New Friends & New Adventures

I just got back from the most amazing trip to visit my family. We drove to Idaho which took us about 6 hours. Daddy was frustrated by how long it was taking us but in my opinion, I think he took more restroom stops than anyone (maybe I could lend him a Pampers if he doesn't like to take time to stop, LOL). Anyway, we got in really late and mommy just put me to bed. She brought my special blanket I sleep with, so I felt right at home. But the next morning, but did I have a surprise. I woke up to meet my Uncle Mike, Aunt Ali and Counsin Gabe. They sure were neat people. My first time meeting Gabe, I tried to smile real big and walk up to him to give him a hug, but I think he's been told to be careful of strangers (smart parents!), because he just kind of kept walking backward away from me. I really liked Gabe. He was just a little bigger than me, so I thought we could be good friends and play a lot together. He sure had a lot of toys! Sometimes I tried to follow him around and play with him, but he just didn't seem to warm up to me. I dont think he's used to having little kids like me in the house. It was like he just didn't know what to think of me. Sometimes, he would say my name and look for me. Once in a while I did get a hug. But most of the time, he would kind of do his own thing and if I tried to bother him when he was busy he would say, "Fly Away Baby". Mommy thought it was funny every time he said it. I didn't mind leaving him alone. I pretty much did my own thing while I was there. And let me tell you, I didn't waste one minute sitting around doing nothing! Uncle Mike and Aunt Ali have a big house. There is so much room for me to walk around, and thats just what I did. I went on the most amazing expeditions. Walking through the kitchen I found magnets on the refrigerator that I loved tasting and throwing on the floor. Coming back through the dining room I would sometimes stop and take a look outside through the sliding glass door. Aunt Ali had this very large plant right next to the door. I did try to taste the dirt one time, but mommy put a quick stop to that. I wasn't allowed to go by the plant anymore. The I would walk around the loop that led to all the bedrooms and bathrooms. If I was lucky, someone would leave a door open and I would go into Gabe's room and play with his toys. Funny enough though, I really liked just playing with his door. I liked to close it. Doors are amazing to me right now for some reason. And sometimes I would go into our bedroom. I liked climbing up and down off the mattress that was on the floor. Sometimes I would fall in this canyon between the bed the closet and mommy would have to save me because I would get stuck. Finally as I headed back into the living room there was all kinds of fun. I could usually find something on the coffee table to grab ahold of and play with or chew on. And this is where the t.v. was to watch my Baby Einstein movies occasionally. Cousin Gabe likes to watch some of the same shows as Brother. And the living room is where everyone would hang out. So if I was tired from my trekking, I could take a break and visit with whoever wanted to. And did I mention through this all that I WALKED THE WHOLE TIME. Yep, these feet were made for walking! I rarely crawled around. I would just walk around that large loop in their house a million times a day. Okay, maybe not a million, but mommy says that I would have given any pedometer a good workout.

As for the company, well, I already told you about Gabe. I love my Aunt Ali a lot. I am pretty reserved with who I share my special kisses with, but she got a lot of them. I don't know what it is about Aunt Ali, but I sure liked her a lot. She is really pretty and gives great hugs. I like her squeaky voice and she just has that warm fuzzy 'mommy' feeling about her. Uncle Mike is a big, strong, funny guy. I liked watching him play with the other boys. It makes me want to grow up fast so I can play big boy games with him too, like water guns, pool games like water skiing (I think that's what he called it) and most of all The Pile Driver. That looked like a lot of fun. He's a funny guy to just let anyone run and jump on top of him.

Let's see, I also got to watch everyone play in the pool, play frisbee, ride bikes and went with Daddy to the store a couple of times. The trip home was a little harder. I didn't feel very good and the sun was staring down on me the whole time. Mommy made daddy switch the carseats around so Brother could sit in the sun for a while. He didn't seem to mind as much.

It was nice to see my home and my own bed, but I sure miss all the room I had in Idaho to walk around. As soon as we got home, Mommy put the baby gate up so I would't climb up the stairs. I gave some very disappointing whines and grunts at mommy for doing so. I really don't like that gate. I don't like being limited to where I can go. There is so much for me to do and see. Why can't I do them?

Oh well, I like knowing that when we go to Idaho, good times will happen. I just hope we get to go again really soon. Mommy said we might get to go in November or December because I will be getting a new girl cousin. It'll be nice to not be the baby over there. I'll have to show her all of my trekking routes and things to stay away from (like the plant). I've never met a baby girl yet; I wonder if they taste different. I'll just have to give her the ol' Lance taste test like I do everything else, LOL.

My Specialty is Curve Balls

Well, things have been a little different for me this last week. Mommy says that I just haven't been myself. I'm not sure if I know why I feel different. I suppose if I knew, I'd try to tell Mommy so she could understand me more, but I haven't pointed to any clues for her. Mommy says that the only thing she knows is that I'd be a good baseball player, because I throw great curve balls.

