“What project do you want to do today?” Jeremiah asked Naomi this morning.
She went into our room and emerged with the cut off pony tail from when I got my hair cut. I’ll send it to the wig-making charity one of these days….
“I want to glue the hair on your head, dad!”

“Me big giwl.” Pause for reflection. “Little boobies, Big giwl.” The absurdity of the claim didn’t bother her in the least.  She looked down at her own insignificant bumps and compared them to my insignificant bumps. Hers are still smaller. To her, Mommy’s boobies are the pink push-up bra, whose modest cavities are sadly not even filled by what’s left of my real boobies after nursing two kids.

We were talking about an upcoming family tramping trip with William’s family (he’s watching Milo fish in this photo), an event Milo is quite excited about. “Now that the days are getting shorter, I’ll get to see William quicker!” Brilliant thought, but not quite. Ensuing discussion around day + night = 24 hours, even in winter, was largely lost on him.

Proud first fish catch! “Why are its eyes red?” Good question. I have no idea.

I’m sure this wasn’t what Omi intended for the squirrel family when she brought them for Naomi. He even removed their clothes before cooking them.

We were talking about an upcoming family tramping trip with William’s family (he’s watching Milo fish in this photo), an event Milo is quite excited about. “Now that the days are getting shorter, I’ll get to see William quicker!” Brilliant thought, but not quite. Ensuing discussion around day + night = 24 hours, even in winter, was largely lost on him.

Yogurt drink makes the best milk mustache ever!

Gaaaasssppp. “Milo!”
That was a full mommy-sized bowl of noodles and sauce that is splattered from one end of the room to the other. On carpet. Why anyone ever carpets a DINING ROOM I’ll never comprehend.
Milo had been in a very helpful mode this evening, even offering to carry Mom’s food to the table. Half way there he decided it was too hot, and dropped it. He continued in his chipper mood after a cursory apology. “There’s another splatter over there,” he points. “You’re nearly half way done cleaning up, Mom.” Thanks buddy.

The fascination with what’s inside their pants is in full swing. For some reason, Milo and his buddy decided that pumping cold hose water down their shorts would be delightful. They tried both the front and the back application, with Naomi in full cooperation.

Every morning when I get to school there’s an assignment for me to do on my white board. This morning I was to draw my favorite animal and write the sentence you see. I drew a bear, but had a gap where its tummy was supposed to be. Mom asked me to finish his tummy, so I drew a big circle and a penguin in the tummy. This is a polar bear.

Yesterday I decided it was time to completely take apart my lego fire engine and rebuild it. I can follow the instructions all by myself, and the only time I needed Mom’s help was when I couldn’t find a piece. Turns out it wasn’t stolen, as I had thought–Mom found it on the part I already put together. I was quite proud of the final construction!

“I do it!” I have to remind Mommy continually that I CAN DO IT ALL BY MYSELF. And really, I can; if she would only give me enough time I would put on my own socks and shoes, pull up my own undies (Yes! no more diapers!), open my own car door, buckle my own helmet strap, and push my own button on the water fountain. I didn’t want to actually drink it anyway.

Conversation overheard while Milo and Amelie (looking away) were playing in the bunk beds:
Milo: “There’s a shark under the bed.”
Amelie: “Let’s get your dad to bring his gun and shoot it.”
Milo: “I don’t have my dad’s number.”
Sophie (Amelie’s mum): “If he had the number, then obviously the scenario would go ahead!” Sophie had good humor about the whole thing, even though they’re unarmed English and the gun-toting Americans have influenced their daughters.

Giggle giggle! I don’t need words to tell you that I’m feeling strong and capable and LOVING IT!

“This is a mommy rooster and her eggs. She’s picking up the baby rooster. The X is the egg that already hatched.” We’ve moved into the realm of story-drawings, and Mom is enjoying it.

Too cute to resist! Mommy made us this bench, and we look gorgeous on it.

