At least I’m pretty sure it was. There was an extraordinarily young girl in a Fred Meyer uniform at the store today. And the contractor working next door had one of his little girls with him. So, Tony "took" Ali to work for a bit as well. Adorable, I know. Now, somethings that have been running through my mind.

• Ali’s hair is getting SO long. And it’s such chameleon hair too. Dark still on the ends from birth, with red and gold highlights. I’m so interested to see how it "turns out."

• The above pics were taken two days ago…on Earth Day. Ali wore her Oregon Zoo t-shirt from Hannah in honor of the event.
• I think Ali is teething again. A marked increase in drool, and general tendency to gnaw things I thought I’d taught her not to forever ago (like the coffee table) have led me to this conclusion.
• Last night was LAME.
• If I wonder why it’s sometimes hard to find the drive and energy to really work out then I probably should take the fact that it’s now been nearly ten months since I got a full night’s sleep into further consideration. Longer if you count pregnancy peeing. Also, I don’t think she’s slept more than four or five consecutive hours since about eight weeks old. That’s a long time.
• I hate being stuck indoors.
• For days on end.
• With a cranky baby.
• Who is struggling to nap because of construction noise.
• Yesterday is rained and rained and rained. Through the night and hard all morning. When I looked outside after 7am there was a large puddle. About four hours later we had a backyard lake! Crazy-scary but the rain soon slowed and the water went down quickly.

• Today we returned home from the store to find cement being poured next door. There were two trucks blocking our entrance but Mr. Contractor was kind enough to have the guys move. I gave him a wave and he gave me a nod. Much appreciated. Still. Loud and obnoxious! I did feel so bad for the poor guy who worked alone almost all day yesterday. In the torrents of rain and 60mph wind gusts. I hope he is appreciated.

April 10th, early on

And later.

Today on the west side.

And the east.

• I’m glad people (Karlin!) like the one year ago today feature. It makes me wish I’d blogged more and drives me to strive for daily entries in the present.
• Ali is getting so big! She’s mastering skills on a near daily basis and constantly amazing both of us with her growth in all areas. Lately, she’s become Little Ms. Organizer. More onthat to come in the near future. Well, hopefully…
• Monday I have a dental consult in Portland. Well, Milwaukie. Here we call anything over the coastal range "Portland." Excited to go "home" even if it’s just for a short period.
• Trista is spending next week here! But not with us
• She’s a counselor for ODS (outdoor school) next week and Twin Rocks Friends Camp literally RIGHT down the street from us. We’re trying to hook up some sort of run-in but it’s tough because they’re not allowed to bring cell phones.
• I hate gas prices. Hate hate hate. Makes me feel even more stuck. Especially in the relentless cold and rain.
• I am  OH SO READY FOR SPRING.

Ali received her first pair of Robeez in utero. At my baby shower (thanks Aunt Pam!). And she never took them off. Metaphorically speaking of course. She’s had a few other pairs of shoes but they never stayed on. So frustrating! And like throwing money down the toilet. Meanwhile she kept wearing her 0-6 month Robeez. Which she especially enjoyed chewing upon and carrying around the house in her mouth, puppy dog style.

Finally we broke down and purchased her a new pair. Even if we couldn’t really afford it (they’re pretty pricey!). The kicker was that her toes were running out of room to the point where we worried they were going to be perma curled. Like some form of Chinese foot binding. Also, without shoes on, her socks won’t stay on and even though it’s spring she just can’t be running around barefoot. Especially with it still snowing and all. Which, btw, it did Monday.

Yesterday the above shoes came in the mail. Fresh and new, with room to grow and style to spare. Considering the last pair lasted nine months of near daily wear, even stretching with Ali while she grew , I’m sure we’ll get more than our money’s worth out of these too. So, Robeez…highly recommended!

With so much going on (or maybe so little?) it’s easy to forget the nitty gritty of blogging about daily life. Or at least posting picture of "everyday." So…..let’s see. Weather has been crazy! Lots of hailstorms and even rain mixed with snow. Even some "sticking" or whatever you call it when you wake in the morning to a layer of frozen hail covering everything.

After a random "sunny" hailstorm yesterday.

Ali is doing well. She’s begun waving….kind of. But it’s something we’ve been working on and waiting for for awhile. She also finally started clapping today! Or something clapping-ish. It’s so funny how kids hit some milestones way ahead, others right on time, and yet there has to be at least a couple they lag on. Still sleeping really well in her crib. Until sometimes between eleven and one that is. Which is probably more my fault then anything because it’s easier to just take her if I’m going to bed or already asleep. Also she still wakes near hourly most night after she goes down. Will she ever sleep through the night?

