i don’t have teeth, so i can’t bite…i can crawl fast, but can only get so high off the ground. i am certainly loud, but still just a baby. i just do not get it. why is my big brother frightened of me? he does like to hold me often; he likes to sit next to me and play; he likes to watch me and see what i am up to. however, whenever i initiate any of those things, he shrinks back as if i am about to gobble him up. there is no need for this type of reaction…by no means do i intend any ill will or harm to jack; i am simply fascinated by him and always want a closer look.
now granted, it might not be me. he was given this treatment back when he was my age by zeus. zeus was only interested in jack on his own terms. jack could not approach zeus, only the other way around. the other point of fact is that every so often when momma or dad go in jack’s room to get him up from bed, he says that he was/is scared. when pressed as to what might have scared him, he once said a dog in the window. a dog, in the shaded and curtained window of his second floor bedroom. clearly jack has an active imagination.
so i will not let it get me down. i know that we will be thick as thieves one day (and the next probably at one another’s throats). but i look forward to the days when we can play together and have loads of fun just like jack has with nate.
dad finally got back from san diego (or as a friend of his says, sunny eggo) on saturday. he brought me back this little airplane that he picked up in california – that was great. we all played on saturday night and dad gave me a tubby that night and we played with a little wind-up submarine he also picked up for me. it spun around and around in circles under the water.
on sunday, grandma and grandpa came over to help with some work on the house. they stayed for dinner as well, and as dad was grilling, i played soccer ball with pa. we kicked it around back and forth in the back yard, and then i made up a new game. the object was basically for me to throw the ball over the fence with pa trying to block me. that was so much fun. we didn’t keep score, but if we did…i think it might have been tied.
i spent most of the weekend kicking any ball that i saw saying, “play soccer ball”. this was because on friday morning nate and i spent time kicking a ball around at grandma’s house. nate is really good, and i need to catch up with him. even though i can’t bounce the ball off my knee quite yet, i do have a pretty wicked kick.
i can tell that i am going to be one of those people who likes roller coasters. i love when dad runs around while holding me and when he spins in place while holding me. he spins around and around and around enough to make momma sick at the sight of us and then we fall into the couch and let our heads catch up with our bodies. it is so much fun that i always ask for “more times”. well i had asked for more times the other day and i think dad was still spinning in his head, so he declined. but i still wanted to spin, so i tried to do it on my own. i also enjoyed running around and around in circles. here is a video of that…and be sure to watch the great ending:
well dad is off galavanting in san diego at some conference and left us here to soak in the gloom and rain without him. that’s ok, because we still have fun. here is a video of me dancing to my favorite song, the “in the belly of the whale” song from the jonah movie:
over the weekend dad brought up jack’s old jumper for me to try out. i took to it right away and started bouncing up and down immediately. it was so much fun. the very first time i stayed in it for more than 20 minutes. i was just having a grand time spinning and jumping. jack was having a ball too watching me and playing with the animals on the jumper itself. he liked watching me jump up and down as well. here is a video of me having a blast in my jumper:
jack also was showing off his jumping abilities to momma and dad the other night. he can jump so high now…all on his own. one day i’ll be able to jump as high as he can! here is a video of him displaying his jumping prowess:
now that i am sitting up more and more, i get to play with toys that are designed for sitting up. they also tend to be a little more interactive and make sounds or movements when i do something to them. thus far, the alphabet wheel toy is my favorite. it spins around and around and lands on an animal. the lady in the wheel either says the letter of the alphabet that the animal begins with or the animal’s name and then the animal make it’s sound. i like to spin that around and hear all the different animal noises.
on saturday jack and dad went to the store and came back with a new toy for me. this was a tree that had a slide circling around it. along with this came a rhino, an elephant and a tiger that are designed to slide down the slide. sitting up it is about as tall as i am, so it is one that i will need a little time to grow into, however, don’t worry about the toy getting lonely. jack is keeping it busy by sliding all his cars down the slide and making a big pile up at the bottom. i think he secretly picked it out so he could play with it. here is some video of me playing with these toys:
sunday was a beautiful day and while jack and momma napped dad and i went for a stroller ride. but this was no ordinary stroller ride. this time i was not in my car seat…i was sitting in the front of the stroller looking forward, not backward and not looking up in the sky. i was able to watch everything that was going on in front and side to side of me. we walked up and down various side streets in our neighborhood and i saw puppies and leaves on the sidewalk and people raking those leaves and kids playing in their yards. 
it was glorious to see everything going on. this was also the first time something else happened on a stroller ride – i didn’t fall asleep. it was getting kind of dicey towards the end of the walk and i nodded a couple of times, but i did not fall asleep. i was too busy watching was was going on. it was so much fun.
saturday was halloween and my first full experience of trick or treating. sure last year i went to a couple of houses on our street, but i was just over a year old and didn’t know what was going on. after our naps we piled in the car, picked up some pizza and went to uncle matt and aunt tana’s house. after we ate (and yes, i had one bite each of pizza and bread stick) we put on our costumes. i was a monkey, luke was a giraffe, ally was a hippie, faith was a vampire princess, and nate was batman with a light saber.
