Sutter

Hi everyone! Yup, it’s been a while but I’ve been busy all the same! Learning new words, new skills, new ways to assert my free will, new ways to mess with my big brother…(just kidding! we get along really well most of the time!). Anyway, it has come to my attention in the last couple of weeks that there is this awesome thing called a bridge! Bridges are great big things, and sometimes they have names (like the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Bay Bridge) and sometimes they are different colors (orange or gray) and sometimes you can drive your car on them and sometimes you just walk on them.  My very favorite is the Golden Gate Bridge - we have a poster of it in our house (and a matching magnet on the fridge), plus a 3-D puzzle of it on the shelf in our bedroom! I like to point them out every day to anyone I can find, and I will gesture to the bridge and say “Look, there is a bridge!”. It comes out like “Bah Buh Buh Bah Biszh!”, but they get what I mean (my family is pretty good at speaking Sutterese). Best of all? This bridge also shows up in both a board book that I make my mom read to me all the time (Good Night San Francisco) and also a video that my brother and I get to watch sometimes about these little kids and a rocket who go to San Francisco and have to fly over the bridge). I like to find anything that even slightly resembles a bridge and point it out to people (freeway overpasses, gates, etc). And then last weekend my mom and dad took me and Decker to a neat place called the Bay Area Discovery Museum in San Francisco, which…wait for it…was located at Fort Baker, which is at the base of the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE! And…the museum has a minature version of the bridge that kids can climb on and pretend to help build, with wooden rivets and girders that we can attach and little orange hard hats you can wear. Which was fun and all, but as my folks kept trying to get me and Decker to pose by the fake bridge, I had to keep pointing out to them vehemently that, uh - mom and dad? the REAL bridge is right behind you! We did get to walk over to the base of it after we were done with the museum, but it was so windy that it wasn’t very fun to get that close. But it was still amazing to get to see the wonder that is a BISZH!

Hi everyone! Ok, I’m on this kick lately where I want to know the word for everything, and then after it’s been identified for me enough, I will then repeat it back to you as best as I can. This is especially fun when it has to do with my  favorite things - for example:

BUS !: Every day when Mommy and I go to pick up my big brother from school, there are a whole bunch of yellow buses (just like my toy ones at home!) that line up in the circle around the entrance. I point each one out to my mom quite happily, because they are just the greatest things. They are big! They are yellow! They have wheels that go round and round! I try to take at least one little toy bus with me each time we go to pick Decker up, just so I can be a part of the cool group (you know, the bus drivers?).

BEAR ! : Some of my favorite books are all about bears: Brown Bear, Brown Bear; Polar Bear, Polar Bear; Bear Snores On; Kiss Good Night…I could go on and on! Bears are usually brown. Sometimes they are white, or black and white. But usually brown. They live in caves mostly, but sometimes houses. They sleep a lot (or try to fall asleep). They are friends with other animals. And they like to say “Rowr!”. I like to say it too! So if you ask me to identify a bear for you, I’ll say “Beh!”. And if you ask me what they say, I’ll tell you, “Rowr Rowr!”. (Also: lions say the same thing as bears. So do cats. But sheep say “Ba Ba”).

BALL ! : Balls are so much fun - you can throw them, roll them, kick them, and use them to get a grownup to play with you. They are round and bouncy and come in lots of colors. They can be really small, or really really big - there is this enormous ball in the PE room at Decker’s school, and when we walk through there to get to his classroom I always call out “Bah! Bah!”. They never take it down for me though…oh well! I have more than enough balls at home to play with. Mostly you have to play with balls outside, but there are few that Mommy will let me play with inside if I am careful enough. Daddy says I have a good arm, whatever that means! (I believe I actually have TWO arms, but maybe I’m not counting right).

