The Lucky Fam

The obligatory introduction

2007-09-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here's an introduction to the characters:

Gus: fun-loving, down-to-earth, photog-obsessed, all around good guy.

Em: domestic goddess with a brain.

Chie: the light of our lives, always quick with a smile and a laugh.

For the rest of the story, you'll just have to stay tuned!

Note: To keep our private lives private, we all have pseudonyms that we use for our journals. If you know us in real life, please respect our wishes if you respond to the entries by referring to us by our online names.

Also of note: My photography is copyrighted. All rights reserved for yours truly.

An overnighter, in sand

2007-09-12T15:00:00.001-07:00

Some images from the trip that we took to the beach this weekend. We'd been slated to go to the Bay to see family, but that trip kept having road blocks and so we decided to listen to the cosmos and stay closer to home. We were both still very much in need of a break, though, so we took off for an overnighter...

Our destination: Cape Lookout State Park

The first stop-- Tillamook Cheese's factory.

The first thing to do on a beach? Remove your shoes, of course.

But Chie kept her Robeez on, this time around, because it was pretty chilly. She seemed really enamored of the sand.

When we got back, Gus tossed her in the air a bit while I tried to have the camera at the right angle.

She LOVES her daddy, and his acrobatic skills.

It's not really that big-- but it is bulky. And we need a rain fly.

Gus took this shot across from our campsite.

Chie's first sandy steps on our walk the next morning.

I tried to keep her as dry as possible, but in the end, she still got soaked.

Fun with shadows (I think I want to do a whole series).

One of the things I love about the coast is that the forest is immediately adjacent.

The Cape Mears lighthouse. (That's not Gus, btw).

The far point is where we'd stayed the night before.

She's still not sure what she thinks of goats.

This little boy was way too cute to not photograph.

Newsletter: Month Seventeen

2007-09-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve gotten into the swing of writing these newsletters now, so much so that throughout the month, I’ll find myself thinking, “Oh, that’ll be hilarious in her newsletter.” The thing is that I’m finding that there just might be too much to tell. You have become a hilarious being, full of wit and comedic timing and flat out, well, hilarity. Add to that the fact that you’re brilliant—and no, I am not biased—and there’s a lot to share. I’m going to do my best though because you deserve to hear about all of the amazing things that you’ve done.

The first thing that deserves to be shared is your emerging language skills. I called last month the Month of Talking and it was. And maybe the truth is that every month, from here on out, will be a new Month of Talking. You seem to come up with new words continually. Now you can say, “Up!” when you want to be picked up or get into your high chair or just be higher than you are. You say “More!” whenever you want to do something, well, more. That can be eating, or bouncing in Daddy’s arms, or playing in the waves at the beach like we did this weekend. We took you in, and I fully intended to have it be over after a few minutes because the water was really cold. But you couldn’t get enough and every minute or so, you’d point out towards the water and say, “More!” I’m sure that it goes without saying that we made several trips back into the water. You’ve also started combining words. We stopped to get lunch on the way to the beach and you had chicken nuggets for the first time. I handed you back a small piece, to let you test it out and see if it passed your rigorous inspections. It did, obviously, because the next thing I heard was you saying, “Mama that!” and your little hand was pointed up to the front of the car. I handed you back another piece and said, “This?” and you said, “Yeah!” It was very cute. And for the record, all of the exclamation marks that I’ve used have been intentional. When you make a remark, it’s never half-hearted. You speak with gusto.

Gusto isn’t just a part of your speech patterns. You seem to have become quite fearless in your movements. You’ve become a diver, though not off the high dive yet. No, your perch is the top of the couch. You climb up onto the stool that is there and then go head-first into the pillows. You’ll do this over and over, ad nauseum, and seem so pleased with yourself. You’re getting good at climbing other surfaces too. You climb on chairs, and the other day I came into the hallway to find you perched on top of the flour container that you’d pulled off of the shelf, perusing our mail pile. It has since been relocated. The biggest feat, to date, has been climbing a ladder at Papa’s house. He was helping me get things together for our beach excursion and had to get into his crawl space to do so, which involved climbing a ladder. You stood below and watched him disappear and then reappear, and then he and I set off to our car to put in the supplies. He happened to look up a few moments later and was quite surprised to see you already on the second rung on the ladder, smiling broadly. We made our way over quickly and he stood behind you, spotting you. And you just continued your ascent. You made it all the way to the second to last step and you probably would have gone to the top if we would have let you. You don’t have the ability to balance that well, though, and so we brought you back to earth. It’s probably a good thing. A friend used to tease me that my middle name must be Grace, an unlikely joke given that I have a decided lack of coordination, and I realized the other day as I watched you trip that you seem to have the same propensity. The thing is, your middle name IS Grace. I guess that we’ll just have to keep an eye out for ladders and cracks in the sidewalk to keep you upright.

Let’s see, what else? I suppose that I should mention you’re new flair for fashion, much to my surprise and a bit to my chagrin. Daddy woke me one morning on a weekend, when he had woken with you and let me sleep, and he the first thing that he said was, “It was all her.” And in you sauntered wearing a pajama top—but no bottoms—, pink wollen gloves, a belt around your waist, and a fisherman hat perched jauntily on your head. You’ve gotten into the habit of bringing us items of clothing to put on you and sometimes you’ll insist on picking out parts of your ensemble if we’re standing in front of your dresser when it’s time to clothe you for the day. And you LOVE shoes. You’ve learned to say that word with extra gusto. And you often insist on putting them on long before we’re ready to leave for the day. You like to wear my shoes, and Daddy’s, and you stumble awkwardly around in them. But more than anything, you like to put on your own and point to them proudly. It worries me, slightly, wondering whether the obsession has started early, but I’m hoping that you’ll be content with just a few pairs, at least until you stop changing sizes every three months.

You’re determined in your efforts, not just the application of footwear, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I remember my mother saying that I had started the Terrible Two’s at about eighteen months, and I suppose if I classified them as such, you’d probably qualify similarly. But I’m really trying to see them for what they are—at time in your development when you’re getting adjusted to having both an opinion and strong emotions. Those emotions often bubble over, particularly when you’re tired, in ways that you seem ill equipped to handle. And then you squeal, and throw your body back, and break into a full-on sob in nothing flat. But most of the time, if I give you a few moments and then hold out my arms to you, you’ll collapse into them. We’ve had a few full-blown tantrums where you seem to want to just register your disgust in every way possible and employ much weeping, wailing, and back arching. Eventually, you collapse into our arms and hold on for dear life. I think that you are as surprised as we are at that point by the outburst and are just ready to move on.

