11 Months!

          June is eleven months old. This is the first month where I have felt more on the side of "she's been in our lives forever and ever" than the side of "how is she growing up so fast?!" She is growing up fast but as we're nearing a year, it feels like we're about to hit thirteen instead. June's...passion...shall we say, is becoming more and more evident by the spectacular fits she has been throwing. It's amazing to me that such a small human can have so much emotion inside of her.

         She has started to "kiss" us. It's a rare occurrence but every so often I can ask for a kiss and she'll come at me open mouth and smother me. This has caused the greatest joy in my heart. For a girl who is so anti-cuddling it means a lot to her highly affectionate mom that she's starting to love a little bit.

          Before I overload you on overly adorable pictures, let's take a look at our handy Baby Center chart.

11 months

Says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Stands alone for a couple of seconds Cruises

Understands "no" and simple instructions Puts objects into a container

Says one word besides "mama" or "dada" Stoops from standing position

          June calls Thomas "Dada" and me...nothing. Unless she's mad and then she yells, "MAMA!" Which usually means she wants me. She's a huge fan of peek-a-boo. Stands for more than a couple of seconds and does nothing but cruises.

          She definitely understands "no," not that she likes it but she gets it for sure. She loves taking things out of a wipe container and them putting them all back in. 

          Junie says a lot of words: hey, hi, yeah, bub (Henry, our dog), Lisa (I'll explain that one in a minute), Pop (my dad), and baba (bottle). She can definitely stoop from standing and uses that to horde toys. 

          My mom runs a family daycare out of her house and that's where June goes while we're at work. My mom's name is Lisa. The other daycare kids call her Lisa. June now calls her grandma, Lisa. It's hilarious. I don't know how to correct her when she's around other kids that don't call her Grammy all day! I've thought of trying to figure out a cute nickname that goes with Lisa so that Junie can call her that but nothing is working. At least she even calls her something. I still don't get a name unless she's angry.

          June's favorite thing to do, beside stand and hold as many things in her arms as possible, is reading. Books are her activity of choice. I currently write for Parenting OC and just chronicled my love of books and the hope I have for June. I'd love if you'd pop over there, too. 

          And now, some pictures of my hilarious, sweet, smart and precious ELEVEN month old!

She loves books, I wasn't kidding!

We needed a break at the beach.

She LOVED crawling in the sand. This is a huge change from our last beach day!

Some wild hair and her constant companion, bunny.

Are you even kidding me with this face? I don't know how I got so lucky to be her momma.

Hashtag: Where's Mark to Clean My House?

Oh, friends, I've had a crazy week! I started my new job (amazing) and went to my baby sister's bachelorette party (double amazing). What I didn't do was clean...or cook...or even pick my house up in the least. 

I've never been a great cleaner. Actually, let me rephrase. I'm a good cleaner but I've never been a very tidy person. I'm a little cluttered and create piles throughout the house of things to "put away" that tend to just sit there. I'm good at vacuuming. I'm good at deep cleaning. I just can't deal with the clutter. 

Now that I'm working a full time job, I'm out of the house from 730am to 630pm. Not only do I come home later than I'm used to but I'm also just exhausted. ((To be honest, I'm less tired than I was staying home but it's a different type of tired.)) So here's where you come in - HELP! What do you do to keep your house clean? Do you save all of the cleaning until Saturday? Do you do a little every night? 

I have to say though, I have the best husband. Seriously. I came home Sunday afternoon to a clean house and a terribly happy baby. He is so good to us.

Here's a fun picture from the weekend:

My sister, Emily (in the hat) and her bridesmaid, Marie (with the cute foot pop) riding in our sweet Cadillac golf cart!

SOS Beach Edition

June had never been to beach. I KNOW, I'm a bad mother. We live 20 minutes from the beach and have taken her once when she was 4 months old and she was asleep and it was at night. So that doesn't count. She's now old enough to fully appreciate the sights and sounds. And also, she's awake.

Thomas and I packed up the ware - 4 chairs, 4 towels, an umbrella, a large quilt, hats, sunscreen, snacks, water, buckets,shovels, cameras, pacifiers, and the baby. My mom and dad joined us for the momentous occasion. 

