Christmas Photos

I took Odessa in to JCPenney last month to get some "professional" photos of her taken in her holiday dress (okay one of her many holiday dresses).

Photo shoots were a lot easier back before she could walk! For one, she can now just get up and walk away when she decides that she is disinterested in what the photographer and I are doing. Secondly, all those "tricks" that used to work to make her smile, now have no effect at all. She will just roll her eyes at me.

Hurricane Odessa

Month 16 seems to be all about making "messes". Some days I am more patient with the unending clutter, others not so much.

Rite of Passage: New Seasons Car Cart

Odessa rode in the "car" shopping cart at New Seasons for the 1st time. At first, she looked at me like I was abandoning her under a bridge. But then I showed her how to "beep" the car horn and she was hooked.

Also you can see her very cute scarf in the photo.

Forestry Museum, November 2007

Artichoke

Odessa loves artichokes. Unfortunately it is very time consuming to pick the pieces off that she can eat. She doesn't get the "scrape against your teeth" move quite yet. So there is a lot of whining for more, more!

Very Specific Parking Requirements

Disturbing Doll

When I was a little girl, I played with Barbie dolls. When I became older, I understood how controversial they were for their impossibly skinny bodies, big boobs etc. etc.

Now little girls have the Hi Glamm doll to idolize. In addition to a super skinny waist and big boobs, girls will wish for legs that are about 10 feet long! Oh the crazy things that we buy.

And, on a side note, this is a remake of a doll put out by Hasbro in the 70's called Leggy dolls. Weird.

Elusive Sleep

Oh sleep, my dear friend
you used to come to easily and stay without hesitation
...and then I had a baby...
and now you dissapear so quickly, leaving me wide-eyed
and wishing for your return

Pumpkin Face

Now that Odessa seems to "get" what the camera is all about she will make a very unnatural face when she knows I am about to take her photo. It is much more difficult now to get her beautiful smile on camera!

Can I see your license and registration please?

Odessa LOVES to ride around in her car. It is so cute that she "prepares" by putting her purse around her neck and her Honey doll in one arm. She then will drive pretty erratically bumping into walls, bookshelves, coffee tables, cats etc.

November

Ready for a Grateful Dead concert

And what is with that face? I swear she gets it from her father!

O in the leaf pile

It is Fall. And one requirement of the season is to spend some time playing in the leaves. So Larry raked them up, and we introduced Odessa to the this fall festivity. She had a bit of trepidation at first, but quickly enjoyed "crunching" the leaves under her feet and throwing them up in the air.

Video: Odessa's 1st time in the Pacific Ocean

Just the six of us

The babies from my mama's childbirth class. Left to right: Emma, Odessa, Linnea, Gus, Naria, and Wren.

Odessa turns one year old

First Steps

Two days ago Odessa took her first solo steps! They were very small and very wobbly and my first response was "Does that count?" But I am a proud parent like any other and so I shout "Yes!" My baby is now walking!

Room for Two

What a good daddy. He can take care of fur-baby Lily and Odessa at the same time. And it looks like he is getting a rest too!

Fathers Day 2007

Well, no photo montages this day because 1) I am not motivated to create it and 2) well, number one is pretty much it. But I will say that we had a good Father's Day. We spent the day hanging out with baby O and that was fun. I gave Larry a gift that he had been eyeing since the first time we went to the Saturday Market. They are decorated tin cans which are strung together with lights inside (photo to be attached later). This gift motivated Larry to finish carpeting our deck. Now we don't have to worry about Odessa eating the wood chips that she scrapes off. And that is a good thing. Additionally, my mom babysat the O noodle and Larry and I got to go to a movie! Together! We saw Knocked Up -- very funny and quite appropriate for Father's Day.

Bad A** Women

Toga on the Max

Last weekend we were riding the max back home from the Rose Fest and the train was taken over by a beer toga party. It was very random and very loud. I was worried about O but she loved the singing and dancing! And at her age, I don't think she is able to judge very bad, very drunk singing and, well, stomping.

Homemade Baby Legwarmers

http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/05/easy-homemade-baby-legs-baby-and.html

Pool Time Fun!

Saturday Market

Sleeping at the Saturday Market



Awake at the Saturday Market

I enjoy working with tubing...

Odessa is entertained for a good twenty minutes playing with my breast pump. The question is, will it work tomorrow? And Figaro seems to be captivated as well

Fridge Baby

So, one of Odessa's latest "things" is standing at the open refrigerator and laughing like a hyena. I am really not sure what is so funny about it. Is it the cold? Or is it the fact that we still have those month-old left overs in there? Who knows but it is adorable! And, yes, you know you are one of "those" parents when you get this much joy watching your baby laugh at the fridge...

Pirates want AVON too

"I am interested in purchasing a nice scented face splash suitable for a pirate. You know. Not too sweet as me mates may think I'm a bit lite above me collar ya know. If You can get me some samples to sniff that would be great. Thanks, Me."

Mothers Day 2007

My first mothers day couldn't be better: Napping and playing with my beautiful baby; eating donuts; receiving a great gift from Lar (which he managed to pick out all on his own!); enjoying the sun on our balcony; making a yummy dinner of yams, cous cous, and pork chops. Yes, I can actually cook and am beginning to enjoy it more and more.

I hope to remember how lucky I am at least once a day.

Ladybug on Banana

Well, I decided to start selling Avon to try to make a little extra money so that I can continue to be a mostly stay-at-home mom. If you are interested in buying or selling, please contact me at www.youravon.com/megancrutchfield. I am pretty excited as I love their products and the idea of being productive while I am at home with Odessa. Yay!

My kind of gym

Outside Exploration

Yesterday, I dragged Larry away from his computer and we took Odessa to the park to enjoy the warm Spring day. She very much seemed to enjoy eating the grass and looking at her hands in front of the blue, cloudless sky.

What every photo looks like now

Now that Odessa is so mobile, as soon as I start to take a picture, she begins crawling towards the camera. So now I have about a zillion photos that look like this...

Buddies

This week my friend Emma came over to play. We had a great time playing with the toys, eating fruit puffs that we got to toss all over the floor, and most of all hanging with our moms and dads.

One parenting book that I actually like

Good Nights: The happy parents guide to the family bed (and a peaceful night's sleep)

It is rare that a parenting book does anything more than just totally stress me out about my parenting (or lack of) skills. I am anxious enough and reading about all the things that I "should" be doing just freaks me out. BUT, this book I love. It makes me think, "I am such an awesome parent, could I BE any better? I think not".

And a big thank you to Melissa for loaning it to me. And, don't worry, I will remember to get it back to you :)

Teaching Odessa Healthy Eating Habits

Swimming!

Friday evening we took Odessa into the pool for the 2nd time ever. She seems to be really comfortable in the water and to have a lot of fun. I am working on teaching her to blow bubbles but it is slow going. Mostly we just want to play!

Just Lounging

Daddy and Baby O enjoying a lazy Saturday...

And I think Odessa is a handful!

This photo makes me realize that I shouldn't complain about how heavy Odessa is -- imagine carrying two!

1st Airplane Ride

This last weekend Odessa rode in an airplane for the first time. We went to see Grandma and Grandpa Crutchfield in Rupert, Idaho. Odessa did very well, only fussing for a minute or two before she fell asleep on daddy's shoulder.