happy 10 month birthday to sienna!

things she likes:

• blowing kisses.  she can’t do it by herself yet, but it cracks her up every time.
• singing songs and doing the hand motions (with help).  her favorites are “itsy bitsy spider” and “if you’re happy and you know it”.
• books.  she especially likes books that have textures to feel and flaps to open.  she also likes to turn the pages when people are reading to her.
• petting koda.  i show her how to “be gentle” and pet koda nicely, but she likes to pull on his ears and fur.
• grinding her 4 teeth.  uh oh.  i think she might have gotten this from me.  except, i only do it when i sleep.  sienna does it ALL the time.
• talking.  we have lengthy conversations.  mama always asks me what sienna is saying, but i’m not telling.  it’s our secret.
• strawberries.  we used to think that her skin was sensitive to strawberries, but she is doing just fine with them now.  and she loves them!
• puffs and O’s.  i think she just likes feeding herself.

things she doesn’t like:

• strangers.  she doesn’t like it when people who she doesn’t know well try to hold her.
• walking.  sienna is the opposite of me.  i used to take steps, fall flat on my face, then get up and do it again.  sienna is more cautious.  she will only take steps if there is something for her to hold on to.  i guess she doesn’t like to fall down.
• crawling backward down the stairs.  whenever i try to teach her to crawl down, she always climbs up instead.
• shoes.  she wore shoes one time (when we went bowling) and her feet turned all red and yucky.  it looked like a really bad eczema flare up.  mama took a photo, but it’s too gross to post.  we’re thinking that sienna might actually have a leather allergy (or actually, sensitivity to the the chromium used in the tanning process of leather).  should we do an experiment and just let her wear one shoe for a few hours?

we went to the maker faire today.  mama said it’s like a DIY exploratorium.  i’d never heard of it before, but i like to make stuff, so it sounded fun.  it took us forever to get there because everyone else in the bay area was trying to get there too.  i kept telling dada to drive fast, but he couldn’t because there were so many cars all around us.  when we finally pulled into the parking lot, i had to go potty.  so mama and i ran into the exhibit hall while dada put sienna (and everything else we needed for the day) in the stroller.

after i went potty, i insisted on walking around the exhibit hall.  it was dark in there, but i could see some lighted robots that i wanted to check out.  apparently, adam savage (from mythbusters) was giving a talk, so the place was packed.  i just wanted to see robots, but because i’m so short and it was so dark, i kept getting trampled in the sea of people.  mama put me up on her shoulders and we got outta there.

okay, off to make stuff.  we met up with dada and sienna and headed to the bubbles.  i used chopsticks and a strip cut out of a t-shirt to make a bubble wand.  i dipped it in a bowl of soapy water, and the wind started blowing giant bubbles!  cool!  after that, we headed into another hall and i got to make a light.  i taped a LED to a watch battery, and the light went on!  TA-DA!  (i like saying “ta-da!”)  i learned that if i twist the leads together, the light turns off.  there were lots of other materials to build things like cars and animals, but i was perfectly happy with my little light.  i entertained myself for the rest of the day, turning the light on and off.

there was so much stuff at the maker faire — we didn’t even get a chance to see everything.  i was particularly fascinated with the old fashioned grandfather clocks, the electric train made of legos, and of course… my LED light.  sienna was wide-eyed in awe, looking at everything.  she didn’t get to play, though.  she’s too little.  maybe she’ll get to play next year.  making stuff is fun.

yesterday, mama asked me if i wanted to go to a parade where i could see a lot of puppies.  i love puppies, so of course i said yes.

i was so excited as i was getting ready go to the parade this morning.  but mama didn’t let me pick out my outfit like i usual do — she dressed me in a light blue polo and brown shorts.  mama and i matched!  the only difference was that mama’s shirt had a pound puppy rescue logo on it.  mama said that there weren’t going to be a lot of potties around and that i should wear “special underwear” (a pull-up diaper), but i refused.  mama didn’t have time to argue because we were running late.  so we grabbed koda, and off we went.

as soon as we got into the car, i asked mama for apple juice.  remembering that we wouldn’t be near a bathroom for hours, mama tried to stall me.  but i insisted.  i got my juice.  mama got nervous.

we made it to the los altos pet parade, and guess what.  we actually got to be in the parade!  all of us, even koda!  how cool is that?!  we marched with pound puppy rescue, which is why we had to wear light blue and brown — pound puppy colors.  we even got blue ribbons to wear on our shirts.  apparently, mama and koda march in this parade every year, but this was my first time.

mama volunteered me to hold the big banner at the front of our group, but i am too short.  oh well.  maybe next year.  it was so fun to get to walk in the middle of the street and see all the people on the sidewalks watching me and taking pictures.  one guy even got right up in my face with a big video camera.  look me for me on tv 🙂

it was so cool to see all the police motorcycles, hear the bands play, play with the puppies, and march in the pet parade.  but about half way through, i turned toward mama: “mama carry kyden”.  she knew i couldn’t be tired from walking (since i walk much farther when we walk around the neighborhood), but she carried me anyway.  and then she realized that i just wanted a better view so that i could count all the puppies.  i counted out loud to 38 (skipping a couple of numbers here and there), and then i lost track.  i had such a great time that i am already looking forward to next year.