Parking was a beast, to put it lightly. We circled two parking lots for about 20 minutes while June wailed in her car seat because if she's not sleeping in the car, she's yelling in the car. My favorite thing about her throwing a fit though is that in the midst of yelling and crying, she blows raspberries. Like she's just so frustrated that it's the only thing she can muster. Adorable.

We finally found a spot and hauled our things to the sand. We were anxious for her to actually feel the water and so we set up shop and ran down the to the shore. Thomas held her and put her feet in, she was stoic. Didn't disapprove but didn't seem to enjoy it either. He sat down with her and let waves crash on her lap. Nothing. No smiles. No cries. Nada. I believe she was humbled by the awesomeness that is the ocean and just couldn't even respond. Or she was bored. Whatevs.

On me>> bathing suit top: Target // bottoms: Lands End // sunglasses: H&M. On June>> bathing suit: Target // hat: Target. On Thomas>> bathing suit: Rip Curl. // hair: the heavens.

So this day could technically could be sponsored by Target. Seriously, so many Target items all over us, all of the time.

Here are some more Junie v. Ocean pictures. 

Enjoy! 

Thomas carved June's name into the sand. This was her reaction.

That was her face most of the day. So aloof.

I just love that you can see her tooth. And she looks like Gilligan.

This was the closest we got to a smile.

Ignore my large breasts (and body) and focus on my adorably nonchalant baby and her fountain ponytail.

Beach day was a success. Do you guys have any tips for beach days or days out? What are your essentials and must haves?

We're linking up again with Mz. Mandy over at The Haps!

Father's Day, For Realz

Today was for realz Father's Day. (It also happens to be my paternal grandpa's birthday, too! Happy birthday, Ernest Sadler Losey II, we love you!) Thomas had his UCB graduation show in LA. Let me explain that a little bit - The Upright Citizens Brigade is an organization that was started by Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. It's a sketch comedy, improv comedy, stand-up comedy, and all around funny theater for funny things. They offer all different classes and Thomas was in the intermediate class this go-round. His graduation was today and it was pretty darn funny. I'll be totally honest, it's kind of hard to be an objective observer in a comedy show when it's something I do and have been doing so long. And I don't mean that in a condescending way at all, I truly have trouble discerning funny anymore without completely breaking it down and figuring out the working pieces.  

Anyway, long digression, here are some pictures!

My grandfather (Garry Looney, yes, my mom's maiden name is Looney) owned a donut shop in Michigan for years (like a lot of years) and when I was born my grandparents sold the shop, sold the house and moved here to CA to be with me. They opened another shop in Orange, CA and sold it only a few years ago. The store is still there and today was the first time that I went in and they actually cared who I was and from where I came. It honestly made me so very happy, as silly as that sounds.

My parents watched June today while we were in LA. My dad, or Poppy, has the most amazing relationship with June.

Waiting for Thomas' show. Those shoes? Bought 'em  for a wedding when I was pregnant and now that my feet are not pregnant, they fit very oddly. 

Can't have pictures without cats. Thomas and his nephew, Preston, at lunch.

This was our second annual Father's Day softball game in the park next to my parent's house. That's my dad in the hat, my sister Emily is batting, me, Clint (soon to be brother-in-law), and Thomas are in the outfield. It's a lot of fun, regardless of my nonathletic abilities. 

Our day just did not stop. We came home and walked to the Orange Circle. Strawberry milkshake for me and Thomas, water for Henry and Cheerios and Strawberries for Junie.

OHMYGOD, those toes! I just love them. She crosses her legs like that pretty much all the time. Actually, when they were doing our big anatomy scan she had her ankles crossed like that too. She's just so modest. (hahahaha, so funny, my little nudist...)

Our shadows.

Today was such a fun, special and neat day. My darling baby Junie got to spend the whole day with her Poppy and I got to spend the day with my Thomas. My dad truly has an amazing bond with June. What makes me so happy about it is that I am still very, very close with my maternal grandfather. We lived with my grandparents until I was 1 and they couldn't bear to be without me so they uprooted themselves from Michigan to California. I have a sneaking suspicion that my parents would do the same for June. 

One of the things I love and appreciate about my dad (mom too) is that they always allowed me to express myself through my hair and clothing. I wore some pretty wild things and they always just rolled with the punches. That being said, I was a problem child. I was defiant, I talked back, I needed discipline. So I love seeing my dad's softer and sweeter side. June melts my dad's heart and it is just so amazing. 

