A Friend In Need.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/helpshawndemarleyandlily

My friend Shawnde is in need of our help. Her husband died very unexpectedly last weekend and now she is taking care of their two small babies by herself. She has family and friends with her now, but she is going to need financial help in the coming weeks and months. If anyone can donate ANYTHING, it would be much appreciated. Shawnde is a very special person and an amazing mother and friend. It breaks my heart to think about what she must be going through. We made a FB page for her and you can click on the link above to donate to a paypal account set up in her name. Thank you so much in advance!

Walkie Talkie

Well, June took her first real steps the other day. I couldn't quite believe my eyes! She looked like she was about to fall over but somehow she managed to take three unaided steps. She's done it a few times since. Fearless thing, that girl. She's been threatening to walk for a while now, but I figured it probably wouldn't happen for at least a few more months. This little lady is ready to run! Seriously, she is crawling with such passion and speed that I cannot even begin to catch up. Here we go!

She has also been saying "Sat?" over and over and over. Interesting, I thought. Whatever does she mean? She has only really said Mama and Dada, nothing else. But apparently she was walking around with Doug and he kept saying "What's that?" She quickly started repeating "Sat? Sat? Sat?" and now she points at everything and says "Sat. Sat? Sat!" It's adorable. I can't get over it. Wasn't she just a helpless newborn? She is growing up too fast, it's all just too much!

She is also very into dancing. Whenever I put music on she will wiggle around and frantically move her head and arms. I've noticed she has taken a real liking to Prince in particular. Hmm, I wonder where she gets that from? It's the sweetest.

Well, that's the big news. More pictures to follow! XO

Lil' Miss Walk

I know, I know! It's been forever, right? We have been mighty busy with life--hard to find a chunk of time to set aside for updating this site. But I refuse to let it slip down into the vast crevasse of abandoned blogs, so here we go:

Last time I posted it was just barely June (The month, that is. Not the baby). It's almost September now. Crazy! June is pulling herself up, crawling up a storm, and is veeeery close to walking. She's saying mama and dada, and generally wreaking havoc on everything she comes in contact with. She loves to methodically remove each book/dvd/cd from the shelf with lightening quick speed. Sometimes she'll act as if she's reading the DVD cases. She especially loves to stare at the "Mr. Show" DVD set and babble to David Cross. I think when she's old enough i will introduce her to Arrested Development since she seems to have taken a real liking to his face.

Her interests are many, but she really loves her stuffed animals. She loves kitties and doggies and all fuzzy animals, really. Oh, and BOOKS. She loves books. She loves to act like she's reading them aloud. She's a very vocal baby and I have a feeling that she's going to be a real chatty Kathy when she masters language. She loves to laugh and smile. Very passionate about most everything!

She loves to eat, and REALLY loves berries of all types. She's in the 95th percentile for height and weight still, big baby, almost 30 pounds!

We've been doing swimming lessons with her (which is really just an opportunity for her to get in the big pool). She loves the water and loves her swim lesson buddy, Little Miss Olive. But really, what she loves most of all is to just be set free and explore her surroundings. She is very inquisitive and loves to figure out what's going on around her. You can see the wheels turning sometimes.

She's quite amazing though, she amazes me more and more each day. I feel like finally my Anthropology degree is coming in handy because I'm relating it to her growth all of the time!

She is growing like a weed. A dandelion, we'll say. We love her very much and are looking forward to watching her grow up. So far it's been way incredible. Exhilarating is a better adjective. Of course there have been bumps along the road, it's not ALL roses, but it's more roses than weeds and that's more than I could have ever asked for. And it really only keeps getting funner. I love interacting with her and love watching her little personality develop.

So there you go. I will update as soon as I get another chance (in a year or so, heh).

Here are some semi-recent pics (within the past few months):

TTFN!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeee!