Also, the last two mornings she’s woken up at six! YUCK and I hope that doesn’t continue. We’ve had a slight cold blow through around here. Why is there something so cute about a little kid with a runny nose? Maybe that only when it’s your own kid? And when it’s just a touch of clearish sheen, not any nasty green gunk. Yech, I’ll gag just thinking about it. Another recent development is some hardcore cruising. It’s kind of scary how quickly (so it seems!) Ali went from wobbly standing to confident climbing. Yes, climbing. She is trying to tackle our stairs but usually only gets just past halfway up (about stair seven) before going back down. Which, is fine with me. I’m glad she know how to get down because I don’t think that is always the case at first. Seriously though, we really need to invest in some baby gates.

Crouching to pick a fallen pacy is no big thing now.

Beyond that I can’t think of much. Tony is really busy. It was nice to have a weekend home. Alone. I really, really, really, want real spring to be here. I know I need to update on next door (Tony has been working on hooking up a web cam actually, if you are wondering what the new box on the right is). Hopefully will get to that soon. I am waiting on getting pictures situated. Basically, at the moment, the whole thing is a huge dirt lot. A portapotty was delivered Friday though, so I’m anticipating a lot of work this upcoming week. Thus far they’ve just been coming for a few hours in the morning and then peacing out. If anyone is there at all…

Ah yes, I did just remember something else. Ali’s new sense of exploration. Which is especially keen in the kitchen and has prompted a couple baby locks, some reorganizing and a whole cupboard and lower drawer designated for her stuff. One is full of all the jars from baby food that we’re keeping, and her cups and stuff and it is emptied out more times a day then I can count. Probably as many as it all gets put back in!

Something I’ve heard TWICE in the last week. It brings back so many memories. And, it’s funny, right after Ali was born I honestly wanted only boys born. If not everywhere, then at least close to us and her. But now she’s older, we are all more secure in who she is. Now I can handle new baby girls. Bring on the PINK!

In honor of the upcoming two girls in Cynthia’s household, a practice run with dear Shayla. Who, btw, is SO smart at two and a half. Just listen:

Backstory. Here is an establishing shot and this is the first we heard of the in-progress duplex next door. Are you caught up? Great.

Further backstory. My parents have owned this house for over ten years. In that time there has never been anything next door but an empty lot. Often, for a number of years, THEY were the ones who took care of that land, mowing and trimming trees and such. When the lot went up for sale they expressed interest in buying but the guy selling was asking a very, VERY steep price.

The empty lot remained.

The rest is a little grey. My impression is that the owner wanted to build (no doubt an atrocious condo or something as is the general trend here) but couldn’t get the city to allow him (issue permits, pass building codes, whatever, I don’t know). He then tried to sell but asked an enormously high price so as to sue the city for something (devaluation of land???) because they were getting in the way of his master plan. Apparently it worked.

The sign for a Rockaway Beach building company went up probably almost two months ago now. It took a few weeks for us to drop by their office and see what was up. We were familiar with the couple that owns the business on a professional level. The husband told us he was building a duplex there and that the permits should be through the city in a couple weeks. As previously mentioned, I almost cried.

And for so many reasons! My first thoughts were the construction process. Above you can see our house, the property line (staked out and marked with string), the tree on "their" property and the branches trimmed in October on ours,  but you can’t see the window of Ali’s bedroom, hidden by the tree. Not to mention OUR bedroom directly below her’s. Us, I’m not worried about. We’re rarely asleep between the hours of 8am and 8pm. Which, the contractor informed us, was the city ordinance on when construction can happen. But Ali is. Daily. Twice. At least!

Also, a DUPLEX?!?! Ugh. How revolting. How HUGE (God knows the lot isn’t). And everything that entails (neighbors? renters? weekenders? partiers? TIMES TWO!). Best case scenario is a duplex that sits empty until the economy picks up (or longer) like so many other recently completed eyesores around here. And what about the aesthetics of our house? The feeling of openness? The property value?!?!?! What about the fact that, had we not been living here, there is a good chance my family would have shown up to find construction going on mere feet from their house while they were none the wiser. Seriously.

*Breathe*

The contractor promised he’d "keep us in mind." And I quote. Whatever that means. I hoped maybe it meant some warning, some discussions, you know, some common courtesy. Then I may have found it hard to be mad. I know the contractors are just doing their job. I know they are only the messenger. But I don’t know who for. All I can go by is the sign still standing next door. Anyway, thus far I see no sign of our being kept in mind. Yesterday morning I awoke from a state of almost sleep when I realized the incessant beeping was NOT the garbage man and could very well be the beginning of…well, not the end, but something that kind of feels like it has a resemblance. Sure enough there was a tractor outside. I bolted to see what time it was.

8:12am.

