He's lucky that he's so darn cute.

Well, he finally sucked it up and said "Mama."  This happened a few days before Christmas. I like to think that perhaps this was his baby way of giving me a nice gift, especially since that same day he said very clearly, "Mommy."  But he also said "nose" and "eye" and "ear" that day. Maybe, he thinks I'm also a body part?

His vocabulary is kind of blowing me away these days. He is months ahead of where Lola was at this age. At 15 months, she only had a handful of words that she could say and I remember Josh and I always telling ourselves, what a great little talker she is.  As if we had anything to do with it. Just like we have nothing to do with Beau's speedy progress. Instead, I am enjoying hearing his little voice.

His newest words:

meatball
cheese
cat
meow
baby
Elmo
cookie
Here ya go (and then he'll hand something to you)
knock knock (he laughs when you ask, "who's there?")
Beau
Lola (oh-aw)
Grandma (gam-ma)

Here's a photo of B, running around the house with a dish towel. He thinks it's hilarious to remove them from the kitchen and then abandon them, usually behind the couch.

Things He Says Other Than Mama

Ut-oh
Hi
Bye
Ball
Gizzy
Gizmo
Doggie
Woof Woof
Vroom Vroom
Moo
Tree
Dada
Daddy

And, ready for this? Football.

(You will find me on the bathroom floor, crying, "Why? Why?") 

It's Still Summer

Heat takes on a new meaning when you can feel it with your eyelids. Just when I think that I've grown accustomed to the hot dry summers of this northern California town, the thermostat rises, testing my resolve.  Exiting my very air-conditioned office building, it takes almost three seconds before I feel it. I begin to think, "It's not too ba--" and before I can reach the word's second syllable, I feel a tightness around my eyes.  I squint in defeat, and speed walk toward my car.  It might be September, but it is still so very hot and reminds me that summer isn't quite over yet.

Lola started kindergarten nearly three weeks ago. She is in love. Every afternoon, she arrives home happily chatting about her friends, the various cultural studies they are engaging in (Botany! Zoology! Geography!), how she ate in the cafeteria, and the games that were played at recess. She loves her new backpack, her new teacher, her new lunch pail.  She loves it so much that she is pretty ticked when Saturday arrives.

"Mom, I thought you said kindergarten was 'every day!'" (Which I did say, as she only attended preschool 3 times a week. I should have known that I needed to specify that "every day" meant "business days.")

Given the difficult adjustment that she endured with preschool, it is a relief that the transition to kindergarten is going so well. I would post a photo of her from her first day except that I used the actual camera to take photos and now I can't find the cord that is needed to upload the photos to my laptop.  I did, however, take a photo on my phone of part of the first lunch that I packed for her. I took the photo because I spent ten minutes searching through the container of alphabet cookies to find ones that would spell her name, and then subsequently realized what a ridiculous waste of time the whole thing was and I swore I would never do it again.



Speaking of cuteness, our adorable baby boy is continuing to steal hearts every day. He, after spending the last 11 months quietly observing all of us from a stationary position, has decided that it is time to move and be heard.  In the past month, he has acquired his first two teeth, began crawling, and decided that his first word would be "ut-oh."  If you drop anything, he'll be sure to acknowledge it.

An Extra-Long Video

Summary: I attempt to convince Beau that he should try crawling. He refuses, asserting that he is the Baby Prince, and insists that I bring him whatever he wants, whenever he wants it.

Big Sister Today, CEO Tomorrow.

She calls him, The Baby Prince. 

In the morning, she often peers into his crib, silent because she knows the repercussion she would face for waking him, and she stares, trying to will him awake. When his eyes do open, he grins and squeals. "Good morning, brother!" she sings, and he babbles in return. Their day together has begun.

When he was smaller, she looked forward to when he would spit up (or, let's be honest, projectile vomited) because she knew it was her job to pick out his clothes. She still maintains ownership over that duty, although much to her disappointment, now she usually only gets to pick one or two outfits a day.  But, her duties have taken on a more communal role now as she loves to talk about caring for our baby bear.  Just last month, while attending a baby shower, she coached a future-big-sister-to-be on how to hold an infant.  "You have to sit down," she said sternly.  "And, you must support the neck!"

Beau does engage in some serious wiggling when he's in her lap. She holds on tight, but she can already see the signs that her rule over the kingdom might be short-lived. "Beau, you have to stay here!" she insists, as he arches his back and pulls her forward. She laughs. "Silly baby boy," she says. She leans forward and they almost topple off the chair together.  She pulls him back into her lap, and smiles.  "I love you, brother."

He has Baby Pageant Hair

It's hard to believe that this little dude has been out of the womb longer than he was in it.

I love the photo for several reasons:
1. It demonstrates the height of his baby hair.
2. It shows his preference to use his left hand.
3. It reiterates that he is the Best Baby in the Universe because he loves the cilantro-garlic hummus that I made for him.

I also love lists.
 
Other 9-month-old baby things about Beau:
1. He loves to read books, especially touch-and-feel books.
2. He prefers to feed himself, rather than be fed with a spoon. His new favorite fruits are plums and figs, and avocado is still a top contender.
3. He can sign "milk" and is beginning to sign "all done."
4. He LOVES Gizmo.
5. He is only waking up once at night (usually around 3:00 am), but then nurses and goes back to sleep.
6.When he is playing with his toys, he always gravitates to his blocks. He takes them out of the bucket, and then puts them back in. Then, repeat. OVER and OVER again.

Things She Says

Whenever someone comments on how long her hair has grown, she says, "I'm growing it to be long like my Aunt Therese." She also likes to point out that when her hair is long, it will also be a beautiful brown like Aunt Therese's dark hair.  According to Lola, Therese is my "sister" and Nick is just some guy Therese married.

-------------

One of our neighbors loves to decorate for patriotic holidays. He borders his lawn with two dozen small American flags, while displaying a large individual flag for each branch of the military. Curious about his flags, Lola asked why each of the military flags had a different image on them.  As I explained the differences between each military branch ("the people who serve in the army are called soldiers, some people in the air force are pilots," etc.), she listened carefully and then said, "Wait! Tell me more about the rogers!" It took several questions from me to determine that she really wanted to know more about soldiers, I mean, rogers.

-------------

She refuses to call hot dogs, "hot dogs." Instead, she prefers the term "weenies." Of course, she also uses it incessantly. During her school camp out, she peppered her friend with comments about his hot dog.
"What are you going to put on your weenie?" "Do you want ketchup on your weenie?" "I only like weenies with mustard." "Look at Ms. Lindi's weenie!" "That weenie has relish!"




-------------