The gang's all here for a New Year's Rock (Band)-in' Eve. Everybody wanted me to play Baby 2010, but nobody volunteered to be Old Man 2009.
Hooray, my passport arrived while we were traveling. After all that fuss, my photo must have been printed when the yellow ink cartridge was low. I guess it'll be handy if I ever want to travel after bathing in cherry Kool-Aid.
Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Uncle Colin
Aunt Martha took everybody to the Coco Key Water Resort. It's an even bigger shower than the one in Duluth! And this time, we got to sit down and get acquainted slowly. I splashed in the shallows with Dad and nearly fell asleep floating on an inner tube with Mom.
Aunt Martha and Uncle Colin's neighbors host a fancy-dress Christmas party every year. I totally had the fanciest dress.
When Christmas dinner conflicts with naptime, you know where my priorities are. All that splishing and splashing takes a toll on a girl.
The fancy-dress party is only 8 hours away, so I'd better start my toilette now.
Christmas morning at last! The gift-opening orgy started at 7:00 sharp. Santa brought me an H.
Mom and Dad went off to see 101 Dalmatians and dumped me at a neighbor's house with only a playpen, a pacifier, two bottles, my squeaky giraffe, a rattle, three gangly animals, a hand-me-down musical octopus, two friendly dogs, and Michaela, my first babysitter.
Cousins Ethan, Martha, and Sarah tried to show me what Christmas is all about. I think I can get into this. With extra minions around, I don't even need to learn to crawl.
We left Grandma and Grandpa's house in St. Paul and flew to Boston, where... Grandma and Grandpa were waiting for us! If I knew about object permanence, I'd be impressed.
Everyone in Minnesota has properly admired me, so it's time to break camp and fly to Boston.
Minnesota drivers have a funny way of greeting each other in the wintertime. A nice man gave our car a little love tap with his on a highway entrance ramp. I was pretty scared at first, but it takes more than a fender-bender to put me off my nap, so I snoozed while Mom and Dad made friends with him.
We went with Great-Grandma for her wash 'n' set at the beauty parlor. I hope I look as good as she does at 91.
Grandma and Grandpa's house is covered in this cold, white stuff. It's like the inside of the freezer, but it tastes better.
We had a yummy breakfast with Great-Grandpa before heading back to St. Paul. His place has great service: the staff slap the food on the table, then spend the rest of their time cooing at the baby.
Ever wonder what the crack of dawn looks like? Now you know. I used to show it to Mom and Dad a lot, before they put aluminum foil on the bedroom windows.
We stayed at a place with the biggest shower you ever saw, but it had an attitude problem. Everyone was leaving when we arrived, so we only stayed long enough for it to spray water in my face. This is supposed to be fun?
After dinner, we went back to Great-Grandpa's place. I can't reuse the photo joke, so instead I showed him some finer points of flying. Who says Minnesota is flyover country? I do!
We took Great-Grandpa out to dinner for his 96th birthday. Let's see, that's how many times older than me? I'm gonna need more toes for this one.
Road trip! Next stop: Duluth. I hear Minnesota's north woods are picturesque. Is that another word for bleak?
First stop in the Minnesota tour was Dad's grandma. Her middle name is the same as mine. What a coincidence!
I didn't know that mirror babies grew on trees. Grandma and Grandpa have quite a crop here in their living room.
My 3.5-hour flight to St. Paul sat on the tarmac for 3 hours due to two separate mechanical problems. Sorry about the crying, folks: baby union overtime policy.
Another month, another cross-country trip. This time I'm off to St. Paul and Duluth to visit my great-grandparents. Then on to Boston.
Great. Now I'll never get into a motorcycle gang.
Yo ho ho! (Not to be confused with "Ho ho ho" -- that's later.) It's all for moosh and moosh for all.
My week-long furlough is over, and I have a new MSDF cellmate, Butch. I'll teach her to sit up, and then we're taking over this joint.
I met some of my more distant relatives, from back east. (When you live spitting-up distance from the Pacific Ocean, just about everywhere is back east.) Massi Savita is Mom's brother's wife's sister, and Danielle is Mom's mom's brother's daughter. Apparently neither of them knows the flying game, though, so whatever.
Most people dressed up, but I'm the only one hip enough to pull off "gobble" footies. Except I can't. How am I supposed to suck my toes now?
Lots of Mom's family are here at Great-Uncle Mike's for Thanksgiving. Relatives traveled from California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, and Grandma Natalie and Grandpa Dale even came up from Texas. I wish my distant relations lived closer.
Debbie knows all about flying, but Corinna started teaching me to ride. My beginner steed Matzi is very patient.
The morning after we arrived in Albany, we got back into the car to visit Mom and Dad's friends Debbie and Corinna in Ithaca. It was a record two-nap drive.
Here we are back in Albany, for Thanksgiving with Mom's extended family. The card on the hotel desk said something about a fancy adjustable air bed, but I'm not seeing it.
I know airlines are always trying to increase capacity, but this is ridiculous. In the last three months, the headroom in these plane seats has been halved. At least the seat's well padded.
For the past six weeks, Mom and Dad have taken me to clandestine gatherings where people sit in a circle around an elaborate stage and make arcane hand gestures. They claim they're learning a form of communication, but I think it's really casting magic spells.
We played Rock Band at Ted's birthday party. I remember something like this from about 9 months ago, only it was a lot darker and more muffled. Mom would be able to sing better now, if I weren't still leaning on her diaphragm. Don't worry, I'll help out with the high notes.
Check out my stylin' ride. It's fully loaded with sun shade, chin rest, and wet bar.
Dad got out the box of winter clothes in preparation for my visits to relatives in the Frozen North. He promised me I'll fit in better dressed like this.
They say carrots are good for the eyes. I wonder how they are on chins and ears? Lean closer, Dad.
Chin rinsers come in do-it-yourself models, too, with convenient handles. Plus, this one doubles as a giant pacifier.
Sometimes after Mom or Dad has been smearing carrots or oatmeal on me for a while, they'll use one of these to dribble water down my face. What an amazing world, where they make special gadgets just for rinsing chins.
