How Quickly They (B) Grow

I really never realized how quickly children can change the first year of life. Well, I know they go from being truly helpless to walking within a year, but I didn't really realize how drastic the growth really is.

I was looking through our iPhoto program yesterday, looking for pictures to put in a book or calendar for my Mother for Christmas. Either is a good idea for her, since there really isn't anything she needs or wants. She always says, "save your money, I don't want anything." But I know she would enjoy a little book of photos of B and she would use a calendar for sure. Anyway, I was as I was showing B the pictures of here when she was a baby, I was really shocked. Here are a couple of pictures that highlight her growth. Oh, and you know what is sad? Of all the pictures I take, so few are actually good.

3/2/2007

I don't have any pictures on the computer before this.

New camera, new computer. My little chubbub.

5/10/2007

Just a couple of months late and crawling.

Still not a lot of hair.

9/6/2007

A little over a week after she started walking.

10/13/2007

The walking really slimmed her down, and

oddly made her hair grow. Go figure.

1/9/08

This is when she used to let me dress her.

She would never wear this now.

10/9/2008

Right after her birthday.

1/1/09

Not much different from the last picture.

This is from 10/21/09.

My grown up girl who eats

cake all by herself, picks out her own clothes, and knows

the difference between a quadruped and a biped.

I hope I am good about taking photos of Charlie after he/she is born. It is fun to go back and look at B as she has grown. I always think she looks the same, never changing. And she pretty much looks like herself in all these photos. A lot of the same expressions, doing the same things, and the same hair color (though it blonds in the summer then goes back to strawberry in the winter). I will have to remind myself to go through the pictures from time to time, so I don't find myself wondering when she grew up - though I do wonder when she went from 3 to 12.

I Am Glad I Am Glad I Am Not A Giraffe

I was looking through some "Photos in the News" at the Chicago Tribune website, when I came across this one:

This is the exact caption that was underneath the picture:

This handout photo provided by the Miami Metrozoo shows

an unnamed female giraffe being cleaned by her mother Kita

at the Miami Metrozoo. The calf was born last Tuesday and

weighed in at 135 lbs, and stands almost 6 ft. tall.

Now, the gestation period for a giraffe, according to Wikipedia, is between 400 and 460 day. Those of you who know me have heard me complain how long I have been pregnant with Charlie. And for those who haven't heard me, the answer is forever. But after hearing about poor Mrs. Giraffe, I am glad I am a human. I'll still complain, but I'll feel a bit bad when I do. Why should I complain when I give birth after 40 weeks, to something that is, most likely, less than 8 pounds?

More Pictures of B

I am a lazy blogger these days. But I know my family likes to see photos of B. These were taken Tuesday in the yard. It was a bit cool, but B didn't mind.

Jumping up and down with Mike.

Running around with Shadow.

Hey Mom, I'm a Stygimoloch.

She actually chose to wear a dress.

Amazing!

Halloween 2009

I wish I had taken more photos. That sums it all up. We had a couple of neighbors over so I spent the morning baking a pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting. Then I sat down. Big mistake. I was tired from not sleeping the night before and from Thursday night when I went to Kim's Stella and Dot jewelry party ( and ate too many pumpernickel pretzels - they were so good). Anyway, I sat down while B was napping and lost my momentum. So, when it came time for B to get dressed, both Mike and I were in a hurry to get the chili and the rest of the food ready before everyone arrived for trick or treating.

OK, let's talk Halloween for a minute. What is up with kids these days? Do they not want to trick or treat? Is it the parents? I LOVE Halloween. (I wish I had pictures of the house. Spooky windows with orange and purple lights, candlelit grave yard complete with a ghoulie, bats, a witch, spider and some webs.) We had maybe 10 kids total (not including the kids B trick or treated with). Mike said there weren't even a lot of kids out! Most of our neighbors were in the spirit, giving out candy and having pumpkin and other decor.

Speaking of pumpkins, that is one place I failed. I forgot to buy them until Friday, then I couldn't find them anywhere! B didn't seem to notice, but I did. Next year.

So, after trick or treating, we had a veggie tray, cool cheesey crescent ghosts, corn bread, crunchy green bean salad, bison chili, homemade malt ball ice cream and the cake. It was all good. I think all the kids had fun trick or treating and then wearing themselves out playing while the adults dug through the candy bags finding the good stuff.

B helping with the pumpkin cake.

(I guess he fell asleep while I made the

cream cheese frosting.)

