as i mentioned yesterday, i had loads of fun at the minnesota children’s museum with daddy and auntie jamie. one thing that completely slipped my mind was when i was on stage with my guitar. you heard right. i starred in my very own music video (though the music someone kept choosing was “she’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes”).
in one of the areas, there was a stage with a blue screen behind it. then from the stage we were able to see the television monitors that had us on stage as well as some background images. so with the “she’ll be coming…” there were images of horses running by and such. we all heard the music and danced and some even sang along (his parents must have been the ones to choose the song). 
i found a mic and started to sing too, and since i didn’t know that song, i made up my own song by throwing different words together.
i grabbed a guitar and started strumming along to the beat even though it was roughly the same size as me. at one point i came off the stage and grabbed the guitar by the neck and auntie jamie thought i was going to be a true rock star and smash the guitar on stage, but i was merely getting a better grip – that and it was just a foam guitar. here is a soundless video of me on stage with the guitar:
on wednesday, auntie jamie, dad and i went to the minnesota children’s museum. i am a big fan of the grand rapids children’s museum, so i was eager to go. when we returned people asked what was better. it is hard to say…they are both quite different. one thing i can say about the minnesota version is that on the day we went, i do believe every minnesotan child was also there. it was ridiculously packed with parents, strollers, grandparents, strollers, and kids. they also have multiple rooms across a couple floors. so, the minnesota edition is at least larger than it’s grand rapidian counterpart.
i played with the waterworks area that included bubbles, pipes and water fountains. i wanted to see how the ping-pong ball would move around in the clear tubes and out of which end it would come, but there were too many kids and i never got a chance to get a ball. that was ok because i moved on to the bubble station where i could make big bubbles with the wands there. there is a much larger and nicer station like this one at the grand rapids cm, but i still liked it.
after the bubbles i saw a rat in the museum and ran up to it so i could pet it. not to worry, it was a supposed to be petted. there was a cm worker there and she told me the rat’s name was matilda. i loved her. i stroked her soft fur and touched her rough tail. i was fascinated by her…especially since grandpa jim had shown me the squirrels in their backyard and how to feed them chili cheese popcorn. next to the rat was a king cobra i was able to hold – not really, it was a garter snake and it was behind some glass. but i was able to see him take a drink out of his water bowl. there was too much to see to see it all and we had to go so i could each lunch, but we had fun while we were there.
psalm 100
a psalm for giving thanks.
1 shout to the Lord with joy, everyone on earth.
2 worship the Lord with gladness.
come to him with songs of joy.
3 i want you to realize that the Lord is God.
he made us, and we belong to him.
we are his people.
we are the sheep belonging to his flock.
4give thanks as you enter the gates of his temple.
give praise as you enter its courtyards.
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 the Lord is good. his faithful love continues forever.
it will last for all time to come.
we are having fun at grandma holly and grandpa jim’s house. my biggest struggle has been trying to decide what to play with next. that’s not because there is too little to do…quite the opposite. there are some many things to do it starts to make my head swim. i can read some books, i can build with blocks, i can make animal noises with the stuffed animals, i can stack letter blocks, i can do puzzles, i can race cars down a race track, i can play with a huge shiny fire truck (that doesn’t have volume control – thanks auntie jamie!). a couple of my favorite things thus far have been the play-doh and the jack-in-the-box.
the jack-in-the-box is a monkey inside the box that when i turn the crank for the music, at the end of the song he pops up! his hands are also velcro, so i can stick them to anywhere on him, and that is what i do. i have also learned how to cheat and open up the box to let him out without playing the music. i pull the little latch in front of his door and out he comes. grandma holly showed it to me first and i jumped back when that little monkey jumped out. it scared me, but i liked it.
the other favorite thing was playing play-doh with auntie jamie. grandma holly brought out a couple tubs of play-doh and some of her cookie cutters. i made dogs, pumpkins, ghosts, christmas trees, pigs and many other things. i also made a pink carrot – though jamie thought it looked more like a finger and gave it a fingernail. i had a blast playing with the play-doh and all the cookie cutters. grandma holly sure has a lot of those. momma really liked it when i played with the play-doh because it is a quiet play.