BIRD ! : Birds are funny and they live in trees and fly in the sky and make tweet tweet noises and sometimes squawk squawk noises and sometimes they go who who who (that’s only owls though). Oh! And some go ‘bock bock’ (mostly chickens). And some go ‘quack quack’…oh, there’s just too many to remember! (They’re  more complicated than bears). Anyway, if I see a bird land on the ground I will point it out to my mom and try to go see it up close. Birds must be awfully busy with lots of stuff to do, because they always fly away when I get close!

BOH! (Pot) : Ok, so as you can tell I’m all about the B-words in my little world. There’s one that my mom and dad say a little differently than I do, but I call it a ‘boh’. Bohs (pots, for you grownups out there) are anything shiny and metal that you use to cook with. There are lots of them in the kitchen, and I love to have my mom pick me up and open the cupboard so I can point at them and call out their names. But I guess maybe her back started acting up or something, because we don’t do that so much anymore. But that’s ok - BECAUSE…Mommy and Pammy gave me and Decker our very own kid-sized set of pots and pans to play with all by ourselves! It’s really cool, because I also really like to pretend to cook (we have sets of pretend food and cooking spoons etc), so now we can get out our ‘bohs’ and make meals for Mommy and Daddy! This morning Decker made crayon soup, with extra green and red.

One last thing - the two best B-words in the whole wide world? Buh Buh Buh (Big Brother) and Ba Ba (Daddy). They are the best!

Hi everyone! I had my 18-month checkup with Dr Handelsman a couple of weeks ago, and here’s my latest stats: 33 1/4 inches (75th % height), and 23 lbs (30th % weight). I got a couple of shots, too. Yuck! But - my big brother Decker, who pretty much knows everything, told me it would be ok and he gave me hugs and even picked out my toy for me when we got to the treasure box outside (I was too distraught to make any decisions right then). He picked out a white triceratops for me and an orange triceratops for him! Big brothers are awesome!

Hi everyone,

Well, it’s April and the flowers are blooming and the trees have leaves and Mommy is sneezing and the weather is warmer (except for today!) and that means I have been getting to go outside a lot! See, here’s the bummer about turning 1 year old right before winter and the rainy season start - you learn how to walk, and then you have nowhere to test your new skillz except for the living room! So now that we’ve been going to the playgrounds and stuff, I’ve been making up for lost time! Get me out on the lawn, and I will giggle like a fiend and then run as fast as my little ol’ legs will go! Playgrounds are fanTAStic! There are places to scamper, slides to go down, and this really neat stuff you can play with called ’sand’. Sand is funny - it kinda falls through your fingers like water, but you can also pack it into a bucket and make a castle out of it. You can dig it with a shovel, drive little trucks through it, and move it around with your hands. The only thing you can’t do with sand is eat it. Believe me, I’ve tried…and I have a feeling it must taste pretty awesome, because my mom won’t let me put it in my mouth, but I see other little kids munching it all the time! My mom can be so strict on the food thing! It seems like sand and whole wheat crackers would both have the same amount of healthy fiber in them!

Anyway, I never stay in the sand for that long anyway, because there are so many places to run and climb! The tricky part about all this physical fun is that you can’t be deterred by falling, especially on your face. If I stopped having fun every time I stumbled or tripped and bumped my head, well then I would never have a good time! So lately I’ve been sporting a lot of bruises and ‘goose eggs’ on my ol’ noggin, and I even tend to get bruises on top of those bruises! A typical day outside sounds like this:

Me: “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ah bah bah bah bah but but but but ahhhhhhhhhh…THUD”

Mommy: “GASP - Sutter, not again! Come here, show me where you need to be kissed better…try to get no more boo boos, ok?…”

Me: “Sniff, sniff…WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ah bah bah…..”

(Repeat Cycle Until Time to Go In for Naptime)

So, as you can tell, life is way more exciting if you head at it head on! If you can’t hit the playground to get some energy out, well, you can always take apart the cushions on the armchair and climb up there, too! And if you only get to go out into the driveway, that’s ok - there are wagons to pull (and climb into), there are scooters to ride, and there are balls to throw! Let’s go!

