I Can Walk And Drool At The Same Time

Cassandra has been working on the whole walking thing.  She can stand up for a few seconds and she really wants to walk but is just not sure how.  She does like walking around holding onto us.  She also continues to work on her new teeth and drools all over the place.  I'm amazed she doesn't get dehydrated.

This Is Yummy, Mommy!

Mommy fixed chicken noodle casserole and green beans for dinner, which is Mommy's favorite meal.  Cassandra was provided the opportunity to partake in this meal and she seemed quite happy.  Green beans are Daddy's favorite vegetable and Cassandra proved to be her father's daughter.  She downed more food than I expected her to be able to eat.

A Mouth Full Of Teeth

Yesterday, Cassandra cut through not just tooth number four but also number five.  Not content to stop there, she cut another one today.  This means she doubled the number of teeth she has cut in the last two days.  She now has four teeth on top and two teeth on the bottom.  It is my hope that with these teeth coming through, the drool level will drop.  I can already hear the laughing at my hope.

More Practice Walking

Cassandra really enjoys showing off.  When she is not using the box as a walker, she climbs inside.

She is beginning to refuse what we try to feed her.  She has to try first and only if she misses her mouth can we feed her.  This makes meal time very slow.  Add in the teeth that are trying to come through and Cassandra can get very grumpy.  Hopefully, the teeth will come through soon.  The more she has, the quicker she can chew, right?

Getting Ready For Bed

With Cassandra jumping to the next size in clothes, we decided to get some real PJ's instead of sleep sacks or footed sleepers.  We haven't given her any candy yet but it is pretty obvious she has a sweet-tooth.  Her love of fruit is proof of that.

Trying To Walk

Cassandra has been spending more time on her feet lately.  In fact, when given a toy shopping cart, she really moves.  At home, she has been using a box as her "walker."  However, whenever she sees the camera, she sort of forgets what she was doing and makes a beeline for the camera.

Let Me Out!

With Cassandra now climbing the stairs and thinking "no" means "smile, turn around and do it anyway" it became necessary to put up the baby gates.  I think she likes to make noise, not necessarily trying to escape.  She likes to go up to the gate, grab it and shake it.  That being said, she does spend time trying to defeat the gate but it seems like it doesn't occur to her to use brute force.

Notice how she messes with the hinge in an effort to get through?  I think she is leaning towards being an engineer.

I'm About To Do Something I'm Not Supposed To Do

Cassandra has always been pretty good about letting us take pictures.  She is now at the stage where she crawls directly for the camera if Mommy or Daddy are holding it.

Why can't I play with that?

Cassandra making a break for the stairs. Notice the tongue? 
She has been working on cutting tooth number three (came in on 9/13) and tooth number four (to be determined).

 Cassandra loves to climb the stairs.  Most of the time she gets our attention before she actually climbs them by giggling and looking at us.  I guess it is time for the gates to go up.

Caught in the act, I call her name and she stops and looks at me.

Cassandra, torn between climbing the stairs or posing for the camera.

Persistent...To The Point Of Obstinacy

Cassandra decided she wanted her plug.  Not being able to find one laying around, she went to her car seat where she knows we keep one on a leash for travel.  Unfortunately, she was not able to overpower the clip on the leash.

Like Most Women, I Can't Find Clothes In My Size

Cassandra had an interesting time with her wardrobe today.  She has recently moved up into the 12M clothing size.  Unfortunately, the size of a 12 month old from Cambodia seems to be a bit smaller than a child from China.  Here is one of her "smaller" 12M outfits.  While it is summer, I really didn't mean to put her in a muscle shirt and short shorts.  I'm sure this picture will haunt me when she becomes a teenager.  "But Daddy, you used to let me where skimpy outfits!"

That Thing Is Bigger Than Me!

We bought a 36 lb watermelon for the family to share.  That means that it is almost twice as heavy as Cassandra.  She enjoys being outside and eating watermelon so it was fun.  To give an idea of scale, the cutting board the watermelon is sitting on is big enough for a 12-inch pizza or a 25 lb turkey.

Not Yet Awake...

Cassandra is a bit difficult about going to sleep and waking up.  This is when she was woken up for lunch. (She is really crabby if she wakes up too hungry.)

Getting Bigger, Stronger, More Obnoxious

Cassandra is over 19 pounds and is 28 inches long. 

She continues to grow and change and it is pretty obvious that she is developing a sense of humor.  She was messing with a Target bag full of stuff and I told her "no."  She stopped, looked at me, and then started to reach toward it again.  I said "no" again and again she stopped temporarily.  Then she smiles at me real big, reaches over, and stops her hand just short of the bag.  The smile seemed to be saying "But Daddy, I'm NOT actually touching it." 

I know people will be lining up to tell me she gets it from me.  Janice already does.  The only question is whether my family or my friends will be laughing harder when they break the news to me.

<sigh>

Cassandra's ability to learn and improvise continues to amaze and entertain us. 

I need another hand!

If looking at the camera is good, grabbing it must be better.

Table Food

As Cassandra has gotten used to solid food, we've started moving to things that don't resemble mush.  Here is a rice rusk.

I think we surprised her here.

What you lookin' at?

Picnic On Labor Day

Cassandra invited Grandma and Grandpa Wendel along with Great Uncle Mike and Great Aunt Lilian for a picnic.  We moved the Empress's throne out onto the deck for dinner and she proceeded to entertain her guests. 

Cassandra has NOT learned to not talk with her mouth fill.

Cassandra was really excited about eating sweet potatoes.

Mmmm.  I'm gettin' peaches!

Not Really A Morning Person

In terms of physical looks, Cassandra seems to favor Daddy except for the eyes.  That being said, it is funny that her behaviors seem to be pretty evenly divided between Mommy and Daddy. 

One way she takes after Mommy is that she doesn't really like early mornings.  Usually, she is not bright eyed and bushy tailed and happy to be awake.  However, sometimes she does something all her own.

For your amusement and amazement, we present: Drunk Baby!

Okay, she had just finished a bottle but the look just had Mommy and Daddy cracking up.

Boxes Are Fun

Cassandra has been learning about boxes.  Previously, she has been content to play with small boxes.  This is the first time she has had to play with a box big enough for her to fit into.

Seems to be having a lot of fun, eh?