we braved the cold and slight rain and walked across the street to the neighbor’s house. we knocked on the door and she opened it. like i usually do when a door is opened for me, i trotted right inside. dad then had to get me from inside the house and told me that we just knock and stay on the front porch of the houses (that would have been helpful to know beforehand, dad!). after that, i got the hang of it and loved this trick or treating schtick.
we ended up hitting about a dozen houses before luke, momma, dad, and i called it quits and went inside. nate, faith and ally kept going. we all warmed up with some warm “apple spider” (what i call apple cider), and ate our candy. i even took 3-4 nibbles on my reeses peanut butter cup. it was so much fun and i really enjoyed walking around in my monkey costume (it was nice and warm too). i can see that i am going to like this halloween thing…too bad it only comes around once a year.
last night dad wasn’t feeling well, so momma took me to the children’s museum for the fall harvest party. we met up with harper and her parents and addison & ainsley and their mom, jill. it was so busy we didn’t know where to start! i played with a huge train set and then went a saw the baby cow’s and tried to pet them.
then we all played in the big sandbox where i waited until momma turned to talk to jill and i climbed inside it! momma quickly took me out and reminded me that i wasn’t at home! oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.
then harper and i went to play in a farm exhibit there called ‘aunt daisey’s farm’. i played in the barn and then the vegetable patch and i collected eggs and played with a stuffed chicken. then momma told me we were heading upstairs to play with more stuff.
that’s when harper and i played a duet on the piano and i showed off my mad drumming skills on a huge drum. i played it with my bare hands and with some mallets. ainsley thought it was funny and i gave her a big hug! i also gave harper a kiss on the lips, momma says i’m a ladies man. i don’t know what that means, but i like all the pretty girls i know!
finally momma said it was time to head home so we could see dad and baby luke. i had such a fun and busy day!
“give me a status report!” the commander asked the young officer.
“the defenses are holding and while it looks to be a losing battle, we will hold our position. we will go down fighting.”
“too right we will. those monsters will not break through our barriers without a fight.”
although over the past months their defenses had held up admirably, recently the white monsters had been steadily gaining more and more territory and threatened to break through and never relinquish their hold on the land. this was a losing battle, one that had never been won, but the commander was determined to be the first to win this battle.
for generations these monsters had lain dormant only to one day gather their forces and serve as overlords of the gums, but the gum commander from luke fann’s mouth was determined to be the first to rule over those tooth monsters. he would not let them triumph. he would fight until the bloody end and not lay down for the teeth.
lately he had been attacked from underground (the teeth themselves) as well as random air strikes. various substances were being spread on them from above. the first substance, something called orajel had backfired against the attacker. while it did numb the gum initially, it only served to harden the gums and strengthen their defenses. however, over the last couple days, another liquid had been dripped over them gums. it burned and softened their wall of defense. he had heard about this attack before from eras bygone, but thought that it was a myth. but here the whiskey was, burning down their walls and making it all the easier for the tooth monsters to slowly and agonizingly creep forward.
the commander knew he didn’t have much time left, but he was going to make it as difficult as he possibly could for those teeth to see daylight. if they did see daylight, it would be over his dead body. so the battle rages on…
i might not have a sweet tooth, but i can now cater to those who do! the other night dad was feeding luke and momma was about to bake a cherry crisp when she scooted a chair over to the kitchen counter and invited me to join her in the baking process. she had heard somewhere that if kids are involved in making the food, they are more likely to eat the food (spoiler alert: not me). regardless, i had loads of fun baking with momma. 
she set down one of the cherries for me to eat as i baked (if i was interested – i was not) and she wasn’t gone 2 seconds and i grabbed a knife and tried to cut that cherry. she quickly apprehended the weapon from me and gave me something constructive to do.
the first thing i did was to spread the cherries out on the bottom of the pan. momma dumped them in and i took a spoon and evened them out across the bottom. then we set that aside and brought out a mixing bowl in which momma let me pour in the flour, the oats and other ingredients. that was the most fun! i then was directed to take a spoon and stir around all the stuff within the mixing bowl, making sure that it was stirred up well. i’ll admit, some of the ingredients did escape from the bowl and made it to the freedom of the counter. after that we spread the mixture from the bowl on top of the cherries and then popped it all into the oven. as i mentioned before, i was not interested in trying it, but dad said that it was quite good.
on monday i had my 6 month check-up at the doctor’s office. this is my third trip to the doctor now and am still healthy as an ox (though my weight is in the 30th percentile, so i am not as big as one). there were 2 new things about this doctors visit than my last ones – first, dad came; and second, they gave me 5 (yes five) shots. that seemed a touch excessive to me. jack only needed 3 shots for some reason, and i am determined to find out what that reason was. i did get a flu shot, but that still leaves one unaccounted for.