That is June's favorite new noise to make. She loves to ooh and aah, but she REALLY loves to squeal at the top of her lungs (preferrably in the most silent of situations such as: standing in line at the bank, walking into the library, etc...) It's just about the cutest noise I've ever heard. She's been so vocal lately, I love watching her pick up on new noises and try to mimic.

She's also been busy watching things. Very solemnly. Watching the leaves rustle. Watching the fan run in circles. Watching the cat. She's takes her watching very seriously, that June.

Everything is good... STILL waiting for summer to kick off. But at least it's not raining every day. Loving that I get to spend so much time with little Junie, she is really one of a kind!

Hanging out in the new crib. Hello!

Another face I love to make!

Just loungin'...

With Grandma Laura at a friend's birthday party. Fun!

Cuttin' Teeth!

June got her first tooth today! I am so super excited for her... Excited for it to be over! She is not very happy, which makes total sense. Sharp teeth cutting through your gums must not feel very good. She is a trooper, though. Poor little baby. I just hate seeing her in pain, but I know it's necessary for like survival and stuff. Just wish it didn't hurt her so! Ah, I sound like such a newbie, eh? It's because I am! Haha!

I was speaking with an old lady the other day (she was at least 90) and she had some words of wisdom for me. She said "Babies have to deal with so much pain that first year. Thankfully they forget it. Thankfully you'll forget it, too!" I was also talking to my mom who pretty much affirmed the old lady's statement by saying "I don't remember much about you as a baby. I remember you were real cute and I loved you a lot. But there are reasons I wore you in the front pack everywhere I went, all day everyday until you could walk." It's such a strange thing how we forget about the less favorable aspects of child-rearing. Selective memory is probably a better term than forget. When you're going through this stuff you wonder "GAH! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS?" and you realize that it's so fleeting, it's just a moment in time, and in five minutes it'll be on to the next event. Then you'll forget about that one a few seconds later. Breaking it down: A) TIME IS FLYING BY. B) I can't believe that one day I might be passing down this helpful advice to nervous new parents such as myself. C) I can't believe that June has cut her first tooth. It seriously feels like I just had her a few days ago. Life in super fast forward!

I hope everyone is well. No pics to post or anything, but I'll get some up as soon as the weather turns. We need some sunshine! And not the liquid variety!

Sunny Days!

Hey all, beautiful day here in Eugene. One of those spring days that makes you yearn for summer! Not too much longer.

Last weekend was great, we enjoyed a BBQ on Friday with Jesse, Alissa, Monica and Jan (AKA Uncle Jesse, Aunt Lissa, Aunt Monica and Grandma Jan). They (Jesse and Alissa) came over from Bend for the weekend to participate in the Eugene Marathon. It was so good to see them! Here are a few snaps from that fateful day, and also some that I stole from Jesse's Facebook from a BBQ that I couldn't attend over at Grandma Debby and Grandpa Wayne's house.

Not much new to report. Just wanted to post a few pics. Soon I'll be able to upload video, as I just haven't had the drive to teach myself how to post video on this blog. But I'll be doing that soon. Until then, enjoy. Love you all!

Love my Uncle Jesse! He is rad.



Only has eyes for milk!



Practicing her catwalk with Grandma Debby.

Love that Auntie Liss... She is my snuggle friend.

With Grandma Jan right before she jetted off to Paris!

Dad is awesome!

This reminds me of my childhood
photos. Let's just say I was never quite
camera ready.

Coast Aquarium Trip

We decided to take a day trip to the coast aquarium in Newport (Oregon) and here is the photographic evidence:



Raining? At the Coast?!
Unheard of!

Swimming with the sharks.

Sweet little love.

Photo booth fun.

Baby Carriers are Fun...

For photo ops. For practical purposes it's yet to be determined just how fun June thinks they really are. I think it's growing on her, though!

Can we please just stick with
the stroller from now on?
 Please?

Happy Spring!

It's been a while, but I haven't forgotten about this blog. Spring is in full gear and so is little June. She is growing up very fast! She's rolling over, eating solids, chewing on her toes, and pulling off her socks and sticking them in her mouth. Makes for a good picture (see below).

