My new year's plans? I'm hitting the bottle early!

And I'm not going to stop until the wee hours of the morning! Woohoo!

Daddy dresses me up, too

I'm not just mommy's little doll - I'm daddy's, too. Just look at how he dresses me up!

They won't stop taking pictures of me

Even when I sleep! Humpht... no rest for the adorable.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit last weekend

I talked to them for a long time. I told them about my daily routine, my musings on life in LA and plenty of other things. Here we are discussing the myriad of reasons Tom Osborne was the best football coach in Nebraska history.

Look at my hat!

My baptism is in a few weeks - and in preparation, I tried on Aunt Pook-Pook's baptismal gown and hat. Here I am in the hat portion. She said I kinda look like a pilgrim - a very, very cute pilgrim.

Octopodia!

I'm working on my Greek. I hear Mykonos is lovely.

Speaking of octopodia, mommy's friend Kimshelley got me an activity octopus for Christmas. I am completely mesmerized by it. Here I am showing grandma all of the fun noises it makes, and the various teething rings, shapes and colors on my new friend!

I like to sleep on the job

Everyone knows it's hard being a baby. I mean, when you're tired *and* hungry... what do you do? Me, I've mastered the art of falling asleep with a bottle in my mouth. Often, I'll continue drinking while asleep. Very efficient, as it solves my tired and my hungry problems. But eventually, I stop sucking and start snoring instead and mommy takes the bottle out of my mouth so I can sleep comfortably.

Aunt Pook-Pook loves me

She had a big ol' project at work that kept her away from me. But that didn't stop her from working extra-hard to finish it early so she could rush up to see me. Isn't she sweet?!

Thank You

I love my new toys, new clothes, and contributions to my 529 account.

It's official... I'm a trust-fund baby!

Now I can just kick back and enjoy.

Merry Christmas!

From Ryan, Nina & Caroline

You mean ALL of those presents are for MEEEEE?

Oooooh, I like Christmas! I like it very much!

Tissue paper is interesting

Especially when it surrounds me while I'm sitting in a box.

I'm not sure what I think about this "bath" concept, but I think I like it!

Up until last week, it was spongebaths only for me. But with my surgical wound healing as well as it did, I finally got cleared to take a bath in my bathtub! Mommy immediately ran out to buy me bath toys to celebrate the occasion.

So I took a bath. It took a few minutes, but before long I started splashing in the water and having a great ol' time. Then mommy and daddy snuggled me up in a super-soft organic hooded towel to dry off and to keep me warm. As playful as I am, I tried to hide in it. But I didn't hide for long -- mommy and daddy found me right away every time!

Oooh! Another pretty baby in the mirror!

When mommy changes me in the bathroom (when I've made a big, big messy diaper), I look in the mirror at the pretty baby and smile. Sometimes I get a little shy and turn away after the pretty baby in the mirror looks at me.

I also spend quality time with mommy telling her stories - very enthusiastically - and, if it was a day that mommy had to work, telling her what I did that day with Gladys. I also try to repeat everything mommy tells me, just so I can practice expanding my vocabulary. Sometimes it even sounds like what mommy says to me! Mommy and daddy are very impressed with my mimicking skills.

No, I'm not busy planning something...

And I'm not defensive about it, either. Why do you ask?

Just like my mommy and daddy, I love books!

Here I am enjoying one. You might think mommy is reading to me. She's not; I'm reading to her. And she loves it. I'll bet THIS is why grandpa stuffs my piggy bank. He knows I'm heading toward multiple degrees.

I caught grandpa stuffing my Yale Tuition piggybank!

Everyone has a routine. For me, it's eat, sleep, poop, blog. Grandpa's routine is a little different.

Anytime grandpa comes over, he walks in, says hello to me, gives me a kiss, then goes to the counter where my piggybank is and practically empties the contents of his pockets into my Yale Tuition piggybank (Aunt Pook-Pook got it for me before I was born -- that's advance planning!). Sometimes he stuffs so many bills into that blue pig, it's as if he has just come back from the bank!

Happy Birthday to Aunt Pook-Pook!

If you know her, drop her an e-mail to wish her a fantastic one! And even if you don't, get her e-mail address from mommy so you can send her well wishes!

I can't wait to celebrate with her this weekend. She and mommy keep blabbing about something called "Princess Cake." I can't wait to get my hands on some of that!

Who is the baby sign language master? That's me!

Here I am making the sign for milk. I also say "baa" when I'm hungry because I can't say "bottle" yet. I've been doing that for weeks. See the entry from several days ago about how I asked grandma for a bottle and repeated it (more forcefully each time) until I got what I wanted. I'm a smart little cookie.

Okay, I did my tricks. Now feed me, please!

Excuse me, I hope that produce is local *and* organic

What can I say -- I'm an environmentalist and a purist.

I'm four months old today!

Look at how I've grown! I now tower over my Sesame Street friends, and I'm big enough to SMOOSH them!

As for Mount Bear, he no longer poses a challenge for me. I totally conquered him.

Look at my stylish Baby Uggs!

I live in LA. It's mandatory that I have Uggs. I can't wait to wear them with my baby mini-skirt, just like the big kids do. In the meantime, I'll sport these furry boots with my diaper. I'm totally stylin'.

Did you think putting me in my gym would distract me from following your every move?

Boy were you wrong! I will totally follow your every movement, regardless of where you put me or how you try to distract me. I'm a clever girl!

