Recently Mama and Papa got me a nice rattle at the music store. I have a lot of fun with it. We make music and sing and sometimes dance too.

Mom and Dad are a bit slow in keeping up with me…I am getting stronger every day and learning new moves all the time. Recently I have both learned to push myself up to sitting from lying and also to pull myself up to standing.

I found this to be very useful when it came to play time. As you can see, I was able to get up and then into my toy box beside my play space. Dad found it hilarious that I was reaching in and tossing the good toys out for playing. Well, what would you expect!?

I really like bath time! I can even almost say bath…that “th” ending is a real toughie though. Anyway, bath time is always fun, especially when Mom makes it bubbly for me.

Though someone on NPR said that summer is over today, it is still real here. Thankfully we have moved to cooler evenings, but days can be in the 90s (and were this weekend). What better time for a shade festival!

Mama and Papa took me to Grant Park (a place I felt I had a distant connection to) for the annual Shade Festival. There were lots of vendors, music acts, artists, and babies.

When we got there, I went with Papa down to the shady, grassy area where the strollers were corralled. As soon as Papa got out the soccer ball, like Ava came over and kicked it. She promptly ran back to her Mama’s side while I delighted with glee. For the next while, I played with two 2 1/2 year old girls. I was so delighted to see them run and kick the ball and run some more. I can’t wait!

I also got to see a great big fountain, an enormous and majestic bald cypress tree, and the canopy of some enormous oak trees.

I was very lucky to also get to hang out with auntie Christa! Her and Mama had a big walk together and after I was really getting a need for some Mama time, we rolled up to Mama and Christa!

We walked around some more and played in the shade. Bummer that they wouldn’t give me some of their beer. I had a good time anyway.

Not long ago, Mama mentioned my use of some first words and sounds. I have been fairly vocal lately, and Dad wanted to share my vocalizations.

Here is a clip where Mama was encouraging the “brbrbrbrbrbrbr” sound. After that, I really felt it was time to be UP!

Still getting over the fun of the parade on Saturday. I haven’t seen any of the beings I saw in the parade, but who knows…maybe they will show up again soon.

Also, Dad got a brief video of the parade, so check it out too:

Every Labor Day weekend, about one hundred thousand geeks descend on Atlanta for DragonCon (more on DragonCon). The weekend kicks off with a sizable parade of all the goodies from DragonCon - scifi characters galore, cartoons, fantasy etc. So, I went with my fabulous mama and papa downtown. We had a nice walk from the office to the parade route, where hundreds and hundreds of strange creatures walked down the street.

This was my first parade, so I am not sure if they are all this weird, but I gotta say that that was strange. Everyone was so different. I sat on Dad’s hip and watched from the front row as they went by and went by…

Eventually I got tired of all the stimulation and couldn’t take any more. As I crawled up Dad, the parade happened to end just then! So we went home and had a more normal rest of the day

You can also see the DragonCon site photo gallery for more images from past events.

Mom was really excited to see that one of the original authors of Puff the Magic Dragon was on a book tour and stopping in Atlanta. He stopped by to spend an hour with a lot of kids and parents, most of whom were fans of Puff in its 50 year history. I got to enjoy being with all the kids and also singing, while Mom got to relive part of her childhood.

We also got the new Puff book (which has a new ending) and a CD.

I can talk. Not just babble, but direct the world with words.  I say, “Up, Up Momma” and amazingly my mom picks me up off the ground or out of my high chair.  This is great.  I can’t wait to learn more words.

I have been practicing for about a week now, but today I got really clear and consistant about “up”.  I have a lot of opportunities to practice since I liked to be picked up a lot.

I am practicing other words also, like book.  Book is hard because I of the K. I can’t make that sound yet, so I just say “buh, buh”.  I am practicing a lot of words that Mom can’t understand.

I also pulled myself up to a standing position last week.    I also have started getting up on all fours.  I still crawl with my belly on the ground.

Mom has taken me swimming a lot this week.  I love the pool. When we pull into the YMCA, I get very excited because I know we are going swimming.  The YMCA has a great area for babies that slopes down from 0  to about 2 feet.  I can play all by myself in just a few inches of water.  I am smart about the water.  I like to explore and test my body, but I don’t do things that are silly like try and crawl too deep.  Mom likes to stretch while I play with a ball or meet other babies.  Sometimes we meet our friends at the pool.

Recently my friend Harmony gave me a very fun toy - an electric synthesizer. Now I can make lots of sounds and have a lot more keys than my other piano. It also has flashing lights, which is probably the best part of it. It also plays songs…I don’t understand why Mom and Dad keep it put away most of the time.