Day 28: Our little Vikings fan

Both Jamin and Zaria wore purple today! I think it might not have been intentional on Jamin's part, but it was still fun. I'm a huge home team sports fan. I'm not sure where this comes from, but I do get pretty excited cheering for the Twins or Vikings or the Wild or my old high school or college teams. Jamin's never been a big sports fan, so as you can see I'm trying to let Zaria in on my fun by helping her be a fan. She enjoys clapping her hands lately, so she's off to a great start. We went to my mom and stepdad's place for the game, which the Vikings lost to the Green Bay Packers, so this is some post-game fun, hoping that our little cheerleader can help them into a victory next time.

Day 27: Dog sitting

Jamin needed the car to go hunting with some friends, so I didn't have a car on a Saturday, which is unusual. I still had rides available for the plans I had, but part of that was canceled because of the rain. I still had a great waffle breakfast at my parents' nearby church, Brooklyn Park E. Free, but I didn't go to the corn maze that I was hoping to get a fun photo of. Instead I was able to do a bit of dog-sitting for my friend Cassie while she went to a convention. Cosmo is a very tolerant dog, so he's great for Zaria. He fell asleep about the same time as Zaria did while we played a game of Settlers of Catan, but he looked very cozy on my throw pillow.

Day 26: We don't want no stinking spoon

Just last week Zaria started eating with her fingers. Successfully, I mean. So this morning she didn't want me to feed her with a spoon. She would take her rice and banana cereal from my fingers, but no spoon would be allowed. She was still OK with playing with the spoon (see her left hand).

Day 25: Frames on the wall

I added a new frame to our stairway wall and realized that ALL the frames are different. And I just bought 2 that match. So I guess they'll go on either end.

Day 24: Wednesday night at FBC

This was the first time Jamin and I have gone to First Baptist on a Wednesday night. We decided to try it out, so we went for the family dinner and then I went to worship practice to see if I could be trained in on the soundboard. I was able to do some observations by looking things over, but there ended up being no sound person to ask questions. I was really glad I didn't end up busing to church for that result. I walked a lot today-- Zaria and I started out late for the library reading, so I had to walk/run there and arrived a couple of minutes late, and I had started to walk to the bus stop to go to church when Jamin called to say he'd be home in time for us to ride there together. We checked out the nursery to find out how the timing works, but Zaria went with her Grandma so we didn't have to bring her tonight.

So two days in a row of soundboard training that ended up being a little awkward. And at church, I'll probably need to wait until Zaria's weaned before I really take up a regular role helping with sound.

Day 23: Mother's Fellowship

I felt really awkward at Mother's Fellowship this morning. I came early to learn about sound set-up, but it was a brunch day so there wasn't much to set up. And my mom came wanting to watch Zaria, so I felt caught between my role as mother and my role as apprentice. Now as I look back at it, maybe it's a good idea if I just enjoy being a part of Mother's Fellowship for a while before I try to take on helping. It can be hard to visit with people if I'm busy setting stuff up.

Day 22: Diploma arrives

I finally got my final back! I also took Zaria on a little walk and picked up this lovely flower. I still don't feel prepared to work on my own as an transcriptionist. They suggest making flyers and sending out business cards to work on my own. I'm going to try signing up with some existing companies first.

Day 21: Bare feet

I think it got up to 85 degrees today. Crazy! Here's my foot next to Zaria's. Her foot's about as big as my bunion and big toe. She enjoyed playing outside, but I had to watch her because she's started putting grass in her mouth now that she's gotten the hand-to-mouth action down.

Day 20: A bicycle built for two

We took the tandem bike out-- it was a beautiful September day and my mom picked up Zaria that afternoon, so we decided we'd better go for a ride while we had the chance. We've had a lot of fun rides on this tandem bike. OK, here's a picture of the actual bike:
It always reminds us of the x-con that we bought it from in Portland. And we always hope that he really did acquire the bike legitimately to sell it to us. He seemed to be on the up-and-up, but then he did some crazy things soon afterwards that make me think twice. Anyhow, we decided to pick up Jamin's new eyeglasses while we were riding, which meant we had to pick up a bike chain to secure it. I took a quick shot of the bike while I was waiting outside Target.

Day 19: Sunset on the way to FNG

There were some much better clouds and colors earlier, but it's really not good to be reaching for your camera while you're driving. I was very pleased, however, to discover that the new bridge at Hanson Blvd was finally completed. This shot is fairly close to that. Oddly enough, we took that same exit the next day to go to a park for a picnic with our old church, Cornerstone Church of Blaine. Coon Creek Lions Park-- what a name! I also had no idea that it was such a lovely park, and bigger than what you see from the road.

