Cowboys, Coasters, Cars and Cold Drinks!

We made our annual visit to the Alameda County fair this year. I had an absolute blast and I could have stayed there forever, but alas, party poopers that they are, my parents said that we had to leave and we could come back again soon. I had a lot of first experiences this year at the fair, so keep reading along to find out all the exciting things that I did since I am such a big boy now. By the way, I find that getting older is most certainly a wonderful thing. Why are mom and dad always whining about getting older? Life gets better each moment for me as I am able to communicate and do more physical things each and every day.

This year I rode a pony!! I had no fear and just walked to the gate, let the cowboy man lift me onto my very own horse and sat up tall and proud with a huge grin on my face. My horse's name was Honey and she was a sweetie and took wonderful care of me. Even when I had to just sit there on her back for the other kids to get on their horses, I didn't mind, I was just very happy, proud and interested in all of it.

My second big experience was riding a real roller coaster. Again, I had no fear at all and got right into my seat. The coaster looked like a big psychadelic caterpillar, per mommy's words, and it actually went pretty fast and had one really big down ramp which Daddy said I loved. After getting off the coaster, Daddy said my first words were "Let's do that again!".

Next I got to drive a really neat car in a circle with some other kids. (Mom says to tell you that I didn't really drive it all by myself as it was a ride and it just went around in a circle) but I certainly felt in total control and made sure to turn the steering wheel and try to beep the horn.

After lunch and one episode of crying (because I did not want to leave) mom and dad let me have a Cold Cherry Icee drink. I believe mom used the word NASTY when she tasted it and then after Dad's sip he used the word DISGUSTING. However, I would describe my first experience with the Cherry Icee as DELICIOUS and YUM as you can see from my expression in the last picture above. Even Baby J seemed to enjoy it all and loved to watch me all day.

I can't wait until we visit the fair again next year.

Little J is sitting tall and having a ball...literally

Baby J is really sitting up tall all on his own now. Mom says that I have done an excellent job in teaching him how to do this. I am now tasked with teaching the little guy how to crawl and I must say that, excellent teacher than I am, he is well on his way. After he masters crawling, I get to teach him how to walk and that is when the excitement is really going to begin. Mom says that she is resting as much as she can these days in anticipation of that day. Wonder what she means by that????

Baby J is currently also trying to eat anything and everything. Balls, fish (plastic ones of course), blocks and anything else he can lay his little hands on. I am always very careful to help mom make sure he doesn't put anything in his mouth that he isn't supposed to. If Mom leaves the room for a second, upon her return, I always say, "Joshie didn't put anything in his mouth he wasn't supposed to". Unfortunately, for Baby J, I try to take most things out of his mouth, including his food and things he is allowed to put in his mouth. Well, do give me credit for effort!

Here are several cute pictures of my little baby "having a ball", showing off his "Crab Cake" T-shirt and another of the two of us just hanging out and having fun.

Little sports

Mom and Dad both think J and I are really going to be into sports as we get older. Particularly me, as I have already shown lots of interest in driving my cars really fast, swinging bats and hockey sticks, throwing things, tackling and in general just running around a lot! In fact, I think mom and dad are praying that I love sports as it will be a perfect outlet to burn off my abundance of ENERGY!!

Dad, of course, is hopeful that I will become interested in ice hockey. I love to grab his hockey stick in the garage and swing it wildly at any and everything. Hockey penalties are certainly in my future if this continues. Just recently, I have accepted that the point of the game is to hit the puck. However, I just usually hit anything else in the way (for instance, mom, dad, the car, etc.) Ha. Ha. I also love to put on dad's hockey gloves and helmet and I must admit I am pretty darn cute in this little get up. See the above picture. We have been to a few hockey games with dad and I just love to join him in the locker room to hang out with the guys and watch them all put on their gear. Dad was really amused when I saw his skates on his feet and I told him "daddy, I want to wear your hockey feet!"

Although I love sports, I must admit that I still get them all a little confused. For instance, one day I told mom that I was going to go to dad's hockey game and hit the ball with my bat and then skate down the field. I then added, of course, my usual GO BOBCATS!!!! Mom replied "Huh?" In fact, "Go Bobcats!" seems to be the perfect thing to say to daddy ANYTIME we are watching any type or game of sport. It certainly seems to make my daddy happy and annoy my mother:)

So, you may ask what sports little J likes at this point in his life? Well, generally he likes to put his feet in his mouth, be COOL as a cat in his shades and just generally watch me whirl around the room about him while he sits in his entertainment center. Mom and dad say that is enough to make anyone work up a good sweat.

Kissy, Kissy!

So I know that all of you who read this blog (I know I have 6 fans out there at least) have seen this picture before, but mom says she couldn't resist adding it to the blog to officially record it in Peanut history. I figure, as poorly organized as mom is these days, what the heck, this is probably going to serve as my official baby book anyway!

