Christmas Morning

Deia finally found her horse under the tree. In her footie pajamas with little glittery fairy ballerinas, she cruised around the living room unaware of all the goodies wrapped up for her. Santa brought her an amazing rocking horse that neighs, wags its tail, shakes its head and goes clickety clack as it "trots." He also gave her a really fun shopping cart with tons of vegetables, new ornaments, books, clothes, a circus animal toy, some musical drum sticks and more. Though she didn't understand christmas, or hannukah for that matter, she definitely knows that it has been a warm holiday full of family and love. 

It's Coooold in Russia, I mean Kentfield!

Anne and Tony brought Deia this furry hat from Russia. Fortunately it's cold enough in Marin for Deia to get some good use out of it...for what little time she'll keep it on her head that is.

On The Road Again

It's just too fun to take Deia on her jaunt to Kings Rd Cafe in the morning. We ask her if she loves her car and her entire body waves in a "yes!" 

Kings Rd Cafe

Every morning, Deia gets in her little car in her footy pajamas and off we go to Kings Rd Cafe for my daily crack, I mean caffein. She asks me to stop when we pass a dog or a person she wants to say hi to. She bops back and forth for when she is ready for me to move again. And she sits patiently, smoothie in hand, while I wait for my drink. Then we head back home to eat breakfast, play and soon enough it's nap time again. 

Happy Hannukah

We celebrated the 1st night of Hannukah at Tuti & Tati's house. Deia played with a dreidel and ate homemade latkes. The 2nd night we had a dinner at our home and Deia opened one of her gifts...her own baby stroller for her doll, appropriately named, Baby!  

Pee-U Toes!

We smell her toes and say pee-u! This is the favorite game for now. She'll lift her foot off the ground, or above the table, or through the slats of her crib, and ask you to smell it. Once you have had your turn, she'll reposition her leg in another direction and ask another person to smell it. She'll do that for as long as you'll entertain it! 

13 Months!

Deia is older than a year. Holy moly. This goes so fast! Where to begin.... For all those times (maybe every month from birth :-) I have said she is becoming such a person, she truly has arrived now. She is trying to copy the words that come out of your mouth, getting really close to some and attempting her own iteration of others. She speaks with absolute conviction, even if it's a string of gibberish. Her words are: woof-woof, hi, bye, buh-bye, hi dad, bye dad, mama, dada, bottle, bu-bo (for bluebo), coco (for coconut), nose and nosey, no, yes, this, that, elmo and more. She has repeated the words: car, key, milk, la-la (for Laura), e-i-o (as in old mcdonald had a farm), coffee, hot, quack, tweet and more. It's so cool to see her watch your mouth and study the way your tongue and lips move. Deia can sing parts of the Banana Boat song (Dey-o) on cue and can't get enough of the ring song on my mom's cell phone. She is fearless when it comes to dogs and seems to like to share her food with them. It's a little gross. But she accepts licks and probably wouldn't even care if she was walked on by a dog much larger than her. She loves them and thinks she can speak their language :-) Deia's kisses get sweeter by the day. She gives many and juicy ones...and every once and a while she'll throw in a love bite. She literally runs into you and throws her arms over your shoulders to give great hugs and shows the same affection to her doll bluebo. Knowing that bluebo is EVERYTHING to her, we have acquired 4 more of them and intend to buy more so that she is never without it. She reaches for bluebo in her crib and cuddles him through the night. She caresses him and kisses him and hugs him tightly while swaying or rubbing his back. Usually she says, "awwww" while loving him that way. 2 naps a day, about 1.5 hr each. approximately 7:30pm-7am overnight. Corey and I are enjoying a lot more time out alone and together these days and it's wonderful to wake up to a smiling, rested little girl who wakes up with kisses to shower on us. When she is not quite ready for her naps, she'll play in her bed, happily, for up to an entire hour! We hear her singing and playing with her music projector. She practices most of her words and sounds when she is bored. Her favorite new game is having us smell her toes and say, "pee-u." That game can last for-ev-er! I have figured out a successful way of getting veggies in her, finally! She LOVES her smoothies! The usual ingredients include, spinach, green peas, corn, avocado, banana, yogurt, applesauce, carrot juice, pineapple, mango and papaya. It's sweet and filling. She still loves her meatballs and cheese and finally likes scrambled eggs! Time to get some tomatoes and broccoli in those :-) 

1st Xmas Tree

We went to Mr. Greentrees to pick out a Christmas tree. We let Deia roam around under the big tent and hoped she would pick the one that would come home with us. Instead, she spent more time on the ground, caring mostly about the bark chips beneath her feet. She did like the tall Nutcracker figures and the ornaments in the shop. 

