A long time ago, in a lifetime far, far away...

A long time ago, in a lifetime far, far away, there lived a man and a woman in a clean and quiet house, in complete control of their time and money. But that was before...The Manu! He came innocently enough, playful and content with just being held. But slowly he amassed an army of evil henchmen; The Little People, The Weebles, the toy piano, the bubble mower; and he set forth to enact his diabolical plan: a slow and steady reduction of mommy and daddy from all-powerful, into quivering, nervous little house servants at his beck and call. Now, only the cat stands in the way of total conquest! Stay tuned as once again Manu exerts his mind control with a repeated push of the button on any of his vast array of musical torture devices, or as he sets a trap with many small, round objects, expertly placed at daddy's feet, or as he slowly drives mommy insane by pulling out everything that she had just put away. Resistance is futile. Learn from our mistakes...save yourselves!

As you might have guessed, Manu is as active as ever. Having recently learned how the buttons on his toys work, enamored by this discovery, he wants to show mommy and daddy how they work too, all of the time! Another favorite is the bubble-mower that he received from uncle Ed and aunt Patty. He is all smiles and giggles as he pushes and pulls it along. It makes a loud engine sound you know :-0 We have avoided actually using the bubbles yet, for fear of losing our lives as the bubbles would create a nice slick film on the flooring. As soon as it dries up a bit outside we'll show him that.

Manu is now mastering a few words. Mama and Dada are being used in the correct context, as well as bye-bye, uh-oh, nana (banana), done and down. He is almost completely through with baby food, preferring to eat whatever we are having. Peas, carrots and corn are everyday staples, and pasta, pork and spinach are favorites too. He is walking, climbing and opening anything he can. Every time we think we have the house completely baby-proofed, he reminds us of our shortcomings. He is enjoying daycare more and more. Playing with friends and art are his favorite activities. They really seems to love him there too, as everyone, workers and older kids alike, know him by name and call to him as we leave in the afternoons.

On Saturday we took Manu to Churchill Downs for his first day at the races. We stood at the paddock and watched the pretty horses trot by. Manu was awed by these beautiful creatures, and he seemed even smaller than he is compared to the thoroughbreds. A good luck charm he isn't though, as we went zero for five in the races on which we wagered. Still, it was a fun day in Kentucky.