Excuse my Absence

I haven't had much to post lately. I'm not quite sure why exactly. I haven't been absent for any particular reason. It seems like there has been plenty to write about and yet nothing to write about. It has been busy and yet not nearly as busy as usual. Not a very comprehensible excuse I guess, but the truth.

Although she is still over a week away from her birthday, Jillian has turned into a full fledged toddler both physically and emotionally. She walks everywhere these days and is quick too. She has learned to move things too. We used to fence off the dining room because of the dog food and dog door, but unfortunately she is now strong enough to move the fence even when blocked off with the garbage can. Now we have to put the dog food outside (leading to rodent concerns) and block off the dog door (got to watch for when Cujo needs in and out). She climbs on and off of everything, usually remembering to go down feet first but occasionally forgetting and landing on her head before we can stop her. Bruises abound, which bodes well for her 1 year photo session next week.

She becomes easily frustrated these days, which inevitably leads to tantrums. We also seem to have a pincher and biter on our hands as the marks on my face and Jeramy's toes prove. The past couple of weeks she has slept well at night 80% of the time, but getting her to go to sleep is always accompanied by tears. Not even the usual rocking and singing seems to work these days. We've ended up just putting her in the crib to cry for 10 or 15 minutes until she falls asleep. It works, althought it is a bit wearing on all of our nerves. I am flying across the country alone with her in a few weeks, and this is admittedly quite intimidating. I've been trying to think of ways to keep her entertained, prevent her from grabbing inappropriate items like our seat mates drinks and food, stop her from pinching my face and neck and convine her to sleep without too many tears. I am very much hoping the plane won't be full so that we can get an extra seat, but given the airline industry these days I'm fully expecting to be crammed in.

I'm spending the rest of this week trying to clean up and get ready for Jillian's birthday party this weekend. Originally I had grand plans of baking and entertaining. After counting the numbers of attendees that vision quickly changed to survival. It will be fun, but a bit of a crazy crowd. Stay tuned for pictures.

25 Firsts

To gratify Nancy's request, here is my 25 firsts quiz...feel free to play along. It's kind of fun!

1. Who was your first prom date?
Jeramy. We started dating when we were 16 (almost 16 years ago...half of our lifetimes!) I think this is the picture of prom in our junior year.

2. Do you still talk to your first love?
Sure, unless he's done something to piss me off (I joke)

3. What was your first alcoholic drink?
Probably Boone's fuzzy navel flavor. So classy, I know.

4. What was your first job?
I was an office assistant at a canoe and kayak store. I worked there for 5 years! It was a mom and pop sort of business, except that the mom and pop divorced about half way through my employment there. Whoo boy, could those two get into it. Right in the middle of the store too. Great for customer service, I tell you.

5. What was your first car?
A 1984 Ford Tempo. I always joke that it is actually the reason I started dating Jeramy. I managed to run a red light and wreck it, and I needed somebody to fix it for me!

6. Who was the first person to text you today?
Not so big on texting.

7. Who was the first person you thought of this morning?
Jillian because I heard her fussing around 4am and then again at 5am. Luckily she fell back asleep both times.

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
Mr. Lawrence

9. Where did you go on your first flight in a plane?
When I was 4 years old, my mom, grandma and aunt took my sister and I to visit my great grandma in Decatur, Alabama.

10. Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?
Probably the two girls down the street, Harmony and Becky. And I keep up with both on Facebook.

11. Where was your first sleepover?
I'm sure it was with Harmony and Becky.

12. Who was the first person you talked to today?
Since nobody was awake at my house before I left, it was probably the folks in my vanpool when I got in at 6:20am.

13. Whose wedding were you in for the first time?
My Aunt Cheryl's. I was a candle lighter when I was 9.

14. What was the first thing you did this morning?
Took a shower.

15. What was the first concert you went to?
Green Day when I was 17.

16. First tattoo?
None! I'm making up for my hubby's excess of tattoos I guess.

17. First piercing?
Got my ears pierced when I was 12, and that is pretty much it. Man I'm lame!

18. First foreign country you went to?
Probably Canada for the World Fair in Vancouver in 1986.

19. First movie you remember seeing?
ET at the drive in

20. What state did you first live in?
Washington. I've been here my whole life.

21. Who was your first room mate?
Jeramy. I went straight from my parents to living with him.

22. When was your first detention?
I seriously never served detention in school.

23. Apparently #23 is missing!

24. What is one thing you would learn, given the chance?
Quilting

25. Who will be the next person to post this?
Who knows! But it's kind of fun so hopefully others will.

Fair Time

Here in the Puget Sound region, the Puyallup Fair is a big deal every September. This fair is freakin' huge...one of the largest in the U.S. I had the day off last Friday (we stayed out late Thursday night to see Weezer and Blink 182), so we decided to go to opening day of the fair. I knew it would be a mad house since admission was free for the first couple of hours, but I was pretty excited about Jillian's first fair experience. Plus Jeramy and I hadn't been since high school. Oh and I wanted some fair scones...so yummy.

