Happy Birthday Ninong Ray!

Just wanted to wish my Ninong Ray a very happy birthday!

I was so busy, I didn't even notice I was walking!

Daddy taught me a new trick... to fumble with my lips... watch me in action - I was so amused by myself that I didn't even notice I was walking! Mommy didn't notice until later and then she had to scoot backward...




This time Mommy's a little more prepared to move backwards:




The jig is up! I know what's going on now... Mommy can't trick me, but she can try to dangle a shoe in front of my face! I love shoes!

I'm 11 months old!

I'm 11 months old today!

Gosh, I look so different now! I don't really look like a baby anymore, do I?

Soon I'll be walking and talking... then yelling and running! Bet you're not ready for that, are you?

This is my Popeye impersonation!
Just kidding, I was about to do my "blinkie blinkie"...

Here's my tiger impersonation...
I'm a pretty tame tiger!

"I'm dancing with myse-elf"

Look at all my handprints on the mirror!
This is definitely my favourite area!

This is Mommy's favourite picture of the day!
I look like a baby model!

Playing with my reflection (again)

I love to play with my reflection! Here you can see me kiss my friend in the mirror and at the end, I'll wave "bye bye" to the camera!

Tiyo Kev's last full day

Monday was my last full day with Tiyo Kev... Too bad he woke up late! But we got to spend time together. We had lunch at a Sushi Restaurant, and of course, I made a big mess! Cheerios all over the place! But it kept me busy. I kept trying to get everybody's attention with my blinkies and kissies... I had lots of fun! We went for a walk and I needed to take a nap. Golden Uncle Josh and Auntie Christina came over and we all went to Grandma's house for Monday Night Dinner together. I had to say goodbye to Tiyo Kev on Monday night because he had an early flight on Tuesday morning at 7am. I'm gonna miss having him around!

Tiyo Kev and I make scrunchy faces for the camera!

Tiyo Kev played with me while we waited for Mommy to finish eating... She's a slow eater!

'Til next time, Tiyo Kev!

Happy Birthday Auntie Cheedeh!

Just wanted to wish my Auntie Cheedeh a Happy Birthday!
Can't wait til you come back from Shanghai so I can show you all my latest tricks!

Addison's latest tricks

all in one video!

Cue laugh track

Kev and I were watching TV on Sunday and Addison wasn't really paying any attention to the TV... There was a "cheering" track and Addison started clapping! We kept rewinding this part of the show (Go DVR!) and she would always clap at the same part! We called James in to watch her do it...



He said nobody else would find this funny... what do you think?

Note From Mommy

Addison is sooo much fun now! Not that she wasn't fun before, but now she has more of a personality and a sense of humour... She loves to laugh and she'll do things to make us laugh... if it works (gets us laughing), she'll do it again (like playing the trumpet)

* Kev taught her how to "play the trumpet". She already knew how to blow raspberries, but now she can blow without vibrating her lips as much and she sounds like a trumpet! Kev promised to get her a trumpet for her 5th birthday... I secretly hope he doesn't remember because I may have to invest in some earplugs for her first few practice sessions!

* She waves and says "bye-bye" - it sounds more like "ba- bai" and we think she might think that Kev's name is "bye-bye" because it doesn't take as much coaxing to get her to wave and say bye bye to him.

* She loves to dance, but she loves to sing even more! Almost everytime she hears music, whether I'm singing, or we're listening to the radio... she'll do this open mouth hum! Kev was testing her to see if she could follow his pitch, and she'll try! It's super cute!

* Addison hugs and "kisses". It's pretty funny too! She'll come at you with her mouth wide open - It looks like she's going to eat your nose! (sometimes she does...) It's always sloppy, but ALWAYS appreciated (by me, anyways!)

* She'll clap at the end of counting 1 - 10. Kev and I did a little experiment and

said "ten" (no clap).
said "nine ten" (no clap).
said "eight nine ten" (no clap)...
...
said "two three four five six seven eight nine ten" (no clap)
started from one... and clap!

What a smart little cookie! One time we saw her get her hands ready to clap at "seven" and she waited til I said "ten", then she clapped! Cute!

