I have loads of exciting things to tell you about!

Top of the list… is this load:

At least, this is the biggest news in mommy’s and daddy’s opinions. I can pee too. I actually stand on the toilet seat to get more distance between me and those little Cheerio targets floating in the water! (Good idea, uncle Jason!)

I love my new peeing skills so much that mommy calls me “creepy baby” because I chase her around the house, yelling “I’m going to pee on you. Pee pee! Now you’re all covered!”

Mommy and I stay busy during our weekends:

• Giving each other manis/pedis
• Going to the gym and the swimming pool
• Having tea parties with grape juice and wine
• Riding bikes to the beach, making mud pies, and chasing birds
• Building Lego firetrucks, and playing Fireman Sam
• Baking jello and whip cream

Daddy’s been really busy this winter: fixing boats, building fences, falling trees, planting flowers, and operating rototillers and stump grinders. I’m a good helper, especially when we’re painting in the garage.

I rode the Roaring Camp train up Bear Mountain, through the Santa Cruz mountains redwood forest. I LOVE switchbacks and trestles and steam engines!

I stayed at grandpa’s and grandma’s house for a whole week! There was a huge snowstorm and I helped shovel! I liked it there because grandpa has a real tractor! I was very good until the last day when I stared out the window crying and asking, “When are they coming to pick me up?”

Meanwhile, mommy and daddy went to the Annual Hemlock Gong Show with their friends, partying like retirees (who apparently party pretty hard!) Here’s my aunt Leti, enjoying her retirement:

Yes, it took them a long time, but my aunts and uncles did eventually come out of the closet:

Mommy missed my first day at school because she went to India and the UK without us. When she returned, she came to visit Little Acorns Montessori and was really impressed to see how I behave there! Ms. Jessica puts me to work every day doing stacking, pouring, and sorting. Then I put my jobs away in their proper spot. The teachers tell mommy that toddlers love order, but mommy doesn’t believe it. I’ve made lots of new friends. We all have lunch together and then sleep together in our cozy red nap sacks. Branson is best friend, and a much better strider than me. In the afternoon we play in the sandbox, or make art, or learn about Africa. We sing songs and study science… like where water comes from. I’m an expert on animals now. Plus I have first-hand experience that it’s okay to have a bird in your house, but not a crocodile.

In March, we went to Sayulita with Jason and Eliza. Here’s the view from our casa:

I spent every day in the water: either running into the waves or splashing in the pool. I learned to kick, kick, KICK, paddle, and float!

 

Eliza kept me busy… teaching me how to speak spanish, and helping me learn the botanical names of the mexican flowers!  She also taught me to overcome my fear of giant donuts : -) Jason brought water guns in his suitcase for me, so I did a good job spraying mommy and Eliza to keep them cool.

 

Now that I’m back at home, I practice my swimming skills in the tub every night.

Here are some of the funny things I do:

• Take turns giving open mouth, morning kisses to mommy and daddy, and say “I’m in love with you! Never gonna let you go!”
• Shake like Elvis and ask, “What’s happening!?”
• Call mommy Lois and daddy Peter (too much Family Guy!)
• Wake up mommy with my hammer and wrench… it’s funny to see her wake up surrounded by toys because I’ve been playing straight through my nap time.

Here are some of the funny things I say:

• “Hi birds. I can’t play with you because I don’t have any wings.”
• “Daddy, my butterfly is tied to a rock.”
• “Why didn’t you get a fire truck?” (when looking at mommy’s flower arm-band tattoo)
• “What the fu*k? This car’s in the way!” (when my hotwheels are in a traffic jam)
• “The cars are going to Castaways!” (the bar where daddy goes drinking)
• “Quiet. I’m trying to build something here!” (from my room, when mommy’s and daddy’s chatter breaks my concentration)
• “This is my favorite… because of my age.” (when eating sugar off mommy’s coffee spoon)
• While walking from room to room, “Dinosaurs wanna come!”
• “Where do scratches come from?”
• When mommy put on her new dress, “I LOVE that dress. It looks like new boobs!”