here are my stats and jacks stats on our 6 month check-up side by side:
|
|
jack | luke |
| weight | 17.8 lbs | 16.14lbs |
| height | 28 ½ in | 27 ¾ in |
| head circ | 44.5 cm | 42.7 cm |
so you can see that i am a bit smaller than jack was (maybe he was big as an ox?). the most traumatic thing, though, was definitely the shots. i think i was given my dad’s penchant for shots…that is no thanks. he told grandma holly last night that he would rather get the flu than have to have a shot for it…after having the shot, i tend to agree. dad was by my head, holding my arms and chest and the nurses rammed a needle the size of me into my thighs. she kept saying it was for my own good, but then she wasn’t the one on the receiving end of that needle.
i gathered up all my strength and all my air and held it in my lungs and once she was finished torturing me i released all that i had bound up. however, by that time i was so overwhelmed by the pain that i couldn’t even let out a descent yell. dad picked me up and i just sobbed into his shoulder. eventually i settled down and was fed in the exam room and we high tailed it out of there. luckily i don’t need to go back for another 3 months and don’t need shots until my 12 month appointment (though there was some mention of a swine flu vaccination that did not fall on deaf ears…)
growing up some of my dad’s favorite characters were luke skywalker, optimus prime and superman. he had the action figures and would play for hours building stories around them. i am starting to do the same with some of my favorite characters. and no, elmo is no among them. while i still harbor good feelings for elmo and smile whenever i see him in a book or on my bib, i’ve all but forgotten about the tv shows elmo’s world and sesame street. i’m sure if they were on i would watch them, though i hardly ever ask for them to be played.
i have 3 favorite characters right now – lightning mcqueen from the movie cars, larry the cucumber from veggie tales, and curious george. grandma rene and grandpa ray picked up the lightning mcqueen and mater cars for me a little while ago, and i love playing with them. curious george has been a favorite of mine for some time as well, and i love having momma and dad read me curious george stories before bedtime and before nap time.
i am really on a big larry kick right now. i love the jonah movie as well as the pirates who don’t do anything movie. i love the music from the movies and ask for it (“jonah! jonah!”) when i come downstairs and even in the car. dad put a few songs on his ipod so we can listen to it in the car, and after one plays, i always ask for more. while there is no video (and i’m told there never will be), dad and i like to dance to the music when we play it in the living room.
so luke can take over my affection for elmo, and i will be content with mcqueen, larry and george. i’m sure i will have other favorite characters as i grow up, but right now, these suit me just fine.
it was a wet, damp saturday and it made me recall a rainy and bleak saturday one year ago…the day that our little family went from 4 to 3 (before luke). yep, it was one year ago that we gave zeus a new home, and the weather could not be more similar than what it was then. things have definitely changed without zeus (i’d like to say its been quieter, but goodness if luke doesn’t scream like a banshee – out of anger or glee, both very loud). so it was a bit of a nostalgic day. this was only intensified by what dad brought out of the basement after my nap.
momma felt that luke was growing past some of the baby toys that we have for him, so dad went to the basement to find some of my old toys for him to play with. being the big helper that i am, i went down as well (that was an adventure in and of itself, as i hardly ever get to venture down into the basement). we went through tubs and boxes and i remembered all the fun i had with all my old toys. we brought a couple of things up to play with and i decided that i needed to show luke how they worked. sure he was across the room and facing the other way, but he can learn from a distance.
i played with the ring stacker, the alphabet wheel and an animal pop-up toy. it was so much fun that when luke did want to play with them, i did not want to give them up. once luke did get to play with them, he did seem to engage with them pretty well. he really liked the alphabet wheel, and sat with it right in front of him. i showed him how fast i could spin it and all the fun animal noises it makes.
toddlers are messy in general, boys in particular, and i have a special dispensation of messiness. as much as i like to play in dirt, with my yogurt and run syrup in my hair, i love getting clean. when my diaper is changed or my hands are washed or my teeth are brushed i like to say “all clean”. thursday night i received another all clean – within my ears. after my tubby dad dressed me and sat me on the bathroom counter. he then showed me a clean q-tip, proceeded to stick it in my ear, wiggle it around and showed it to me again, saying it was dirty. i told him “more” and he did the other ear. afterwards i got to say “all clean”.
the most fun i have getting clean, though is in the tubby. dad squirts some soap onto my hands and i rub it all over my arms, chest, tummy and legs. i can’t reach my back, so dad takes care of that. i get all sudded up and then rinse off in the colored water (colored because of my fizzy color tablets i add…last night was yellow).
thursday’s tubby was even more fun because dad put some better toys in the tub that have been in my room. they were the pop-onz that i never play with – but in the tub they are good. i took a long tube and put the propeller on top of it and pretended that it was a rocketship that turned into a boat. i flew it around in the sky with swooshing and vrrooming noises and then made it dive into the water as a boat. then i would say “blast off!” and have it launch into the sky. it was so much fun and i didn’t want to come out of the tubby.
cubfann
jack fann
luke fann
