I spent my first New Year's Eve in Philly tonight with Simon and Isaac.  We sure did party hearty, but these old codgers turned in well before midnight whereas I was up "celebrating" a.k.a. crying just after the stroke of midnight to wish everyone a happy 2007.

Check out my cool new slippers that Aunt Britt got me.  She went all the way to Guatemala to get them!  Quite stylish.  Thank you, Aunt Britt!

P.S.  Note Jerry's tail on the far left.  He's spent much of the day admiring my new duds...

Grandpa and Grandma have already headed back to Wisconsin, but meanwhile, I will be sure to ponder the many strange things that Grandpa has taught me.  He sure is an interesting fellow...

I'm really enjoying my new piano from Grandpa and Grandma.  It has so many cool features (which nobody but me seems to understand - guess it's a generational thing...) and is just my size.  Maybe in a few years I will have practiced enough to be able to post a recording of one of my performances!

I had a wonderful Christmas Day with family today.  Since one of my presents was bigger than me, Grandpa and Grandma had to help me dive in!  I'm quite busy playing with it but will fill you in more tomorrow.

Grandpa and Grandma H. are here to celebrate my first Christmas!  They flew a long way to see me which was a great gift in itself, but rumor has it that I have some presents to open too!  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

There's just something about that Diet Pepsi can that has continuously fascinated me.  I've heard Mom and Dad whispering that they may need to give the stuff up soon so as to head off my obsession.  Dad has already told me, "No soda until you're 18".  He may be fooling himself, but I will do my best to stay away from the stuff for a good many years.

Wow, I've never really heard anyone sing like that!  Such an amazing combination of beautiful tone and subtle phrasing.  Maybe this truly is the most wonderful time of the year...

'Tis the season (so I'm told), so I thought I'd snuggle up with Aunty G and read a good book by the light of the tree.

As the foods in my diet continue to expand, I should be able to explore a wider range of artistic expression.  Today I just went with a minimalist green peas theme, but with sweet potatoes, beans, apricots, plums and a host of other items at my disposal, I may decide to go with a bolder look next time.

I've found the perfect between-meal snack.  It's low in calories and keeps me limber.

As you can see by the expression on my face, this puffed rice stuff sure caught me by surprise the first time I tried it.  After a few minutes, however, I decided that it's yummy.  Now if I could just get my pincer grip mastered and figure out a way to get those pesky little things in my mouth...

I've been continuing my experiment whereby I "accidentally" drop toys on the floor.  Sure, I like to learn from observing cause and effect as the item plunges downard, but mostly I am just so amazed that even after 743 times, Mom and Dad continue to pick the item up.  When will they ever learn? 

When I've finished practicing my piano and flute for the day I sometimes try my hand at conducting.   If I'm going to get serious about this I'd getter get a hold of a podium.  Oh yeah, I guess I'll need to learn how to stand up unassisted too.  Sounds like I've got some work to do...

I love hanging out with Teddi these days.  She's a really great listener and I crack up every time I stroke her soft fur.

I've been observing Mom for almost 7 months now so I thought I'd try my hand at the "flute".   Mom says my hand position and embouchure look first-rate.  Maybe I'm a natural at this?

I'm still catching up on my unfinished reading from yesterday.  My goal today is to read all books yellow...

I had a nice, relaxing time today and even got to catch up on local news.  Rumor has is that someone by the name of Santa is going to be in the neighborhood soon....

This has been such a fun and exciting holiday weekend with my family.  After playing 17 games of Carcassonne, dancing to 'Yummy, Yummy' by The Wiggles 12 times, and obsessing about this orange New Year's party toy non-stop for four days, it's time to return to regularly scheduled programming...

With such wonderful weather we decided to trek around Gunpowder Falls today.  I just LOVE wandering about and looking at all of the beautiful things that nature has to offer.

Aunt Britt is here to visit during Thanksgiving and I'm having a blast!  She knitted me this cool, funky hat with extra-soft yarn which was very thoughtful.  Today we played lots of fun games.  I've been staring at her all day and just laughing my head off - over and over again.

I love these new maracas that Mom just bought.  When I'm all done shakin' it up, they provide great relief on my gums. 

I just love Ollie (or is it Octy?) the octopus these days.  (S)he's even more exciting after having been gift wrapped (again)!

I just love reading with Mama despite having to hear about this Jack Horner character.  Not only does this brat sit in a corner all alone and hog an entire pie but he then proceeds to stick his thumb in it and then to top it all off he proclaims his goodness for committing such an act.  One has to wonder about these children's stories since so many of them seem to demonstrate questionable virtues...

P.S.  Have you ever had plum pie?  If so, what did you think?  Can't say that I've ever tried it.

I just love being upright now and finding out what my legs can handle.  There are so many cool knobs, twirly things and buttons on this gizmo that I just can't wait to discover something new each time I check it out!

I've always liked to babble but I've definitely stepped it up a notch lately in terms of chattiness. I just LOVE trying to imitate animal sounds... You can click on the video above to check it out.  If the video doesn't play after a while, you can right-click HERE and either Save Target As...(Internet Explorer) or Save Link As...(Firefox) to save it to your hard drive first.

Simon came over today to explain what's up with this Silly Sally character who walks to town upside down.  That whole thing is pretty hard to fathom considering I'm still trying to figure out how to walk right-side up and, oh yeah, I can't read yet!  We had a lot of fun.  I sure hope he comes over again soon to teach me more.

P.S  Notice the size of Simon's feet compared to mine.  Wooah.....

I hadn't spent much time on the floor of my room until today.   Wow, there's a whole new world down here I never knew about!  Now if I could just get to that wayward binky under the dresser... 

Okay, I'm a lot better at sitting today (my 1st half birthday!).  Apparently I figured a lot of this out while sleeping last night.  I was able to sit just long enough for Mom to take a picture before ..... you guessed it - kaboom!

I've been making progress in trying to sit for the last couple of days. I'm still pretty wobbly but I guess that's how I'll learn... You can click on the video above to check it out.  If the video doesn't play after a while, you can right-click HERE and either Save Target As...(Internet Explorer) or Save Link As...(Firefox) to save it to your hard drive first.

It's cool to be able to eat with Mom and Dad now at the dinner table.  I've now worked my way through rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, squash, and now green beans.  Peas are next.  Yummy!

I'm absolutely loving this cool Gertie ball that Mom picked out for me.  Not only is the color captivating but it has a nice, sticky texture.  It truly is, as the manufacturers claim, the world's most catchable ball!

Seth from across the street came by for Halloween tonight!  Since he's got Halloween experience (okay, he was about two weeks old last Halloween)... and is more than twice my age, I figured I'd look to him for clues as to what this crazy day is all about.  I've still got a few questions about this whole thing so I'm hoping that it will all make more sense next year...

It's time...  Mom and Dad have been working with me on my transition to unswaddled sleep.  I've been 'arms free' since Saturday!  The first couple tries were a little rough but I'm really starting to like my freedom.

I'm back into my feet again...  These things sure seem to come and go in waves.  I guess life is just full of cycles...

P.S  Yeah, I know the shirt makes me look a bit like a boy, but I think it's cute.