in the past 48 hours i have tried more new foods than i have in my whole life combined…or so it seems. i started out with my formula, than eased into oatmeal and come to baby food. the baby food opened up a whole new world of possibilities and i tried new ones like sweat potato and corn (not bad), apples and blueberries(delicious), mixed vegetables (barely tolerable), and pear pineapple (too acidic). but what did all those things have in common? i couldn’t hold them in my hand without them dripping out. these past few days i have experienced a whole new food sensation – food that you can hold onto.
this started on sunday with the french fries, and jack mentioned the other day. then on monday bread products were flying all over my high chair tray. for breakfast i was offered toast which i was not all that interested in, but really, i cannot be blamed. who eats dry toast? no butter or jelly or anything. i put it up to my mouth but did not like it.
then at lunch i was given these round circular things that momma called cheerios. those i liked. however, i could not get my fingers to work all the time and was having some difficulty putting the cheerios into my mouth. every so often i would get them just close enough, but not in my mouth and they would get stuck to my chin or something. at dinner i was given more cheerios, but also something called biscotti. this was gingerbread flavored and something that dad liked, but jack wasn’t willing to try. i liked it as well, and gnawed on that for a good long time. this food concept has just gotten much more interesting…
over the hills and through the woods to grandma holly’s house we go! i was very excited to get into the car and drive to see grandma holly…that was until it was 7 hours later and we were in the middle of wisconsin with nothing but nothing to look at. momma and dad did not warn me that the state we would drive the most through smelled like the underside of a cow. luckily, grandma holly is worth it.
at first, everything was great. we piled ourselves into grandma rene’s van (who let us borrow it for the week) and headed down the highway. luke occupied himself in the seat behind me by either sleeping, laying, or playing with his new monkey teether. i read my new books out loud, sang to myself and looked at all the semi-trucks that we passed. eventually, i also asked for dad to play “jonah”. this is a special playlist on his ipod that has (6) songs from the veggietales jonah movie. i like to listen to them on repeat, so much so that i know many of the words and momma and dad could sing them fully without help.
we stopped for lunch just outside of rockford, illinois, and while momma fed luke, dad and i went exploring and found a huge pile of rocks. dad also showed me dandelions and what fun they can be. i noticed one that was yellow, and then he pointed out to me the ones that are called the “parachute ball”. these have little seeds that i could blow off, thus helping spread the dandelions in that wendy’s lawn. once we were inside, we sat down to eat – me with my whales (the shape of their chicken nuggets) and fries and luke with fries. i didn’t like it that luke could eat fries without having to eat any whales. though i guess he did eat his fruit and veggies of the pureed variety.
we finally made it to minnesota and none too soon. i was starting to feel a bit crazed in the head and all my energy was beginning to give me the shakes. i ran around and played with grandma holly and grandpa jim and had a blast. then dad took me up to my big boy bed and i passed out. i am so excited to be here!
on saturday morning, dad and i ran a few errands so we would be all set for our big trip on sunday up to minnesota. so after a quick stop in walmart for what we needed, we headed over to the library so i could have a few new books to read on the drive. since we were over on that side of town, we went to the cascade library. it was the first time i had ever been at this one. we looked through some of the kids books and then dad pointed out the kids play area. it was amazing.
it was in a large, circular room and had loads of things to do. there were letters on the wall that had magnets on the back so i could move them anywhere i chose. there was a little puppet stage with dozens of animal puppets, and a bit throne that was painted with jungle animals on it. there was also a little “market” like in gram and pa’s basement. plastic fruit, vegetables and even a chicken (featherless) were there to be played with. not to mention all the books and puzzles that were in the room!
