Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26

Saturday, Twyla mostly played with her Daddy while Mommy went to work. It sounded like they had a great day at home.

Sunday, Twyla and Mommy stayed home because Mommy was exhausted and played...

Twyla is really getting good at walking while holding onto furniture and letting go and balancing!

Monday September 27, 2010

Twyla is now 11 months old! Whoa...so fast!  We went downtown, to Mommas favorite cafe, Cafe Azul, and shared a fruit cup. We walked around for a bit, then went to My Baby News for some shoes and socks, and an Ergo. Twyla had so much fun crawling all around. She even made a friend. A little girl, Sophie, came in and sat next to us when we were trying on shoes. So sweet.

Then Twyla and Mommy played at home...

Moving on balancing on her hamper to her diaper pale...which Daddy pointed out that Twyla reminded him of Bruce Lee...

Then moving on to pull books off of the bookshelf, teaching Mommy that it is time to pack up the books.

Twyla also clapped her hands for the first time! Yay, Twyla!!

Friday Music School

We made it today, to our new class day/time. We had a late start, but had time for breakfast - oatmeal and bananas, but we didn't have time to walk to class, so we drove and we were on time. I think this will work so much better. Our Friday morning moved along at a nice pace. At our class, Twyla sang, danced with Mommy, giggled when we spun, and played a drum.

We turned Twyla's Strawberry Shortcake trashcan over and used it as a drum with the matching coasters. So much fun!

Backyard and Wholefoods

Today was a little cooler, but still hot. We made it through the day by napping twice, going to Wholefoods, lingering in the frozen foods section, and eating and playing in the backyard twice.  Mommy put the garden hose on Mist to help cool us off too!

We are so excited to see Daddy tomorrow!!

Tuesday September 28, 2010

I'm a bit behind...but Tuesday was such a beautiful day!  Twyla and Mommy drove out to Goat Rock Beach to meet with our friends, Mommas and Babies that we met at our Birth Classes at the Birth Center: Ruthie and Indigo, Sarah and Kieran, and Amanda and Eve.  It is always such a lovely drive down Bodega Hwy through West Sonoma. passing farms and vinyards, to Hwy 1 and past the beaches up the Sonoma Coast.  This was the second time Twyla has been to the beach. The first was Salmon Creek. We even stopped there because Twyla was a little grumpy in the car. The waves were huge and the little creek was flowing.  Mommy loves estuaries, loves to see fresh water and saltwater meet.

The babies are all growing up so quickly. I love that we can say these babies were friends since before they were born.

baby picnic...sharing peaches and melons!

We then realized that it was exactly one year ago that we all finished our classes and took are graduate picture.

So we had a nice woman on the beach take a picture of the middle four mommas, now with the babes on the outside...

...and in the same line-up order, one year apart. We will have to make this an annual event!

What a beautiful day! We love these Mommas and Babes!

Music school

Today we went to our music class at Sonoma County Children's Music. It is at a difficult time (10:15 a.m.) and means Twyla needs to take a nap by 8:00, which doesn't always happen, and we were a little late. She seemed to like it more than the last time we went. It is difficult for us because it seems like there are so many rules and we change activities so quickly. This is so different from life so far because we usually let Twyla set the pace and agenda, with Mommy suggesting things to do when Twyla looks at Mommy for help. I am torn as to continue or not. I want to continue because I feel like we get some good ideas and we repeat a lot of sign language, which encourages Mommy to use it more at home. But, I don't like the hurried  tone of the environment. My intent was to expose Twyla to music and different instruments and familiarize her with the teacher and school, in the event we continue when she is older if she would like to play the ukelele or piano or sing. So, for now, we switched days/times to Fridays at 9:00, which may work better since Twyla can make it until the end before a nap, then she would wake in time for lunch with Mommy and Daddy.

Then we came home to eat lunch in the backyard. Today, Twyla tried Beets. She took her time studying them from the inside and out and ate much of the beet.

She also had some Squash Magda and peaches...yummy!

