cheerios and hand claps

...what a busy weekend...cadence and i went to the old town school of folk music's folk and roots festival on saturday AND sunday...it was just the two of us on saturday but we had a blast taking in all the music and kids and babies and families...it was pretty darn sunny, and even though i slathered on the sunscreen, cadence's legs got red...we were both tired as the evening progressed, but we made it till the headlining act, which was alejandro escovedo, whom i haven't seen perform live in like 3 years...the entire field, which is pretty huge, was covered with bodies by the time alejandro went on...it was a great show, and i'm glad we went even though it's hard juggling a baby when you're alone...fortunately, i've figured out a couple of different carries on my ellaroo pretty good, so i can carry cadence on my back now, rucksack style, and wearing her was so much easier than trying to maneuver a stroller through the crowd...on sunday ted and uncle dave joined us at the festival...we also ran into chris kralik, the bassist for watchers, ted's former band, and some of the boys from lying in states...chris is always so sweet when he sees cadence...anywho, the music was great again on sunday, but it was still sunny and HOT...it was easier though with two other adults to help out with cadence...

...so a couple of recent milestones for cadence...#1--she can eat cheerios now! those were a life saver during the festival, as she thinks it's quite amusing to chomp on those things...thanks to my friend and former coworker allison who gave cadence her first cheerio two weeks ago at a wedding for one of my colleagues...it took a couple of weeks, but cadence finally learned how to chew and swallow those little rings of oats! it's also made it easier to feed her other solids, like the green beans that ted's mom pureed for cadence over a month ago that have been sitting in the freezer in little cubes...not that i'm hurrying to get the little bugger on solids...she's still mostly on breastmilk, but i have to say that now that her top front teeth are coming in, it's getting more and more painful for me to nurse...i'm hoping i'll get used to it...

milestone #2--she can stand on her own!!! just yesterday, at the folk & roots festival, we were sitting on the dried out lawn...cadence was balancing herself on uncle dave's knee when she decided she wanted to clap, so she let go of the knee and started clapping while she was still standing!! it only lasted a few seconds, but she did it several times, and she had this look on her face like she knew she was moving on to new territory...it was cute how she'd stick her little butt out or would flap her little arms to maintain balance on her own two feet..good god, she's not even 10 months yet...i wonder how long it will be before she's actually taking steps? she may be walking by the time we get to seattle in september to visit uncle charles and auntie ali!

*sigh*...