The Required Visit

Last Friday started out really great. First Nanny came over, and we played with D for awhile until Nanny, Sister Nanny, D, and D’s Mom took us on a field trip to downtown San Francisco. We first took a bus which I loved (because my favorite book is “The Wheels Go Round”) and then we took Bart (which I do not love). However, unlike the last time I took BART with Daddy and got super scared, this time I tried to be braver, and didn’t cry as loud or as long as the last time. Then, once we got downtown it was even better because Mama met us!! They took me downtown to see Mama!! I was so excited … until I realized the truth of our visit. We were not downtown to see Mama, we were down there to see Santa. At this point my excitement dropped like a big heavy rock. Why? Why do parents think we like this??

People say kids don’t know what’s going on – they say, “I don’t understand, why doesn’t he like Santa Claus? He just doesn’t understand yet…” But think about it parents! 364 days of the year we are told not to talk to strangers, let alone sit on their lap and take candy from them. And yet here you go taking us to probably the scariest looking stranger possible. I mean honestly – who has a white beard like that?? Crazy men on the street, that’s who!!

They also tried to convince me that it was a good thing…”Look Jingle… D is okay – see he’s not crying..” (um.. do you see him smiling?? I don’t think so!) “Look Jingle, Santa’s sleeve feels like your stuffed rabbit.” Is that supposed to make me feel better? They may as well have told me Santa ate my stuffed rabbit. After all – how did he get those rabbit fur sleeves anyway huh?

D didn’t seem as concerned as me – maybe he’s not old enough to see all the picture like I am. But when it was my turn to sit on Santa’s lap, I was not going to have it!! First I started with my traditional bucking and screaming and that seemed to work because they pulled me off and I thought we were done. But they didn’t walk away. I willed Mama ‘walk away, walk away, walk away Mama, WALK AWAY’! But no…they were fixing the camera… and then made me try again. This time Mama thought that if she were in the picture with me I’d be happier. But Mama is not supposed to sit on Santa’s lap – he’s not Daddy – what was she thinking?? So – I did the buck and scream again to make her stand up and this time for sure I thought were all done. “Walk Away, Walk Away!” But no, we had to stand there and watch this poor innocent baby who couldn’t even buck and scream be placed on Santa’s lap, I felt so sorry for her. “Look Jingle, the baby’s ok…” they said. Come on guys! The baby doesn’t know any better and she’s not ok because she can’t even get away from Santa!

But wow the adults were persistent. By the third time I thought it might be best just to go along with their insanity, otherwise we never would leave to go to the park. BUT, it had to be done on my rules:

1) Mama was NOT to sit ON Santa’s lap – she could sit next to him
2) I would sit on the far side of Mama, as far away from Santa as possible
3) I would not look at him, I would not touch him, and most importantly,
4) I would not smile.

Need I Say More?

Trip The Fan

Okay, first things first, I was officially bigger then the turkey this year! Last year I remember feeling a little scared that my whole family was really excited to get together and eat a bird that was bigger then I was. I mean, if they could do that – what would they do to little young me? But, this year that bird looked practically like a pigeon compared to me – ha! Take that you big turkey – gobble, gobble, gobble! However, I must say that I have a new found respect for Mr. Turkey. I kept hearing people say he did this trick called “Trip The Fan” which put everyone asleep when they ate his meat. I really wanted to see this happen, but guess what? Mr. Turkey put me asleep by just looking at him! The minute dinner was served he Trip The Fan’d me and I had to take a nap right away – I didn’t even get to eat any of him!

Before that though, I had a great Thanksgiving. I got all dressed up to go to Grandma’s house and wore my best bowtie. (Ha ha! Got you! I only have one bowtie!) When we got to Grandma’s house I was surprised to see a big box of blocks and a train to play with. I walked around the house on the train and said hello to all the people I hadn’t seen since summer time. And do you know what the best part about the party was? I’m starting to recognize people! I may be little, but I think that is something to be thankful for. Pretty soon I will know everyone and I won’t have to worry about walking into a room full of strangers staring at me. Because honestly, when that happens, I wish I could TripTheFan them like Mr. Turkey.

