Swimming

Eleanor went swimming for the first time two weeks ago. As with everything else in life, she LOVED it. She was a little apprehensive at first but within a few minutes she was putting her face in the water, kicking her legs and splashing up a storm. We made four trips to the pool while we were in Dallas and by the end E was even going under water. Look out Kirsty Coventry we may have the next Olympic swimming gold medalist in our presence.

Just Because

42, 43, 44, 45

Update On The Way

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I just returned from a 10 day trip to Dallas where I spent 6 days taking a class on Sequential English Education. I have a TON of pictures to upload and will then get them on the blog. See you soon!

HUGS

Happy Birthday NaNa

What Do You Say?

Here are the top five things said in our house these days:

1.) Be careful - our little kamikaze has no fear. She is into everything and is in constant motion.
2.) No biting - E is experimenting with her two (almost three) little chompers. In fact, this evening as we were getting ready to put her to bed Daniel pointed out some "scratches" on the crib. These "scratches" are from E chewing on her crib.
3.) Be gentle - Kamikaze is a roughy toughy! She definitely knows how to hold her own.
4.) Let go - along with experimenting with her chompers, pulling hair is Kamikaze's second favorite thing to do.
5.) Sit on your bottom - this phrase is most commonly used in the bathtub. Kamikaze likes to try and stand up, surf, swim, crawl, etc. all while in the bathtub. I think this mama gets a new gray hair each night during bath time.

What are some common sayings in your household?

Need New Pictures

You know it is time to start putting new pictures on the blog when you get an email from your mom with the word "Need" in the subject box and the message "new pictures." So, here you go NaNa, new pictures. Please excuse the drool! Our poor little girl drips like a faucet all day long and I got tired of seeing her in a bib so we just let it go.

My new big girl pj's.

Big Eyes

Thanks for my wagon NaNa and PaPa. It was raining this day so daddy pulled me around inside the house.

Funny girl
This is Eleanor's new favorite face. NaNa calls it her toughy face.

Clap Clap

Happy Birthday G-Pops

Daddy Does Bath Time

Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time has probably already figured out that Daniel is a very hands-on dad. He helps with everything and for that I am extremely grateful. Tonight (and to be honest, most nights) Daniel took care of bath time. For the record, the reason Daniel typically does bath time is because our Kamikaze likes to try and give her mother a heart attack on a daily basis while in the bathtub. She flips over on her tummy, puts her face in the water, tries to stand up, pulls out the drain plug, etc, etc, etc. Anyway, back to tonight's story. So Daniel takes Eleanor upstairs for her bath while I am taking care of a few things in the living room. A few minutes later Daniel calls down and says "I need you to come watch the baby." Me - "You need me to come watch the baby? Why?" as I am walking upstairs. As I reach the bathroom Daniel says "so I can clean up the pee!" Me - "Pee? Where?" Daniel - "Look at our bedroom floor!" Well, needless to say, while Daniel was getting the bath water ready, Kamikaze was rambling around our bedroom sans diaper and decided to leave a puddle along with a little trail as she quickly exited the vicinity of the said accident. What do I do? I pull out the camera and take pictures so that I can bless all of our blog readers with this story. No really, your thanks are not necessary. So, without further ado.....Daddy does Bath Time
Yes, that is the puddle Kamikaze left on the floor while waiting for Daddy to put her in the bath.

Kamikaze and her daddy

9 Month Stats

I can't believe my baby girl is 9 months old already. She is learning new things everyday. Yesterday she had her 9 month well-child visit and got a great report from the doctor. She is 28.5 inches tall (75%) and 19 lbs (50%). Dr F. said "She is a tall one!" He also commented on how active she is and told us to make sure her crib mattress is lowered all the way because "she will come flying out of there." Daniel and I just had to laugh. We have recently given her the nickname of Kamikaze because she has no fear and gets into everything. We have definitely become a lot busier since E has become mobile!

Here is yesterday's 39 week photo!

Picture Project

Yesterday Daniel and I finally hung up my maternity photos and Eleanor's Christmas photo. I am so pleased with the outcome. These pictures are in the stairwell from the main floor of the house to the bedrooms. We plan to add to it as Eleanor grows.

Blessed

Happy Mother's Day! Last year I was pregnant on Mother's Day and even though Eleanor had not entered the world I was already her mom. I knew when she had hiccups, I knew when she was awake or asleep, I knew when she was stretching, yet there were a lot of things I did not know about her. I did not know that the first time I saw her face it would take my breath away. I did not know how quickly her sweet little face would capture my heart. I did not know that she had a birthmark on the back of her head or on her forehead or on her right eyelid and under the tip of her nose. I did not know that she had dark hair and blue-green eyes. I did not know that the third toe on each of her feet would tuck under or that she would be tall and lean. But I did know that I was her mom. Today as we celebrate Mother's Day I am blessed to be Eleanor's mom. I am blessed to know my daughter in a way that no one else will ever know her. I am also blessed to be a daughter and a daughter-in-law to two amazing women. So, Mother and MOG if you happen to be reading this - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! You are loved!

Carousel Cutie

Eleanor took her first carousel ride today with her daddy! She really liked it. I tried several times to get a picture of her looking at the camera but she was distracted by all the kids running around.

