Private Pool Party

We spent four out of five days last week in the pool.  The week began with our own private pool party.

It was very exclusive.

Only my favorite baby and dog allowed.

Orelia spent a lot of time chewing on the steel tub.  I can't say whether it was a teething thing or just good old fashioned fun.

She also got a kick out of patting her wet and chubby belly.  I tried to tell her she's supposed to rub her belly and pat her head, but the message wasn't very well received.

John forbids her from wearing bikinis, so I had to sneak this suit on when he was at work for the day.  She looked pretty adorable, I think, so it was worth disobeying Daddy.

We spent a good 45 minutes in the lawn just relaxing.  The weather was just slightly better than beastly hot, so a couple inches of water were a welcome treat.

Orelia has become captivated with birds - their flight and songs are fascinating to her, so she's always keeping an eye on them when we are outside.

She keeps more than an eye on Harper - occasionally a fistful of fur is necessary.

Harper responds with a kiss, of course.

When the tub had been nibbled enough,

The toys finally found their way to their rightful place - her mouth.

She loved her private pool party, but had even more fun the next couple days when her friends came over to share in the fun.  I promise they shared a slightly larger pool, though.

We Miss Daddy

John is out of town for a few days and we are inconsolable without him.  

There have been no shoulder rides since he left.

There has been no tandem bread eating.

And there definitely hasn't been any sharing of bread.

We can't wait for John to return and bring back the fun to our house (and maybe a loaf of bread).

First Tooth

At eight and a half months old our girl finally popped her first tooth.  I was sitting next to her in the backseat of the car, and while she was laughing, I noticed she had a tooth!

We didn't even realize she was teething, since she's always putting everything in her mouth and drooling anyway.

Her second tooth has already popped through by now too.  I hear the top two are more painful than the bottom two, but I'm hoping she is just a teething champ and will soldier on like normal.

In the meantime she will just stick her hands in her mouth to feel these new found friends.

Jumperoo

Lately someone has finally discovered that she loves her little jumper toy, and now happily plays there every day.

Perhaps it's because she reaches the ground much more easily, or because she wants to stand up more.

I'm just glad I have somewhere to put her where she is forced to stay still.

Maybe not "still" exactly - but in a confined space where she is not a danger to herself and Harper.

She is in a very big tossing-things-out-of-my-reach phase, so it's nice to have most toys consistently within reach in this one.

Mommy's camera was just out of reach for this picture.

I find that with baby development it's hard to remember a time when they couldn't do the thing they are now so good at.

Her hand movements are steady now, and she can grab just about anything she wants - including tiny pieces of dirt (to my horror).

Of course the most interesting part of any toy is the tag that came with it.

After an intense jumping session I swear she almost pants like a dog.  That's how we know she had fun.

Toes Were Nibbled

My mom was here last week and Orelia was so happy to be reunited with her Noni again.

I'd say Noni was pretty excited to be reunited with her only grandchild too.

Orelia greeted Noni with a big smile every time she saw her and was thrilled to have another person to play with around the house.  Toes were nibbled to great delight.  Songs were sung.  Glasses were snatched.  Messes were made.  Rattles were shaken.  And kisses were dolled out freely.  Thanks for the great visit - we can't wait to see you again soon!

As You Mean to Go On

My mother taught me the old adage "start as you mean to go on."  It's been ringing in my ears a lot lately.

Up until recently, I hadn't felt like training or discipline were a part of our lives just yet.

Then we had an incident where Orelia decided she hated something (a baby carrier) she used to love.  John and I both got the impression that she hated it because we had stopped using it for a few months, but if we had "trained" her to use it, she would have been fine.

Some of my friends say they are having a lot of trouble feeding their babies, who constantly grab the spoon.  In my experience, if you want your baby to not grab the spoon - you don't let them grab the spoon, ever.  The baby learns how to eat from a spoon and is fine doing it.

It sounds stupid, but it's true.

If you want your baby to like the stroller - then you have to use the stroller and get them used to that.

If you want your baby to be comfortable feeding herself, then you have to let her feed herself.

If you want your baby to be comfortable going to restaurants, then you have to take her to restaurants.

We are obviously not in a strict or disciplining mode with Orelia.  She's only eight months old, after all.  But I'm realizing how much she picks up on the little things (and the big).  She watches John and I eat and drink and wants to imitate what we do.  In the long run, I imagine this will mean she will get her eating habits directly from us, so we had better make sure they are worthy of copying.

We are in a phase of choosing which things are important for us to "train" her.  Wearing hats is a must in sunny California, so we force them on her despite her protests.  Wearing socks, however, is less important, so we let her go barefoot.  Keeping a bib on, important.  Learning how to use a sippy cup, less important.  Tolerating car rides, important.  Tearing apart napkins, less important.  Riding in grocery carts, important...etc. etc.  

We are starting as we mean to go on in the hopes of having less battles to fight later.  I assume it will help us, but you know what happens when one assumes...

Play Group at Our House

Last week twelve of Orelia's closest friends came over for an exciting afternoon in our back yard.  That's right - it was our turn to host play group!

As I promised to my friends, there was Chick-Fil-A, and a few of the Californians (and foreigners) got to try it for the first time.  We went through over a hundred nuggets, so I'd say it was a hit.

I think Orelia was actually the only baby to eat any nuggets - she likes to be the adventurous one.

It was a warm 75 degrees and extra sunny, so all the babies were lathered in tear-free sunscreen and wore their floppiest hats.

The moms took turns wiping up messes and stopping the babies from gouging each other's eyes out.

The great thing about our play group is that the moms have just as much fun as the babies.  

The babies babbled and exchanged spit-soaked toys.

While the mommies chatted about feeding solids and preschools.

I'm so grateful that Orelia and I have both found such great friends already.  It makes everything much more fun.