Showing Daddy how to drive the train (but he's not paying attention)

I'll tell you one thing that's not for the birds. Walking!!

Hanging with the ladies

This guy is my hero. No tripthefan for him.

Take that Turkey! Gobble, gobble, gobble!

After my nap I removed my tie, took off my shoes and tickled the ivories!

Prince Charming

Last weekend we went to see Mama and Daddy’s friends who just moved to California. They say I have met these people before but I’m not sure that I believe them. Because, their friends have kids, and I’m sure I would remember them – especially their daughter – she is very cute. Right away I could tell that she liked me because she was showing me all their toys and telling me stories about her brother. She also told me all about the story of Snow White. I always thought that “princess” meant cat because Daddy and Mama always say “Mini [my cat] thinks she is such a princess!” But it turns out I was wrong. “Princess” does not mean cat, but instead means pretty girl. So, why does my cat think she’s a pretty girl? That’s a weird thing to think don’t you agree?

Anyway, ever since my visit with them I’ve been thinking about princesses and how they like to be kissed by boys so I thought I’d see if this were really true. Mama was reading a book to me this morning, and there’s a pretty girl in the story so I tried to kiss the girl to see if she would come alive. But she didn’t. However, it was kind of fun, so I made sure to kiss the girl on every single page of the book just in case one of them came alive. In the end, there were no princesses who popped out of the book, but don’t worry, I’ll keep trying.

Me and My Princess

Hoping my princess will come alive

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shopping!

Last month my parents were really busy with their activities. I'm still not exactly sure what they were doing but they kept leaving me with Grandma or Grandpop and said they were doing "shows". But now they are done and I was really excited for last weekend because we were going to get to spend a lot of time together. I couldn't wait for all the fun things we were going to do, like going to the park, walking up and down the street, pushing boxes around the house, and playing cymbals. So, you can imagine my disappointment when my mom announced that we were going shopping. "Shopping?!" Momma didn't mention however where we were going shopping...

On Saturday we went to a place called 826 Valencia, and I have to tell you that this is my favoritest store ever. They sell drawers - all kinds of drawers. And the best part is they let me open and shut these drawers as much as I wanted AND there was great stuff inside. There were coins, and lemons, and paper, and snakes. You might think I'm kidding, but I am not. I'm not sure who would want to buy a drawer full of snakes, but what a great idea!

Then, on Sunday, we went shoe shopping for Momma. I must admit - I had extremely low expectations of this adventure. Momma was really excited, but daddy looked pretty ho-hum about the whole thing. And I will believe anything that my daddy tells me - he is my hero. But I put on a face and we all went downtown together. At first it was b-o-r-i-n-g, (that spells "boring") but then I got to walk around, and when I started looking at all the shoes I realized that they were all messed up and I decided to help straighten them. For example, Momma left her shoes on the ground when she was trying on other ones, and I helped her clean up by putting them on the table with the other shoes. Once I started helping out, I forgot how boring it was and actually had fun. In fact, I might even say that it was my second favoritest store - right after the drawer store.

"Bah! Look at all these drawers!!"


This drawer had treasure in it!

Snakes?!

"Seriously Mom? We are going to spend the day shoe shopping?"

That's better - now all the shoes are off the ground


I may have just gone to my two favorite stores,

but nothing, nothing, compares to playing the cymbals

I'm Famous!!

Yesterday I was searching online for a special outfit to wear to the Thanksgiving Party (no! I will not be a turkey!) and I found an ad on one of my favorite sites that is named after me!! I knew that I was starting to become popular around my neighborhood (people often stop my Mommy and Daddy when I'm with them and ask "Is that Jingle?") but I didn't know that The Google knew who I was! I got so excited I just had to tell someone. I would love to write to them and tell them that I like their clothes and I'm happy that they want to use my name. But I also want to tell them to fix their ad because it really should say "Jingle's Deals" not "Jingle Deals". That makes no sense. I copied the ad below so you could see it - isn't it cool?

My Halloween

Early in the day we went to a pumpkin patch to try out my costume but I felt like there was something missing...and I just couldn't put my finger on it....but then it hit me!..