1st Santa

This year we joined Ravi & Soren @ Club Santa @ Cinespace in Hollywood. Deia was not upset by Santa, but she was really pissed that we took her bottle away for the photo! So Santa held it for her and she pouted a little. We tried another round of Santa @ the Grove, but my mistake was forcing her into the moment well past her nap time and while she was under the weather. There is no picture of that event...she was covered in snot and screaming her head off. Not the best images of her 2nd sitting with Santa! 

Surfing In Jaco

We took Deia to Costa Rica for the 2nd time. This time we went with the whole Campodonico family for Thanksgiving week. It was much different than the first trip there....that's when I was functioning on a couple bad hours of sleep, nursing, having barely figured anything out and hotter than the hottest I can get! This time, we went there knowing a little somethin' about this parenting/kid situation and had a perfectly sleep-trained baby who eats real people food...served in particular ways of course. It was such an enjoyable, relaxing week. Deia loved the ocean and we played in the waves daily. She spent a ton of time in the pool, some time around Tuli's nephew and nieces, ate sand and tried to eat rocks, barked at all of the dogs on the beach and even muscled through a warm and long aerial tram in the mountains. Though the plane ride (going there in particular) was pretty brutal, she was a trooper the rest of the time. Being in Costa Rica with your baby and seeing her enjoy such a beautiful place truly captures Pura Vida!

1st Shoes

Deia got her Harry Harris card today :-) That is where I got my first shoes...I think. Anyhow, she was sized...that was fun ;-/ and is a tiny 4. She only fit into one pair of bright red keds. $10 so I got 'em! Then she proceeded to walk like frankenstein all over Beverly Hills. It was quite cute. When we drove home, she decided that eating the rubber sole was the best part of getting her first pair of tennies. 

1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Deia's 1st birthday @ Holmby Park. We had Bay Cities and pizza from D'Amores, some antipasto, fruit, mac n cheese, chicken fingers, cheerios, pirate booty and whole milk. No alcohol allowed in the park, but daddy was smart enough to secure some Sofia champaign in cans! Brilliant. We had a big ralph's cake (there is nothing better than that buttercream!) and cupcakes from crumbs. All of the grandparents were there! All were a huge help in securing the land we claimed at the park at 6:30 am. We put down a tarp, ball pit and tunnel and the kids seemed to be perfectly entertained. Deia walked everywhere and wore herself out juuust in time for singing happy birthday. She cried when trying to put out the candle with her fingers...then when round two of the song happened, she clapped and took it all in. We were humbled by the turnout and are so lucky to have so many wonderful, supportive people around our 1 year old family! Oh, and she wore her first pair of "skinny jeans," too much :-) 

Deia the Bunny

Who said that this holiday is for the kids? Well, when they aren't old enough to pick their own costumes, it's all for the enjoyment of mom and dad. And let me tell you, I had fun this year:-) Jennifer Beals and a bunny in a tutu! Why put a bunny in a tutu?? Why not!

She's A Maniac!

Deia 1st of 2 costumes is Jennifer Beals from Flashdance! She rocked it out today in Jackie's class. Who woulda thunk Nikki would dress her daughter up as some kind of dancer asap....??? Haha.