* She'll also clap at the end of the ABC song (the everyday version, not James' version)

* Her "blinkies" are definitely not "beautiful eyes"... she scrunches up her nose and opens her mouth... but definitely cute... maybe cuter!
She still loves (LOVES) to play with strangers and get their attention... nowadays, once she has their attention, she'll do her "blinkies"... it looks like she's getting ready for an itchy sneeze, but it's her way of flirting!

* James kissed me this morning before he left and Addi made her kissy kissy sounds... We were cracking up!

* She loves going up and down... not too fast though, and she has to be in the mood to like it.

* She's a curious little monkey... she loves looking in cabinets and opening and closing doors (doors that are already open, and she doesn't close the doors all the way - my foot is usually in the way for it to fully close).

* She knows how to open zippers. She can unbundle herself from her "Bundle me" blanket and she unzipped my purse yesterday and took out my wallet... a sign of things to come, I guess... but James and I laughed and he said "Wrong wallet, Addison" and I said "I think she's trying to put money IN the wallet"

* Addison is still a picky eater - she really doesn't like sweet fruits, especially apple sauce. She loves her veggies though and she loves Cheerios! She had Udon noodles for the first time yesterday... she slurped them up - but she didn't chew them... I was convinced I'd find them WHOLE in her diaper today, but I didn't! Isn't that strange?!?

* She's still a little unsure of walking by herself, but if one of us is holding on to her, she'll start running!

* She loves to climb up things... if there's something to step on, she'll climb it.

* She's been pooping everyday now and it's been softer... She was backed up for a really long time!

* Addison has stinky feet... I can't believe how much they sweat and stink! They should have Dr. Scholls for babies. One day, I was sitting on Addi's playmat with Addi in front of me, James sitting on the sofa to my right and Kev sitting on the loveseat to my left... it was like a stinky feet party!

* Addison loves to take off her shoes and socks and expose her stinky feet to the world ... she loves to do this while we're on our walks...

* Addison is definitely a wind baby... she loves when we're in the car and we open the windows to let the breeze in... it'll usually calm her down if she's hating the car seat thing!

* I'm trying to get Addison to stick out her tongue when I say "tongue". She can do it most of the time, but that's because she loves to stick out her tongue.

* Addison is really good when we're at Church - people around us always make it a point to tell us that. But she loves playing with people and flirting with them - sometimes we'll sit close to people that love it and will play along and sometimes (well just one time... c'mon, who can resist her?!?) we'll sit close to people who won't give her the time of day... What's our secret? Cheerios... we let her eat these little snacks during the quiet parts!

* When she's annoyed she says "Meh Meh Meh" it sounds like "ma ma", but it's definitely not the same!

* She sweats a lot while she sleeps... yes, she's one of those. She'll wake up in a puddle of sweat. The sheet under her head is usually soaked and she'll smell like sweat when she wakes up. I'm definitely not looking forward to summer!

* She loves to rip up paper, tissue, and napkins... another thing that keeps her busy if we go out to eat!

* She's really really strong for her age - she's got a persistent little grip - she'll hold on to your finger forever. She can grab the spoon out of my hand (we usually play tug of war with the spoon when she's had enough of eating!). Yesterday she grabbed the tray out of the waitress' hand!

* What more can I say... Addison is lovable! Super easy to love... I'm sure I'd love her if she wasn't so lovable, but she makes it so darned easy to love her!

- Mommy

Step By Step!

One step at a time!

I can walk from Daddy to Mommy!
We were trying it a few times before Mommy grabbed the camera - so you can see that I was really annoyed when the video starts... but then you can see me walking to Mama! I probably would have taken a few more steps too, but she was in the way...

Even though I can walk, I still prefer crawling! I need better incentive!

Stand and crawl

Mommy thought she would try to get me to walk... but it's just me standing and then crawling over to her...

I've gotten very comfortable with my current mode of transportation... I don't have to worry about falling because I'm already on the ground... and I'm quick like lightning! One second I'm here, the next, I'm getting into something I shouldn't be! Why would I want to try something else?!? Crawling works for me!