You’re moving on alright, straight into Toddlerhood and Childhood and other words that don’t really involve being a baby. You still are a baby, in many functional ways. But as the days pass, Daddy and I realize more and more that you’re becoming a full-fledged Little Girl. You look quite grown-up, between your lack of baby fat and full head of hair, and you say and do so many things that sometimes we have to remind ourselves that you still need us on nearly every front. It’s exciting to see you grow and develop and find your own path. And we’ll just keep following, and trying to keep you upright.

Love, Mama

Newsletter: Month Sixteen

2007-08-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

If last month was the month of walking, then this month is the month of talking. Your vocabulary is growing every day. And more and more, you are able to communicated your thoughts, opinions, and needs in real, concrete ways. Can I tell you what a relief that is? It makes life with you so much easier to be able to say, "Did you poop?" and have you say, "Poop!" and then, to have you toddle back to your bedroom. If I'm really lucky, you'll then lay down on the floor and wait for me to come over with the diaper and wipes. This doesn't always happen. Sometimes I have to cajole you into laying down. But you seem honestly pleased to have your diaper changed and so normally, it's not a huge issue. You've actually become remarkably obedient in most areas of your life, and it's quite a pleasant surprise. Sure, you have your moments when you arch your back and make your nay vote in a sharp, shrill tone. But it's much more common to say, "Sweet pea, come to the bathroom with me" or "OK, let's go!" and have you on my heels within seconds.

But back to this talking thing. Along with words, you've also developed a large number of gestures. The most common are shaking your head and waving goodbye and hello. You wave all the time, and not just to people coming or going. It's a conversation entree for you, a way to say, "Hey, I'm here, and I'd like to be a part of things." You also wave to inatimate objects and I'm not quite sure what that's about. But you seem very determined while you're doing it. You wave to people on TV, particularly characters that you've seen before, like the people on the morning show that I watch fairly regularly, and when they go out on the plaza and you see all of the people waving, then you really get into it. You also wave at pictures of people. If you're really happy about it, you'll kiss them, like you did to Papa's picture. I think that you still have yet to kiss him in real life but at least you've done it to a picture!

This head shaking, though, that's the real miracle. People see you shake your head, like one of the clerks in New Seasons, and they say, "Oh, it must be hard to have her say no all of the time!" But it couldn't be farther from how I really feel. Until you learned this skill, you were whining a lot. You had no way to get your point across and so whenever you felt an opinion that was contrary to the pleasant mode, you'd just whine. But it was more like a whiiinnneeeeeee. I'd ask you to show me what you wanted and that worked, some of the time, but not if you didn't want something. Now, though, you can just shake your head. "Would you like some cheese?" Head shake. "Do you want to take off your shoes?" Head shake. I've learned that the shake isn't always definitive. Often when asked if you'd like some more food, you'll shake your head and then immediately open your mouth. When you take the front of your tray in your hands, though, then it's final.

I should have more to say, I know. You're developing so fast and furiously that there are tons of funny anecdotes to share. And if I'd been a better mommy, I would have notated them for future reference. These last few weeks have been quite crazy though. I'm trying to be student and a mommy and to tell you the truth, I'm not doing very well at it. I'll get better, though, and I'll be sure to make myself remember these things because you are something that should not be forgotten.

Love, Mama

Newsletter: Month Fifteen

2007-07-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I wrote that last month, all that you needed to be A Walker was to figure out that it was more efficient than crawling. And what do you know-- you did! It was a hilarious evolution to watch. Over the process of a couple of weeks, you gradually spent more and more time upright until this last week, you've converted almost exclusively to walking. It was quite an amusing transformation to watch. You'd be crawling down the hallway and then decide to get up and take a few steps. Or you'd walk along the wall, venture off for a bit to the middle, and then go back to the wall and continue on. Sometimes, it was like you'd just get tired of movement itself and sit down, right in the middle of nowhere, and take a break for a few minutes. Maybe movement tired you out? But you took it all in stride, falls and all. The falls have been numerous and I kind of wonder if that has anything to do with the manner of walking because frankly, you often look a bit drunk. Your movement involves a lot of side to side, though it's getting more and more forward-directed. There's also an increase in speed postively related to the forward motion. The more that you're able to just GO, without being encumbered by the learning process, the more that you seem to be able to get there in nothing flat.

All of this movement is really challenging our parenting methods. Up until now, you often seemed content to just be in one spot, observing the world. But now that you can get to it, you want to be hands-on with the world. I don't remember exactly where we were but Daddy and I were doing something, and not paying particularly close attention to you. All of a sudden, we realized that you'd taken off solo. To make ourselves feel better, we explained to the observers that you're a new walker, that we're not used to this. But we're not. Maybe that means that we should have been paying more attention all along rather than relying on the fact that you're superb at entertaining yourself? You still are, coming to us when you want validation or get bored looking at whatever it is you're looking at or thinking about, but the difference is that now you can also change venues and go to see new things. It's going to be an interesting transition to make with you, this movement thing.

We've made other transitions lately too. The biggest is that now that I'm back in school, you have a nanny, regularly, for the first time. You've had spotty babysitting before, mostly with Grandma or Papa, when Daddy and I have found a need for stimulus that doesn't involve an infant. But this is something entirely different. This involves me leaving you, for hours on end. You're never thrilled when I leave, and often cry and hold your arms out for me. It makes me feel horrible, but I know from the several times that I've called after leaving that you transition well. A couple of them, you've even been laughing in the background. And so I tell myself that you're fine without me and know that feeling close to other people and having different learning experiences is probably very good for you. You always seem pleased when I return, though, and that makes me happy. Having your baby come toddling to the door with a giant grin and arms outstretched is an amazing feeling. You do it for Daddy, too; when you hear him at the door, you often exclaim, "Dada?" and then go to find him. You talk to him on the phone a lot, too, on his way home. In fact, I think that you think that he's always on the phone, even when he's not, because you'll pick up your play phone and try to talk to him there too.