Deia's 1st Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!!!! She, we, made it! What a marker of time, lol. Thinking about where we were 12 months ago...in the hospital, clueless, hormonal, mastering the art of the swaddle, working up a milk supply, absolutely sleepless, surviving and totally in love. It is amazing how much you learn about babies, all the damn gear, the do's and don'ts of early parenthood, "rules," what to do when "it" doesn't work, yourself as a parent and a partner, entering ruts you are amazed you figured a way out of and understanding how to embrace a new way of life altogether. It's a test on a relationship, for sure, and though our boat was rocked by this little pie, Corey and I live and love on a firm foundation we worked hard to create and we have prevailed through the biggest changes we have ever known. At a year, I feel like we really are a happy family. Togetherness is something we make a priority, so creating and sharing experiences is the most important thing on our agenda. It is incredible to look at this little person and our new life and have visions of the future, other kids and where we will be smiling with them all! Every month of this first year became our favorite month. But I guess it makes sense when you realize how quickly these little beings grow and how much joy you get in truly meeting them at every newer age they are. Deia is now walking, beginning to talk, eating adult food, sharing legitimate feelings...smart as hell and able to manipulate any grown woman/man with ease. We are aware of this and proceed with caution and respect for that thriving little brain of hers! We enjoyed our last few nights of cuddling her in bed in the wee hours in time to sleep train her once and for all. So far so good. Fortunately, the hilarity of her fight against falling asleep offset the sadness of her tears. She resisted laying down so much that she fell asleep sitting up in the corner of her crib! Then later she stood up, her head bobbing and nodding off and when she would startle from her chin touching her chest, she would reposition her feet, stand tall....for another 5 seconds before her face came falling down again ;-) Finally she fell forward and was done for the night. Pretty funny. Hopefully this will be a good thing for all of us! Deia is now beginning to drink whole milk, so bye-bye Earth's Best and the heavy boxes from Diapers.com! She is a pretty good eater when she is not tired and her meals go something like this: bfast - oatmeal with bananas, mangoes, peaches and/or pears mixed in and some cheerios - we are trying eggs, lunch - anything i can get in front of her at a restaurant plus some yogurt, veggie booty, grapes, banana, and a small piece of toast to hold her over...which is really so that I can actually eat something too, dinner - course puree of zuc, squash, yams, tomatoes, green beans and organic chicken, shredded cheese, chicken or turkey meatballs, sometimes some annie's mac n cheese. She LOVES water so much I think she actually has too much of it. From her pink water canteen, to regular drinking cups, to the shower, the bathtub and the faucets, she'll look for any opportunity to guzzle. We have not given her juice yet and might steer clear of that for some time. She seems satisfied with water and milk and she doesn't need extra sugar just yet. Deia is very comfortable with all her grandparents and aunts now, smiling when she sees them and enjoying them on skype and on the phone. Speaking of the phone, she has an old non-working cell and likes it in small doses. She is well aware that there is no one on the end of that line and that just isn't legit enough for her. She must have the iphone....and used her little thumbs to mimik texting. How do they know these things!!!!! It's not unique to Deia...the cell, remote, computer craze. Every toy company has come up with child friendly gadgets, all which these kids reject because they know and want the real thing. Deia is walking pretty well now. It's still not her favorite mode of transportation, but she is doing it more often and gaining her confidence. We can't wait until she is running around! Peek-a-boo is still a favorite game, as is anything that involves sneaking up and catching her/someone. She loves Bluebo and we still need to get more of those dolls so we have replacements on standby :-) And now...da da daaaa, the preschool hunt begins! Anyway, Deia pie, we love you so dearly. You have brought us happiness and wholeness in a way we could have never anticipated and our lives are blessed because of you shnushy shnoosh. A whole year old, amazing. 

Kissing Bandit!

There is no shortage of kisses for Magnus! Deia plants several on him without being asked! He seems to be ok with the attention and gave her a little, flirtatious hair tug in return! Deia is also kissing her dolls and pretty much anyone she likes in the moment.

Deia Loves Dogs!

After being fearful of the little furry creatures, one day Deia decided to become a dog lover! Not only does she want to touch the bigger dogs more than the small, but she approaches them with an open mouth and tongue extended for a big kiss! She literally tried to make out with Gertie for an hour! Well, I guess we'll have to give in...when she is old enough to ask for one :-)

Party Animal

Deia does weddings like her parents....on the dance floor, sweating and almost last (wo)man standing! She walked around in her sexy little tights and boogied to the music and would dance and smile with anyone who wanted to join her. It was a pleasure to take her out in that scene and watch her thrive. She was happy and taking in all the sweet attention. We see the beginnings of a party girl.  Uh oh!

Pumpkin Patcha

Today we went to Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch. Tons of kids, all ages, thousands of pumpkins, face painting, hay maze, pizza, skull slide, pumpkin bouncy bounce and....paparazzi. Only in LA! Deia was fascinated by the hay more than anything. In fact, in all of our photos she is looking down, examining it thoroughly. So we missed her sweet expressions and only caught her squinting and contemplating the texture of the dry, long strands. But she loved the slide and thought the pumpkin house was pretty funny. 

First Steps!!!!!

