Labor Day

Blake took Olive down to the beach this morning so he could surf so I'm home alone. Always feels weird not to have Olive around even if it's just for a few hours. We're going to a bbq later today so I was able to get a pasta salad all prepared and get a bunch of dishes and laundry done. I know so exciting but much easier without a child in one hand. I'm trying to think of what I need to do while I have the time but I'm feeling kinda lazy. I should crawl back into bed but I drank way too much coffee. We had a long night with Olive last night. Remember how I said she was sleeping through the night for like 2 or 3 weeks well that stopped. So so so so so bummed it was way too good to be true. She has slowly not been putting herself back to sleep at 5am and also the last two nights she has been waking up at 2am and not going back to sleep without help. The other night I went in there and fed her at 2am which was probably bad on my part since we've kinda stopped the night feedings but I knew it would put her back to sleep and I was tired. Lazy parenting, I know. Last night Blake went in there around 2am and put her back to sleep with a back rub but then she was up again at 3am. Blake put her back down again and then she was up at 5am. I fed her since I feel like after 5 it's kinda fair game to want to eat. She went back to sleep till 7 which was great but I just can't figure out what is going on. She was really pissy the entire day yesterday so I'm guessing there is a new tooth coming in or maybe a growth spurt cause something was off. Hoping she will be happy today for the bbq which I'm sure she will since she will be around people.

We've had a pretty fun weekend so far, nothing too fancy. On Saturday we joined Evan and Aimee for a civil war reenactment in Huntington Beach. Not really my thing at all. I'm usually up for anything but this, not so much. People watching was really cool but the war reenactment was silly. It was crazy loud which annoyed me. Olive was super into it of course. Her little head was going back and forth watching all the guns and people running but I decided that we should probably walk away cause the guns and cannons were really loud. That and the person next to me was talking shit about bringing a kid to a reenactment cause the noise. I mean if you're gonna judge my parenting either say it to my face or whisper so I can't hear you. I didn't say anything when her husband said "the British are coming, the British are coming." Wrong war shithead.  There were tons of kids surrounding us and even a mom breastfeeding in front of us so I wasn't the only one. I gave the girl a dirty look and decided to leave before I got angry. We wandered around with Aimee and her friend till Blake and Evan decided they had enough. It was a beautiful day and I'm always happy to hang with Evan and Aimee but I don't see anymore reenactments in my future. Plus I was in a shit mood cause Fuck Ya Fest was happening in LA and I really wanted to go see Descendents play. I secretly wished Blake bought tickets and was going to surprise me. Not his fault I should of just got the tickets and asked a friend to go. Next time. The rest of the day was spent at home building Olive's castle slide thing which was her birthday present from my parents.

Yesterday we spent the day at home, catching up on random stuff and a whole lot of playing on the castle. She crawls up the slide, walks to this little wheel thing and spins it a few times, then sits down and goes down the slide. She loves it. She has no fear at all which scares me but she is having so much fun. I want to put her pool under it and put water on the slide. Bad idea? We also went for a walk around the block. Olive is all walker now and she wants to do everything on her own. She didn't really want to hold our hands on the walk, just wanted to do her own thing. She walks with her hands up which cracks me up.

11 months

I never know how to start these things. There is always so much to say but I never quite know how to spit it all out and then I get sidetracked talking about who the hell knows what but I'll do my best to sum up 11 months.....

I guess the first thing is walking. She mostly walks but occasionally crawls in order to get somewhere super fast. It's more of a bear crawl as her knees don't touch the ground. Every day the crawling gets less and less. I find that she prefers to walk when she has something in her hand which is pretty much all the time. She is constantly doing something, such a busy little girl. She isn't super into playing with her toys these days. I try to pull things out but she is obsessed with her books. I'm not kidding, we will sit for hours and she will just hand me books to read. Sometimes she lets me read through the entire book and then she hands it back and I read it again and again. Other times she hates the book we are reading and makes this horrible ick noise and knocks it away. She has started to get VERY opinionated! So ya lots of book reading. She also likes to eat her books. Other favorite toys include the remote control, my iphone, dvd's, measuring cups, and my old camera. I'm sure she will get back into her toys again but for now she wants everything that isn't a toy. She loves playing in the backyard and we spend a lot of time going out there. She loves her swing and when she wants on it she will let me know. She points and makes noises and then when I lift her up she squeals. She is learning how to communicate in funny little ways that I understand. Since she can't talk and if she doesn't know the sign it's like a funny game trying to figure out what she is trying to tell me.

When she isn't handing me books she is torturing Sierra. She knows how to throw the toy for her now and when she takes too long Sierra grabs it out of her hand and she screams from excitement. She gets the biggest kick out of feeding her. The poor dog is obese now. She will take a few bites of whatever she is eating and then offer some to Sierra. I've tried to stop her but it's pointless. She is eating, the dog is eating, we're all happy. The slobber exchange is just lovely but what are you gonna do? The only problem is Olive has started throwing things at her. Not all the time but here and there it happens. She will take her sippy cup, walk straight up to her and throw it down at her. It's pure evil. Should I be worried? I always tell her not to do that but she totally doesn't get it.

When she isn't trying to knock Sierra out she is sweet. She gives kisses to her books, toys, and to us. She will put her head down and come in for a quick snuggle too. She is also very gentle when she touches Sierra now. She has finally learned how to pat gently. She just needs to stop the throwing things.

Sleep has been good but I never get too comfortable as I know it can and will change. I think we're on almost 2 weeks of sleeping through the night. Well from 6:45-5 but still working on not waking up at 5. She mostly goes back to sleep till 6 but not all the time. Working on that. Just happy she isn't eating 2x a night like she was a few weeks ago. She naps 2x a day. Her first nap is around 8:30 or 9 and her second nap is around 1 or 2. I know so boring but if I have more babies I want to remember all this info cause I never will. Naps are hit and miss. Some days they are 30 min and other days they are an hour.

She is funny. I know that sounds stupid, I mean how can a baby be funny but she really is. She plays this game with Blake when she is eating where she pretends to give him the cup then pulls it away. She laughs so hard and I feel like it's her version of goofing around. She makes funny faces and blows raspberries on my leg and laughs at herself. She stands on her head and looks between her legs. A million other things but she is definitely going to be a goofball.

She loves sharing. Not just with Sierra but she gets the biggest kick out of handing me something. When I say a big thank you, you can tell she is satisfied with herself. She thinks it's hysterical when she hands me food and I pretend to eat it and make a "nom nom" sound. I love that babies enjoy silly little things like this.

I think her favorite thing is the beach. She is happy when she can play by the water or roll around in the sand. She has yet to shove sand in her mouth or do a face plant so I feel very happy about that. She loves wandering down by the water and pointing to the birds and talking to all the people. When she isn't near the water she is playing in the sand, laying on her belly just hanging out. I'm a little sad summer will be over soon because she is having so much fun. Next summer will be a little less relaxing, chasing her all around while she tries to swim to Catalina and chase the birds. 

I love my happy wild child!

Pick it up and throw it down. Over and over.