“This is a motorbike with four wheels. It has eyes and two big tusks that is uses to push over cars. The hedgehog is sniffing along and hitting that motorbike.” You can tell what encompasses Milo’s world—Bikes, Motors, creatures with big horns and prickles.  For some reason he always writes his name “Moil.”

I know I’ve said it before, but I guess I’ll say it again. Kids + sand = Happiness!

There’s a sesame street song: “Cooperation, makes it happen; Cooperation, working together!” It’s still relatively rare, but here’s a snippet of the cooperative play that I hope will become more common as they both grow.

We’ll save this one for his 21st birthday. Or perhaps a bachelor party. Pink and sparkly seems to be naturally pretty to boys and girls alike, until we teach our boys that it’s not for them. It’s a shame, they’re so cute.  Milo has been enjoying these Playcenter clothes we’ve had home for mending.

I am super excited about our upcoming visit to Omi and Abi’s house. Mom told me we’ll be taking THREE planes to get there, so I built a plane with my legos. It held together because it has a strong foundation, just like Daddy recommends.

Mommy thinks my nose-scrunch-smile is funny….what she doesn’t realize is that I got it from her.

These days I skip the “What is it?” question and go directly to the heart of the matter: “What does it taste like?”

Here I am practicing red stag bugles with Daddy’s new piece of vacuum cleaning hose while wearing Mommy’s high heels. Mom said she’s going to save this photo to pull out for my wedding some day.

Naomi, if only I could imagine what you are dreaming in this photo. You’re absolutely beautiful.

When Mommy feeds Naomi, sometimes I feed Charlotte (usually through my belly button), and burp her using an urp rag, in case she spits up. Charlotte is the bunny Omi made for me when she was here, named after our new baby neighbor. I’m Charlotte’s Mommy, so I feed her when she cries and I change her nappy when she’s done big poos (often!). I’m a good Mommy to Charlotte!

I like to hold Naomi, and I don’t mind when she tries to push away–I just hold on tighter! I always ask for “One little hug” before I go to bed. Mommy thinks it’s one of my clever procrastination techniques, but really, I do love to hold her.

Regan painted my face at playcenter. I’m a green tiger (my request). I’m obsessed with tigers, green and otherwise, and I’m sure my roars are more convincing when my face is painted. Naomi certainly thinks so–she startles and squints when I ROAR in her face. At least I get a reaction…when I read to her she doesn’t even look at the pictures, even when I shout “Pay Attention!”

I like taking pictures with Mommy and Daddy’s camera, and I’m getting much better at it too! I point the camera at my subject, check to see that they’re in view, hold the camera still, press the button, then say “Good One!” Don’t you think this is a Good One of Omi?

Mommy spends a lot of time feeding Naomi these days, so I took her picture with an artistic slant.  She says I used to drink Mommy Milk too when I was little like Naomi, but I’m happy with drinking Cow Milk now.  I even said thank you to the Cows at dinner tonight.

This morning we went and saw a picture of Baby Number 2 (still inside Mommy’s tummy), then Mommy and I went for Special Hot Drinks. I got a hot chocolate with a BIG marshmallow. I love cafe drinks. I get a cup and saucer just like Mom’s, plus a spoon to stir with. Today we sat outside on the patio and watched the traffic–bikers, runners, buses, even an ambulance and a mail man on a motorcycle!

I like cats. At Justine’s house (where I go when Mommy’s working) there were two cats, but one died so now there’s only one. She has long grey fur. The cat in the photo lives at my friend’s house and is named Harry (for obvious reasons). I really loved him because he sat on my lap and let me pet him for as long as I wanted.

Mommy and Daddy like taking pictures, and so do I! I took lots of pictures of our house and of Mommy this morning before I asked her to take my picture. I really love reviewing the photos I’ve taken, but I haven’t quite figured out which button to press to do that by myself…..I always end up with a boring menu by accident. Oh well, I’ll keep pressing buttons and eventually I’ll get the right one!