One of mine and mom's special rituals is to give kisses through the gate when I am dropped off at school. My teacher took this picture as she thought this was adorable. In fact, one day, several of the teachers saw this and collectively said "Ooooh! Ahhhh! How sweet is he? Look at that! He is so adorable." Mom brings me to school, signs me in on the log and gives me a big hug. I also give J a huge hug and kiss and then mom says "I will be back to get you after your story time!" I then run over to the gate and stick my puckered little lips through to wait for my little kiss. One day, mom got into a conversation with someone and I just stood there in this position (literally for about 45 seconds) until she started to feel guilty about me standing there and abruptly ended her talk.

Mom says she needs to get this sweetness recorded and documented somewhere as one day - hopefully not too soon - I am going to be embarrassed to give her a kiss goodbye in front of all my friends. I don't think that will happen as Daddy doesn't seem embarrassed to give mommy kisses in front of his friends, and I am a lot like him, so no worries mom!

Lessons Learned

One night, about a month ago, mom needed to put Baby J down a little earlier than normal as he had experienced a very tiring day. Mom said "Matthew, can you watch a Curious George show (a.k.a. 5 minute babysitter) while I take the baby upstairs and put him to sleep?" "Yes, mommy" I replied. "I will do that."

After I gave a kiss goodnight to Little J, mom took him upstairs to give him the rest of his bottle and to tuck him into bed. Poor mom, she thought all was well downstairs. Her fatal error was that she only asked me if I could watch George....she didn't explicitly tell me what NOT to do WHILE I was watching George.

The above picture was taken by mom to allow everyone to share in her horror at the site of my MASTERPIECE upon her return. I promptly explained to her that the couch pillows were arranged to be her and the pillow on the floor represented her foot and the pillow at the top was her head. I also thought it would be a great idea to COOK her up some treats, so I also took all the baking pans out of the kitchen and stacked those on top of the ottoman (a.k.a. the stove). I also took out some of my favorite toys and then lastly just plopped myself back down in front of it all to catch the end of George.

Creativity and imagination can take a lot of of a little guy, but at least mom was cool enough to congratulate me for these traits just before she told me that I had to help her clean it all up!

Mom's lesson learned: When you ask me if I can do something when you are away, you'd better also let me know what I am NOT allowed to do as well!

Brothers Forever

Things are really starting to get fun at our house and will only get more exciting as Baby J becomes more and more mobile. Baby J is becoming very interactive and vocal and mom says he will soon be crawling. He LOVES me and constantly has to be aware of where I am and watch what I am doing. If only J's head could swivel around 360 degrees then he would never have to let me out of his sight. If I am in the room and Mom is feeding J then I HAVE to be in his line of sight. Otherwise he is constantly trying to move or twist around so he can see me clearly.

The best thing of all is that I love him right back. Mom says that I am a super brother and my caring and concern about J is evident in 99% of my actions. I help mom feed him his bottle (if I am in the mood), console him when he is crying and I like to share my blankets and cuddle with him. The other 1% includes those moments when I get too excited and send some object flying through the air or run around too quickly and almost flatten J's head! Ha! Ha!

Our newest thing is that we both sit with mom and dad to listen to a Curious George story before bed. Then I like to give my little brother a hug and kiss before bed. We both think this is so funny. Mom stands him up to give a big bear hug and then she lays him in his bed and moves him close to the side of the crib. I then give him a big kiss through the side of the crib and we both are then off to bed.

Mom says "Brothers Forever"...she learned this from Nanny 911 so she must be right. But then, mom is always right, RIGHT?????

Baby J update - 6 months

Baby J continues to be a very happy and mellow and absolutely adorable little guy. At his 6 month visit to the doctor he weighed in at 17.05 pounds (50% percentile) and was 27 1/2 inches long (80% percentile). Mom says that based on the amount of food he eats he should be in the 1,000th percentile for both!! He is now eating solids and is enjoying pears, applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots, oatmeal and rice cereal. Mind you, this food is IN ADDITION to the 32+ ounces of formula the little guy eats everyday. If I am not mistaken, this is a half gallon of formula per day. Wow!

Mommy tried to give J some peas, but let's just spare you the nasty details and say that he didn't really like them very much. Okay, well I will tell you, since you want me to.....I heard mommy tell daddy that when she tried to feed the peas to J it was like a scene from the movie "The Exorcist" but with formula and peas! Fortunately for me, mommy was the one who was vomited upon and I just got to watch!!:) I actually thought it was really horrifying but also COOL to watch. I had never seen anything like that before and yelled at the top of my lungs "Mommy, Joshie threw up!!". Mom just said "Thanks for letting me know that".

J is constantly reaching and grabbing for things and can roll over easily. He can almost sit by himself and stands with support. I love to roll on the floor with him and play with him. Mom and dad feel that he will be a very early walker like me. Lucky for me, bad for mom and dad.

He is also currently teething and will soon have his two bottom teeth. Mommy says she can see little white marks on his gums.

I LOVE my little baby and I can't wait until he can run around with me and play.