The Fox at 14 Months

Little Miles did not get a birthday post here, which I want to call tragic, but really... that is too melodramatic even for me.  BUT, it is something I have to remedy.  So our boy is going to be 15 months old soon, and I have a lot of catching up to do if I want to give him even a fraction of the blogging attention that I gave to our lovely June as she transitioned from baby to toddler, now to big girl.

Walking Love

The night before last, Adam and I had gotten both kids to bed and were enjoying our short, exhausted moments together at the end of the evening, when we heard giggling coming from Miles in the bed.  A lot of it.  I cannot say how lovely it was to hear him laughing in his sleep.  I like to think that it is a sign of a good life.

We cosleep still.  I am grappling with him being my last child and the sadness of not having another baby.  If logic had any place in the matter I would not feel this sadness at all.  But I wished to stay home with him his first 6 months at least, and in my heart I feel as though I missed a lot of the little baby cuddle time with both children, in those very first days.  So, we cosleep, and I know by looking at June that this time too will be over so quickly.  He will be sleeping on his own before we know it.  There are no do-overs with children.  I am not ready to rush it just yet.

Mama Love

This morning he very clearly said, "apple" while pointing at the mini Alaskan apples we still have in the kitchen.  He has a nice little roster of words, including Mama, Daddy, Up, Uh-oh, Cracker (all food is cracker), Na (for No, which he does not say yet, but he has got a very emphatic way of shaking his head no that is unmistakable), Touch, Sister, June, Kitty, Dog, Woof, Broom (oh is he ever obsessed with brooms), All Done, Boo, Ta Da, Bath, Ball, Balloon, and Book (which sounds like Book-u.)  And oh!  The intonation of his voice.  It is so sweet and kind of squeaky.  Adam says it is as if he is always singing when he speaks.  He chatters a lot to himself nowadays.  He understands a lot too, and will do things that are asked of him, like "Miles, go get your starfish."  Or, "Miles, time to go up(stairs)."

We still nurse.  (Which he calls Boo-Boos, as June did, or else "Mii" since, Milk is hard to say.)  He very adamantly expects nursing when we reunite in the evenings.  Having been through this before with June I just adore it the second time over.  Except at times when we are sleeping and I get a good sense of what it must be like to be a mama-cat, as Mr. Claws scratches me both with his toe and fingernails.

Balloon Love

He adores books.  Some of his favorites are Go Dog Go!  And the Eric Carle book From Head to Toe.

He is very active and always likes to figure things out.  Yesterday I loved watching him figure out how to squeeze a lime onto his dinner after I had done the same to mine.  He has already figured out how to squeeze a few kinds of bath toys so that they squirt water, which took June ages to figure out.  He walks, runs, and climbs quite well.  Climbing the stairs, into the dishwasher, onto various pieces of furniture.  He uses a fork and spoon, particularly at school, since it took us a while to try it at home.  He loves sitting at June's princess table to eat.  Another favorite thing is chewing on toothbrushes.

Daddy Love

He's made a very cozy home in all our hearts.

P.S.  Peep Junie's 14 month post, here.

Sixteen Months Old

Dearest June, Where does the time go?

You have been growing so much lately. Getting taller, eating tons of food. Last night we tried grapes and you could actually chew them, finally.

You and I went on a trip to Oregon last weekend. (Mommy was hoping to get a job, but alas, was not selected.) We had a fun time anyway, visiting family. On the airplane you really wanted to sit in your own seat, without Mommy holding you in place.

This morning you ate crackers for breakfast. You ask for crackers all the time, and you agree that even dehydrated fruit or peas can be crackers. I like this. And you ate your breakfast astride your riding lion.

Today, your Daddy is listening to Desmond Tutu speak in Minneapolis. This is very cool and perhaps someday you will appreciate it. He will be attending a workshop as well that Desmond Tutu is running and everyone works in small groups. I can't wait to hear all about it.

But this post is about YOU my love. I would like to share some of your recent words:

bear
toy
yummy ("ummy")
yucky ("ucky")
cold
hot
down
off (you've been saying this awhile now)
out (you've been saying this awhile now too)
Shorty ("orty" - our dog)
button

You can say the words for and identify every single part of your face (except eyebrows which we haven't taught you yet.) My favorite is "tongue" because each time we play that game we stick our tongues out at each other.

You have a song you sing: diddle diddle diddle doo! diddle diddle diddle doo! And the doo! is a high pitched sound like you are mimicking a robot or something.

You are a sweet and snuggly girl. We still nurse every day, though mostly at night to sleep and during sleep. You still sleep with Mommy and Daddy, though we have a toddler bed for you. Now all we use your big girl bed for is reading to you at night. You love climbing into it and I think that soon it will be where you sleep.