i played with a little girl named arianna and her little brother named luke (not my luke). playing with the plastic food was the best. i would grab a piece and show it to arianna, asking her what it was, and she would tell me that it was a pineapple, or a cucumber or an egg. then we played with the letters and spelled out things. she spelled her name and i spelled “gjkvcwauiih” dad had picked out some books for me, and it was time to go, so we said goodbye, checked out the books and went home. but dad told momma all about the special place at that library, so i home we get to go back soon!
yesterday i turned 7 months old and was poking around on babycenter.com to see what was new for me as a 7 month-old. i saw that i can begin to try a sippy cup, that i am starting to build my recognition skills and that if games are stimulating i like to have them played over and over again. i also saw something that interested me. when i clicked to find out fun facts about my birthday, i discovered that no one of real interest shares my birthday.
i also took note of some milestones in my development and saw how i was progressing. it looks like i am right on track, able to sit up on my own and drag objects toward myself. i am actually just on the cusp of being able to move from a crawling or lying on my belly position to sitting up on my own. that should be something i will be able to show off to grandma holly next week when we are visiting. things that i have to look forward to in just one short month:
- say “momma” or “dada” with no real distinction (which is alright because jack still has issue with that. he has actually created a new word “maddy” [pronounced maw -ddy] that mashed both names together)
- stands while holding onto something (which i can do now if the thing i am holding onto is two hands of maddy)
- crawls – i am very nearly there. i do more of a military crawl now which i have perfected and can move like the wind. one minute you see me across the room, the next i am at your feet.
so i have a fun month ahead. i should be out and signing christmas carols and drinking hot cocoa by my 8 month birthday.
i am utterly fascinated by my big brother. everything is infinitely more interesting when he is around. whatever he is doing, i try to crawl, scoot, or roll over to where he is to get a closer look. no matter what he is up to, i want to be a part of it. if jack is playing with a puzzle, i head over to play too, even if i am chewing on or otherwise “playing” with a puzzle of my own. 
if he is sliding cars and animals down the slide, i want to slide cars down the shoot as well.
unfortunately, jack does not always want to share what he is doing with me. 
he especially does not like to share dad with me. when dad comes home he says hi to each of us and then jack tries to hog him. dad picks me up and flips me upside down, throws me up in the air, and tickles me. but the whole time dad is holding me, jack is asking him to put me down on the blanket so dad would play with him instead. i know that he is interested in me, just on his own terms. and all in good time we will be thick as thieves.
the weekend was so beautiful we tried to spent as much time as possible outside. after church dad and i played in the backyard and he showed me how to rake leaves. we shuffled them all up into a big pile and then without prompting i ran right into them and started jumping around. then i picked up the rake and started piling them back up. i buried my cup in the leaves, crawled around in the and all round had a blast. dad shot some video of me playing with the leaves:
then earlier in the weekend we went to the park and while dad and luke went for a stroller ride (well, luke did the stroller and dad walked), momma and i played on the playground equipment and chased each other around the park. then dad and luke came back and he and i rode the tire swing together. that was a load of fun and i kept wanting to swing.
there was also a little girl there getting her pictures taken by a professional photographer for what i guess was her first birthday photos. i was playing on the slide and other things and she was interested in what i was doing. as i went down the slide, the photographer took my picture. momma says i look like a little model. if you would like to see all six of the pictures she took, visit her site here.
saturday was a gorgeous day in west michigan, and we all wanted to be outside. so momma gave me and luke two options of where we could go that morning…the zoo or the meijer gardens. at first i chose the zoo, but momma kinda hoped i would choose the gardens, so she asked “do you want to see the animals, or play in the treehouse?” as much as i like animals, it is infinitely more fun to play in and on something that to merely see something. (now if she had asked me if i wanted to play with the animals, no contest – let me in with the penguins and we’ll have a ball!).
