first bubble bath

We gave her her first bubble bath the other day. She likes to stand up in there and she's very good at plopping down safely onto her bottom with a little splash. She doesn't actually seem to notice the bubbles as much as she just wants to play with her water dinosaurs.

seaside

We took a day trip yesterday to Seaside and Cannon Beach. It was a bit windy so we didn't stay long, but did have the obligatory saltwater taffy run and lunch at a place that we heard about on Splendid Table... not sure what those folks ate, but, as usual, we were not impressed with yet another mediocre coastal seafood restaurant. (We're still looking...) Naiya got to put her toes in the water though and then we played some in the grass by our parking lot. As so often is the case, however, all good things come to an end (when, of course, the screaming began) and we headed home...

swim lessons

Naiya is in swim lessons last week and next. Sometimes I swim, sometimes daddy, sometimes both. Actually, these so called “swim lessons” are kind of silly. I think the intention is just to get the kids used to the water. They aren't really learning anything (just singing and playing), and Naiya already really likes the water and has swum at the open swim in this pool before. She does really enjoy the other kids though.

She's crawling at a speedy rate these days and has started pulling herself up on everything. Today she climbed two stairs (trying to get to Frodo) and has begun to reach for things on the surfaces upon which she holds... coffee tables, the drawer of the desk, etc. She's doing better with the solid foods (she's eaten cereals, cheeses, beans, tahini, tofu and all manner of vegetables and fruits) but seems to much prefer picking up small bits off the tray to having anything spoon fed into her mouth. This makes a huge mess every time we feed her of course. I think our average is three baths/showers per day.

go beavs

Yes, in fact, for the second year in a row, our Beavers won the College World Series!
Go Beavers.
That's baseball friends. And The Beavers are the Oregon State team (Ryan's alma mater) for those of you who, like me, don't know a damned thing about sports. Ryan isn't much into baseball either actually (he's more a football man), but this is something like only the fourth time in history that a college team has won a world series two years in a row. I know. I know. What could be more exciting, right!?
In celebration, he and Naiya donned their super Beavers fans garb and had a romp in the backyard.

the second day of summer

On the second day of Summer the good Earth gave to me... a baby and a clover kitty.

not picking

Today went much like the day Ryan and Matthew spent building the fence. This time they picked berries on Sauvie Island in 100° heat while we, once again, sat in the shade.

locomotion

Naiya has been rolling over to almost-but-not-quite-sitting-up. This is as close as I can get to showing what it looks like in still photographs. While I was converting these pics, she sat up to full upright on her own for only the second time (that we know of). Of course my back was turned. I just glanced back and there she was, smiling at me, balanced on her little bottom. She promptly moved to crawl for me and fell over.