October 11th, 2009 - Deia walked for the first time! Sure, she's been cruising along furniture, walking with her walker toys. But today, she took her steps walking toward us completely unassisted! She averaged 4 solid steps forward before plopping down. We are very excited and, of course, very proud!

11 Months!!!

Deia is 11 months old today! Happy birthday snoosh snoosh! Wow. Ok. With every passing day I am so much more in love with this child. Her little personality is entertaining, silly, smart, snuggly and warm. She gives great hugs and sometimes gives great kisses. She used to give kisses when you asked for them. Now, she gives kisses when she wants to, which actually makes them even more sweet. Those little pearly lips smile soooo much, and now to reveal all 4 of her teeth! Her hair is getting longer and thicker and her new set of "under-bangs" are coming in :-) Deia's eyes are an interesting shade of blue-green and they change colors based on what she is wearing. I love her in greens, pinks and turquoise the most. She will walk using her wooden walker, her stroller or even an ottoman that slides easily on the floor. She is getting more risky in her attempts to dance, drink her bottle and clap as she stands unassisted. Deia really does look for every opportunity to stand up and in her stance she calculates her best approach to wherever she wants to go. Still, she drops to the ground and crawls there. But a step or two is on the horizon for sure! When she does crawl around, she must carry at least 2 things in one hand and if that becomes difficult for her, she'll toss one item and put the other in her mouth like a little puppy playing fetch. She loves saying HI, which has replaced how much she loved to say bye bye. Hi dad, bye dad, na-na, mama, dada, p-ba (peekaboo) are all favorites. Deia loves her toddle tunes class and is having a ton of fun with her friends in Jackie's class. She puts her little fingers high in the air when Twinkle Twinkle is sung and bounces with excitement for The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Her home faves are still Harry Belafonte and Bob. Deia LOVES to dance. Her little body bop in now complimented by knee bends, swaying arms and hands and a hula-body roll type movement. Any beat, any song...it's wonderful to watch! Elmo and Dora are ever-present in the moments when we need her to chill out while we tend to matters of the home. Sleep training was about to commence, until the 3 of us got the stomach flu this weekend. I am pretty sure there is nothing worse than having that kind of illness and taking care of your child with the same bug. OMG, brutal. I appreciate Deia's tremendous patience through these awful few days. I am pretty sure she made it through all of Grease (1 & 2), Madagascar and a couple episodes of Entourage. We'll get the sleep thing down when the time is right and we are all well. For now, I am happy she is in her crib, surprisingly excited to know that we will be cuddling shortly anyway. It's funny how, with your baby, there are those moments where you have had enough....only to forget that feeling in an instant and realize you just can't get enough! 

Woodpecker Walker

Deia is borrowing this fantastic woodpecker walker and LOVES it. Not only does she thrive on walking with it, she gets really, really frustrated when she runs it into the wall, couch or chair and it stops moving! She will scream and complain when that happens and we need to flip it around quickly so she can pick up where she left off! She really enjoys this new mobility and it is definitely encouraging her to take steps in between furniture! We're close people, very close :-) 

2 Top Teeth!

They are really there! Bigger than I imagined and with a killer gap between them. You have to make an effort to spot them, but they are easily visible when she makes a funny face :-)

10.5 Month Stats

Deia is 10.5 months old and weighs 21.15 lbs and is 29 inches tall. She is in the 89% for height and 73% for weight...so dang specific isn't it. The doc found her well and fancies her a smart child.  Isn't everyone's? Lol.

Aquarium

Deia went to the Aquarium of the Pacific for the first time! She was a little young to actually focus on and care about the fish. But she spent some time banging and yelling at the glass, missing almost every swim-by of a sea lion and loved watching all the other kids! It was cute to see her take it all in :-) 

Little Led Zep

Deia 1st LZ show was in Lake Arrowhead this summer. She is already a groupie! She sat atop Corey's shoulders and had a good view over the large crowd. She sang and danced and clapped her hands. She especially loved The Rain Song, Going to California, Over The Hills and Far Away and Gallows Pole. She began her slumber during Stairway. How appropriate! We had to stop her from trying to flash Robert Plant a few times....guess she's that kind of fan :-) Oh yeah, it was a tribute band, haha. 

