Little Farm

"Quack" says the duck...a horse says, "neigh!". It's quiet now, what do YOU say?

It is a great thing living near Tilden Park and the Little Farm. Here we are last weekend just as the animals were getting ready for their day:

Mine

Recall the seagulls from Finding Nemo...with cousin Joe on the premises, "mine" came out in full force. Here's Micah in a rare gracious moment:

Though all is not as it may seem. Note Micah kicking Joe under the table:


It was so nice having Joe around to teach Micah all about sharing, the joys of ingesting more than 100 calories a day and the dangers of the world. We miss the little guy already. For some real gems of bath time together, check out Joe's blog. I'll leave you with this game of copy cat (Note how each resorts to his characteristic behavior towards the end: Joe with the "no-no-no" finger wag and Micah with his signature "mine."):

Sea Ranch

We've been busy...visit from cousin Joe (and his parents), Sea Ranch, holiday parties, Christmas at the Hawkins', failed Tahoe attempts...you get the idea.

Check out the video on Joe's blog of Micah appraising the new addition to the household that arrived one morning.

Here are some glimpses into our few days at Aberdeen House on the lovely Sonoma Coast:

shoes

We're pretty proud of Micah's da-da. He's getting exciting interview offers for his job search. Looks like Micah has some big shoes to fill. Here he is practicing.





Don't worry. We disinfected Micah's feet afterwards.

train of thought

Here's Micah taking his morning "wo-wo's" (Joe's O's) and perusing the choo-choo literature (Brio catalog).


Looks like he didn't have to wait too long for his dreams to come true. Thank you uncle Richard and Aunt Victoria for the Jungle Safari Figure-8 set. Superbad!! The trains are officially taking over the living room.

fyi

Hanukkah's over. Here's Micah on the last night. (He was content to just sit and say, "candle. hot.")

survey says...

...no choppy!! (As if we were going to listen to some silly internet poll, anyway. But thankfully it justified our decision to let it grow.) Here's a 7am group mugshot. For some readers, this may be the first time you've seen Micah without his makeup.

One...and a half

"I'm one...and a half." Remember when halves and quarters were oh-so important when stating your age? Well here's Micah today: a big one-and-a-half-year-old (yes, I realize the photos in the hat posted below are way cuter, but I am a purist, and this squinty shot with the flowing locks --see poll at left-- was taken this morning).

Here is Micah steadying the leaning tower of Nikko last night at our little gathering (and while some of you might misconstrue this shot to imply Micah pushed him, he was spotting him, clearly. Look at that sweet look of concern and selfless sacrifice of hair):

Mommies, 'kay

Kissy! Kissy! Micah is into giving kisses--to me, his duckie in the bath, his best buddy Abraham (in a sort of comical Brokeback sort of way). Let me tell you, I am putty in my child's hands when he spontaneously leans in for a little kiss. A new bike? Sure! An x-box? You got it!

Also in the "Otherwise Endearing Department": It is a funny thing hearing yourself through your child. Micah has taken to ending most sentences in "'kay" as in, "We're going to take your shoes of, o.k?" or "Let's go to the park, o.k?" which is what he often hears out of my mouth (or "mouse" as Micah calls it). He has also pluralized me. I am now referred to as "Mommies".

Thankfully Micah is on a hat kick, since he can say "hat" and "head" and "hair" all things related are o.k in his book:

modes of transit

Micah has many modes of transit. He scoots around the kitchen on his ladybug, finally getting some good use out of his first-birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa G (thanks!):



He runs around, often just for the sake of it, shouting "run!", and with things in tow, like his beloved choo-choo:



He is a big fan of slides. Today he lugged a large playground toy/cart to the top of the slide at the playground several times, just to watch it go down. Hernia, here we come... Here he relaxes a bit at the top of a wet mini-slide before taking the plunge:

Video grab-bag

Here are some recent videos of Micah that did not make it into other posts.

Hanukkah

Chappy first night of Hanukkah!

Micah enjoyed lighting the candles. We warned him that they are hot, but of course he wanted to touch the flames. He reached for them a few times, but after one good burn (not serious enough so that the stench of burned flesh overpowered the pervasive odor of cooking latkes) he was happy to simply point and say "hot".




Like last year, he really enjoyed the applesauce, but this time he actually got to eat the latkes themselves.

Apparently they aren't as exciting as the applesauce.

