Family Friday: Oct 25

This is my favorite time of year... the leaves are changing color, the air is brisk and crisp, the smell of autumn fills the air, and I can finally wear my favorite sweaters.  Nah, I'm just kidding!  We live in Hawaii... there is no autumn here!  Luckily I've had some pretty amazing fall weather in other years of my life (my favorite being Asheville, NC) so I can close my eyes and bask in those memories.

I love fall weather and I really miss it.  The stores are especially teasing this time of year.  You can still buy swimsuits everywhere but all other warm-weather clothing has been put away.  The stores are currently full of pants, long sleeves, sweaters, jackets, and gloves.  It is too warm to wear any of it, therefore it is futile to buy.  It was heartbreaking to walk past some super cute thermal pajamas I saw the other day :(

Despite not having seasons, the weather really is the best thing about living here.   It's pretty much between 70 and 85 degrees fahrenheit year round.  The "winter" is a few degrees cooler than the "summer" and brings the huge waves you see in surfing competitions.  Things are green and blooming all year here.  Many trees do lose their leaves, but different trees lose their leaves at different times so it's nothing like the fall foliage in other climates.

On an outing this week, we stopped by Johnnie's workplace so he could pick something up.  Cameron and I were delighted to see the parking lot scattered with yellow leaves!  This is as much of a fall experience as we are going to get this year.  Cameron avoided the leave piles at first until she discovered that they crunched under her feet.  I'm glad that she got to experience playing in leaves - even if it was in a sundress and sandals :)






Love those curls :)


As soon as Cameron started solid foods, I started doing the sign language for "all done" and "more" whenever I said those words in context.  As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, she has the "all done" sign down pat and uses it for a variety of activities.  This week, she has mastered the "more" sign for eating.  She signs "more" and then taps her plate when she wants more food - I love that she is communicating!

Cameron is also doing two other new things that show she's understanding more now:  1) Cameron lies on a blanket on the floor to drink her bottles.  She now goes over to the blanket and sits down to wait when she sees me making a bottle.  2) When I ask her if she needs a diaper change, she now walks over to the changing station by herself and then waits for me to pick her up.




We eat out in restaurants once every week or so and always take Cameron with us.  She does really well in restaurants but then again, she does really well eating at home too.  I almost always order something that I can share with her - usually salmon with grilled veggies or a plain baked potato.  If I know I'll eat something that I can't share with her, I'll bring food along or order her some veggie side dishes from the menu.

This past week Cameron ate in a restaurant three times: once with Johnnie and I, once with a friend and I on a girls day out, and once with just me on a mommy-daughter date.  It's unusual for us to eat out that often but I'm glad we can take Cameron to restaurants without worrying about how it will go.



Cameron and Dulce's relationship continues to grow.  Cameron pets and hugs Dulce often now and laughs hysterically when Dulce tries to take anything from her hands.  Cameron walks Dulce for a little while every night when we spend time outside.  Here's a short Instagram video for your viewing pleasure:


There is great love between these two souls...


*******
"I love autumn, the one season of the year that God
seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it."
~Lee Maynard
  

1 comment:

  1. I am glad I found your blog. Our daughters are pretty much the same age and its great to see another Mom going through the same things as me.

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