Day 18: Lunch together

It's a pretty new thing for us to eat the same foods together. I've often given her a little of the fruits or vegetables I eat, but a few days ago I put spaghetti in the food processor, and today I put a few selections from my chicken stir-fry. How fun! It was actually just this week that she started picking up food to put in her own mouth, so now I can give her an appetizer (like the veggie puffs on the right) while I'm fixing other food for her or for me. I'm not sure if this makes my life easier, or if it'll now just take twice as long to eat. I guess we'll see.

Day 17: Zaria's 9 Month Check-up

Look who's excited to go see the doctor for a 9-month-old check-up. You're right, my mom looks more excited than Zaria. She is doing great. Weight 21 lb 8 oz, length 28", head 17.5". She didn't have to get any shots today, which is nice. I watched Oprah yesterday about some high-profile moms who have kids with autism that they think may be linked to the MMR shot, so now of course I'm paranoid. I still have time to do research since she doesn't need to get the MMR shot until 12 or 15 months.

Our new computer arrived today, it's for me to use for work. Below is Zaria enjoying her part of the computer-- the box it came in. (=

Day 16: Rainy day

We actually don't have a pond in our run-off area of the yard, but this, uh, puddle grew pretty big. I caught it after it went down a ways.

Day 15: Laundry and snot

This adorable nose produced a lot of snot today. But that didn't stop her from having fun riding a hippo.
Laundry is happening a lot more often now that we have cloth diapers. I'm really enjoying the Fuzzi Bunz, but again, lots of laundry. I'm starting to figure out a better system for taking care of poopy ones. Oh Zaria, please don't grow out of this size for a while!

Day 14: Grilling in the sunshine

Finally started getting the patio furniture together today. It was a beautiful day, so after church we decided to grill and have a little picnic outside again. Zaria is still battling that cold, but we all made it to church this week, and she even managed to nap for a little while in the nursery. Jamin did a bit of multitasking by grilling while he put the furniture together so it was ready to sit on while we ate.

Day 13: Picnic

This is the Oriental Market, a store nearby where we bought some deli food for us and for our friends that just had a new baby. Congratulations, and welcome to baby Claire! Too bad I didn't have the camera with when we went on the picnic or seeing Claire, she is absolutely adorable. We ended up using Zaria's table-attaching chair on a park bench at the Walker Art Center, and since we forgot to bring a stroller we used the chair on Jamin's shoulders as we walked through the park.

Day 12: Visiting grandfolks

Isn't my grandma cute with her hair fixed up for pie? And Zaria had a different 'do with a flower clip--it's high enough she can't quite reach it to pull it off and try eating it. We've come about once a month to their "pie day" since Zaria was born, but today I thought it best that we just visit and let Zaria go home for her regular nap time. We also didn't want to inoculate all the old folks with whatever cold we've got. The flowers on my grandparents' table were an anniversary present from my aunt Judy. They've been married now for 63 years! That's older than my mom (ha, ha). Their anniversary is the 2nd, so I should be better at remembering it since it's a day before my birthday.

Day 11: Out of the box

Here's our new patio furniture, out of the box. Where it stayed all day. Hopefully we'll get it together soon, but Jamin was home again today and we were both not feeling real well. You can see Zaria playing near the window inside.

Day 10: Read to your kid

Today was the kick-off for the fall session of reading to 0-2 year-olds at the library. Zaria's ready to pounce on her books, and there's all sorts of cute toddlers running around the room. It's amazing to watch as these kids grow. From one week to the next, they might have started crawling or walking or having a toothy smile or saying new words. Zaria loves watching the other kids. Jamin was still home in the morning and my mom had planned to come and give us a ride (so I wouldn't have to walk with Z and I being somewhat sick), so all four of us went. It was really crowded! My mom has come a few times before during the summer session, but it was Jamin's first experience.

Day 9: Finished yet??

I almost finished my final exam for medical transcription today, so hopefully, the above picture will be a typical one of me working at home in the near future. I just need to proofread the last 3 reports again tomorrow, and I'm done.
So part of the reason I didn't quite finish was that I had a cribbage game to play with my best bud, Cassie. I still wasn't feeling real good, which also slowed me down from getting work done. But hey, I beat at cribbage! This photo also gives you a glimpse at some other aspects to my life this year: On the wall are birthday cards which I'll keep up at least through this month, I have a painting up that I did during worship at our old church, and Jamin's reading a book while visiting with us.

Day 8: Still sick but living it up

Jamin stayed home sick with me, but by late afternoon, my mom picked up Zaria and we were feeling a little better, so we went for a date night on the scooter. We put on helmets before we went, don't worry. We went and saw a movie at the cheap theater nearby and then went to Culvers for a light meal. I had soup since I wasn't quite 100%.