10 Months!

2 months shy of a year old, that's nuts! I am actually shocked at the difference between 9 and 10 months...she is so wonderfully vocal by comparison to 4 weeks ago. We left her at home for 4 days and came back to what seemed like an entirely new child! She waves and says bye-bye when you leave, when the phone rings she says, "ha," she walks with her music table, she has stood on her own for a solid 30 seconds without holding on, she is obsessed with drinking water out of a cup or water bottle, explores new consonants like "na, ga, ta," calls for mama and dada with conviction, crawls at lightning speed only to get to where she can stand and cruise, she dances to the sound of music or just a beat and...still has bad separation anxiety, but it's only momentary. Deia can't get enough of Elmo and his song and is thrilled at the sound of the Sesame Street song. She is eating 3 times a day now and we have put out finger foods for her at each meal. She puts so much focus and effort into her little thumb and forefinger grasping for rice krispies, tofu and cheese. She is into avocado and pieces of banana and watermelon too. She'll even enjoy some turkey shreds! Her bald spot is officially masked for good and her hair is getting long, slowly. Though she still has luscious rolls on her thighs, she is getting longer and leaner and you can see them widdling away. Sad. Deia still loves scaring people and expects a giant reaction from you. When she doesn't get one, she gets louder and more desperate with her attempts. She has turned out to be an excellent spooner.  I love it because she is so great to snuggle with, however it means she has spent some more time in our bed than she used to. She made her way back in when we spent our last 2 weeks in Arrowhead....there was a "behavioral" thing going on where we would put her in the pack n play, she would cry and then vomit everywhere. So instead of wrecking the vacation, we let her sleep in her stroller, then come into bed when we got in it. Man does she take up a lot of space! She has had her full nights back in her crib, but with her top two teeth coming in now, she has been shacking up with us. This too shall pass. For now I'll enjoy her warm little toes and her breath in my face. Priceless moments, really.

Pirate Queen Deia

Luke Shoptaw turned 1 and had a pirate party in Orange. Deia embraced the theme and wore a pirate dress, a bandana and sported a new "mom" tattoo on her arm. Love costume parties!

9 Month Stats

20.10 lbs and 29 inches! 90% in height and 80% in weight. The doc found her well and sweet. We are going to add in lunch now and will try to ease her into crib naps slowly and kindly, no more sleep training...too brutal and it's been long enough so we don't need the quick fix. Great health, great progress. Yay!

9 Months Old!

Deia is now 3 short months shy of a year.  Whaaat! In the last month she has learned to crawl efficiently on all fours, crawl up steps, pull herself up to standing on furniture and people and now can stand while holding on with only one hand! One day we woke up and there she was, standing in her crib! It's so damn adorable to see her little face above the slats, smiling when we come to pick her up. We have babyproofed the house...all outlets covered, corners padded, drawers and toilets latched, pieces of furniture moved out and stored, the living room a total playland and an ugly and absolutely necessary pool fence is up. Deia still naps three times a day and still in her stroller or in the car. We are currently working on breaking that habit. It's been great to be on the go-go-go, until now. Mommy needs a break from 1-3 walks per day in this summer heat. Our baby has slept through the night for 3 months now, peacefully falling asleep with her last bottle of the day. Tonight, we sleep train and I have never heard her cry like this. I know she is not hurt, just mad. But as I see her on the monitor, she has already taken off her pants! Oh boy. It's been 25 minutes and she is still complaining and stomping around. Don't know how long I will last!  Anyhow, she has been a joy to travel with.  We have been in Lake Arrowhead for 5 weekends this summer and are about to enjoy our final 2 weeks up there. She LOVES being in the lake and LOVES to sit at the waters edge and play with the sand. She actually gets a kick out of splashing water in her face! Deia is now on a steady diet of pureed yams, carrots, green and yellow squash, green beans, tomatoes, chicken and some cereal, fruit and/or yogurt on the side. She's not quite ready for the chunks of anything (cheerios, cheese, tofu etc) as little tastes make her gag and throw up so far. In time she'll get there. She is still saying mama and dada and says dada a lot more. Deia is quite the daddy's girl already. Her favorite song is Jump In The Line by Harry Belafonte. She dances at the drop of any beat, but her face lights up when you play that. She is beginning to enjoy being read to and I am thankful she'll finally sit long enough to get through a book! She still only has her 2 bottom teeth but is actively teething and I cannot see those suckers peeking through yet.... She just had her first weekend at home with tuti and tati and did fabulously! Though it took her a moment to warm up to me when we picked her up, she loooooved her daddy. But she made up for it the following day with tons of love and kisses for mami. Deia still hates having her clothes changed and prefers not to have her diaper changed too. She is amazing when we take her out and has many smiles to share with strangers. Deia's eyes shift from light blue to blue/green depending upon her mood and clothes :-) and her lips are candy pink. Her favorite game is trying to scare us and she let's out these little grunts and expects a frightened reaction. Deia has screamed so loud in some of her attempts that she makes herself crack up! And the savior of the month is a cube of ice in her mesh Nuby sac. Couldn't make it without those things!!!!!! 