So to all the fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers out there, happy day to you! I can't wait for next year and to see how our little family has grown.

Steppin' Out Saturday: Father's Day Edition

Oh Father's Day. The counterpart to Mother's Day. A day devoted to fathers. Fajhas. Dads. Pops. Poppys. Pas. This being Thomas' first real life father's day, it was an important day. He has a final class tomorrow for UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade) so we celebrated today.

On me: top: Target, shorts: Motherhood Maternity, Necklace: vintage, Purse: from Italy, Shoes (not pictured): Toms (they say Toms <3s Moms, so cute), Sunglasses: H&M.

On June: Onesie: Carters, Shorts: Target, Shoes: Saltwater Sandals, Headband: Target. 

So let's talk about those shorts...anyone else still in maternity pants? I've lost all the baby weight but my hips and waist are just not the same. My old shorts fit but these are so much more comfortable. I don't wear them all the time (lies, I do) but they work well with a lot of my outfits. 

Here are a few other pictures from our day:

Dog park fun.

Those dogs are really interesting.

My Toms. And some bones at the dog park.

Just a cute baby and her daddy. And a cat.

What, more cats?

Oh, that hair. This was after some sweet potato and fruit was matted into it.

Cousin Preston and Junie comparing rat tails. She's rocking hers.

June and I gave Thomas a new, custom key chain from Etsy that says, "You Hold The Keys To Our Hearts." Pretty adorable. 

I'm trying something new, linking up with Harper's Happenings and sharing my Steppin' Out Saturday look. I'm pretty fond of them over there so check 'em out! 

Our Week in Instagram

I'm not the best at keeping up with pictures on the bloggeroo. So I'm going to try to start doing a once a week Instagram round up. If you're not following me, do it! AmberKellogg on Instagram. 

Here's what we did this third week of May!

Monday

 

Someone learned to crawl!

Tuesday

This is how we read books in our house.

Wednesday

Mom, why are you taking my picture?

Thursday

June fell off the couch. My iPhone thought Jimmy Fallon was to blame.

Along with crawling, came getting stuck. Hilariously stuck.

Friday

We went to a graduation party. I was dressed. June was not.

Saturday

Our new house! I'm dying to move!

Sunday

Disneyland with Cherry Spitz!

Monorail waiting

Pool time!

My beautiful baby.

Sundays are our most fun days. What day do YOU have most fun?

How was your last week? What did you do for fun? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Mother's Day. For Real.

My first Mother's Day was simply amazing. I'm so lucky. I honestly don't know how to put it all into words, just fantastically lucky. 

Thomas woke me up around 945 with Junie and Henry. We had planned on breakfast and Disneyland but got a later start than anticipated. Which, honestly, was fine! We stopped at Corner Bakery but the line was out the door and I wasn't about to wait. I did need coffee though. Don't talk to me before my coffee! (That's a joke, Thomas hates when people say that so I always say it. We're so funny, right?) Jack In The Box was good enough for us. Then we drove by our NEW HOUSE (renting, not buying) and I gleefully waved as we stopped at Blaire's to pick up two sweet cards that my sweet, sweet friends left for me for Mother's Day. Blaire also left me a rose from our new garden, so incredibly thoughtful! 

Fast forward to Disneyland. It was crowded but not as bad as it could have been. June really loves being in her stroller and looking at everything. We rode Casey Jr. and Small World. Innovations made me really sick because of the moving room. The line for the Pineapple Whip Float or whatever was too long so we left. We were there for a good 3 hours. We decided to head out to my grandparent's house to celebrate with my family. Good choice! Yummy tri tip and baked potato was more than worth it! 

So, no more talking. Here's some pictures that represent Mother's Day to me.

I want to recreate this for Thomas. My sash says "Daddy's Girl."

Three generations of Looney/Losey/Kellogg women. We all make weird faces.

One of my favorite pictures, EVAH.

This is how my day started. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

She makes the best faces.

Kind of jealous at how she gets to ride rides.

Her head is as big as mine...

Thomas photobombed this one. I love it.

She is the happiest baby. Short nap and three hours of Disney and she was still going strong.

So ladies, how was YOUR Mother's Day? I want to hear all about it here on the blog! Any good presents? Hope it was fantastic for you all!