Week 62

Dear Jorie,

This week was another doozy! You're getting your fifth tooth (already!), we made another trip to the zoo, got to spend time with your new international best friend Rose, went swimming, and had dinner over at your Aunt Becky and Uncle Michaels!

Honestly, it's all a big happy crazy blur in my head. Friday we went out to Colie's again for food, and then after we ate, walked around the neighborhood for a while, just walking and looking at all the big houses.  At Colie's we picked a little better, and got you a grilled cheese sandwich. You ate about half of it, and sucked down a bunch of our smoothie.

Saturday was a little low key, we went out to the consignment shop and grabbed some new clothes for you, and some sandals for you to wear in the water when we get up to Maine. Unfortunately, it seems that somehow you've already outgrown at least one of the pairs of pants we got for you. Luckily we bought four pairs of pants. We also got a some long sleeve shirts, a couple jackets and two sets of footie pajamas for the cold nights up in Maine. After that we went over to my parents for dinner, although you fell asleep really early. Before you fell asleep though, Nannie had Grandpa bring out the old Rocking Duck that I had when I was little. You got a huge kick out of it! They had even found the teddy bears my grandmother (your great grandmother) knit for me and your uncle. You carried one of them around for a while, and even had it in the rocking duck with you!

Sunday we were up early to head to the zoo with Nannie and Grandpa O, and Brooks and Rose! It was so much fun having the two of you there! You got a huge kick out of the Baboons, as usual. Also the Lions were right up against the glass at the viewing area, and you were really interested in them. The zoo wasn't too crowded so we were able to wander around and let you and Rose get nice long looks at all the animals. You had a lot of fun being carried around on your Fathers shoulders for a while too. When we stopped to get lunch at the zoo, you were very thirsty! Your father got himself a small lemon aid, and we offered you some of it. When I took it away from you after a few minutes, there was nothing left! You drank all of it! After the zoo we went back to Nannie and Grandpa O's and went swimming to cool off from the hot day at the zoo. You were really enamored with Rose, I think you've made a new best friend!

Yesterday we went over to your Aunt Becky and Uncle Michael's for dinner. You and Wesley got to sit at the counter in your portable high chairs together and eat while your Uncle Michael grilled up burgers for the rest of us. At one point you wandered into Wesley's room and saw his bouncy chair. You insisted on trying to get in it, and were getting very frustrated, so I helped you climb in. You sat there in it for about five minutes playing with the toys and giggling. You looked so big in it! I couldn't believe you were happy just sitting there playing with the toys for that long! You started getting cranky early and since it was a new place, had a hard time going to sleep.

You've been kinda cranky lately, which could either be the new tooth coming in, the fact that your schedule was all messed up this weekend, or the fact that you're just a little bit sick.

You need to hurry up and get better baby girl, because this friday we pack up the car and head up to Maine with my parents, your dad's grandmother (your great-grandmother), your Aunt and Uncle, and one of your Dad's cousins. We're going to do the drive over two days, so we'll be doing two (almost) six hour drives in a row. We'll be up in Maine, on an island off the coast called Vinalhaven for about a week. We're planning on heading down to NYC after that, and stopping in to see some of our friends for a day before we head back home. It's going to be an adventure, and hopefully a good one! Both me and your Father are really looking forward to the vacation, and getting to spend so much time with you.

I love you so much baby girl!

Week 61 - 14 months

Dear Jorie,

Somehow another week has flown by and with it the 14th month anniversary of your birth. You were born on the 11th of June in 2012. Your father and I were married on the 13th of August in 2011. So yesterday was our 2 year anniversary.

Your father and I went out for dinner together for our anniversary, and left you with his parents. We sat and ate a grown up meal, dressed like grown ups, and talked mostly about how much you have changed us. About how as soon as you entered our lives, our center of gravity shifted. About how even going out to dinner without you felt strange. We were talking about our plans to visit NYC, and how I hope that in the future we can make more trips down there so you can grow up knowing the city and all of our friends that live in it. We talked about some of the late late nights we had going to Karaoke bars and eating in restaurants where we didn't speak the language. I said we would have to make a trip without you some day and go out like that again, someday...your father said, maybe when you're older...he couldn't think about being away from you for more than a day.

Your father and I have only been Married 2 years, but we have been together for a little over 9 years now. We have history, and so many stories, but honestly, everything changed as soon as you were born. You bring so much to our lives that our wedding anniversary pales beside every little anniversary with you. To me, your 14th month anniversary was more momentous. You have been here for 14 months. Our lives have been this new adventure for that long. And in that time you have become this amazing little person.

There were no grand adventures this week. No zoo, no festivals, no new friends. But there were a million smaller adventures. Saturday morning play time with you and your father on the rug and a long walk through Highland Park with the doggie.

Last Wednesday night, while you were home with your father, you decided to lift up the grate over the cold air return. As soon as you figured out you could do it, and before your father could stop you, you proceeded to drop your bottle of milk down the return! Your father moved a chair over to block the grate, so you immediately went over to the heat grate on the other side of the room to see if you could do the same thing over there. Luckily your father was able to block you out from that one with the high chair, and was able to reach in and get your bottle out of the duct easily. Now we need to figure out a way to secure those grates!

