Happy Birthday to Me!

I know today was a very exciting day for everyone. No, not because of the Super Bowl (that was only mildly entertaining--I mostly enjoyed dancing at the halftime show)...because it was my birthday! This was my first birthday, but even though I didn't have any experience with it, I think it did a pretty good job. People told me happy birthday and gave me hugs and kisses and I smiled and looked cute for them--nothing too difficult about that. Then they took my clothes off, put me in my high chair, and put a cupcake in front of me. I did a spectacular job at this part. I got almost the whole cupcake in my mouth and managed to eat all of mine before everyone else, even with the girls screaming about how messy I was. I don't think I was being messy--I was just enjoying the cupcake on many different sensory levels.

We had a good turn-out for the party. Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Howie came in for the weekend, and then we also had Nana, Gaga, Aunt Louie and Casey (Uncle Sock is in Mexico getting his archaeology on). We also got Aunt Rin on Skype so everyone could have a chance to revel in my cupcake-eating glory. And glorious it was. I should have a birthday every day.

Thank you to everyone who wished me happy birthday on my Mom's and Dad's Facebook pages. You all are awesome! I'm feeling the love! I wish you all could have been here to celebrate with me!

Things We Learn on Snow Days

My dad and the girls have been home from school for the last two days. My dad is home again tomorrow, but we think the girls will be going back (Dad's school is out in a rural area that hasn't fared as well in Snowpocalypse as the metro area has). That's a lot of family time. Here are some of the highlights:

S-E-R-T spells "videos." This is what Gillian taught us when she was trying to get Dad to let her watch some videos on the computer. He kept telling her to wait and she could watch some videos later, so this is what she started chanting. Who knew spelling could be so funny? Apparently not knowing is half the battle.

There is a tabletop on our dining room table. It has been covered in piles of mail and other random things for quite some time.

Liana is very good at jigsaw puzzles (this was possible because of the table being clean).

Tofu tastes really good in pot pie form.

Bread tastes really good in French toast form.

I'm pretty sure that chicken tastes good in buffalo form (but Mom and Dad wouldn't let me try it--something about it being too spicy).

When the girls are keeping Mom and Dad busy doing crafts, I can sneak away into the play room and throw as many tracks off the train table as I want without getting pummeled by a sister.

Snow is cold.

Getting new teeth sucks (we knew this already, but I'm currently being reminded of it).

Even Mommy can lose her cool.

Fashion does not matter when you are going out into the snow (yes, I'm wearing a Strawberry Shortcake hat).

So, that's some of what's been going on the last few days. Hopefully everyone is staying warm and safe. Spring can't be too far away. And, even if it is too far away, we have the best day coming up on Sunday...no, not the Super Bowl...my first birthday!

My New Goal

World domination takes a little longer than I expected, so in the meantime, I've created a new goal for myself...scaring the crap out of my parents. I'm getting quite good at it. Here are some of my accomplishments:

--Mom was making dinner. Normally when this happens she opens the drawer of spatulas, measuring cups, etc., for me to play with. I started to play in the drawer, but there are only so many times you can toss kitchen utensils on the floor. So I silently scooted away. Mom turns around to check on me and where am I? Standing on top of the girls' picnic table.

--The girls were getting ready for a bath. Bathtub was filling up and Mom was helping the girls open some new bath toys. I was leaning into the tub trying to reach the toys that were already in the water. Mom kept pulling me back, but I finally got enough momentum and launched myself into the tub, completely clothed. It was exhilarating for me--I rarely get to be in the big bathtub without the girls. Mom didn't seem as thrilled.

--We were at Nana and Gaga's house. The Bears had just lost their chance at the Superbowl and Mom had just arrived with Chinese food, so there was lots of commotion. Louie, Scott, and Casey were there too. And Casey makes the girls crazy. One of Liana's favorite activities is putting peanut butter on her face and letting Casey lick it off. Casey is a dog, in case you didn't know. Anyway, in all the commotion, I guess everyone thought somebody else was watching me, so I took my opportunity. Nana and Gaga have a tall, winding staircase in their front entryway. It is awesome, and no one ever lets me try it. So, since everyone was distracted, I went for it. And it was amazing! Mom found me about 30 seconds later when I had made it to the top of the stairs, and I don't know what she was so upset about.

So, you can see that I've gotten pretty good at scaring my parents. Now I just have to figure out how to keep everything fresh so they don't learn my tricks!

The Dropsies

This is the name of my new game. If you hand me something--food, toys, anything--I drop it. Then I get angry that I don't have it. It's a great way to make the people around me do whatever I want them to do. Also, things are just more entertaining when they're flying through the air. Plus, the best part of the game? Food tastes better when it's on the floor. I don't know why they bother putting me in my highchair anymore. I spend about two minutes there, throwing food and yelling, and then Mom or Dad lets me out and I help "clean" the floor. Which means I eat everything I just threw on the floor. I like it because it gives me more freedom. You wouldn't want to be strapped to a chair while you were eating, would you?

