I think, therefore I can't

Hi, it's me - Milo. You may have forgotten me, since I haven't blogged in 3 1/2 weeks, which may not seem like much to you, but it's about 3% of my total life so far. The reason why I haven't is complex, but it involves the return of Mommy to school as well as my mastery of climbing out of bed two days before her semester started, leading to chronic sleep deprivation among the members of our household. The good news is, I haven't gotten out of bed before going to sleep in FOUR WHOLE NIGHTS, so people are starting to get a little more sane around here. Of course, I still love to go running up to my parents' room at 5:30 each morning, so things aren't perfect yet.

Despite less than ideal conditions, my verbal skills have taken off (as my friend Joel noted) "like a rocket." I talk so, so much that my parents can't even keep track of all of the things I say, because I just talk about everything. A few themes they have noticed, though, include sentences beginning with "I think...," "I can't...," and "I LOVE...," as in, "I think it's time to watch Martha," "I can't go to the doctor," and "I LOVE cinnamon rolls!", to give just a few examples. I've also picked up some new adjectives, like crazy, funny, and fast, which I use liberally.

Because it's been so ridiculously long since I posted, I have more to show you than can really be digested in one post, so here are a couple of things, and then I'll catch up soon with some more.


I met my great-grandpa Lee who came to visit from Florida. I went to a party to see him, and there were a bunch of people I didn't know, so I was not very comfortable at first. But Great-Grandpa Lee was nice and gave me a hug and told me he had seen me on the computer, so I guess my fame has spread to South Florida. Then I found someone I know well - Aunt Terry! - and growled "I'm going to get you!" at her until she chased me around the room. Good times.

I've really enjoyed playing baseball this summer. Here's Nonna showing me how to bat.

One of the things I LOVE is CHOCOLATE PUDDING! Look how good I am at eating it with a spoon!

Mommy was doing this silly thing at Yearbook Yourself where she put my first birthday picture in their application and produced this picture of me looking like a high school kid back in the time when she was in high school. Pretty silly, huh?

Next time, I'll tell you about my family's retreat and my tour of the new buildings at the Cleveland Clinic!

The Summer of Milo™ Season Finale

Welcome to the conclusion of The Summer of Milo™. There's so much to pack in, so let me get right to it.





When last I posted, I was in New York with my parents. Later that day, after Daddy finished his work stuff, we were going to walk around, but all of the sudden it started raining incredibly hard, so we ducked into a Borders, where I had a little nap, and then Daddy read me some books until it stopped raining.



The next day, I shocked my parents at the airport by pointing to a sign for a Ruby Tuesday's and saying "ruby." To the best of our collective knowledge, I have never visited a Ruby Tuesday's restaurant. We had to wait in the airport for a while, so I employed my new headphones to watch Lazytown on Mommy's laptop, then finally we flew to Pittsburgh and then on home to Cleveland.



I really like the days when Daddy doesn't have to go to work and all three of us are at home together. On Tuesday, we walked to the Dari Delite and I had a strawberry cone of my own.



On Wednesday we got out my new bat and ball and played my version of baseball in the yard, which was hysterical.





Later Wednesday, we drove out to Mentor Headlands State Park and walked on the beach. I picked up stones and told my parents what shapes they reminded me of, like, heart, or, triangle, and on the way back to the car, I saw a real deer, watching me back from the top of the dunes, which was cool.







On Thursday morning, when I woke up, I called for Daddy, and he came and got me and brought me up to my parents' bed, like we always do. But my parents went back to sleep, which was pretty boring, so I went downstairs, watched TV, and got myself some grapes for breakfast. When my parents woke up and realized I was gone, they kind of freaked out. They were relieved I was okay but a little surprised to see me eating grapes, which had been left on the kitchen counter the night before, waiting to be washed. They wondered how I had reached the grapes, so I showed them. It's really easy when you use a little creativity.



Since I was on a roll with freaking out my parents, I decided to stick with it by mastering the skill of crib escape this weekend. It's so liberating to be able to get up when I feel like it! My parents are happy that when I get out of my crib, the first thing I do is call them and go up to their room, but they are talking about going this week to buy something called bed rails. I'll let you know what that means when I figure it out.

