Cassie update

Sometimes you've just got to reserve an entire post for your favorite little one, you know what I mean? Highlights from the past few months:

• Saying "up!" Her first 'command' word.
• Squealing when she sees any animal and quacking at ducks
  
• Running away in stores or outside- no fear
• Finding her belly button (and searching up her shorts when she can't remember where she found it last)
• Understanding most of what we say (walking to her changing table when we announce a diaper change, walking to the fridge when we mention milk, etc.)
• Loving Elmo. What is it about him? She'll even drink plain water from her Elmo cup.
• Hating having her teeth brushed. Any suggestions here?
  

Just making a mess- it's what she does best.

Time sure flies. She's already driving.

She loves being outside, even if it's only on our balcony.

Cassie's birthday gift from Aunt Becky was a container of these amazing bubbles that don't pop easily. Here's a fun video of her with some neighbors.

Cassie pulled this drawer out, removed the contents, and climbed inside. As you can see, she was very pleased with herself.

Wearing some authentic Chinese garb: made in China and bought in China.

Who knew a 13-month-old could make us so happy?

Crafts: done!

In March I wrote this post about giving away free handmade items to some lucky winners. Here they are! I liked how they turned out, so I made one for me, too.



They belong to: Leslee Sitton, me, Katie Houston, Amy Rosenvall, and Janelle Dudley. Sorry to Leslee that yours is a little more rustic than the others. "S" is a popular letter and I couldn't find one like the others at any craft store- all sold out. Leslee, Amy, and Janelle, I need your addresses so I can deliver/mail these to you. If you have my email address, send it to me there. Otherwise, write a comment here letting me know that you don't have my email and we'll figure something out. (I don't want to publish my email online and I'm sure you don't want to publish your address!)

Bad Parents

Trevor had Friday, July 3rd off of work, and because I'm really attached to holiday festivities and traditions (especially summer ones), we decided we would cram a hike into our already barbeque/parade/outdoor breakfast/ultimate frisbee/water-balloon launch/festival at the park/fireworks- filled weekend. Trevor's parents let us borrow a baby backpack for little Cassie to ride in, and we set off up Rock Canyon.


But let me back up. Moments before this picture was taken, Cassie had insisted on taking a walk in the parking lot, which was entirely too steep for her, and tumbled head-first onto the pavement. Trev was right behind her and snatched her up right after she fell. She was upset for about two minutes, then was back to her curious, busy self. We didn't notice until later that she had really scratched and bruised one spot on her head. She still has a few scabs.

Cassie was itching to get out of the backpack during most of the hike (I kept popping snacks into her mouth to keep her happy and distracted) so we stopped a few times to let her explore.


We were so careful when we let her walk around, and she was getting impatient with us not letting her walk on her own. We decided to hurry back down the trail and get her home to flat terrain and her nap. When we were in sight of the parking lot and Cassie was clearly upset about being stuck in a backpack, we decided to let her out. The trail was a fairly flat gravel road by then. I lifted Cassie out of the backpack and set her down on the gravel to walk around. Unfortunately, instead of standing when I let go (I thought her feet were firmly planted), she bent forward to examine the gravel and ended up examining it too closely. She hit the ground pretty hard, head first, and her nose started bleeding. I felt so terrible! We cleaned her up with the wet wipes we had, and in about three minutes she was happy and squirmy again, wanting to walk on her own. This time we made her hold Daddy's hands.
If you zoom in, you'll see a little blood right under her nose and on her shirt. You'll also see her mischevious tongue-smile.

So even though Cassie had forgotten about her falls moments after they happened, and someone said to me, "she's at that age where she always has bumps and scrapes," I still feel like a pretty bad parent.