Friday, August 31, 2012

A little blurry-11month update

Life is seeming a little blurry right now. Ocoee is on the move and constantly exploring. I want to encourage her exploration and curiosity but keep her safe at the same time.

Ocoee is wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes. Some are 3t and we size up a lot due to her bulky cloth diapers. She hasn't been to the dr so I am not sure what her stats are but she feels ever in my arms.

She loves to eat finger foods and mostly eats what we are having. She still love yogurt and salmon the best but also is enjoying goat cheese these days.

She can climb up and down the deck stairs and is itching to walk. I you hold her arms she will race around walking with help. She pulls up all the time and can walk around with support from objects. She still sucks her thumb and sleeps like a champ.

She adores shopping. Watching the people and seeing all the new things. I hope she stays this much fun to go to stores with. Riding in the cart is an adventure and I am glad they make straps since she is wiggling as can be.

We did another swim lesson and she enjoys the water. She has been taking showers with us more, and she falls asleep in my arms in the shower often. it is so warm and comfy she just passes out!

Of all the dogs she is head over heels for Love- our old lab who wants nothing to do with her. But Ocoee doesn't seem to notice the disdain on Love's part. She laughs out loud if Love is around and sends most of her food into Love's mouth.

I often just find myself sitting watching her. Seeing her play makes you stop and remember it isn't the fancy things in life a baby needs. Just love, safety and some space to explore.

Enjoy labor day weekend!

Cheers
J

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Not Just a Princess-Book Reviews



One of the ideas that hubby and I have had from the very beginning is that we would not raise our daughter to be a "princess". When I thought about princesses they all seemed to be loved for their looks, they never had jobs or careers, and they sat around waiting for a man to rescue them....these were not ideals I wanted to teach my daughter.

I also felt that modern day princesses can often be high maintenance, shallow and again waiting for a man...ugh!

So we have had a strict no princess policy. No toys, movies or clothes. All of my mommy friends have said the same thing, "good luck with that!"

So when author Mary Lee contacted me with a copy of her book to review I jumped at the chance. The book is called, Not Just a Princess and is available on Amazon for $10.

The books is about Mia who is often called a princess but decides that is not all she is. She is creative and a dreamer who wants to be a doctor, pirate and explorer! I love that the things she dreams of are not gender limiting. The message goes perfectly with my ideas of how to raise strong, successful young women. The colors and language would appeal to young girls, while the message will appeal to parents.

Another book we received was a super cool idea...a personalized story for Ocoee, from First Time Books. The story we have is called Zoo Adventure. The book comes in 3 options, hardcover for $20, softcover for $14 or a PDF version for FREE!

The books are truly personalized, with names of kids, their friends names, hair color and ethnic group. The ethnic group was one of the few things that gave me pause...Ocoee's friend is Asian so we picked that group and I wasn't sure if the depiction was culturally sensitive. Since the book is in cartoon format it can be easy to do a cartoonish version of different cultures. I asked the parent of Ocoee's friend and she felt it was ok.....I guess I am over sensitive.

These books also come in a birthday version which could be a really cool gift. The story and colors are fabulous. I have read it to Ocoee and she really liked the pages being so colorful.

In our house we have more books than anything else so I am always so thrilled to find new ones to add to our stash.

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.”
Dr. Seuss

Monday, August 27, 2012

School is in!!

We finished the first week of school with a bang. I joined the lovely ladies of my book club for the annual half marathon Lost Lake race. It is a great fundraiser and crazy weekend of wild women.

Ocoee's new daycare has been such a blessing. Since it is downtown I was able to pick her up before I left town and meet hubby for lunch. Of course she was exhausted and slept through lunch, but rallied to hang out in hubby's office for awhile. I love my adult time but I sure was ready to get home to her by Sunday.

Being part time at school is working out very nicely!

Cheers
J

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The sweet and sour

Life is only sweet to us because we have tasted he sour. I have tasted my share of sour- believe me, but I seem to be too damn hard headed to let it get me down.

I am an optimist. Ocoee I hope gets this trait from me. It allows you to get back up after the world smacks you in the face and say well at least the sunrise and set and I get another chance tomorrow.

All this talk of sweet and sour comes from Ocoee's delight in all things sour. She eats daily non sweet, plain yogurt that is really tart and super healthy for you! She also love pickles and spent a good amount of time sucking on a lime the other day. We seriously had to take it away from her. No funny faces or sour looks. She just chowed down.

