Merry Christmas!

I'm in Indiana right now visiting my grandparents on my dad's side and having a great time. I've been taking a lot of pictures and will post a chronicle of my adventures when I get back home. I went on my first plane ride to get here and it wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. In fact, I'm not totally convinced that I was on a plane at all. I would just sit in a chair with mom and goto sleep and then when I'd wake up they would say things like, "we're in Denver!", "we're in Indiana!" But it really all looks the same to me. The only things that are different are the people here and the fact that there are no pets. It's kind of refreshing to put on PJs without cat hair on them.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Mine was happy. I tried to stay up the night before to see Santa Claus, but around 1:30 my parents told me that if I didn't go to sleep then Santa would never come. That scared me, so I decided it was best to sleep. And sure enough, when we woke up the next morning Santa had come! So, I guess everyone was right, it's best to be on the good side of the Big Guy.

Here is a picture that my grandpa took with his cell phone. I'm wearing a new hat that Grandma Janet gave to me. I think the shirt says it all, don't you?

ePen Pal

I have a friend named Peyton who lives in Oregon. My parents tell me that it is too far to drive in one weekend so unfortunately I haven't met her in person yet. Instead, we will sometimes send each other messages and photos over The Google. Peyton is a little older and wiser than me so she helps me understand some things that are confusing to me. After she read my last blog entry Peyton sent me a message and told me all about Christmas trees and "ornaments". She said her two cats brought their tree in and then her parents decorated it with ornaments. Now I know that Mini and Zimby brought in our tree and Mom and Dad added all the fun stuff. I'm still not certain about this Santa guy but I plan to ask Peyton about him in my next email. This year Peyton got to help her parents light their tree with all of the sparkling lights which I think is super cool. I hope my parents let me help them next year. Here are some photos that Peyton sent to me which I thought you might enjoy too.

What Christmas Means To Me

There’s something funny happening at my house. For some reason there is a tree in our front room. Maybe my parents were inspired by our trip to Sierraville and are trying to bring the forest into our house. At night our tree lights up – do all trees light up at night? Does anyone know? Their tree also has all these weird things hanging from it. Some of them are sparkly, some of them are round but I don’t know what they are. Maybe they are “elves” or “reindeer” which my parents keep talking about. And what’s the deal with Santa? They were so excited for me to meet him, but he’s just this old guy dressed in red. Let’s just say I was not impressed. I’m much more impressed by this sparkly tree growing in our house. Mini sure seems to like it too and guards it when we go to bed at night.

I’ve also noticed that there are boxes and bags under the tree. And each day there is at least one more than the day before – I just can’t figure it out. Is Mini putting them there? Maybe she’s dragging them in from outside like I see her dragging in moths.

And what’s the difference between Halloween and Christmas? We went to Grandpop and Nana’s house over the weekend and they made me wear a snowman costume. I thought costumes were for Halloween. But everyone seemed so happy taking pictures of me in my snowman suit that I decided to just deal with it. Grandpop and Nana also had a bunch of lights in their house which I continue to find fascinating. They also had a stuffed Santa – again, I’m not sure of the significance of this guy, but he’s growing on me.

Grandpop and Nana had colorful bags and boxes too so I guess Mini beat us up there to bring them into the house. When I went to bed they were in front of the fireplace, but when I woke up they were all gone and in their place were toys and the snowman costume. Christmas truly is a magical time.

Staring at the lights on the tree

Still Staring...

Mini guarding the tree and bags that she bring in.

Me and the Big Guy

Making The Parents Happy. Ho Ho Ho...

Transportation

If you look real closely at the picture below you can see that I have a lot of vehicles that are used for construction on my shirt...tow truck, cement truck, flat bed truck... and it got me thinking about transportation. Of course there's the usual modes of transportation that I use - stroller, baby carrier, car... but lately Mom has taken me on other exciting modes of transportation as well. Last month we rode BART for the first time when we went downtown to meet her coworkers. I guess technically, I was in two modes of transportation - I was in my stroller AND on BART. Truthfully though, it put me to sleep so quickly that I don't really remember the ride. I was really glad that I could stay in my own seat and not sit directly on the scuzzy chairs.

