Bye-Bye Turty

As you may or may not know, my Daddy found me a pet turtle about a month ago. At first, Mommy was calling him Michelangelo (because he was orange? I don't get it. Anyway...) Then, Daddy announced he wanted to call him Bear. Fine. But then all Daddy ever called him was Turty, and that is what stuck. Anyway, Mommy and Daddy said that Turty couldn't come live at Nona's with us. They told me Nona has a big doggy that would gobble him all up. I'm not sure I believe her, but since they wouldn't let me play with Turty anyway, I said it was ok if we let him go. So yesterday we went to the park and let Turty go in the lake there. I think Daddy was sadder than me. I was ok because Mommy and Daddy took me to the playground when we were done. It wasn't the same playground with the swing and the slide. This one had lots of fun toys that bounced up and down and spun around and around. They were so fun! There was a frog that went back and forth, a long thing that went up and down, and a spinny thing that spun Mommy and I around in circles so fast that everything was spinning even after we stopped. I hope we can let Turty go again so that we can go back to that playground!

8 is Great!

Mama's little boy is 8 months old. He's getting so big so fast! He gets into everything. We had to take a few of his toys down because he kept pulling them down on top of him. I think the DVD tower is going to have to come down, too. (I suppose we need to pack it up anyway...) And while he figured out how to clap a few weeks ago, in the last few days he has decided that its a really, really fun thing to do. We clap for everything nowadays. He eats, we clap. He crawls, we clap. He catches the ball, he drops it so we can clap. It's very cute! And here are a few cute pictures. Everybody clap!

DC for Daddy

We went to Washington, DC this weekend to go to Daddy's George Washington University Graduation ceremony. Mommy says that Daddy is a doctor, but not a doctor like Papa and Dr. Lilly. He's a math doctor, but I don't really know what that means. When I figure it out, I'll let you know. Anyway, we had to go to a lot of places with lots of people where me and cousin Mads were supposed to be quiet and not cry. Lucky for us, Grandpa Barg and Aunt Kelley would rather find places to play on the floor, so it wasn't so bad. Madelyn and I had crawling races down the hall, and Great-Grandma Barg bought us new toys to play with, and I even got to play with my friend Drew and my new friend Rutherford. Rutherford is a lot littler than me, though, so he couldn't race. The only bad part was that I never got to see Daddy because he was never sitting with us. I only got to see him afterwards. He was always wearing funny clothes and a funny hat. I got to wear his funny hat, but it was too big. It had nice strings to play with though!

I also got to see my Nona, Papa, Auntie La, Aunt Mimi, and Uncle Luke. They brought me lots of presents from a place called Italy. One of them is this fun book that lights up and plays music, but I can't understand any of the stories it tells. It talks funny - not like Mommy and Daddy at all! But that's ok. I still like to play with it. Maybe I'll figure out what it is saying and learn to talk back!

A Toast!

Mommy gave me hot, dry bread today. She called it "toast." She eats it all the time, so I thought I'd ask her if I could have some. She gives in so easy! I don't know how tasty it was, but it was pretty fun to eat. Mommy said she was happy just to have me sitting still and not getting into anything. I guess I did have a pretty busy day...

Mommy and Daddy were slow coming to get me out of my crib this morning, so I decided to play with the little green light (his video monitor.) It didn't take long to figure out how to get it off the wall, and then it was much easier to eat. But then Mommy came in and said I wasn't supposed to eat it. She didn't seem too mad, though. She was pretty slow coming to get me after my nap, too. Since I wasn't supposed to eat the little green light, I decided to play with the big light next to my crib instead. It made a really cool noise when I banged it up against the wall. Apparently, I'm not supposed to do that, either. It seems like there are lots of things I'm not supposed to do. I'm not supposed to pull myself up on the swing. Something about falling down and going "boom" when it rocks back and forth. I'm also not supposed to climb up on the couch even though she's the one that left the pillow on the floor for me to use to climb up there in the first place. And don't even get me started on all the things I'm not allowed to play with over by the TV. It's hard being a baby!

A Very Happy Mother's Day

Yesterday was a day that Daddy said was called Mother's Day. It was a lot of fun! I got to help Daddy make a card for Mommy with his pretty pencils. It was the first time he actually let me play with them, but I wasn't allowed to eat them. He just wanted me to drag them across some paper, which wasn't as much fun. I also helped Daddy make pancakes for breakfast. He wouldn't let me eat those, either. Soon, though. I seem to be wearing them down. They let me have some of their breadsticks when we went to Pino's for dinner. Pancakes can't be too far away! I think Mommy had a good day. She keeps taking me to smell the pretty flowers Daddy bought her. They smell so nice. I bet they are really tasty, but I haven't been able to find out yet. I'll let you know if I manage it. I've been going for the big pink ones, but I may need to change my strategy to the tiny purple ones. They might be easier to get into my mouth.

A Poem

Humpty Dumpty crawled off the bed,

Humpty Dumpty fell on his head.

But all Mommy's kisses and all Daddy's hugs

Were able to keep him from getting a lump.

Baby Pate

Well, he's no longer a vegetarian. He was introduced to the wonderful world of meat today, and it went pretty well. Making the chicken was a little on the gross side, but he seemed to enjoy eating it, so it's all worth while. I basically made a chicken pate (thighs - not liver!), and it wasn't too hard. Babies don't need a lot of protein, but once they get to be about his age, 1 T or so a day is beneficial. We mixed it up with apples and sweet potatoes so it was just like some of those baby meals out there - except I know what part of the chicken he was eating. :)

Pureed Chicken

Ingredients:

2lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2/3 c water

1t seasoning such as basil, oregano, or italian seasoning (optional)

Directions:

1. Remove most of the fat from the chicken thighs. Dark meat has more iron than light meat, which makes it a better choice for baby.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and throw the chicken in. Boil until well cooked.

3. Remove the chicken from the water and allow to cool.

4. Cut chicken into smallish pieces and add to food processor. Pulse meat to very fine pieces. Add seasoning if you are using it.

5. Add water a little at a time until you get to the correct consistency.

6. Freeze as usual.