I like playing with Tristan, but we also do a bit of shoving and pushing…..just because, well, because he’s there and available. He’s not a baby that I have to be gentle with, and I have to guard my stuff in case Tristan touches it. Sometimes he starts it and sometimes I do. And sometimes we run and play together nicely, and our Mommy’s are happy and can chat over whatever Mommy’s talk about.

I like it when Daddy comes home, puts down his iphone, and rowdy-plays with me! It’s Friday, which means that Daddy’s beard has grown since Monday. We were sitting at the table and I put my hand on Daddy’s cheek and told him it was Rough, then put my hand on his head and told him it was Smooth. I put my hand on my own head and said “Hair,” meaning I have hair where Daddy’s head is smooth. Daddy called me a “Little Squirt” and decided that we needed a little rowdy play before bed. I’m alright with that!

My favorite lunch is a toss-up between a peanut-butter (“Burrr” I call it) and jelly sandwich and yogurt (“Yurt”). We chose a sandwich yesterday for the bike ride because it’s more portable, and stopped at a chapel and cemetery to eat lunch. I’m an expert at eating all the good parts and leaving the barren crusts for Mama.

Here’s one of my favorite toys from the toy library–a set of magnetic letters with a fishing pole. I know about 2/3 of the letters…the ones that have Sesame Street songs to match them, plus A for Audrey and B for Baby and D for Daddy and X….because I just like how that one sounds. I think Mama has even more fun singing the Sesame street songs than I do.  And if you can’t tell, I took this photo myself.

Daddy has Buck Fever again….or I guess you’d call it Stag Flu in New Zealand. We spent a few minutes this evening watching hunting videos on you tube. It’s the “roar” time here (what we call “rut” at home), and I can give you a good impression of what a deer says thanks to these you tube videos. I can’t wait until Daddy can take me hunting!

I’m walking all by myself! My shoes were a little slippery though, and Daddy made me hold his hand on the steep parts.

Sometimes I got tired of riding in the backpack and started to make whiny noises and sign with my hands that I was “all done” riding for the day. If we weren’t quite at our destination (a hut), Mama and Daddy would stop and give me some M&M’s, and maybe I’d do a little walking by myself. This here is an Orange M&M, orange like Daddy’s backpack. I also ate Red-like-daddy’s-shirt M&M’s and Blue-like-hat M&M’s and Green-like-leaves M&M’s. They all taste good to me.

Mama and Daddy and I rode the Gondola in Queenstown, way way up through the trees and over the city. I thought it was super cool, and I felt super cool sitting next to Daddy in my red Cookie hat.

Mama swats flies in our house a lot (and complains about windows without screens), and I swat with a kitchen towel just like her. I’m an expert at imitating, so good that Mama has to watch what she does and says because even if I can’t copy the words yet, I’ll copy the pose and tone of voice!  I raise my towel, hold there for a second, flick it at the offending fly, then exclaim “ah!”

We went this afternoon to see the model trains driven by a club of old men, model train gurus. First I watched a bunch of other kids get rides on trains, then Daddy took me on a ride too! We went under a bridge and around a lake and through some trees, and eventually back to where we started. I was very solemn and serious while on the train ride, looking carefully at where we were going and making sure not to fall off.

Building a tower is serious business. Mama helped get the bridge structure going (since Daddy wasn’t home yet), and I embellished it with flowers and a tall asymmetrical tower.

Tonight I made COOKIES with Daddy. I helped dump flour and sugar and peanutbutter in the bowl, then I tasted, then I stirred, then I tasted, then we added the egg and I tasted again. I had to have a time out because I tasted when Daddy said I had had enough. But it’s just impossible to keep my finger out of the bowl–it moves on it’s own! When the cookies came out of the oven they were too hot to eat and I had to WAIT. That was very Very hard. I tried blowing on them to make them cool faster. Finally Daddy let me eat one, and it was SO GOOD.