And she is the Sweetest thing ever!

Cheers
J

Monday, August 13, 2012

Summer in winding down


Our summer is coming to an end this Thursday. I officially head back to school and Ocoee will be at her new daycare, Tundra Tykes. I feel very lucky for several reasons...first I have had all summer to be with Ocoee. We have had so many fun adventures and activities. She has grown and changed and I have been in the front row watching it all. I have also been fortunate enough to have daycare over the summer. Yea the pricetag is no fun but there have been several pros: Ocoee has had time to adjust to her new care providers and environment in a laid back manner before schools starts and I have been able to enjoy mommy time for myself.

Also for the first time in awhile I am truly excited to begin the school year. Taking last year to work a admin job outside the classroom was great because it made me realize how much I miss the classroom! This year I will be teaching part time Social Studies at a great school. This will allow me to do what I love and balance being home with Ocoee better. That is my mantra for the year....Balance.

Here is an adorable photo shoot with Ocoee using our kitchen table chairs that are so fabulous.

Cheers
J

Thursday, August 9, 2012

So much fun

Ocoee is really at a fun age. She likes to explore the house and is really good at playing on her own. She can really move quickly now crawling all over and pulling up to stand all the time. One of our favorite things to do is put on a record and dance. She is a really happy baby and we spend so much time laughing and smiling with her....she is good medicine for the soul!



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Cheers
J

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Fishing in Seward

The family headed down to seward for our first ocean fishing adventure with Ocoee. We had a pretty camp site down on Lowell point at silver derby campground and met Kraig at his boat for a few brews. Thank goodness midnight sun brewery now does cans!

Saturday morning we were up and out at pony cove early and it was "fish on" for the next 3 hours. We were trolling am running 3 lines and all 3 lines were hitting at once. Ocoee was strapped on in the ergo and asleep for some of me catching salmon and awake for a few too. I was pretty impressed that she did so well on the ocean. She slept during the times we were motoring an never go fussy. Kraig and his friend kept remarking how good she did. I think she was just happy we were. Catching her favorite meal!

On Sunday we checked out the sea life center before heading home. They do such a nice job there and teachers get in for free- a nice perk. So now we are dirty and heading home with lots of salmon and halibut. Can wait for a shower and clean clothes. But a weekend with family and friends on the ocean catching fish like crazy and spot in whales all around is worth getting dirty for.

Cheers j

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Keekaroo review update

We purchased a keekaroo high chair when Ocoee was six months old. We really like that it is wood and have. Very appealing design and that it becomes a chair after baby is all done with high chairs. It makes me happy not to have to toss something just because Ocoee grows up.

We had a few issue with the chair. The stain on the tray chipped in a few area for no reason. Well I am happy to report keekaroo support did a great job making it right for us. I snapped a few photos of the problem areas and emailed them to keekaroo. With hours I received an email telling me they would ship me replacement parts out and asking if I had any other issues. They forward my photos to quality control to address the issue.

The chair was a bit spendy but the quality and suer customer support reminds me that it was worth the extra money. It is nice to support a company that values their customers. Well done Keekaroo!

Cheers
J

10 months!

Ocoee, you are 10 months now. You have really started to explore and learn this last month. You now use a combination army crawl and all four limbs crawl. You love to climb onto things so that you can stand. You can take a few step between my hands and daddy's hands. Sitting down once you are up is the hardest part but you manage. Your appetite comes and oes these days but your two favorites by far are crackers and salmon. Last night we grilled some and you ate half of my portion. You are just beginning to like your purée again after a month hiatus refusing them.

You really dig bath time and drowning mr clean hippo (a gift from captain kraig). This weekend we head out to seward for some fishing so we will see how your sea legs work.

At daycare you like to play with the piano and sleep on a cot already-most babies are in cribs there still.

You weigh about 20 pounds and seem to be filling in a bit after a skinnier spell. Your curls get comments wherever we go and are really getting thick.

You still babble up a storm and sometimes it sounds like words and other times like my friend nancy said it sounds like a radio station out of tune.

Your top two teeth are coming in. One finally broke through during a tough teething spell that was really rough for both of us. You have also had a runny nose for about two weeks along with me and daddy- but we all seem to be getting better.

We love you very much and feel blessed to have you in our world.

Cheers
J