We haven't yet had your 15 month doctor's appointment! The doctor rescheduled on us, then we rescheduled. I'll have to post later all the details about just how big you are.

Sometimes you string words together like: "no, cold." Or, "Hi Debbie."

I hope you can see how much you loved the swings in Lithia Park, in Ashland. This was your first time in the swings and I appreciated the way that big jacket stuffed you into the swing like a sausage. I'm always worried about you getting hurt.

You've been mostly healthy this month, though have had a stuffy/runny nose for the last week or so.

We miss Daddy, but he'll be home soon.

Love,
Mom

P.S. Mommy looks a lot like her Mommy, Nana Becky, in this photo.

Junie and the Egg

We attended a sweet little egg hunt held at the community garden in our neighborhood. June doesn't quite get looking for the eggs. (Notice that we moved the egg to plain view, plain reach.)

Even in plain sight she found them pretty strange. So she carried this little purple wonder around like a treasure for awhile. It ended on the squishy substance that is the ground around the adjoining playground.






Happy Easter!

And Happy Birthday Dad!

These are some wonder-filled days around here.

Scent

{Thank you everyone for your uplifting comments yesterday. And for being in this same boat with me. It is inspiring to know so many women who care about the earth, their place in it, and their families.}

Walking from downtown to my car this morning there was a smell in the air - like earthy black licorice. That mixed with the smell of orange blossoms. It was delightful, and I hope I can recall it when I think of Tucson after we move away from here.

The smell in the air got me thinking of the other night during June's bath. Adam said, "Come smell her head." I leaned in and took a whiff of the top of her still-dry head. I looked at Adam, not sure what he wanted me to notice. He said, "She smells like a person." So for a recount, here is what she smelled like to me: aloe vera when you first break it open to smooth onto a sunburn, mixed with a touch of light lemon.

Adam smells like sandalwood, or like a birch tree when you lean in really close.

I don't know what I smell like (thankfully perhaps!) except sometimes I smell just like brownies. And I like that.


Little Junie report:
Well, sometimes when she wants to go to sleep, she will walk right up to me and say "night night." She will also stop me, mid-reading a book, lay her head down, pat the bed and say, "night night." As in, "Mom, I'm done reading. Let's go to sleep." At daycare today I learned she does the same there, walking up to her main caretaker, Debbie, and holding her hand and saying, "night night," leading her over to her crib.

At the library a week or so ago, I was doing something June likes. Which is, I was holding her in the air as though she is laying on her belly with her arms out, letting her push her own stroller. She loves this and could do it for hours. A little girl who was there with her father called June "baby super." This made me smile and I keep thinking of it.

Lately when you take June's jacket off of her she doesn't want you to take it away. She wants to hold it. She is similar with her shoes. She used to hate them, but now she wants them on her feet at all times.

She has started walking with her arms deliberately held down instead of up in the air for balance.

She will give you a beso, and if you ask where her "panza" is she will lift her shirt and/or cup her belly.

She will climb into your heart too, when you aren't looking. Or maybe when you are!

Life Around Here

This post is about our domestic life. Little scenes around the house. Things we are doing and things June is learning.

The weather is getting warmer, and it is the best time of year here in Tucson. Nice temps - not too hot. We've been busy working on the house. It seems the effort to keep it clean is endless. That and keep up with the yard work. We barely manage either, and the clutter is out of control. Every project completed is very satisfying.
{Discarded socks. Mom's hairs on the floor, ew!}

June is showing more and more personality all the time. Today at the grocery store she was obsessed with the Crocs display. She carried around two pairs of different color blue crocs in her size and did not want to let go of those for anything.

{The cutest shoe pile ever.}

She's been napping well lately - I hope I do not jinx it by documenting it.

Despite the falls, she seems to have a cautious nature. Outside, she will crawl when she reaches the steps of our patio. She also walks around the house for the most part, but ... we have thresholds in most of the doorways because our floor is not level. And whenever she gets to a doorway she reaches over and holds on to the side of the wall for support as she traverses the wood plank obstacle. That's the way to describe it - it is a baby obstacle course around here.

{Toys, messy mat...}
We've gotten rid of the colorful alphabet mat. That thing was being pulled apart by Miss June so frequently that it was annoying. Plus, it was hard to clean.

Last night at bedtime I was telling June, "it's time to go night night. Daddy will have to give you a kiss in bed." She was walking beside me into the bedroom, and at hearing that she turned herself around, walked over to her dad, gave him a kiss, and walked back to the bedroom. That was a major first.