Here I am with my buddy Tristan. I usually meet Tristan at the pool and I bring my rubber duckies to share, but today we all went on a walk. I love playing with Tristan, even though we usually both get Time Out for pushing….. We are just seeing what happens when we lean on each other with varying degrees of force, but our Moms keep getting in the way.
Parental note: I do wonder what would happen if we didn’t intervene. I suspect they would reach an equilibrium just like playing puppies, but there might be some bodily damage before that happened.

Ooooh, this was a neat train cake! Mama let me watch a movie, and when I was finished, there was this snazzy cake that Mama wouldn’t let me eat. Wait, Later, Soon…..all those words mean NO, I can’t pick off the M&M’s.

Mommom and Poppop sent me a new movie, so I watched Hermie while Mama puttered around in the kitchen. Fascinating stuff.

My birthday was last weekend (I’m 2 now!) and I helped Mama clean up the cupcake batter. It is really hard to get the good stuff out of that measuring cup with only a stubby little finger to work with! Afterward I cleaned up the bowl, Mama had to clean ME up.

Last weekend we met our friends and walked out on the pier at New Brighton Beach, where people toss nets with chicken carcasses into the water and pull up crabs. Pretty cool. Audrey was holding her mama’s hand, so I held Audrey’s hand to make a train….for about 5 seconds anyway. Then I had to go jump off the benches, look down at the water, and examine the crab catching paraphernalia littering the walk.

We finally got to see what was in those bulging stockings! I kept feeling more and more and more things at the toe of my stocking. I saw the frosted animal crackers Daddy helped me pick out. The rest was chocolate, Mama and Daddy aren’t too imaginative, but hey, I like chocolate! I wanted my cookies last night instead of my noodles and told Mama so by pointing and yelling COOKIE and crying and throwing myself on the floor, but she didn’t budge….and I didn’t eat my noodles so I didn’t get to have any cookies before bed. I bet Mama’s parents weren’t so mean to her.

Yesterday we went to Audrey’s birthday party and ate cake. Mama and I decorated special Audrey cupcakes and brought them along too. There were balloons and lots of other people. I spent the rest of the day exclaiming over the bubbles and bubble want that she gave me to bring home.

This is my friend Audrey, who just turned 3 years old. Audrey is very sweet and shares her dolls with me, but I get jealous when she sits on my Mama’s lap. There’s chocolate under all that PINK icing on the cake, which I sampled and approved of. Her little brother Baby Noah even took his first steps at the party in celebration, and everyone cheered.

Mama’s birthday was last weekend, so we went to the wading pool at Hagley park and then got coffee at the Garden Curator’s cafe. I ate the foam off Mama’s cappuccino, then finished off Daddy’s icecream…..that was after I already ate half of Mama’s caramel brownie. Mama says it was a middle aged sort of birthday, whatever that means, but I thought it was great.

I picked a Maurice Pledger book to read this morning with Mama. It’s one of my favorites because when I turn a page I hear animal noises and parts of the pages pop up. We count frogs and beetles, snakes and monkeys. And this morning we got to combine photography with book reading, two of my (many) passions in life.

Kicking up water with my toes is so great! This water is particularly nice because it’s warm, and there’s a nice long run-way to splash uninterrupted. I suggest splashing to everyone to make them Happy.

A box came from Omi and Abi the other day, and when Mama opened it there were some more paper-wrapped things, plus this red hat that just fits me! I LOVE my new red hat because it’s just like Daddy’s. It has a big white C on the front. C is for Cookie, as anyone knows who watches Sesame Street. My hat also says “Cornell,” and I’m not sure what a Cornell Cookie is, but it must be super good!

Mama and Daddy brought me to the big orange store, Mitre 10, this evening. We puttered around in the hose and sprinkler aisle for a while, but after that I got to play in the massive playground they have in the store just for kids like me. Well, kids like me and Mama’s like mine. When we were crawling around in the tunnels Mama said that we probably felt like hamsters. I don’t know what a hamster is, but they must have a lot of fun in their lives.

