I tried a couple of ways to make it work, and obviously wasn't successful. And then I just lived life. But I'm missing it; writing, sharing, reflecting on our family and activities and putting those reflections on here. We'll probably just start a new blog on a different, FREE server.
For now, though....a bit of a recap.
December
Uncle G2 from Nome, friend Matt and Grandpa Cliff from WI came to Sitka for deer hunting. They had a good time, discussed "bi-SONE," and Matt shot a giant of a deer. Grandpa loved time with his grand daughter. As they departed, we.......went to Maui for a week and celebrated Miss A's first birthday there! It was paradise perfect. She learned to pull herself to standing on the condo's furniture and began "scooting." To date, A has never traditionally crawled. Her movement more resembled Gollum from Lord of the Rings: scooting with one leg while dragging the other. She was a champ for travel. She went on at least 7 plane trips in her first year.
Miss A began pointing, not always dead on to what she intends, but we understood.
Just after Christmas, about ten days after turning one, she took her first major, independent steps.
January
We shook during a 7.7 earthquake. Subsequent tsunami warning. Thankfully we were safe and sound, and live on high ground. Kinda exciting.Around 13 mons. old, A was walking and has never looked back. She runs, side steps, goes backwards, stands up without needing to leverage something, and climbs stairs. A used to "walk" up stairs with hand holding. She wasn't interesting in crawling up. Then, one day, with no practice, she just crawled to our upstairs (supervised, beyond the gate of course). She hasn't mastered crawling down and still wants to be hand held while walking down.
Her first set of 4 molars are through. They surprise me when I spy huge corn-shaped blobs of white in the back of her mouth.
Miss A can't stop eating blueberries. She inhales them. She is officially off baby food and mostly eats with her Mom and Dad. This presents meal-planning challenges for Mom and Dad, who sometimes just eat crap food.
I went to Anchorage for a week of work, and then Andy went to train in Georgia for two weeks. He's certified to teach "Use of Force." Hmmmm...not your usual subject matter? While he's gone I have the courage to trim A's hair for the first time! Dad brings home A her own little Toy Story camping chair she enjoys sitting in or moving around the living room.
February
Miss A loves to take things out and put them back, over and over. She is single-handedly a wrecking ball. Grandma Judy comes to visit and play, play, play. Whales start showing up in Sitka Sound! I went back to Anchorage for a busy three days to help host a big meeting on Valentine's, for the "Alaska Native Youth Success" project I'm a coordinator on.A shows signs of wanting to start climbing up the couch and chairs. This urge continues and soon I expect she'll make it, so we'll have another level of safety and watching to incorporate.
A is CRAZY for dogs!!! She adores watching the neighborhood dogs run around and do their thing, or even just sit outside their door waiting to go inside. Her body shakes, her pointing finger flails, and many sounds erupt from her mouth. She can't contain her excitement to track their movements. When they lick her and get close outside, she freezes up but loves it.
A stops eating vegetables. All vegetables. Put a pea in her mouth, she may chew on it, but will certainly spit it out. Can't get a vegetable down the hatch for ANYTHING. She will eat fruit all day and all night long though.
Just before turning 14 months, A finishes nursing and switches to whole milk in a cup. Bottles are packed away.
She starts sticking out her bottom lip, and recognizes much more.
A masters understanding and saying "buh-bye." She waves and repeats it long after the person left. She also says "buh-bye" to cars she sees driving away or along our street. She is pretty much down to one nap/day. She has chewed up her crib like a beaver.
For one week she gives kisses, when asked, and on her own. She hasn't done this since that week.
I start planning a trip with my college friends and roommates. We're going to Portland over Memorial Day weekend!
The new Academy class starts for Andy so his OT and schedule pick up.
Near month's end I'm asked to join the spring community theatre play for a role in the first one-act (of six). Rehearsals begin after work, performances in late March.
March
Andy's turn to go to Anchorage for a couple of days. Gotta love seeing friends like G&J, and doing some warehouse shopping to stock up on TP and K-cups, and now canned cups of fruit for A.Miss A begins walking on the island trails with Mom and Dad, for a little bit anyway. She's tempted to go off-roading towards the huge trees. Only minor trips and falls on the gravel trails.
An awesome string of sunny weather brings promise of warmth and spring. During this lovely weather spell, Amy and A get sick. Booo!
Miss A "talks" all the time. She loves to make noise and she still loves loud noises. She brings out her jacket to indicate she wants to go outside or leave. In the mornings, before going to day care, she brings to me our jackets. She's a great helper with putting on her clothes and knowing what articles go on which body parts. She starts to hate getting her hair brushed.
Did I mention that she feeds herself nearly exclusively? Even yogurt in the morning, she needs her own spoon to play with and begin to get the feel for using a utensil. It gets messy. She has been known to plunge her fist into the yogurt cup she also insists on holding. During most meals she takes her dirty hands and runs them through her hair. Lovely.
A likes to stand and walk on beds, the couch and in the bathtub. Yikes! Whenever she takes a book to open and look through (95% of the time, I'm sure), it's upside down. She reads and looks upside down. Confused or genius?
And...just last night we tried asking her to get "Bucky" (the badger of UW-Madison). She went to the fridge and pulled down his magnet, showed him to me, and then put back on the fridge. What a proud Daddy!
Today, there's fresh snow and some sun coming through. Maybe we'll cruise aboard the Cajun Queen a bit to spy the feeding Whales!
*Amy