I stood in the window and watched. Crossed my arms. Glared. No acknowledgment. When Tony woke up he went outside to take some pictures. Again, for so many reasons. Acknowledgment for sure. Intimidation? Maybe. Definitely documentation. And a feeling of control, a sense of power. What else can we do?* This next part is hearsay, as I was not there. According to Tony, the guy immediately came over and asked him,

"Are we going to have a problem here?"

Tony answered something about how he was just taking pictures, to make sure everything was "above board." After which Mr. Contractor (as he will henceforth be referred to as) made it clear his permission was not given to appear in any of the pictures. Which I’m not sure is even necessary unless they are being sold or something but, you know, I’m feeling charitable. Keeping him in mind, I’ve altered the above photo. Mr. Contractor also went on to tell Tony that he was on the Rockaway Beach Planning Commission (feel free to visit link for past meeting minutes and such). Um, and that is supposed to make anyone feel better?!?! Riiiiiight. Also, he told Tony that he better stop taking pictures (or something in that regard) because that was harassment and he…

"Knew the law."

Whatever. I’m getting tired. And fired up all over again. Which is just not a pleasant combination. Yesterday everyone left by about ten. Today they were back between nine and ten for an hour or more (talking in very loud, male voices VERY close to our house while Ali was napping which prompted me to open the side door, interrupt my laundering, and have a arms-crossed glare). All day long people stopped by marking the utility locations. It looks like kids went crazy with sidewalk chalk. Except very unsure children, as there are a worrying amount of question marks in florescent colors (i.e. DEPTH???).  Sure hope our water or phone doesn’t get screwed up.

So this is the scene. All those trees will be gone shortly. And who knows what else is going to happen. Of course we won’t know anything until it’s been done but you can bet you’ll hear about it. *Because this is all we can do. Document, in a very public fashion how all this transgresses. And if someone types Rockaway Beach Contractors into Google  and come across our blog (try it), well I sure hope they like what they find.

There is so much to say. Things I haven’t yet gotten around to mentioning. Things that have repeatedly slipped my mind. Things that fell by the wayside when I got interrupted mid-post.

• Reading. Ali is so in a books stage. Her favorites right now are "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?" "Aloha is…" "Elmo’s Guessing Game About Colors," this one Baby Einstein one about a tadpole finding his mommy, and one about the seashore that she’s practically eaten. All of these she will make you read multiple times through and cry whenever they are over. The baby bear one has a bright yellow cover that she recognizes and pulls off the shelf. Also high on the list are her two "potty books." One called "Look Baby" and another, "My Puppy."

• Pointing. Just a few days ago she began pointing. Now she points at EVERYTHING and it is so cute. It’s also much easier to be able to tell what she wants or to go around naming things off to her and know that we’re on the same page. Also makes the before mentioned activity (reading books) more interactive. Almost immediately she began sticking her finger up her nose. Gag me. I cannot stand nose stuff. Nose noises, nose substances…they all make me gag. Picking and eating?!?!? Barf, barf, barf. I cannot handle it but she thinks it’s pretty funny.
• The bird. Or birds? A day or few before the lovely construction began (more about that to come, soon and often!) I began hearing a bird pecking in Ali’s room. Well, outside, but I heard it in her room. And it’s continued. And I don’t know how to get it to stop. Pretty sure a nest has been built about seven or so feet from where she sleeps. And we had a nest of baby birds in our house last year. Well, outside. They were LOUD. Maybe the construction will drown it out? Ahahahaha.
• I turned around in the kitchen today and saw Ali standing at the refrigerator. She’s just getting so big!

• I’m so ready for some SUNSHINE!             
• This is such an adorable picture.

Oh so much seems to be going on. I hurt my back Thursday. Like, really, really hurt it. I don’t know how. I don’t know what "throwing it out" feels like, but I imaginethis was somewhat close. I couldn’t really lift Ali proper until yesterday afternoon. By chance we recieved a sample of Oregon Creme II in the mail, an herbal remedy from a couple Tony is building a site for. And it worked!  I’m sure there are other factors, and i’m still so very, very, sore but am at least moderately functional and oh so grateful. Not so grateful about being deterred from my work out when I was really getting into the groove. UGH.

This Friday we’re leaving for my parents’. We are staying unitl mid-week (post Easter) which also happens to be Spring Break so everyone will be less busy with work, school, sports, etc. Well, maybe not work. Anyway, then we’re making our way up to Seattle to stay at Tony’s Mom’s forthe remainder of that week, the weekend, and until Wednesday or Thursday of the following week. There is a conference up there bringing some people to town Tony wants to meet with. So….we have about two weeks away from homeon the horizon. Exciting! Overwhelming. The big picture has fallen into place. The logistics are stressing me out. Whatever though. We’ll be glad to get away and glad to get back. It’s always nice to shake things up once in awhile.

