very important tasks).  We are now the proud owners of a Jeep Liberty and can generally be found running errands with the windows down and the music on!  I'm discovering the vast difference between boys and girls as I go on dates with my parents.  When Dad's in charge.. we go to Lowe's.  When it's Mom and I, we go wherever they're still selling eggnog lattes!

Anyway, back to the non-stop adventure.  My first ever Christmas was a smashing success!  Twinkly lights and breakable tree ornaments may just be one of man's finest creations.  Fun fact: Christmas is not about the presents you get, it's about how those presents are wrapped!  Seriously, though.. Jesus came to earth as a baby and that's really the reason for any and all celebrations!  Our favorite gift this year was a bit belated.. nine family members came all the way from Colorado to meet me, and I suppose they wanted to check out Hawaii, as well... oh, and see my parents!

 I caught my very first cold the day before they arrived, though.  Not cool.  One minute I could breath out my nose and the next thing I know, I can't!  My Mom says we're 'cup half full' kinda people, though.  So, with that point of view: I did really like the steam treatments in the middle of the night!  And I'm extremely thankful to be healthy once more.  

 If there's one thing that freaks a parent out it's unidentified bumps on a baby's body.  One, two, even three can be explained away, but eight is cause for concern.  Turns out, I'm allergic to ants- just like my Dad- and it took a bonus trip to the pediatrician to arrive at this conclusion.  The bites are finally healing up but my Mom has had to convince more than one overly zealous observer that I really did not have chicken pox.

                                       

In spite of all these not-so-fun developments we did have a fantastic time with our visitors.  We trekked to the southernmost point of the US where they went cliff diving and cave exploring.  I stayed safe and dry on land with my Nana.. for now.  Mom decided she needed to be the first one off that cliff..  which doesn't leave her much room for freaking out when I start spreading my own wings.  Green Sands beach (and the four wheel drive adventure to get there!) was such a fun time that I took a nap in the one strip of shady sand the beach had to offer!  These grown ups ate an abundance of happy hour sushi (that's not on my list of approved foods quite yet..) and made up for lost time with their card playing in the evenings.  I loved play time with my cousin, hide and seek with my Papa and I tolerated most of the kisses from all the aunties.

Now we're back to 'normal' and Mom keeps reminding me of this thing we used to have, she calls it a 'schedule'?  I'm not sure; she may be making this up!  Whatever it was, we seem to have misplaced it.  In the mean time, I'm reverting to newborn sleep patterns.  I'll admit, it is slightly exhausting but I can't always be the perfect baby or she'll get spoiled!  Just part of the job.  I think I'll ease up on her soon, we'll see :)  A word of advise to my fellow babies:  when your parents are sleep deprived and re-considering giving you any brothers or sisters.. just sweetly wrap your arms around your Mama's neck or quietly whisper 'Da-da-da-da' against your Daddy's chest and all is forgiven.  Seriously.. even at 3am, it works!

Mom always laughed about silly warning labels; 'do not let baby play with plastic bags' seemed completely preposterous.. 'who would do that?!', she scoffed.  Then she had a baby.  A baby obsessed with anything that crinkles.  Now she understands!  Thankfully, my Grandma is a genius; she sewed the crinkly stuff right in between two pieces of material and now I can safely crinkle to my heart's content..  naturally, I still prefer the grocery bags because they're off limits.. but I can compromise.
                                    
Kai is still my best friend and now that I'm eating real food he's starting to take a slight interest in me, too!  I weigh 18 pounds but my parents still underestimate me.  For example, on the ride home from town the other day they put a new plant in the back seat with me.  Their first mistake was not realizing the full potential of my wing span!  Second mistake: assuming that a quiet baby is a sleeping baby.  That used to be the case when I was a little guy but now it's more likely that I'm up to no good.  Imagine their surprise when we arrived at our destination and they found their new plant nicely de-leafed!  Just learning the family trade back here, guys!  They wouldn't have been any wiser either, had I remembered to wipe the the evidence off my face..

Mom and I just finished reading through my Bible and now we're starting over!  This book has the coolest stories ever and I wish everyone would read them!  If me and my 13 second attention span can do it, anyone can!  And that's all I've got for now; me and my little man thoughts!