I also have some new words. You may remember the list of my nicknames I posted a few months ago. If not, you can check it out here. One of my earliest and weirdest nicknames, given to me by none other than Gillian (of course), is Ashy Bub. I think it was a shorted version of Asher Baby, but Gillian moves so fast and rarely finishes anything she starts, so out came Ashy Bub. And, of all the nicknames I could have, that is the one that stuck. I am also called other versions of that nickname, such as Baby Bub, Bub, and Bubba. I have never been 100% sold on it, but I decided to embrace it, so now in addition to Mama and Dada, I also say Bub. I also recently started mooing. Ask me what a cow says. I dare you.

I don't have any new pictures of me right now, so here is a picture of Gillian with gingerbread men. Poor cookies.

I love Kiwis, and I am not talking about the bird!

This is Liana doing this post. One day I was eating Kiwi and I ate them until my tummy hurt. I ate sixteen kiwis. They are soooooo fuzzy. Umm. I really really like them because they are sooooo yummy. I love them because they are so juicy and green. I like the color green because it is the color of my eyes. I would eat kiwis a million times. I would eat them at breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. They are my favorite fruit. I used to be scared of them because they were so fuzzy, but now I love them. Kiwis make me happy. They tickle. Now that I am five, I eat things that I would not eat when I was four.

Snow Daze

So I know I already posted today, but I just had to post again.  Jacqui and Audrey, my dad told me you were upset about the lack of my writing.  I will do better Jacqui, but I might need accommodations. And Audrey,  I hope you will still be my special lady this summer even though I have been a literary tease. 

I wanted to go to sleep tonight at my normal time, but no one would take me down.  I understand going up steps, but down steps seem surprisingly steep.  That was some rocking alliteration.  I did get to see something interesting though:  my father anticipating a Snow Day.  Many interesting things happened.  First, he pretended to write his subplans and work for his training that he had scheduled for Thursday.  What he was really doing was his 4 pronged storm research approach.  First he had the news on and was listening to the reports of the weather.  Second he had KSDK's web page of school closures up. Even though the site auto updates every two minutes, he still updated again and again.  Third was Google Maps.  This was so he could see where the school districts that closed were located.  Finally, he had Facebook up to see what his Social Network had to say about the snow.  With periodic checks out the window, my dad made his prediction:  there would be no school and no training for him tomorrow.  The big issue was Richwoods had not called off.  This might not seem like a big deal for the uninitiated, but it is a huge deal!  My dad works for Rockwood.  Two letters has the potential to shatter many students' hopes and dreams of a lazy day lounging in sweatpants.  But it is often Richwoods and not Rockwood.  My dad says "If there is a flake of snow in Missouri, Richwoods cowers in fear."  What perplexed my dad was that Richwoods was still in session.  It had not called off.  How could Rockwood call off if Richwoods had not?  Could Rockwood call out while Richwoods was in session?  This had never happened before.

But it did.  At 10:15pm, Rockwood called off closely followed by my dad's training.  Rockwood before Richwoods.  Rockwood... before Richwoods.  As I write this in a daze because my dad is too busy not working to put me to sleep, I realize that even as people grow up, there are still simple joys that are always loved.  Everyone loves a snow day.  It brings out the child.  I think that the teachers look forward to the snow day more than the students.  I know that the thing that I am most looking forward to is my dad being there to protect me from the whirlwind of destruction that is Liana and Gillian.  And now that he has quit Facebook games cold turkey, he should be able to protect me even more!

Rockwood before Richwoods, what next?  Gillian not dumping any container of anything she holds?  Who knows...  Stranger things have happened.

At 11:00pm, as I am getting ready to be changed, fed, and put down to slumber with The Frog, Richwoods has not called off.  I wonder how all those Richwoodians feel now...

Good night all and I will try to be a better blogger.

Big News

I didn't realize how long it had been since my last post. Things have been busy around here. Mom has a real job now, so she doesn't have as much time to help me with these posts. Or do laundry. You should see the pile that is growing in our laundry room. It's terrifying. It's a good thing that people keep buying me new clothes so I have something to wear besides diapers. She has been finding time to wash my diapers at least. Hasn't found the time to fold them though. I guess I can make do with wrinkled diapers.

Uncle Jack and Aunt Lisa came to visit last weekend. We had lots of fun. They helped contribute to my new wardrobe, so I have a few more days to go before I have to start worrying about what to wear. They also introduced me to one of the loudest places in the world--Chuck E. Cheese's. Apparently my sisters love going there because they get to play games and win prizes. I think Uncle Jack and my Daddy love going there even more and just use us kids as an excuse to get in. I was a little overwhelmed. Mom kept me in the mei tai, but I also would have liked the chance to get out and suck on all the bright lights and flashy things.

Now for the big news you have all been waiting for...I took one step! Ok, so it doesn't really count as walking yet, but at least I'm moving in the right direction. It won't be long now and then watch out, here I come!

I love my dishwasher.