Yes, she's walking. Last night Dan and I noticed that she has finally gotten used to walking. It's her first choice for travelling from Point A to Point B, and she is able to do it quickly and accurately. Of course there's the occasional toe-tripping or wall-crashing, but in general, she's walking.
(I usually say it with a hard 'G', like in Forrest Gump: "I was runninG.")
Fun things we did this summer:
* Play at the beach with a Mama and Baby friend, Grammy, Aunt Noelle,Cousins Ben and Lolly
* Visit the Children's Museum in Portland
* Celebrate the wedding of my namesake
* Lots and lots of sunny day walks
* Play at the playground
* "Draw" with sidewalk chalk on our walkway at home, which often involves dumping the chalk from its bucket, walking around with the bucket, picking up the chalk and putting it in the bucket, putting chalk in one's mouth, then walking around with the bucket some more. On especially adventerous days, Vi will climb the front steps while carrying the bucket.
A few of Vi's sitters have mentioned that Vi LOVES the playground in our neighborhood. I wasn't sure why, since it's not really a toddler-style playground. I decided to explore it with Vi one day recently. We strollered down there, and, with new-walker shoes on, I released her to see where she would go. (I learned this trick from Dan. Anyone remember the mouse story?) I followed her as she waddled up to the large structure, and began to climb the steps. She walked right up to the top of a slide and looked at me, like "Okay, sit down, we're going to slide now." It's amazing to me that I can follow her lead now...she's becoming so brave and independent.
She is officially 1 now. She is about 30 inches tall, just over 20 pounds, and totally normal in regards to the height/weight/head size percentiles. She's still not sleeping consistently well through the night, so I think we're ready to visit the homeopath for some help. She has 8 teeth and likes to use them. Her hair is getting golden and curly and long. She gives kisses, hugs, and snuggles to anyone she deems worthy - usually Mitten and Riley. (Yes, Mitten. If we had known that Mitten would be nice with a baby, we would have gotten her one years ago just to make her a nicer cat. See the picture link below for proof.)
What's new with us, the parents? Dan's still super-busy, working close to 60 hours a week. He's started riding his bike to work again, now that it's NOT RAINING. His store was given a "refresh," which means a reassortment of inventory, some clean-up and some moving around of kiosks and departments. Being such a RAINY summer, and gas prices being so awful, most boaters haven't been boating, so his sales are still quite off.
I'm still busy, working less than 30 hours a week due to the child-care issue still and again. A friend has been kind enough to come stay with Vi for a few hours on one of my at-home days, which has been so helpful. Another friend's nanny had the other day open, and she transitioned into the position like she'd been here forever. We're hoping she will stick with us until the end of the year.
The other news with me is that I'm once again struggling with a lot of pain, stress, anxiety and what feels like depression. My new, wonderful doctor (go D.O!) ordered up some bloodwork to see if there was some underlying cause of it all, and lo! and behold! my Vitamin D is extremely low. At the peak of Vitamin D season. (Vit. D is the one we absorb from the sun. So, it should be at its peak levels during the summer's peak season.) He has me on some supplements, and has ordered me to eat my lunch in the sun. Shucks, it sounds awful. I'm getting up at 5 am most days now to go for a vigorous walk, and I'm starting up accupuncture again to help my system get out of this rut. It's terrible to feel so terrible all the time. It's even worse when there's someone so adorable in need of love and fun and attention, and I have those moments when I am just empty. I'm already feeling better, and understanding my situation more every day.
The biggest news for Vi is that we've decided she's ready for day care. We'll have her in a very cool facility three days a week, 8 -2 or so. Eventually the day will stretch out as she gets used to it (read: refuses to come home with boring old Mama). We've been visiting different child care centers to find the right one for us. One of them had an awesome indoor playground for rainy or cold days, which Vi loved. Unfortunately, this one very excitedly described their menu as "included in the price," then went on to list the meals which are served EVERY SINGLE WEEK: Chicken Fingers, Fish Sticks, Macaroni & Cheese, Pizza, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. While my mind was screaming, "Do they really serve fried and/or processed food every day of the week?" my mouth was saying "So, do you try to serve natural or organic food?" The center's director replied, "No, we just get whatever comes on the truck. But you're more than welcome to bring her own food." Grrreeeeeeat. Vi can be the geek with the garden burger, or the poor baby with crunchy parents who don't let her eat chicken fingers. Or, as my good friend A put it, the "dork with the cucumber." It was one of those signals to me that this place wouldn't be a good match for our family.
The place we really like has a FROG POND! They don't provide the food, just some snacks and milk. They have a toddler transitional room, which is where Vi will be. It's not quite the infant room, where babies sleep , eat, poop and play a little on a rotating two-hour schedule. It's not quite the toddler room, where the kids run and color and take one long nap together. It's in-between, for those kids, like Vi, who are still in-between. The facility is clean, they have neat programs, they are nationally acredited, all the teachers have college degrees in education or otherwise applicable subjects...I liked it the second we pulled up to the door.
This place, however, has a waiting list. (Apparently that's a sign that it's a great place, or so I've heard or read.) A waiting list until January. This is why I am so excited that the new nanny may be able to stick it out with us for her fall semester. Plus, I think Grammy is getting ready to cut back to one day a week,
Here are some current pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/linzwalsh/SummerSoFar
I hope you're all enjoying YOUR summer!
Lindsay
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