Last week Mom and I went for a really long walk, but then she got tired and didn't want to push me back up and over the hill so we took the bus home!! That was a lot more exciting than BART since it stopped and started a lot and Mom had to lock my stroller wheels so I wouldn't roll around (although that might have been fun too). There were also interesting people riding the bus with us. When we got to our stop, Mom carried me off the bus and my pink toy got stuck in 'giggle' mode as we walked away. It even made me want to laugh.

Unfortunately yesterday when I wore my truck shirt I pee'd through it before we left the house, so ironically I couldn't wear it on any modes of transportation!

Thinking about modes of transportation

Riding BART right before I fell asleep

Riding the bus (notice my pink giggly toy on the right!)

Sierraville

A couple of weekends ago we drove up to Sierraville (which is north of Truckee) with Grandma Janis and Grandpa Jim. It was my first time up in the country and I had a great time! The drive was long, but I slept a lot and felt very well rested by the time I got there. My parents were worried that I might not sleep that night, but between the fresh air, high altitude and the warm fleece they put me in, I was out like a light. It was a very quick trip since it was almost dark by the time we got up there, so we just stopped by Grandpa and Grandma’s property really quick and then went to our little cabins to unpack. Then it was off to dinner. The next day we had breakfast and went to the property so that my grandparents could “winterize” their trailer. Unfortunately Grandpa Jim got real sick from food poisoning so he didn’t have a very good time, but Dad helped them put the cover on the trailer so hopefully Grandpa didn’t have to do too much. Mom figured out a way to feed me while walking around the forest (with a bottle of course) so we were able to walk around and see some trees. I was really surprised by how tall they were since I never see anything like them in San Francisco. I’m looking forward to spending more time up there when I’m bigger and I can run around and play. You can see all our pictures from the trip if you follow this link, but I've also posted some of my favorites below. Sierraville Photos

Mom feeding me in the forest

Dad helping to "winterize the trailer"

Hanging out on Dad's chest

I love my Dad

Secret Admirer Strikes Again

The other day my mom asked my dad an odd question…she asked him “Do you think we need to explain what ‘love’ is to a child, or do they just know?” She was wondering since we say “I love you” a lot at our house, but didn’t know if when I get older I will automatically know what that means. Then as shear coincidence we got another mystery book in the mail that same day titled Love is a Handful of Honey, and it was all about love! I don’t know who keeps sending me these books in the mail, but they are very special and I’m really enjoying them. Between hugs and kisses and books like these, I will have no problem understanding what love is.

If you know who my secret admirer might be, please let me know so that I can thank them. I love you.

xoxo,
Jingle

My First Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Grandma Salvi’s house and the whole family was there including Grandpop Jim, Nana Judy, Aunt Stacy and Kevin and all of Grandma Janis’ family. I wore a new outfit especially for Thanksgiving, and everyone commented on how much I had grown since the last time they had seen me. Mom was sad that she didn’t get a picture of me next to my first turkey (which was bigger than me) but I told her not to worry about it since I couldn’t eat the turkey anyway. Everyone held me during the party and it’s surprising how tiring that is! For some reason it made me really cranky on the way home. But once we got back to my house, and I had another meal then I was happy again and was smiling and cooing with Dad.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Thanksgiving:

Here is one of the first (good) family photos of all 3 of us.

Shout out to Aunt Stacy who told me she is an avid reader of my blog.

Smiling and Cooing with Dad when we got home.

Secret Admirer

I think I have a secret admirer!! I received a new book in the mail today called Bear Snores On but I don't know who sent it to me. It was well timed though because dad just read it to me now in hopes that I might catch a clue and fall asleep like the bear. I didn't sleep all day today no matter what Mom did to try to coerce me. It must have been since I slept all weekend when we went to Sierraville with Grandma Janis and Grandpa Jim. I'll have to write more about that trip later the next time I blog. Thank you to whoever sent me the wonderful book - I love the pictures.