She loves books. The other night I was reading her one of her favorites, the very busy spider, and I realized she could say most of the animal sounds in the book. The only one I haven't heard her say is "moo." I wish I could record her rooster sound. It goes, "doodle doodle-oo." She will repeat that one to herself. Oh, and when she wants to read that book she will pick it up, carry it to me, and say "neigh neigh" which is the first line with animals in the book. Pretty neat. It makes me so proud.

{Outside of a restaurant, June found the only pile of dirt to be found and, well you see.}

She loves my toothbrush and calls it a "boop-buh."

She just started drinking juice now and then. Her appetite has grown.. and so has she. I can't wait until her 15 month doctor's appointment to see how tall she is now.

Nighttime sleep has been patchy lately. I hope it is just a phase. Though she got two new molars recently (total is up to four) so that may be the culprit. I have been exhausted. And starting to feel like I am ready to give up all the night time nursing. Maybe.

Fifteen Months Old

June, this is your DA DA!

Oh, the joys of fatherhood;
I would love to count the ways.
I'd speak of fleeting months,
And endless, exhausting days.

I'd love to have your energy Kiddo,
you have irrepressible curiosity.
And your joy is nothing short of inspiring.
Makes me scared for severe ADD!

All your days are lived to the fullest,
Playing ball with the dog, sneaking Tings.
And your mom, she feels your pull.
As for me, hell, I'll try even try this poetry thing.


Nice face turkey.

I ultimately feel so proud.
Sorry the poem is so bad,
Blame your mom, not your dad.

Lessons in Falling

June has had two big spills recently. Split seconds after each of them, thunder running through my body, I've held her wailing body next to me. The first time I was the major consoler. The second time, Adam was right there, being such a good dad that it does my heart good to think on it. Both times I've trembled for awhile afterward. Both times I've been thoroughly frightened.

Last night, June and I were taking a bath together. The kitty entered the bathroom, and meowed. June saw the kitty and reached to the side of the tub, her fingers slipped, and wham! her mouth hit the side of the tub full force. She was bleeding from the impact of her teeth on the inside of her upper lip. Adam told me afterward that the mouth heals faster than any other part of the human body. This was some consolation, as I watched and wondered if she would get a fat lip, if she would be able to nurse. She was fine shortly thereafter, though it took me sometime longer.

The other fall was weekend before last. She was playing with this little metal arch that is a bike rack. The problem was that she had been playing with a different one wherein she could reach the top of the arch. Not realizing the difference, she reached up for the top, jumped a little, missed, and fell, hitting the back of her head on concrete.

I know that learning to walk is a time of many falls, but I just want to say: enough already!

And I think any karmic lessons I needed to learn have been imparted. I now know that even within arm's reach, I cannot protect June from all forms of danger. This is alarming to the mom in me, but a realistic thing in truth. We all have to know that we can't protect our kids from everything. So please world, let up a little with the falls. This mommy can't take it anymore.

Busted

Here is a picture of our sweetheart, early this morning. We went out to breakfast with some friends. June apparently was hungry for chips, and wasn't interested in waiting 'til we got to the restaurant.

Our pantry is just a set of shelves and the Junie snacks are all near the bottom, just above her toys. It is not like she isn't allowed to help herself, it is just that she has never tried before. Until today. I love the look on her face.

Photo theme :: reflections

I have had a thing lately for taking pictures of reflections. You may have noticed the one in this Bisbee post. Here are some reflection photos taken at the zoo, and a few from our Bisbee getaway. Adam took this one of June and I, reflected in the glass of the polar bear's pool.




As for Junie news, she is doing very well. She had fun visiting with her grandparents again over the weekend. She has a bit of a runny nose, and two molars have been working their way in slowly.

She knows there is power in the words she says and communicates more and more. Lately she uses "all done" a lot, for example tonight, she pointed at the book Adam was reading to her, said, "baby!" then immediately slammed the book and said, "all done." She also does the sign for all done, and sometimes the sign for more. Right now she is learning to throw a tennis ball for the dog in the backyard. Visiting the dog is her favorite thing and recently worked as a solution to one of her infrequent meltdowns. That's all for now folks...

Full of Beans

More kissing

Recently I posted about June's first kiss. I'm kind of embarrassed about it because of the perceived passion in the photographs. Really, she is just a sweet little angel (not a tramp), and she is learning to kiss with her mouth closed... I promise!

I hope she forgives me for this someday and understands that everything she does I am immensely proud of. In fact I do a little internal *I'm-so-proud* mommy dance about almost everything.

So, now, to the point of this post. More kissing. Here is a little bit of love extended to her baby doll.

First, the swoop:

And then the kiss:

Do you see how sweet it is? How she is turning into a little girl with an imagination and desire to play with dolls? Can you see her Mommy dancing ecstatically behind the camera?

