Sunday, August 31, 2003

Pointing

As you've seen from many of my photos, I love to point at things. Daddy and I have developed a pointing ritual. If he's a few paces away from me, he extends his finger to make a great pointing motion. I do the same. Then we slowly draw closer to one another until our fingers just touch. This group point is one of the most fun things.
Scottish Games

Yesterday, we all went to the Scottish Games. I got to see highland dancing, which I enjoyed a lot. I like to dance around with the highland dancers n my own way. We also got to hear a Celtic rock band called Kinship, which was also lots of fun. I tried to run up onto the stage (which had some lovely steps leading to it), but Daddy wouldn't let me go there. In between, there were a whole lot of pipe bands competing with one another. This was more boring, so I used this time to take a nap. Mommy and Daddy seemed to enjoy the free scotch tasting booth. I thought it would be fun to try some scotch too and so I said "mmmmm" whenever they would take a sip. Somehow, they didn't get the hint.

There were a whole bunch of tents for each of the many clans located around the park. One of them had a really fancy Kelty stroller with great wheels. I decided that I wanted to be a member of this clan, so I charged over to check out the wheels as well as the other good stuff they had. They asked me about my shirt (which said "Am I cute or am I cool?" in Welsh. Daddy explained that while I was conceived in England (or Wales) and while I have Welsh and Irish ancestors, I have no Scottish lineage that anyone knows of. That didn't seem to bother theclan and they admitted me as an honorary Scot.

Thursday, August 28, 2003

The Name Game

Yesterday, a baby girl named Kaia came to visit Mommy and me for the second time. There are a couple of reasons why this is notable: First, I actually called her by name, "Kaia, " several times. Mommy says this marks the first time I've referred to anyone by name other than Mommy ("Ahbba" or more rarely, "Mommy") and Daddy ("Addy"). This also includes my own official name since on those occasions when I refer to myself I call myself "Ahbba"-- which translates to "baby." (Yes, this is indeed the same thing I usually call Mommy. I got tired of calling her Mama a while back.) The other reason Kaia's visit is notable is that she has a bad habit of wanting to play with my toys and my mommy when she comes to visit me. What she doesn't seem to understand is that my toys and mommy are mine--not to be played with or even touched by others. What she also doesn't seem to realize is that any toys that she brings into the house are also mine. Indeed, we would all be a lot happier if others would keep in mind one simple rule: All objects in the world are mine and I should be able to have them whenever I want them. This is certainly my attitude when Mommy and I go shopping. For instance, yesterday we went to the grocery store together. It was so frustrating that Mommy would keep forgetting the simple rule: All objects are mine. She kept forgetting and taking stuff away from me. And for some reason she wouldn't let me "off" the shopping cart so that I could play with all of the wine bottles on display near floor level in the grocery store. They looked as though they would have made a cool noise when rolled or hit on the floor. Oh well, I'll keep an eye out for more opportunities.

(An aside-- the wine in the grocery store must be a pretty alien concept to all of my PA relatives who have to visit the "state store" and the "beer store"!

Monday, August 25, 2003

Some Bad Things about the Beach

Mostly, I was quite happy to be outside in the bright sunshine of Maui. I liked to stick my toes in the water. I especially likes the many eps they had in the hotel in which we were staying. But there were two things I definitely didn't like. The first is suntan lotion in my eyes. I actually like the process of having lotion slathered all over me. When Mommy and Daddy are putting on lotion, I'll hold out my arm so they'll put some on me too. While lotion is great on lots of parts of my body, it's not so good in my eyes. Worse yet, whenever I would try to rub the lotion out of my eyes using my arms, it would seem to make things worse and worse. Lotion, apparently, has a bad side as well as a good side.

The other thing I didn't like is the wind. After around noon, the tradewinds kick up. Under normal curcumstances, I dislike wind and try to turn away. In fact, I really don't like it when Mommy and Daddy ride with their car windows open. (I was especially glad Daddy turned down the option of getting a Mustang convertible when we were renting a card. Convertibles are truly evil.) Anyway, wind is even worse on the beach. While I like to feel the sand on my feet between my toes, I hate sand blowing in my face on a windy day.

During one of our days in Maui, we trekked to a resort town called Kapalua. According to the guidebook, Kapalua boasts the best beach in all of Maui. Part of what makes it the best is that it is protected from the wind by promontories on both sides. It was a real hike to get there. Daddy and Mommy had to walk about a mile from the car to the beach. Luckily, I got to ride for this distance. When we arrived and set up camp, the wind was pretty strong and the waves were pretty large. Daddy seemed to like to go out in a part of the ocean he called the "pummel zone" and get knocked down by waves. I wanted no part of the pummel zone and did not much like Daddy being pummeled. I tried to encourage him to come back to shore by calling "Addy Addy Addy" to him and showing my distress. As the wind grew worse and worse, I decided that this was definitely not my idea of the best beach in Maui. After not too long, we all decided we'd had enough and hiked back to the car. Unfortunately, the hike back was all up a steep hill. Daddy told Mommy to meet him at a place somewhat closer to the beach while he pushed me the whole way back in my stroller. He was very sweaty and didn't seem to be in the best mood. We were all glad to get back in the car, out of the wind and the sand, and drive back to our resort.
What to eat?