What I mean, is for the most part, I've been pretty easy on my parents when it comes to bedtime. We have a pretty good routine. Mommy gives me a bath, gets my jammies on and sits for some quiet time while listening and watching Baby Einstein. I think my favorite right now is Baby Monet. I giggle when the zebras laugh. After about 15 minutes (this allows brother to go upstairs, get his jammies on and brush his teeth), mommy makes me a yummy bottle of warm milk, takes me upstairs to my room and we rock in the rocking chair while finishing my milk. When I'm done, mommy gives me my pacifier, lays me in my crib, covers me up and leaves the room, blowing me a kiss while shutting the door. Sometimes I sit up for a while and talk to my koala bear, but most of the time I just turn on my tummy and fall asleep. Now, there have been a handful of nights where I just didn't want to sleep yet, so I cried for mommy. Mommy says that bed time in bed time...so she comes in, lays me back down, tells me to go to sleep and leaves again. I'm pretty good at getting the point (mommy isn't much of a pushover when it comes to bedtime) and I don't call her back in.

Well, Wednesday night, I pitched mommy a curve ball. It was a very warm day and I was having a good time downstairs with mommy and Geneva. I realy didn't want to go to bed. Mommy recognized my 'wind-up' when I refused my milk bottle at rocking time. She raised her eyebrow and even predicted that I might be giving her a hard time pretty soon. Yep, she was right. As soon as she put me in the crib, I started crying as loud as I could. Mommy said she was sorry, but it was time to sleep; turned and walked out my room. Well, then that door closed, I launched my curve ball. I let out the loudest screams I possibly could. Mommy stayed away for 5 minutes (she uses a timer....I just know it). She came back in, laid me back down and told me she loved me and left again. Well, I took it up a few more decibles. I honestly don't think I'm capable of yelling any louder. I yelled my meanest yells for about 8 minutes (mommy usually stays away 10 minutes the second time around), and then I got sick. Okay, I had planned on that. That was no fun. Mommy says she thinks I got myself all worked up, and my room was hot, so that's why I got sick. Well, mommy must have had her mommy antennas tuned in (or maybe she heard me on the baby monitor), but she came in right away. My, oh, my...I was a mess. And so was my bed. Mommy picked me up and loved on me (it amazes me how mommies can hold you and love you...even if it means they get themselves all messy) and rocked me for a minute. Then she took me down stairs to clean me up. After cleaning up and settling down, Geneva held me while mommy went upstairs to clean my room.

I finally went to bed an hour later and was more than ready. I sure missed my soft blankie though. Mommy said I get it back the next night.

Well, I don't know if I thought that I won that battle, because I got to get out of bed afterall...so I thought I'd try it again the next night. Once again, mommy saw my wind up early...she put me down and screamed instantly. She left for 5 minutes. My room was not as warm this time, so I was not as uncomfortable. Mommy came back after five minutes and asked me about my actions. She wasn't very happy. Mommy said it was good to go to bed in a battle. "Battle"....I know that word. She always tells Daddy that if he enters a battle with either one of us kids, to never lose. Then we'll find all of their soft spots. Hmmm, well, I guess the battle was on. Mommy sat in the rocking chair. I think she was afraid I was going to get sick again from screaming so much and didn't want me to choke while she was away. She's never sat in my room before. She just sat there staring at the ground with her head in her hands. Oh, this made me so mad. She was just ignoring me (but I was kind of glad she was in my room, I didn't feel alone). So we battled for one whole hour. I screamed and cried and threw my pacifier and bear out of my crib. I never stopped screaming. NEVEr. Someone who lived behind us said something about my screaming. I guess they could hear me. Mommy never looked at me one time. After an hour, I don't know what happened. I just remember waking up the next morning. Mommy said I just fell to my knees (I was standing and screaming the whole time), fell forward on my face and was asleep. Then mommy covered me up and left the room.

I thought about throwing another tantrum last night, but I just couldn't muster up the energy. Mommy just doesn't give in very easily. I played with the idea for about 2 minutes by whining after she laid me down. But that's all the effort I could give. Then I just turned over and fell asleep.

Mommy said that babies are good at pushing buttons. The hard part is trying to figure out why they're pusing them. Maybe I know why I didn't want to go to bed on those particular nights, but mommy has no idea. But we both learned where our limits were. We also learned that I pitch a good curve ball, but Mommy says, 'keep 'em coming'...she's always up for a good challenge.

Mommy just isn't Mommy

Mommy went away yesterday morning and I played with Geneva and Parker. When mommy came home in the afternoon she laid down on the couch and she's been there since. I tried to go love on her, but she was barracaded off by the coffee table and I couldn't get to her. It was very frustrating. Mommy's never not loved on me before. I don't think she feels very good. Daddy said she was in the hospital for a tonsillectomy. Maybe that's why she can't talk. She did come see me this morning at 5:30 when I woke up for a bottle. I was so happy to see her face when my bedroom door opened, I almost jumped out of my crib at her. She rocked me until Daddy came with a bottle and then went away. Now that I'm up for the day, she is still laying on the couch, but this time she gave me some love when I came downstairs and she has smiled at me a couple of times. She still isn't talking much, so maybe I'll have to do all the talking for her. I hope she feels better soon. I miss her playing with me. I guess I'll just have to pick on Brother and Daddy today.