I mentioned above that you're good at entertaining yourself, and you are. It's something that I haven't seen very many babies do, but you've done it since you were very small. And now that you're mobile, you actually take off by yourself into the house. Most of the time, that means into your bedroom. You'll get your toys off of your shelf and sit and build block towers or read or play with your animals. This can go on for a much longer time than I would ever expect and most of the time, I find myself coming in to check on you, to see what you are doing that is so fascinating. The great thing, though, is that much of it is contained within your own little head and so I'll never know what it is that you're doing. Well, at least not until you can tell me your own stories. Sometimes you go to other areas of the house, though, and that can be a good thing or a not so good thing. The picture above of you chowing on the nectarine came from a day when you discovered grocery bags in the entry way and went through them. I'm guessing that you were looking for anything interesting and you were clearly pleased with what you found. Sometimes you get into things that you aren't supposed to, like the toilet paper or the cat's food bowl, and so we're trying to find ways to make the house accessible to you but in ways that are appropriate, rather than just telling you no when you do something that you're not supposed to.

I have to wonder if years from now, you'll remember any of this. Your experiences seem so potent now, colored with imagination and feeling and love. There's a lot of love that goes around, lots of kissing and hugs. Sometimes, you'll cuddle in close and sometimes you'll make noises of disapproval. But I know from the frequency with which you seek us out, hold onto our legs and make insistent noises indicating that you want up, and hold onto my neck with tight arms and kisses that the love is mutual. Will you feel that? Are you storing it up somewhere? I hope so because the thing that I want you to remember, most of all, is that you are very much adored.

Love, Mama

A June wedding

2007-07-02T09:11:00.001-07:00

Our business is now in full swing. We shot our first wedding on Saturday and are beginning to get a handle on all of the images. We culled a few of our favorites out to share with their parents; her parents fly back to Panama on Thursday and we wanted to be able to give them a preview. We hope that you'll enjoy seeing our work as well.

(to see more, go to the Reversed Lens Photography blog)

A dramatic departure

2007-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

A recent entry in Chie's journal:

You have been a Cuddle-To-Sleep baby since the day you were born. You'd snuggle in and wait for sleepiness to hit, and in those early months, it was often a long time coming. It took Herculean efforts to place you in your crib without jostling or otherwise disturbing you; if we did, the process of soothing you into sleep would begin again at the start. Sometimes you'd struggle and fuss, requiring vast amounts of fancy footwork to keep you calm. But even at those times, you did not want, under any circumstances, to be Put Down. We tried that, sometime in your third month, thinking that maybe-- just Maybe-- you would struggle your way straight into dreamland. We were dissuaded otherwise within minutes. Once you were out of the safe confines of our arms, you became very, very angry. It took a good half hour that night to calm you back down. So we resigned ourselves to getting you to sleep in the only way that we knew how. I don't even know how many hours I have spent rocking and bouncing to get you into a state of sleepy. It's been easier over the last few months. In fact, most nights you would just lay your head on my shoulder and within minutes, you were out. This continued up until about two weeks ago when, very suddenly, you Did Not Want to Cuddle. The first night that it happened, I was baffled. I laid you in your crib "to snuggie", as we call swaddling you, and then settled myself in the rocker for our nightly routine of rocking. You threw yourself back and struggled and fussed and finally, I laid you in your crib and said, "Ok, really, if you don't want me to hold you, I won't." You were asleep in five minutes.

I thought maybe it was a fluke. You have been known to have flukes, one exhibit of a new behavior that is never again repeated. But the next day, when you were ready for your nap, the same thing happened. And then it happened again that night. Daddy and I were completely incredulous. What had happened to our snuggler?

Maybe it's a product of this new phase that you're entering, of becoming A Toddler. Maybe you're just ready to spread your wings ever so slightly, or to have some time by yourself. I don't know. I do know that I am missing that time, those quiet moments at the end of your day when I'd hear your breath deepen as you neared a full sleep state. As I type this, you are mostly quiet in your crib; I hear a little exclamation every so often which is most likely part of a sleepy conversation with Spotty, your stuffed frog. I hope you sleep well, even without me to help you get there.

Scavenger

2007-06-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Pea was hungry (apparently), so she went digging through the grocery bags we had left on the kitchen floor. She came up with a nectarine and started chowing down. The funny part is that she's got absolutely no shame about it. Scrounging food out of the grocery bags is just a normal part of life for her. She's hungry, so she's going to eat.

Scavenger II
Yup. No qualms about eating.

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Scavenger III
Em caught her attention. I just love the little hands in this picture.

Big Bite
She was more than happy to dig right in, though she was thoroughly interested in my camera.

Here we go!

2007-06-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official: we have a business. We've shot our first few shoots and have a wedding scheduled for the end of the month. We have a name-- Reversed Lens Photography-- and an interim website. It's all moving along nicely and Gus and I could not be more pleased. Having your hobby become something that brings in a gainful income is always a good thing, right? It will likely be a long while until it's actually gainful on a real level. But even a little extra dough is more than welcome by us.

Newsletter: Month Fourteen

2007-06-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Before we get to this month, I have to apologize for last month. Things were crazy busy early on in your twelfth month and then, I just kept getting overwhelmed by the idea of the newsletter and knowing that I hadn’t done it yet. The more this built up, the more I put it off. In a word, I'm a horrible procrastinator. OK, that's two words. But you get the idea. I’m hoping that by the time you’re cognizant enough to read these letters, this foible of mine will have been resolved and you’ll read this and go, “Really? My mother?” I can hope, right?

But enough about me. These letters are about you and your big, glorious personality. It’s getting bigger and bigger and louder every day. You’ve become astoundingly expressive. This comes out in many forms, some of them surprising and some of them not. Your actual vocabulary astounds us nearly every day. I know that I shouldn't be surprised by this. Your father and I regularly discuss NPR programming, our distaste for overcooked noodles, and the state of all sorts of global situations with you. But it's nice to know that it's getting through, to see your cognitive development represented in a tangible way. You say Mama and Daddy, and our first names, but have been doing that for months. Now you say Grandma (“Guh-ma”) and Papa too. Other words you’ve said, in full, include: kitty (“ki-ee”), ducky, pizza, milk (“mill”), cracker (“cra-cra”), Cheerios (“she-sha-sha”), book (“bo”), that (“tat”), more (“ma” or “mo”), and cheese (“chee”). You attempt lots of other words but they come out monosyllabic, like "Sa" for your friend Sarah. You’ve even combined words to make full sentences: “What’s that?”, “Hi Daddy!”, “I want Mama” (this one was especially distinct), and “It’s Ducky!” when your ducky was held up and you were asked, “Who’s that?” You babble all the time, in a constant stream, and there are moments every day when I am shocked by how real your conversations sound. Even if the pronunciation of words is still developing, your inflections are spot on. You hold up the phone to your ear and make one-sided conversation with yourself and when Daddy calls, you listen eagerly while he asks you how your day is going. The only person that you’ve responded to, though, is Daddy's Papa.

