working in the yard

Really... we're working.

OK, Daddy stopped to blow bubbles
after Kaemon Ze spotted the container
on the steps of his tree house. :)

Big helper!

He liked being pushed, too.

Daddy snapped this one morning last week.
Kaemon Ze's all dressed and ready to go to Gramma's house.
He decided he'd rather drive Daddy.
(All photos above shot by Daddy with his iPhone.)

this is but that isn't

I finally rounded-up our 'junk drawer' - doesn't it look purty as all get out?

While I've used open-faced, shallow boxes before, I'm adding something new - labeled boxes with covers (cheap, Ikea). The hope is, there is no spare space, or very little, where something can be tossed in, so things being put in the drawer will require a little effort. Wish us luck. Haha!

And you know how you get one thing done and there's 1,035 more things to do? Take this photo below for example. Pre-mobile baby I was rather compulsive about having "squares on top" and "rounds on the bottom." This is one of the few cabinets Kaemon Ze has access to. Now look at it:

Sheesh. It's a damn good thing I'm not anal-retentive. This would drive me nuts. :) At some point soon, I think Kaemon Ze will get a big kick out of keeping the squares and the rounds separate. But for now, chaos reigns.

friday fun

and the winner is...

Number two! And that means that Katie is the winner of the autographed book, Game Night, written by Jonny Nexus. CONGRATULATIONS, Katie!

he is...

I can hardly believe our little guy is 15 months old today!

Kaemon Ze is starting to repeat words more and more. Today I started to think about all the words he either says or signs (with baby sign language) and soon realized I needed a pen and paper. Thank you husband and Grandma for your input, too! Little Dude is learning by leaps and bounds:

Baby Sign Language Used:
yes
no
phone
all done
hat
flower
apple
frog
please
me (please and me may be the same: "I want")
burp
banana
berry
book
more
bottle
thank you
toothbrush
eat
dog
cat
fish
butterfly
sleep
pig
bunny

hot

Books - when he wants one of his favorites, he will sign to let you know which one he wants:
Itsy Bitsy Spider (he signs "rain")
Wheels on the Bus (he signs "wheels" - for him, it's moving his body back and forth; he'll also do a circle on his chest)
BINGO (he claps)
Barnyard Dance (he claps and stomps his feet)

5 Little Monkeys (he makes the monkey sound)

Spoken Words:
mom/mama
dad/daddy
hey
hat
up
light
cheese (new)
octopus (new)
turtle (new)
chicken (new)
Katie
hummingbird (new)
hi
how do

owe (when accidently hurts us, he kisses the owie)
nuh-huh
uh-ho
ice
eye
oops
clock
duck
boo!
nan (bread)
outside

grandma "am-maw" (new)

grandpa "gampa" or "papa" (new)

truck "uck"

tractor "actor" (new)

hot (new)

Cheerios "o's"
dirty

Phrases Used a few times:
I love you dad
I love you mom

Word NOT spoken to date:
No! (isn't that GREAT?)

Animal Sounds:
snake
cat
bear
tiger
lion
elephant (new)
squirrel
whale (new)
duck
monkey/ape/chimp
chicken
fish
horse
owl
sheep
goat
cow
wolf

Now he's pointing to more obscure animals in his photo book and wanting to know their sounds... animals like whales, crickets, slugs, deer. We've been watching Planet Earth (BBC edition, on DVD), which has been helpful in learning some of these more unknown animal sounds. I'm anticipating he'll ask about giraffes and thus far, I'm stumped. :D


We're amazed at how much he understands. For example, last week I noticed his rooster toy was on the floor. Without pointing to it, I looked directly at him and said, "would you pick up your rooster and put it in your toy box?" - And he did! I didn't even know he knew "toy box." Also last week, I looked directly at him (eye contact) and spoke a very long request: "would you put mommy's socks on the other side of the gate so daddy can taken them down to wash?" To our utter amazement, he took the socks and dropped them over the baby gate, into the hall. WOW.

(Image source: http://mrana.typepad.com/bitbybit/)

Since he's so aware, he's making us so aware of what we say and do. ;)

A few more notes for me to record for future baby book input: he's just a smidgen over 29 lbs and is working on his 4th(?) moler. He has a total of nine teeth in.

Things he LOVES:

crushed ice cubes;

wheels / tires in ANY form;

being read to;

those he sees most: his dad, mom, grandma, grandpa, and Katie;

playing outside;

his fairies, fish, and hummingbird above his crib;

making eye contact with people he doesn't (yet) know;

looking at his books;

the family cat, Raven (who seems to have an intrinsic connection with Kaemon Ze);

being chased; and

rocking out on his electronic keyboard (he'll manage to push the button that creates a great beat and then he'll start bobbing his body, so we start dancing, then just like a DJ, he'll keep on hand on the keys and watch his crowd, adjusting his tunes to suit his mood. Really funny to watch him channel some DJ.)

guerilla tactics - with love

A little something I do to spread a little fun and joy to random folks is to modify my (used) latte sleeves. Usually I take my own mug, but once in a while I forget, and end up with a store-cup and sleeve, Like this one above.

I cover the logo with stickers, like this.

Here's what the back of a modified sleeve may look like.

This one needed a little something more.

Perfect!

The original.

The improved.

The flip side.

So what do I do with them?
I return them to the shops and put them back in the stack of new sleeves. :)
I'm such a rebel.

I made chicken tacos tonight.
They turned out so pretty I took a photo. :)

my cover boys

(Wanna add your cutie? Go here.)

one of the funniest things I've seen

What Stormtroopers do on Their Day Off <---- click the link to see the whole, hilarious series.

worm composting - learn how, tonight

When 6:00 to 7:00pm, Tuesday, January 19

Where People’s Coop, 3029 SE 21st Avenue, Portland

Are you intrigued by the idea of a worm bin? Do you like the thought of having a worm farm that eats your food scraps and transforms them into usable compost? Worm composting uses red worms to create vermicompost, a nutrient rich “super compost”. Come join People’s, make a worm bin together, and learn how to keep the worms happy with fruit and vegetable scraps from your kitchen. This seminar is free of charge.

For more information, please visit http://www.peoples.coop.

Learn more online: http://www.redwrigglerranch.com/about/red-worm-composting.htm

birthday in the middle

So what do you do when
it's your birthday
and half of your friends live in Portland
and the other half live in Seattle?

You host your own party 100 miles in the middle; take over a hotel; and have a raucas good time! At least that's what Lori did - and man did we benefit from her creative idea! What a great time we had. Happy Birthday Forever, Lori!