Father-daughter dance

Dad gets the short-shift in most of the photos and videos I post here because he's usually the one behind the camera. But we spent lots of time together bonding (don't get me wrong, I still love Mom more, but I do enjoy my time with Dad). One thing we've done together a lot through the years (all one-and-a-half of them) is dance together. Take a look at this never-before-posted video of Dad and me bopping to "That Thing You Do," which I loved at the time. I wasn't even four months old here!



That tradition has continued on since then. While the songs have changed, I still get a big kick out of dancing with Dad. For the past few months, I've enjoyed dancing with him to "Pollywog in a Bog," from the Barenaked Ladies. You'll see that there's one part in the song that is my favorite by far.



Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend, and I'll see you back here next week.

Happy Thanksgiving d(el)ay

Apparently I'm allergic to Thanksgiving. Last year I was sick on Thanksgiving after suffering a bad reaction to the flu shot I received the day before. This year, however, was much worse: I picked up a really nasty stomach virus over the weekend. And on top of that, I decided to share the wealth and pass it along to both Mom and Babcia. So we're all having a pretty rough week. I also "celebrated" another not-so-wonderful first yesterday: my first time throwing up (as opposed to spitting up, which I've had a lot of experience at).

It was touch and go there for awhile, but Mom, Dad and I are going to make the trip down to Grandma and Grandpa's anyway. Grandma has graciously agreed to delay Thanksgiving dinner by a day until tomorrow, in the hope that Mom and I will have recuperated enough to actually be able to sample some of the meal.

So I hope that you all enjoy Thanksgiving today; I'll try to do the same tomorrow. Gobble gobble!

Touched by a museum

I've been lucky enough to go to several children's museums this year, and two weeks ago I visited the undisputed king of them all. No, not the disappointing Port Discovery in Baltimore, but the new and improved (and relocated) Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.

Mom and Dad took me there before they ditched me for the weekend (I had more fun with Grandma and Grandpa anyway, so there!). First off, if you take me to a place called Please Touch, you're darn sure that I'm going to do just that, especially since "touch" is one of my favorite words. So let's see, there were lilly pads to jump around in...



A shoe store for me to run wild in...



A duck pond for me to splash around in...



And that was just the beginning (there was even a carousel — they thought of everything!). Take a look at this long video of my fun-filled, and exhausting, day.



I had so much fun that I passed out as we left and I napped for almost 3 hours. I don't even think I had a chance to explore every nook and cranny, so I'm going to make sure Mom and Dad take me back again real soon!

By the way, today is my 18-month birthday. I'm a year and a half now, can you believe it?

Back to Baltimore

So it turns out I have more one video to share from my recent Baltimore trip to visit Uncle Ryan. This contains a few odds and ends, including our walk around the Inner Harbor — where Ryan used to work — and some footage from our visit to the Port Discovery Children's Museum. Unfortunately, Port Discovery was the least interesting of the children's museums I've been to, but no matter: the following day in Philly I went to the BEST children's museum ever (more on that tomorrow).

Delightful dolphins

I promised to show you video from the dolphin show I saw at the Baltimore Aquarium last week. It was very impressive. My favorite part is when the dolphin jumps really high in the air—almost to the ceiling—and touches that red object. I always get excited and say "touch!" after I see it.



And that brings us to the end of another week. Dad is on weekend duty, so I'll be doing lots of bonding with Mom this weekend. And I still have lots of videos to share from our week off (including my exploits at the Please Touch Museum in Philly), so I'll see you back here next week!

Something fishy

So last week we went down to Baltimore to visit my Uncle Ryan. It was so great to see him and he took us to the coolest place: the Baltimore Aquarium. I got to say "fish" over and over, because there were new fish to see everywhere I turned. And then there was something there even better than fish:


Bubbles! I kept returning to these bubble-filled tubes. It was so great. Here's a look at my day at the aquarium (you'll spot Uncle Ryan with me several times in the video):



I did leave out one terrific part: the dolphin show. So check back tomorrow for that!

