the Helmet

So, occassionally Yobo is kind enough to send me little emailed snippets of his days with the Moose while I'm at work.  Yesterday, we bought her a helmet yesterday for biking escapades...  this is the email I got today:

Subject: our daughter

didn't nap, got up, ate most of a large potato, put the helmet on her head, came over to me.  I snapped the strap. . .PANDEMONIUM!!!!

She immediately started screaming and running around, eventually running smack into the wall with the dvd's, tumbling to the ground and smacking her helmeted head around.

Good news:  Helmet fits and performs fine.

Bad news:  Snapping the buckle shut caused her to need a helmet. . .

No more helmety adventures today thank you very much

Ouch!

So, it's been a crazy month & an even crazier week.  The poor Moose got 2 each top & bottom molars within the past few weeks.  Last week, while trying to learn to use them, she took a fat dime-sized chunk out of her tongue  :(  She didn't sleep for a couple of days & couldn't eat much: no breastfeeding, just soup & watery oatmeal for the ravenous beast.  I did confirm with the dentist's office - there's nothing we can do but wait this one out. 

This past Saturday, she had her first ever market meltdown.  Yobo had to take her home early - poor baby was SO tired & eternally hungry.  THANKFULLY, she was able to breastfeed again last night at bedtime, which means she's feeling better!  Oh man, though.  There were a lot of mini-meltdowns over the past week.  I can't even imagine what this past week would have been like if she weren't such a naturally sunny baby.  I have to say, I got a whole lot of snuggles this past week & that was kind of cool.  Thank you again, my little darling, for being such a sweetheart.

I'm working on posting more.  No sleep for baby = no computer time for mama.

Yard Happenings

favas on the outside, corn on the inside - the corn probably won't happen this year due to a number of reasons, but it was sure fun to try it!

who knew fava flowers were SO pretty?!  yay! beans!

favas, corn, & peas - front view

some of these pea leaves are the size of MY HAND.

one of my absolute favorites - wild cranesbill geraniums

sunflower getting ready to open!  now only if we could have a little more sun to help it along

STRAWBERRIES!

I forget what these are called, but they were really pretty on the label pictures  :)

strawberries & garlic, with some marigolds, corn, and the unknown purple-y flower

LOADS of potatoes!!!!  the big ones on the right were started first & are about to flower

the other bed of strawberries & garlic (& peas & tomatoes & chickweed).  a (real) moose got scared on the 4th of July & stomped this bed a bit, some of the strawberry plants for smashed  :(

Indigo Rose goes!

our sadly pruned plum

kiwis & grapes

the fence that Yobo built & a grape growing up it

the lilac in bloom

these pictures were actually taken about 3 weeks ago.  unfortunately, I kicked off July in style with a nasty migraine & didn't get to post these before now.

Workin' hard

our usual suspect - the drunkard

she gardens!

and smiles!

and fixes bikes, too!

Alaskan baby

let's go  :)

Knitty Naughty?

Fashion Show

this was already her dress; how she started the show

2nd favorite new dress

this is how I roll - tutu & monster truck.  what?

this is my favorite new dress

nom nom nom

Molar-ific (AKA Our Sunday)

So, the Moose is still just as stuffy.  I forgot that stuffiness is usually less in the morning.  D'oh!  Her matching top molar did actually bust through today & you can see on her lower gums where those top molars are grinding in.  Poor little snot-nosed bugger.  She didn't sleep as much today; but it's also Sunday, which means Nana's house in the afternoon.  Nana made corn on the cob, so the Moose gnawed a whole ear.  The Moose also got like 3 new summer dresses, a onesie tank, a tank/short set, and some new hair clips - Nana went to the store for 1 thing and came out with that thing and baby stuff  :D  We made the kid put on a fashion show LOL  pics to come!  She tried on everything but the onesie tank.  Of course, the Moose REFUSED to talk or draw for Nana; but she finally threw a ball for Nana's husband.

It was CRAZY windy here today!  We finally have a beautiful, clear, sunny day and the wind kicks in.  Our poor plants are getting the snot blown out of them.  Yobo had to tie up the fava beans again about 1/2 way through the day & they'll probably have to be tied again tomorrow.  All kinds of things are blooming though!  I was able to get some good pictures despite the wind (those pics coming, too - Yobo's watching movies online right now). 