Twyla also bumped her head today and scared Mommy, but Mommy found a good website,  Ask Dr. Sears , which had questions to follow for an infant head bump, so Mommy knew what to look for and what to tell Twyla's Doctor. In addition to icing the bump with her booboo bunny , they suggested Arnica gel , which Mommy never heard of, so after Twyla took a bath and long nap, we went to CVS to get some. When we came home, Twyla was ready for bedtime. Mommy is so so happy that Twyla is a healthy happy girl!

school days

We love Wednesdays because we get to go to school. This is Twyla's second class in the Roots and Shoots  at the Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm.  She loves to see her friends, play, and learn new songs with Mommy. I love the way Twyla makes herself comfortable wherever she goes. There was a new baby and mommy in class today. Without an introduction, Twyla crawled up to the little girl and took her toy. Later, she crawled over her legs. Then she climbed up her 4 1/2 year old brother and then another mommy.

She has so much fun, she wore herself out and slept on the way home. Mommy took a longer drive so she could sleep longer. When we got home, she played. Then we ate dinner together - a peach. Then bathtime and bedtime. She wore her new jammy from Nana. We both had a peaceful Wednesday even though we still miss Daddy.

birds in the garden

I am starting out a day behind...yesterday, Twyla ate with Mommy outside; She ate peaches, avocado and bread.  Twyla was most interested in 3 bluejays that were flying in and out of the garden. She was trying to talk to then, saying, "Hey...hey....hey..." Then she would look at mommy and wave in the direction of the birds and say, "A...A...A..." They continued to noisily chatter as they looked like they were having a territorial dispute over the garden.

Mommy is working on getting better at keeping her phone or the camera close by. We'll see if it will be better tomorrow...

Twyla took a big nap in the morning and missed saying, "Good-bye" to Daddy before he left for Arizona for work. She knows he is supposed to come home for lunch and sometimes sees him before she goes to bed. She and I had a conversation about him in the evening, which goes a little like this: Daddy...daddy....daddy...
It's her favorite story to tell.  We both had a good Tuesday even though we miss Daddy.

Good to be Home

This weekend feels like it was so long, but at the sametime it flew by quickly. The Kelso Clan had a family travel day on Friday, September 17, to Orange County, CA. We left home around 9:30 a.m. and did not arrive at our hotel in Cypress until almost 7:00 p.m., thanks to Los Angeles traffic. Twyla was an amazing traveler. She slept and amused herself with her blankie, Sophie, a mini wiffle ball, and looking out the window. We made 3 stops so Mommy could get a tea latte from starbucks, so we could all stretch and have lunch and get gas, and so Mommy could use a restroom while Twyla crawled up a hill and Daddy was attacked by ants.

We met Nana at the hotel by her office, where we had joining rooms so Twyla had plenty of space to explore.  Nana was so happy to see Twyla and Twyla was so excited to see her Nana, even after a long car ride. Nana is so sweet. She had fruit for Twyla, Tea for Mama, and chocolates for Daddy waiting in our room for us.

The purpose of this trip was for Mommy and Daddy to attend Daddy's friend, Greg Parks', wedding in Newport Beach. We went to the wedding Saturday night at the Balboa Bay Club and spent the night there while Twyla stayed with her Nana. The ceremony was beautiful on the Marina and Reception so much fun. Although we requested a standard room, we were pleasantly surprised with a spacious suite. Too bad we couldn't have stayed in that room the entire time.

On Sunday, we traveled to Escondido to visit with Mommy's friend, Meredith, and see her new home. We just missed seeing her little boy, Oliver, who went out with his Daddy. Hopefully we will see them next time. Twyla loved Meredith's house; she has a playroom that will be part of her Daycare one day soon. Meredith is a beautiful Mama and Teacher (She is my inspiration for this blog - her blog can be viewed through my blogs I follow links - an owl hoots).

Then we had a family travel day again on Monday back home. This was quicker since Daddy moved us along at a nice pace, missing both LA and Bay area traffic!

It feels so good to be home again, even though we loved our quick trip.

My goal is to have accompanying pictures for each blog, but right now both of our cameras share one computer connection cable and it is on its way with Daddy to Arizona.