Uncooperative subject

It's pretty rare that Clementine takes a bad picture. She's one photogenic child (she did NOT get this from me) so most pictures of her just turn out adorably (if I do say so myself!). But last week we went to Aunty Sissy's house where I discovered that on her couch, during midday sun, the light is perfect for portraits. Unfortunately, I had an uncooperative/sleepy child who just did not want to smile or laugh. Instead I got the following pictures of Clementine's newest expressions.

Here's "What the heck, mom?" look. She must have recently discovered her eyebrows. She furrows them at me all the time.

The "Something waaay more interesting is over there" expression with sleepy sleepy eyes
The forced half-smile
And this one; the one where she chews on her poor little lips with her sharp shark-like teeth. Oh, those poor little lips.

Nudey-Patootie

Clementine has learned to say "I hate wearing clothes." Well, not in so many words but in her actions. In the last month, Clem has started taking her clothes off while she plays. She also takes her bib off while she eats. Come to think of it, she has alsomanaged to stretch out every single one of my shirts as she uses them to pull herself up to standing. Maybe she just hates clothes in general.

Here she is last week after she got free of her shirt
And today when she woke up from her nap

Sand in the City

Last weekend, we went to the Sand in the City Festival at Squalicum Harbor (where Sissy got married). There were some really cool sand sculptures there--and some that had sadly been washed away by the rain.

Atlantis in Sand (this one won first place)

Horton in sand

Kayaker and Whales in sand
My personal favorite, Wishing Well and butt-crack in sand

Drummmrollllll Please!

After countless hours, numerous trips to the Post Office, five interviews and 16 applications (seriously 16) sent around this little town...I have finally procured myself a job!

If I had sat down and dreamt up a job for myself it would look an awful lot like this one. I am now a half time Title I teacher at a very nearby school. (Title I is a federally funded program to help schools that aren't yet making Adequate Yearly Progress [AYP] toward state/district goals in Reading and Math on standardized tests).

Remember that Master's degree I finished about five weeks ago? I earned my Master's in Reading. In my new job I will be teaching struggling readers how to read better (I did that teaching 4th grade of course but this will be exclusively working with struggling readers).

This fabulous new job of mine will start out as half time and potentially become full time (or somewhere in between) once things get settled in the fall. This will give me time to settle into a routine with Clementine where she goes to daycare (*sob*) and I actually take a shower and get dressed in the morning (what? The dishes and laundry don't care if I've showered right now!) Clementine starts daycare in 10 days and I start my job about a week after that.

Cameron is already searching for houses online and I have the itch to buy school supplies and put up bulletin boards. On Friday Clementine went to the Pediatrician where there were several little girls there her age looking at the same fish tank. She immediately forgot about the fish and was fascinated by everything the other baby girls were doing. She waved and smiled to them and was pulling out all her friendly tricks. Seeing Clementine's happiness around other babies makes me feel so relieved about starting daycare. I think this is going to be a good start for all three of us.

Growin' Up

First there was this:
Clementine learned how to drink from a Sippy cup seemingly overnight. She's had the cup for weeks but has been ignoring the spout, preferring to lick the sides, handles and top of the cup instead. Finally, she discovered the spout and how to use it! Around the same time she learned to take good sips from a regular cup, too, but she can't hold onto those cups quite so well. This girl loves to drink water.


Then one day she was unusually quiet in the play pen. She wasn't sleeping; she'd figured THIS out!
Is there anything cuter than a sleepy-faced baby in yellow footie pajamas??

Obviously, the play pen's days are numbered. It's only a matter of time before she figures out how to turn the bucket of blocks over and use that as a step stool for her master escape plan.

These days she's standing in her play pen, using the couch to hold onto to stand and yesterday morning I went to her room when she woke up and she was standing in her crib licking the railing from end to end. She's such a goofball.

Poor Jack

Since Clementine learned to crawl, Jack has taken more than his fair share of harassment.

Clementine loves her brother but has a hard time expressing that love in canine terms. Instead, she shows him with her own special brand of affection.

The word "gentle" means nothing to our girl.
Notice the firm grip on Poor Jack's ear and the resulting bug eyed look:




Throughout all of these displays of affection, Jack is cool, calm and collected. He knows Clementine's intentions are good. He waits patiently while we show Clementine how to pet gently. For awhile things are more tender. And just as we begin to think Clem's got the idea.....

She body slams Poor Jack.

He is one patient big brother.

Nine Months

Clementine is already nine months old! She can do so much already! She crawls so quickly and is pulling herself up to standing on the couch, chairs and crib, she's feeding herself cereal and bananas--she's such a big girl!

She rarely wants to have snuggle with us as she has places to see and things to do. She would rather crawl and squirm than cuddle. She's still as cute as one little bug can be.

Here she is on the blanket her great grandma Edna crocheted for her:

And here she is sitting in the window watching the sprinkler and counting tomatoes on our plant