Lake Merritt

On Wednesday morning, Mommy and I went to storytime (Tiyo Kev slept in this time!) We met a new mother and daughter who usually go to a different storytime but wanted to check this one out. The baby (who's almost a year older than me) was really good about sharing her toys with me - One day I'll be able to share my toys just like she does!

On Wednesday afternoon, Tiyo Kev, Mommy and I went to Lake Merritt. We walked around the lake and took some pictures. Daddy and Uncle Oliver met up with us at Merritt restaurant for the best Chicken and Waffles in the Bay Area! Our waitress was super nice... her name was Addi too!

It was hard to get a picture of us... I kept wanting to look at the Lake!
Tiyo Kev had to spin me so we could get this shot!

Here we are closer to the water...

We wanted to do some jumping shots.
It looks like Tiyo Kev is standing on the bench, but he's really jumping!

This is a better picture.
Look at how much air Tiyo Kev got under him!

Mommy's a horrible jumper...
She barely got 2 inches off the ground!
We all had a good time laughing at how bad she is at jumping, I wish we had it on video!

Me and Tiyo Kev

My Tiyo Kev has been staying with us since March 31. It's hard for me to remember what life was like without him! It's funny now to think of how scared I was of him on his first day here! I think he's learned not to yell out his name whenever he sees me... It's now more of a loud whisper... "TIYO KEVIN!" (holding up his arms)

He's been trying to be helpful - watching me while Mommy does chores (Mommy just discovered the Magic Eraser and seriously went to town! She was scared to use it at first because of all those spam emails, but for real... this thing is MAGIC!). He usually pushes my stroller when we go for walks and he's been taking a lot of pictures of me (which will be posted soon!)

Thanks Tiyo Kev!

The Palace of Fine Arts

We just missed the sunset... barely... It's because of some bad directions from the GPS and lack of parking in the area... Nonetheless, we were able to take a few pictures at the Palace of Fine Arts...


(There are better pictures on Tiyo Kev's camera)

Tiyo Kev and me.
They're doing a bit of construction in the background.

Mommy and Me.

It looks like I'm sliding down the hill, doesn't it?
My visible panty gives it that special "Eppek" (effect).

Just outside the Legion of Honor

The guards kicked us out!

We stayed in the area and took some pictures just outside the gates...
Seems like everyone else (especially the wedding/engagement folks) had the same idea!

Tiyo Kev and I wave bye bye to the security guards!

Here I am in front of the gates... Can you spot a couple in the background?

Their directions were "walk toward me and look like you love each other".
My directions were "YAY!"

"YAY!"

"YAY!"

I snuck in some grass every chance I could!
Mommy had to get it out of my mouth a few times... Most of the time Mommy, Daddy or Tiyo Kev were quick enough to get the grass out of my hand.




Tiyo Kev waits for his flash...




Daddy and I were having lots of fun!




I was supposed to sit still...
Who can sit still when there's all kinds of stuff to explore?!?

Legion of Honor

Summer's here!

On Saturday, Mommy, Daddy, Tiyo Kev and I went to the Legion of Honor. Our intention was to take pictures and check out the Annie Liebovitz exhibit. We got here later than we expected (we have to work around MY schedule, you know), so we weren't able to check out the exhibit... But we took some great pictures! Here are some from Mommy's camera (the frameables are coming soon)

This is the front of the Legion Of Honor.
I guess this is the spot for people to take Wedding and Engagement pictures... we were only here for about an hour and we saw 4 wedding couples (in their full getups and one couple with the entire bridal entourage) and at least 4 engagement shoots!

Daddy and me in front of a big glass blown sculpture.
It's pretty crazy, isn't it?!?

Daddy walked me around while Tiyo Kev shot some pictures.

I was having lots of fun walking around and checking out the wedding couples!

This shots pretty dark, but look at how nice it is outside!

I'm so happy that I don't have to wear pants anymore!
I hate those things!
I always try to take them off!
Don't EVEN get me started on socks! The only thing those things are good for are waving for people's attention!

I'm looking at the camera!

Mommy and me!

I can see MUCH better from up here!

I like holding your chin, Dada!

Up, Up!

Legion of Addi.

I even got to play peek a boo!

Here I am!

I'm having WAY too much fun!

It's just me!