17 months, and a visit to "Gamma"

For those of you who have not heard, my mother has recently become ill with pancreatic cancer. A nasty disease, that one is. After her diagnosis, Naomi and Aunty Em (my sister) and I took a little trip down to Florida to visit with her. We were glad to be able to spend most of our time with her pre-surgery (the Whipple procedure), then were able to stay with her for a day or so post-surgery. While the reason for our visit loomed overhead and was hard to forget about, I think we were able to keep things fun and keep "Gamma's" mind off of the heavy stuff a least a little bit. We spent a day driving around South Beach, did lots of pool swimming, and even spent one morning taking Naomi on her first beach excursion, resulting in this month's photos.

She LOVED both sand and water, and sat mesmerized by the vast ocean.

As a short update, mom is home from the hospital as of last night and working on getting herself recovered and strong so she can tackle the big treatments ahead: A course of chemo, followed by radiation treatment, followed by another course of chemo. The road ahead would be daunting to any of us. Please keep her in your thoughts...

Current Stats

Weight: 25lbs, 13.5oz

Height: 31"

Head Circumference: 18.5"

16 Months

Forgot to post this one! Sorry, folks...

15 months, and a poll!

A trip to see the tulips in bloom in La Conner!

Again, time has gotten away from us. Naomi is 15 months already. Milestones seem to be mixed in with some typical (crappy) toddler behavior - read hitting and whining. But on the positive side, her vocabulary has skyrocketed ("Auntie" and "Uncle" are the new exciting ones as she refers to Emily and Chad), her mouth is full of teeth (which she LOVES brushing!) and all-in-all she is a pretty happy, easy kid. Its a little sad seeing her become such a big kid so quickly, but I suppose Naomi is scrambling to learn as much as possible in the next 5 months so she can share the info with her new brother or sister!

Which brings me to our next topic...

The countdown is on to finding out the sex sex of our beloved second child, currently known as "Knock Knock" since Naomi likes to knock on my belly like it is a door to say hi to the baby. Comment below if you feel like taking a guess! We'll announce the results on April 27th after our ultrasound - provided the baby cooperates.

Good luck - the prize is bragging rights and the privilege of claiming to be psychic.

Month 14 pics...

Just realized these never got up on the blog! Oh, mommy, you're slacking...

Today was a good day...

Not only did Naomi get to eat chicken nuggets for the first time, but she also got to see the little person she'll be big sister to in about 7 months via ultrasound.

Yes, you read that right! We're due September 16.

13 months, or just "one?"

I am torn about still using "months" to answer the question of how old my child is. It just seems weird. It made sense the first year but now that she's past that 1 year mark, counting off the months sounds more like baby obsession than accuracy. What do you all think?

By the way, Naomi is walking like a pro - almost running. We'll post a new video soon... in the meantime, enjoy these pictures!

Happy, happy birthday, baby!

The holidays have taken on a whole new meaning for our family. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the normal holiday craziness, we had a first birthday to plan for!

Happy, happy birthday, Naomi. If it wasn't absolutely clear before, let it be completely clear now... YOU ARE LOVED! And not just by your parents, but by everyone who meets you.

Now that you are a year old, let's revisit some recent milestones:

You are toothy! Your tooth count is now 8. Four up top, and four on the bottom. And your teeth look big for your face, which allows you to deliver an especially toothy big smile. It is completely endearing!


You are an ALMOST walker! While you don't yet have the confidence to walk on your own, you have stood up on your own without support. And you love to practice your walking - whether you are using your lion walker that Grandma & Grandpa sent you for Christmas, or you are holding on to one or two of our fingers. We can tell you want to - you just need to believe that you can. That first step is just around the bend.

You are a talker! There are plenty of words you have down pat: duck, dog, dada, mama, pop-pop, baby, bobby (your name for your blanket), and best of all - BANANA. And words you can't yet say, you understand. When asked how old you are, you put one finger up... then it goes into your mouth. When I say "No, no, no," you look at me and smile... and keep doing whatever you are doing so you can hear me say "No, no, no," again. When I say, "No, yucky!" you take whatever you have in your mouth out and hand it to me.

You are an adventurous eater! You will try anything and everything, and there are only a few things you have not liked so far - parsnips being one of those. You have earned the nickname "the mooch" since you demand food off of everyone's plate at every meal. You are on mostly table foods now and REALLY enjoy seeing how much you can stuff in your mouth at one time. Your favorite so far, though, must be stewed carrots and your first cupcake - banana and pecan, with Caramel buttercream, made from scratch with love by your mama for your first birthday.


You are a JOY! We can not wait to see what you have in store for us in your second year!