I went to the marina at the Rocky River Reservation Thursday evening for a picnic with my friends Maggie, Matt and Sara. I was so happy to see Maggie and I tried to give her hugs and kisses, but Maggie is not really into my affection, so we mostly played on the swings and in the sandbox and with my bat and ball.



Yesterday, Oma and Ono came over and took me to a dog party at the park on my street. Mommy was doing face painting, but that didn't seem like a good idea to me, so I just played with the ball that was there for the dogs and ran around. There were so many really big dogs at the party, as I noted aloud several times. I also ate a hot dog and played on the playground with Oma and Ono.



After it was over, we were all wiped out, and I took a good long nap. When I woke up, Daddy was home, and we all went to Sokolowski's for pierogies with my friends Lynn and Joel, and then we sat out in the backyard under the moon, which I had never done in my pajamas before.

Tonight, I'm going to Oma and Ono's house for a family picnic, which will be the concluding event of The Summer of Milo™. Mommy goes back to school this week, and there will be no more days of all of us being home until December, which is pretty sad. Still, this summer was pretty amazing when you think about all of the things I did: picnics, cook-outs, swimming, library visits, a bridge, and more parks and playgrounds than I can count; three countries (all new) and six states (three of which were new); planes, trains, boats, taxis, wagons, carousels, and a mini van with a DVD player; museums and an orchestra concert (which I forgot to blog about because I had no pictures); friends, family and a few dogs; zoos, markets, drive-in movies, one movie in an actual theater, and a gazillion trips to Target; and my very own second birthday. I'm a really lucky guy.

Rumor has it that Mommy will stay at home with me next summer, too, given her school schedule. I'm going to start working on the list of things we can do then. It would be hard to top this summer, but I'm going to do my best.

Live from New York

Taking a break from eating room service grilled cheese sandwiches in bed while watching cartoons to say "hi" to all my peoples. Daddy had to go on a little business trip this week, so Mommy and I tagged along.

listening to tunes in the hotel using my new headphones from Uncle
while wearing my new Cars PJs from Uncle Dan and Aunt Terry and GiGi

So pictures are a little thin from last week because Mommy went to Paris without me and took her camera with her, but I got my VERY OWN CAMERA while she was gone from Oma and Ono! When I went to stay at Oma's one night last week, she surprised me with a birthday party, for me! When I saw what was happening, I started shaking all over and told everyone, "I so excited!" Bailey and Spencer and their parents were all there, and I got cool presents, and my very own birthday cupcake. My life is very, very good.

Daddy and I did some serious hanging out while Mommy was gone and got some swimming in. When Mommy got back, she had a surprise for me: she showed me my VERY OWN POTTY. She also showed me some real underwear that I will wear when I'm ready to use the potty. I think it's pretty cool that I have my own potty, because I like looking at the big potties but they are scary to sit on. I know because sometimes before I get in the bathtub I try sitting on the big one and I don't like it at all. My own little potty has a seat that is just the right size for me, so I don't feel like I might fall in the potty. I'm still figuring out how to get on the potty; it's easiest if I climb up on it and then turn around and sit down, but Mommy told me that my feet aren't supposed to go in the red bowl. I've been practicing backing up to it and sitting down when I feel my heels hit the potty, but it might take me a little while to get it down.

I like sitting on the potty because it keeps my feet warm.

Last night, after Daddy finished work stuff, we rode the Staten Island Ferry and saw the real Statue of Liberty. It is just like on my placemat map, but bigger. And in the water.

family self-portrait on the ferry

Look! There she is! I waved back to her.

At the ferry terminal on the Staten Island side, I saw a bunch of fish in different colors.

me and Daddy in the ferry terminal

When I get home, I'll tell you what else I did in New York. Until then, as I like to say, HAVE FUN, PEOPLES!!!

TWO!

Well, this week I've been busy TURNING TWO YEARS OLD! Can you believe it? I never thought I'd ever get to be so big. I can even tell you how old I am and hold up two fingers. Of course, I can't exactly make the big V with those two fingers yet, so I cross them like I'm making a wish. And speaking of wishes, I got to make birthday wishes not once but twice this week! Does it get any better than that?