Walk the dinosaur

There was plenty of fun to be had in New York City last week in addition to my first haircut. As always, I was thrilled to get to ride the choo-choo into the city. Here I am at the train station anticipating its arrival and then enjoying the big ride.



Even more fun was our visit to the Museum of Natural History, where I got to see something that I read about everyday in my Good Night New York City book: dinosaur bones!



Dino! Dino! Between the museum, the train and the haircut, it's no surprise that I ended up passing out from all the excitement.


But that was just the beginning of my busy week. Tomorrow I'll tell you all about our trip to Baltimore.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

What a whirlwind week! I spent time on vacation with Mom and Dad in New York, South Jersey, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Every day we did something different, whether it was going to a museum, an aquarium or the hair salon!

I've got lots of photos and videos to share with you — so many in fact that it might take until Thanksgiving to get through all of them. So let's get started.

Last Monday, Mom and Dad took me into the city for another big "first": my first haircut. You've probably noticed that my mane had been getting a little out of control and mullet-y for a while now, and with the holidays coming up Mom figured it was the perfect time to get me a haircut.

So we hopped on a train (more on that tomorrow) and headed into the city, where we visited Cozy's Kids Salon in Mom and Dad's old neighborhood. Mom and Dad were a little nervous about how I would react, but their worrying was for naught. The Cozy's people know just what us kids want. In my case, it was as easy as popping in an Elmo DVD for me to watch and I was transfixed the whole time. She probably could have shaved my head bald and I wouldn't have batted an eye!

Here's a look at some of the many photos Dad took of my haircut:





And voila, here's my new 'do! Doesn't it look great?


And of course no recounting of a big event in my life would be complete without video footage as well. Enjoy:



I've got more to share from my New York city visit, so check back tomorrow.

Down under

Someday, Mom and Dad say they are going to turn the basement into a big playroom for me. But even now, I have plenty of ways to entertain myself down there, from playing "Humpty Dumpty" with Dad to learning the magnetic alphabet on the basement fridge to relocating Mom and Dad's Propel bottles. Take a look:



Have a good weekend, everyone. I can't wait to tell you about all the fun I had on the road with Mom and Dad this week!

Ask Julia: 11/12/08

Before I left for Cherry Hill and Baltimore, I cleaned out my mailbox and answered a few Ask Julia questions. The first is from Isabella:

The coolest thing happened this week...we took mommy to the choo-choo. She actually got into the choo-choo! I never knew just anyone could do that. Then my mommy told me that your mommy and daddy ride the choo-choo every day! They are so lucky. Do you ever get to go with them?
As a matter of fact, I've gone on two round-trip train rides over the past couple weeks. First I went in with Babcia and Dido for Dad's Halloween party, then Mom and Dad took me in Monday for my first haircut. Both times, I was so excited and overwhelmed that I ended up falling asleep. I'd advise you to keep whining and crying until your Mom and Dad take you on it too.

And then Aunt Paula wrote with a few questions:

Looks like you had a great time trick or treating. Did you get a lot of candy? Did you get to eat any of it? I sure hope so.
While I tried to grab handfuls of candy everywhere I went, I didn't end up with that much (I think Dad gave a lot of it back when I wasn't looking!). As for your second question, I had no idea you could eat candy. I thought you just played with it! I'll have to look into that next year!

I am sure glad that you were for Obama. I was for him too. I like your shirt. Do you think that you will keep it for your part in campaigning history?
I'm not doing wearing it yet, but if theshirt is still in good shape afterwards, sure I'll keep it. After all, that shirt is the main reason he won!

What is the best part of your gym class?
Anytime I get free of Mom and Dad (and the rest of the class) and get to run around myself. That's when I'm happiest. I like doing activities there with Mom and Dad, but I get the biggest rush when I go rogue.

Do you have a bike yet?
I don't, but I'm hoping to get some vehicles (perhaps not a bike yet, but other things) around Christmas!

