twelve months

When I was pregnant with Malaikah, my mom told me how she felt like I had had 'a perfect first year' of life.  My brother was in preschool a couple days each week, and things just went along swimmingly for me.  Of course, I said to her, if I had a perfect first year it was all down hill from there!  With the exception of a 24-hour bug in August (her first fever! :/ ) I would say that Malaikah, too, had a perfect first year.  I hope that her years only improve!

This month saw quite a few developments:  two more teeth peeked through (total of six!), she started climbing stairs, and even a little chair in her room, at 12 months she was standing for 4-5 seconds unassisted - and now she's working VERY hard on walking but just can't quite execute it.   Malaikah continues to eat everything around her - this Quinoa Black Bean Mango Salad was a big hit (!?), corn, watermelon, apples, grapes, whatever.  I love it because it means if we go out/to a friend's house, I'm confident she'll eat something.  It also means I have to have snacks on hand always. When I open the fridge or cabinet door, she'll start scooting around, clapping, and screaming.  Basically, give this girl food allllllll the time.  She's not nursing all that much any more. It felt like Kyalo was nursing 24/7 for two years, so this is a welcome relief, but at the same time, is a little bitter sweet.  I miss the snuggle times with her!  I do hope to continue nursing as long as possible - it is special and helps to keep her healthy.

Other things: L O V E S to brush her teeth, loves reading, has started 'dancing' to music.  Has no discernible words yet. No 'Mama' or 'Dada' or 'Papa'.  Mostly she just points to everything and says something that sounds sort of like 'issh'  She does have a lot of grunting and general gesturing so I can sort of figure out what she's trying to say.

On her birthday I *had* to get a few more pictures - this time in a Kenya T-Shirt.  

future ballerina?

happy - and drool-y

At her 12-month doctor's visit she was weighed and measured and poked and prodded.  Three shots and a finger prick seemed a little excessive, but she handled it reasonably well.  

27 3/4 inches tall {7.75 percentile}

20 lbs 6 oz {60th percentile - let's be honest, we all thought she'd have gained more weight, given the amount she eats!}

People continually comment about how easy going or content she seems.  She is definitely a happy baby.  Kyalo & Papa are her favorite people.  

her happy spot

foraging

I'm not sure where most of the Cheerios end up - her tummy or the floor

At 45 seconds this video is a little long, but I love her determination here.

It has really been a wonderful year.  I love how every day seems to bring new changes and developments.  I really think she'll be walking soon - and then life will really change!  Here's hoping the second year is just as good as the first!  

a birthday celebration

On Thursday, Malaikah turned one.  Since Dexter has Wednesdays off, my parents and Judy & Neil from Owls Head came up for a small birthday celebration.  I'm no party planner, so we just had a little BBQ in the backyard.  It was fairly low-key and simple -- and even still, exhausting :) -- but it was just right to make the day feel special for everyone.

The party didn't get started until mid afternoon, and Malaikah was a little unsure of things when she woke up from her nap.

Brace yourself for a lot of pictures!

that scowl!  She did, eventually, warm up.

A friend of mine has a son who was born on the same day as Malaikah (so, they're obviously betrothed), and I shamelessly stole her creative birthday picture ideas.  They got a bunch of balloons and went to a big field with letters that spelled O N E.  Instead of a field, though, we just did our back yard.  Nothing makes you want to spruce up your backyard more than seeing it in pictures, that's for sure!  

At first, she wasn't so sure about the balloons. I think they even frightened her a bit.  She did warm up to them. And now, whenever she sees them she smiles and laughs.  

 the weeds, falling down saw horses, and the cinder block really add an element of charm to the pic ;)

best picture of the day!

we couldn't convince Kyalo to join us

Pictures over, it was time to move onto dessert.  I made a chocolate zucchini cupcake recipe (using dark cocoa and coconut oil) to serve as the 'smash cake' idea.  We stripped her down, threw her in her high chair, gave a pathetic rendering of 'Happy Birthday' and then let her have the cupcake.  She just looked at it for a bit, wondering what she was supposed to do.  Dexter had to help her by dabbing her finger in the frosting and putting it in her mouth.  After that, it didn't take much encouragement.

victory!!!

There will be another, usual, monthly post coming up, but I wanted to get these pictures up before too much time slipped away.  It was a great day, filled with love and laughter.  We look forward to the year -- and all the changes -- ahead!

everything else

This summer has been really, really great.  There have been long, slow, lazy days, and days filled with  interesting activities.  It has just zipped by.  School's back in session, a certain someone turns one this week, and we're gearing up for cooler days (this week is in the 90s, though, so it isn't coming to soon. That's fine!).

This is mostly going to be an onslaught of photos as a way for us to remember all that we did.

One of the most exciting things is that we got Kyalo a bike. It was long over due, and he has LOVED it.  The first few days he would would rush outside to ride.  There's a bike path in Bethel, about 30 minutes from here, that we've gone to a few times.  He's still figuring out things like up and down hill and breaking properly/completely, but it has been a great way to fill time.

We had a rainy Sunday afternoon with no plans, so headed to the little bowling alley just down the street from us.  It was Kyalo's first time to bowl! And it took me right back to my childhood bowling days because we had to keep score on PAPER. Using MATH.  In New England, we do candle pin bowling, which are small balls.  I had never done 'real' bowling (the heavy balls with holes in them - is there a name for it?) until I moved to California after college.  Kyalo loved this, too, and asked if we could keep going.  I think we've found a nice winter-weather activity.

But mostly, we tried to take advantage of beautiful weather and beautiful places around Maine.  It is a bonus to do that exploring with friends!  

First, Screw Auger Falls, just outside of Bethel, with friends Landric, Branson, & Ellie:

 checking out the tadpoles

 being brave - it is nice when other parks have new things to try out

Screw Auger and Step Falls are these natural waterfalls that are gorgeous.  Both days I was there were gorgeous and they were teeming with people on picnics, hikes, and braving the cold water for swimming and sliding down the falls.  In some ways, they feel like little hidden gems.  There are so many places like that around us.  One of the things I love about living in Maine.

Since Kyalo still love baseball (and we're still playing endless games all the time!) we met up with my parents in Portland for one more Seadogs (Triple A for the Red Sox!) game.  Kyalo spent a lot of the game chasing after Slugger, the mascot.  Since we went on a Sunday, he was allowed to stay to run the bases at the end of it.  That game ended up going into extra innings -- maybe 11? -- so it was a long wait.  But he loved it, so well worth it.

gathering eggs at Pineland Farms

fresh eggs and pears from a visit with friends

Last weekend we went to the Maine Wildlife Park, which is like a zoo, but it has animals that are all native to Maine. We finally got to see our first Moose!  Kyalo was pleased.  We also saw some bears, foxes, porcupines, etc.  A fun family, Maine day.

 Malaikah's started a whole-hand pointing thing. I think she was pointing at a fox or coyote.

Naps ended a long time ago, but I instituted quiet time each afternoon.  It is always interesting to see what kinds of things he gets up to while he's in his room.  A lot of times, he's covered head to toe in marker.  He went through a stage of changing into his church clothes. Then there was the day he dressed in his church clothes, put some music on, and had a dance party.

never a dull moment around here

Life is good (and we're pretending winter is not fast approaching).  We are more settled in here, we've done a lot of exploring, we're hitting our stride, I think.