My head only started hurting later in the afternoon today, so that's a plus  :D  The first batch of lilac jelly did not properly set & had to be thrown out.  We tried a new pectin & it did not work well at all  :(  So I started work this week on a 2nd batch, but wasn't able to cut enough, so I froze the tea I made and will have to cut some more.  Luckily, our lilac blooms twice & the second run just started so I'll have all kinds of fresh lilac to cut tomorrow, provided they don't all get blown off!  Lilac jelly for sure this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!  We're eating lots of the orange-lemon leaf jelly - it really is quite yummy.  The lemon leaf takes the sweetness of the orange down a notch so it's not overpoweringly sugary.  We've had a lot of excellent reviews & our own taste buds are quite pleased with it.  This jelly will definitely be making an appearance in this year's Christmas cookies  :) 

Hell Hath No Fury

Like a baby with post-it notes!

dad was attacked with post-it notes when he came home from market

after she got up from her 2nd nap, she had some AWESOME bed head.  this may be because her hair was still a little damp from her bath when she went down for said nap...

that's right - she's learned what writing utensils can do & she's not afraid to use them!

the car seat is so much more fun when it's NOT in the car

Oh man.  So, Sunday night a migraine started.  I went to work for the 2nd 1/2 of Monday, but was out again on Tuesday   :(   We didn't get to go to the 4th of July Parade or do any fireworks.  At least we got to hang out with the in-laws twice on Wednesday  :D  They came here for breakfast, then we went out there for dinner.  We left their house with a giant bag full of fireworks (maybe we can do something with them on New Year's, when it's actually dark out & we can see them!) and a boot load of other goodies.  I love "shopping" at their house LOL 

Other awesomeness this week:  we found out the Moose is allergic to walnuts.  Yobo made us walnut blueberry pancakes for dinner on Thursday; the Moose wasn't interested in them after she bit into her first walnut (she LOVES blueberries & pancakes).  No problem.  I generally come home for lunch to b00b feed the beast & put her down for an afternoon nap.  Friday morning, not long before I came home for lunch, she tried them again for breakfast - this time, she ate 2 1/2 of the 3 remaining pancakes.  I came home, she ate, I put her to bed & went back to work.  Not too much later, Yobo calls to say she woke up about a 1/2 hour after going down; he went to get her & her face, ears, and top of her chest were red & swollen (thankfully not her throat though)!!!!!!!!!!  It didn't take long for that swelling to go down, though she was definitely itchy while she was in bed - she scratched at her shoulders pretty good.  There is a scratched outline of a little hand over her right shoulder  :(   By the time I got home, almost all of the swelling on the top of her body was gone & moved down; still a little on her ears, but mostly now her lower torso, groin area, and the backs of her legs.  It was as if you could see the allergy moving through her body - as it worked it's way through her system, the hives followed.  We had mama/baby bath time, put a little antibiotic on her right shoulder, greased her down in vaseline, and drank lots of water.  By bedtime, there were no more hives & she went to bed without issue.

Also on Thursday night, she'd started sneezing & has been a wee stuffed up.  She also has a top pre-molar that just busted through on the left side last week & is working on the matching one for the right side.  I don't know if the congestion is related to the teething or if another cold was trying to get her.  Yobo went to market on his own yesterday - the Moose & I stayed home, just the 2 of us, for the whole day, for probably the first time ever AND SHE SLEPT THROUGH HALF OF IT!  She also slept through half of the evening and all night.  Whatever was going on, I'm really glad we stayed home yesterday - she obviously needed the rest.  She's still a little stuffy today, but seems to be vastly improved from yesterday morning   :D   

Baby Talk

Here's a list of official baby words (updated to reflect the order in which they appeared):

meow
mama

hoo-hoo (baby for dog)

woof

hi

hey

baby

hehehe  baby is her latest word, which she finally said for dad today  :D

update: she is now working on "thank you" & "Adina"   :D

A Most Friendly Visit!

My very good friend Ambrosia moved away to the Midwest last year.  Thankfully, a friend of hers got married recently, which gave her an excuse to come visit!  I took a day off work for us to spend together - a day which turned out to be BEAUTIFUL in so many ways!

She says "Hi dad!"

happy slobbery baby with her buh-dee

mama & baby

so sweet!  Ambrosia even got kisses on her way out  :)

sistahs

family photo!  sadly, it didn't turn out super well

Our other site

We officially have a gardening blog.  Yobo started it less than a month ago to help catalog our gardening adventures  :D  We're both big believers that people should share the information they have and, oh boy, does he have a lot to share when it comes to gardening.  If I remember, we'll be making up some business cards pretty soon for Adina's Acres, and No Budget Gardening will be a part of that.  I haven't had a chance to post over there yet, but all good things in due time LOL  So stop on by & check it out.  We'd like to hear from everyone, especially if you're gardening in Alaska!