Reunited And It Feels So Good!

We had our first ever family reunion! My awesome cousin Stacy initiated, delegated and pulled off our first family reunion. It took place in Half Moon Bay and it was a fun and beautiful day. It was so great to get together with all of our relatives on Nana's side.

Nana & Papa

Auntie Cussy & Cousin Trina

D & Little Lady

Cousins & Spouces

Our Family

Nana's Siblings

Siblings & Spouces

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins & Kids

Extended Family

With Cousin Stacy & Little Kaia

Exersauser=Babysitter!

Auntie Cussy & Uncle Andy



D & Little Lady



Little Lady in her fluffy hairdo

Delighted to be Reunited,

D

Crazy Eighth

July was an extremely packed month. With a vacation, summer semester midterms and finals, a couple of weekends of housesitting, the second half of the World Cup, and a sprinkling of weddings, I didn't have too much time to take pics of the Lady. This is the best I could do:

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Waiting to Wind-down,

D

Ode To June

To be completely honest, I'm writing this post in December, so I'm foggy (to say the very least) on the details of what transpired about six months ago. I'll do my best.

Little Lady went in for her first "illness". She had a scratchy and soar through that was inflamed, but tested negative for strep. Phew! She weighed in at 15 lbs. 5 oz. and after a few days and some chilled bottles, she was back to her normal, vocal self.

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In the middle of the month, Auntie Cussy and Uncle Andy moved back to the Bay Area for the first time in nearly seven years! Hooray! I was so fun to have them around and to have another pair of babysitters. Ha ha. We also kicked off the FIFA World Cup which pretty much distracted me for the remainder of the month. Perhaps it is a good thing that it is only every four years after all...

Over the Sickness, but Never Over Soccer,

D

SacramenTrip

As fun as our Fourth of July was, it was only a small portion of our trip in Sacramento. We also ventured out to Lake Natomas for a day of fun in the sun and water. Little Lady was not too pleased with the water temperature, even though it was, in actuality, ideal. This was her first time in her new bathing suit which barely fit her and will probably never get to wear again... Oh well, still worth every penny!

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It was instantly clear that the Lady did not inherit my fear of open water in the boat. We enjoyed a little kayaking and others enjoyed tubing. It was perrrrrfect weather, not too hot or windy at all. We wrapped up the trip with a meal to send us off with full stomachs. Little Lady particularly enjoyed her first taste of watermelon in the "gnawing net" that my aunt got for her!

Staycation Satisfied,

D

First Fourth

I did it. I took a vacation.

Mid-semester I packed for what seemed like a four-month trip for eight and ventured off to Sacramento. It was well worth it. It was a beautiful change of scenery and we enjoyed great company with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Auntie Cussy and Uncle Andy came up too.

The trip was packed with outings, sunshine, and delicious food (as always when we go to Aunt Shirlee's house!). Our Fourth of July eve was spent in El Dorado Hills where they had a gorgeous fireworks show that was right above our heads! It was a little loud for the Lady, but Auntie Cussy provided her hands as earmuffs for the show.

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Our actual Fourth of July started out going to church and then visiting our Uncle Byron's family for swimming and a barbeque. It was Little Lady's first time in a pool! I bought her first swimsuit and swim diapers to prepare for the adventure. (Those picture will come in a later segment about the remainder of the trip.) Afterward, we headed back to watch the neighborhood fireworks. We all gathered in a cul-de-sac and watched as they fired-off over $700-worth of fireworks!! It took about 45 minutes to get through them all (after taking about 45 minutes to unwrap them all). Little Lady loved to watch, but they were pretty loud considering how close we were and the echo in our little nook.

There was much more than we did after the Fourth of July, but I will post that in the next few days. It was so fun to get away for a little while, even if I had to do homework every night. Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Sacramento!

Loved the Get-Away from the Bay,

D

A Very Happy Half-Birthday, To You! To You!

We made it a whole SIX MONTHS! I can't believe that half of a year has already passed us by! (I also can't believe I am not another month late on this update.) 