Words aside, you are an expert at communicating your opinion. You now have a full range of noises for any occasion, from happy giggles and grunts to full on screeches and squealing if your needs or desires aren’t met in a way that you deem appropriate. If Daddy leans in to kiss you or take you out of my arms and you’re not happy about that, you’ll use one or both hands to push him out of the way. You’ll do the same motion if someone or something is in your personal space. Then you keep pushing until the area is clear enough to meet you standards. It’s not all disapproval, though. You have this little, impish laugh that is multi-toned that cracks anyone up who hears it. This is often accompanied by a bobbing motion— sometimes of just your head, sometimes of your entire body, bouncing up and down. There’s also your full-on laugh, which is loud and boisterous. You’ve literally become the life of the party.

You're growing in other ways too. Last night, we had dessert with James and Kristina, our next door neighbors. Kristina is in nursing school and she used the Denver Scale to rate your over-all growth. Not surprisingly, you are meeting your age benchmarks and even surpassing them in most areas. You can do several things that are at the 18-month level, including: removing an article of clothing, purposefully dumping out a cup of raisins, helping in the house (you love to clear the dishwasher with me, handing me dishes and utensils one by one), building towers of blocks (you’ve mastered the two block tower and are working on higher heights), and your aforementioned verbal skills (six words and word combinations were the marks for 18-month olds). The only area for which you are dead-on for your age group is gross motor skills. You began standing without any help about three or four weeks ago, and then this last week, you took your first steps unassisted. As of this writing, you’ve taken eight steps on your own. You seem to become more confident every day with your ability to step out into the world. As soon as you figure out that walking is more efficient than crawling, we’re sunk.

One of the greatest changes of the last few months is that you’re sleeping better, more predictably. Most nights you go to sleep by about nine o’clock and sleep all the way through. We change you into pajamas, read you a book (Goodnight Moon is the usual suspect) and then rock you for a few minutes. Then we lay you down and, with any luck, you settle in to sleep. This works better on some nights than others. Daddy seems to be the most adept at getting you to sleep effectively. Maybe you can sense that I’m a softy? I do enjoy rocking you to sleep, having those few moments of closeness in your crazy day. Sometimes you get feisty and want out of my arms and then I lay you down, wide awake. And then I walk into the hallway and mutter, “She is like her father.” When you wake, though, you’re all about Mama Time.

You’re making a lot of friends. Lindsay and Sarah are still your ready playmates, happy to chill with you and pull our respective apartments apart any time we get you together. We’re making new friends too. We’re starting a play group with some of the other toddlers in our ward, taking field trips to fun parks and to other friend’s apartments. I’m excited for you to have constructive time with other friends on a predictably basis. We try to take you out a lot, too. We go to the zoo, the reading time at the library, or to some of the other places that we have passes. We also venture to lots of parks and open spaces.

You always seem up to exploring a new venue and finding new, friendly faces. You’re very sociable and cooperative with other children, a trait that garners you lots of buddies at the park. That happy personality of yours is really the most satisfying part of being your parent. Your feelings are strong and your spirit is independent. But with that comes a love of life that is so infectious that everyone who is lucky enough to be near you falls head over heels in love. It’s a good life to be a part of.

Love, Mama

Fun in the city

2007-05-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

We've been taking tons and tons of pics lately, including two consecutive nights at parks. Here's a few of the shots we've taken of the Pea:

Chie and I hung out at the park by Chapman School while Gus taught his Japanese lesson. She made fast friends with a few of the children playing on the equipment and had fun exploring with them.

She loved these little holes.

Chie and another little boy, Matthew. His mom and I chatted it up while I snapped.

And these were taken by Gus last night at a park in the middle of the Pearl. The water pours from between the rocks and Chie was so thrilled with it, she kept screeching. By the time we pulled her out, she was shivering in spite of the warm temps. But she was absolutely loathe to leave!

First Steps

2007-05-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I actually got this. We were both having fun shooting with our new lens (a Tamron 28-75mm), trading off, and while I was in the play room, Gus said, "Emma, Emma! Come quick!"

These were caught immediately before, in the kitchen. I'm learning that a moving target is much more difficult to capture:

Mother's Day in all its glory

2007-05-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

I've been negligent in posting, which I regret. Here's the recap from my journal about Mother's Day weekend to keep you in the groove...

The weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Saturday morning, Gus and his dad did the Father-Son Campout Breakfast, as I mentioned previously. They left our house at 5 am to get there in time to sit in front of a locked gate. But they were let in and made a fabulous french toast/bratwurst breakfast for everyone. There was quite a lot of food left over but that was because the attendance was about half of what had been reported. That was ok, though, because I took the left-overs to a family in our congregation who really needed it. Seeing the looks on the kids' faces when they saw all the fruit was really great.

We wanted to go on a hike together in the afternoon, but we were never able to get in a place where all of us were awake long enough to pull it off. So we hung out around the house until it was time to go to dinner with Gus' mom's family for dinner. We went to her favorite restaurant-- Ruth's Chris Steakhouse-- and had a reasonably good time. Gus' dad was home babysitting and we had fun hanging out and talking photography when we came home.

Sunday morning, I made corsages for Gus' mom and our friend Rosie, and then we took Gus' mom's over to her along with the bouquet that Gus had picked out the day before on his Costco run. We also gifted her with the promise of a photo shoot with each of the kids. She was very excited. She gave me a lovely little pot of soft pink carnations, which will join the rest of the plants on our back deck. We headed home, and I made some crepe sauces while Gus and Chie "napped" (the term is used loosely since it was so short that Gus was more disgruntled when he woke than when he'd gone to sleep). After some wake-up angst, we headed to our friend Isaac's for brunch. My sauces (carmelized banana with Metaxa, orange cream glaze, and strawberries with citrus zest) all went over splendidly, and we gorged ourselves on scrambled eggs, sausage, and perfect crepes (Isaac served a mission in Paris and even has a crepe pan). I think that the strawberry, Nutella, and orange crepe was my personal favorite.

