i'm back at school, after spending a weekend with the cutest baby ever. manuel is now two and a half, and quite the handful. he literally beats me up, climbs all over me, and stabs me with this stick that he carries with him everywhere. but my aunt says that's his way of showing love. he can get extremely hyper, but of course, he's so adorable the rest of the time, so he can get away with anything. here he is with me, on one of those rare occasions when he wasn't punching me in the face...



he's a little confused with genders, so he keeps on calling me a "he." i don't really know why this is, because he calls mv a "she" and gets most people right. i must be really mannish. maybe i should stop dressing like a boy all the time.

this morning, he was especially cute. my dad taught him how to play golf last summer, so my aunt bought him a mini set of golf clubs, and today they were knocking balls around together...



and manuel loooves my dad, so he'll copy anything he does. my dad was walking around carrying a golf club and talking on his cell phone, so manuel followed him like a shadow, even holding up his hand to his head like he was on the phone...




what a funny little boy. i hope i get to see them again soon, before he gets too big.