Fritha and Robin, two of my housemates from Seattle, were visiting Portland last week. When their arranged housing fell through, we were luckily enough to have them stay with us over at Adam’s parents (who are traveling for the month). Sloane gravitated to both Fritha and Robin quickly. The first morning she saw them Sloane did some dancing, twirling, and general silly moves to show off. She loved sitting in their laps and listening to them read stories. It was a special few days for all of us. We lived together for 2 years in Seattle with Jules (who we missed!) and that was 12 years ago. Spending the evenings catching up on our days was just like old times. They are both so thoughtful and insightful. It was a sweet reminder of how they helped shape me from “out of college” Molly into “becoming a chiropractor” Molly. Now they were able to see Molly the mom and enjoy the deliciousness that is Sloane Ray.
After dinner she wanted to sit in Fritha’s lap firstFollowed quickly by Robin’s lapBedtime storiesShe wanted one page from Fritha’s book and then one page from Robin’s book
Sloane has a new song she loves from story time at the library. It goes ‘roll, roll sugar baby; roll, roll sugar baby; push; and pull; and clap, clap, clap’ She has got the roll roll sugar baby part down! The other day she was in bed in the morning and we going to roll over so she was between Adam and I- to which she said, roll roll sugar baby!
https://youtu.be/KTORxpEktkE
She also ‘jumps’ which means she steps off the tool box that has been in our living room for a while.
https://youtu.be/LOrtB-Sn858
Also, the past three days she wants to wear a bow in her hair. She touches it through out the day to make sure it is there- saying bow. I told her Aunt Jesse made it for her, but she insists it was G. Her hair has been wild for a while and I like that the bow makes it look like I made some effort.
My mom’s side of the family has a camp on a pond in Vermont that I’ve been going to my whole life. I hadn’t been in 3 years and Adam in 4; which doing the math means Sloane has never been. I was very excited to go see my family and spend time at camp this summer. Side note- Jesse and I decided to call it Camp Echo Rock when we were kids after seeing a camp episode of Sesame Street. I am pretty sure no other Straws call it that!
Sloane loved camp life, even though she couldn’t stay awake late enough for camp fires. She marched right into the water when we got there. She really has no fear of the water. Mostly we hung out, which in Sloane terms is drawing, playing with babies, and pretending with felt food. The cutest new words and phrase that came out of the trip are ‘oh boy’ and ‘Yia-ya’ for Lida.
Playing in Neal PondThis is how you kayak, mom
Hold on ‘Yia-ya’ I’ve got something in my shoeSloane loves her GHug festSloane sandwichA photo where both Sloane and Pa are smiling at the same time!Baby carrier from G and PaCousinsShe was beaming up on Adam’s shouldersSilly gooseSloane’s first art lesson from Aunt JessePlaying cards is a must at campSo fun and so hard to open our eyes into the sunUm, looks like I wasn’t aiming quite right.It is always sad to say good bye to campMotor boat rideNot sure why Pa has a funny light on him…..
We spent the first and last night in Wilton at G and Pa’s house. This included the requisite lobster dinner, blueberry picking, and Sloane pooping in the garden.
This is just a little post to tide over the viewers. A longer NH visit post is in the works, but August has been “crazy go nuts” as Adam would say. I think this video sums up what we feel like.
She is a mover and a shaker now. I haven’t capture it on video yet, but when she runs, she starts by lifting her shoulders to her ears and putting her arms behind her. Then she is off! I did manage to get her stomping and trying to jump in the chair. Her bouncing curls are the best, but her monkey sounds aren’t too shabby either.
In the past month, she has started doing more playing and reading on her own. When we try to help or do something for her, she will often say “no, yoane”, meaning no, Sloane do it. We need to work on her S sounds. She kinda tries to dress herself, but frequently puts her pants on her head first. Sloane likes to draw, which she says “sdraw”. We just need to watch where the markers end up. Also, she sucked on a crayon the other day when I was looking. She ended up with a green mouth and some how a green streak on her bum.
Making dots on dad’s lapPlaydoh! She only ate a little.Feeding baby StellaAnd a little bottle for SloaneNow she points to her tray and always wants her plate on it.Activity time at the library. Shaving cream!Washing her own hands!She loves puzzles right now.Looking at a favorite book
The 4th of July was the Bramble beach bonanza! My parent’s rented the same house as last year and it was full of Brambles (and Zipfels). Sloane had a lot more fun at the beach than last year, as she can walk and run (well, she can walk pretty fast)
Back row : Jason, Morgan, Zach, Darby, Bill, Paula, Sloane, Adam, Molly. Front row : Zander, Ellie, Max
We got some good beach time in, despite the cooler temps. Sloane wanted to run out and become a mermaid, and the cold Pacific ocean didn’t bother her at all.
Hey mom, look what you can do with sand! This was right before she happily plunged her face into the sand.We made her hold a hand when she went into the water. The water was cold!The waves just made her giggle and she wanted more of them.
We had to warm up in the hot tub after trips to the beach!
She was a goose in the hot tub.Mom, my hair is wet!Oh, I cant wait to get back in the ocean!
My family likes to dig at the beach and this year’s project became known as the grand canyon as it was very long a down to the water table.
Sloane had a lot of fun walking down the grand canyon of Lincoln City
We had lots of good food, and got to hang out. We had a deer that came by every morning, and Sloane was the first one to say that the deer “ran ran” away. Sloane even got to watch her first movie: The Good Dinosaur (this movie is about a young dinosaur and a caveboy- who Sloane referred to as the “baby”. She was very concerned about this baby for the duration of the movie).
Dad, I like watching movies with my cousins!
There were fireworks and pop-its, though pictures of those are not too fun to look at so we left them out. Each kid made a crafty mask and there were bubbles to be blown. Also, anyone who has hung out with Sloane knows she eventually needs to read a book, so there were books to read.
each kid did a good job for their level, I think.Aunt Morgan spent a lot of time with Sloane and the bubbles.This is one way to see how long Sloane’s hair is (it is also a decent workout, as she isn’t the lightest 18 month old)A very odd thing for all the grand kids to be still at once (it only lasted for about 2 pages)
Sloane even got in a little time with Nini. She got to spend a little one-on-one time with most people. And, she eventually warmed up enough to Jason to boop his nose.
Nini, you are funny!this is Sloane saying no to booping Jason’s noseMorgan, are you sure that Jason’s beard is real? It is pretty big!Hi uncle Zach!
It was sad to have the weekend some to an end. But, we will all get to hangout again at Thanskgiving.
We officially have a 1 1/2 year old one our hands! Sloane is still rocking out at the top of the growth and weight curve. She is 29 lbs 9 oz and 33 inches tall.
On 6/17/16Um, what’s the deal with this little bear?
In the past week, her vocabulary has sky rocketed. She is parroting everything we say. Our new favorites are zoom, home, draw. and Sloane, which she says ‘yoane’. Often she asks for 2 of something, such as when we say she can go down the slide one more time and she wants 2 more times. Sloane is spending more time playing on her own and also with the bigger kids. I enjoy watching her explore and interact on her own. It is nice for us both to have a little freedom and independence, though when she runs over to hug my legs my heart still melts.
Adam calls this Sloane’s glamour shotBike seat for SloanePlaying at the library
Sloane is getting very tall! I was in the kitchen the other day and from the other side of the counter, I could see her fingers pawing trying to grab anything. She can climb into one of our chairs with a bit of effort. When she can’t do it the first time, she gets quite frustrated. I wonder where she gets that perfectionism from….
https://youtu.be/ykccpvTMkeQ
And this is her favorite way to get onto the couch