"You know what my costume needs? A Bow Tie!!!"

What do you think? Was I right, or was I right??

Mom made me an iceberg to push around because I'm the strongest penguin ever!

My parents told me my costume had tails, but I don't understand why.

Penguins don't have tails.

We went to D's house to go trick or treating with him and I was so shocked to see him. He was HUGE! I was actually a little nervous to be too close to him since he seemed to grow muscles over night. I was especially nervous to think what he might look like on Monday when I would see him again. I was afraid he would be as big as Daddy. (He wasn't)

I had a lot of fun on Halloween but by the time we went trick-or-treating I was sooo tired! Maybe next year we can go out earlier... (I must be getting old or something!)

It's a Pretty Good Day, I'm Looking Forward To Tomorrow....

When you were littler do you remember listening to music with your parents during long road trips? I do. I remember this one song that Mama and Daddy liked to listen to on our last road trip by Luce and it has the lyrics "It's a Pretty Good Day, I'm Looking Forward To Tomorrow" and it's a catchy little tune. I didn't really pay attention to it when we were in the car, but then yesterday I as having a really good day with Nanny and I thought of the song. Because even though I was having a great time with Nanny I knew that the next day (now, today) would be even better because it is Halloween and I would be with my parents. I haven't done my tricking and treating yet, and i'm saving my costume for a surprise for later, but I did want to share with you my adventures from yesterday.

Our neighborhood rec center had a Halloween Potluck so Nanny and I went together to eat and play with the other kids. I had a really fun time because I love going to the rec center - it has so many cool toys! Big cars and slides and blocks... I can't even remember everything I play with. But yesterday was even cooler because there was also FOOD! Toys and Food... do you see why I thought it was a pretty good day??

I brought brownies to the potluck (and I couldn't wait to eat them!)

There were chairs that were my size there so I didn't have to sit in a high-chair.

I felt like a big grown-up.

"pssst... don't look now but there's a kid wearing a tiger costume to my right"

"Did you see that?? I went down the slide by myself!!"

I'm Walking on Sunshine

Ok, I'll admit it... before today I didn't understand what the big deal was when it came to walking. I mean, why did it matter if I could walk on my own when Mommy and Daddy were there to hold my hands? Oh, but I'll be the first to admit it - I just didn't know what I was missing! But now, I've tasted freedom and it tastes like FREE-dom. I asked Grandma to take a video so I could show you my first steps. The next step is to figure out how to open the front door...

And just to make sure it wasn't an accident, I tried a few times:

My First Birthday

So, I told my parents, “I’m going to be 5 before I get to blog again!” After all, I am almost two already (my first birthday was almost 2 months ago). That got them moving so they finally fixed it so I could type again and share my favorite photos with you. Since I already mentioned my birthday I want to tell you about that special day. Actually, it was a special weekend because Mommy and Daddy took the Friday off before a long weekend and we spent a lot of good times together. On my actual birthday, Nanny and Sister Nanny stayed to help me celebrate with Dylan and his parents. I got my first pieces of cheese and they cheered me off to a nice long weekend.

First, on Friday, we went to the Academy of Sciences to say hi to the fishes and butterflies, and we were also lucky and saw the white alligator. (I’m not sure why we were lucky – it’s the only alligator I’ve ever seen – aren’t they all white?) Then on Saturday, I watched while Mommy and Daddy cleaned all day to get ready for my party on Sunday. It was a really great party if I do say so myself. All my California grandparents came, as well as Aunt Stacy, and Dylan and his parents. Daddy made me special carrot cake and I was so impressed to learn that vegetables could be turned into cake. I think my dad is a magician. But the best part about my birthday, and something that no one bothered to tell me beforehand, was all the presents I got! People gave me things just because! Not only the party people, but also all my Indiana family sent me gifts too. I can’t believe how nice everyone is around birthdays, and it really makes me look forward to the next one! Finally, on Monday, Mommy and Daddy took me to a really nice park in our neighborhood, and since I'm a grown-up 1 year-old, they let me go down a big slide. But, I had to ride with my parents because they were scared of the twists and turns. All in all, it was the best birthday I’ve ever had.

