Greetings from the land of term papers and group projects. I don't know exactly what those things are, but they involve Mommy being gone all the time or dragging strange people through the house who want to huddle around the computer or just being preoccupied when I am trying to get pulled in my wagon. I'm told that if we make it through one more week, then we can pretty much coast through the rest of the semester and into the (drum roll) Summer of Milo! Yes, the Summer of Me is just around the corner. Mommy is going to take the summer off from school to become the full-time coordinator of this exciting event. There is going to be an intensive course of bike-riding offered, as well as seminars in wagon-pulling, swinging, swimming, and picnicking. Field trips will include the library, the West Side Market, the park, and the Y. It promises to be a summer to remember. If we can just get through the semester. I can't wait.
Developmental News: I figure out new ways to express myself daily. I am putting more and more words together to make sentences, which is exhilarating, because sentences get so much more done than just single words. I'm also focusing on conceptual words, like "back" (as in, "Put it back, Milo!"), which I use both to question whether I should be returning something I'm not supposed to touch to its rightful place as well as to indicate when I'm done with something that I want someone else to put back for me.
Another concept I'm learning is ownership: my favorite owner is me, so I like to point out what is mine by labeling it with "I". My parents traded in our old car this week for a new one, and when I get in I like to call dibs on it ("I car!"). Another day this week we cleaned out the front flower beds, and I found a big stick which I used to stir the leaf piles and otherwise cause mischief; when my parents tried to take it away from me, I had to make them see that it was not theirs to take by screaming "I STICK!" at the top of my lungs. Other useful phrases include "I cup," "I chip," "I book," and "I choo-choo!"
I'm not always contrary, though. I like to find consensus wherever I can, so I'm learning to use words to show my agreement or approval. I like "good" (as in "good job," a phrase my parents use when I accomplish something new, or "good boy," a phrase I tell my parents to sanction my antics) as well as "okay" (which is how I respond when they explain what we're going to do) and "cool" (which is how I indicate I really, really like what we're going to do). Another good word is "sad," but I'm not going to elaborate on it because it involves me getting into trouble, a topic on which I do not wish to dwell.
How about some pictures?
Tuesday night my parents and I went with my beloved friend Lynn ("NIN!") to Bar Cento for kids' pizza night. I got my very own chef's toque and Daddy and the chef helped me create my very own potato pizza.
I love to go to Wu's because they treat me like a rock star. This week, I got my very own private room, in which I could run around when I got bored with eating, a complimentary won ton soup, and a very special almond cookie - plus TWO fortune cookies! I was feeling so flush, I tried to pick up the check.
This morning Mommy and I watched a little "Clifford" together, and I demonstrated my advanced climbing skills, which strangely did not impress Mommy. She thinks the couch is for sitting only. How narrow-minded.