It's still difficult for me to convey exactly what I want to eat. Often, I know I'm hungry and have something specific in mind, but somehow Mommy and Daddy cannot deduce what it is from the tone of my "Uh, uh, uh" pleas. What I am good at is telling them what I don't want to eat. Sometimes, when I'm ready for a snack, Daddy will go to the cupboard filled with most of my favorites and pull out boxes one at a time. After he pulls a box out, I look at it and if it's not what I'm after, I shake my head vigorously--no. Next box, another head shake. Next box, another head shake. And on and on. Eventually, my eyes light up and I reach out when he finally picks out something good to eat.

Of course, sometimes I make mistakes and shake my head no when I actually mean yes. This is frustrating for both of us.

This form of communication is effective, but frustratingly slow. If only Mommy and Daddy were better mind readers.
Off

Off is a good all-purpose word. Whenever I see a light or a fan that is off, I alert everyone by saying off. When I want my shoes removed, I can usually achieve this goal with a simple "off". When I want to get out of my crib, off again works well. The opposite of off is the word "dee". For instance, if I want my Mommy or Daddy to put the Wiggles on TV, I simply point at the TV and sing-say "dee". When I want to listen to the radio, again pointing and saying "dee" works. Of course, sometimes I grow tired of The Wiggles. When that happens, I point to the TV and say "off".

P.s. Mommy wanted me to clarify that "dee" is not exactly a word for "on" in general. It is my way of saying that I want music of some sort on, whether on the TV or the radio (especially The Wiggles on TV or the VCR). "Dee" is my way of singing.

Sunday, August 24, 2003

Hawaii Pictures

The first batch of pictures from Hawaii is now up. At least one more batch to come. You can see the pictures here.

Saturday, August 23, 2003

The Beach

I spent a lot of time at the beach when I was in Maui. Since I like to stick with a consistent time zone, I would get up around 5am (8am California time) and Daddy would often take me out for an early morning walk. We would end up on the beach. I'm never sure whether to trust walking on sand or not. It seems hard to get firm footing and my toes seem to disappear beneath the sandy surface. Nearer the ocean, the footing is better, but there are new hazards to be aware of, like the water from the ocean. My preferred method was to get down to the better-footing part of the sand and then watch closely for the incoming water. Whenever a wave would roll in, I would hasten back away from the water and cry, "Uh oh!" to warn others about the water. By the end of the trip, even this had changed. I decided that the ocean water on my feet felt pretty good, and I would like to wade in a bit.

The other great thing about the beach is the variety of interesting objects the one finds in the sand. I found many interesting kinds of sticks as well as a type of rock called coral. I liked to carry the coral rocks around with me as I walked along the beach. The hotel also thoughtfully put out lounge chairs on the beach. Sometimes when I felt like climibing or just taking a rest, I would vault up onto these and watch the water on the ocean.
Elevators

The first time I got to ride standing up in an elevator was in Lake Tahoe a couple of weeks ago. I initially found it a bit scary with the motion and the closed doors and all, but gradually started to take to it. By the time we got to Maui, I decided that I loved elevators. Fortunately, the place we were staying is well equipped with elevators. Whenever I would see one, I'd run as fast as I could to get to the door. I'd point out the lights and indicate whether they were on or off. Once inside, the elevaor gets even better. I would wave goodbye to the door as it closed and then look forward to the ride. Sometimes I'd try to touch the buttons, but the only one I could easily reach was the emergency alarm bell. Daddy really didn't want to let me press this button, though I wanted to a lot. Sometimes, I'd see other people getting on elevators. I'd try to break away from Daddy's hand and hurry to get on for another exciting ride. Mostly, I didn't get to joyride in the elevator with Mommy and Daddy. However, one day a babysitter named Marian watched me for a few hours and she let me ride around for a good long while. We went up and down and in and out of the doors. Elevators are great.
Running off to Join the Circus

We just got back from our vacation in Maui (more about this in later blogs), but yesterday we went to the Ringling Bros. circus. While Daddy worried about how well I might like the scary clowns (Daddy doesn't like clowns) as well as all the lights and sounds. Well, I loved it. They really know how to get my attention right from the start. At the beginning of the circus, a bunch of clowns came out carrying enormous inflatable balls in bright colors. I recognized them immediately and yelled out "baah, baah" so that others would know that there were many balls flying around. The clowns danced to the hamster dance song. A little later, they threw the balls up into the audience and the people in the audience bounced the balls back and forth to one another and to the clowns. Next, came the big opening parade. There was lots of singing and a 20 piece orchestra playing. All the animals walked around the ring too. There were elephants---lots of elephants, I've never seen so many---there were camels and zebras and horses and dogs and goats too. This was great. I thought the singing and the animals and the many lights (I pointed out all of them in case Mommy and Daddy missed some) were great.

