Mommy & Daddy took me outside for an Easter egg hunt last Sunday.  Searching for eggs amongst the bubbles was fun…

… but just as fun was sitting and playing with the dirt.

I did get to wear my new fancy hat!  What do you think?

I’m thinking of starting a self help series for other kids.  To that end, I’ve developed some sample curricula to beta test the idea.  This lesson is a mid-level lesson on “Pulling Up”.

Try it out, and tell me what you think!

Step 1: Get up on your knees, and look around to see if this is your best option for pulling up.

Step 2: If you locate a better option, get down and start making your way for it immediately.  The best options are Mommies and Daddies, and they’re mobile, so move quickly!

Notice that I maintain eye contact in order to “stun” my target and keep them from moving away while I’m approaching.

Step 3: Final Approach.  This is the part where you give your victim target one last look to assess good grab-on points.  Also, it is good to ensure that your target is not moving, or you could be in for a bumpy ride.

Step 4: Pull Up!  Grab, pull, and step.  Making entertaining buzzing noises earns you bonus points!

Step 5: Smile!  This step is often overlooked by amateurs, but I’ve found that it pays back over the long term by helping you to acquire Mommy and Daddy targets in the future.

Just practicing my aim…

Today, I met Nicholas Pieper.  Right when we laid eyes on each other, we knew that there was going to be stiff competition for attention given to the cutest baby…  You can really sense the oncoming smackdown here:

And then the words came: “Ben, Nicholas!  Look over here!”, and the race was on!

Who’s cuter?

Lately, I’ve been learning how to put my toys in the bag, and take them out again.  This is hard work, as you can see here:

But when I’m all done, I get lots of appreciation from M&D.  Yay!

I’m learning to drink from a sippy cup these days.  It’s a little tricky to “get the hang of” (Ed. Note: groan…), but I think I’m making progress.  Daddy says he thinks I might be drinking more than I’m spilling now, which is saying something since this is a sippy cup after all.  What it’s saying, I’m not sure yet.

Yesterday, M&D gave me a bag of M&Ms to play with while they were putting the groceries away.

Unbeknownst to them, the plastic bag was no match for my my brand new super sharp teeth!

I went to work immediately!

When I saw them looking, I was careful to look like I was only casually gnawing…

… and to give them waves and big smiles to throw them off…

That should be enough cute distraction!

And when M&D finally figured out that I’d been tasting the M&Ms, this is what they were left with:

I thought if I drooled on every one, that this established my claim on them, but M&D thought differently.  No fair!

After my sugar rush, I crashed to sleep rather suddenly…

What a great day!

(Ed. Note: Now we know how sharp those teeth are!)

I’ve got the stacking part of this game figured out.  Now if I could just figure out why they don’t always fit on every time…

I’m learning to climb stairs these days.  And I have to do it on the front steps so that I can show off my cool Hawaiian duds to all the neighbors! (Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Scherba!)  What with all this practice, I’ll be ready to climb stairs in Hawaii (Mommy?  Daddy?).

This morning, Mommy and Daddy and I went for a hike around the neighborhood.  This is the “before” shot.

There is no “after” shot, but Daddy was a bit more tired, I think.  The view is great from back here!  This backpack contraption is pretty cool.  Maybe one day we’ll go for a hike in those hills behind us.  What do you say, Daddy?  Daddy?