Since I'm two now, I'm trying out some new, big-boy things, like using a fork to eat the Arthur macaroni and cheese I picked out at the grocery store the last time I went with Mommy. It takes much longer than picking it up with my hands, but I'm increasingly uncomfortable having slimy fingers, so it's worth the effort.

I'm also becoming more clever, like yesterday, when I had been in bed for about 30 minutes but did not feel like taking a nap, so I called to Mommy, and when she came in my room to check on me, I stood up and sang, "Good morning to you..." like she sings to me every morning when she comes to get me out of bed. I think I tricked her into thinking I had already slept, because she let me get back up for a little while...before I went back to bed and took a three-hour nap. I guess I did need a nap.

I also have this great joke I like to tell that goes like this: "Goot? Goot goot goooooooooot." My parents don't get it, but I get so tickled telling it, and my parents humor me by laughing along. I don't know if there's any hope for them.

Another intellectual development is my understanding of present participles. I demonstrated my understanding by coining a brand new present participle this week, "woofing." I heard some dogs go by, but I couldn't see them, and I pointed in the general direction from which I heard the noise and told Mommy, "Dogs woofing!"

Okay - let's get to the pictures!

Last Sunday night, I went to Legacy Village to hear my friend Greg play with his band, The Townsmen. I sat in the grass with Mommy and Dyan for a while, but then I got antsy, so Dyan took me for a walk, and then after the show I got to check out Greg's guitar.
On Monday, my parents and I flew to Knoxville to go see Grandpa! When we got to Pigeon Forge, where we stayed for a couple of days, Uncle Sean and Aunt Jillian and Bailey were already there - I was sooooooo happy! When we woke up in the morning, we got to eat breakfast together.

Grandpa had to go to work Tuesday, but the rest of us went to the aquarium in Gatlinburg.

The best part of the aquarium was the Shark Lagoon. It was a slow moving sidewalk that carried us under all of the various tanks, like being under the ocean without getting wet.

Not that I don't like getting wet - I had a bunch of fun going swimming that afternoon!

That night, I had an early birthday party. I had a chocolate cake and a "2" candle. Bailey and I got to eat the candy letters off the top! After the cake, I got to open a bag of Bob the Builder stuff, which was cool.

On Wednesday, Grandpa took me for the most amazing REAL train ride EVER! We drove to Dillsboro, North Carolina, to ride the Great Smokey Mountain Railways, and it was AMAZING!


On Thursday, I went with my parents to Knoxville. I rode the trolley around town and saw the biggest basketball I have ever seen in front of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. That night, I went to Grandpa's house in Norris and got to hang out with Marti and Kelly, whom I ADORE!

Friday was my actual birthday, and I flew back home with my parents. My neighbor Ron came outside while we were still getting unloaded from our taxi to give me a box that had been delivered to me while I was gone. Inside the box were birthday presents from my cousin Johnny and his parents, including these awesome Cars stickers.

For my birthday lunch, we went to my favorite taco restaurant, Chipotle, where eating with your hands is not only acceptable but expected.

On Saturday, I helped Mommy and Nonna put on a yard sale and also do yard work. I contributed by climbing under the big evergreen trees and retrieving the pine cones, then putting the cones - and myself - in the wheelbarrow. Then we picked up Daddy and went to Nuevo Acapulco for a second birthday party. I got to open a Thomas roundhouse and a bunch of trains and I couldn't eat any more rice or beans or even my beloved tortilla chips because I was soooooooo excited.

After dinner, we went to Nonna's and I had my second birthday cake and candles. This one was an ice cream cake, which is probably my favorite kind of cake. It was good enough that I could tear myself away from the trains for a few minutes to eat some.