That's it for this week's questions. I'll probably put together another Ask Julia column before Thanksgiving, so be sure to send me some Turkey Day questions when you write me.

Calls and kisses

I sure do love calling my friends and family on the phone. But I love giving them kisses over the phone even more. What do I mean? Take a look at this video I made during Grandma and Grandpa's visit last week:



By the way, I had my first haircut yesterday and it went off without a hitch — and without any tears. I won't have a chance to post a video and photos until next week, but just wanted to pass along the good news.

Hands on

Mom and Dad both have taken the week off—it's their first joint vacation since the spring—so I get to spend all week with them. We've got a lot of things planned, but before all that starts I wanted to bring you up to speed on what I've been up to lately.

For the past couple weeks, I've resumed getting up at night and battling with Dad over whether I'll go back down or not. It's been a tough fight, and we've both had our moments of victory, but the result has been a new routine for putting me down at night. For more than a year, Dad (others too, but mostly him) would give me my bottle in the rocker and I would either fall asleep during that or he'd keep rocking me until I went down, then move me into the crib. That doesn't work so well anymore, so now Dad (or whoever) lets me drink my milk (in a sippy cup), then we read a few bedtime stories (Goodnight Moon, Goodnight New York City, Goodnight Zoo, Goodnight Beach - notice a theme here?). Finally, Dad has me lay down in my crib and he lays down beside me, holding my hand for a few minutes until I fall asleep. It's worked out okay so far, both at bedtime and in the middle of the night. (I like to say "Hand!" over and over to remind Dad what he needs to do.) We both know it's not the final solution, but it's a good transition into whatever the next step is.

And by the way, I don't think I ever mentioned this, but back in September, Mom and Dad finally stopped recording my sleeping, eating and diapering habits, which they'd been doing since I was born. I realize this is very old news, but I just wanted to put it out there since I don't think I did before.

I'll try to throw up a few posts during our time away, so enjoy them and we'll talk when I get back!

Tricks and treats, part 2

It's hard to believe I know, but I still have a couple more Halloween videos to share with you. In between trick or treating excursions, I relaxed around the house. And after refusing to wear Abby's yarn-hair hairband for more than a week, I finally relented, as long as I was the one who put it on:



Of course once I went back out trick or treating, I refused to wear it any longer.



And finally, here's a compilation of all my favorite Halloween moments from Oct. 30 and 31.



I'm very sad that it's all over, but I'm already planning my costume for next year!

Tricks and treats, part 1

So how about that election, huh? I now have a perfect record when it comes to picking presidents! But now that the election is over, I can catch you up on my very happy Halloween.

Halloween was so great! Mom and Dad took me trick or treating to the shops in town, and then we went for another round of trick or treating on our block. Because I had been trick or treating at Dad's work the day before, I knew exactly what to do: grab as much candy as Mom and Dad would allow, then say "More!" so we could move on to the next place.

Here's some photos of me in action, once again dressed as Abby Cadabby:







And of course we have video of my big day. Here's me trick or treating in town:



And here's a look at the trick or treating I did on our block:



But wait, there's more! I'll be back tomorrow with additional Halloween videos.

I'm an Obama baby!

The time has come for the most anticipated endorsement of this presidential campaign: mine! After careful consideration of both candidates, I have decided....



...to endorse Barack Obama for President.

I realize this news will come as a major disappointment to Babcia and Dido, who have been making strong arguments for McCain every single day, but I had to follow my heart...and my shirt!



Here's a video of my endorsement, which I made over the past couple weeks. I show off my Obama shirt, practice saying his name and finally I work the phones to get the word out: vote Obama!



Dad told me that the support of the coveted 17-month-old voting demographic should be the last push Obama needs to put him over the top tomorrow night. In all seriousness, I hope that everyone — even if you don't agree with my candidate of choice — makes sure to vote tomorrow. I can't cast a ballot myself, so I'm relying on you guys!

(And I'll be back with a huge Halloween wrapup after the election!)