Jillian's favorite part was definitely the animals. I had no idea a nearly 1 year old could be so adamant about getting to pet them. After petting some of the dogs, I tried putting her back in the stroller only to wind up with a tantrum of kicking and screaming. Jeez. We're going to have one obstinate toddler on our hands.

I couldn't help but get a picture with all the cow butts, hee hee! The funniest thing I heard all day was in the cow barn when a little boy started shouting "Mom, Mom! That cow POOPED green diarrhea all over! Did you see it! It was so GROSS! He POOPED! It was green..." His mom tried quieting him down to no avail. The joys of being a parent and explaining to your kid that cows poop too. And yes, it can be pretty nasty!

The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing. While Jeramy was off four-wheeling with friends, guess who showed up in our yard? I was sure to tell these guys that it was their lucky day. Jeramy was NOT pleased to miss them after vigilantly watching for them over the past week.

Wordless Wednesday (Almost)

After the doe/fawn sighting, a few days later Jeramy came home to find three bucks in the yard. He and his mom immediately invested in a bow (it is legal to bow hunt for deer at our house). I know Jeramy is pretty excited about the prospect, but I have to admit that I'm hoping the deer stay away until hunting season is over. They're awfully cute.

11 Months

Jillian turned eleven months old yesterday. Less than one month until her first birthday. It's hard to believe that I will soon be saying that I have a one-year old.

It has been a busy month at our house between several camping trips, BBQ's, fishing and the usual day to day life of work, cleaning and errands. We have always been busy, but toting a now toddling baby around adds a new dimension to our already hectic schedule. This past month has of course brought a lot of changes such as...

• Walking - she can now make her way halfway across rooms in an upright position. At times as she closes in on you she almost seems to run even. She is certainly not graceful. I'd really describe her walking style as fearless and adventurous.
• Climbing - I really thought this would happen until much later. She climbs on and off her chair (as you saw). She can get down from many high objects like the couch. She'll take advantage of toys placed in front of objects to climb up them. She sticks her leg on the ridge of the bathtub as if she is trying to climb out. As long as she stays in her crib...we best lower it another notch.
• Talking - After mastering "yay" she has also learned "yeah". We are sticklers for good grammar at our house. She can clearly say "Dada" when she is talking of Jeramy. And yesterday she seemed to be using the word "Dog". Now if she'd have a little appreciation for me and pick-up the word "Mama". I mean I did give birth to her and all. Jeez.
• Drinking from the sippy - She has been able to drink from her sippy cup for a couple months now, but usually it has just been water. Given her proficiency, we decided to start taking away the bottle during the day in trade for the sippy cup. After finding out that she won't drink formula from a sippy cup with a valve, we found that she would drink it from the munchkin ones. So we are pretty much switched with the exception of the bedtime and nightime bottle (yes, she usually still wants a little something in the wee hours of the morning).
• Riding in a convertable car seat - Jeramy just picked up a couple today. I'm really going to miss the convenience of the infant carseat and the ability to avoid waking my sleeping baby.
• Eating finger foods - purees are definitely on their way out. After about 5 or 6 bites, she spits the food into her fingers so that she can play with it. I've found that she really likes pasta, cheese and meat. So we are beginning to explore what meals she can feed herself. Because really, spoon feeding an infant who spits her food out is not particularly rewarding (not to mention extremely messy).
• Ponytails and pigtails - somebody's hair is getting a bit long.
  

So now it's on to the first birthday planning. The invitations are on order. I'm expecting a large but simple party. Is that possible? We have a lot of family and friends to invite, but I refuse to go all crazy by adhering to some insane theme or planning a multitude of games. I mean what happened to having people over for cake and ice cream anyhow? Because that's how it's going to go at my house.

Does this Make me a Bad Mom?

I'm a big believer in letting Jillian learn to do things herself. This includes figuring out how to get on and off her new chair.




Please note the blankets strategically placed to soften the blow...no tears were involved. Within 24 hours of this she learned how to back herself off the chair.

Wordless Wednesday - Bambi & Mom