Another nap was had by the baby when we returned, and Rosie and Jaden stopped by to get Rosie's corsage on their way to church. Then Gus headed to church while I stayed with the Sleeping Pea. After she woke we headed there as well. And I got a wonderful surprise when I went in to Sunday School: my old roommate/bridesmaid Kaarina and her husband have moved into our ward for the summer! He's doing an internship with a local construction company and so they'll be here for four months. It was great to see her and catch up. They just moved into their place the day before and so we brought them dinner. That involved a bit of fancy footwork on our part. I'd left chickens roasting in the oven during church, but we only had enough of the sides (smashed potatoes and asparagus) for us. So I put together some quick parmesan rice and glazed carrots. They were, understandably, quite happy to see that dinner. We left them to settle into their place and returned to eat our own dinner, put The Pea to bed, and relax. That involved watching a movie that I won't even tell you the name of because it angered me so thoroughly. But it gave Gus and I a chance to dialogue some things and we went to sleep feeling very close.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. There was a lot to do but much of it was extremely enjoyable. And Gus gave me a lovely bouquet and very sweet card, and the promise of some Me Time, which was the only thing that I really wanted at all. I guess I don't see the point in spending tons of money for every holiday. Knowing that I'm loved and appreciated, when that is given genuinely, is thanks enough.

One more new haunt

2007-04-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

Gus' aunt came into town this weekend; she lives up at Twin Lakes, near Coeur d'Alene, in the family cabin. We were thrilled to get a chance to hang out with her. We won't be going up to the lake this summer because my family will be getting together to spread my uncle's ashes and Gus can only take so much vacation, and so we were happy for her to get a chance to see Chie. And, well, she's a hoot. We're always happy to see her.

Anyway, we decided to venture out together yesterday and chose the zoo, hoping for good weather. And we were richly rewarded by brilliant sun. We wandered around for the better part of four hours, and though we completely tired ourselves out, we all had a blast together. The zoo has changed a lot since we were kids. But a lot of it was designed to open up the animal's habitats, which is always a good thing. And seeing it through Chie's eyes made it a whole new experience.

Note: Most of the shots are by Gus. Also of note is that there are no pics of Pinkie. I'm still not sure how she managed to stay out of the frame. There are a few shots of the back of her head, but nothing that really captured her.

It was Packy's birthday (P-town's famous elephant) and so there were all sorts of festivities for him, including a giant birthday cake.

Many of the celebrants wore Packy ears. We differed.

This was one of our first stops. He was perched right by the viewing screen.

We made our way down into the Northwest area, where we found the new petting zoo. Chie was totally in love with the goats. I think that most of all, she loved having an animal that would just sit there and chill instead of running away!

I did encourage her to "Be gentle." She kept tugging on his ears, though.

We stopped and had lunch in the AfriCafe, and then went into the Africa area. This was my favorite place to work when I was a junior zoo keeper.

I thought this was really striking.

I came into this area first and excitedly called to Gus. It was the perfect shot.

We were just about finished by this point. Thankfully, the grizzly was perfectly placed.

We went through Steller Cove again to head out. Gus' dad is just over my shoulder.

Does a party make it official?

2007-04-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

We had Chie's first birthday party on Saturday. Since a picture tells a thousand words, or more, I'll just let the shots that we captured tell the story. Well, okay, there's a little commentary.

I took a few pictures before things got going of the table. Decorations were simple because, well, she's one.

I stole the cupcake idea from . But candles will be next year. I didn't think fire was a good idea around babies. The yellow cupcakes are banana and the pink are applesauce spice.

And here's her tiny cake, also sans candle.

Gus made this beautiful fruit platter; I thought we needed more than cake, even if I did attempt to make it low-sugar.

I love Izze. They're a responsible company and they make fabulous drinks out of real stuff. There's a whole serving of fruit in there!

I didn't do a very good job at capturing the guests or happenings because I was busy with The Pea, but here are a few attendees:

Lindsey with her mom, Lisa.

Teddy, who was born within a month of Chie, as was Lindsey.

Most of Gus' family (his step-dad's hand is around C)

Lindsey and Teddy's dads are on the chairs, and that's Teddy's mom, Angie. I'm trying to corral the birthday girl in the midst of all her presents. She got a couple of great toys and books from her friends and some clothes from the Grands. And we got passes to OMSI and The Children's Museum, too.

Oh, and Gus was behind the video camera for most of the party or dealing with Issues.

And then, there was The Cake:

The first foray. She was quite dainty about it.

I think that she was fascinated by the discs.

She finally put her fingers in her mouth, and then licked them!

I think that she thought that she was being naughty.

And then she just sat back and took it all in for a moment. You can almost see her tastebuds assessing things.

And then the smearing began. I let her get a few bites in but then scooped it off and gave her some real food.

And that was her first birthday party.

Newsletter: Month Twelve

2007-04-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

As I was laying in bed last night, I thought back to the night before you were born. I had no inkling, then, that you were on your way. But I do remember laying there, feeling you move inside of me, relishing the closeness and intimacy of the bond that we shared. Did I know, somehow, that that time was coming to an end? Perhaps. Or maybe it was just one more chance to feel grateful for the time that I had to carry you, to nurture you into becoming a part of this world.

A few hours after that little reverie, I was jolted from sleep into this strange, sudden alertness. I sat up in bed, still bleary, and felt and heart this tremendous popping sound as my water broke. It was one of those feelings that you can't really describe but I knew, instantly, that this was it. I woke Daddy, told him that it was time, and then began making preparations to leave for the hospital. I took a little bit of extra time to get ready and feel prepared for the day; I wanted to enjoy your advent as much as I could. I had wanted to labor from home, to ease through the stages, but having my water break meant that that process would have to happen at the hospital. At last we packed up and headed in.

The next several hours passed rather predictably. I labored on my own for much of that time, attempted a viewing of Everything Is Illuminated and lots of other distraction and relaxation techniques, and then finally succumbed to the promise of pain relief through epidural. Dr. Ono came in sometime in the afternoon and asked if I felt ready-- and I did. I really did. And I felt sure that I could speak for us both. We were more than ready to finally meet this person who had been so much a part of me. He coached me through the descent and at last, you made your entry into the world.

Your cry was strong and clear, a sure sign of things to come. Dr. Ono held you up and said, "She's here! It's a girl!" and with one movement, you were up on my chest, your heart beating against mine. We sat like that for the longest time, Daddy huddled over us, and I stroked your hair and your back and said, over and over again, "Hi, baby." That was what we had called you--"Baby"--throughout the pregnancy, and it took a while to realize that you were a girl, a daughter, and all that that would bring. After much pleading from Daddy I finally let you out of my arms, and then he held you tight, too, and rocked you back and forth, lost in a little world of his own.

