My 1st Birthday Party

This past week was my first birthday. I actually had no idea, but I thought something was up when my Uncle Alex and his girlfriend Caroline showed up!Then...Mom & Dad starting acting a little strange. First, Daddy went on this huge baking bonanza and kept having me try this blue stuff called 'frosting' to see if I would like it. It wasn't cold, so I was confused why it was called 'frosting', but nonetheless, I was hooked! Here's Daddy in the midst of the baking:

Then, the morning of my birthday, Mommy got all excited and started telling me the story of my birth. Then, she dressed me up in a new outfit. I thought I was particularly suave:

...but the thing that really got me thinking was when a bunch of people starting showing up at my house including all my little friends. Here's a picture of my buddies Aaron (left) and Colin (center) trying to fly my airplane. I kept trying to tell Colin that he was on the plane backwards, but he wouldn't listen...

So! It was really my birthday! The house was decorated, and everyone was so excited. Mom even got me a birthday hat! I wasn't a big fan of the hat at first:
Those things are itchy! So, we took off the hat, and Mom put me down in my seat. I thought, "finally... I'm starving, some grilled cheese sounds good." To my surprise though, there was no food in front of me. And to make matters worse, all these people starting singing to me and Mom put FIRE in front of me! It was kind of scary at first, until I realized that the fire was just a birthday candle and the people were just wishing me happy birthday with the happy birthday song. Here's a pic of my frightened look
Now, I'm allergic to eggs, so there were two cakes. One for the adults, and one for me. Can you guess which is which???At first, I was a little confused by the enormity of the cake in front of me...but after a while, I was going to town:
but no one told me that too much cake might make your tummy ache:I overheard Daddy talking to Mom afterwards about me being right handed. Apparently, I used that hand to eat the frosting and put the leftovers on the side of my chair. Here's the aftermath:For those extreme fans of my blog - here's a short clip of my cake eating experience:

Overall, it was a great birthday. I did have a bit of a runny nose during the whole thing, but I man'd up for the event!

The next day, Mom, Uncle A, and Caroline all went downtown. It was a bit chilly, so we had our hats on. Here's me and the Seattle crew in front of Buckingham fountain.

Must Love Dogs

Mom and I flew down to Dallas to cheer Be-be up because she lost her mother (my great-grandmother). However, once I got down there, quickly "Murphy" the family dog became my new obsession. Be-be and Zayde were worried that Murphy might try to bite me, so they put Murphy outside.

I tried to open the door ...

and then I tried to appeal to Zayde for help ...

But to no avail. Finally, I gave up and went to play with my cousin Asher.

February 09 Trip to Seattle

Here's some pictures and videos from my recent visit to Seattle. As you can see I'm constantly learning:

Here's Grandma teaching me how to applaud:

Morfar teaching me to read a magazine...

Meal time!

Uncle Alex teaching me how to relax in the "Man Chair"

Mommy teaching me how to brush my teeth ...

(As you can see, I haven't quite perfected this whole brushing thing.)

Lastly - nothing like a good bath in the kitchen sink.

Pike Place Market

While in Seattle, we all took a trip to Pike Place Market. That place is really the bees knees! (Yes, I said Bees Knees!) One of the produce guys gave me a slice of pear to try ... I was all about that:

Here's me and Mommy ...
Me and my buddy Salmon

Me and the shrimp...

Me, Mommy and Grandma...

Me and mommy on top of the pig!

Me and Daddy eating fish and chips. This is my very first French Fry!!! (and definitely not my last)

My Journey with JJ

The other day I was hanging out with my good buddy Justin Seidner. We laughed, we cried, we disagreed, but we did it together ... the Journey started (and ended) at the dinner table:

The Arts, Sciences, and Culture

In my 9 months of existence, my parents have instilled a sense of pride in the fact that I come from very different and unique families. On my mother's side, I have Swedish noble glory that dates back to the 17th century, as well east coast Pennsylvania pride. On my dad's side, I'm from a long line of Eastern European jewish families that worked very hard to get their ancestors to the United States. Because of this, I feel a need to get acquainted with all cultures, religions, and views, and of course while doing this, I should sample some of the fine culture and culinary tastes.

I've learned that you really don't have to go far to learn some of the basics. Here's a few lessons, I have learned so far.

Lesson 1: Nothing beats a fine Italian meal - Gustare!

This was a sampling of the finest Alphabet pasta and peas homeade by my mother. I have to admit a majority of it fell to the floor, but it was amazing, nonetheless!

Lesson 2: Try to get front row at any concert

I just love Daddy's concerts... at least for the first 15 seconds anyway. :)

Lesson 3: There are many forces of nature that defy gravity, static electricity being one of them!

Lesson #4: If you are going to participate, do it 100%.

For example, we spent one night of Hannukkah at our neighbors to celebrate Christmas with them. I'm definintely a fan of the xmas tree, there's just too many colors not to like that! Lance (our neighbor) got us all Christmas poppers. These little English trinkets are given out on this holiday and have little toys inside, plus a colorful crown you can wear! Ofcourse, I had to take the burnt ORANGE one! (it was a little itchy though!)

Oh Glorious Fridge, How I Love thee!

Mommy says that I'm starting to show signs of my father. Who woulda thought that making a beeline for the fridge when Mommy opens it is exactly what Daddy does too!

If loving the fridge is wrong, I don't want to be right!