I LOVE This Man

Daddy Does Dinner

ENOUGH SAID!

Springtime

Yesterday Eleanor and I went on a 5 mile hike. The high for the day was 82 and it was quite sunny. This was just before we were leaving to go. Isn't she cute in her sunhat?

New Ride

Check out Eleanor's new ride. She is mommy's new walking partner!

Yellow

Can you see my tooth? It is just breaking through.

Wascally Wabbit

This week I am 35 weeks old. I am crawling like a champ and am trying to pull up on things. I started eating whole wheat toast and like to feed myself. When we were at the park we met a bunny. His name was Thumpy. I played in the grass for the first time and pet the bunny.

Happy Resurrection Day!

He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! The stone has been rolled back and the tomb is empty. Jesus has conquered the grave. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Daniel, Eleanor and I spent the afternoon with some friends from church. We had a great time with Chris, Kelly and Seth and their families. Eleanor is 4 months older than Seth and is a giant compared to him. I am sure Seth and Eleanor will spend a lot of time together in the months to come.

So Big

You better watch close because I'm up to something!

Yesterday soon after these pictures were taken we lowered E's crib mattress. She is a little daredevil and we were beginning to worry about her catapulting herself out of the crib. She will be 8 months old on Sunday and is getting so big!

Stunt Baby

Can you see my owie? If you click on the picture and look close at my right cheek you can see my bruise! On Sunday I decided I was going to try and lunge off of the changing table and into my crib. I didn't make it! Instead I hit my cheek on the railing. I told mom and dad that I am training to be a stunt double. They told me NO! Dream crushers!

A Little Taste of Guatemala

Eleanor started eating black beans last week. She really likes them but they are a bit messy! Now she can have a real Guatemalan meal... pureed black beans with rice (cereal) and bananas.

Happy Birthday GiGi

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Kiss Me!

I crack myself up!

31 weeks

We're In Trouble

30 is NOT That Bad Folks!

Ok, so what is the fuss with 30 people? Everyone is always dreading turning 30. Well, I turned 30 weeks old yesterday and so far it is just great. As you may have noticed a number of my recent pictures have been taken in my highchair. This is mainly because most of my new experiences take place there. Yesterday mom and dad gave me this great cup thing to chew on. I think something is supposed to come out of the spout but I am not quite sure how to make that happen. If you read the post below you will know that this picture was taken just a few minutes before I had a meltdown. You see, I LOVE to eat and I know that when I am in my highchair that means FOOD. Well, I am not sure what the parents were thinking yesterday but they put me in my chair and only gave me that cup thing and a few measly puffs (what the heck is a puff anyway?). I wanted FOOD. The real stuff. So far these are the foods I have eaten: rice cereal, bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, butternut squash, apples, prunes, biter biscuits, and green beans. It is all good, but I am wondering when I am going to get the really good stuff. You know the stuff I am talking about, chips and salsa, enchiladas, margaritas, stuffed pizza, Starbucks. I think my parents are holding out on me. Check back next week to see my new adventure for 31 weeks. Until then - eat well, live well!

Mishaps from a Multi-tasking Momma

Funny story. Our house. This evening around 5:30ish. Actually, let's back up to about 5:10. I have Daniel put E in her highchair because we are going to introduce her to a sippy cup and puffs. I was not thinking about the fact that it is close to her dinner time (5:30) and that she did not drink a full bottle at her last feed. Before I go any further, let me tell you that this kid LOVES to eat! She can hardly contain herself when she sees a bottle or when we put her in the highchair. Sometimes the anticipation of her meal will cause spontaneous combustion or laughter followed by tears as normal folks call it.

Ok, so back to the story.

We get her all set up in the highchair and give her the sippy cup. She doesn't really sip, but definitely enjoys gnawing on it. I give her a couple of puffs but she is not so interested. She then quickly goes from enjoying her sippy cup to great agitation over the fact that she is not being fed and in case we hadn't noticed she is in her highchair. I hurry into the kitchen and begin thawing out her bananas, get her prunes and rice cereal in bowls and onto the table. Daniel, being the wonderful dad and husband that he is begins to feed her the prunes and rice cereal. While dad is feeding the kid, I decide to get dinner started. Tortellini soup. YUM! I get the olive oil and garlic in the pot and am just about to pour in the chicken broth when I realize that my poor math skills have shown up once again. Instead of 2 quarts of chicken broth (64 oz.) I only purchased 32 oz. I quickly advise Daniel of the situation who if you remember is feeding our child. Who happens to still be waiting on her bananas to thaw! Daniel volunteers to run to the nearest store to buy the broth because you can't have tortellini soup without the broth. He comes into the kitchen and asks what he needs to buy. While in the kitchen we are distracted by our neighbor's two year old son standing on their kitchen table completely naked. After a good laugh Daniel leaves for the store and I walk into the dining room to finish feeding E. I knew it was too quiet in there! As I rounded the corner I see rice cereal being flung through the air. My dear sweet husband had left the bowl on the highchair tray and forgot that E loves to try and feed herself with the spoon. What a mess!

29 Weeks and the Stats

Well, we finally took Eleanor to the doctor for her 6 month visit. The doctor said she looks great! She weighed in at 17 lbs and was 25.5 inches long. She continues to amaze us each and every day.

Laughing Little Girl