A Happy Labor Day?

posted by Evan Jake at 7:54 AM

Dad tells me today is Labor Day which is why he's home from work. I think he's just making it up. I think he's home from work because he's lazy. Labor Day sounds totally made up and not a lot of fun. Why on earth would anyone celebrate a holiday called "Labor Day?"

The last labor day I had didn't turn out so well. It was about 8 1/2 months ago. I remember it well. I got woken up from a nap and got squeezed and pushed around for an entire day. When I came to, I was naked in a hospital room under bright lights in front of a bunch of strangers. Mom didn't look like she had a lot of fun on labor day either. If I recall, she didn't look so hot. Dad was the only one who didn't seem to be doing anything -- as usual.

Well, if celebrating Labor Day is an excuse for everyone to stay home and have a long weekend with me, I guess I'm okay with that. It means no day care for me today. And it's been a long holiday weekend with some cool new experiences.

First, mom gave me some new foods to try. The biggest change is that I'm no longer vegetarian. My pureed veggies now get mixed in with some chicken once a day. It's really tasty. I love it. Oddly enough, it really does taste like chicken. For the first time, our kitty cats are interested in my food and want to lick my bowl when I'm finished. This must be a good sign.

Mom also gave me some finger foods to try. They're called veggie puffs. I guess the idea of chicken puffs is kind of gross. The veggie puffs are hard to eat. They're not all mushy like my other food. But they're fun to play with. If I can't get them in my mouth, I just like to flick them with my fingers or listen to the sound they make when I drop them on the floor. Dad shows me how to eat them by eating some himself. He's shown me how to eat half the can already. Maybe mom needs to keep more snack foods around the house for dad so he'll stop eating mine.

In addition to new foods, mom and dad have been helping me learn to stand and walk. I have no interest in that crawling stuff and really just want to start walking (then driving). I've been able to stand for quite a while now. But now I can move myself around a bit and take some wobbly steps with a bit of help. That's me in the first picture moving around the living room.

I also got a fun visit from my bubbe and pop-pop this weekend. They brought me some new books to read. I love books. Books are my favorite. I love to look at them and turn the pages. And sometimes I just like to chew on them. I also like being read to, mostly because I can't read myself yet. That's me in the second picture getting read to. Dad says he hopes my fascination with books continues as I get older -- at least until eighth grade when I'll have to read The Iliad and Beowulf. I hope those books come with cardboard pages and lots of pictures too.

Well, I don't know what's planned for the holiday today. Maybe more walking around the living room or a car ride. I love car rides. No matter what happens, I just hope this Labor Day is less stressful than the last one!

~:O