I have to get on with my day, as my agenda is full:

1. play with trains
2. eat breakfast
3. play with the house Nonna gave me
4. take Daddy to work
5. come home and play with cars
6. take a nap
7. play with trains
8. eat lunch
9. play with trains some more
10. go to GiGi's house!
11. play with her trains and planes and helicopters
12. go to Oma's house!
13. play with Oma's toys
    
14. come home with Daddy

I guess my mom is going to be gone on a trip for a few days, because she says when Daddy comes to get me tonight, then he and I will have three whole days together. I'm not sure how Mommy being gone is going to work out, but Daddy takes excellent care of me plus we're going to do some fun stuff, like making pizza and having a play date with Bailey and Uncle Sean. I'll tell you about it next time.

Stuff [because I'm running out of titles]

I'm back with a few photos, tales of adventure, and the new things I've been saying that will make your toes curl with their cuteness.


Let me start with Wednesday: first, I went down the street to go swimming in the neighborhood pool, and then my picnic at Wade Oval got rained out, but my friends Marixa and Jim came over to my house instead, and I got reacquainted with them. My parents told me they were coming, but I hadn't seen them in a while, so I felt weird when they arrived and I hid in my room. I could see that my parents liked them, though, and Marixa kept talking to me from the doorway, and in a few minutes it was like old times. We ate my current favorite food - pizza! - and then went for a ride in the wagon to Momocho to pick up guacamole and chips - maybe my second most favorite food! - and brought them back home. I knocked over a couple of bottles of beer in my urgent lunges for the chips, but it was otherwise an excellent evening. In fact, I can't stop thinking about Jim and Marixa - every time we get in the car, I ask, "Jim's house?" and when my parents tell me we're getting ready to see some person or another, I ask, "See Marixa?" I really, really dig them.


Thursday, I got my hair cut for the third time ever. I was feeling kind of out of sorts, so I wasn't as excited about the fun music and animal crackers and movies as in the past, but the stylist let me sit on Daddy's lap, which helped a little, and when it was over I got a prize - a duck in a soccer jersey with a soccer ball! Man, I love that soccer duck. After my haircut, we went to a park behind the Target in Fairview Park; it had a really cool playground plus big soccer fields and baseball diamonds. I had never been on a baseball field before, so that was cool; I stood on the pitcher's mound and threw a pretend ball to Mommy, and she pretended to hit it, then Daddy pitched to me while Mommy showed me how to hit. Some high school kids were playing in a marching band on the next field, and I loved running around the outfield and marching along with them!


Later, I went to Joel and Lynn's house and got to play outside with my neighbor Isaac. We played with my big green ball, but my neighbor Alta was too little to play, because she is maybe six or seven months old, so every once in a while I put the green ball in her lap for a few seconds, and I think she liked it. Isaac's mom, Danielle, brought brownies that were soooo delicious, and I would have eaten the whole container if the big people wouldn't have kept hiding them from me, which ticked me off. When I had worn myself out and was ready to go home, my parents just kept yakking away, so I finally had to throw my juicebox and then my green ball over Joel and Lynn's fence so they would get the message. Sheesh. Sometimes they are really, really dense.

Friday, I went to the Library and read a book about a little blue truck and then had a banana for lunch at Johnny Mango's. My friend Maggie was coming over, and Mommy asked me what I thought Maggie and I could do together. I thought about it and then told her, "Um, play cars, aaaaaand read books, aaaaaand ride wagon." When Maggie came over, we were happy to see each other and had a good time playing and eating peanut butter quesadillas, but when it was bedtime, Maggie got really sad and cried for her mommy. My mommy was holding her but she was still sad, so I climbed up with them and got in Maggie's face and told her, "Maggie, I come," in a comforting tone. She kept crying, but I think it secretly made her feel better that I was there.


Yesterday, I went to breakfast with Nonna and Mommy, but I didn't feel like eating. The booth we were sitting in had a curved top that was just the right width to be a rolling road for my cars, and I had a good time racing them down the hill, until I lost my cars in the tiny little gap between the booth and the wall. I was pretty upset and did not want Mommy and Nonna to keep talking while my cars were lost, so we all got up and Mommy tried to scoot them out with her knife, but she couldn't get them, so our server had to come over with a HUGE knife to get them out. It was pretty exciting.

