Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Stella 11 months already!





Here are some of the accomplishments Stella is up to. I can't believe she is almost a year! I find myself doing the "mommy thing" of not wanting her to grow up, yet being excited for the next stage and missing Naomi at these ages all at the same time. How does that work?
Words:
Uh-oh - in a very deep monotone voice
kitty - this is definitely her favorite animal and she recognizes it in a print we have called The Five Senses
Thank You - we play the Thank You game where she hands you something and you say "Thank you", then you hand it back and she says "Thank you", and then you just keep going
Mama - I am anxious to count this one. She just started a few days ago, but I will keep helping her perfect it and hopefully learn what it means!

Activities:
there are lots!
Crawling everywhere, very quickly!
Cleaning out my Tupperware cabinets daily
Climbing up on whatever she can, chairs, couch, fireplace, then standing up and balancing on them
Standing on her own
Walking with one hand from us to help
Playing in the toilet water. We try to discourage this one.
Loves bath time.
Playing the sit 'n spin, but standing, not sitting, like sister!
Following Naomi everywhere.
Dancing to music
"Reading" books alone
Giving open mouth kisses, when I tell her I love her or ask for a kiss.
Clapping when others do or we say yeah!
Sneaking eating markers and crayons

JOBS

Here is a list of all the random jobs I've done in my life. I know I like the one I have now the best by far, Mommy! They are listed in reverse chronological order as far as I can remember.

1. Mommy - this is the first job I ever felt like I was MADE for!
2. Nursery Coordinator - It's good to serve the church and I like organizing things:)
3. Daytime Childcare - just for one baby girl, but it was hard work and I only made it for one school year. Now it is fun to see how my girls and her are/will be great friends!
4. Admissions Analyst for a private university - great job & coworkers, even got a Bachelor's out of it.
5. Gift Sales Associate - i.e. selling junk and running cash register, NOT for me!
6. Office Assistant in design center - I really liked this one cause I got to know, track, & schedule all the things that went into a new house. I still love learning about home design/architecture! It makes me excited just to think about it!
7. Wedding Coordinator - At first I didn't have a clue what I was doing, but now with 8 years behind me I think I have learned a few tricks:)
8. Faux Painting Internship - This didn't last long, as the guy was kinda weird...I learned some in the 3 days I was there though.
9. Temp Office Staff - stuffing envelopes for a day or two
10. Cook - Just supper part-time for a boys home. It was fun being with the boys.
11. Printer Girl - not sure what my title was...At United Way I stocked their office supply room and ran all the big print jobs for them on some way COOL copy machines.
12. Kindergarten Para - I got to help teach some kids to read!
13. Mary Kay Lady - I think it lasted about a week. Again, sales is NOT for me.
14. Purchasing Office Assistant - I worked with another girl named Jody, we bought parts for whatever the company made. (I never really figured out what that was!)
15. Hamburger & Ice Cream Cook & Server - My HS job. I have great memories of laughing until I cry there with all sorts of people. I do still have dreams that I have missed work here b/c I didn't come in to read the schedule! This was also all my formal & informal cooking training...I've come a long way baby!
16. Cleaning Houses - I think it was just one house, but it paid well and seemed easy to me.
17. Parking Lot Cleaner - I think this was the most embarrassing job I ever had. Mom hooked me up to sweep the local grocery's parking lot once a week. Ugh, do you even need that? I would go at the break of day on Sunday, when no one was out :)
18. Babysitter - I watched the four kids across the street once...they liked me, I didn't like them so much.
19. Kitchen helper - Mom had me go help an older lady who lived close. I think I moved her cups around for her...I didn't go back, but I guess I was supposed to?...miscommunications with a preteen.
20. Poop Scooper - Scooped dogs poop while the owner's were on vacation. Not bad I could handle it, at least I wasn't gagging like my sister.
21. Golf ball retriever- I vaguely remember going into the field behind our house to pick up golf balls that had been hit there with Resa.

Not sure if those qualify me for anything, but it sure lets you in on what has shaped my life. Just for fun.