Fun September Activities

It's been awhile since I've posted, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy! I have had lots of new experiences ...

... New Dessert: Soft-Serve Ice Cream in a Cone

The beard makes sense but no idea how I got it on my cheek

... New Play Place: Gatti-Town

I hear they took out
a lot of the toddler-sized activities,
but I LOVED the carousel

Ruled at air hockey

Mastered catching popcorn

Vroom, vroom!

... First 5K: Addison Oktoberfest

Pre-race; I was pretty sleepy

The last mile which I insisted on walking myself.
Who's that behind us?
Oh, that's right, NO ONE.

At the finish line

Post-race snacks and smiles

... ANOTHER New Play Place: Wiggly Play Center with my playgroup

This place is SO MUCH FUN!

"Group B" lunching (thanks Cathy!)

Mesmerized by the giant dancing dog

Saying "bye-bye" to the giant dog
which I STILL ask for, btw (thanks, Cathy!)

... First Cooking Experience: Pigs in a Blanket

So I roll, roll, roll and ...

... Wow!



Ready to enjoy!

It's hot. Blow, blow, blow.

... New Chore: Swiffering the Floors while Mommy Sweeps

Cleaning up after myself with my Claire-sized Swiffer

Mommy, I think you missed a spot!

What else is going on? I have a new bedtime ritual each night in which I go through my roster of everyone I know one-by-one, and Mommy reassures me where they are (for some reason, they're usually sleeping). I've just started calling Mommy "Mom-mee" instead of "Mama" which makes her a little sad because she says it makes me sound too grown up (wait until I shock her with "MOM!" next), and I'm learning my numbers, letters, and colors in addition to picking up new words every day. Have you ever thought about how hard it is to tell the difference between "A" and "4" or "B" and "8"?!

Summer ended and Fall is here,
so I got to bring out my fuzzy vest which I call "doggie".

Lots of ♥ over Labor Day

Po-Po and Gong-Gong came and picked me up from school on Thursday to kick off a fun-filled weekend with family. Later that night, Auntie Crystal and Xiao-Jiu Dwo arrived with Kirby; what a wonderful surprise the next morning to find everyone there! Of course, I was skittish around Kirby to start, but I missed her lots after she left and still walk around looking for "DOG!" and "Burby".

Going for a ride in our new stroller for two (me and Kirby, apparently)

Sharing my milk with Xiao-Jiu

Just because I shared my milk doesn't mean I'm sharing my pancake, too!

On Saturday morning, the whole crowd came to cheer me on at swimming lessons, but only after Mommy made Po-Po promise not to yell out when I jumped in the pool. We capped it off with a yummy meal at one of Mommy and Po-Po's favorite places: Luby's!

I think Po-Po is barely containing an "eeep!"

How many people (and blowdryers!) does it take to dry my hair?

Later that day, George Shu-Shu, Christina Shen-Shen, and Baby James came up from Austin. Baby James is a year younger than me but weighs the same amount! I'm still taller though, at least for now. He is one of the smiliest babies I have ever met, and I had lots of fun playing with him even if I wasn't quite ready to share my toys.

Re-introductions

"You sure look like your daddy" the pot says to the kettle

Okay, okay, one quick hug

Lemme show you how this works

Everyone had to leave on Sunday, so the day was filled with goodbyes, but the weekend wasn't over yet. On Monday -- gotta love those long weekends! -- Raiden and his mommy came over to play; we were also joined by Sofia who just added to the fun.

Come back soon, A-Yi! And make sure you bring Kirby!

What a great weekend! I do miss everyone though, so don't be surprised if you get a call from me wanting to talk to Po-Po, "Ngog-Ngog", "Burby"/"DOG!", "A-Yi", or "Jmmm-Jmm".

Kisses to everyone ...

... And thanks for coming to see me!

I started my September album if you want to see some more pictures.

