14 Months!

Weight/Length- 22 pounds at your weigh in today.  Didn't take your height, but I'll try to remember next month.  =)

Eating- You eat like a pro.  Slowly starting to introduce silverware to you.  You still tend to hold your fork in one hand and eat with the other, but you think it's pretty darn cool when mom or dad stabs food with the fork and you get to hold it and eat food from it.  =)  You did manage to scoop up some sticky rice by yourself though... you're learning!

Teeth- 14 completely in, one working it's way through!  You have everything on top (up to your first year molar), and just have the canines left on the bottom... but at least one is working it's way out right now!

Sleep- Bed by 8:00 and up for the day by 7:15 on weekdays... this weekend you slept in until 8:00 and 8:30 though.  Thank you!  =)

 Clothes- 12 and 18 month sizes, and size 5 shoes.  I need to go shopping for some new pants for you.  Everything is starting to get too short!

Personality- So independent!  You want to try everything and seem bound and determined to do pretty much everything!  You still love being outside and playing/exploring. You're starting to throw little temper tantrums when you're not getting your way, but so far Dad and I are dealing with the "go limp and sit down" behavior ok.  =)

Likes/Dislikes-

• You still like all the same things as month.... plus....
• Going down the slide at the park... you can climb up the structure all by yourself, sit down without help, and slide down... and then repeat... over and over again. lol
• You love the ocean!  Had so much fun out on the beach for Memorial Day.  You just wanted to run right out there.

•  You're not a fan of pickles... which makes sense, 'cause neither Dad nor I are either!
• You don't like getting your diaper changed.  For some reason that has really become a challenge recently.

Milestones-

• You went to the beach for the "first" time... you've been before, but this was the first time that you actually were awake and/or could understand what was going on around you.  =)
• You can climb up and down off of the couch/chairs on your own now (for the most part).  You are going to be quite the climber!
• You are pointing a lot now when you want something.  This added communication is making things a bit easier!
• You can go down the slide by yourself... and climb up the structure all on your own to get there!
• Having molars and all of your incisors means that you can eat apple slices now!  And you love them!  =) 
• You have started to figure out how to use a fork.  You have a hard time stabbing things, but know what to do once there's food on it!  =)

Vocabulary
Words you understand:

• "Mom"
• "Dad"
• "Kitty"
• "Sit Down"
• "Kisses"
• "Hugs" 
• "Bye Bye"
• "Open"
• "Close"
• "Backwards"
• "Hi"
• "Go"
• "Shoe"
• "Outside"
• "Ball"
•  "No"
• "Dance"
• "Phone"
• "Kick"

 Words you can say:

• "Dad" (Sometimes "Da", sometimes "Dad", sometimes "Dada"... but I'm pretty sure that you're talking to him now, so I'm counting it).
• "Kitty" (sounds more like "key")
• "Bye" (you've said it a couple of times, but not regularly).
• "Shoe" (Sounds like a high pitched "shoooo")
• "Mama" (others have report that she says this... I've yet to hear it.  Go figure).

Bargain Shopping

I love to buy clothes, and I love to find a good deal.  I discovered Twice this weekend.  Amazing prices for brand name stuff.  I ordered a few sweaters (yes, I know it's summer, but I live in Oregon, they'll get used. lol), and I got them today!  A couple of them don't fit but, and here's the awesome part, they pay for return shipping!  I love easy!  =)  Check it out. 

Plus, if you follow the link above, and buy something, I get a $20 credit.  ;)  So, help a gal out! =)

Wrong Place...

I don't usually write about work.  I try really hard to keep my personal life and my professional life separate.  Today, however, I feel the need to talk about it... since they are starting to collide.

I'm in social work.  I work with "at-risk" young adults.  I really do love my job and the young people that I work with, but, the work is hard and we don't always "win".  It seems like every weekend in Portland someone gets shot, stabbed, commits suicide, or is in some kind of accident..and sometimes they die.  If the news reports that the victim/suspect is in their teens or 20s, I automatically wonder if I know them.  Sometimes, I do. 