so we packed up and headed to the gardens. luke desperately wanted to play with me in the sand while i dug for dinosaur bones, and later i played with some puppets in this tree house (not to be confused with the actual treehouse, this was a house or room made out of a tree). there were about a dozen of them and dad made them all talk to me. my favorite was the squirrel. then we played inside the big log cabin. i could have stayed there for days! they had place a new wooden train set in the house and i absolutely love playing with them. momma came and went with luke, but i just played on. i was very upset when we left.
but then we headed to the huge treehouse. dad and i ran around up there and chased one another. i had a snack and juice on the built in tables and did some more running. i then saw that there were huge (metal) bugs hanging out on the ceiling and dad hoisted me up so i could touch some of them and get a closer look. there was a ladybug, walking stick, beetle and many more. i tried to lift up the giant bird eggs (to no avail) and had dad chase me a couple more times. i was sad when we had to go, but it was lunchtime and i was hungry. hopefully we’ll have a good dose of global warming this winter and we can go back 
over the weekend i made the (forced) transition into a big boy bed. while it was not my choice to do so, for the most part i do like it. friday night was the first night i ever spent in the big bed. dad and i moved around my room so the bed was about where my crib was. he then took out of the room anything remotely fun – i guess so i wouldn’t be tempted to play in the middle of the night. then we made my new bed and laid my lightning mcqueen blanket over the top. i did really good that first night and slept in, as well.
the next day, however, was a different story. i didn’t want to nap in the bed, but in my crib. it was right there against the wall and all inviting. i did end up falling asleep on the big bed, however, but only for around an hour and a half. then that night i really made an issue with sleeping in my crib, so dad caved in and let me sleep there.
however, on sunday, i took a good nap in my big bed and then after we came back from gram and pa’s house, i went up to my room to go night-night and the crib was gone. well, that’s only half-true. there was a piece of it behind the big bed and against the wall. dad explained that this was from my crib and now served as my headboard. i no longer had a choice, so dad read me my stories, prayed and tucked me in. however, i was still excited about being in the big bed that i spent the next 45 minutes talking to my stuffed giraffe. we talked about christmas lights, momma, jonah and loads of other things. but i eventually fell asleep and slept well.
electronics have long fascinated me. since i can remember, i have loved playing with dad’s phone (i would enjoy playing with momma’s as well, but she doesn’t share as readily…something about learning from dad’s mistake). sure i broke dad’s first phone, and one of their cameras, but they were on their way out anyway. i merely gave them that final push to the digital graveyard. another device i have learned to use in small part is the remote. i know one button (the most important one), the power button. i now have two ways of turning the tv on, the box itself, and now the remote.
however, my first electronic love is the phone. my favorite thing to do with the phone is call grandma holly. i use dad’s phone to call grandma holly (or rather, dad dials and hands it over to me). as i have mentioned before, i mostly listen to grandma holly talk, though every now and again dad will prompt me to say something or i will tell her things i see.
as of friday, dad has given me a new thing to do on his blackberry. he downloaded an application for it called “baby go“. it is a game of sorts that lets me push any button and a block appears on the screen with a child’s voice saying the letter. if i push a button that is not a letter a shape comes up with laughter or some other fun sound. i grabbed the phone, laid down on the couch cushion and played that from the time dad got home from work until dinner time. while it is not nearly as fun as talking to grandma holly, it is fun!
more and more i like to be a big helper and last night i was able to help give luke a bath. it was nearly as fun as getting a bath myself. at first i was very excited because i thought momma was baking and i like to help with that as well. she told me to get a chair and push it over to the kitchen counter. having done that i climbed up and saw that i was going to witness a tubby taking place. i didn’t wait to be asked. dad had rolled up my sleeves and i dove into the water with my arms. 
i picked up a wash cloth and started scrubbing luke’s feet. i also washed his knees. i bet the warm water and soap felt good after a long day of crawling. i tried to help washing his hair and head, but momma said to leave that to her after i doused his face with a wash cloth full of water. it was a lot of fun and i was as disappointed when it was over as i am when my tubbys are over. luke seemed to enjoy the experience as well. here is a little video of the tubby:
cubfann
jack fann
luke fann
