11 months

Dear Linnea,
This is the last month before we celebrate one year of YOU!! I can't even believe it (I know, I know...I'm a broken record). This month has held some VERY big milestones, and reminds me more and more of all the things yet to come! As much as it feels as though we've had so much time with you, and you've grown and changed so much, there's so much we have yet to experience together. Daddy and I often find ourselves unable to imagine you as a 2...3...6...14 years old??! I can't quite wrap my brain around it, but I SO look forward to it. I'm trying to focus on that, rather than "mourn" the end of the "baby" stage. The year has flown by so quickly! It's, as always, been a great month. Here are some of the highlights...

You started walking...with assistance...
You inherited a walking toy from your 2nd cousins - Lucy, Claudia, and Alice. We worked and worked on getting you interested in it. We stood you up next to it and tried to help you push and walk. There were several weeks of you face planting (not knowing to move your feet while you push), kneeling and pushing, or just wanting to just play with the spinning toys on it.

Until one night at the end of June... I stood you up next to it, and you pushed - and walked! You did it with such confidence - like you'd always done it. That's how you always are, Linnea...you spend time quietly figuring things out...and then get after it with confidence. To say I'm proud of you is a huge understatement.

Since then you have gained more and more confidence. You walk very well with push toys - you have a couple at home and one at Magna's too. It's very cute - you are so proud of yourself.

In addition to walking well with the help of walking toys, you also are walking well holding on to a hand. You basically only "need" one finger to hold on to. I say "need" because I don't think you really need it...you just need to trust yourself that you are capable. Daddy and I are surprised that you aren't walking on your own yet. You were so early to move in all other ways, we just kind of figured walking would follow suit. But we know you will do everything in your own time. You always do.

You said your first (real) word...
You've been "talkative" for quite a while...experimenting with all different combinations of sounds...da da, ma ma, ba ba, yah yah... you love to talk! It's been clear that your talking so far has been just babble...lots of good practice with sounds, but you haven't understood what you are saying. Occasionally you seemed to be getting da da, but it hasn't been consistent by any means.


Just recently you started saying hi. We use the word with you a lot...saying hi and goodbye as people come and go, when we see friends, etc. You definitely could mimic us and say hi well...but did you know what it meant?

The answer came one morning just recently, right before you turned 11 months. I was getting you ready in the morning. You looked at me, waved, and said hi. You couldn't make it more clear! It's such a wonderful sound. Your voice is so sweet and sing-songy. I can't wait to hear more from you...I'm sure you'll have a lot to say. :-)


You went in a BIG pool for the first time...
You have had a couple experiences with kiddie pools, but up until this month you hadn't been in a "real" pool. Grammy and Grampy recently bought a new house, and as luck would have it, their new house has an in-ground pool! Excellent!

With the weather being as hot as its been, we decided it was time to test the pool out! So the three of us headed over to the new house. We were sure you would love it - you've always loved the bathtub, and you had loved your time in the kiddie pool.

It didn't go quite as planned. I think you were scared by some big splashes, overwhelmed by all the people there, and it was a big colder than you were used to. By the end of our time there, we were able to get you to enjoy it a bit, but there were lots of tears and fusses too. We are glad that we have the pool available to us, so you can get used to it more!

This month you also went to the beach for the first time! Grandma and Grandpa took you for a quick trip on a Friday. Word has it that you really loved it.

You've grown and changed a lot too...
It'll be really interesting to see how much you weigh and how long you are when we bring you in for your 12-month appointment. I really have no idea! I'm sure you're someplace in the low 20s weight-wise, and up over the 30" mark for height. We'll have to see next month!


You are still wearing 9 and 12 month clothes. I would say most of them at this point at 12 month or 9 month...just a few that are 6 month, and also a few that are 18 month. You are still wearing size 3 diapers. You have been in those for a LONG time, with no sign of switching soon.

You are love love LOVING finger food. Once you understood that you could feed yourself, you were all about it! Even though it took you a while to understand how to do finger food, once you got it there was no stopping you. We have reduced and almost completely cut out purees at home. You still, however, get purees at daycare because of the food program there. Peas are your clear favorite, with cheese and bread/toast close behind.We're having fun starting to give you things that we are eating. You are trying more and more foods and flavors.

Shortly after your turned 11 months we decided it was time to take out one bottle at daycare. You been drinking less and less milk in each bottle, and seemed genuinely less interested. So we decided with Magna to remove your before PM nap bottle. This went off without a hitch. We are so grateful for our flexible, easy going baby! Now you take three bottles at daycare - at breakfast, at lunch, and after your PM nap. You still are nursing well in the morning. You take a bottle before bed, although they aren't quite as big as they used to be.

You continue to be an awesome sleeper. YAY! We still hope that you start to stay up a LITTTTTLE later, but we remind ourselves to appreciate that you sleep so well. There will be days some day that we will beg you to be going to bed earlier, I'm sure!