In the 8 years or so that I've been doing this kind of work, I can name at least three young people that I have had some kind of a professional connection to who have died (one by their own hand, two others at the hands of someone else), and another who has killed someone.  I have had clients who I knew carried a gun (though was never sure when/if it was on them).  I have been in the same room with another, for several hours, who I didn't know was armed... and who immediately pulled that gun on another youth within a block of leaving our building.  And all of these are just the cases that I know... I'm sure there are many, many more acts of violence that I have no idea about.  Those who are never caught.  Crimes that are never reported.  Street kids who disappear and we never really know why.

This year I have several clients who are graduating from different alternative schools in the area.  One invitation that I received warned that certain colors/clothing would be banned.  Guests were prescreened by administrators against known gang affiliations.  While I chose not to attend that ceremony, I did attend another, this evening.  Two of my clients graduated.  They both gave speeches (one even mentioned me... I was honored).  It was a great ceremony.  But it was the first time that I can remember, that I actual felt fear in a public situation. 

I had no reason to.  There were no "shady characters".  It was a pretty low-key ceremony at an elementary school.  But, after several shootings in Portland this weekend, and the news coverage in Santa Monica, I found myself checking for the nearest exits.  I found myself wondering, if someone opened fire, what I would do.  Would I push my way through the crowd for the nearest exit and run like hell as far as I could away from that school, or would I try to protect someone else?  I knew several of those in attendance.  There were children everywhere.  Seeing those children made me realize that, I feel bad saying this... I think I would run like hell.  Saving myself would save my daughter from losing her mother.  Saving myself would allow me to spend more time with her, to see her grow, to hear her finally say "Mama"... to make her laugh... to run around in the park... to see that big smile while going down the slide.

Our world is dangerous.  I have never really felt "unsafe" while in the confines of work (the youth that we work with take some pride in our programs and I've often feel kind of protected), however the youth that we work with... they have family, friends, peers, enemies, lives in the community... and those lives could very easily overlap with mine.

Someday I could be in the wrong place at the wrong time... and there's very little that I can do about it.

Memorial Day

Alright... almost caught up with my posts! lol  Sorry to blast everyone with so many all at once!

For Memorial Day we packed up at went to Jacob's family's beach house at the coast for the weekend.  Every year the little community that their house is in has a pig roast/potluck event.  We haven't gone for a couple of years, so this was Emily debut... and her first trip to the ocean where she actually could understand what was going on. lol

The weather was great on Saturday for the main event, and for some beach play.  You'll notice by the pictures below, but, out on the beach, we just continued to take off more and more of Em's clothing, as she just kept getting wetter and wetter in the water. lol.  She was VERY excited!

Sunday was a bit cooler and windy.  We had some family photos taken (should be getting those back in a week or so!), and Emily wasn't too happy to be out there.  I think she had her fill the day before... she was just cold and wind blasted during the photos. lol.  And on Monday, it poured. Typical Oregon weather.  But, at least we had Saturday!  =)

Photo overload below!  She's just too stinkin' cute!  =)

1 Year Photos

I found a photographer on Craigslist who was advertising free photo sessions in exchange for work to use for his professional portfolio.  I wanted to get some "official" first year photos done of Emily anyway, so, I e-mailed and set up a session.  We met out at Mount Tabor park one evening for some photo fun.  =)  Here's a couple of my faves!

13 Months

About two weeks late.... better late than never, right?  =)  Trying to think back to what you knew/could do 2 weeks ago... it's amazing how much I feel like you've changed in the just the last two weeks!


Weight/Length- Completely forgot to weight you and now, two weeks later, I feel like it would be a waste if I just plan to do it again in two weeks.  =)  I don't know, though, that you are slightly taller than your cousin Sophie was at your age (we compared on the wall at the beach house over Memorial Day weekend).

Eating-No more formula, no more bottles!  We got rid of those within the first couple weeks after your birthday.  It didn't seem to be an issue for you.  It took you about a week to really drink much out of the sippy cup (I think you were waiting for us to give you a bottle), but you eventually gave in.  Now you're eating table food and drinking milk out of your cup like a pro.  =)

Teeth- At your 13th month you had 10 teeth.  Six on top and four on the bottom.

