Vroom, Vroom

Whee! Dad got a motorcycle and he says I can go riding with him when I get a bit older. I can't wait! Hmmm, I wonder how MUCH older? Now that I think of it, he didn't specify an age... Do I have to be big enough to fit into his helmet?

We only have one-and-a-half cars at the moment (Papaw & Grannie Annie own half of our Volkswagen camper-van and sometimes they take it on trips, and it doesn't like to be driven short distances anyway), and since my carseat is in the Toyota Matrix and it needs to sit in our driveway in case Mom needs to take ME anywhere, Dad needed a commuting vehicle. He likes to bicycle to work in the summertime, but not when it's dark and sometimes rainy, like it is now. He's owned three motorcycles previously (before he met Mom) and got his motorcycle driver's license endorsement back when he was a teenager, so Mom couldn't argue that he wasn't experienced.

So Dad shopped around and bought a second-hand Honda Nighthawk 250 from a guy who had fallen in love with a lady from Holland and was moving there. Guess he couldn't take his shiny red bike with him. I like shiny red bikes. A lot. I hope I get to ride it soon!
And to cultivate my biker-dude image, I have started wearing blue jeans. Just don't look too closely--they have snaps in the crotch.

Ring Me Up!

I'm practicing hanging ornaments on my face, in case this skill is needed for tree-trimming come Christmas.
Mmmm, these rings are also really yummy. Anything I am handed these days goes straight into my mouth. I finally figured out how to order my hands to direct objects there, and that makes tasting everything so much easier.

I'm Mostly in a Good Mood These Days

I'm almost 12 weeks old, and most of the difficult newborn days are behind me. My digestion system has matured, I'm sleeping 3- and 4-hour stretches, I can hold my head up pretty steady, and my parents are finally figuring out what I'm saying with my differently pitched screeches. Sheesh, took them long enough to learn my language!

Just wanted to say hi to all my fans out there. I'm thinking of you.

I Will Eliminate 90% of the Competition...

Dad always tells me, "You can't make yourself smarter or better-looking, but you can eliminate 90% of the competition if you just learn to dance." I started my lessons this weekend, by attending my first contra dance. (Mom & Dad met at a contra dance, by the way, which is a type of folk dancing with a caller and live band and lots of opportunities to mix and mingle -- thank goodness, or I might not be here today.)
I didn't join any of the contra lines, but my parents held me and danced with me on the sidelines. I didn't fuss once during the whole hour; I was too entranced by the swirling dancers, stomping feet, and the driving tunes played by the fiddles, guitar and banjo -- just the kind of music I like!

I'd like to go back soon and maybe join a dance or two. I think if Mom or Dad wore me in a front-pack it would work. Only they'd better not swing too fast or I'll get dizzy!

Please note in the photos that I am also wearing shoes for the first time.

Yeah, I Got Hope!

I'm so happy!!!


And so is my dad... I stayed awake for the other guy's concession speech, but fell asleep before Obama's victory speech. However, I heard excerpts on the news this morning and think he set the right tone for uniting the country behind his agenda of change. I hope he's still president when I'm eight years old!

P.S. An update on the Cute Baby Photo Contest in our paper: I didn't win, but Mom & Dad assure me I am cuter than the little girl who did, and I believe them, and that's what counts.