Hi there! I see you. Sitting in your warm living rooms, bedrooms, and offices, surrounded by holiday cheer, and silently grumbling about missing out on my latest adventures. You say, "Azja! You said you'd keep a blog going so we could keep up with your activities and continually get new pictures of your smiling face and cute outfits. And where are the updates? I check your blog site and keep seeing the same post from HALLOWEEN! HALLOWEEN! Thanksgiving has come and gone! What gives? You are a cute little girl, so I can't be mad at you, but you have to understand - we don't see you everyday. Help me out here. Throw me a friggin' bone." I see you. I hear you. And I apologize. I've been growing like crazy, and I've been busy with new toys and sights and people and whatnot. This is a poor excuse, but it is all I have right now. But with this apology, I bring pictures. Lots of pictures. And unlike last time, most of these pictures are me! So without further adieu, let us get started.So what has been going on since last we exchanged stories? The first interesting thing is the change in what is referred to as a 'season'. It seems that the out of doors is not always the same. When I was born, it was warm and sunny a lot. Sometimes it was downright hot. Lately, however, the hot has given way to windy and cool. Some days have even been cold, which seems to be the opposite of hot. I don't know that I necessarily like the idea of the out of doors changing. Although, I have been able to wear some new outfits lately that cover me up more. I may not love the cold, but I do love footy pajamas! They are very comfy and often have fun animals on my feet. Since my feet don't serve much of a purpose outside of kicking things and flailing around, it is nice, at least, to give them new interesting looks. And when I want my feet actually exposed, I have these sweet colorful leg-warmers to keep the rest of my lower half warm. They say leg-warmers are a bit retro, but the 80's were so long ago that I don't think anyone would have a problem with me dipping my toes (or legs) into the retro pond. Especially when I look so cute in them. I also have some fun blankets that get more use at this time of year. When in doubt, blanket. What? Do expressions have to rhyme?
Another thing that happens during this change is the shedding of leaves by all the trees around us. And I don't mean they drop a couple leaves. They go bald! There are crackly, brown leaves all over the place. Well, Mom and Dad were not too thrilled about their nice walkways being obscured by a crunchy, dirty blanket of leaves. Plus it made navigating the front steps an exercise in agility (and while Dad may be agile on a computer keyboard or on turntables, he is not exactly agile on his feet). So their solution was to collect the leaves into piles and then collect the piles into bags. For two weekends in a row, Dad worked in the yard on this de-leafing project. But these were nice weekends, so I got to go out there with Mom, as well. It was, as the Brits say, a jolly good time.
What else is new? Well, I've been getting this hand-eye coordination thing down somewhat. Which means I'm starting to understand the concept of interaction in exciting new ways. See, up until this point, my idea of interaction mostly involved looking around a lot, sometimes letting my gaze settle upon some object being shoved in my face for a short amount of time, moving my arms and legs around and finding excitement should they accidentally bump into something, and sometimes - if you got lucky - giving you a smile in response to your hilarious efforts to produce said desired effect. That's right, I knew how to smile, I just enjoyed all the silly work you put into bringing it out of me. But that has changed recently. I learned that I could put my fingers in my mouth to help alleviate my oral fixation in lieu of a bottle or pacifier. With this knowledge came the realization that it might be fun to put other things in my mouth. But how to get them there? And then one day I realized that my flailing hands that would from time to time bump into an object within my targeted visual realm could actually be directed! I could bump them into these objects on purpose! I wasn't just floating in some projected world-scape with limited interaction ability, I was grounded in a physical reality responsive to my will! What an amazing realization! Someday this knowledge could be put to use guiding the path of my very destiny towards pre-visualized goals of personal attainment! But for now, I just needed my hands to grab objects and bring them to my mouth. And then two brand new training instruments arrived in our house. One is called a "jumparoo". I would naturally assume its primary objective is to help a baby achieve the coveted "jump". I don't really care too much about that right now. It may be fun later, but for now, I just want to be entertained by the objects around me (now that