She is also making LOTS of noise these days. She loves the sound of her voice. She's super smiley and loves to make people laugh... She's blossoming into a lovely little thing, a little on the feisty side--but we wouldn't have it any other way.

I hope everyone is well!

Love
Katie

Socks are a tasty treat--who knew?

These lasted for a few seconds until she ripped
them off her head and threw them on the ground.

With Grandma Laura and Doug.

She loves her toes!

She loves being naked!

She loves her aquatic sea life!

Right after waking up from a nap.
She is the Chris Tucker of babies.

Obligatory Bathtime Photos

As you can see, she is all about fingers
in mouths these days.

Intense finger chew session in progress.

Shampooing is fun.

Stop taking my picture! I'm trying to bathe here!

Coast Trip Winter 2011

Here are some pictures of our recent trip to the coast. It was so much fun! Hope everyone is well!





Random shot that came out kinda cool.



It was a full moon the night before we left.



The weather was amazing for mid-February on the
Oregon Coast. It was downright balmy.



June was pretty excited for
her first trip to Newport.



It takes a lot to impress this girl.
This is what we call her "meh" face.

Ocean fun!

A good time was had by all.



Well Hello There!

Hey all. It's been a pretty busy month! My birthday came and went, and one of my presents was a mini-getaway at the coast in Waldport with the fam. It was so fun, weather was so nice, and the place we stayed at was great. I think June really enjoyed her first trip to the ocean. Even though she slept her way through her first visit to the beach, I think she got the general idea.

June has been changing a lot! Babies do that, I hear. She's so much more alert and in tune with her surroundings. She's turning into a happy yet tough little cookie.

Fun fact: Last year on this very day I found out I was pregnant with Miss June. What a difference a year makes!

I'll post more pictures later when I have a bit more time. Hope all is well wherever you are!

To The Tune of Old Man by Neil Young:

I forgot to mention that June really seems to love Neil Young. It has put her to sleep the past four nights in a row. And I mean "put her to sleep" in the best way possible. Anyhow, I made up a little song in order to help with the bottle challenge:

(As sung to June by the bottle)

::ahem::

Oh June, take a look at my bottle, I'm a lot like booooooob.

I need someone to nurse me the whole night throuuuuugh.

Happy February!

Hey all! Things around here are pretty nice. Nice weather, nice baby, nice nice nice. Gearing up to head back to work in a few weeks. Yet another transition to make! I hope it goes smoothly. As of right now we are dealing with some bottle issues (specifically: she hates it) so we have about three weeks to get her to love that surrogate milk provider. I have a feeling that's NEVER going to happen, but if worse comes to worse we'll just have to feed her like a little birdie. Fun times! I don't blame her though... There's nothing too natural about a bottle, so I wouldn't expect it to be something that comes very easily, if at all.

Anyhoo, here are some pics. June is getting distracted by just about everything these days. You can literally see the wheels turning in her head when she fixates on something. She's "talking" a lot. Loves the sound of her own voice. She's still a firecracker of a baby. But a sweet firecracker. I don't think that's going to change anytime soon! All in all it's been really fun watching her take everything in. Fun and funny and sweet.

Here are some more pictures, take care all!

Almost three months old...

Future couch potato? Let's hope not.

She hates Oprah, she's more of an Ellen girl.

June with Grandma Jan!

Summertime fun in January.

I don't know what the hell is going on or who I have to thank but today was BEAUTIFUL! June and I took full advantage with a day filled with walks, car rides with windows rolled down, and even chilling in the front yard playpen style. Thanks, Sun! You really make a difference in the lives of us gloomy Northwesterners when you decide to come out.

XO
Katie and June

Long day...

PLAYLAND

A Few More... GO SOX!

I wanted to take a picture of June wearing her cute Red Sox onesies that Uncle Jon got her. Then I went a little overboard. Oh well.