The moment that I remember the most fondly from that day came a few hours later. Daddy had left to get some food, all of the nurses had left, and it was just you and I for the first time. I held you, and rocked you, and sang The One Who Knows and a few other songs that seemed appropos of the moment. At the end of the song, you sighed this tiny little sigh and snuggled into me, and I remember thinking that I couldn't believe how much love I felt for you. You had been growing inside of me for so long, this theory of a person. But now you were here, and real, and the love that I felt for you was so incredible. The proverbial "they" of the world say that you don't understand how much you can love a child until you have one of your own and that always sounds so trite. But the truth of the matter is that you don't. It's like anything else in life. Until you've been there, it's all just a concept.

The wonderful part about parenthood, I've come to realize, is that the reality is better than anything that you can conceptualize. Starting from that moment in the hospital, it's just been one crazy beautiful moment after another. There have been hard times, certainly. You've gone through growing periods where we've sat back and said, "OK, what do we do now?" And when you're sick, you become another creature entirely and I just hold my breath and wait for my happy baby to come back. But the sweet, peaceful Chie that I cradled in my arms that first day is still very much a part of you. You charm everyone around you with your smile, your giggle, your ready wave. Your growth and change has been rapid, precocious, and a joy to be a part of. It's been an amazing year. I can't wait to see what's coming.

Long time, no see!

2007-04-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

My sister and her family live in Phoenix, and the lack of proximity means that we don't rendezvous very often. We try to keep in touch, though, and make sure that we see each other's children grow, even if it's through more modern means. Here are some pictures that she sent recently of her rapidly growing children:

First trip to OMSI

2007-03-31T15:04:00.000-07:00

I had meant to post pics of our trip to OMSI and never got to it. She had so much fun that I'd hate to miss this one. (I wish that we had pics of all of her discoveries, especially her splashing at the water table, but Gus was doing stroller watch/taking pics with Eric for much of the time. We were worried about leaving our brand new stroller unattended, but were later assured that they'd never had a theft issue and Gus came in at that point. I think in the future, though, we'll just use theirs when we go).

If this one looks familiar, it's because I used it as a daily photo for the day.

It was really fun watching her interact with new people. She and this little boy really hit it off.

Oh, but how they've grown

2007-03-31T15:03:00.001-07:00

Esther sent me some pictures of the girls this week that were taken at Sarah's birthday party in December. I am honestly amazed at how much they've grown in just four months. I see her every day, and I can tell that she's turning into a little girl at an amazingly quick rate. The change in these pictures is profound, though, and much more than I was expecting.

Named after a deranged man, no less

2007-03-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Gus suggested that I meet him after work at Kelly Point Park. Gus had referenced it a few times as being near his work and I just assumed that it was a grassy knoll on the river. It is that, and so much more. There are miles of trails and beaches, and it's right at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. It's absolutely spectacular. We enjoyed it so much the first night that we met there again last night. Here are some shots of that and a few other happenings of the last few days:

Her new throne. She loves it-- not that you'd know that by the look on her face or anything.

After our first reconnaisance of the park, we met Rosie and Jaden in NW for one last shindig before their big move. The spread from Elephant's was fabulous.

He has amazing timing, huh?

To be fair, here's one of me. There was one that was worse but I'm vain.

While we were waiting at the park for Gus, she got down and crawled in the grass for the first time. Apparently, she decided that digging in the dirt really is what it's cracked up to be.

When we got home, there was a package waiting from Aunt Jackie and Uncle Ed (my dad's sister and bro-in-law) with Chie's first birthday present. She was, as usual, initially enticed by the tag. But she took to that stuffed elephant quite famously. There was also an adorable t-shirt that I have yet to get a shot of that shows the image.

Back at the park the next day. This time, we roamed the beach a bit.

This is an Oregon beach, after all. No palm trees here, no sir. But there's lots of wood for bonfires.

My husband really isn't a fan of smiling on cue.

They're like peas in a pod.

On the walk back to the car, we found this. I guess there's always a chance, but...

After all of that beautiful weather, we felt like breaking out the summer food. Out of the focus is a pile of fresh french fries, cooked in Tuck, our new fryer. Get it? The burgers were seasoned with fresh thyme and homemade barbeque sauce. And the pea salad was like spring epitomized. It was a delicious almost end to the week.

Me talk pretty one day

2007-03-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

Chie's vocabulary is developing at a rapid rate. I know, I know, she's only 12 months old. And if you weren't in the same room with her, you probably wouldn't believe me. But she now has SEVEN words that clearly have meaning to her. They are:

Mama
Dada
Our first names
Book (said "bo" when she wants us to keep reading)
Water ("wa-wa" that only stops when she gets her sippy)
Grandma ("g-ma" pronounced "guh-ma")

There have been a few others that we've wondered if she was using them intentionally. But all of these have been repeated so many times that there's no mistaking her intentions.

Mama the sound utilized the most frequently. She will climb up my legs and say it, or crawl towards me. She also says it a lot when she wakes up. I'll walk into her room to find her babbling "Mama. Mama!" She first said it a few months ago. I had her up at work with me and came into the room three different times to find her calling, quite insistently, "Mama!" It can also mean that she needs something though. She gets very insistent when she has a need. That shouldn't be surprising AT ALL.

Save the date

2007-03-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

If you live in town (and are part of a very small guest list due to a bias I'll explain momentarily) you'll be receiving this in the next week. But I thought that the rest of you might like to see the preview to the birthday fete. It's not really going to be a big to-do. I really hate big, loud parties where the babies all seem overwhelmed. It'll just be family and a few of her little friends and their parents, of course. We need all the supervision we can get!

Why just a day when you can have a Party Week

2007-03-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

When we lived in Utah while we were engaged, we began a tradition called The Birthday Week. It started as a joke. Gus said that he thought that birthdays were so wonderful that they really should go on for a week, instead of just a day. Our resources were limited at the time and it seemed like a good way to make him feel special without blowing our wedding fund. The idea stuck and now, every year, our birthdays are looked forward to with much anticipation. Today marked the end of Gus' Birthday Week. Here's a recap:

Gus called from his tutoring appointment and suggested we meet him down in Northwest. And so we did. The day was beautifully sunny and we caught the very end of it. We played in the yard of Chapman School with Chie for a little while; Chie rode the swings again (she and I had stopped at the park on our errands earlier in the day) and we discovered how difficult it is to get a picture of a moving toddler. She tried the slide for the first time too but didn't seem entirely thrilled with moving that quickly while falling at the same time. And in the midst of it all, Gus got this shot. I was whispering in her ear and she was, at least for the moment, rapt at the sound of my voice and very, very still. We headed home after that and made our incredible fish tacos with chipotle sauce. It was a nice night.

