So, if I don't sit down and write this right now, I'm not sure it's going to happen any time soon. It will please you to know that "June Blog" has been on my "to do" list for 30 days now and rather than adding "July Blog" to my "to do" list, I'm going to hash it out right meow.
June...let me think...ahh yes. If you'll recall Juddy's Grandfather passed in May, so
the first weekend of June we headed to Salt Lake City for a memorial. Call me crazy, or maybe just lucky, but funerals in my world have always been a time of family get-togethers. Everyone is always doing there own thing and it's hard to get the whole family together except for funerals and weddings. You know the classic Italian joke right? What's the difference between an Italian wedding and an Italian funeral? One less person. The point is, once you get past the sadness of losing a loved one, it really is nice to have your whole family in one place. So, we headed to Salt Lake City to enjoy 4 days of Juddy's family. It was great to see everyone and nice to be able to bring Radler as she brought a lightness to a sad situation. Now, I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but there was one particular family member who made a special bond with Radler. Radler fell for her. She fell for Radler and I have no doubt that they will continue to have something special for the rest of their lives. It was really fun to see! She's not a favorite, just a super special connection. AND Radler had her first sleepover carefully watched by Nana Nae, Aunts and cousins. Juddy and I took advantage of our time off, headed to a bar to see cousin Dee rip on the saxaphone and slept in the next morning!
After SLC, we were home for a few days before we left for Puerto Rico to see Radler's BBF (that's Best Friend Forever for those of you new to the acronyms). Our good friends Rabbit and Ana have a baby girl, Isa, who is just a few weeks younger than Rad. Ana was my pregnancy buddy, even if we were a continent away from each other. We spent 10 days at Hobo's Beach in Isabella in a fabulously air conditioned condo. LISTEN UP you mom's-to-be!!! This is Mom Tip #27- Do not vacation in a tropical place while your child is an infant. The only exception to the rule is A) if you have a nanny or B) a Disney Cruise. Rad and Isa had NO interest in being in the hot, humid weather on the nice, sandy, no-shade beach so we spent the majority of the time in our air conditioner car and room. We had a lovely time and the point of our trip was to hang out with Rabbit, Ana and Isa (which we did), but I was mildly disspointed in the lack of sunbathing. Note to self. We drove hundreds of miles, however, saw the entire island, hiked, giggled, enjoyed Old San Juan, watched a lot of the World Cup, enjoyed sunsets, surfed, and tuned in "Team Diaper Change" to a science.
When we got back from Puerto Rico, we were home for a few days and
then headed to see our favorite band in Eugene and Seattle. Radler stayed with Nana Nae outside of Portland and enjoyed a few hours with Colleen while we went to the Seattle show. The shows were less than epic, but it was great to see a lot of familiar faces and it was our first Panic shows since New Years 2009. I know that means nothing to most of you, but some of you know that we were jonesing for a show!! I can't wait to take Radler to her first Panic show!!
I know what you're thinking, does Danielle ever work?!?! The answer is yes, all the time, however June was just one of those months that turned out less than 5 days a week. I quickly got back into the grind in July.
July has been much more relaxed with just your typical Rosellison schedule. We were kindly treated to a Mariners vs Yankees game at the beginning of the month. We rolled in 10 people deep and enjoyed a fabulous baseball game on a beautiful sunny day. Radler and I even made the Jumbotron, however no one from our group saw it and it wasn't until an old, elementary school friend asked me on facebook the following day if she'd seen me and Rad that I found out. Next time, we'll pay a little more attention!!
Oh I know!! Guess who started crawling before the 4th of July?!?!
Yup! Six months old (really almost seven) and our little pip squeek started movin'. And boy, is she fast! She'd really rather walk, but Juddy and my back's just won't hold out so their is "X" amount of crawling that has to take place. So she crawls, she was pulling herself up onto things within days of crawling and she is into everything! Everyone told us. We're now transitioning into the fact that we can't just plop her down and have her entertain herself.
She either wants to move from one plce to the other, she wants you to play with her or, most likely, she wants you to take her hands and help her walk and explore every corner of every room and every new object that catches her eye. You can watch her see the world completely differently now. She's very aware of water and steps. The whole thing is crazy. Didn't I just birth this child a few months ago and now she's mobile?!!?