Last evening, after we picked up Daddy from work, we went to Euclid Creek Reservation, a park I had never seen before, for a birthday party for my friend David. He is my friend Orson's daddy, and I was really, really happy to see Orson. He is a year old than me and knows how to do cool stuff like play catch with a baseball. I got to eat a ton of potato chips and some red birthday cake, and I drank from an actual water fountain. My parents forgot to take pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it, but below is a picture of me with Orson and his sister Zelda from last week when they came over.



Later today, I'm going to go see my friend Greg play in a band. Mommy told me yesterday that we were going, and asked if I remembered Greg and Dyan. I thought really hard, then told her, "Bidge," which is my way of saying, yes, I remember hanging out with them under the Detroit Superior Bridge a couple of months ago. I have to take my nap now, though, so I feel good when we go to the concert. Tomorrow, I'm going to Tennessee to see Grandpa. My parents have been telling me we're getting ready to go, but for some reason they won't just take me there now. They keep telling me about "tomorrow" and about it being after I sleep tonight, but I say, if we're going anyway, why wait? Sometimes, they drive me nuts.

P.S. I still have pictures to show you from Argentina and from Florida, but maybe this week I can get my mommy to just make a little movie of them, and then I'll post it here for you to see. And here are some pics of me going to the lake last week with Bailey:

Is this thing on?

Hi, guys. I've been waiting for Mommy to download and sort my photos, but she says that every time she sits down to do it, I divert her attention to my wants and/or needs. So, for now, I'll just tell you about what I've been up to, and when she gets it together, I'll post the pics. OK? OK!

I should tell you first about my visit to Florida, to see my cousin Johnny. This time, I could play with him and converse with him way better than I ever could before now, so it made playing together so much cooler. One of my favorite things was to play cars with him, with his cars and racetrack from the "Cars" movie. My favorite car is Lightning McQueen ("NYT-nee MaKEEEE!") but I like the others, too, like Chick Hicks and the Sheriff. Johnny taught me how to run the racetrack this time, because I was too little last time I went to his house, and I was really, really proud to do it myself.

Another thing I liked doing was riding the carousel at the mall. I learned the word "carousel" the week before, when I rode the big carousel in Buenos Aires, and now I am a big fan. One time, Johnny rode a motorcycle while I rode in a car, and another time I rode in a duck. We also had a good time at home, in his backyard, hanging out with Nonna. This time, I was big enough to climb up on Johnny's slide by myself, and sliding is probably my favorite outdoor activity ever. We also played with some balls and did a little digging in the backyard, and one evening Uncle John even put on a little fireworks show for us, and I couldn't stop saying "wow!"

We took a little road trip while we were in Jacksonville to Orlando. We got to eat awesome ("awesome" being one of my new favorite words) snacks in the van, like Doritos and vanilla sandwich cookies, and watch "Caillou" over and over again on the DVD player. Johnny and I both love to watch "Caillou" and always agreed that we wanted it turned on whenever we got in the van.

When we got to Orlando, we went to the airport and picked up my daddy. I was happy to see him and sit by him in the van after not seeing him for almost a week! We put on my "No!" CD, and when the song "Fibber Island" came on, I turned to my daddy and smiled and said, "Good song!" Then we went to a condo where we could all stay together, and Uncle Jon came, too, and then Johnny and I were really happy, because Uncle is one of us boys! We had fun eating pizza together and watching Dora and Diego and going swimming with our daddys and taking baths in the giant jacuzzi tub. An extra treat was the arrival of Alex and Jessica and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dave. We had lunch together, and they brought Johnny and me each our very own microphones. That evening, we put on a little concert for everyone, and they all cheered for us.

One other thing I wanted to tell you about was my last night in Jacksonville. Nonna and Aunt Lissa were hanging some pictures, and I saw some baby pictures in the hallway. I asked Nonna about them, and when she said they were of my brother, I said, "Hans." My parents talk to me about my brother sometimes, but they were surprised I put it all together. Listen, I pay attention to everything. Just because I don't always say so doesn't mean I don't know what's going on, people.

After being away from home for three weeks, I was happy to get back to my favorite place - home (or as I like to call it, "MY-no's houth!"). Mommy and I went to Target to get some fresh milk and stuff, and when we walked down one aisle, there were three big girls talking to other in Spanish. I surprised everyone when I turned to them, waved, and yelled, "HOLA!" But I had just spent a week and a half in places where everyone was speaking Spanish, even my parents sometimes, and I know Spanish when I hear it!