(oh, and guess what…  i didn’t pee in my underwear.  see, i don’t need those “special underwear” that mama tried to make me wear.)

look!  sienna is a climber, just like me.  climbing must be in our genes.  either that, or i’ve taught her really well! 😀

part of me is worried that i won’t be able to keep my stuff out of her reach for much longer, so but part of me is so proud.  i wonder when she’s going to start climbing out of her crib.  climb, baby, climb!

auntie judy says that she wants to take me rock climbing when i’m old enough.  now, i wonder if she’ll want to take sienna instead 🙁

i like going biking.  dada takes me on bike rides all the time.  and last time i went to matthew’s house, he let me ride his special run bike.  that was fun.  but i’m ready for my own bike now.  i’m not sure if i should get a tricycle or a run bike.  which one do you think will help me qualify for the amgen tour of california?

i want to ride the tour next year, but only stage 3.  it starts about a mile away from our house.  miss denise, mama, and i actually went to go check it out today.  luckily, miss denise lives less than a block away from the start, so we parked at her house and walked.

there were lots of bikers hanging out in the middle of the street, and a guy was saying the names of all the riders in a super loud voice — like 10 times louder than my outside voice.  so cool!  then just a few minutes later, all the bikers rode away.  and suddenly the excitement was all over.

watching a bike race is kind of boring because it starts and ends so quickly.  but i think being in a bike race might be more fun.  so what do you think — tricycle or run bike?  either way, look for me in the 2013 tour of california!

we had an action-packed fun-filled weekend.  and somewhere in there, i managed to make mama and dada so proud.

dada really likes bowling and he has always wished that mama would like it as much as he does. she doesn’t. but i do! (see video). i see lots of daddy/son bowling dates in our future. dada is so proud (and so happy).

and when we went shopping to buy new shoes, mama gave me my choice of shoes at stride rite. i picked the flip flops! they are a little bit hard to walk in because they fall off sometimes, but they are my new favorite shoes — i show them off to everyone. i want to wear my flip flops all the time, just like mama does. mama is so proud.

today is mama’s day. to help her start the day off right, dada and i went out get bagels from her favorite bagel place. and on the way home, we went to the store to buy her a few bags of her favorite chips. we would have gotten more, but the store ran out. i hope these last her the rest of the week! i also picked out a card for her. it’s a girlie pink card that’s supposed to be from a daughter, but i liked it because it had minnie mouse on it. dada encouraged me to get a different card, but i insisted on that one. if anyone asks, i’m gonna say that sienna picked it.

while we were out, mama got a special delivery — a big box of chocolate covered strawberries and cake pops from auntie barbara! what a sweet surprise. i think auntie barbara is trying to show me up. mama loves all her special treats, but wants to know why everyone is trying to fatten her up 😛

after breakfast, we packed up all our stuff for the day and headed out. first stop, chipotle. that’s right. grandma wanted burritos for her mama day lunch. we hung out with grandma for awhile, and then off to swim lessons. uncle randy and grandma came to watch me and sienna swim. uncle randy was inspired at how fearless we are in the water. grandma was horrified.

after swim lessons (and our usual post-swimming froyo at pinkberry), we went straight to zoe’s birthday party. both sienna and i fell asleep on the way there. the party was at airborne, the same place where maddie had her party a few months ago. it took me a little while to wake up from my power nap, but once the fog cleared from my brain, i had a good time. and now that sienna is crawling and cruising, she got to participate in the fun, too! well, sort of. she mostly hung out with her friend, malia, while i ran through the birthday party obstacle circuit. (remember when i said that sienna has man hands? well, she has big floppy rabbit feet, too. check out this photo!) sienna wanted to get in on the big kid action, but she’s too little. i almost flattened her when i was going down the slide that she was trying to climb up.

after playing in the gym, we went to the party room for dinner. there was pizza, lemon grass chicken, shrimp rolls, and a whole spread of vietnamese food. mama kept offering me chicken and broccoli and other stuff, but i kept saying “no, i’m good”. i got to eat a whole slice of pizza — which i never get to do — why would i want anything else?

