Captured July 1st…apparently eating is when she’s most entertaining. I’m sure when she’s a teenager, this content will go over real well.  In fact…I was having a conversation with a coworker about this subject earlier this month…are you breaking your kid’s future privacy by posting baby photo/videos/stories on a blog? I guess the appropriate answer is, “not while you’re under MY roof!!!”

Yes. Once again, blogging stalls while daily life paces at the speed of light. At least that’s how it feels. Alaire turns 18 months in a little over two weeks; and, with legs almost as speedy as light, in the rare moments I catch her in a snuggly moment,oh my goodness, do I hold on tight.

The last two months brought a little crazy into the Vail household. Both Graham & I started new jobs. Graham took on a special full time project in e-com (still at adidas), and continues to soar, adored and respect by his co-workers and leadership team. He’s even done some public speaking! Hey – this blog ain’t all about Alaire’s new skills! I started at Kinesis (going to work for a long-time mentor) and found myself maneuvering a pretty steep learning curve, but dang if I’m not figuring it out, the complexity and nuance of it all. And, Graham the AMAZINGLY patient husband that he is, takes up the slack as I dedicate each morning to marathon training (PDX Marathon this weekend). How I love and appreciate my Gvail….Alaire, if you could only be so lucky when you find love. But, I digress. I promised stories of erratic eating habits and other fun stuff.

So. In the last couple of months, Alaire’s eating preferences have mirrored the ups and downs of a really scary roller coaster. Sometimes we nail it, sometimes we fail. The mainstays consist of grapes, blackberries, applesauce, yogurt, and ketchup. At first I felt like a terrible parent (feeding my baby applesauce for dinner and all), until babycenter.com assured me that toddler eating habits are quite erratic, so not to worry. I did feel a little better after a co-worker’s five year old announced that he only eats cheese after dark (maybe this should make feel worse? for what’s coming?). I guess, in the end, it’s all pretty entertaining.

What’s In: Ketchup, lots of it
What’s Out: eating the fry that feeds the ketchup (I just want ketchup mom)

What’s In: Milk, Milk and more Milk
What’s Out: Food (why bother eating when milk taste so good?)

What’s In: Saying apple (it’s my new favorite word)
What’s Out: Eating apple

What’s In: Biting the top off my sippy
What’s Out: Drinking out of my sippy like a nice little girl
What’s In: Mommy shopping for a new brand of sippies!

What’s In: Fork
What’s Out: Spoon (things seem to taste better on a fork)

What’s In: Wearing my plate as a hat WITH food still on it (pictured below)
What’s Out: Throwing my food on the floor when I’m done (which is the lesser of two evils? We just aren’t sure)

What’s In: Anything that’s not green
What’s Out: Everything green (except green grapes)

What’s In: Left Hand w/ utensil
What’s Out: Right Hand w/ utensil
30 seconds later…
What’s In: Left Hand w/ utensil
What’s Out: Right Hand w/ utensil

What’s In: Still being the sweetest girl around
What’s Out: Tantrums at restaurants (as long as I can eat ketchup)

So, what you’ve really all been waiting for…photos & videos!

My first chocolate pudding:

Plate = Hat, Doh

 

“Alaire had a good day with friends. She is getting used to new friends. She loves to give new friends hugs. She is learning not to sit on the younger kids.”

Well phew! Guess we can consider this a proud parent moment!?

 

 

Back in July, Alaire helped me with a day-long mid-summer clean up of the yard. I was thankful for two nap breaks, but as you can see, we had lots of fun. One trait I seem to have passed on to my daughter, is the knack for really embracing a task and getting as messy as possible. For example, you may remember the photo of Graham and I tiling; we both spread mortar all day, but somehow I was the only one with the awful stuff from head to toe. You should also see me bake pies and paint. Back to the story, for some reason, I couldn’t keep Alaire on the grass, she preferred the dirt, which was fine, until I witnessed a childhood right-of-passage: she was eating dirt. “Yucky!! Spit it out, lgh, lgh, lgh!” Another favorite was to stand directly under the fuchsia after watering; Alaire’s very own outdoor shower. I loved this day.

And, happy birthday blog (created as a gift for Daddy’s birthday last year).

For Graham’s big day, we drove up to Big Fork for cherries and lunch at Flathead Lake Brewing Company. Graham opened some fun gifts including an Earl Thomas jersey and a 12th man flag (I thought it would be a fun Sunday morning Vail family tradition to raise the flag before the hawks game…I’m sure our neighbors will agree) and a BBQ pizza stone (the box was Alaire’s “stage” for the remainder of the trip). We love daddoo!

After enjoying the LaRoi’s heated bath-water temp pool, I was a bit concerned how Alaire would take to Little Bitterroot Lake (topping off at about 78 degrees during our trip). Obviously, she loved every minute – can’t wait til she’s jumping off the dock by herself in a few years…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, this post is belated. This weekend (August 24/25) is the FIRST since early June with no major plans or road trip – so I’m catching up. By the way, while I typically write the posts, all photography credits go to Gvail.

As always, Montana gifted us with complete & utter relaxation; Grandpa & Grandma take care of us all…

Who knew Row Row Row Your Boat would be the top-ranking hit of the year. We sing it over and over and over…in fact, one night in Montana, Alaire woke up for a midnight play. You’d think Graham and I would know by now that bringing her into our bed never ends well; meaning one of our patience-meters eventually finds a limit from nose grabbing/picking or jumps on the head. Back to the story. While we did hope to calm our little girl by nestling her in between us, much to my chagrin, she grabbed my hands and started singing, “row row” pushing us both back and forth. 1am, the only words I could muster, “no row row!”

One of our newest words is, “bubbles,” not difficult to understand why; she loves to stand at the backdoor and demand the activity on an almost daily basis. The mystery: once mommy or daddy produce the magical floating balls, other toys, yard hazards, or the dog captivate her attention (leaving mommy or daddy the ones demanding bubbles!!!!).