Spitty Face

Sometimes Deia spits/blows bubbles because she can and because she thinks it's really funny. Other times she does it to communicate extreme frustration. It's hard not to laugh when she is upset and spitting all over the place, repeatedly...for up to 30 minutes sometimes!

Oh Boyz

Guess Deia likes being one of the boys, or she is already a HUGE flirt. Well, she is a little cutesy with the lil guys, and the grown up ones too! In this photo...from her right shoulder clockwise, Cole, Noah, Bronx, Jacob and Noah. Bronx kinda had his eye on her that day. They even held hands :-)

Toddle Tunes

We started a class called Toddle Tunes! It's a great music class for kids and Deia seemed to really love it! This week was a timely tribute to Michael Jackson and the guys replaced some of the words in the songs to make them child friendly. ...for example, "Don't Hop Till You Get Enough" was jammin when they brought out a ton of stuffed froggies! They had a whole band set up, we clapped and danced, played with tambourines and xylophones and then the babies got to test out a keyboard and bass guitar! Very cute and very wonderful for the moms too! 

Sleeping Beauty

Aaaah, the peace, the quiet...the mobility of her naps! Over 8 months and she will still only nap during the day in her stroller, the car, the Ergo or on a person. Try to put her in her crib, not gonna work out for ya. Though there are times when we are home when the extra hour with my hands free would be wonderful, I have to say, I have come to be thankful for her hatred of the crib during the day because it allows me to be somewhat flexible and spontaneous with our time. It's wonderful to take a long walk on the beach with her sleeping soundly in the pack and we both get to enjoy the fresh air. And it's nice to walk her to and from lunch and her snooze is fulfilled in the sunshine. Even when she has to rest on the pillow on my lap, I get to enjoy watching her dream and catch up on bad tv or return some emails. It's not so bad.  ....but one day it will change. No toddler is going to be resting on my body when they get to those 3-4 hour stretches! 

Latest Stats

8.25 months and Deia weighs 20.3 pounds and is 28.5 inches long. She is in the 90th percentile for both, so big and proportionate! The doc loved her yesterday and said she was an extremely social and aware young lady. Apparently we are doing everything right, with food and sleeping etc. So that's always a relief to hear. The things up ahead....babyproofing because she is mobile, introducing meat and dairy into her diet and making sure her little teeth stay clean! 

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Here is Deia's new ride! It took her a minute to understand what was going on in there. But then she started Fred Flinstone-ing her feet in the water and, intently, used her imaginary side view mirror to put that car in reverse. She is a cautious driver for now. 

July 4th

Well, she's definitely our kid if she is reaching for a Corona on the beach! We had such a fun day on in Malibu on the 4th. Ian and Lindsey invited us to Molly's summer house for the day and we spent almost all of it on the sand and walking (aka nap time) up and down the beach. It was so fun to see all the people out on their decks and in the water, all the beautiful homes and the fun parties. Deia took it all in. She just chilled, loving the wind in her hair and, of course, kicked back with a cold one like the rest of us!

Teeth!

I FINALLY have a photo of Deia's first two bottom teeth! It was a struggle to get a good view for a while, but now she is moving her tongue (a lot and every which way) out of the way and those teeny little ridges are right there! I cannot wait to see what she will look like with her top teeth! No sign of them yet...

