margaretyagan

I woke up this morning and  totally forgot that it was Memorial Day!  That meant that Mom and Dad were home all day to have fun with me.  Mom got up with me and we read in my room before I was screaming too  loud that Mom was afraid that I would wake up Dad.  Mom and I went downstairs and played before having breakfast.  Around 8:00, Dad came down looking very refreshed and grateful to Mom for letting him sleep in!

Dad took over and Mom went up to take a nap.  Dad and I played down in the office (so that my screams wouldn’t wake up Mom!) until nap time.  Dad put me to bed and when I got up I was so excited to see that Aunt Claire was visiting!  She was so excited to see me and I didn’t even give her the  cold shoulder!  We played together and then we went to Feast for brunch to celebrate  A/C’s being a senior in college!

There was a long wait to get a table, so I walked up and down the street, hung out with other kids I saw, and had quality time with Mom and A/C.  I had a great meal because I got to eat Nana’s zucchini!  What more could I ask for?

As we walked home it started raining, so Dad and I (in my stroller, of course) ran ahead to beat the rain “falling on our heads” (in Mom’s words).  Where else would rain fall, I wonder?

We all played together until my snack and nap.  I shrieked when I got up and Dad got me out of my crib.  Mom and A/C had run out to get a movie and — shocker — Starbucks.  There were almost home, so Dad and I  sat at the front door and watched for them to get home.

I mostly played with Mom and A/C until dinner, which was a disaster of sorts.   I didn’t like the lentil burger (that I loved at my birthday party) and wouldn’t even eat the succotash, which is usually automatic.  I did like the mint yogurt sauce (that was supposed to go with the lentil burger!).

As usual, I had to help clean up for going to bed:

A year ago, I was playing with A/C, too!

Well, I  slept really well and got up in a great mood.  I  was so hungry (perhaps because I didn’t eat  yesterday!) and even had (my first of three for the day!) poopy diaper.

I ate my entire breakfast and then Dad and I went to Lowe’s to order four new screens that have been broken for a few months (especially the two in my room!).  Lowe’s was fun because it has a really fun shopping cart shaped like a truck!  It took us longer than expected there and I ended up falling asleep in the car on the way home.  Dad managed to relocate me to my crib without really waking me up.

As soon as I got up, we took for Nana’s and Grandpa’s.  I had so much fun there.  The highlight of my day was eating Nana’s zucchini.  It was so good — definitely my favorite entree (I don’t know if anything can beat strawberries!).  The rest of my time was spent running around, rolling around, and just having a blast with Nana and Grandpa.

We got home in time for a snack and then a nap.  When I woke up we took off for the park and I had a blast, even getting to down the big kids’ slide (on my belly!).  I really, really liked it.

I ate all of my dinner and then had a really long and fun bath.  Dad  let me stay up past my bedtime because Mom was racing home from the airport.  She got in around 7:40 and was so hapy to see me.  She read me my bedtime story and put me to sleep!

Last year was a fun day at the park!

Today was rough.  Mom was in NYC for a friend’s wedding, so it was me and Dad holding down the fort at home.  The morning was pretty good.  I was up early-ish (around 6:00) and Dad showered before coming to get me out of my crib.

I got dressed and played upstairs before we went on our weekly grocery run.  I had a really good breakfast and then, coming up the stairs, was Dad’s friend Al!  I haven’t seen him in a few months and I got to impress him with all my new tricks.

Al hadn’t eaten (obviously!) so we went to Milk & Honey for brunch.  Mom and Dad almost never take me there for meals because it’s so crowded, but at 8:30 am I can go anywhere!  Al was great.  He invented a game called “hide the straw wrapper” and I had to guess which hand it was in.  I could play this game forever!

When we got home, Al took off with a friend and I went to bed.  A couple hours into my “nap” Dad came in to my room and found me just sitting in my crib.  From here, the day went down hill.

I completely rejected lunch, throwing pretty much everything on the floor.  Dad, who’s usually low-key about disciplining me, was really upset.  He turned my high-chair into the corner and let me sit there, crying.  After lunch we went to the park and I was in a decent mood, but I wasn’t thrilled.  When we got back I was really clingy with Dad, insisting on going “up, up!”  To make matters worse, I still hadn’t pooped all day!

I didn’t really snack well and fought going up for my nap.  Just as this morning, I got up at some point and didn’t make a sound, so Dad had no way to know when to come and get me.  I was in an even worse mood for the rest of the day and I could tell I was testing Dad’s patience.  We went on a quick run to the park before I totally rejected dinner.  As soon as it was time for bed, he rushed me up and rushed through my bed-time book as quickly as possible.  I heard take a deep breath as he closed the door to my room…

Last year I checked out the Indian consulate!

There was an awful lot of commotion in the morning.  Mom was up as usual, but Dad was also up and getting ready early in the morning.  Mom got me dressed and the three of us took off in the car — this is unprecedented!  So, I don’t know much about directions, but it’s no fun to face backward  in a car driving West first thing in the morning.  The sun was in my eyes the entire way to wherever we were going.

We dropped Mom off at work, which I recognized from the one time I visited the office a long time ago.  I was pretty upset by this point, so Dad pulled over to the side of the road and we stood on a soccer field and got reset.  I was happy to see 5 huge ducks fly over my head and really loud dog run around the field.

We got back into the car and drove a few seconds to the school I’m going to start going to in a couple weeks.  We rang the doorbell and went inside.  I was  one of the first kids there, so I got to explore one of the classrooms all by myself.  Dad stayed with my throughout our 2-hour visit, which was just supposed to get my acclimated to everything.