Yesterday we went to the dentist. Me, for the first time in a year. Tony, in two years. Overall it was very positive. I think we are both in better shape than expected. Alas, I still need to see two specialists. One, an oral surgeon to pull a wisdom tooth. Another, I dunno what he’s called, to do a root canal on my front tooth – YIKES! I knocked it falling off my bike when I was seven and it’s been dead (or dying?) ever since. In the last couple of years it began to discolor and has gotten overly sensitive to heat or cold. The xray showed it completely calicified which, the dentist said, he very rarely sees. And, the lovely about leaving out in nowhere…we have to go to portland for these appointments. Which they just make a month or four in advance like a jaunt to Tigard or Stark Street is no big deal. And for just a consultation?!?!!? Ugh. ugh. UGH. Still, I will do whatever to get this one wisdom that’s driving me nuts taken care of. Of course that is the appointment that isn’t until mid-July.

It’s been raining a lot, interrupted by random breaks of sunshine. Very confusing when your mood is often determined by the weather. I have a lot of videos to post. Does anyone watch them? I don’t want to be boring people. It’s hard for me to edit sometimes, be it photos, videos, content in general. I know how very biased I am as far as what is or isn’t interesting, cute, earth-shattering, etc. Then again, this is our blog. As much as I care about those reading it, you all are really just visiting. Or, mostly, LURKING! But we love you all the while :)

"Talking" to Grandmere.

She is so funny sometimes.

She ran her dinner through her ponytail. Better than gel!

And, another bathing video…

This video is short (less than 30 seconds). So no lengthy time commitment! Double click and have a view. Also, last night Ali went to bed, in her crib, about eight. Woke up again before nine and Tony put her back to sleep. Woke up again about 11:15 and Tony fed her a bottle and put her back to sleep. Then she slept until quarter after three! Definitely the longest thus far. I tried to go to bed at, like, ten-thirty before didn’t fall asleep until closer to midnight. And, even then, I woke up listening for the baby monitor constantly. Even though I know sleep is harder when she’s there, spaciously, I sleep worse without her. Maybe practice will help?

A few things…

• Ali now has a sixth tooth! On the bottom to the left of her other two. That means four bottom teeth and her two top fangs. For now anyway.
• Thank you to Tony’s dad’s family for the package Ali got today. Such cute clothes and sunglasses we are hoping to get her to keep on! Also, for some reason she thinks the duck is very kissable and has been kissing it all day.
• I finally remembered to look at ponytail holders to find some that might work for Ali at the store today. As you can see, I found some to try. The real question is if they will stand the test of time. Her pony was already sagging and loose after just a few hours tonight.

• Another video! And the start of a new batch, per se. This one starring the Elmo doll Ali got on her first visit to a toy store last month. This is from….Saturday?

• The bed and naptime routine has been going amazingly well! Tonight she was asleep within, like, five minutes at 7:45. Which was 6:45 two days ago! Although last night she went down easy, then woke up about 11:45 and didn’t go back to sleep for probably an hour. And that was downstairs in bed with me. So I won’t be counting any chickens before they hatch. Still, it makes me think I could take up a hobby. Or, more realistically, some classes.

I’m tired. Tony just woke up from a nap. Ali is, I think, successfully down for one. We’re going to a spaghetti feed at City Hall tonight to benefit the Parks and Recreation department. I was kind sickish this morning (no energy, semi nauseous, chills, and slightly high temp) but feeling passable now. Luckily, Tony let me sleep in until almost ten!

The sleep in the crib thing is going pretty well. She has been napping in there (twice a day) and going to bed each night. Just not staying. Usually between midnight and one she wakes up and comes down with us. Usually I can’t really fall asleep until then. LAME. I so hate the idea of being aroused once I’m asleep (probably one of thereasons she’s still with us!) but, seriously, I need to go to bed earlier. And, since she’s going to bed between eight and nine she’s been waking up between six-thirty and seven-thirty. While still feeding through the night. AND since she is, I guess, getting used to sleeping by herself sprawled on her tummy last night she wouldn’t sleep curled up in the crook of my arm like always. She wanted to lay on her stomach which forces me to invent a new sleeping position. Which I just did, oh, eight months ago. Ugh.

BUT I am very happy to know that she is developing the ability to fall asleep on her own. Priceless.

In other lame news. If you look at the pic of our house I posted you will see an empty lot to the right. The lot is not big but we just found out yesterday they will be building a duplex there. In a matter of weeks. The property line is seriously about six feet from the house. And all of our bedrooms. We talked to the guy building it and he said they’ll be working 8am to 8pm. I seriously almost cried. This is absurd and what awful timing. I only hope it’s worse in my head than it will actually turn out to be.