After (and during) dinner, Micah opened some presents from Grandma and Grandpa, which included some of his favorite things: books about animals and choo-choos!! Also, they gave Micah his very first menorah. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!! Watch him try to set it up himself:

Break dancing

Hmmm...don't really know what to say about this shot...practicing some break dancing moves? Perhaps an interpretive dance? Yoga?

boy + trains = intense fun

Here's Micah during a bout of some intense train action (I guarantee that this video was not taken on the first loop around the track, nor was it the train's last, either):

Some helpful translations:

hell = help
tan-no = tunnel
gown = down

Now I know my ABCs

ABC shapes, at least. Here Micah masters his ABC wooden puzzle (with a little help replete with appropriate sounds of encouragement and parental awe and wonder). You'll just have to believe us when we say he filled in the puzzle up to this point pretty much on his own ("L" was a little tricky and B, well B was a little *itch but Micah showed her who was the "B" for Boss) since YouTube is being annoying and wouldn't let us upload that 3 minute video of edge-of-your-seat puzzle completion action, you'll just have to settle for these letter gems in this shorter edition:

potty progress

We aren't actively trying to potty train Micah yet, but occasionally he surprises us. This morning he peed in his potty. First he said "pee" and went off over to the potty. We acted quickly, taking off his diaper and sitting him down. He seemed a bit distracted by this, but with some encouragement he let go. He seemed to like the clapping and cheering afterward.

happy (gumby) baby

Mountain high

Micah went with his dada up to Pantoll to cheer on the (crazy) ultra-runners runnings the quadruple Dipsea this weekend--the fringe extra-extra long version of the famous Dipsea trail run. The important fact here is that meant I slept in until almost 11am! Pure luxury. Granted I was sick and deserved it, but I'll take a sleep in with a hacking caugh over no sleep in at all. Zack would have you believe the important detail is that Micah is showing an early interest in trail running (but we know what is really the highlight of the day). Here is Micah doing some hill repeats under his daddy's coaching and watchful eye:

one-two

buckle my shoe!

Micah put his first two words together yesterday and he may end up being a mathematician like his father yet. Micah pronounced "One! two!" while I was putting his socks on. I actually took it for granted for a while because of course two follows one, just never out of our little bean's mouth before!

Here's Micah helping his dada assemble his early Christmakkah gift from his great Grandmother Gwen (G cubed):

"Micah's mom"

I walked passed our little 2-year old neighbor, Ben, today and he said, "It's Micah's mom."

Wow. I am Micah's mom, not Amy, but "Micah's mom"; a mom. I'm certain Ben doesn't even know my name. It's a funny thing that--and amazing as well. And I'm not just a mom of a baby, but of a growing little boy. Powerful stuff. Perhaps it is weaning (Finally! some of you may be saying!), perhaps it realizing that with this whole job market thing and the impending move we have to consider things like school districts, childcare changes and the like. I am really feeling like a parent these days. I'm not in this novel role of a new mom with a baby, but rather a parent with a little boy, who is increasingly needing not just the basics of life:to be kept merely alive and well, but rather help nurturing his personality, his learning and DISCIPLINE. But enough of my mundane maternal musings. Bring us the boy!

This video was actually taken a while back, but you may have noticed we've been a bit 'er lax in the blogging of late. Better late than never!



And like father like son:
Clearly I did not demonstrate to Micah that he could wedge his rocking horse up against the dresser to better climb up it. No, he figured that one out all on his own...

T-day 2007

Seems we didn't take a single photo to mark the occasion (because that's right, we don't take photos of our child anymore). I guess the glamour of the first year had worn off, eh! Thankfully Bop Bop (or is it Pa Pa or Pop Pop--still not certain) aka Mr. Hawkins was on hand with his camera.

Until the '07 photos are available, a trip down memory lane to Micah's first Thanksgiving:

Micah demands his drugs

Micah (caught so fetchingly in the light here) demands his next dose of Tylenol to ward of the pain of some major teething action.


Not the cutest expression, but cute belly though! The poor boy was drooling like a Great Pyrenees for days...

Following the leader

Micah at 7 am and a (rare) chipper Amy in the morning (clearly post caffeinated tea):

Almost a year and half

So the OCD in me is severely disheartened to know that I got to nearly a year and half honoring Micah's month birthday on the day or within a day and my string of careful observance ended this month. Six days late is pretty pathetic by my neurotic standards, but hey, it means he is that much closer to "almost a year and a half" which is what I would have referred to November 9th as anyway (The books call it 17th months).