And not only did she start crawling, but we also ventured on to solid food.
Yum yum!! MUSH! Juddy and I buy large bags of organic, frozen vegetables from Costco, steam and puree them. Its WAY cheaper than buying ready made baby food and the "frozen" organic veggies keeps the cost down.
I should also throw in here that we celebrated her 1/2 Birthday. For those of you who don't know, I think it is cruel and unusual punishment to make a kid celebrate their birthday if it falls between Thanksgiving and January 15th. First, your birthday gets merged with Christmas (or whatever present giving holiday you celebrate that time of year) which is totally unfair. But more importantly, do you rememeber how LONG a year was when you were a kid? It was FOREVER!!
I was lucky enough to have a summer birthday so I only had to wait about 6 months for my birthday and then 6 months for Christmas. I can't imagine the eternity it would seem like to have to wait ALL YEAR for your birthday, only for Christmas to fall within the same month. I'm just not going to subject my child to that. Hence the Half Birthday. Please don't send cards on 12/8. Or if you do, just know she won't get them until 06/08. I figure we'll start it now, lie to the elementary school, and when she's old enough to care she can change it back if she wants. I'm sure some of you think I'm nuts, but those who know me know it's really par for the course that I'm doing it MY way. :)
This is getting long and I'm getting tired so I'm going to go through the rest of June and July in lighting speed. Commencing in 5...4...3...2...1...
When she's done, she's done. Nighty night!
We hit the Freemont fair the day we got back from Puerto Rico. On the right, in the baby carrier, is her future prom date, Athinian.
Showing Grammy that she can walk!
Is this a CamelBak commerical or what?!?!
Uncle Tony's 25th birthday. Sweet boots, huh?!?!
Ummm. Solid food. Yes!! Her first Dick's burger.
Hat by Jessica. It's the first hat she's ever crocheted.
Rad meeting her second cousin Cole. That's my cousins son.
Live, free music in the summer.
Time with Grandpa.
Juddy's birthday picture. That's how he rolls.
We picked 44 pounds of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. *Note* I have no idea why this picture is sideways. Computer glitch.
Leavenworth. Guns.
Leaventworth. Minor League Game. The Applesox.
Chillin' in the river in Leavenworth.
Sand in every crevis. She thinks she likes to eat it too.
That's me jumping. 40 feet. Sweet.
Phew!! I did it. I know I wrote a small novel, but I tried to incorporate a lot of pictures so ya'll wouldn't get bored. We love you all. Hugs and Loves from the Rosellison's
I think the total hike was 7 miles round trip....I'll bet we did 5. It was probably Big Happy's favorite day since Radler was born; he ran, snift, peed, swam and ran some more. Radler was a trooper, although it's not like she had to do a whole lot; I mean really, she got a 5 mile piggy back ride! It reminded me how much beauty is so close to where we live and how much more I want to hike. That happens to be one of our goals fro next year, to hike more. It's as much for my sake (physically and mentally) as it is for Radler (get her out of the house experiencing nature) and of course Big Happy's. Juddy got a sick Radler backpack for Christmas so I foresee a lot more hiking this year. Oh, there she is again...I think she's done entertaining herself....
We also headed out to Orcas Island for a weekend to see my dad. My work has been really, really busy (which is great considering how many mortgage loan originators are struggling) and I was hoping that a trip to Orcas would center myself as it has for 2 decades. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It was fabulous to see my dad, and go hiking but the "full release of the real world" that I was looking for was absent. That just might be "Welcome to Momhood". Do you ever stop wondering, worrying, thinking? Thus far, the answer is no. And I am slowly prepping myself for this level of anxiety for the remainder of my life. I wonder if that's why women make less than ideal monks? How tough is meditation while you're constantly thinking about your kids and family? Based on my limited work to clear my mind during a trip to Orcas or a massage, I'd say VERY difficult!
We didn't even make it to the Sudden Valley kids carnival!! Oh well, Radler didn't care, and we were thrilled. We also managed to see our friends in Seattle the night before Halloween and celebrate Paulie's 40th birthday. Happy Birthday Paulie!