Tuesday we met again in Northwest and wandered around until it was time for me to get a long-delayed haircut. That night was kind of crazy because after my haircut, I had to go up to work for a few hours. Chie got pretty maxed out while Gus tried to entertain her and by the end of the evening, we just collapsed into bed. But the promise of dinner at Andina the next night helped us hold on.

Gus' dad took this shot of him blowing out his birthday candles. The two-thumbs up is part of a signature move, performed at the table while we all laughed along with his crazy dance moves. The dinner itself was incredible. Our waiter was fabulous and was able to accomodate the varied tastes at the table (including a plain steak and potato for those in our party who were not up for a Peruvian take on cuisine). We'd gone there a few weeks before to check it out and absolutely fell in love with the range of tastes. Here's a shot of the causa, Gus' favorite dish:

Gus' birthday was decidedly more low-brow. We went down to Northwest, again, to a taqueria on the strip. We busied Chie with taco chips to keep her happy while we ate

and then stopped at Mio Gelato for some mango and cinnamon goodness

We had been having a lot of fun but that night, we agreed that we were both getting a bit exhausted from all of the festivities. And so Friday, we just took it easy and spent time as a family, bumming around. It was actually quite lovely. And it gave us time to gear up for the big party that we held on Saturday with friends. We had, at the peak, almost thirty people. Some of them were friends that we see all of the time, some were friends that we only see once in a great while. And one couple were friends of friends that we'd never met before! It was crazy. Gus took command of the pizza station and cranked out a variety of pies, all of which disappeared within moments of being cut.

Our friend Eric took command of the camera that night. Here are a few of the shots that he took. They give a great feeling for the energy that night:

The aftermath of the party wasn't too bad, either. I guess all of those loads of dishes that I did in the midst of the festivities paid off. We were highly surprised at the amount of diet soda that was consumed, however. Hopefully none of our friends will find their brains rotting under our watch.

It was a wonderful week together. I'm just glad that we have a few months of a break from the partying! Chie's birthday is coming, of course, but she gets coddled nearly every day. I don't think she'll notice a difference.

Newsletter: Month Eleven

2007-03-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

You turned 11 months old a few days ago and when I realized this fact, I was honestly shocked. The very idea that you are approaching a year takes me aback every time that I realize it. A year! I just can’t believe that you’ve been in our lives for nearly an entire year. I know, I know. This shouldn’t come as a shock. I’ve spent every one of those days with you, cradling your tiny body and washing your little fingers when you smoosh fig newtons between them and rocking you until you finally succumb to sleep. I guess that it’s hard to see them all added up, though, and realize how much each of those days has changed our life.

Those days often begin in a very lazy way. You wake up ready to nurse every morning; you often sound quite perturbed at the idea of waiting even two seconds before you get your fix. But once you’ve gotten it, it’s not uncommon for you to fall back against me and back into sleep. I started noticing this and so now, we nurse in the morning tucked into lots of blankets and pillows. The wonderful thing about this, at least in my estimation, is that I often get another hour or two of sleep. It’s interrupted, somewhat, by some thrashing and baby snores and waking that’s immediately satiated by latching you onto the breast. When you do wake up, for good, you’re often still game to cuddle into the covers at intervals. You’ll sit up, and poke around for a few minutes, and then lie your head down on my leg or my torso or the pile of pillow—really whatever comfy place is most accessible. Then you’ll crawl around a little bit more and then lay your head down, on and on. At some point that becomes tedious to you and then we’re up and at ‘em.

Breakfast typically comes next, another rotating portion of our day. You eat in a small but seemingly never-ending trail. You’re almost never in your high chair for longer than five or ten minutes. When you’re done, you make that clearly known. You had a high chair that we’d been borrowing from the Dougalls but it had a tray that you could push off with a few hard shoves. We’ve finally replaced it and meal times have been going much more smoothly. Your food repertoire continues to broaden but you still love your standard fare; you’ll almost always gobble up bananas, cheese cubes, avocado, or applesauce. You also signal when you’re done by spitting out any food that’s put in your mouth. You do it so efficiently too, with a deft movement of your tongue.

The rest of your days are spent playing, reading, cuddling, and trundling off to wherever your imagination takes you. The first time that I realized that you’d just taken off into another room, I followed your little noises and found you in our bedroom, removing books from the shelf one by one. Thankfully, when we moved in to this apartment, I made a concentrated effort to put things away in such an order that when a baby joined our family, we wouldn’t have to baby-proof everything. I did this in the kitchen specifically and it has turned out to be one of the most brilliant things I've ever done. It is helpful beyond words to be able to clear the dishwasher or get dinner going while you go from cabinet to cabinet, removing dish cloths and cookie cutters.

The truth is, though, that you’ve absorbed the constant refrain of “gentle, baby girl” and treat most everything with care. I should say baby care because at times, I’m surprised how fine your coordination has become and yet, at the same time, your exhuberance can appear at any moment. You’ll be carefully turning the pages of a book and then squeal and try to remove the cover. But you’re learning. Sometimes you learn the hard way. You've sustained more bruises in the last few weeks than I remember getting in at least a month. I suppose we both have the clumsy gene in common. But it's learning none the less, even if it is literally from the school of hard knocks. All of those interactions with the things and people around you teach you new lessons. Watching your brain work through each of those tasks is truly as wondrous thing to behold.

That brain of yours seems to be developing at lightning speed. There’s been a definite shift in your interaction with the world over the last few weeks. You’re so much more participatory in everything going on around you. And you want to be in on the action. You’ll crawl over to see what’s going on if you hear a noise. And you’re so fast at it now, too! We’ll hear your little hands padding on the linoleum and then the next thing we know, your little face will round the corner and be all smiles to see us again. If there are children around, you’re very attuned to what they are doing and seem to want to find a way to be involved. And you are more tuned in to inatimate objects as well. You always seem to be trying to figure it all out. You often do, too, which often creates unintended messes all over our house and wherever else we take you. You’re just so present now. As Grandma put it, “She’s a really a player now, isn’t she?” And you are. You’re a definite player in every aspect of our life. Welcome to the party, baby girl!

Day In The Life

2007-02-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who is a professional photographer who, now and again, will do a "Day In The Life" post, filled with images from their littlest moments. Now that we have a camera that can consistently take great shots, I'm going to do them occasionally. Here's a recap of the last few days while Chie has been battling some kind of gastrointestinal ill:

Feb. 1st

She started out the day exploring a box of Cheerios. I love how everything is novel for her.