Hi everyone! Wow, it’s been 4 whole months since I last update my blog - but I’ve sure been keeping busy! I had a birthday, we celebrated Xmas, rang in a new year, and I’m hitting all sorts of milestones! There’s a lot of stuff I guess I should retroactively write about, but today I want to tell you about: books and shoes!

Ok, first the shoes - on Friday I went with Mommy and big brother to Walnut Creek, where we met up with Pammy and Tully, and went to this really cool store with all sorts of toys on the shelves and umbrellas hanging upside down from the ceiling. This really nice lady came over and made me step on this super cold metal board thing, and it was kinda scary but then it was over and the next thing you know I’m getting fitted for my very own BIG BOY shoes! Yup, I am now the proud owner of some real sneakers just like my big brother Decker’s, and as soon as we got out of the store we put them on and I started to run!! I made a few steps and then tripped and fell right on my face and scraped my lip, but I didn’t mind because I got to drink a juice box and then I got to start walking around in my new shoes again a little later! I fall down a lot anyway, so if it’s not a scraped lip then it’s a bump on the head or something like that - my mom says I’m ‘boisterous’! Hey, I got places to go, things to do, toys to play on…falling down just comes with the territory!

On Saturday, to break in my new shoes my daddy took me and Decker to the playground and I had a blast! There is so much neat stuff to do at a playground, and since I really started walking right around the time that winter came and we couldn’t go outside much, I haven’t had a chance to get out much and explore. So I’m making up for lost time now, that’s for sure! The playground, and then running around outside with our scooters and bikes and wagons and balls in the driveway…I am getting better and better at keeping up with my big brother, and it’s a lot of fun! Sometimes my folks tell me I’m too little to play with some of the bigger bikes and stuff - that’s so unfair! Just like that stupid rule that you have to be 3 before you can go to preschool…whatever!

But I also want to talk about books. I really really like books, and I especially like when people read to me. So here’s what you do: you grab a book (preferably one that your mom has read about a billion times to you, because if there’s one things moms like best it’s repeating themselves) and then march on up to your mom or dad and grab their pant leg and beam up at them with a million-watt smile (grownups can’t resist those) and the next thing you know you’ll be sitting comfortably on a lap and listening to “Hand Hand Fingers Thumb” or “Kiss Good Night”. Even better? If they’re already sitting down, just back up into their lap and they’ll usually comply! Grownups are awfully accommodating! Big Brother lets me listen to some of his books too, and he even tries to read to me just like they do in school - isn’t he awesome?

Speaking of which, I think I’ll see if I can get someone to read to me now…bye!

Hi everyone! Well, after several weeks of starts and stops and stumbles, I have officially begun to really and truly WALK! Last Wednesday, Oct 10, I decided that I was ready to try movin’ ahead without using anything to cruise along…and it worked! I’ve discovered that if you maintain a wide-legged stance (as my mommy puts it, like a little drunken chimpanzee) and keep stuff in your hands for balance, you can waddle your way quickly all over the living room! I am so proud of this new skill that I can’t contain myself - I grin from ear to ear (showing off my two new teeth - now I have 4 on the top!) and giggle and launch myself all over the house! I’m especially talented at picking up speed as I go, and as a result I have become completely airborne a couple of times! On my daddy’s watch (Mommy wanted to make sure I included that part) I ended up flying with all four limbs off the ground, and landed on the side of the couch with my face. Gave myself a black eye! (I’m proud of it).

I’ve got these little soft leather shoes/moccasins with sailboats on them, and they are handy for when I want to walk outside. I test drove them yesterday when I went to this big field full of pumpkins with my family - and even though the ground was much less even than our carpet at home, I did pretty good overall! On a side note: pumpkins are cool! They are orange and almost as big as me and you can climb on them and thump them with your hand and they sound like a drum! Plus my big brother made sure that we brought home a pumpkin that was just my size, just for me! Wasn’t that nice of him? He’s a pretty good guy -  I like sharing a room with him and chasing him around.

