Baby in a Basket

Somehow I forgot to post some amazing photos Natalie took of Orelia last month.

We went over to Natalie's house one morning a month ago for authentic bagels and a chance to hang out.  (The bagels in California are generally terrible, but Natalie found a few places near her that sell authentic New York-style bagels.)

Much to everyone's surprise, Orelia seemed to enjoy sitting in the basket for a moment so long as her trusty cell phone was in hand.

Seconds later she toppled out of the basket with a smile on her face.  The moment was gone, but luckily Natalie captured it beautifully.

We went on the front porch for a minute and Orelia was enamored by the loquat Natalie handed her.

Don't get me wrong, it was no bagel with butter, but it was still fun.

She wanted to tell us all about it.

Many thanks to Natalie for hosting us for a wonderful day at her place.

Orelia gets to see her Aunt Natalie almost every week.

She loves her Auntie almost as much as she loves her Monkey.  And that's saying something.

Peals

Lately our lives have been surrounded by peals of laughter and a newly developed sense of humor.  Nothing makes John and I laugh more than Orelia cracking up.

4th of July Picnic

We celebrated the 4th of July this year in the backyard of our new Aussie friends.  Orelia had to show her friend how Americans like to party.

The three musketeers all got decked out in their red, white, and blue finest.

The babies crawled over the deck and stole food off their parents plates.

Occasionally they checked each other for new molars.  The usual.  Obviously these girls are very close friends.

It was a great 4th of July with new friends and new Americans.

Orelia's Baptism

At the end of June, Orelia was baptized in the church I grew up in while wearing the gown in which my brother, dad, and I were all baptized.  It was a day for traditions.

Two of my best friends in the entire world were there to witness the big event and meet our baby girl.

Orelia lasted through almost the entire service with the help of a handful of saltines and some toys.

She enjoyed the after party a bit more and was fawned over by new friends and old faces.

It meant so much to me that so many of the people that I love and who love Orelia could be there for this important occasion.  It was a lovely and happy baptism for my baby girl.

(The) Hallelujah

The name of our beach house (of course it had a name) was The Hallelujah.  Hallelujah indeed, for a great vacation surrounded by our family.  All house occupants were accounted for in this photo, including the salty mermaid.

My brother and his wife live out East like my parents do, so I was thankful they got a chance to know Orelia better.

The Sittler ladies.  Even though none of us are technically Sittlers, we all share the same smile (too bad Orelia chose not to showcase hers at this moment).

The Radd family all got a photo together.  If you receive Christmas cards from my parents, you may end up seeing this one again.

I'm so grateful that all these members from my side of the family could make it for the vacation.

Orelia is clapping because she is thrilled the photo shoot is almost over.  Luckily, this is one baby who is used to striking a pose for the camera, so she tolerates it pretty well.

Cannon Ball

On a sunny afternoon, John and his nieces and nephews invented a game where the kids jumped off the deck while being pelted with a ball (thrown by the all-to-willing Uncle John).

There was some sort of scoring system which roughly had to do with how many balls you could catch in a row.

I think six might have been the record at some point.

Some jumps were less graceful than others, but got the job done.

And some players were a little more apt to blame the pitcher when things didn't go their way.

A great time was had by all, and Uncle John made sure all the kids would remember him.  (Taking them to laser tag and teaching them poker helped too.)

Photos taken by my dad.

Orelia at 11 Months

"Where's Orelia?" I said.  And out popped her little head.

There she is!  Our little 11 month old!

We are rounding the bend to the one-year mark, and things they are a-changing.

She's crawling.  She's pulling up and standing.  She's our big girl.

At a recent doctor's visit she weighed 19 pounds 15.2 ounces with a diaper on.   She wears 6-12 month clothes and some 24 months/2T clothes when the mood strikes.

 Her wave has become more dainty (think pageant wave), and it's pretty comical.

She is getting more particular about what she wants to eat, but a recent favorite treat is croissants.  She still loves her soft pretzels too, but also will chow down on a hard one when given the opportunity.  She's still eating tons of yogurt, which is her most consistent breakfast and lunch "meal."  She's down to three nursings a day, which makes my life both easier and harder.

She has figured out how to put things into a box/basket/toy instead of just taking them out all the time.  She also puts toys on things, though I wouldn't say she can stack just yet.

She discovered that one of her bath toys can squirt, so she takes great joy in squirting Daddy with it every night (and laughing hysterically).

She still loves her favorite monkey stuffed animals (she greets them with hugs and kisses), and also really likes anything with a hinge lately and loves to crawl after balls and play with blocks.

She's making new sounds and understanding new things all the time.  She's our baby morphing into a little girl before our eyes.  Less than a month until her big birthday celebration!

Water Baby

One of the best parts of our trip East was having a pool in our own back yard.

I knew Orelia loved swimming class, but I didn't realize how much she would love spending hours in the pool.

She loved being in there with just Daddy but she also loved being in there surrounded by the commotion of a half dozen cousins.

The weather was perfect for the pool - hot but not scorching - and our teeny pool was refreshing without being chilly.

Obviously the game where she gets tossed in the air was a huge hit.

Orelia also showed off her skills jumping into the pool.

Once you put her on the edge of the pool you can't stop her from hopping right in.

She loved perching on Daddy's shoulder and just watching everything around her.

Go, O, go!

My mom borrowed this awesome infant floatie from a friend and it was a big hit.

Clearly.

All the big kids wanted to take a turn in the floatie too, but Orelia said it was hers and only hers.

In a few years I imagine she'll find a more exciting way to travel on this boogie board.

It's such a joy to see our little water baby having a blast in the pool.  It was a real highlight of the trip and makes us miss vacation even more.