Terrible Ones?

I'm sure it's not really terrible, yet, or as terrible as it could be.  However, we're having some shrill shrieks, some head-thrown, back arched, body stiff, all around tantrums. Hmmmmm. Interesting. Adessa's realizing she's separate from me, wants to be and doesn't want to be at the same time. She also realizes there's a wide world of pretty, yummy things, and she wants them all Right Now. So far our parenting strategy has been to watch with eyebrows up, bemused and slightly irritated. Mostly, I miss the sweet thing she was, really thought I had parenting sewn up. Not so much.

She's also progressing like mad, much more steady on her feet but still not walking. She says: ball, oww, eye, hi, mama, dada, Li-Jah (for Elijah), and barks for dogs. She signs: more, bird, milk, and all done.We're going to Tahoe next week and are so excited to hang out by the lake and let her play in the sand. We'll have lots of pics and stories. 8)

Watching the neighborhood.


Our favorite gypsy.


Bathtub fun.

Here are the teeth!

Titles are hard for me. It's just more about Adessa

Adessa's up to walking about four steps by herself, as long as someone is there for her to aim towards. She's getting much more stable and confident, especially thanks to the little walker that she got for her birthday. She reads books to herself, but isn't very interested in having us read to her beyond the first few pages. (Which makes me worried she won't be a reader. She wants to turn the pages herself, in whatever order, but will put up with us pointing to dogs or fish with appropriate word labels and noises.) She sings to herself, sometimes at high volume. Her face has doubled in expressions and expressiveness, which is delightful to watch. Interacting is just fun. She's up to eight teeth, and they're getting bigger and bigger which makes her look very grown up and kid-like. Adessa has been previously spotted giving her pacifier to her stuffed animals and doll, and even to the crying baby in a book. Now, when putting her to bed, she consistently will lie on her back, hold her feet in front of her face, make the sucking noise and offer her pacifier to her toes. Its charming! With the hot weather, she's been wearing tank tops and shorts, and its a treat to have her soft skin available to kiss!
It hasn't felt like summer, yet, as I participated in a writing workshop after school got out, and then have been taking care of business. I look forward to unwinding better and having a few days with nothing to do except swim and frolic.

Go Dessa, It's your birthday!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! She's one. One year of her. Her face looks older to me today, maybe just noticing today an incremental lessening of her cheeks, and a lengthening of her neck that make her look more kid-like, less baby-like. I cannot begin to touch with words how full of amazement and wonder this year has been. Thankful doesn't get close, though I try constantly to be aware of the miracle that Adessa is, to not take her heath, her spirit, her sweetness for granted. Because she is pure sweet baby goodness.

She gave me a bit of a run for my money, today. She didn't nap well, which leaves her fussy and demanding. I got impatient. She didn't want to be put down. I got frustrated. Now, though, she's sleeping, clean and soft, breathing deep through her puffed out lips. Yeah. Darling, adorable baby goodness. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Fun Stuff! Happy Hollow & Birthday Fun

The notorious Felton Mom's gang wrangled our kiddies to Happy Hollow mini-zoo-like-product-thingy in San Jose on Friday, June 6th. We saw monkeys, lemurs, barn-yard animals you could feed, and a jaguar! (Not the car.) It was fabulous to hang out with mommy and baby friends, and see the mini-sights. There were even rides, and the one we tried Adessa didn't want to get off of. More! More!

Feeding the goaties: a quarter buys you a handful of oats and then, goat slobber.


Merry on the merry-go-round! Adessa's first ride.


Adessa's second ride. Oh Yeah! In the police cruiser. She was in hot pursuit of her friend Ryan, but never managed to catch him.


Then, Saturday the 7th we celebrated Adessa's first birthday at Felton Covered Bridge Park. Auntie Laurel set up the show and reserved our spot, and it was beautiful and uber-festive. We had fun! She was kind of grouchy, even though I tried to time it perfectly between naps, but hey: it's her party and she can cry if she wants to! Crazy to think that on Thursday she'll be one year. ONE YEAR. I'm sure you'll have more reflection to wade through on Thursday, so I'll save it for then.

Let's party! With Auntie Lolo and the butterfly/bee combo cake.


Godmother Romina and favorite doggie, Beau, sporting balloons.


The babies! Please note that Gwennie proudly wore her sunglasses throughout the entire party, no small feat for a 17 month old!

Camping!

Helping Mommy make brownies for camping- Yum!

Moments out of the car, eating dirt, sporting a dirt mustache. Oh yeah.

Sitting by the campfire, giving her two-cents on which trail to take.

We made it! We're still smiling!

It was dirty, smoky, sticky (s'mores) fun. We took the short drive to Big Basin's beautiful redwoods to try out camping with a baby. We had a great time, except for the trying-to-sleep, pretending-to-sleep, and lying uncomfortably in bed wondering if-it's-early-enough-yet-to-get-out-of-the-tent-and-make-a-fire cycle we went through both nights. Needless to say, we were glad to sleep in our own bed last night!

Pictures

Dry sink fun.

Adessa's dazzling smile.

Obi-wan-Adessa

Sneaky Teeth

Err, uh, help?

Sand! (She loves those park tubey things.)

Just playing. (On those hot days, this was her nighttime apparel, and it was soooo cute!)

And from the back...


So there I am, going about my business, thinking I'm a great mom. I'm making Adessa belly laugh (it's easy!), feeding her nutritious meals (do hot-dogs count?), reading smart-making-baby-books to her, and then... right under my nose... she sprouted a new tooth. And it's pretty well established, I think it might have been around for a few days before I noticied it. She now has FIVE teeth, and a few more on the way, bulging out of her little gums. These teeth will be very welcomed and well observed on their way out into the mouth of Miss Adessa Faye!

Her latest cuteness, besides upper teeth which make her look very grown up, was witnessed by Calvin the other night. She was looking at one of her favorite books, "Hush Litte Baby, Don't You Cry",(Thank's for the book, Matessa's!) an illustrated account of the song by the same name. In our version, the crying baby is prominently featured on every page. We read this book all the time, she gets especially excited about the mockingbird and dog named Rover. As Adessa looked through it by herself, she popped out her pacifier and tried to put it into the crying baby's open mouth. Very sweet! It's sharing, right?

I have to take a moment to write about the fires. "The Summit Fire" as it's officially called. I can see haze to the northeast, but what's been keeping them fresh on my mind all day is the countless (almost constant) airplanes and helicopters flying overhead. You also hear lots of sirens, but not as often. And then there's the wind. Calvin's regular duties were suspended today so he could go and help with road closures. He's not in any danger, just dealing with frustrated people and may be doing similar work for the next few days. Wow. Lord, have mercy!