So Much To Blog, So Little Time

I have a few things to write about from this last week but I’ve fallen behind in my blog entries since I’ve been so busy with eating, naps and walks. We finished dinner early tonight, and watched Top Chef on TV, but I’m still awake, so I thought I’d take this time to fill you in on the latest.

Last Friday Mom took me to the hair salon because she needed a hair cut. I sat in the stroller and watched the lady cut her hair. At first I was scared because I thought she was hurting Mom but then I realized that Mom looked really happy and relaxed so she must have been okay. From that point on I just concentrated on my pacifier. Before I knew it we were getting ready to leave and I thought someone else was pushing my stroller because mom’s hair was straight! I didn’t recognize her at first but fortunately Grandma Janis met us at the salon and was able to tell it was mom.

After that, the three of us went back to the house and got ready for Dad to come home. Grandma stayed with me that night while Mom and Dad went out to dinner together. I still don’t know why they didn’t want to take me, but I didn’t mind too much since I had a fun night with Grandma. She’s very nice and quiet and makes me feel very at ease. I don’t even know when my parents came home since I was sound asleep.

On Saturday night Mom left me again but this time Dad stayed home with me. Momma was going to a cooking night with her girlfriends but before she left she slipped me a twenty and told me to be difficult for Dad so he would appreciate her weeks with me. I think I earned my money because I cried and cried and cried for Dad. It was tough because I also had to pretend like I wasn’t hungry and would only drink a little bit at a time. But dad finally won me over with his patience and I fell asleep so that when Mom came home she didn’t believe I had done anything to earn my money. She let me keep it though (I think Dad told her how I had behaved earlier in the evening).

On Sunday the three of us spent the day together and went shopping in the East Bay (that’s across one of the bridges). Mom got a new sweater, Dad got a new outfit, and what did I get? NOTHING! Can you believe that?? We didn’t even go to any baby stores. Oh well, maybe next time I'll use my twenty to buy myself a new toy...

Momma's Favorite Photos

Happy and sleepy on
Dad's lap


Look who's smiling now!!

Meeting the Coworkers

On Wednesday of this week we went to see my dad at his office and meet his coworkers. He pushed me around in my stroller and introduced me to everyone and I could tell he was really proud. His coworkers seemed nice, and his office was really, really quiet. In fact, I bet he could take me to work with him and I could nap in the corner it was so peaceful there. I wouldn’t bother anyone. Maybe I should recommend this to mom. However, if I do go there again, I’ll need to bring my own books. There were a lot of big books on his shelves which I asked him to read to me. But they were b-o-r-i-n-g. Something about chemicals and there were no pictures at all.

Next week I’m going to go into Mom’s office to meet her coworkers, but she doesn’t seem as excited about this trip as she was to see Dad. I think she is worried that if she steps foot in the office they will make her stay and put her to work. I will put a stop to that though. If it happens I am prepared to let out my loudest scream EVER. It’s bad enough she will go back to work in January, I certainly won’t let it happen any earlier!

Memories

Yesterday my mom took me on a walk around The Presidio because it was a really nice day and we wanted to walk someplace other than up our Bernal Hill. As we were walking along I dozed off in my stroller, but I could hear her chatting away, "this is where your dad and I got married... this is where we had the reception".... I'm not sure what she was talking about, but I heard her say that I would not remember this walk since I was sleeping. I wanted to tell her that I wouldn't remember this walk because I am only 2 months old.