what a busy day we had. i had been practicing all morning to say “happy mama day” to mama and grandma, but sometimes i accidentally said “happy birthday” instead. now you can see why. happy mama day to mama and grandma. and happy birthday to zoe!

before today, i had been to two different bowling alleys.  but i’d never actually bowled.  what’s up with that?  mama and dada kept saying that they would take me bowling when i was old enough.  so i waited and waited, but nobody ever told me how old was “old enough”.  finally, matthew invited me to go bowling with him.  apparently, we got to be old enough.  yay!  (sienna didn’t get to bowl.  she’s not old enough :P)

when we first got to the bowling alley, matthew and i got special slippery shoes to wear.  dada couldn’t believe that they make (and rent) bowling shoes in our sizes.  on the way over to our lane, we picked up some 6 and 8 pound balls to use.  the bumpers went up, and then we were all set to bowl!

i didn’t really know what to do, but i wasn’t worried because matthew had already been bowling two times before today.  plus, dada and auntie audrey were bowling with us.  they both have their own bowling balls and shoes, and they both used to play in leagues.  they are pros!   and just as we were getting started, logan showed up with his family.  logan was afraid of the alley and didn’t want to bowl, so uncle greg got a lane with no bumpers.  but then logan eventually decided to play, and he bowled with no bumpers.  go logan!

so with all these expert bowlers around, why did i go first?  i dunno, but it wasn’t the brightest idea.  mama helped me carry the ball to the start of the lane and put the ball down right behind the foul line.  she started to say something about rolling the ball, but before she could finish, i did what i thought was obvious.  i kicked it.  what else are you supposed to do with a ball that’s placed on the ground right in front of you?  it’s just like soccer, right?  well, i quickly learned that i am supposed to push the ball down the lane.  but when i did that, the ball rolled so slowly that it would have taken three hours to finish one game.  so auntie audrey got us a special ramp.  we put the ball on top of the ramp, then we pushed it down the rails, and it rolled down the lane super fast.

we bowled two games, and we even got some strikes and spares in there!  i don’t know who won, but we all had fun.  i wonder if there are pee-wee bowling leagues that we can play in so that we can be just like our parents!  dada would be so proud.

sienna has four teeth now — two baby teeth on the bottom and two humongous grown-up-sized teeth on the top.  she is going to look like a bunny.  i guess that’s appropriate since she was born in the year of the rabbit. i was born in the year of the ox, and i am strong like ox!

sienna must have gotten the big-teeth gene from auntie barbara.  i’ve seen pictures of auntie from when she was little, and she had big teeth too.  dada says that he and uncle randy used to call her “bucktooth barbara”.  “bucktooth sienna” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but “bucktooth baby” does 😉

anyway, now that sienna has enough teeth to chew with, i’m worried that she is going to start eating my food.  and if you’ve ever seen me eat, you know that i can eat.  a lot.  well, sienna can too.  if she starts eating my food, i will go hungry!  so i found a solution to the problem — i’ve started eating her food!

i’ve discovered that baby’s food is so yummy that i want to eat it all the time.  my favorites are avocado chunks, baby carrots (steamed extra soft), and baked pears.  all organic, of course.  i’ve always preferred organic carrots over regular ones.  regular carrots taste like dirt.

today, i re-discovered the magic of puffs.  magic puffs used to be my favorite — i can’t imagine why i ever stopped eating them!  i wanted to eat the entire container of puffs, but mama kept telling me that they belong to sienna.  baby wants wants to eat my steak.  i want to eat her puffs.  i think that i can work with bucktooth baby to negotiate a fair trade.

of all of my current activities, swimming is my favorite.  i wish i was a dolphin so i could swim all the time.  (mama and dada thought that dolphins live in the ocean, but i set them straight and told them that dolphins live in pools.  they thought i was just being silly, but think about it — all the dolphins i’ve ever seen have been in swimming pools, like at the aquariums and at sea world!)  when my swim class ends, i get so mad that i have to get out of the water.  sienna’s class is right after mine, and i hate sitting by the edge of the pool watching her and the other babies splash around — i want to get back into the water with them and show them how it’s really done!

last week, a lady came to our swim school and took pictures of everyone.  the photos are finally posted, and i spent a lot of time looking at them this morning.  you know what i noticed?  my photo:  eyes closed.  sienna’s photo:  eyes open.  eyes closed.  eyes open.  closed.  open.

i told dada that when i dive into the water, i’m supposed to close my eyes.  but mama corrected me and said that my eyes should be open, like sienna’s.  that way, i can see where i’m going.  especially now that we are learning to circle swim (dive into the water, turn around, then swim to the wall) we need to know where the wall is!

okay, eyes open.  i’m going to try that today in swim class.