18-Month Well-Baby Visit

I should say I had my 18-Month(ish) Well(ish)-Baby visit this week because I'm almost 19-months and not completely well right now (I have a cold). It seems so early, but all the kids in my class right now have the same thing, and I heard that others in other classroms do, too. Here it comes again! My stats:

• Height: 32.25 inches (75%)
• Weight: 23 lbs (25%)
• Head: 18.25 inches (50%)

As soon as the nurse came near me at the end of the appointment, I knew she was going to give me a boo-boo, and to add insult to injury, I went ahead and also got my flu shot in addition to whatever shot I was supposed to get AND found out that I need to come back in the fall again for ANOTHER shot ... something about swines or something. Sheesh.

Still not too big to play in the sink though

In happier news, my neighborhood has lots of activities, and Mommy took me to see a 60's band play in the square. I really enjoyed listening to the music. At the end of each song, I would clap, say hooray, and ask more "more! more!". We ran into Connor and his parents there, so we ran around together for awhile. It was good to catch up!

Dessert and live music. What a good idea!

Impromptu playdate with Connor

Run!

I'm going to miss the summer and all the yummy fruit available, but the wonderful weather this weekend definitely has me ready for fall and the good weather ahead!

Mmm ... pear

You want me to share?! Nah.

Finished all by myself

Check out more pics in my August album.

Summer Days Driftin' Away

Okay, okay, so when you don't actually go to real school yet, maybe the end of summer vacation isn't that big of a deal. But I can appreciate it for everyone else! We've definitely taken advantage of the hot -- but not too hot this year, which is nice -- weather by enjoying popsicles outdoors after dinner and playing in the fountains.

Sharing my popsicle with Daddy

I'm ready! Bring it on.

Head dunk

I also finished up my first session of swim class. I love swimming! My teacher says that I'm funny because I'm always very serious at the beginning of the class but having a grand ol' time by the end. I can hold my breath under water for about 4 seconds now and love to jump into Daddy's arms. I'm signed up again for the next session and can't wait to see if I soon sprout gills!

Get the balls!

Splashing into the water

Kick, kick, kick. Pull, pull, pull.

Got to see Jacob for a playdate recently. We're definitely a pair of troublemakers together between running crazy, peering in the fountain, and taking turns pretending to fall down. We also took turns making each other jealous by climbing into each other's mommy's laps. That was pretty funny. I would climb into Auntie Diana's lap and Jacob would get upset. So Mommy would take Jacob, and I would get upset. But then when we swapped to the right mommy, we would want to go right back!

Yelling at Jacob about something. Poor guy.

Auntie Diana says "Hey, I can hold you both!"

Our family went over to Sofia (and Lily's) for yummy dinner and to play. We had LOTS of fun with all her toys and trying to play with Lily. Hard to believe I was ever that small!

Calling each other on the "phone". 'allo? 'lo?

More pictures in my August album!

Mommy and Daddy Go "Bye"

One of my favorite words right now is "Bye" which I say very definitively and with purpose, especially when I'm pretty much done with you and whatever it is that you're proposing. Po-Po and Gong-Gong came up to watch me for a few days while Mommy and Daddy left me to go bye-bye. They went on their first real vacation without me, but I had a great time, too. Since Po-Po and Gong-Gong got in early, they couldn't wait to see me and surprised me at school instead of waiting for Mommy or Daddy to pick me up. They brought me home and, what else, proceeded to feed me and play. Yum!

Surprised at school mid-step

Let the fun begin!

The day that Mommy and Daddy left, Gong-Gong and Po-Po took me grocery shopping at Super H-Mart. I'm not sure who enjoys that place more, but I sure like it. The rest of the day, we played at home and walked to the lake in the evening to tire me out.

No, no, I can push

Mush! Mush!

On Friday, we went to the mall to play and enjoy a perfect pairing of fast food: Chick-Fil-A nuggets and Sonic cherry limeade. Mmmmm ... Don't worry, we worked off all those calories later that afternoon at the fountains.

Claire au lait. Hehe

We're so pretty

The day that Mommy and Daddy got back, we just bummed around the house and enjoyed our last few hours together. I had so much fun with you two, and I promised to work on saying "Gong-Gong" for when I see you next!

Oh, Kai-Lan, you're so funny

I had a great time. When can we do it again?

I went through the 600+ pictures that they took and put some of my favorite in my August album. Enjoy!