One of the first activities was breakfast.  It was totally different from any meal I’ve ever had.  First, my school has really, really short table with little tiny miniature chairs that I got to sit in.  Second, no one wore bibs.  Third, the food was totally new: french toast with syrup and mandarin oranges!  Dad would never let me have french toast — I couldn’t even believe it.

After breakfast, we had play time, which was especially fun for me because I could explore all the new toys.  I made a bunch of new friends, too.  Except Porter — that guy kicked a girl in the face and shoved another girl to the floor.  I gotta watch that guy.

We went outside and it was like going to the park.  The slide and stairs are a bit too high for me and I would have fallen on my head except that Dad was there to catch me.  Before I knew it, the kids were going inside and it was time for me and Dad to go home.  I was exhausted and fell asleep on the car ride home.  Dad managed to carry me out of the car and into my crib without waking me up.

When I got home Nana was here and we had a great afternoon, including more time outside.  Mom got home early (summer Friday hours!) and after my nap we went to the park, where we went down a big slide together!

A year ago I had another big day: my two-month checkup!

I had breakfast with Dad and Nana came over just as we were finishing up.  We went to the park for an hour and then I  took a long, two-hour nap.  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

Last year I went to Dad’s office!

I was in a great mood this morning and had my usual breakfast.  I was excited to see the chicken curry back on the menu for lunch.  The day was mostly uneventful, except that Dad was home when I got up for my nap.  On a Wednesday!?  That’s unheard of!

He was definitely in a very playful mood and when Mom got home she joined in the fun with us! You can, too:

Last year I was sticking out my tongue at Marty!

I woke up to one of the nicest days I can remember – and I was in a great mood to match.  I ate all of my breakfast (including finishing off the fritatta) and we went straight out to the yard as soon as I finished.  The air smelled springy and there were so many birds chirping I didn’t even know what do with myself!

We had to eat lunch inside because it was too messy to eat outside (I’m obviously not old enough to understand that logic!).  After I got all cleaned up we went to the park and for a walk.  We ended up being gone for two hours!  We got back and I was exhausted.  I had a snack and was more than ready to sleep.

I got home around 6:00 and Mom was home!  I didn’t eat much for dinner, but at least I wasn’t too fussy.  Man, I’ll be happy when I’ve finished the parsnips.  I bet no baby in the world has eaten more parsnips than I have.

I really enjoyed my bath.  I cracked myself up every time I  poured water on my head!  It was time for bed but my room was really warm so I got to wear shorts.

I was more sleepy than usual today, but was happy to see  Nana when Mom brought me downstairs.  It was a beautiful day, so we  even went outside before breakfast which I don’t think we’ve done before.  I ate my egg, prune, and oatmeal and we went right back outside.  Before long it was nap time and I got about 90 minutes of sleep in.  Our routine was changed a bit today because the house was being cleaned — we have to be a bit more nimble to stay out of their way!

I ate an early lunch, but since it included chicken curry, I didn’t mind at all.  We went downstairs and played until 1:30.  At 2:45 I ate  leftovers from lunch  (with a little treat of baked apples – yum!).  I slept for almost 2 hours and woke up in a terrible mood!

Even when Mom got home and tried to talk to Dad on the phone, I had none of that.  Mom’s friend Kyle came over around 6:40, so I had to be on better behavior.

As usual for a Sunday, Dad got up with me and we played downstairs until breakfast.  We tried extra-hard to be quiet so as not to bother Mom.  As soon as she got up, Dad ran downstairs to work and I spent most of the rest of the day playing with Mom.  That was perfect, since she had been busy the last couple weekends.  What’s with my parents working so much on the weekend!?

We had a fun time playing and went down to visit Dad a few times.  Here’s one of ’em:

We even tried to convince him to come to the park, but he refused to play along.  We had a lot of fun outside and then came back in for my snack and nap.  I was especially excited to see that Mom was cooking two of my favorite dishes — chicken curry and orzo!  I hope I get to eat those ASAP!

Dad left for a conference around 6:00 and I had dinner with Mom and we had lots of fun until I had to go sleep.

CRISIS: Dad accidentally deleted three days worth of pictures!  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week are undocumented.  Who knows what happened!?!?

Wednesday was good.  I was up at 4:55 (!) and talked to myself until Mom got me at 5:20.  I ate a good breakfast, took a long nap, and then was in a great mood.  I threw some food on the floor when I started getting full.  Nana was NOT happy.  Rachel came by at 5:00 and took over for Nana (Mom had a dinner for work).  Other than trying to convince Rachel to give me a bath before bed time, the rest of my day went very smoothly.

On Thursday morning, I was all about helping (well, sort of) with the domestic chores.  I emptied out my cabinet, taking everything into the family room.  That was quite an accomplishment.  Then I put it all away.  Rachel came again at 5:00 and while we were playing with my farm, it broke!  I was so confused — and concerned!  Luckily, it’s totally fixable.

Friday  was a good day as I was in an especially great mood.  I got good sleep in, ate well, and Mom was home early!  Dinner was rough, as I started throwing food on the floor almost immediately.  Mom tried to play tough with me — taking my food away.  But then she felt bad that I hadn’t eaten enough, so she gave me banana and bread before bed time.  I won!

Saturday was quite an adventure.  As usual, I went to the grocery store with Dad.  He let me spend a lot of time outside of the cart, which was fun.  We got home and I ate breakfast.  The adventure for the day, though, was after lunch when we all went to the zoo!  I have to say that most of the zoo was pretty boring, but I loved seeing the horse and especially the birds.  They also have a fun little play area with a big tractor tire and big egg tunnel.