I met Santa

It was a Thursday at the mall, and there he was, sitting right there in front of Victoria's Secret and Radio Shack. I was a little nervous to talk to him, but Ca-La buttered him up for me and snagged two candy canes, which was just the social lubricant I needed to venture forward and sit near (but not directly on) his lap. Here we are. Angus cried just a little teeny bit, but I didn't cry. Afterward, we walked across the mall parking lot singing Jingle Bells and ate dinner at Fuddruckers. Ain't Christmastime great??

Happy Halloween!

Wow. If I had known that my parents would let me EAT CANDY on Halloween, I would have gotten excited a lot earlier. As it was, I woke up from a good nap, got into my costume and walked down to Main Street, a little baffled at the way my parents were looking at me. But after getting a piece of candy handed to me without even having to whine for it, I kind of got the hang of it. Is this for real?? Anyway, it was a fun night that ended with yummy soup at Annie's where I got to look at all the costumes that came to the door without having to actually wear that itchy horse costume any more. Can we do Halloween again tomorrow??

Heavenly Autumn

I love FALL. All the turning leaves, the pumpkin carving party, hikes in Yellowstone, bike rides, and fishing. Here are a few photos from this fall's many activities.

Me and my brother

Here's me and Gus, chilling out on my parent's bed. Gus is pretty easy. He doesn't do much talking or walking or anything. He mostly just sleeps and eats. I like to touch and kiss his head--it's really soft. Plus, it usually wakes him up.

Here's GUS!

I'm really not sure I'm ready to share my blog with Gus, but my mom insisted on posting a whole bunch of boring photos of him so that our blog viewers could get a glimpse of his cute little dimpled chin (hello, I've got one, too!) and his potentially romanesque nose and his big crop of black hair (everyone told me bald is beautiful, but whatever). So, here he is...

It came out!!

Last Friday, when I was busy playing over at Annie's house with my cousin Ca-La and Liza and Uncle Tim, I received news that the baby came out! I could hardly believe my ears! His name is Angus and he's really here. He's a baby. And my mom isn't pregnant (now she's feeding him all the time, though, so she still can't pick me up very often). I love my baby brother, and I like to find lots of ways to touch him and make him move and wiggle and cry. I can't wait until he's old enough to play with me!!!

Waiting

Mom keeps telling me that the baby is going to come out, but I don't know if I should believe her. She's been talking like this for months. Now, I know a lot about babies and pregnancy and stuff, but she's been pregnant as long as I can remember and things don't seem to be changing much. Anyway, I thought I'd humor her and take some pictures with her belly.

Babies Again

Last week we had a really fun shower for my mom and the new baby at Annie's house. It was truly the first day of Fall, and there were pumpkins in the garden and a cider press in the back yard. I played with Claire and lots of other pint-sized kids, and then helped Claire revert back to babyhood by offering her one of the baby's new bottles.

Breen Visit

These are some of my Breen cousins: Grace and Kate. Grace is super fun to play with and she likes to paint nails as much as I do. Kate is pretty cool, too. She's good practice for my new baby brother or sister.

Fall Fun

Last week, my Aunt Annie came with us to press cider at Rocky Creek Farm. Dad and Annie collected apples from the neighborhood and we pressed five gallons of cider that are now frozen and probably won't see the light of day until we remember them in a trillion years. I have to keep reminding them that I absolutely require apple juice to subsist on planet earth. Sigh. Hey, when is mom going to have that baby?

Green Man Group 2007

One of the things I love about my dad is his ability to make me smile, even when I'm determined to keep a sour face. Here he is prancing down Main Street in front of ALL my friends during the Sweet Pea parade, totally embarrassing me. The thing is, he's a really good dancer and hula hooper, and I'm kind of proud of the fact that he's out there promoting his business and standing up for what's right in the world. Yaay, dad.

Lounging at the Lake

We went to visit Grandpa and Jeanne at the lake recently. I loved it. I got to lounge on Gracie (the world's most comfortable dog), play with Uncle D and Suzy Q, ride in the boat, and I even saw a Moose! Grandpa whipped out this great canvas house he made Aunt Annie when she was little. The lake cabin is nice, but I'd rather kick back in my playhouse with Grandpa any day.