Mama gave me a hair cut last night. She took about 12 Sesame Street songs to do it…or maybe more. I was sleepy but I can always manage to stay awake to watch Sesame Street, and sometimes Mama watches it with me. She remembers the songs from when she was little….must be a LONG time ago. She said she’s looking forward to watching the songs with Abi because Abi is even older, and he probably knows the famous songs that the Sesame Street ones are playing on. Anyway, today my hair is much shorter and I can feel the wind on my forehead.  Strange.

Usually Mama doesn’t let me help stir the bread, but today she mumbled something about the floor being due for a wash anyway and pulled a big chair over to the counter so I could reach. I like poking the bread dough, and I like the “poof” the flour makes when I phwap it.

Mama leaned down and I reminded her where her cheek was by dusting it with flour, very gently of course. Cheek is one word I CAN say.

So this is what Mama’s doing up on that counter that I usually can’t quite reach–she’s playing with play dough! I was a great dough smacker and could pound the extra flour right in there.

CHEESE! Not for the camera, for my mouth! I like cookies even better, but I do like cheese a lot too, and I recently learned how to say it. Mama and Daddy huffed and puffed and got up to this pass so that we could have lunch up there on the Saddle above Hapuka hut in Kaikoura. Then we turned around and walked back down. Mmmm! Cheese with a view! Maybe next time they’ll bring wine.

I LOVE throwing rocks into water. They make such a satisfying plunk/splash as they disappear. At this stream crossing people were just walking straight through, getting their boots wet. Since I’m not as educated as daddy (yet) I can’t build them a bridge, but I thought maybe I could fill in a pathway if I tossed enough rocks into this pool. I didn’t get to finish the job before dark, so maybe another kid will come along after me to finish it up.

I went over to visit my neighbor Natalie this afternoon and was surprised that she greeted me with a long, lingering hug. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, so I just held still.

Natalie has a spiffy red car WITH a trailer and a petrol cap. I found a pink hair band in the cap and Natalie showed me how to stuff it back in. She was very nice to let me drive her car, but Mama made me share the driving wheel from time to time. One time I didn’t want to share it so I tried hitting Natalie to see if she would get out and let me get in, but that didn’t work so well because Mama made me sit tight on her lap for a minute, and then we had to go home to take a nap. I hope Natalie is home again tomorrow, and she has forgiven me for hitting her.

I only got a 30 minute nap today on Mama’s back (joggley) and so now I’m feeling grumpy and grabby. I snatched the camera and deleted a photo that Mama wanted, but at least I got a handsome self-portrait out of it. Mama says it’s an early-to-bed night.

This afternoon I got to go to the playground with Natalie, my neighbor friend. We brought our Mommies and Daddies along too. The slides and seesaw were nice, but we REALLY liked the wood chips. Natalie decorated my hat with woodchips. After that she made neat little piles of chips on the fence and I brushed them off, a perfect partnership.

Yesterday I was sitting on my potty reading my potty book (I like the potty because when I sit there I don’t have to be wearing my diaper), and something happened! I got up and looked, and there was PEE in the potty! Not quite sure how it got there, but Mama was super happy. She danced and whooped and gave me a blue M&M. Later I sat on the potty again but nothing happened, and I didn’t get an M&M. I’d like sitting on the potty even more if the house was warmer and I didn’t get goosebumps on my legs. I’ll try again soon.

Mama was chilly when she was dressing me for bed tonight, so as she was bundling me up she said I was going to wear mittens to bed too. Maybe in retrospect she was joking, but I thought it was a good idea, went and found my mittens, and got Daddy to put them on for me. Now I’m sleeping all snuggled up in my bed with my mittens to keep my hands toasty warm.
(Parental note to self: I say stuff to Milo not realizing how much he’s taking in. He probably understands every word out of my mouth–yikes)

On Sunday morning it was rainy so Mama made pancakes. I liked them so much that I be-bopped in my chair with pleasure. Then Daddy thought that looked like fun, so he started be-bopping (rocking back and forth while saying “ummmm”) too! I guess you can teach grown-ups a thing or two.

