My Sunshine

I thought you'd enjoy some pictures, cause I always do...


Before.... (34 days old)- I feel sad she's crying, and I know why she was crying but it was just so gosh darn cute!


After! (310 Days Old)

Where did my baby go?


She's learned to throw things over the edge and get on her knees to inspect her handy work.

Peek-A-Boo! Bathy Time Style!



Love these smiles

And these...

And always these!

cute bebe

Eating the cookie dough- she didn't get sick btw, and the eggs weren't even pasteurized!


This week has been a difficult one for me emotionally and spiritually. I have some questions that I need answers to, and I'm afraid of the outcome. I need to be at peace with my decisions and I don't know if it's going to come easily, and that scares me. I have spent the greater part of my last ~12 years meticulously planning out my life, and to not have everything fit in it's little puzzle piece exactly the way I planned is difficult for me to accept. Here's hoping for the best.

In other family news, E has figured out how to pull herself up in the tub- only once, but she can do it. I honestly and truly feel that she's afraid of getting hurt. She was standing at the coffee table today (Drew was behind her) and she fell backward. She didn't bend at her hips and just went straight back into Drew's arms- not getting hurt or anything. But the sheer *thought* that she COULD have fallen and hit her head freaked her out so badly that she cried uncontrollably for a good minute. I felt horrible for her. She also has decided cookies are worth staking her comfort on. She really tried SO hard to get on those cute little hands and knees to get a cookie I put on the floor. She also did a couple step cruise along the coffee table to grab a piece. She got them all, but man did it stress her out. She just tenses up, and just freaks out. I really feel there's some doubt going on that she can't do it and/or fear that she's going to hurt herself which is prohibiting her from doing much. She bawls if she lands on her bum after standing even, and I guess I don't know how to change that other than reassure her that she's OK and redirect her. Any suggestions? I know she'll get it eventually, but in reality, I know she's strong enough, something just isn't clicking.

With Drew- he just bought a couch for his office. He's pretty excited about it. He's also looking at trophies for the office so that when someone wins their trial, they get to have this roaming trophy as their bragging rights of sorts. I think it's a fun idea.

That's about it for us. I went to OMSI today with the kids which was fun. I wish it had been longer though!

Thank You

My little one has been pretty sick this week. I was told to keep an eye on her temperature so it didn't get too high. The temperature was the only thing keeping her from going to the hospital with RSV. I got to stay home with her Tues-Thurs while Drew got ready and completed a trial (he won by the way). I really do love working, and I'm glad that I do work. It gives me purpose, direction, consistency and money. What it doesn't give me is time with my beautiful daughter. I did however choose the career path I did, so that I could spend afternoons and summers with her- and once she's in school and remembers life, it won't be a big deal.

Most mornings I'm OK with sending her to the babysitters. She gets along with all the kids, they love her, care for her, and she gets the benefit of older siblings without having any at home. She gets played with, whereas at home, I honestly feel that she gets bored. I get tired and we end up sitting on the floor playing because we've already been outside 3 times that day. I think once she is mobile, it might be a *little* easier, and if she wasn't sick, it would be a little better too.

Anyway, the point I want to make, is that even though I stressed about being gone from work, once I had those sub plans done, and the sub called in, work went away completely. It was me and my little girl, and I couldn't have been more thankful for her.

Elisabeth isn't normally a cuddly baby...she has to be doing something (aren't they all?) but I have enjoyed and soaked in every SECOND she has let me cuddle her. I tell her I love her and how precious she is to me, and to see her just gaze at me is the best thing in the world. (minus the coughing fits!)

So in my own selfish way, thank you, Elisabeth for being sick, so I had a good excuse to stay home with you and watch you grow, to hear you say mommy, yay, and uhoh like a pro, and to give me snot covered kisses- I wouldn't trade them for the universe



Daddy built her a fort! She's a good destroyer and had it knocked down in under a minute!