It was so nice to have a chance and excuse to use the scooter! It's been such a bane to me that it's barely been used. When we first got it, it barely worked, but now it's running really well. So of course we're trying to sell it now. It really is cute and it's fun to ride. Also fun to have an excuse to wear leather. What is it about black leather that I like so much? I bought the Harley jacket from a good friend of ours that worked at a Harley shop near Portland, so it has some wonderful memories attached to it. I used to like to tell people I wanted to be a Harley Grandma someday because I like the idea of being a feisty, unpredictable old lady. Still not too old yet, since this is just my 29th year.

Day 7: Sick day

Zaria playing with my water bottle.

Me grabbing the same water bottle. We stayed home from church today, both knocked about by a cold. It was coming on yesterday too, and I should've taken it easier and maybe napped a bit. We enjoyed Charles Stanley for our morning church service on TV. I enjoyed my new quilt, made for me by my mother-in-law for my birthday. It has 25 of the states on it. She's working on a companion quilt with the other 25.

Day 6: Roast beef

Maybe I shouldn't comment and let you wonder why there are such sharp kitchen implements on my child's high chair. OK, I won't.

The Idea

A few months ago, I had the hair-brained idea that it would be fun to make a picture story book for my last year in my 20's. Well, I forgot my camera at a friend's house, so I won't start the photos yet, but my plan is to have a photo for each day of my 29th year that tells somewhat of a story of my day.

Hopefully I'll get my camera back tomorrow because I already have 4 days running. I believe I can change the postdate for the old photos, and we'll go from there. Eventually I'd like to make this into an actual book. 365 pages, of course (plus one or two for a title page or intro like this one).

I won't say much more since there will be a lot of material this year. If you read this, you'll probably get to know me pretty well.

Day 5: Anointing my baby's head

I'm finally doing what Z's doctor recommended and anointing her head with oil. They recommended vegetable oil. Baby oil smells much better. Here she is in her yellow Fuzzi Bunz diaper on the fun driving rug I got at a garage sale. So I put oil in to loosen her skin and then wash her scalp so we can get rid of her cradle cap. It's not bad and it doesn't bother her, but I felt it was time I got more proactive about it.

Day 4: Driving through Minneapolis

This is a random photo of a house in South Minneapolis. I actually grew up near here and went to the little church that was about 2 blocks away-- it used to be called Elim Covenant Church. I had fun celebrating a friend's 30th birthday nearby. When I got back out to the car, it was pouring down rain. When I was a kid, we had poor drainage in my neighborhood and I can remember more than once trying to swim in the flooded water in the street. Yeah, real clean water. They eventually fixed the drains so that stopped happening. It ruined a little fun, but not for our neighbors across the street that were level with the street.

The housing market's pretty full right now. Yet another house for sale happened to get into this photo. They just put up a sign next door to us.

Day 3: Home from a long, sweaty walk

I actually had a bag with a white trashcan in it as I walked home from Target and the library. I'm sharing a car with my husband right now, and though it's only just over a mile to walk to the library, today was probably not the best day for it. It was very hot and humid, and I was icky and sweaty by the time I got home. Not to mention Zaria (my daughter) slept on the way home, so suddenly I didn't have as much time to myself in the afternoon to study. I was a little frustrated, but I now have a closeable trash to put our new cloth diapers into. Now I just need to figure out how to best deal with the poopy ones.

Day 2: Spiderweb in my doorway

I like this particular spider. He/she knows my rule about hiding when I'm around and always scampers into the crack when I come by. And so I haven't done any demolition yet. It's a rather unsightly web right by my front door, so if I have a guest that I think will be scared of spiders, I may have to go out and clear this one out. Perhaps if my older brother ever comes for a visit . . . I used to kill spiders for him because he hated them.

DAY 1: My 29th Y'ear

Yes, we're starting out with a picture of my ear on my birthday. I'm rather fond of ears and hearing and may even pursue a career in the field of audiology one day. Probably not this year. This year my ear will be listening to goos, gurgles, coos, shreaks, screams and tantrums. I hope I don't lose too much of my hearing being a mom.

I worked at an audiology clinic for a little over a year. I love sounds and art, and still have a dream of doing some more broadcasting and/or sound production. I joke about having a cranial juke box in my head, because I nearly always have music going on in my head. I like having the radio on most of the time, but whenever it's off I still have music playing.

I bought a notebook companion and mentioned a couple of rules that will govern this year in pictures:
1. Each photo needs to be taken during the 24-hour period of the designated day. This means no cheating and putting in an extra photo that sort of works for a day I have no photos for. It's OK to have an extra photo, but I'll try to keep most days down to one per day.
2. No cropping. Some of these will look like they need cropping, but I won't do it. See them for all their glory.

Welcome to my 29th year. Yes, my birthday is on September 3rd. I like the fact that I have a square root in my birthday-- almost a shame I wasn't born in '81 so I could have two square roots.