I LOVE puddle stomping. It makes me giggle. When the tide is low there are lots of shallow puddles that make a super splashing noise. My little leather shoes actually do pretty well at keeping my feet dry too, not that I care…but my parents seem to, and I like to keep them happy.

Here I am in our tent just before Mama and Daddy took it down. I think it’s an absolutely cool play house and I like helping with the tent pegs and poles when we’re putting it up and taking it down.

I found the camera this morning and wanted Mama to take a picture of me so I could look at it on the camera screen. See how tall I’m getting!

Then I tried taking a picture of myself, but it didn’t come out so well. I actually have TWO eyes, two nostrils, and two chubby cheeks.

Mama spent all day banging on wood, very noisy and delightful. I picked up the rusty nails from the old pallets and collected them in my truck. Then I showed Mama where the new nails should go. She only took my advice once or twice. I fit perfectly into the box, but Mama plans to fill it with soil and flowers. That’s ok, I will like picking the flowers when they’re growing there too.

I always miss the best views. Climbing is such hard work that I’m usually taking a nap when we get to the high points. But actually, I’m more interested in the rocks by the streams anyway.

I made a new friend at the Woolshed hut last weekend. Her name is Sophie and she’s 3 years old, and very fast and a good jumper. She showed me how to walk on the benches and she played tag with me. The Warden scolded us for making so much noise in the morning, but she was a grown-up and probably can’t even remember what running is like.

When we were hiking Mama got out the cookies but told me I couldn’t have one until I had one last bite of bagel. I cried and pointed and threw a grand wobbly (a fit, in American), and did everything I could think of to tell her that I wanted those cookies, not that silly bagel, but she wouldn’t let me have them. She put them behind her back but I still knew where they were. Crying is a lot of work though, so eventually I gave up and took a drink of water to get refreshed. Since I didn’t see the cookies anymore I guessed that a bagel wasn’t so bad, but as soon as I ate that bite the cookies reappeared, and this time I got one! Yay!
Parental note: We’re not sure if Milo learned that he doesn’t get what he wants by throwing a fit, but WE learned not to take out the cookies until we’re happy with how much lunch he has eaten. Yikes, we didn’t really want to pick that battle, but once begun, we couldn’t afford to back down.

I helped Mama organize the silverware drawer this morning while she was making pancakes. First I took all the silverware out, then I put it in the drainer and rattled it to make some good noise, then Mama put it all back.

Mama and Dad got this new table and chairs for me on Trademe. They fit me perfectly, but just sitting at playing legos got boring really fast.

Then I discovered that I could move the little chair to finally be able to reach the big chair. Grin!

And once I was on the big chair, nothing was stopping me from climbing onto the table too! Except Mommy….

This past weekend Mama and Daddy took me on a run, and it was WINDY. Daddy pushed me upwind on the gravel path, and Mama took the easy turn on the way back. I liked the adventure, I stick out my arms and imagine it’s kinda like flying….except bumpier. My stroller is called a “pram” here, but that sounds a bit pansy so I still call it a stroller. It’s from my cousin Cameron who used it when he was my age in England and in the US and it still works great.

Mom and Dad and I went to a toy library this week, and I picked out this red car. I LOVE it. I can climb into it from any side, and I can fall out of it from any side. I can go backwards, but I haven’t figured out how to go forwards yet. Mommy loves the idea of the toy library because she doesn’t have to buy all the big plastic toys that I like, and when I’m tired of one we can go and exchange it for another. Suits me!

My favorite part of the weekend was chasing the gulls. I’m not sure why they kept flying away….and I’m not sure what I would do if I caught up to one anyway. But I like them!

Mmmm, apple. Mom and Dad always bring peanut butter and jelly with apples for our hiking lunches, and cheese and cookies if they’re feeling generous. Hiking lunches are my favorite.

