Who Wore It Better?

     Thanksgiving Turkey, 2010                                        Lady Gaga, MTV VMA's, 2010

Happy Birthday Aunt Kelly!

Happy Birthday to Kelly, from Scarlett.  [My plan had been to insert a photo of the two of them here.  But I don't have one with me at work, so please settle for this picture of Scarlett alone.]

 And happy one month birthday to little Zoe, who is my friend DeAnna's new little girl.

When I was pregnant, there were so many other people pregnant at or around the same time.  My two closest friends had babies just before I did, and my three sisters-in-law all have kids that are less than a year younger or older than Scar.  At the time, it was so nice to have other people to discuss pregnancy with, to commiserate with when my hips hurt, and to ask when something strange happened.  But it's even more fun now, we know so many babies.  Scarlett is at the point where playdates with other kids are actually entertaining for her.  And although I still think of her as my tiny little baby, she is starting to seem more like a toddler: moves around constantly, never wants to be held for very long, has a mind of her own.  And although sometimes I miss when she was Zoe's age and would just sleep in my arms all day, I am in love with the way she smiles all big when I get home from work, starts kicking her legs in excitement, and reaches out her arms for me.

Thanksgiving

Scarlett's first Thanksgiving was spent at home, with lots of cousins who came to play.  We had 3 babies under the age of one, and 4 other kids 10 and under.

Lucy, Scarlett, Hope, Esther, Eleanor

I've been looking for a reason to put Scarlett in this poodle-skirt-ish outfit.  Thanksgiving seemed like the proper occasion...although tights are really impractical for changing a diaper.

Along with the traditional Thanksgivingy stuff, we had this awesome stew that Aunt Sarah made.  The pumpkin is called a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, which pretty much sounds like the best thing ever.  The next day, Scarlett and I ate the leftovers for two meals in a row.
We also had pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, berry crisp, and chocolate mousse.  And brussels sprouts that I want to make for dinner every night.

Gus, ready to dig in

Scarlett and Grandma

Jon, Charlie, baby Forest

Sarah, baby Esther, Tom, Sally

Forest is just five weeks younger than Scarlett, and they spent some time playing adorably on the floor together.  But all the pictures I took of that were blurry.  So, you'll have to settle for pictures of Charlie and I with Forest.

Hope and Scarlett, taking a pre-dinner walk

Sarah and I with our awesome babies

Towards the end of the night, Gus and Uncle Robert started working on a puzzle.  After the younger kids went to sleep, we helped.  I haven't done a puzzle in years, probably.  It's super addicting.  I am pretty sure I'm going to quit my job and start professionally puzzling someday.  This has started a tradition though- Charlie and I have decided that we want to do a puzzle every Thanksgiving.  When Scarlett gets older, maybe she can pick out a puzzle for us to work on as a family.  Right now, she mostly wants to digest the puzzle pieces.
Here was the finished product:

Happy Thanksgiving.

Scarface

In lieu of anything interesting to say...

Fortune Telling

Hallway Yoga

Argos

Scarlett and I paid a visit to Noelle:

I've never really liked big dogs.  I always like the IDEA of them, I think they're cute and I sometimes think I want one.  But then, when they get their fur and drool and bad breath close to me, I realize I'm not a dog person and in particular, not a person fond of big dogs. My arch-enemy is Cooper, my nephew-dog, who I haven't even learned to love after 8 years.  I think some of this comes from just being afraid of dogs, and I want to make sure Scarlett likes them.  So on Sunday, she and Argos, the German Shepherd, got to know each other. First through a window, because they were both a little overly excited.

Then face-to-face.  She wanted to pet his nose and love all over him.

Thanks Farinas for the lovely afternoon!  Also...wasn't my baby cute?  Don't you want one???

Posing for the Camera

The Broughtons' camera is even more paparazzi than ours, so we finally have some new pictures of Scarlett that aren't blurry.  She's even smiling, and showing off her really delicious chubby cheeks.

Wagon Walking

She really wants to walk, but right now she needs a little help.

How do I say this delicately?

Dear Greg Oden- You are the WORST INVESTMENT EVER. 

Signed, Portland Oregon

Everybody's Got Something to Hide....

Little Parker

My baby cousin, Andrea, isn't a baby anymore and now has a baby of her own.  This is her little Parker, born October 3, who is so tiny that Scarlett could probably eat him in one bite.

Tacoma trip

We took a trip to Tacoma this weekend- it was basically a 48-hour photo shoot for two very cute, photogenic little girls.  Scarlett is now the age that Ella was when Scarlett was born. 


Scarlett helped me pack my suitcase.

Ella, almost 18 months.

Scarlett with Kelly and Ella

Ella and Johan, just done with bath-time

Carrie and Scarlett, donuts and reading.

It's impossible to find a picture of both girls looking at the camera.  But rest assured, they played and Ella taught Scarlett about soccer.

Then she took Ella's ride out for a spin

Ella with Charlie, who she will later learn to refer to as 'the Godfather'.

9 months

Today is Scarlett Ray's 9 month birthday, and there is so much to say.  This past month has been milestone central!  She weighs 19 pounds 3 ounces, which puts her right at the 50th percentile for weight.  She's also at 50% for height. 

Shopping Cart Ride



Magazine Chaos

• She waves, although rarely at the appropriate time.
• She claps
• She mumbles a lot, the only discernable word being 'mamamamama'.  Is she saying Mama?  I'm not really sure- she says it when she's crying, so maybe she's calling for me, but she says it other times too, for no reason.
• She's learned to pull herself up into standing position.  From there, she's not sure what to do, so she stands for a while and then just sits back down.
• In the past couple weeks, she has acquired FOUR new teeth- the front top row of her mouth.  The fourth is just coming in as we speak.  Her smile is going to change so much- I'm so excited to see what it looks like, but sad to realize that my baby girl is growing up and maturing and turning into her own little person.  
• Her daddy taught her to turn the light switch on & off
• She does a lot of pretend walking.  After work I always ask how she and Charlie spent the day, and he tells me they walked laps around the living room, over and over.
• She had her first Halloween & her first time celebrating mama's birthday (which marked Charlie & I going on our first post-baby date!)
• She's eaten some new foods: peaches, applesauce, pears, butternut squash, peas, tahini, beets, beans.  I'm not sure what Charlie thinks, but I'd say her favorite food is the homemade applesauce. [Update: Charlie thinks bananas]
• This month, I also had my second overnight away (first being Hood to Coast), leaving Scarlett alone with Charlie for the evening. 
• She loves taking things out of boxes/cupboards/drawers.  Every day, she takes all the magazines from under the coffee table and throws them into a pile on the floor.  We put them back, and she starts over again.
• Just yesterday, she took her first ride in a shopping cart  
• She can hold her sippy cup to drink water without help

Scarlett is very affectionate and playful, and stubborn.  And, I just think she's the most interesting person I've ever met.  I tell her everyday how happy I am to be her mama.  I feel like the luckiest person in the world. 

Happy 9 months, oatmeal-face