Skogen 2007

Here's me with all my cousins on the Lasher side of the family. We had a great trip to Skogen a couple weeks ago. I got to run in the grass, cuddle with Fleta and Freddie, eat late, and hang out with my Mor Mor and Bacco and aunts and uncles. Loved it.

Hotter den Hades

I'm sure you've all heard this by now, but it's been hot as blazes over here in Southwest Montana. We got out of town one weekend and landed ourselves a grand ol' time at Cliff and Wade Lakes, which were surprisingly cool, spring fed, and lined with pine trees, despite their odd location in the (relatively) flat, treeless, rolling waves of grain lining the Upper Madison River.

Whoppers

Grandpa and Jeanne came out for a visit recently and we all went fishing on the Yellowstone. I didn't really get the whole fly-fishing thing until my dad started reeling in some whoppers. Now I'm hooked, too.
Speaking of whoppers, where do you think I go my thighs?

Summertime

Although I enjoy sleeping in the sensory-deprivation chamber that is the basement, sometimes I get a little nervous about missing key family events. So this morning, for example, I climbed out of bed really super early and woke up mom and dad. The sun was shining, so I don't know what the problem was, but it took them a while to get the coffee going and the Cheerios poured.

I've got a lot to do today--swimming, swinging, sliding, you name it. It's going to be another scorcher, so I've got to go lather up with sunscreen. See ya.

Paris v. Skogen

So this is what my parents were up to while I was enjoying my retreat at Skogen. Hm...looks like a lot of boring eating to me.

I, on the other hand, got to frolik in the lush parkland of Whidbey Island with my pal, Fleta and my Mor Mor and Bacco. I got to see ALL my Seattle cousins and even spend a few days at Zoe and Van's house. It's good to be home, but I gotta say the cats aren't nearly as interesting as Fleta and my mom and dad don't know how to tickle quite as well as Bacco. Nevertheless, I love my neighborhood park, the pool, and getting reacquainted with all my toys. Life is good.

Birthday girl

Birthday girl, originally uploaded by Hazel Glaze.

I recognize I've been a little lax about this whole blog thing. As you may or may not know, I'm two now, with all the responsibilities and obligations that come with it. I'm actually sleeping right now, and have delegated today's blog to my mom.

This is a photo from my birthday in April. It started out with fun. Nannie came to town for the occasion and bought me a brand new TRIKE, which I love. Then we had a bewildering easter egg hunt and brunch at Karen and Stewart's house. I had to lay down after that. When I woke, we had a little dinner (chips and catsup) and FINALLY got to go to the park. The evening was just about perfect. Unfortunately, everyone insisted on singing that blasted, sad song "Happy Birthday". Fortunately, they made it up to me with an extra large serving of cake before bed. Now that's what I'm talkin' about...

Consider Spring

Winter's coming to an end and it's time to dust off some of my backyard toys - you know, spring cleaning and all. My sandbox seems to be thawing and the cats managed to use other parts of the yard as their litter box, so I'm ready to get back to the building projects I started last fall. Speaking of building projects, we started a remodel project on the house this week and I've had a great time supervising the work that's being done. There was an excavator digging holes right outside my bedroom window for a few days this week which made for some thrilling post-nap viewing. My parents seem to be uncertain about what it's going to be like living in a construction site for the next three to four months. Not me, I'm psyched!

SureShot '06

DSC_1822
Originally uploaded by Tim Schaub.

Is this not the coolest picture of me?

Mosher Creek

Mosher Creek
Originally uploaded by Hazel Glaze.

When Mor Mor and Bacco were in town, we went for a ski up Mosher Creek. I get to sit in this pretty little cocoon when we go skiing and eat popcorn. It's pretty cool, except sometimes I get REALLY bored. I'd say overall this was a good trip. There was lots of snow and trees and beautiful scenery.

Main St Christmas

Main St XMAs
Originally uploaded by Hazel Glaze.

In all the main intersections along Main Street (there are five), the city puts up these huge gawdy lights and tinsle things that look like giant octopi. That's one of the coolest and weirdest things about Christmas in Bozeman. The other weird thing is the lack of snow. Fortunately we got a big dump last week. It's rad. I love snow.

I hope you all had a nice New Year. I don't have any New Year's resolutions because I'm pretty much perfect just the way I am. I noticed that my mom and dad bought a bathroom scale that says I'm 28 pounds. I've stepped on it about 100 times just to make sure, and now I'm really sure. But you never know, it could change in just a week....