I have a pretty sweet ride up on Daddy’s back when we’re hiking. When it’s windy I even get a greenhouse cover, but then Mom also makes me wear a pair of her hiking socks up my legs like stockings. Good thing there aren’t any other kids around to see me wearing those dorky things.

On the way back home we took the scenic route, and I threw up. Mom and Dad were busy looking at deer farms and fencing, but all of a sudden I just felt awful and then my crackers and cheese started coming back up the wrong way. I had to strip down and get changed and then wear a silly apron all the way back home. But at least I got to sit facing forward in the car seat after that.

I like to swing my arms while I’m tromping along all by myself up there on the Banks Peninsula Summit track. But the grass is bumpy and I kept falling so I let Mama hold my hand, and eventually Dad gave me a ride on his back.

Mom and Dad and I stopped at a rocky beach where every rock is a perfect throwing rock. They make a nice clacking noise when I smack them together, and they make a cool crunching noise when we walk on them. Both Mommy and I filled our pockets with special rocks to bring home. I like every rock, but Mommy’s picky—she only likes the green or red or white ones.

Mom took this picture of me while my mouth was full of peanutbutter and jelly sandwich, my absolute favorite food. We were up in the Port Hills for the day, a Saturday so Daddy was home. Do you like my new red hat? Daddy thinks it looks like a girl’s hat but Mom thinks it’s super cute. What do you say?

Mom took me to a play group this morning, with a bunch of other kids and “Mums.” I got to play with sparkle glue, and even got decked out with some hair gel. Like the new look?

Mom and Dad spent a whole day looking at cars and talking to used car salesmen. We got chilly, and tired of big numbers on the windshields, but we did see one red car that I liked. The next day we went back to buy it, and I got to try it out. It’s a RED volkswagon golf station wagon…quite a mouthful. I’m just going to call it RED. The steering wheel is on the wrong side, but all our camping gear should fit in the “boot,” with our bikes on the roof.

The best part about airports is the other kids. Sydney airport had a play wall and other kids were there. Then I shared my balloon with some Australian kids who were headed to New Zealand on holiday. And other kids don’t seem to mind if I put my face really close to them, but adults make a fuss over what they call “personal space.” “Personal?” I’m a person, I take up space, and I like to be in space really near to them.

Coffee. Dad loves this stuff, and I copy Dad whenever I can so I tried it too. I liked it….or at least I liked drinking out of the Kauai coffee sample cups like everyone else did. Next time I hope Daddy adds some more sugar and milk.

Daddy caught me on camera and was laughing at me. How can I help sleeping with my mouth open? Mama and Dad keep trucking me around the world and I don’t know about them, but I sure need a nap from time to time

The beach! I love it! It’ a giant sand box! Sometimes I’m minding my own business, digging a hole, and a wave comes up and slaps my back, knocks me over, and covers me with sand. How rude. But I tolerate the waves because when I throw sticks at them, they bring them back to me.

Mommy is fascinated with these green things she calls “plants.” Don’t ask me why–they don’t run and hide, they hardly even move. I inspected a leaf pretty closely while she was admiring black sugarcane, but I still don’t see what’s so spectacular.

Good thing my face was turned here, otherwise you’d see the red M&M stain all over my lips. Mama and Daddy pack this stuff called GORP, but the only worth while pieces are the M&M’s.

I tried to tell Daddy how bumpy his ride was for me–I needed a nap. Somehow he didn’t understand my “Da, Ba, BEY!” and I had to make do with a jouncing sherpa nap.

I thought I could drink this whole 99 cent coffee (special afternoon deal at Dunkin Donuts) by myself, but in the end I had to share it with Mama.

Phew, that was a lot of tough back-pack riding, but we made it to the top so we could eat our crackers and cheese (thanks, Sherpa Daddy!). Don’t ask me why we couldn’t eat the snack down at the bottom by the stream. My mommy and daddy have this crazy thing about “views.”