I turn 1 years old on Saturday - woo hoo!

Hi everyone! Guess what? Wednesday night I decided that I was ready to move on from this cruising thing and try something new - soooooo…I took some tentative steps all on my own to mom and dad and decker! So far I can only manage 1-3 steps before stumbling and lurching forward, but hey - I’m still new at this! I am super psyched and so are Mommy and Daddy and Decker. (What they don’t realize is that I am trying my best to build up my skills so I can ride Decker’s bike while he’s at school! Shh…don’t tell anyone!). Anyway - I’m officially 11 months old and ready to bust out these feet of mine and do some walking! Yeah!

Oh - and I’ve added some new noises, including ‘et et et’ (mom can’t figure out if that means ‘eat’ or ‘toys’), and ‘ba ba ba BA!’. I also say ‘da da da’ when I see my Daddy, and I still say “Ma ma MA” very plaintively if I’m sad or upset. (Mommy’s been requesting I use a happier voice for her name!)

Hi everyone! On Monday my mommy took me and my big brother Decker visit Dr. Handelsman for our check-ups. It was neat having Decker there, because he went first and showed me how to be very brave and do what the nurses and doctor told me. It went pretty well - they measured me and weighed me and stuff - you know, the usual drill. I grew a whole inch and a half since my last visit, so now I am 30 inches! And I gained a little over 2 lbs, so I’m now at 21 lbs 2 oz (give or take an oz). Am I big enough to play with all my brother’s toys yet?

Oh - and I got some more shots. Bleah! Not my favorite thing in the world, but my mommy says they help keep me healthy, so ok. Plus, Decker picked a toy out for me from the treasure chest - a blue dinosaur! Big kids like dinosaurs, and I want to be a big kid like my brother, so that’s cool with me! Dr. Handelsman said I was nice and healthy, and I get to go back after my birthday next month. Cool!

Hi everyone! Guess what? I have discovered the coolest trick EVER! You ready? Ok - know you those things on the end of your arms (they’re called ‘hands’)? Well, they’re not just for sucking on or grabbing food! If you wave your arms back and forth at the same time, your hands will hit each other and make a noise called “clapping”! It’s soooo fun! I noticed my mom and dad would do this anytime I did something they liked, so I thought I’d try it out myself yesterday. Boy did I get a response! Now I want to keep doing it all the time! In fact, after I woke up from my nap this afternoon, my mom overheard me just sitting in my crib talking to myself and clapping over and over! I must have appreciated my nice dreams or something!

Hi everyone! Well, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I inherited my mom’s propensity for extremely bad puns…as the title above will soon prove! Anyway - lately I’ve discovered that there is this really cool ball that I can play with, that has holes in it so I can grab it really easily. Balls are lots of fun - my mom will roll it across the floor, and then say, “Go get the ball, Sutter - go get the ball!”. So I crawl really really fast across the floor and get the ball, and then I hold it out in front of me with a big grin and a giggle, as if to say “Hey, look what I got!”. Then I crawl really really fast back across the floor to my mom and give her the ball and we start all over again. And again. And again. (Adults love repetition - what is that? Must be developmental). So today we’re playing and then I decide I will take off with the ball and try to create a NEW game, which I call “Roll the Ball Across the Seat of the Chair”. It’s a blast, and I’m pretty awesome at it. Well, I was standing at the chair playing my new game, when I decided to try and see if the ball would roll across the bottom rung of our dining table. So I let go of the chair as I reached out for the table, and guess what? I stood for like 2 seconds all on my own, and then took a tentative step! I’m not even sure I realized I was doing it, but my mom freaked out and practically threw a ticker tape parade! She called my dad to tell him of my accomplishments, and seemed quite pleased overall. After that I was more interested in just cruising some more, but hey…when this walking thing happens I am ready! Look out world, here I come! (So does this mean that now I can ride my brother’s big kid bike?)