You have become so playful. You are really interactive, and just plain fun! We love to play peek-a-boo. You love to be tickled. You are silly, friendly, and fun-loving. You continue to be very very busy - on the move every waking hour. What fun.

We are thankful for every moment with you!

Mama and Daddy

30 Before 30 - Month 1

Well, the first month of my year-long mission is already gone. I think I'm making good progress on the list, and I've had fun doing it!

I kicked off the year right by tacking item 21 - a spa day - in honor of my birthday! I took the day off of work (which is a personal rule for my birthday), and scheduled an hour long massage and hour long pedicure of myself...ahhhhh. I hadn't had a massage since our wedding (almost 5 years ago), and I think my last pedicure was 3 years. It was time that this mama took some time for herself!

To start the day off, I had lunch with my mom at one of my favorite restaurants - P.F. Chang's. The meal and company were both wonderful! It was fun to dine with my mom as she remembered the day 29 years ago! It's crazy to think that Linnea and I will do the same some day!

Just next door from the restaurant was the spa. First up was my massage. The masseuse talked to me about my desired focus areas - upper back and legs (especially since I had just run a half marathon!). She asked if I was interested in upgrading to a hot stone massage. Initially I said no. But we started the massage and I found that I was mad at myself. Wasn't the WHOLE POINT of this thing to learn how to let myself live a little??! So I gathered up my courage (you may laugh, but it really took courage for me) and interrupted the massage to ask if it was too late to upgrade. "Not at all!" the masseuse said, and immediately brought out the stones. It was wonderful! I'm glad I upgraded. I didn't really know what to expect - I thought that she would just put stones on various areas, and that would be it...but she actually uses them to do the massage! It felt great. The pedicure came after the massage. It was pretty good...although more soaking and less massage than I would have hoped for. It came time to choose the polish, which is something that I always struggle with - I'm so stinkin' indecisive! But this choice was easy...right away I saw gold polish. Although it wouldn't usually be something I would choose I thought it would be perfect for my golden birthday! :-) Item 21 was a success - check!

I thought that my list tackling would end there for the day, but I was wrong! Shortly after I got home, and Linnea and Jeromy got home, my in-laws unexpectedly came over - unexpectedly to me, at least! Jeromy had something up his sleeve. I thought we were just going to have a quiet dinner at home. But shortly after my in-laws arrived, Jeromy and I headed out for a surprise date. When we arrived I realized he had done good - we were at a hibachi restaurant! Item 3! Dinner was awesome. Our chef was great...he really played it up, and was very nice to me because he knew it was my birthday. It was very fun to watch him do all the tricks - twirling the silverware, making an onion volcano, and spinning an egg on a spatula...so fun! 2 items down on the first day! Woo hoo!

 On the way to dinner, Jeromy gave me my gift...water balloons. When I opened them he said, "Ohhhhh no...I got the wrong kind??!" I was so confused. He dug a piece of paper out of his pocket. When I opened it, there was a picture of a hot air balloon on it! Jeromy, who is very afraid of heights, is taking me on a hot air balloon ride (item 28)! We don't have it scheduled yet, but I'm so excited!!

Aside from my fun birthday day, there were a couple other items that were crossed off the list. First, I tackled the first movie from the movie list (item 26, movie 5) - Top Gun! It was pretty good. I'm planning on writing reviews for all of the movies I watch, so stay tuned!

Also in June, I made the first month's dinner on my own (item 4). I made Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Milanese. I always get nervous when I cook that I'll screw something up, which is why I don't cook very often, and consequently why it made the list. The chicken turned out really tasty! Chef Jeromy approved too...the only thing we would change is to season it a bit more, since it was a bit bland. I kept the rest of the meal easy and simple...mashed potatoes and apples. Success!

Finally, on a beautiful Friday near the end of the month I enjoyed item 2 - buying food from a good truck. Two of my work friends and I went to Hola Arepa, a yummy Mexican food truck that parks close to our building. They specialize in arepas, which is a Mexican sandwich type thing. After a bit of a wait, we had our food in hands. Again, I worked hard to let myself splurge. I paid extra to get chips and guacamole, and an Arnie Palmer with their specialty lemonade. It was delicious! With so many more food trucks downtown, I might need to try more!

Also near the end of the month, Jeromy and I bought a Groupon for our hot air balloon ride, and I registered for my mud run!

The most interesting part of this month is realizing that I don't need the list... at least I hope to not need it. Let me explain... I find myself thinking of things that I wish were on the list. I've told Jeromy, "Ahhh! I wish I would have put such and such on there." Jeromy wisely points out, "You can just do that. It doesn't have to be on the list." Of course it doesn't! Hopefully having this project will really help me realize this...and just do the things I want to do...without needing it on a list.

Stay tuned for more updates!