Can't Talk

Can't talk. Busy having fun in the hot Carolina sun. Back soon. Xoxo, GGF

Orelia at Ten Months

Our little one is ten months old and clearly off to college any day now.  She's growing up way too quickly, but we are enjoying all our time with her.

She now can easily get from her back or belly to a seated position, which makes life easier.  She isn't crawling on her hands and knees yet, but gets in the position regularly and then decides to army crawl instead.  Whatever floats her boat, I guess.

She is mastering more and more sounds.  John and I are both convinced she says "dog" in her own way ("ah-duh" or "duh").  She says it when she sees Harper and plays with her.  We're unsure if she says  "mama" or "dada" and means me or John, but she definitely says the words.  She does the sign for "more" all the time - she might just think it means she gets what she wants.

Orelia is picking up on the funniest things lately.  She obsessively grabs wipes from her changing table and then tries to wipe her own butt.  She tries to pick up Harper's favorite ball with the Chuck-It (the thing John and I use to throw Harper's ball).  She knows when we are preparing food for her and gets antsy for it.  She's learning things all the time, even when we aren't trying to teach her.

Her new favorite thing is airplanes.  Whenever she hears them fly by she looks up and tries to spot them.  If she can get them in her sights, there is no chance to get her interested in anything else until the plane is gone.  She still loves all dogs, too, and naturally loves Harper the most.

Oddly enough she's still taking three naps most days. Sometimes she will take two, but we are both happier when she takes three.

She nurses four times a day and eats solids pretty much at all hours.  Her favorite foods are soft pretzels from the farmers market, apricots, and saltines.  Yogurt is still at the top of her list too.  Obviously she now has four teeth that have grown all the way in, and at least another two on the way.

She gets long baths every night now - around 30 minutes of quality time with dad.  She loves splashing around, dipping her face in the water, drinking sudsy water from all the toys, and rolling around on her back and tummy.  She's our little water baby!

It's fun now that she really plays with all her toys instead of just putting things in her mouth.  She loves to chase her stacking cups and balls around the floor when they escape her.  She has Lego-like blocks that she likes to take apart (though she can't exactly put them together very well) and she uses two toys together in new ways.  We sing songs, clap, and listen to lots of music around these parts.  Ten months is a fun time for us!

Airing Her Dirty Laundry

No, I wasn't digging in my dirty laundry, why do you ask?

(Also, let's pretend her face isn't covered in food, shall we?)

Personal Space

Everyone is minding their own business, playing with binder clips.

Waving them around and having all the fun that can be had from a binder clip.

When suddenly, something more fun is spotted.

Look out Harper, it looks like you have a visitor.

Orelia looks a little more excited to see you than you are to see her.

We haven't quite mastered the concept of personal space.

I have a feeling it will be a challenging lesson when Harper's zone is such a fun place to be.

Luckily, Harper takes it all in stride.

And Orelia is happy to share some space with Harper.

Eight Dollars Well Spent

It seems that all I do lately is post pictures of Orelia and her friends in backyard baby pools.

All in all, it's an accurate reflection of how we spend our time.

This little pool cost me eight dollars on Amazon, and it's safe to say we've gotten our money's worth.

I promise they had more fun than it looks.  It's hard to get a picture of three babies looking in the same direction, much less where they look happy.

The Easter eggs from a few months back have been pulling double duty as pool toys lately.

Our ball pit balls have also taken a dip.

But of course, a leaf is a much more interesting toy than any of the above.

We are lucky to have so many friends with which to share our pool (and eggs and balls and leaves).

In-House Counsel

For the past ten months I've been working in house.  The hours can be grueling and the pay is awful, but the benefits are pretty good.

I recently submitted a bill to the client, and I thought I might share a recent day's timesheet.

99999.00001 - Orelia Marie/First Year

0.5 hr - Feed client.

0.5 hr - Breakfast meeting.

0.25 hr - Research ducklings and ball pit regulations.

0.5 hr - Review and analyze Music Together CD.

1.0 hr - Nap time.

0.5 hr - Examine apricots, yogurt, and crackers.

0.5 hr - Meet with Harper to analyze neighborhood foliage.

0.5 hr - Feed client.

1.0 hr - Attend bilingual story time and play with wooden train set.

1.0 hr - Nap time.

3.0 hr - Meet with associates to discuss maritime law issue.

1.0 hr. - Nap time.
0.5 hr. - Feed client.

0.5 hr - Review Barnyard Dance and snuggle with Mr. Monkey.

0.5 hr - Research local sprinkler systems.

0.25 hr - Dinner meeting.

0.35 hr - Bathe client and prepare for bed.

0.5 hr - Feed client.

(Yikes - remind me never to take pictures with my terrible phone camera again.)(Also, John was out of town for this particular work day, thus increasing my bill to the client in the morning and evening.)