Civilized eating

Last night at dinner, I used a spoon to eat my applesauce. Mommy gave me a spoon to play with, and I stuck it in my applesauce, then ate it off the spoon. Granted, I was holding the spoon upside down so not much stuck to it, and a lot of the applesauce fell onto my shirt and pants, but nonetheless I did it. Yay!

Thanksgiving break

This past week has been really busy! On Monday Daddy pulled a muscle in his back, and he hasn't been able to really walk (or pick me up) until yesterday. Tuesday I went to the doctor for my one-year checkup and some shots. I weigh 20.75 lbs (25th percentile) and am 31 inches long (90th percentile). I've dropped some on my growth chart in weight, but the doctor says it's ok, since I'm just long and skinny.
Grandpa was here this week for Thanksgiving. We put child locks on the dining room buffet and some kitchen cabinets. Apparently Mommy doesn't appreciate how I reorganize everything.
I helped cook Thanksgiving dinner this year! The stuffing recipe calls for bread torn into little pieces, and tearing things up happens to be my specialty (although I left all the bread I tore up and didn't eat on the floor, so none of it actually made it into the stuffing). Technically this is my second Thanksgiving, but since I was only about three weeks old last year, I made up for it by eating about my weight in stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and of course turkey. Yum!
I also pigged out on cookies. Mommy has this insane goal of making thirty different types of cookies this year, so we have tons of them at our house right now. I helped Mommy by getting out pans (that she didn't need), poking things with spatulas (that she did need), rummaging through all the ingredients, and trying to get into the oven to see the cookies. Together Daddy and I helped by eating as many cookies as Mommy would let us. I love helping!

Degustation adventures

I like to use utensils while I eat. Spoons, forks, spatulas, pens, paintbrushes, it doesn't matter which. I don't use them to eat, of course. I use them to poke at my food, or brush it, or sometimes just to keep my non-eating hand busy. And if you try to take them away, I squeal like a stuck little pig. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I also like drinking from my Take 'n' Toss sippy cups, which are so aptly named. I drink from them, take them, and toss them over the side of my tray.

Needless to say, mealtimes are fun at my house!

It runs in the family

Remember my bad hair day a few months ago? Here's what I looked like.
Well, turns out it really is genetic, as evident by this picture Mommy found of my great-grandpa when he was a baby.
But at least Mommy and Daddy have never put me in a dress!

Tidy baby

It may not be evident from all the food and snot and grime encrusted on me and my clothes, or from my daily outfit change following meal time, but I'm actually a pretty neat baby. I like to tidy up. I put my bath toys in the hamper. I put Mommy's vitamins down the heat vent (I took the cover off first so they would fit). I put my juice in my dishwasher in my kitchen, along with my pacifier and a couple cat toys. I'm helpful!

I also try to clean my face, which is why I unwound the toilet paper this morning (I'm now banned from the bathroom - although I like to stick my hands in the toilet, which probably contributed as well). I also pulled all the tissues out of the box. And the travel pack in Mommy's car. I'm helpful!

Birthday celebrations

Mommy and Grandma made a snack for me to take into daycare for my birthday - bumbleberry pies.

Yum! David, Tyler, Henry, and I sat at the table to eat them.

A couple other babies had some too, but they're not big enough to sit with us. Daddy said it looked like a baby board meeting, although he's never seen one where everyone ate pie and ice cream.

None of us can use utensils yet, so we ate with our hands and made a big huge mess. After we were done eating, we had entertainment.

Mommy hit us with balloons, while Tyler danced.

Grandma made me a birthday cake for home.

I had a huge piece. Mommy likes it when I eat cake because I smell nice and sugary. Maybe I'll get it more often?

After we ate, I played with my birthday presents.

Daddy's coworker Alejandra and her family gave me a really cool car to ride on. It has levers to pull, so I think it might be my favorite right now. I can't wait till spring to race my baby friends around outside on my fleet of cars!

Grandma gave me a kitchen. It has lots of doors to open and close and put things in.

For example, you can put the cat in the stove. And then you can poke him with a fork to see if he's done.

A big thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes and cards and presents and cake/pie-sharing. I had a wonderful birthday!

Happy birthday to me!

I'm one today! I've certainly come a long way!

(I'll post pictures of the b-day festivities later.)

Hi, I like you now.

After about two months of crying whenever I saw someone new, I'm now over my stranger anxiety. I made friends with a random dad at a playdate on Saturday, and I'm letting Grandma hold me whenever she wants. I guess other people aren't so bad after all.