8 Months Old!

Deia is such a big girl now! She is making her way across rooms quite easily, mostly in her up and down maneuver and soldier scoot, sometimes she does the worm :-) But she gets up on all fours and is strong in that position, she just needs to start moving on her hands and knees. Two new teeth and we believe there are two more on the way...at least her sleeping patterns and desperate chewing lead us to believe that. She loves gnawing on a silver spoon and her new spatula and can sit for quite a while with either of those in her mouth. Deia has some nights in her bed and others in ours, mostly after 2am. We have allowed it because her wakings have been directly correlated to her teething pain. But we'll have to have a chat soon about whether or not she is beginning to take advantage of the situation and if we are creating bad habits. Uh oh. She has been eating her oatmeal and has mostly enjoyed yams, apple sauce, bananas and peaches. I need to start mixing the greens back in and masking their taste with something sweet. Meats get introduced soon, so we'll see how that goes. She makes the silliest noises when letting us know she is hungry. ..some grunts, some spitting, some little screams. And she definitely knows how to get your attention and pretty much smiles all of the time. Deia seems to like to make other people smile too.  With a grin plastered on her face, she'll stare at a stranger for a really long time until they notice her and smile back. She is kind of a flirt too, loooves young guys. It is SO rewarding to see that constant smile and so easy to provoke it if it is not there. It is impossible not to adore the pie, she is such a teeny ball of joy and snuggles and we all just can't get enough! 

First Concert, Sort Of

Lake Arrowhead, Depeche Mode cover band called Blasphemous Rumors. They were actually so spot on we thought they were lip synching! Deia was a trooper dealing with the cold weather and the damp boat ride to and fro town. But that music kept her interest long enough for us fogies to drink a beer and reminisce about the ol' days of emo rock. Took Deia to the front of the stage and she sat atop my shoulders, like a true fan. I had to keep asking her to not flash the lead singer...not lady like. 

1st Father's Day

Corey enjoyed his first Father's Day with his little pie.  With the way she reaches for him, cries when he leaves a room, is like a puppy with her tongue hanging out of her mouth when he is near, she might just be daddy's girl!

Boating Deia

This is Boating Deia. Usually screaming when we put her in the life vest, then asleep when we are full throttle! Her first cruise on the water was in Lake Arrowhead. I don't think she "likes" being on the boat yet...but she will :-)

Milestones!

6-17-09. Deia's bottom 2 teeth cut through! We were in Lake Arrowhead and, though she was the same ol' trooper as usual, she was a little off. Her sleeping schedule was all over the place, she was a tad more cranky, had slightly less of an appetite, a bit more drooly, was gnawing and biting and sucking everything and her chin got chapped from her constantly sticking her tongue out. Given that she will not let us open her mouth to have a look, I felt some swelling and thought, "it could be...finally...teething." So one morning I was giving her a sip of water and, sure enough, there was the sound of little teeth clinking against my glass! It wasn't until she was screaming that I could get a glimpse and I saw the little white ridges emerging from her teeny, wet gums. I cried. That was the second time I cried that day....the first was when she woke up and I found her sitting up in bed. She had gotten herself to sitting by herself! Not to mention, she had been in the all fours position gearing up to crawl all week! Big milestones for such a little person. It's so fun to see her grow up, and to see that hair finally grow in! 

Jackie's Class

Jackie's is Babies First Class. Otherwise referred to as More Mommy than Me. 45 minutes of topic-of-the-day lecture and 15 minutes of songs, dance, bubbles and now puppets and parachutes. Now that the kids are getting older, the information may start to get more interesting and important. And we all signed up for the 2nd session so that the moms get more of an opportunity to get to know each other. Play dates are beginning to happen now and it's nice to have the kids finally interact! 

I'm Scooting!

5-29-09. 7 months and 1 day old. Scooting, crawling...whatever it is, she is propelling forward and loving it!  She pants heavily to show both her excitement and the amount of energy exerted in her efforts. Deia will be moving quite a bit better when she isn't in footie pants and sliding all over the place. Our favorite ox-cart coffee table and our beautiful persian medallion rug went into storage this morning so that pie could have a wide open, safe space to move around in. Well, the timing of that was spot on and now we are headed to get a soft, cushy rug for her and future mini-camps to destroy....I mean enjoy.    