During the intermission, Daddy and I had a little adventure. The Oakland Arena comes equipped with many very nice steps. Naturally, I wanted to climb these. I eventually found a set of moving steps, called an escalator. This type of step is even better than the regular kind. We rode the escalator to the top of the arena. Then we discovered a little problem. There was no simple way to get back down. No escalator ran in the other direction and all the steps led out to the parking lot, which is not where we wanted to go. Eventually, Daddy found a working elevator (another great invention!) and we rode back down just in time for the start of the second half of the show. I started to have enough circus by this time though Daddy seemed to really enjoy a noisy motorcycle act. In this act, a bunch of guys on motorcycles ride inside something called the "sphere of death". They were spinning round and round and they kept putting more and more motorcycle guys in the sphere. They ended up fitting 6 motorcyclists inside driving wildly round. Daddy wanted them to keep putting in more guys until the inevitable carnage ensued though I was glad they stopped at 6.

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

12 Step Plan

I love steps or "eps" as I call them. While we don't really have any good steps inside the house, there are lots of them around where we live. I love to climb up them and climb down them, but what I don't like to do is "finish" with a good set of steps and then go back to walking. On a walk that I go on regularly with my Daddy, there is an enormous set of steps. As soon as these come into view, I dash toward them happily and then scamper almost all the way to the top. When I"m about 2 steps from the top, I see that the steps are ending, so I start back down again. Two steps from the bottom, I start back up again. This goes on until Daddy gets sick of it and carries me either to the top or the bottom. I don't understand how he thinks we can be finished with steps. There's still a lot more goodness to get out of them.

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Iron Chef

Yesterday Mommy brought home Japanese food. Daddy seemed particularly delighted with this prospect and immediately started referring to me as "Master Aidan-sen" and saying "hoi" over and over. I found this to be hilarious. Anyway, I got to have one of my favorites, miso soup, for dinner. In fact, I ate Daddy's entire bowl of soup (except for the tofu cubes---these I didn't like). I then tried some other delicacies. The salmon roe was pretty good for awhile. I also tried some rice with a mix of soy sauce and wasabi. The wasabi is really really hot. I ended up holding my tongue in my hands to try to get rid of the hotness. Fortunately, a big glass of icey water was quickly delivered to me. I didn't like the California roll though.

Hoi.

Monday, August 04, 2003

Lake Tahoe Photos

You can see the fun we had in Lake Tahoe if you click here!

Sunday, August 03, 2003

Lake Tahoe

Mommy, Daddy and I (along with my stuffed friend, Piggy) spent last week in Lake Tahoe. Daddy had a conference at the Cal-Neva Hotel and Casino, where part of the hotel (and pool) is in California and part is in Nevada. I got to stand and swim in two states simultaneously! I liked going in the pool with Mommy and my inflatable elephant boat, but even better was asking to get out and then repeatedly begging to get back in. While I was out, I liked to run toward the pool just to keep my mommy on her toes.

I decided early on that sleep deprivation is the way to go in Lake Tahoe. I pretty much eliminated my 2-hour afternoon nap and slept 8 or 9 hours at night instead of my usual eleven. I was a pretty sleep-deprived little guy. I never did get back to my usual sleep schedule until I returned home, but things did improve as the week went on and I grew more accustomed to my surroundings. Some of the fun things I did with my extra waking hours follow:

Took a 2 hour cruise across Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay on a paddelwheeler boat called Tahoe Queen. The high point of this for me was meeting "Tahoe Tessie," a Lake Tahoe dinosaur/sea monster mascot. They didn't fool me by calling her,"Tessie." I knew who it really was... my friend, "Dorothy the Dinosaur" from The Wiggles! I also enjoyed pointing to the lake and various boats and parasailers.

Attended a children's matinee of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. They put on "As You Like It" dressed as though they lived on The Ponderosa Ranch, which is also in the Lake Tahoe area). I especially liked the cowboy hats and the occasional bursts of music, such as "Rawhide," I love to bop and clap to the tunes!

Played and swam at Sand Harbor Beach at Lake Tahoe State Park in Nevada. The first day I was still very nervous about walking on sand and going near the edge of the lake without being carried, but by the second day I enjoyed playing with rocks and sticks at the water's edge as well playing with my truck, pail and shovel. I also liked spotting boats and floaty toys, and I really wanted to sit up in the lifeguard's chair, but alas that wasn't to be.

Mommy and Daddy each took a trail ride at Northstar Stables (separately) while in Lake Tahoe, and I got to take my first pony ride too. With help from Daddy and Mommy, I rode a dapple gray pony named Patty. She was very nice, but I was really nervous about sitting on her at first. I relaxed as the ride continued, but I think I still prefer to watch the ponies and horses at ground level.

Since we returned home, I've been catching up on my sleep and becoming reacquainted with my stuffed friends and other toys. I'm very happy to see them again!