Little Lady allowed me to celebrate my first Mother's Day by sleeping-in that Sunday so I was able to sleep a little longer and also take a shower (in the morning!) and get ready with out being frazzled about getting her ready and entertained at the same time. You can't put a price on that! 

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At our visit today with Dr. W, The Lady weighed in at 15 lbs. and 7 oz. and measured 25.5" long. She is starting to prop herself up, wanting to sit on her own. She is not quite there yet, but well on her way! Spitting has begun and Nana just keeps encouraging her, darn it. She has started reaching for her bottles and guiding them into her own mouth when she is hungry. It is so precious. I can't believe how much she has learned in her first six months of life. It's amazing!

Not Late For This Important Date,

D

Chubby Chomper

We've got TEETH! I can't believe it! I guess this means I really don't have an infant anymore and we have graduated to baby. Little Lady is growing so fast I feel like she is leaving me in her dirty diaper dust!

One morning I was rubbing her gums and my finger found something sharp. I panicked for a moment thinking she had something plastic in her mouth and was going to hurt herself, but no it was a sharp little snaggle tooth. I was really surprised, because she hadn't been fussy or overly drooly. The next one is coming in and I'm unsure whether she is a little achey from that or a stomach bug that she seems to have come down with.

Earlier this month I started her on solids. I think she just likes to gnaw on the spoon, but she's getting a little cereal down in the process. I recorded her first time eating, but please forgive the quality as I am both feeding and recording at the same time. I really do wish that third arm would grow sometime soon!

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It is so fun to watch Lady's personality develop. As she gets older she only get happier and more playful. Along with her babble, she has also started to play. One day she decided to play Peek-A-Boo with me! I caught a little of it on my phone.

We are having so much fun together and now that our California summer weather has finally decided to grace us with her presence, there is only more fun to be had!

Celebrating Spoonfuls of Summer,

D

Behind the Times

Yet again, I am almost a month behind on Little Lady's updates. I was doing so well too! Things have been pretty hectic over the last few weeks. I have been wrapping up my last semester of my AA degree in transfer studies, preparing for my next semester (which starts in two weeks) in upper division work, housesitting for a week, and changing wards. But without further ado, here is The Lady's last month.

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At her last visit with Dr. W, she weighed in at 12 pounds and 15 oz and was 24.5 inches long. And here I thought she was a chunker all this time! Nope. A lot of changes have taken place this last month. She has rolled over more and started to say "die" and "guy" and "tata". She has finally changed her mind about baths and LOVES them. She is holding herself up with her arms every once in a while when on her tummy. And she has staring contests with Dexter Dog.

She also outgrew her swaddling blankets which made me really nervous because that was originally the key to getting her to sleep through the night! After one rough night, she was down and out for the count at 8:30 and not a peep until eight the next morning. Whew! That was a close one.

She is such a fun kid. She goes wherever I go and never complains. What a trooper! I truly enjoy being her mom and can't find a real complaint, myself. (Not to say I don't complain, let's be honest...) I really can't believe how quickly time goes by!

Relieved the Sleeping Fairy isn't Swaddle-Exclusive,

D

5K Day

Last weekend Nana, Lady and I headed out with about 150 women from our church and the community to participate in our annual 5K. We had done it once before a couple of years ago and both years, the weather was perfect! It was high 70s with a great breeze!

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Lady slept for the first 2 miles and then woke up just in time to cheer us on to the finish line. It was a great way to start off our morning and our weekend! Little more than three miles and exactly three generations!

Soaking Up Sun and Having Some Fun,

D

A Swing and a Laugh

Last week I met up with Nana and a couple of the kids she nannies and played at the park. It was a gorgeous summer day, but we found some shade for the kids to play in. Little Lady had her first swing ride! She was more fascinated by her new surroundings than the swing itself, but she did enjoy it... for a little while.

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As serious as she looks here, Lady is really actually a pretty giddy baby. She loves to talk and laugh (and drool)! Recently I caught her on video laughing up a storm. Don't mind the shaky footage, I was laughing pretty hard myself.

Swingin' in the Sunshine,

D