Sleep-Pretty much sleeping through the night now.  To bad at about 8:00, and up for the day around 7:00.  My body has not gotten used to early wake ups, so I don't much mind getting up early on a weekend anymore.

 Clothes- Wearing 12 month stuff now, with the occasional 18-month PJ in there (we don't have many in the 12 month size, so you're swimming a big, but you look cozy).

Personality- I don't know that I have much more to add that I haven't already said.  You are a happy little girl, and very curious/observant.  If you're cranky, I know that I can just take you out in the backyard and you'll suddenly be more interested in digging in the dirt and trying to push wheelbarrows around that you'll forget why you were fussy in the first place! lol

Likes/Dislikes-

• You like dogs.  You love to run up to the them and then just LOOK at them. lol  It takes a bit to convince you to pet them, but you're perfectly satisfied standing 2 feet away and observing them.  =)
• You LOVE being outside... doesn't matter what we're doing, if it's 'outside, it's ok by you!
• Carbs... you love carbs.  You are your mother's daughter.

•  You don't like ot getting your way.  Yes, we are starting to experience tantrums... when you start the crocodile tears and plop yourself on the floor/go limp.  I need to start learning how to ignore these now, as I suspect they will just keep getting worse for awhile.

Milestones-

• You went camping for the first time, and saw your first deer and squirrel (up close).  You discovered your love for pine cones. lol
• You were to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn for the first time... it was mommy's first time, too!
• You were to your first "friends" birthday parties... TWO of them!

Vocabulary-  (new category, as I figure this one will be getting the most attention over the next year!) 

Words you understand:

• "Mom"
• "Dad"
• "Kitty"
• "Sit Down"
• "Kisses"
• "Hugs" 
• "Bye Bye"
• And probably more that I haven't figured out yet. lol

 Words you can say:

• "Dad" (Sometimes "Da", sometimes "Dad", sometimes "Dada"... but I'm pretty sure that you're talking to him now, so I'm counting it).
• "Kitty" (sounds more like "key")
• "Bye" (you've said it a couple of times, but not regularly).

Mothers Day

I'm home sick for the third day this week.  I have already read most of my magazines, watched my Netflix video, and obsessively checked e-mail/facebook waiting for someone to post/send something cool/weird/entertaining.  Looks like what I'll be doing today is catching up on back blog posts... and there's a lot of them.  =)

Let's start with Mother's Day (yeah, I know, right... that was LAST MONTH--I"m really behind).

The forecast called for some pretty unseasonably warm weather the week leading up to Mother's Day, so, I decided to risk it and book us a camp site at a near by regional park for the night.  Emily had never been camping before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, and I figured best to go for one night, somewhere near by, so we could make a quick escape to our own beds if we needed to.  =)  But, as with most of my other fears, they were unwarranted.  She did fantastic.  Had one wake up at about 1:00 am (I think she was cold).  We took her into bed with us to warm her up, and she thought it was play time.  After about 20 minutes of wrestling her to lay down, I finally just wrapped her up in a couple of blankets and put her back in the pack and play, where she slept until morning.  =)

Saturday the weather was great.  We played on the "beach" (off of the Sandy River), took some walks through the campground, watched a couple of deer that came (almost) right into our camp site, and cooked up some hot dogs for dinner.  Sunday, on the other hand, it poured.  Our stuff was pretty wet.  But, thankfully, we were headed home, and home was a very short distance away! 

We have another camping trip planned for August, and, thanks to this impromptu trip, I'm not as concerned about it... and am even hoping to take another one before then!

Here's some photos from our 24 hour adventure.  =)

Headed down to the beach!

The water was COLD... she was too interested in exploring to notice. lol

Love this photo of Jacob in the background. lol

Bambi!

In our new tent Emily has her own "room"... LOVE it. lol

She looks like she should be at summer camp. lol

Collecting pine cones

Hmm... how many can I carry?

Reading the paper with Dad