Here is an out of sequence picture. These are

the treat bags B gave to her school mates.

B, the octopus. We tried to to get her black

Uggs on, but Bsaid they hurt. Note, they

are the same size as the red ones. B did

pick these boots out, all by herself.

Ready to go. Another note: I bought the shark

treat bag she picked out, but as of Halloween, it

scared her, so she carried her trusty pumpkin.

B and Max. B loves Max.

The cake, with cute little sugar decorations

(compliments of Jenn - thank you again!). The

cake was good, however, I wish I had used my

maple cream cheese frosting recipe. The one

I used had too much butter in it. It was OK, but

a little fatty on the tongue.

B enjoyed her day. We went to bed scary late, but hey, it was Halloween, the day to be scared! Truth be told, I am still recovering today. I was up early on Sunday, took down all the Halloween decor, put all the entertaining stuff away, cleaned out my dresser (to make way for a new one - Yeah!) and raked leaves. I was happy we had chili leftover for dinner.

Random Photos

Here are some more random pictures of B. See if you can guess my favorite one.

B helped put of Halloween decorations.

Way to young to have heard of "vogue."

Singing while you shred cheese makes the

work go by quickly.

Are we breaking the child labor laws?

I love cheese!

This was taken on Halloween. I was in the kitchen

making a cake and Mike was dusting. He walked into

the family room and found B. She is holding "Charlie."

As you might have guessed, the last picture is my favorite. This is the first non-car nap she has had in months. Plus, how sweet does she look?

Random Photos

Here are some things I've taken pictures of this week.

These are glue ghost necklaces I am making for B's

class. I got the idea from a Martha Stewart Crafts

email. Some Mom will probably think I am trying to

get her kid strangled, but I think they are cute.

I am wrapping the necklaces around cello bags filled

with candy, playdoh and plastic spiders

(B's contribution).

B got these dinosaur jammies for her

birthday. Notice she is holding a mammal

that is actually soft.

Another pair of dino pjs. I bought them at

Target. B's new breakfast is toast with jam.

Perfect for before school.

A Sad Day on James Street

Yesterday we lost one of our best friends. Jake was Mike's dog when we met, but as Mike reminded me last night, I quickly invited Jake to become my dog too. Everyone loved Jake, I mean everyone. His gentle demeanor was in sharp contrast to his "sister" Shadow's.

When Shadow and Jake first met, 10 years ago, it was knock down, drag out, fighting. Poor Jake wanted to maintain his alpha dog status and Shadow made sure every challenge was shot down. Jake was just biding his time until Shadow was too lame to fight back.

Jake was always the good dog, to Shadow's badness. Jake was friendlier and sweeter. Yes, Jake had his faults. Sometimes he didn't find it necessary to go outside to lift his leg. Hence his nickname Pee Pee Boy. Jake also had what Mike called comforting breath (I never quite thought it was comforting, familiar and stinky was more like it). He also whined to get on the bed at night - he needed to be invited up. And he liked to join Shadow in a loud round of barking at whoever walked by the house.

Jake's favorite pass time was swimming. Whether it was in a lake in Hayward or in my Mother's pool, Jake solely focused on being in the water. In Wisconsin, from the moment he woke up, until he collapsed at night, he was either in the water, whining at the door, or standing on the dock waiting for something to get thrown in the water. At my Mom's, he stood outside the window crying until someone came out and threw the Pillsbury Dough Boy into the pool for him to fetch. We told B, heaven for Jake was a lake with plenty of stuff to chase.

Jake was a Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Quite a mouthful, and quite a rare dog. We always had people stopping us and asking about him. Jake had beautiful tawny eyes, and a cute fleshy pink nose. I love his nose - he poked you with it to get attention! One time in Hayward, Jake was running around on the shore, and a whole flock of ducks came swimming by the house to see the playful clown running around. Here are just a couple of pictures that are saved on our computer.

Swimming in Hayward.

Sleeping on the couch.

Frolicking in the snow.

With his sister Shadow. Our yin and yang dogs.

Black and Tan. Frick and Frack.

Who's out there? I'll get 'em.

Relaxing in the yard. B took this one.

As all beloved pets, Jake will sorely be missed. I know, I didn't want to come home from the gym this morning and have him not begging for a treat. Shadow is a bit lost too. Every time one of us comes home, she races outside to harass him. You know, you never know how much they mean to you when they are around. I need to remember that and make sure each of our animals gets the attention the deserve and need. We'll will miss you Jake. We love you!