Pool Party!

14 months

Lincoln City outside Moes

Relaxing with Daddy

Playing with buddy, Parker

Cracking herself up (a very regular occurrence)

This month has been a month of very busy discovery (I'm blaming this as the reason I'm late again for the monthly post!)-new toys, new skills, new words, etc. Callie doesn't usually just say words by herself, (with the exception of balloon) but she is starting to try words when we say "say_______" or "can you say___________?). She has successfully said: tree, cat, hat, ball, boon (balloon), woof woof (dog), Poppy, & corn (a new favorite food)! One day, Callie found our church directory and started looking at all the pictures. She came to a woman wearing a hat and pointed and said "hat" in a surprised voice, like "hey, I know what that is!"

She's also gotten really good at her hand eye coordination and dexterity. She's getting the hang of the shape sorter toy, though we will continue working on that for a while! Her throwing skills are getting more practiced and improved. She loves books-wants to read them over and over again. She knows (and will point to) eyes, ears, mouth, nose, head, hair, toe, foot. She will also, point, wave, blow kisses, kick her foot or a ball, and put toys or objects back where they belong-when she feels like it! She has started giving real kisses when she's feeling very loving. They are seriously the sweetest thing!

She is now eating a lot more! Going through at least 3 things of baby food a day, 16 oz of milk and various snacks (cereal bars, graham crackers, fruit). She lets me know when she's hungry by running to the snack cupboard, squatting and saying "mm, mm" over and over and then pointing to the cupboard. Apples are a favorite snack. She loves to just hold the whole thing herself and take little bites (she sat on the counter with an apple for 15 minutes while Mommy cut vegetables for dinner). If I want her to actually swallow what she's eating I have to give her peeled, small pieces.

She still loves being outside, but walks have become more difficult as she wants to participate actively instead of just riding in her stroller. I always laughed when I saw a baby on a leash, but I finally realized the necessity of them (and the genius behind them) this month. She wants so badly to walk herself but won't hold hands, so it's really the only way to keep her safe. She now has a very cute puppy backpack "harness" (it sounds so much better than a leash :-)).

We've gone a couple days with only one nap. However, on these days she still sleeps for the same amount of time (1 1/2 hours) as one of her 2 normal naps, so we are all a little cranky by the end of the day. I've decided we will stick with the 2 naps as long as possible. I get more done and enjoy my more cheerful daughter the rest of the day. It does make it a little difficult to go anywhere, but that will come soon enough. At this point, I'd rather stay home with a happy baby than be gone with a cranky baby any day! She's still sleeping from 8-7:30 at night...though now with the help of makeshift blackout shades.

Flashback 7 years ago!

This weekend is the weekend Dave proposed to me 7 years ago! Here's a flashback engagement photo just for fun! AND in case you were wondering-it rained that weekend! (as it does every first weekend in June :-)) The following is our engagement story if you've never heard, or want to hear it again. (I tried to include all the good details, but it's really the best when Dave tells it!)

My easy-going boyfriend was a wreck, as the rain was just one of the problems that evening! We had a wonderful dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory on the waterfront in downtown Portland. After dinner we planned to walk along the waterfront, but because it was Rose Festival weekend, a lot of roads were blocked off and we couldn't figure out how to get down there! I could tell Dave was getting agitated and wondered why it mattered so much. I suggested we could take the walk another day, but for some reason, it seemed very important to him that it work that evening. After being detoured several times we ended up frustrated and back on I5 headed away from Portland. By that time, we both had to go to the bathroom and his truck was nearly out of gas! After stopping at Fred Meyer we decided to give it another go and eventually found a place to park near the waterfront! Just as we got out of the truck and pondered which way to walk, it started raining! Poor Dave :-). We huddled under the nearest bridge (I wasn't wearing a coat, as it WAS June! Little did I know, Dave was very worried I would think he was horribly rude for not sharing his, but he didn't want me to discover the ring in his pocket!) While we waited, an "interesting" man offered to paint our picture several times. Just as we were thinking it would be better to just get a little wet than tell him "no, thank you" one more time, the weather cleared and the sun came out!

After such a comical beginning the night was about to become as perfect as I could have pictured it. We strolled down to the Riverfront Hotel where they have a large circular patio that hangs out over the Willamette River. I remember thinking what a fun and funny night and then before I knew what was happening, Dave was down on one knee with a ring box telling me how much he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me! I really couldn't have been more surprised, but suddenly, all the events and his subsequent reactions throughout the evening began to make sense. I'm sure I had a ridiculous smile on my face as I excitedly answered YES! and looked, not quite believing this was happening, at the beautiful ring on my finger! Conveniently, there was a bench not far away where we sat and talked about a wedding and our future together for quite a while, just enjoying each other and the confidence you feel in knowing you belong together. Finally, we decided to get back home and announce to our families (who already knew what Dave planned) our big news! Dave stepped in front of me and pulled me up from the bench. I could see the river behind him as he leaned in to kiss me, and at that EXACT moment the Rose Festival fireworks went off over the river! The night that started off as a disaster ended as a fairytale! (of course, if you ask Dave about it, he will tell you that was all part of his plan and the detours/stress, potty breaks, painter guy, etc. were all necessary delays so the fireworks would be at the right time :-)). Anyway, 7 years later, I'm still so thankful for that evening. While our lives are not exactly a fairytale all the time, we are learning together to follow Christ and I couldn't ask for anything more!

On her way to being a great Mommy!

Callie tucking in her babies :-)