Champion In My Weight Class

I had my 2 month check-up today and in just three weeks, I have gained 1 pound, 11 ounces!! I'm now 6lbs. 13 oz, and 20 and one-half inches long. The doctors were very impressed and asked how I put on so much weight. I told them it was easy because I just eat, and eat, and eat. A few times a day, even after breast feeding, I will drink an extra bottle of formula. Of course, if I'm not careful my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I take in too much, which I then have to spit up later. But I'm learning not to be so greedy and my parents also help me regulate my intake so that I won't over-indulge. The other good news is that if I'm sleeping soundly at night mom and dad don't have to wake me every 3 hours to eat anymore. I can sleep until I wake up because I'm hungry. Which is generally every 3-4 hours anyway, but at least now I have the option of sleeping longer if I want to. Yeah!!!

Oh Honestly...

Is this really necessary?? It is not THAT cold out!! However..I am pretty warm and toast..zzzzz..

Happy Halloween

Today is the first dreary day we have had since I was born so we have spent most of the day indoors except for the walk that Mom and I took earlier. The sun hasn't come out and it is raining off and on, which is pretty exciting since it's the first time I have seen rain. I could just chill and stare out the window all day, but Mom keeps putting me in my Halloween outfits to try to find the perfect picture. Here are a few of my favorites.

Boo!!

Cat Nap

Don't be alarmed by this one with Zimby - we were just having a pretend cat fight. In truth, if I just extend one of my little fingers in her direction she takes off runnning.

Mini, however, is another story - lately she has insisted on sleeping right next to me every time I am eating.

Grandparents

Last weekend my parents left me! Ok, ok, so perhaps I’m being a little dramatic, but they did have dinner out without me for the first time. But I didn’t mind because I had a fun night with Grandpop Jim and Nana Judy. It was the first time that I’ve been to their house is Sebastopol and it was super cool. They already have toys for me to play with, and there was even a vibrating bassinet for me to sleep in.

When Mom and Dad went out to dinner I stayed behind to entertain Grandpop and Nana. I may only be 8 weeks old, but I could tell that my grandparents are crazy about me. I did my best to be super cute so they would think that I’m the best little boy in the world. (Don’t tell them this, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got them wrapped around my tiny little finger.)

There was one thing that was kind of strange about the trip however. They have dogs. One in particular, Abby, seemed really interested in me, but I’m not sure why. I wasn’t afraid or anything, and she never bit me, but a couple times she came up and stuck her nose right in my face!! Let me tell you – her nose is a lot bigger and wetter than Mini and Zimby’s noses. I saw my dad wrestling with Abby so I know that she will be fun to play with when I’m bigger, but for now I’m going to avoid that slimy nose of hers.

We spent the night in Sebastopol and then on Sunday we all went to a pumpkin farm in Petaluma. I wore the black cat suit that Auntie Stephanie had sent to me so I could dress up for Halloween (and they could take pictures of me). It’s too bad Mini and Zimby weren’t there because they would think it’s pretty cool. We would have looked like triplets. I’m sure I’ll be wearing that a lot more, and not just for Halloween, considering how crazy my parents are about their cats.

All in all it was a great weekend, and now I can’t wait to go to all of my other grandparents’ houses! I have already seen Grandma Janis and Grandpa Jim’s house, and I even got to go to Grandpa’s classroom last week where he taught me a little math. (Food + Sleep = Poop)


Pretty soon we are going to Indiana for Christmas so I can meet the grandparents there too, and I can’t wait!! Until then I will continue to hone my cute skills so I'll have them wrapped around my fingers too.

Getting Into The Swing Of Things

Shh... please don't tell anyone, but I think my mom is trying to torture me... Not in a mean, physical way, but in this mental way, where I might have scars from it for the rest of my life - or at least when I go on my first date and she breaks out the photos and videos.

First of all, she always puts me in these cutesy clothes. Like when we went to a baby shower last Saturday and she kept showing off my "pumpkin butt" to all the guests. I mean, it was a shower for me afterall. If I had to be surrounded by a bunch of girls, why couldn't she have put me in something manly??