Sometimes Daddy and I nap together

You all know I have rock star ways... sleep all day, party all night. Sometimes I wear daddy out, and we take a little catnap together (until I wake him demanding "baaaa").

My entire foot is the size of daddy's big toe!

Baby hug o'clock!

Aaaaaawwww...

Oh monkey, I'm going to GET you!

Be afraid. Be very afraid. I've got my eye on you!!

Ballerinas envy me

Look at that beautiful pointe! Mommy, where's my pink tutu?

But mommy, I *like* eating my hand!

You can try to take it away from me, but I'm just going to stick my hand in my mouth again. Resistance is futile!

I'm so comfortable napping on daddy's shoulder

Everyone should have a "daddy's shoulder."

Make no mistake -- I'm the boss

For weeks now, grandma has been trying to convince me to go to bed at 11pm and get up to eat at 6am so mommy and daddy can get some sleep. At first, I thought it would be funny to play along, just to give grandma, mommy and daddy some hope. So I would go to sleep at 11pm, but then I would get up at midnight to eat until 2am or 3am, then go to sleep until 6am or 7am. It was so funny to watch them get all excited about going to sleep at a reasonable hour (11pm), only to have their hopes dashed an hour later! What a fun game!

One day, these people will get it through their thick skulls that *I'M* the boss!

Okay, I'm going back to sleep now. It was a late night.

I gave mommy the warm fuzzies this morning

Mommy always tells me she loves me and gives me a kiss before she leaves. Sometimes I'm awake and eating when she leaves, and sometimes I'm sleeping. But it's always the same routine. And she never leaves without reminding me how loved I am.

This morning, I was sleeping in my bassinet, with my arms raised above my head, and after she told me she loves me and gave me my kiss, I smiled in my sleep. Mommy thought that was reeeeeeaaaaally precious.

I throw up when I get mad

And big smelly diapers make me really mad. I'll spare you the picture. You're welcome.

This is me getting mad because I was on my tummy. I hate tummy time.

529 reasons I'm a happy, lucky baby today!

Mommy and daddy opened a 529 college savings plan for me. They want to make sure that I have plenty saved up for my college (and post-graduate) education so I won't have to decide on a school based on financial considerations. They set the account up with automatic deposit so my college savings will grow monthly. They also asked everyone to contribute to my college savings instead of giving them any gifts for Christmas, birthdays or other occasions, because the best gifts they can get are my health (done), happiness (absolutely) and education (in progress!).

Yale, here I come! Go Bulldogs!

Mommy kisses my little feet

Before and after every diaper change - and other times too, just for fun -- mommy kisses my little feet. I help her by bringing my knees to my chest during diaper changes.

I don't need baby steroids!

I'm STRONG, and I have a heck of a solid grip! I may be playing in my rainforest gym, but that doesn't mean I'm going to weaken my kung fu death grip on that lion. Grrrrr.

So here's a funny story...

I know what a bottle is because mommy and daddy always say "bottle" and show it to me before they feed me. About three weeks ago, I started saying "Ba" when I was hungry. Mommy and daddy thought it was just coincidence, but then they noticed that I would only say it when I am hungry. And they also noticed that I looked directly at them when saying it, as if to drive home the point that I was trying to communicate with them.

Grandma and grandpa came over the other night. Grandma was playing with me, and I looked at her and said "Ba." She laughed and kept playing with me. A few minutes later, when she hadn't fed me, I looked directly at her and said "Baaaaaa." She laughed again, and kept playing with me, but again -- no bottle! So finally, I looked right at her, and said very forcefully, "BAAAAA!" She finally got the point and said "Okay, okay!" and gave me to mommy, who then fed me.

And that's the story of my first word. Or at least partial word. But be sure of one thing -- I know what I want, I'll tell you what it is, and you'd better do what I say.

TA-DAH!

I made a baby and a bear appear in mommy and daddy's bed!

It's magic.

Must... reach... keys!

We took family portraits at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Aren't we cute?

My eyes are green today

They change daily. Today they're green. Tomorrow -- who knows?!

I like to roll over during diaper changing time

Hello!

Wanna play?

I enjoy playing with my keys. They make a jingling sound that intrigues me. I also like playing with Traveler, the rattle right next to my leg (he is the horse that Tommy Trojan, USC's mascot, rides after each USC touchdown).

The many expressions of me

I have a lot of funny expressions (the raised eyebrows, the lower lip push-out, the surprised / startled look, the angry look I flash when I know you've put those gross-tasting meds in my bottle, the the way I look when I'm concentrating on something -- and of course miles and miles of smiles, smiles, smiles), but the variety can be difficult to catch on camera because I flash a big ol' smile every time a camera is pointed at me!

Mommy managed to snap this shot of me *not* smiling because she took it before I knew there was a camera around. She totally duped me. But I should have figured she had a camera -- it's permanently attached to the end of her arm. I'll know better next time.

Hi Scott!

My godfather is better than yours. And that's a FACT.

I think I'm ready for solids...

Mommy and daddy laugh that sometimes I start chewing for no apparent reason. I do this in my sleep, I do it before and after eating, I do it when I play -- and clearly I'm not actually chewing on anything, since I'm not on any solids; I just like to chew.

Mommy and daddy joke that I'm chewing an imaginary steak. Little do they know I'm ready for solids and they just don't know it yet! They're still saying I have to wait until I'm a year old to have solids. FINE. In the meantime, I'll lunge for daddy's apple when he offers it. Maybe that will give them the nudge they so clearly need!