"Why, pray tell?" am I only now getting around to this you may ask (actually you're NOT asking, because people just don't really care about these sort of things like I do, but indulge me). Well over 70 job applications out the door and counting is why. Zack has been pulling some serious all nighters and this Job Market thing is in effect, man. It has been pure survival mode around here, which on a positive note means I've actually had to cook less as my frugal husband has opted to have us order in under the pressure. But "waaaa! waaaaa!" you're (definitely) saying, "show us the kid!"

Look at those blond locks:

Topless dining:
We had a pretty major first last weekend:

Yep, he is looking at what you think he is....

"C'mon one time for the ladies say 'Poop there it is!' Now all the fellas say 'Poop there it is!' ..."(to be sung to the rhythm of "Hoop there it is!") I'd like to say it was completely self-initiated and wasn't a matter of my noticing Micah getting quiet, squatting behind the chair and going red-faced, and instead whipping him up in my arms, having him drop trow and thrusting him upon his potty, but well...baby steps. Let's also say I haven't thrown out any of the diapers and purchased any superman tighty whities quite yet. It has yet to be repeated. But in the positive direction Micah is more than happy to share with you, "Poop!" after he has, well, pooped, in his diaper.

Oh, and in case you really wanted to know (which you must because you're still reading) no, that wasn't all of it. The moment we got his diaper back on Micah completed his duty in the comfort of his own pants. Awwwww...

Any thing else I can share?

Micah frollicks at 6:30am

See how many Micah vocabulary words you can catch in this video.
Also please disregard:
1) me at 6:30 in the morning
2) the mess
3) the hand reaching for the cat food--I swear we stopped him.

Feliz dia de los muertos!

(So we missed Halloween!)

The devil wears Gap

not Prada.

But mommy does (at least eye glasses):

Nuestro diabolito was the proverbial devil and spent most of the evening sans horns. Here he is being tortured appropriately:
But here is at least one semi-decent shot of the full garb. Unfortunately he was more interested in the toy lawn mower as a prop, than his plush pitch fork.

There was some stiff competition in the cutest costume category this year. While last year's chili pepper was a sure winner (in my totally unbiased opinion) there were some pretty darn cute kids dressed up this year. Here are some gems from the neighborhood:

Cockadoodle Ben:
Puppies and skeletons, oh my!


Poultry (Tony) and Fish (Calynn) were also on the menu:

not fun times

Dear Micah's Public,

We apologize. As parents in the 21st century we have been remiss in our blogging duties. Life has been...busy...and well, not particularly fun. But you don't care about our pain and suffering, the stress, the sleepless nights....(do you hear the violins playing?). No we know what you came here for.

Here's a token shot to tide you over:
And since you have been so patient, two more:

Toots

We finally got a decent video of Micah dancing. Now we just have to get one of his silly walk.

choo choo mania

Choo choos have been on the brain. Of course it probably helps that one goes by approximately every twenty minutes. It is with great delight that I report the era of BRIO has arrived. Faced with an interminably long rainy day indoors I made a rare visit to a local toy store that sells used toys, appropriately named "Toys Go Round". We've managed to benefit from the myriad hand me downs and loaners up until now, but trains were something I was willing to invest in. To Micah's delight (and my relief) they had some brio track and a cool draw bridge for sale. Our collection is officially on its way (I know you're just itching to see how you might contribute, so see Micah's drool list to the left). To see Micah playing trains three ways, read on.

Micah wakes up in the morning and the first thing he says is, "Choo choo!" Here we have trains by morning:


And trains by night:


And trains by diaper:

N-O spells no!

To mark Micah's one year and 4 month birthday, the dreaded, yet highly anticipated word, "No!" has officially entered his vocabulary. Not that today was the first time, per se, that we heard the word, but it was the first time we heard it with such frequency and determination. Let's go inside, "No!" Do you want dinner?, "No." Up the stairs, "No." You get the idea.

Thankfully it isn't that stubborn, bratty "no" (yet) but more of a gentle, upwardly inflected sort of "no." More like a question, "no?". But, it is here to stay I am afraid.

Nooooooooooo, say it ain't so!

(Yes, we forgot to take a picture today.)