I realize we both exist within the same physical web of reality). And this thing entertains! Lights, sound, music, and all kinds of objects that spin, rattle, dangle, spring, and otherwise titillate the expanding baby mind. It is quite wonderful, and I enjoy my time in this seat. The secondary need that I have at this point, however, is to take my enjoyment of these objects to a new level by grabbing them and bringing them to my mouth. This is difficult in the jumparoo currently. Which is why my other new piece of training equipment is so awesome. It is a mat placed on the floor with arcs suspended above. Hanging from the apex of the wire-frame dome is a set of toys that dangle precariously close to my face. Perfect! I have started to master the grappling of the duck on this toy chain, and I'm now even getting to the point where I can bring him to my mouth! It is spectacular. Only problem is that the motion is restricted. I can't keep him in my mouth for longer than a few moments, as the device springs him back into the air. But the important part is that my motor skills are developing. So now when Mom and Dad hand me other objects (like my new favorite doll from Grandma Dunham we call 'Creepy Christmas') I can hold onto them and actually get some personal enjoyment without having to rely on the constant guiding hands of others. I'm in the middle of an interactive revolution, and I'm pretty stoked about it. And the bigger news is that I think I'm approaching a locomotive revolution on top of this. On my playmat I have recently been able to partially roll my body over. Someday I will be able to decide which position I most desire and execute the gymnastics necessary to achieve it! Growing up is so exciting!
Need some more exciting adventures? How about an entire garden on the inside of the out of doors?! Or how about Grandma and Grandpa Vogt touring the facility with us?! And then having them stay with us for another week after that?! Yes, these things all truly happened. It has been quite an exciting month. The gardens were called Longwood, and they were somewhere near the Delaware border. We visited them after picking up Grandma and Grandpa Vogt from the Philly airport. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. The place was quite beautiful. Dad's favorite things were the yellow Chrysanthemum shield (created by hilariously named Japanese gardener extrordinaire Tadashi Imafuku), the Venus fly-traps, and the 100-year-old Zelkova bansai tree. The whole place, however, was quite breathtaking. If you are ever in the Delaware/Philly area, I highly recommend it. 
The week that Grandma and Grandpa Vogt were here also happened to be the week of Thanksgiving. I could not tell what the holiday was supposed to be about, but it seems to involve ingesting copious amounts of delicious-smelling food and spending time with loved ones. There were games a-plenty as well as some construction work. Mom's parents helped her install shelves along the back wall of the living room while Dad was at work. The shelves look great and give Mom and Dad more room for books they can read to me. I love when Mom and Dad read to me. I also like when they sing to me (don't tell Dad I told you he sings to me). So the living room is really starting to look fantastic (I apologize for not including pictures of the new shelves, but I assure you they are nice-looking). On top of this, Mom was able to start decorating for the next holiday (Christmas) after Thanksgiving was over, so the living room is now happier and more festive than ever. The weekend after Thanksgiving Jay and Hallie came over, and we all enjoyed some out of doors time with a fire and some Yuengling. Jay, Hallie, and Dad were even able to create some music by blowing over the tops of their bottles, a tune called "Beethoven's 5th". It was quite impressive. Then they all played some Rock Band. It was good seeing the old band back together again. Oh, and before you scroll down, I must warn you that Dad included some risque photos of me after a massage, so you are going to see my hiney. Don't worry, I'm a baby, nothing to blush about. Having said that, aren't I a good poser? What can I say? The camera likes me.
Well, that is it for now. I'm guessing my next post will be all about Christmas. From what I've seen so far it should be a pretty amazing holiday. I'll leave you with a picture we took at Jay and Hallie's of the first snow of the season (snow seems to be like rain but lighter, whiter, and stickier). There were these big fat flakes that covered everything in a light blanket that was gone by the morning. But while it lasted it was so pretty. What were we doing down in Reading during a snow, you ask? Mom was getting Dad his Christmas present. I'd show you what it was, but you have to wait until Christmas. You'll be so surprised!
Until we meet again, may all your days be merry and bright. And may all your Christmases be white : )
Azja