Little Junie Things ::

When June eats, she likes to stuff piece after piece of whatever she is eating (blueberries, cheese, tofu, crackers, puffs, banana, whatever) into her mouth so that it is totally stuffed and she has little chipmunk cheeks and a puckered mouth. Then she works at it for as long as it takes. Which sometimes is maybe half an hour and I'll realize she still has something in her mouth. It sprays out a little at the sides, especially if she tries to take a drink of water or based on the chewing of it the contents of her mouth just seem to grow and expand. Lots of fun. (It turns out I have posted about this before.)

One of her favorite games is this: make sure your mom is sitting cross-legged on the floor. Walk or crawl over to her. Stand up, holding on to her for support. Make your way around her back so that you are both facing the same direction, and she can't see you. Listen while your mom calls out for you, wondering where you are. "Junie? June? Where are you? Where is June?" Then, appear to one side of mom, giggling maniacly. Do it again.

Game #2. This one is fairly recent. Here is what you do: climb up onto the couch. Groan and cry a little bit if you need a boost. If Mommy is not on the couch yet, pat the spot beside you while looking at her and smiling, in invitation for her to sit down. Once she sits down, shove and push at her back until she gets off the couch. Giggle. Crawl over to the spot mom was sitting in, giggle more. Pat the couch again for mommy to sit back beside you. Repeat. :)

We have been having so much fun with June lately. First off, over the last week her walking has taken off. It seems to me that she is finally confident enough that she knows she doesn't need to hold onto our fingers. But, she is the boss you know, and she still prefers to pull us around with her. Especially to open doors or things like that. (The dog obsession continues.)

That's all for now.

First Kiss

Our little girl found a boy to give kisses to this weekend. She was definitely the initiator, if you can't tell by the picture! I love how her little hoodie is coming off at the shoulder. It reminds me of this (but the toddler version of course. The movie is great, in a cheesy formulaic dance movie kind of way.)

The lucky boy is Marshall, Melissa's (of An Unexpectant Mother) son. He is a sweetheart and man I wish all of my family could have been there to witness the kiss-fest. Thank you Melissa for the photos! The pictures are from my visit to Melissa's house this past Sunday.

As for the Bisbee photos, I will have to just say they'll be up on Flickr soon if anyone cares. I'm movin' on.

This morning as a good little wifey I got up early and made these popovers for breakfast. I couldn't sleep really. So, they turned out delicious and I highly recommend them. Even if you have to use biscuit mix instead of flour and soy milk instead of milk. They aren't so fluffy, but man... these are great! {I found the recipe through this blog.}

I hope everyone is having a great week!

June :: Up Close & Personal

Up Close with Junebug from Amy on Vimeo.

A little bit more

This is my favorite recent photo. It was taken by Adam.

It seems like she is about to peek through her legs and look back at the camera, but really she is prepping to stand. Our sweet little walker.

Steps!

I think the title says it all, but I had to just jot a note down that June took her first steps today. She took some at day care, and then took a whole bunch this evening with us. Only a few at a time, but WOW it is cool.

Twelve Days of June :: 4 Months

From Daddy:
"Four months to the day. We've had some major breakthroughs. April 10th you giggled at me early in the morning. Now in the evening of the 12th, you stuck your foot in your own mouth."

From Mom:
"Baby June, sometimes I still have to put my finger under your nose to make sure you're still breathing you sleep so soundly. I love you so much."

June & the Raccoon

For awhile now I've had this idea of making a book of illustrations. Essentially, I will draw June at various ages with various things that rhyme with June. Here is a first start. I based it off of a photo of June when she was just a week old, though obviously without much detail. When I scanned my drawing onto the computer it lost a lot of detail, so I tried to fix it a bit in Photoshop and then colored it in shades of gray. What do you think?

Here are some potential others: sand dune; baboon; balloon; tune; moon; Saskatoon; maroon; loon; cartoon; goon; noon; rune. Feel free to add to the list.

Terrible Wig

We must be bad parents to torture our child so. This whole picture thing took less than 5 seconds. It was a team effort. Sorry June, we thought it would be fun.

Happy Pre-Halloween!

The Completed Kitchen

These pictures show how the paint alternately looks yellow and green. Adam says it looks like the color of glow in the dark paint. I wish he hadn't ever said that, because now it is all I see too.

June is sick again. It is rough, and all she wants to do is snuggle, sleep, and nurse. While the snuggling is nice, I miss her bright playfulness and I can't wait until she is better. She definitely is suffering from thrush from her round of antibiotics after the ear infection. I don't think the fever from last night [102] is related. It makes me think that the ear infection came back. Any other moms out there fearful about antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

I have such a love-hate relationship with antibiotics because of the cyclic battle with Candida [thrush]. I have suffered enough from it in my own way, and now I just hate that it is troubling my baby girl.