Pa is a woodworker. He made Sloane a cradle out of maple and it is beautiful. It was exciting to have a handmade cradle for her because Pa had made one for Lida before she was born. Of course, Lida’s cradle was easier to delivery to Nashua! Sloane’s came to Vancouver in a custom made crate with approximately 400 screws and 40 extra pounds of wood, along with detailed instructions for the dismantling of the box.

It was a snugly nest for her when she was a wee babe. Now she likes to roll around and tap dance on the sides. In the future, Sloane will be able to use it as a toy chest and maybe one day for her baby.

It feels strange to be closer to Sloane turning one year old than to her birth. Summer is going by way too fast! We are having fun and trying to stay cool.

She is the best, cutest little monkey!

The Bramble clan got together this 4th of July and we went to the Oregon coast. Sloane got her feet in the Pacific for the first time! Sloane had fun with all the action 3 cousins brought. She tried new food, with her favorite being a perfectly cooked steak.

It was fun to have Sloane see the coast, and double fun as it was 25° cooler on the beach than at home! This made it just a little cool while we were by the water, but more pleasant than roasting in our condo. Sloane really enjoyed watching her cousins race around the house, and dig at the beach.

Because it was really sunny at the beach we also spent some good time at the house and played.

It was a really fun trip and I think Sloane had a great time too! We are excited for the next family trip. The next trip we take is to see Molly’s family in New Hampshire.

Sloane has pretty good reactions to new food. What food could give her this reaction?

https://youtu.be/jCTniGkhgt0

If you guessed lemons, you are wrong. It was strawberries!

Also, it looks like we never dress Sloane from these pics. I assure you we do and we have enough clothes for her but it has been unseasonably warm here. Naked baby makes for a happy family!

We made it to the half year mark! Sloane’s doing amazing. She continues to grow both physically and developmentally. She is very skilled at grabbing, pulling, and sitting up, and as previously mentioned, she is a champion roller. Her teeth are useful for chomping on watermelon rinds, avocado, and apple, along with books, the coffee table, and Mom’s water bottle.

This was a post I worked on last month but forgot to publish. The pics are too good not to share.

Our good friends, the Wades, moved away for the summer. Sloane and Maera were really cute together the last couple times we saw them. We miss the Wade family and can’t wait for the girls to play together this September.

B likes to hold Sloane in her lap and is being really helpful. Most recently while holding Sloane, B remarked, “hmmm, Sloane’s pretty big!” Last year, B would always ask me where Adam was when she saw me. Now she only wants to know where Sloane is!

Luckily, Sloane has other little friends. When Rally met Sloane, she walked over and asked if Sloane would like to play with her. Alder and Gage are less than a year older than Sloane, but my guess is she’ll be bossing them around as she already out weighs them.

Sloane is locomoting by rolling all over the place! She makes big circles sometimes and can cover quite some distance, mostly rolling to the left.

https://youtu.be/9UmkYZHbo8U

She loves to get herself right up to the coffee table and have a little nosh on the lower level.

Napping has been a bit challenging. She still prefers to sleep on you, which is actually really sweet and snuggly, but doesn’t let you get anything accomplished. She is a long bean now.

She is still just eating a little bit each day. So far, she’s tried sweet potato and avocado.

We think all the rolling has given her a strong core and now she is sitting on her own, though still a bit wobbly.

https://youtu.be/CZMjEqDbzSA

Sloane is such lucky little girl, and has 4 grandparents who she adores. My parents were nicknamed by Sloane’s cousin Ellie as Nini and Papa two (or too, there is debate between my sister and I on the original intent). Sloane has fun seeing them, regardless of what you call them.

Sloane now has two, yes two, teeth! We decided that since she has two chompers, that we can begin to give her food. Molly and I talked about it, and chose sweet potato. However, we also chose today to put her in a high chair for the first time at our house. She was really excited about being up at the table with mom and dad.

It took her a little to warm up to the idea of things tasting good, but by the end she was grabbing for more. We know that she doesn’t need the calories of food (she is not wasting away), so we are just introducing the tastes and textures of whole foods. Next up…. avocado!

https://youtu.be/ACqc95JoCcI

Over Memorial Day weekend we traveled to Coeur d’Alene to have Bramble sibling weekend with Darby, Zach, Morgan, Ellie, Zander and Max. It was a bit of an adventure as it was the longest car trip that Sloane had taken, by a long shot, she handled it like a trooper.

It was fun from the moment we got there!

We had fun playing at the lake and at the house. It was a good time for Sloane’s cousins to show their mad skills and fun things Sloane can do when she gets older. Sloane enjoyed watching all the action of jumping rope, hiking, finding a “real-live dead fish” and lots of delicious food preparation.

Sloane grew to enjoy uncle Zach too!

Sloane was a good little traveler, and despite the time in the car and sprouting a tooth, she was still all smiles when she got to be with her mom (even in a parking lot in the Dalles).

It was a fun weekend of Bramble sibling greatness!