That's about as likely as me playing by someone else's rules besides my own. Which I would never do. I play by my own rules..

"...nobody else's...not even my own."

When I started this blog, I had a couple of guidelines for myself. First, I wouldn't turn this into a mushy, lovey-dovey, "look-my-kid-spit-up" minute-by-minute update on Bud's life.

Second, I was only going to post when I had something to write about. I wasn't going to do this every day, every other day, etc...I was only going to speak when I had something to say.

And that's why your humble narrator has been MIA this month...aside from the vacation situation and the thanksgiving stuff, the only thing I have to report is a laundry list of really cute things that my daughter has done. But you probably don't want to hear that...

Well, too bad...I'm breaking my rules today. I'm a rebel, my friends:

• Every morning, the first thing she says to Newmommy and me is "Binky." But, with one in her mouth so it sounds more like "Biikii." And, aside from the one in her mouth, she's got one in each hand. Multitasking at such a young age...
• She knows what animals say: pig, horse, dog, sheep, cow, cat, and my favorite...monkey. See tickles herself and goes "ooo, ooo."
  
• She hasn't quite gotten "rooster": cock-a-doo-loo.
• She's not counting, nor does she know the alphabet yet, but she's started in the middle: she knows the number three and the letter "P." One, two....three!!
• Ask her a "who is the .... in the world ?" question and she's say, "MEEE!" (In fact, I sang her the "Wally World National Anthem," and when I got to "Who's the star of our favorite show?" she replied, "MEEE!!"
• She rocks out...when she hears a song she likes, she'll get on her knees, throw her hands in the air, and bounce up and down. Rock on.
• She brushes her teeth. It's never too early to begin good oral hygiene habits, folks.
  

That's enough for now. Sorry for the lame month of posting, everyone. Hopefully, in December, I'll be able to b-ring it. (It's already been b-rought-ed).

I.O.L. in Every Room

Bud has mastered a skill: turning lights on and off. We hold her up to a light switch and she flicks on the light, proudly declaring, in an almost biblical way "liiiight!" And, then she turns the light off. And, in true fourteen-month-old fashion, she repeats the exercise about ten times until we pull her away.

(And, yes, I quoted "Arthur II: On the Rocks" for this post. For those of you who did not have HBO throughout the nineties...IOL stands for "Instant On Lighting.")

I will forgo the "enjoy your turkey sandwich/leftovers" jokes, but will relay a funny story from last night's dinner. Grandma brought Bud an Elmo cupcake for dessert, which she managed to get all over her clothing, hair, face, the floor, etc. We all watched and laughed. (Far be it from us to focus on anything other than Bud during a family function!) Newaunt says, "this is the best entertainment ever!" Bud looks up, pats herself on the chest with both hands and yells "MEEEEEE!!!!" Exactly.

Whateva!!

It's been a while since I posted a "cute kid video." Not sure if this is cute or annoying...you be the judge!



P.S. Bud's now cruising...she'll pull herself up on a piece of furniture, and walk across the side using the furniture as support. I imagine walking is any day now...

Language Lessons

Monique: "...instead he uses it as a chance to put his testicles all over me."
Lane Meyer: "TENTACLES...N, T....there's a big difference."

- From "Better Off Dead"

Bud has quite the vocabulary, with such new words as "ball," "open," and "car." (Not to mention "Laurie", as in Laurie Berkner.) Bud's words generally come in two categories: words that are clearly the word she's trying to say (like "key" and "dada"), and those which are close and consistent (such as "pa-peh" for pancake and "ba-bay-bee" for strawberry). Her newest one, however, is DVD, which she loving calls a "VD." It's going to be a while before she appreciates the difference, and I wonder if, by the time she learns what VD actually means, DVDs will even be around. "VD!" "VD!" No, really, you don't want that.

Reunited (and it feels so good)

Newnana and Newgrampy pull up to our house at about 10:30am with Bud in the car. After not seeing her for about six days now, Newmommy and I run down the stairs, trying to get an edge on the other so we could see her first. It was like being on a second-grade lunch line. We had obviously not seen the grandparents either, but we nearly knocked them over on our way to see Bud. (Out of my way, whoever you are...)

Bud looks different. She's grown so much in a week. She also looks congested and uncomfortable. But, she looks at me and says "dada." No, she did not forget about me! Woohoo.

The next week was difficult, and the reason, we ultimately found out, was that she had Roseola. Which is like penne except longer something kids get, which starts as a +103 fever, and ends with a body rash. Finding out that news actually put us a ease, as its a common sickness that goes away, but until we found out what it was, Bud just wasn't herself. Yes, she was sick. Yes, we were in a new house. Yes, we had been gone and now we're back and she's probably confused. Lots was going on. Yet, it was hard not to think that we somehow upset her, and she was holding it against us.

Luckily, as soon as the rash went away, she was back to smiles, strawberries and her obsession with Laurie Berkner.

Vacation Days 4 & 5: Sick & Sicker

Vacation Day 4 was more of the same: chillaxin' in the sun with the occasional (ok, more than just 'occasional') Belashi...which is Aruban for beer. (Apparently, they don't have a website, and apparently "Belashi" is also a town in Kazakhstan. Yegshemesh!)

Vacation Night 4 was game four of the MLB World Series. I don't need to recap the tragic events, but lets just say the eight inning marked a true low for Yankees fans. As we were watching the giant World Series foot heading in slow motion toward our collective left nut, A-Rob/Scott Boras gave us a quick shot to the right one. We're going to need an icepack the size of the Bronx to get us through the very, very long winter.

And then, on day five, we got the real bad news: Bud has a fever. (Yes, I do have some perspective). We found out in the early evening and were set to fly home the next day, so an earlier flight would not have made much of a difference. Still, we were in Aruba and wanted nothing more than to hop a flight and take care of Bud. We both felt trapped. What's more, we've been, so far, really lucky, and Bud has not yet had a fever...and this one topped 103, so needless to say, we really wanted to get home.

The flights from Aruba to Newark (via San Juan) are somewhere around 5 hours total; but it felt like a week. The last time I was on a Caribbean flight that felt that long, it was because the movie was "Rumor Has It." Ugghh....

Vacation Days 2 & 3: What I Did on Bud-cation

"I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be." - Peter Gibbons, Office Space

Not exactly, although I did log quite a few hours sitting on the beach drinking fruity umbrella drinks and chasing invisible penguins. Not, wait, scratch the penguins, although I did have a few "Aruba Arribas" while reading "The Year of Living Biblically" by A.J. Jacobs, a self-described Jew who is as Jewish as "the Olive Garden is an Italian Restaurant." The author spends a year living the bible as literally as possible: it's a good read, and I liked it especially for the daddying stories.

I also embarked on a jeep tour of Aruba. Newmommy and I rented a jeep and caravaned with a group around the island. Behold: one of the less than 2% of pics on my hard drive that does not include Bud or a pregnant Newmommy (and, I realize I am breaking the promise that I would not "post pictures from my off-road jeep tour"...well, too bad...also, I realize there IS a road in this picture...it was the beginning part of the tour):

Of course, our battery died and we needed a new jeep. And the "Natural Bridge," one of the major sights of the island, collapsed two years ago. And, we lost the Brazilian family about halfway through (which, according to our tour guide was typical of Brazilian tourists to Aruba- go figure).

What else did I do...hmm, let's see...aside from getting kicked in the jewels in the casino? I watched some crappy baseball game.

All in all, it was a fun time. And, the reports from Bud: she was laughing, smiling, eating ice cream, going on carousels...I was beginning to worry that she was having so much fun with the Grandparents Committee that she would want nothing of Newmommy and I!