When that got boring, she started poking around in my stationary boxes...

and found this. I think that this may be the pic for our valentines.

The only thing that she ate that day.

And we're on to book exploration. Featured title: Baby Colors

But soon, that become tiresome. And she's down for a nap in no time at all.

My first moment alone. I took the opportunity to do some yoga and enjoy some gelato. I realized, as I stretched, that my socks didn't exactly match. But they're cozy and that's what matters.

Mmmmm. I heart pistachio gelato. A few spoonfuls made me very happy.

Will dinner be found in the freezer? It wasn't, after all. Gus stopped and bought tilapia that became fish tacos.

Feb. 2nd

A night of sweating does fabulous things for baby hair.

Finally, something other than applesauce! Avocado, watermelon, and banana do a body good...

and she agrees...

which is good because all of that applesauce resulted in the first of many liquid-y diapers. This one made it all the way up to her belly button.

Grandma stopped by just as we were getting ready to take a shower, and Chie obliged her with a smile, a rare thing that day.

Playing with the drain of the shower while she thinks I'm not looking. Good thing it just got cleaned.

And we go from happy to sad in two seconds flat. Guess how many times that day we repeated this?

And she's naked again after yet another blow out.

Grandma watched her for an hour so that I could go and get more Tylenol (after she dumped the bottle over on the coffee table). And then we met Gus and a few of his co-workers for a "drink" at Bridgeport Brewery. He was charged with pictures, but was having fun talking and then occupying Chie.

Later that night, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to hang out for a while...

A mugging for the camera.

Her third outfit of the day. I absolutely love this shirt.

A loves to coax her into moving. I love that you can see her hand moving.

He and Gus were chatting about photography, a shared love. Doesn't he look professorial?

C winding down. We took this as our cue to leave.

This DITL was brought to you by Tylenol, the only thing that got us through.

Newsletter: Month Ten

2007-02-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

OK, so there isn't a Newsletter: Month One through Nine. I just got the idea from Dooce, one of my favorite online bloggers, who writes one for her daughter. She's on month 39, and you know, if we were there, it might be really too late. But I figure that we're still in the first year. And, in truth, we're just now at that point that you're totally enthralling on a day-to-day basis. Please don't misunderstand that statement and think that I mean that I wasn't interested in the first nine months of your life. I've been totally captured by you for about nineteen months now, ever since that moment when the line that meant that there was a You appeared on the EPT test strip. But you've grown slowly in that time. One day melded into the next without a lot of differences in behavior or growth. But now! Oh, now, you are a busy, busy baby.

You seem to be changing a little bit everyday, and when that's added up, you're making leaps every few weeks. This month, you've learned to stand and crawl, two huge developments. We thought for a while that you were just going to stick with your "Army crawl", where you'd impersonate a private moving as slowly and stealthily as one would need to sneak behind enemy lines. The only difference is that you used this maneuver to sneak up to a toy. And when you'd reach the toy, any incentive for further movement was completely removed. We just assumed that all of the standing and cruising that you were doing would morph into walking, with crawling being left behind somewhere as an afterthought. But then one day, I was standing in the living room, and you crawled past me on your way into the kitchen. And it's been one constant stream of movement from that moment on. It's not uncommon now for Daddy and I to be standing in one room and hear noise in another, and then we go in search of you and whatever you've gotten into. It's unsettling, to say the least. I'm still not used to the idea of you as a completely independant being. I guess I'd better catch up fast because you seem to be launching yourself quite quickly.

The fact that you're growing into your own little person shouldn't be a shock. You have a strong streak that is, by far, one of your most defining features. You are quite calm and easygoing much of the time. You're often happy to sit and play with your toys, or to crawl around in search of something new, or to be carried in our arms. But if you have an opinion about something, or don't like what we or you are doing, it comes through loud and clear. You're becoming very vocal, and you now have a range of sounds that you emit in a variety of scenarios. It's not uncommon to hear you babbling to your toys or as you wander around, and Daddy and I have both become accustomed to the grunting noise that comes when you're defining your point. And you have facial expressions to accompany all of these noises. One of my favorites is the nose wrinkle/eyebrow furrow combo that you make if we put something into your mouth that you're unsure of. Most of the time, though, you still just roll with the punches. It's like you want to tell us how you feel about it and then you're ready to move on.

One of our current quandries-- as first-time parents, we have a lot of those-- is finding a way to deal with situations when you're doing something that's not ok. You've taken to biting lately; you'll be riding around in our arms, or chilling with us on the couch, and you'll suddenly bend down and chomp on a limb. The first time that you did it to Daddy, he scared you with his reaction. But we haven't found a way to impress upon you that that's not a good thing. Whenever we get serious with you, you look at our faces and start giggling. It's not exactly the response that we're going for.

You have lots and lots of little quirks. You like to take your nails and dig them into any piece of flesh that you can find, especially when you're nursing, and sometimes, you do little dances, contorting your body while staying firmly attached to my breast. You most frequently express happiness by slapping something. You enjoy being outdoors and seem to calm instantly as soon as you smell the fresh air, but then you often fall asleep as soon as we're actually out. You have specific specifications for the size of your bites when you're eating; if they're too big, you will expel the food, wholesale, back out of your mouth. You still want to be swaddled when you sleep and often calm down as soon as you snuggle into the blankets. You often squeeze yourself into a tight space, like under the kitchen table or under a chair. Sometimes, you get stuck and frustrated, but sometimes, you'll just happily coo for a while. You love to sit and play on the floor, knocking down towers of blocks or playing with your puppets. You still love playing with paper and electronics, your first two loves.

Recently, you've begun sitting at the dinner table with us, chewing away on miniature versions of our grown-up dinners. You've developed a very expansive palate, a thing with which we're very pleased. If you can keep that, you'll fit right in. Not that you wouldn't fit into our family if you suddenly decided to eat only Cheerios and bananas (two of your favorite foods). I still amazed, every day, at how much I love you and enjoy being with you. I keep thinking that I can't love you more-- and then I do. You have such a firm hold on us that sometimes, I wonder how we lived before you came. Things were certainly quieter, and we got much better sleep, and sometimes I get wistful about taking off on a moment's notice or going out to places that just aren't an option for you, at this juncture. But the idea of living a life without you is something that I simply cannot conceive of now. And I'll definitely keep it that way.