We found this big secret room at the Academy where no one else was and I got to practice walking all over the place with Daddy. You should see me now though, I can almost walk by myself by holding just one hand.

We also went to see a 3-D Bug Movie and I was super excited about the glasses. But no one told me they would turn out the lights and there would be loud noise. I asked to leave immediately.

My parents gave me band instruments for my birthday so I could start making music with them.

We held my birthday party in the backyard (that's me on the far right by the hanging monkey)

That vegetable cake was amazing!

"Um guys, is this really necessary?"

Happy Birthday To Me!!

"Stop Tickling Me! No! Don't Stop! No! Stop! Ha Ha Ha hahah..."

No Computer for Jingle

Hi,

This is Jingle's Mama. He asked that I write a quick note to apologize for his long absence from the blog. The computer that he uses, and the one with all the pictures, has been broken for awhile now so he's unable to do the typing he needs to do. We hope to get it fixed soon for him.
He has a lot of things he is very excited to share with you - his birthday, his recent vacation, and his walking (almost!). Here are a couple of photos I took with the iPhone last week during our vacation so you can see how big he is getting. To quote Jingle on this, "Mamamamamamam".
Hopefully he'll be back online soon.

Tired after a long day at the San Diego Zoo

Having fun at the zoo (not a real cat of course) ;)

Jingle and Daddy at a restaurant along the beach front

If I Could Talk To The Animals, Just Imagine It

My Mama told me I was procrastinating again since I hadn’t posted anything on the blog lately. I don’t think I’m procrastinating though, I just keep putting it off. There are a lot of other things lately that catch my eye so it’s tough to want to sit down at the computer and type it all out. But, then again, so much has been catching my eyes that I have a lot to talk about so I should sit down to write about it. I want to tell you about my last trip to the zoo with Dylan and his parents. I had been to the zoo once before with Daddy and Grandma in Indiana, but I was smaller then and couldn’t see so much. I also got boreder when I was littler. But this time I saw lots of animals, and I even got to pet some!

At first, I thought we were going to a rock concert. When Mommy and Daddy took me into the zoo we went straight to this concert by a group called the Sippy Cups. My parents were so excited, and that’s where we met Dylan and his parents, and they seemed super excited too because they were talking really loudly. But the music was so loud I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. And then there were all these huge balls floating around and one came close to me. I was so scared even though Momma hit it away, I just didn’t want to be there anymore. Luckily we didn’t stay at the rock concert too long and instead went out into the quiet zoo.

First we went to the petting zoo where I made friends with goats and sheep. They had these really big horns but I wasn’t afraid of them. Especially when I could get down to their level and look them in their eyes. I’ve heard that’s what you have to do with wild animals… stay very still, and catch their eyes so they know who is boss. Well, I’m the boss.

After that we walked all over the rest of the zoo where we saw lots of monkeys, giraffes, penguins, big cats, and gorillas. I really wanted to pet those animals too and I don’t understand why they didn’t have them in the petting part with the goats and sheep. Especially the gorillas, since there was a baby gorilla who was not much bigger than me, and we could have played together. I read Goodnight Gorilla at least once a week and I know for a fact that gorillas can sleep in beds, so he could have even come home with me. The last part of the zoo trip ended like the beginning – with something loud and scary. Dylan’s dad and my dad took us on a “carousel”. It looked fun at first – there were lots of colors and animals that we could sit on. I was hungry and was even drinking from my bottle on one of the animals. Daddy was super excited. But then it started moving and holy moly it was fast. We were spinning in circles and Mama kept going by, then Dylan’s mom, then Mama, then D’s mom.. you get the picture…over and over again. I did not like it. I hoped if I cried really loud they would stop it so we could get off. Daddy took me off the animal and held me in his arms but it didn’t make the spinning stop. Finally, after what felt like forever, it stopped and I was able to get away from that thing.

I think my trip to the zoo would have been perfect without the rock concert at the beginning and the spinning ride at the end. It doesn’t take all that much to make me happy.

The Zoo Boyz

I'm The Boss!


Takin a Ride in The Wild Wild West


"Hey Goat! Stay Away From My New Shoes!"


Before The Nightmare Began