7 Months!

7 Months, holy moly. Deia is a real thinking, feeling, copy-cat-ing, manipulating, funny little person! She now shakes her head "no" and is practicing her wave. She tends to practice it a lot in bed in her mirror, and other times she sort of waves at herself. Those little hands and fingers are so busy! Deia sleeps from about 7pm-5/6/7 am, with a few off nights here and there of course. But it's a whole new world for us! No teeth yet, but a tad more drooling and she is easily calmed by chewing her transparent teethers or her rubber claw. And she caresses my skin when she drinks her bottle, it's the sweetest thing ever. Deia still enjoys her exersaucer, but we are due to get a bouncer/walker soon. She crawls out of her bumbo and bassinet and I guess that means we are running out of places to put her down when we need to go to the bathroom, shower and get ready. She will crawl backwards, but not forwards. And she will scoot, roll and downward dog it to get to wherever she needs to go! She loves the swing at the park and loves laying on her tapestry in the fresh air. She has been in the pool a lot now and she likes it, at least she doesn't not like it. She isn't quite at that stage where splashing is fun...all she wants to do is check out the waterfall from the hot tub and chew on her rubber duckie! She LOVES looking at herself in the mirror and thinks it's really funny to look at our reflection and then turn around to see us behind her. She is just not a good napper.  She'll nap in the stroller or car or on a person, but "putting her down" during the day is a rare occurrence.  She just doens't do it. Aaaand she's never been "put down" awake, that's a hurdle we'll deal with later.  BUT, she is sleeping from about 7pm-6am (yay adult time) and wakes up and plays with her toys (two teethers, her piggy, her mirror, her ladybug bath toy) and practices her waving and talking for about 20-30 minutes before fussing. Speaking of fussing, she screams bloody murder when you put her on her changing table, then she gets louder as you change her diaper and even louder when you attempt to change her clothes. That has transfered to doing any of the above anywhere at all. It's a phase...one we hope she grows out of quickly! Her bangs are growing in and her hair, overall, is fluffly and soft and strawberry blonde-ish. The bald spot is filling in, slowly. She has cried for Corey in the morning as he left and slaps her hands down in excitement when he comes home. She is the proud new owner of her own Elmo tv remote and we are awaiting fisher price toy keys and toy camera. We need to find a toy cell phone and computer and she'll be set with all her own items to bang and hang up on! She skypes with her family - the campodonicos, laura, those in chile and even with Corey during the day.  ....of course she is more interested in hitting the keyboard and eating the screen. She still does not really play with her toys, she just figures out how to get them in her mouth and then chews forever. We remain obsessed with her smells, tastes, sounds and body parts and cannot get enough of her smile. We'll do anything! I truly could not imagine life without her...I cannot believe there was ever a time when Deia wasn't everything in our lives!!!!!! 

My Gym

Deia had her first My Gym class today and loved it!  We sang songs, popped bubbles, sat in colored balls, summersaulted, bounced, swung, slid and tummy-timed with a bunch of cute kids her age. Today was also the day Deia waved for the first time!!!!!!!  She opened and closed her little hand deliberately in response to tuti and I doing it. It was amazing to see her contemplate the action, raise her hand, start to move her little fingers and then pull off the whole gesture several times!  She is 6.5 months old now!

The Bottom Line

Enough said!

Boulder

We went to Boulder for graduation. It was a quick 24 hours in one of our favorite places! What a great reason to celebrate and so amazingly nostalgic. Corey and I met in Boulder, we toured Alecs there during high school, I moved Alecs in freshman year, we went to visit when I was pregnant and then brought Deia there at 6.5 months old!! That place is filled with good memories and we only hope that we have many reasons to return. Before we left, we took Deia to Chataqua Park and up to the Flatirons. Just beautiful!

Happy Mother's Day!

Lindsey and I went to Bacara on Saturday for the day and night... It was an interesting time away... Bacara was housing (nearly booked solid by) the evacuees of the Santa Barbara fires. So just as we have a day and night AWAY from our kids, we are faced with a full house of young children and their dogs, all screaming, running, cannonballing and marco-polo-ing everywhere!!! After a night of Lindsey (poor thing) in the bathroom with food poisoning and a 6:30am wake up call from the kids on BOTH sides of our room, we didn't exactly get the sleep we had planned on.  In fact, I think Corey got more sleep! Not quite the experience we were looking for and fortunately the hotel understood that and adjusted our room rate quite a bit.  Phew. Regardless, it was a small glimpse of new freedom that was both amazing and bittersweet. I missed Deia so much! Sunday was lovely, it was so fun to come home to her smile and then we had my family over for tea and sandwiches. It was great to hear about how much fun Deia and Daddy had too! They went to an art exhibit and to griffith park. Corey has a deeper understanding of how much energy is required when covering that amount of time on your own! Of course, this all happens when she has decided to sleep through the night! Figures ;-)

First Swing!

5/2/09 Deia sat in a swing at the park for the first time!  6.5 months old and sitting sturdy, she laughed her way through every push and then realized she could eat the plastic seat in front of her....that became more exciting than the swinging action. Anyway, this is just the beginning of many trips to the park!