Friday we went to Colie's for dinner and we got you your very own meal. We picked poorly, choosing a tasty sounding peanut butter banana and honey sandwich. Which turned out to be a wrap, which is very hard to feed to a toddler. You did love it though, enjoying every finger scooped morsel and constantly signing for more food more food. You loved it even more the next day when I deconstructed the wrap and blended it all together so I could spoon feed it to you. I'm definitely going to be making some of that to fill the reusable pouches we got!

Your fourth tooth started coming in right after your third one showed up, and it's now perfectly visable. You have all four front incisors! This should make it easier for you to eat all those foods we have to cut into little bits for you.

You have made your love of blueberries clear to us now, I think they might be your favorite food, edging out bananas and tofu. One of these days I should put all three of those out and see which one you choose.

We took your picture against the board at my parents house on Saturday, like we've been trying to do every month since you were born. There are so many lines on the board now, marking your growth. Some times, especially when you are asleep stretched out in your crib, I just stare and wonder how you got so big so fast. You're outgrowing all your clothes almost faster than I can buy new ones. We're going to have to replace all your cold weather clothes soon, since none of your jackets will fit much longer, and you only have a few pairs of pants that still fit.

Along with your new height, you've been getting really good at all the walking and climbing. One of your new tricks is dancing. You'll turn on the music on one of your toys and you'll bop back and forth waving your head from side to side. It's so cute. It makes me smile every time you do it. Between that and going up behind anyone standing up and starting to push their legs around so they walk and you follow, you're quite the mover and shaker.

I love you so much baby girl.

Week 60

Dear Jorie,

You have been on this planet as your very own person for 60 whole weeks. I don't know why that number seems momentous to me, but it does. It seems like such a big number, with so much time hidden in it. 60 weeks old. In a few days you will be 14 months old. Two whole months past your first birthday. It feels crazy to say that.

I think at some point I'm going to have to stop labeling these by week and just start thinking up creative titles for them. But I kind of like being able to look at a letter to you and see where it falls in your life and in mine.

This week you started cutting a third tooth. It's the front top left incisor. So now you have both bottom incisors and the first top one coming in. I can really still only see your top tooth when you throw your head back to laugh, which by the way is awesome in itself.

You've also started using the word "Ball" this week. I was told you said it a few times at day care on Monday, and then when I was putting you in the car you pointed at the ball my parents bought you (which was in the foot well behind your car seat) and said, very distinctly "Ball!"

Friday we took you to Dog Town for dinner, since neither me nor your father really felt like cooking. We ordered you your very own hot dog, which I think is the first time we've ordered you your very own "meal". You loved it, and ate all of the hot dog, most of the bun, and a bunch of the side order of fries we all split. You were much more interested in all the people coming in and out of the shop though. I can't blame you. Monroe Ave is full of lots of interesting people! You spent more time watching everyone around you than eating your hot dog. You even spent some time making friends with the girls behind the counter.



This past weekend was CRAZY busy! We packed a lot into two days. On saturday we went to the Zoo with Jamiee, Bill and Zetta. You and Zetta had a lot of fun playing in the gravel pit, flinging rocks and burying yourself in the gravel (and getting really really dirty) until you both - simultaneously - decided it would be fun to eat the gravel. On the slides, until the bigger kids made it hard for you to play on the playground, and looking at the monkeys and lions. We were there for around four hours, and we tried to see as much as possible. We have a membership, and so do they, so I'm sure we'll be back soon.

After the zoo it was time to head to Nannie and Grandpa O's! The Girshes' were there too, and Brooks and Rose are in town from England! Your father and I took you swimming again, and Brooks and Rose joined us. After swimming was an amazing dinner, there was so much food!

Sunday, Your father and I took you to the Park Ave. Fest. We walked around a bit and looked in on some of the booths, but you started getting cranky really fast. We thought you might just be hungry, so we stopped at one of the little parks and got crab cakes. The Greyhound rescue group was set up there with an exercise pen with a bunch of greyhounds in it. I took you over and donated some money so you could pet the puppies. You did your shy routine with another little girl that was there with her parents. You were all smiles and waves until she got too close, then you clung to your Fathers leg and hid your face.

Your mood didn't improve after food, in fact when we tried to put you back in the stroller you fussed so much we decided it was time to go. Your father put you up on his shoulders for the first time as we were leaving to distract you. The first thing you did was grab his glasses! Then you got a nice tight grip on his hair until you felt safe. Then you alternately played with his hair and waved your arms around. It was incredibly cute.

Luckily for your father and me, your mood improved by the time we went grocery shopping, although you were playing your new favorite game of "grab all the things!"

So yeah! What an exciting weekend! So exciting I forgot to take enough pictures! Your father and I were very tired by the end of it though, and hopefully we'll be a little better about not trying to cram too much stuff into one weekend in the future. I think most of your cranking out on sunday was caused by over stimulation and possibly a bit of exhaustion.

I love you so much baby girl! Happy 60 week birthday (and 14 months later this week!)