I've been having some good times since I've been home. One day, I went to a big outdoor mall with my parents where there was a different kid ride in front of almost every store. I got to ride a train and a bulldozer, but after that my parents walked me across the parking lot instead of down the sidewalks, because I was obsessed with riding those machines! After we shopped, I thought we were going to Oma's house because the road looked like the one going to her house. My parents explained that we were in Aurora and later Peninsula and not in North Olmsted, but now that I was thinking about going to Oma's house, I could talk about nothing else, so my mommy called Oma and then I talked to her one on the phone for almost eight minutes, which is a personal record. I felt a little better after we talked, and then we ate dinner in a restaurant next to a train station, where I saw a navy blue locomotive and an orange caboose, and after dinner (at which I ate four pickles and a few french fries but nothing else) the two big guys at the table next to us leaned over and complimented me on how amazingly well behaved I was, and my parents were extremely proud of me.

Another day, my friends Zelda and Orson and their parents David and Toni came over, and I got to eat pizza in the living room! I was thrilled to get to play with such big kids, and after dinner we three kids rode together in my wagon to the Gather Round Farm. The chickens were having a first birthday party, and we took them some beets as a present, and we got to run around between all the crops, and it was wonderful. When they got in their car to go home, I yelled, "Bye, friends!" and then "Thanks for your help!" which was a little confusing to my parents but I knew what I meant.

This week, Mommy and I went to the Natural History Museum, which was the coolest museum I think I have ever visited. There were all kinds of animals and fish, plus all of these HUGE dinosaur skeletons. Downstairs, there's a big room of stuff that kids can touch and do, which was my favorite part. I helped some big kids sift some sand to search for fossils, and I did some puzzles and also looked through microscopes. I can't wait to get back there!

Yesterday, I went to Maggie's house for dinner, and I got to play on the porch with Maggie, which was cool, because Maggie has started walking and we can do more stuff together. She has a fire hat, which I loved, and two dogs, who loved me.

I have been putting new words together into ever-more-complex sentences lately, and I'm grasping some new concepts, such as the fact that food and drinks need to be prepared before I can have them, and that the preparation takes time. When I was younger, I used to freak out if I asked for milk and it wasn't handed to me that very second, but now when someone is filling my cup or cutting my fruit or cooking my veggie sausages, I remind myself to be patient by saying "makin' it" or "cookin' it" and it makes it easier to hang on. I'm also toying with the concept of "you" and trying to sort out how to use it exactly. Sometimes I get it turned around, like when I ask my parents, "Carry you?" or "Read it to you?" or (my mommy's favorite) "Bring it to you?" - I'm asking to be carried or read to, not offering to put them on my back, but thank goodness my parents understand what I mean, or I would need to see a chiropractor. Other times, I get the "you" part right but get the word order turned around, like when I was saying good-bye to my daddy in Houston a couple of weeks ago, I held his face and said sadly, "Daddy miss you."

I'm also getting the whole birthday concept down. I'm still talking about the ice cream cake and singing "Happy Birthday" from my cousin Bailey's birthday in June, and I like to practice singing "Happy Birthday to Milo" all the time. When I was in Jacksonville, I got to help Uncle John blow out his birthday candles and eat his ice cream cake, which made me so happy, and I've been watching an episode of "Blue's Clues" about Joe's birthday over and over again. When my birthday comes, next week, I am going to be totally prepared!

Today, I'm going on a picnic, but I need to get a nap in before I go if I want to have a good time later, and I think I've at least covered the highlights of the last couple of weeks, so I will sign off for now, but I'll be back with pictures as soon as I can. I promise!

Still Traveling

Checking in to let you know I am still on the road but am having so much fun I haven't had time to stop and blog. I'll write more about Argentina later, but when I arrived in Houston, Mommy and I said bye-bye to Daddy and came to Jacksonville to see my cousin Johnny. Below are some pictures to prove it! I'll write more later, when I've settled down a bit.