Then, later this week she tried to make me dance. And not to something cool like Justin Timberlake - oh no - she made me dance to Billy Joel. From the 80s. I'm like, "um, Mom, I wasn't even born in the 80s!!" (And what's the deal with the pants??)

Today, she put me into this swing, and the verdict is still out on this. I think it's torture, but then some part of me thinks that maybe I will enjoy this one day. Today however, I couldn't decide if I liked it, or if I was going to lose my lunch.

This Battle May Have Been Won But...

I have this one outfit that I can’t stand wearing. It’s green and white and has pictures of little bears and campgrounds all over it. Every time Mom puts it on me I try to find ways to get it off as quickly as possible. Usually I pee or spit up on it, but today I did my best work yet.

As Mom was dressing me in it, she reminded me, “You always find ways to mess this one up don’t you?” Five minutes later when she was holding me in her arms and staring at my face (she does that a lot), I concentrated really, really hard on how to mess the outfit when it just came – I blew out my shorts!!

Oh man.. it was the best yet! Ha ha ha, hee hee… I had so much fun, that I didn’t stop there.. I did it again! Seriously, you would have been proud. Mom knew that I had beaten her, so she rewarded me with my “brilliant” shirt.

I took this photo of myself (to show how brilliant I am)

See me checking myself out in the mirror:

Unfortunately I was so excited about my little “incident” that I pee’d through that shirt not 10 minutes later. Now Mom had the upper hand so she put on my “Little Stinker” shirt, and got the last laugh by taking me out in public in that outfit, but I pretended not to care…

Babies Hate Mondays Too

I started off the day today by playing a little game with Mommy. I wanted to see how many times I could make her change my diaper and my clothes. I'm not sure if I set a record but I was in my fourth diaper, and my fourth onesie (since I kept peeing through the diapers) by noon. I don't even know why I was playing this game because if there is one thing I hate more than having my diaper changed, it is having my onesie changed. Both activities make me so upset that I cry and sometimes truly belt it out when I'm hungry as well. But I guess it's like picking at a scab - I just couldn't resist.

I guess I got so used to crying from the diaper-clothes changing fiasco that I just couldn't stop the rest of the day. I didn't even let Mom finish her lunch or take a shower because I didn't want her to put me down. We took a nap in the afternoon so I was quiet for about an hour and a half but I made up for it by waking up screaming for food. Mom looked a little bleary eyed during that particular feeding session. I guess she had been sound asleep before I woke her up, but I was HUNGRY.

I'm not sure why I was in such a state today, but I blame it on the fact that it was Monday.

Smiley

My mom took this short video of me last week when I was trying to get to sleep. She was so overwhelmed by my cuteness that she thought I was already 6 weeks old instead of 5. When she said that, it just made me smile.

My New Blog

I guess you could say my mom made me do this. You may know her as Mrs. Mingle. She thinks a person is never too young to start recording their memories and encouraged me to start this blog. I should tell you that I'm grateful though because before I learned to type the only way I could communicate was by crying (and farting).

I turned 5 weeks old yesterday and so far I think that life has been pretty easy - not that I have much to compare it to, of course. I live in San Francisco with my parents, the Mingles, and our two cats. I haven't actually seen the cats since I can't quite focus on them yet, but I know they are there by the cat hair that appears on me sometimes.

I spend most of the time with my mom during the day who loves me a lot but she has a strange way of showing it. The many kisses I understand, but she's got this need to constantly wash my face. I just don't understand why she can't let the milk stains be, it's not like anyone (especially me) would know.

My dad is pretty cool. He seems to have a lot of energy and I know that when I start moving around more he'll have no problem keeping up. I can't wait to race him. For now I look forward to when he gets home in the evenings and the weekends are my favorite time when we are all home together.

I've already met great people and done fun things in my first 5 weeks of life so I know that I'll have tons to write about and I look forward to sharing my reflections. Mom says we can also post pictures and videos on this blog so we'll be able to share special moments with our family and friends who live far away. I hope you enjoy my blog.