Peaches

A little over ten years ago, I trekked to Utah with my mom and grandmother and, for the first time, tasted the most simple and delictable treat: peaches and cream. Oddly enough, sitting in my great-uncle Stan's cabin and eating that breakfast was one of my most distinct memories of that trip. It was the taste of peach juice swirled in cream with a titch of sugar.  I have ever since associated Utah with peaches.
Afton had her first Utah peach a week or so ago.  She was cranky.  It was mid-afternoon.  I was out of toddler entertaining ideas.  I sat her on the counter, noticed two peaches, rubbed the fuzz off of one of them, and handed it to her.  She hesitantly took her first bite.  Then she voraciously ate half of it.  I managed to save her from the pit.

I love watching Afton eat peaches.  It's so unabashed.  She grabs.  She bites as much as can fit in her mouth.  She chews, juice dribbling over her cheeks, down her chin, and from her hands to her elbows.  

Perhaps it's the way peaches are meant to be eaten.  

No Fear

As a minor preface to this first picture, it should be known:  (1) When Tony was a child, he didn't like jumping on trampolines because he "just knew they were dangerous"; and (2) Before I got to the family reunion last week, I had forgotten that the campground had a GI-NORMOUS slip-n-slide.  Afton, aka "no fear," insisted on going down it over and over and over again.  

We had a good time at the family reunion, with Afton trying all sorts of food for the first time:  french fries, potato chips, chicken nuggets, and M&Ms (and it's no mystery who was feeding her those).  

However, the trip ended the way all of our trips to Oregon this past year have ended:  Afton got sick.  

The downside:  a sick child, insurance mumbo jumbo for being out of network, kooky rural health care clinics, an 8+ hour car ride to get home.  The upside:  it's the only time that Afton is snuggly.  

On a different note, we got to see Afton's newest relative, my cousin Sara's son, Ryan.  He is little and sweet and smooshy and cuddly and all the things a little baby ought to be.  

Bona Fide Toddler

The moment we've all been waiting for. [drumroll....]

Afton can walk! (Sorry, but you'll have to turn your head to the left 90 degrees to see this one...) 

At Afton's last check up the doctor did say, "Her head circumference may be affecting the development of her gross motor skills." Translation: That huge noggin makes her top heavy, so it's hard to balance. (Her head circumference was in the 82nd percentile while her body weight was in the 2nd -- never mind that her 12-month-old body was still wearing 3-6 month size shoes.)  We had started sensing something along that line when she started to crawl -- wherever her head went, the body just followed.  

But starting last Tuesday, she's managed to pull herself up and toddle a few steps all with that nervous/ecstatic look on her face.  And she tends to come to a stop the same way I do when skiing (cross-country skiing no less -- yes, you may mock me.)  It's been a blast.