mish-mash rehash

For Z's first year, I had her pictures taken every month. Since her first b-day, I have cut back to every 3 months. Here are her "15 Month" pictures, although rescheduled technically during her 16th month due to illness. She is starting to feel more toddler-y and less baby-y now that she has 7 teeth and enough hair for full-on piggy tails. She can stand on her own, but refused to do so for pictures. Maybe next time.

I should have baby shower pictures soon. My Indian-themed party was so nice. We had cake, Indian food, a fruit blessing, and games. My favorite was the make-and-take craft. We made home-made bath salts in baby jars and decorated them all Martha-y. It was so much fun. Mark even came for a few minutes before he had to go to sleep.

I think the illness that has been constant at our house is, after almost an entire month, finally gone. Yay. We all are still coughing, but no one feels bad anymore. And we are back to our routines.

I am very preoccupied with logistical planning, financial planning (I got my annual bonus Friday and as of now have a $0 credit card balance) and feeling very pregnant these days. I am settling in at work, which means I am busy and the time is flying by more quickly again.

A lot is going on with Zola. This is always true, I guess. She is on day 12 without a pacifier and is down to only 1 bottle per day, with the hope that she will start drinking from the sippy cup someday. She can get the liquid out, but she doesn't like it. So, she just throws it when you offer. She is saying "go," "up," "wow," "yeah" and "look at that." She is hitting a lot, and we are completely at a loss for how to treat it. This is one of those times that it would be so much easier to conventionally parent, because we would know how to handle these things. She is learning how to brush her teeth. She can climb the stairs, bring a spoon (with food still on it) to her mouth, drink from a cup with help, wipe stuff with a rag to clean it, pick up her toys and put them in the bin (with coaxing,) and walk with help. She still prefers to hold two hands when walking. If you only give her one, sometimes she's fine. But, usually she'll sit down and crawl because she just doesn't feel stable and her balance is very important to her. Tvisha has a car that kids can get in and push with their feet. Zola can open the door, crawl up into the seat and turn to sit properly, shut the car door, and then goes crazy steering the car wheel (which does nothing.) She can also climb up into a chair, turn switches, press buttons with one finger, turn several pages of a book at once, answer your questions with babble, open and close tupperware lids, and defeat simple child-proofing devices. She is starting to assert some strong food preferences and cries like you're beating her if you try to give her something she doesn't like. And she seems to be back to sleeping most of the time through the night.

Baby #2 is growing on track with Zola at this point, according to the doctor. So, I might get to have another giant baby. Everyone is betting she'll come early, though. I am already having a couple of Braxton-Hicks per day.