I went to take the dirty diapers out+recycling and this is what I came back to. ...I had placed her in the MIDDLE of her rug, and she magically made it over to the tissues and garbage can. LOL


This is my itty bitty garden. The plants are in, now I just have to clean up the dirt I dug out and put it over and around our patio stakes since they need more dirt!

10 months, crawfish and whatever else

My little pumpkin is sick with pink eye and an upper respiratory infection. Although having a sick baby is tiring, I'm still excited for summer time.

Here's the latest stats on my little girl since she's a whopping 10 months old now!!

She's in the 97th percentile for weight (24lbs, 11oz), and the 73rd percentile for height (29"). I still really feel that she's so long for her age. I don't know how some of these clothes fit lighter, but longer kids? hmmm... anyway, she's perfect to me, and that's all that matters!

Things she can do:
Roll over both ways onto her stomach, but only one way onto her back.
Pull up to her knees in her bed if she's sitting.
When sitting, she can put herself into crawling position, but then gets tired and lies down.
She can say- mama, mommy, dada, dad, hi, yay, no-no, huh?
She can sign- milk, cereal, more, all done and eat- not consistently with everything, but enough to know she knows what she's doing ;)
She can scream real loud and bite really hard
She loves pinecones on our walks
She's started doing this weird smile where she'll scrunch up her face- I think it's darling, but it's difficult to get on camera.
She has 2 teeth and no more in sight.






This was the sunset last night at our house- it was absolutely gorgeous!


cheeeese!


nom, nom, nom!

She was attempting mad skills


I moved the position of the wee one to get more leg action



Happy girl!


This was at the crawfish bake we went to over the weekend- it was pretty cool. I ate 3 of them. :)




The hummingbirds were everywhere- so pretty!!


E was a trooper yesterday. She ran with me in the rain and didn't seem to care one bit! Thanks little girl! :D

Holy Smokes!

I've kept Elisabeth not just alive, but happy and thriving for 301 days! Who knew?!

Today, our regular babysitter took the day off (no flaky stuff- we had a good 1.5 month warning), but being an anal retentive easy going person, I did stress and become anxious over the fact that my darling cupcake was going somewhere else. I knew she would be fine, the lady I had her with is a friend and we get along fine. It's just not our normal routine and if something isn't routine it throws me off.

Anyway, things went well, no complaints or anything. The lady has an (almost) 8 month old and two other kiddos. The 8 month old - A - and Ellie played a lot together. One would grab a toy, the other would want it, take it, and then they'd go back and forth like that for a while! E taught A how to clap- which I think is darling! And I don't know if it's coincidence, but I'd like to pretend it isn't, but the other little girl taught E how to flop forward onto her hands to grab stuff in front of her!

As I was explaining how the other little girl could do this, and how incredible it was, Elisabeth did it on our bed. We both just stared at her like....whoa! hahaha

E also showed me she's capable of rolling not just from her back to her tummy toward her left side, but she can do it on her right now, too. So two developmental milestones in 2 days! Who would have thought from the perfectly content observer?!

Anyway, there's only 8 more weeks of school (YES!) and I have about 1/3 of my garden dirt dug out so I can put in some soil...hopefully I'll get it done tomorrow-I jacked up my shoulder while I was sleeping last night, so I couldn't finish today.

Oh, and good news on the knee- I ran for a whopping 2 minutes on Wednesday and all went well- the Graston Technique seems to be doing it's job - huzzah!


Smiles for the camera have been in short supply lately- I'm glad I got this one!


You can't see it super well, but she had teething biscuit ALL over her mouth+cheeks. She needed to nap, but I wanted to finish up church, so I pulled out the cracker so we could make it through...it worked :) Too bad that stuff is like cement once it dries!


It has been a beautiful week!!!


GET THAT THING OFF MEE!!!


Oh hai!


She used to be sitting in the middle of her blankets and had slyly moved herself closer and closer to the tomatoes---she made it a few times!


Daddy loving his baby


I love when she takes hats off, and she does this with toys too- she'll try to put them on her head, let go and they'll fall behind her- I think she enjoys it. I also laugh at her shirt- it doesn't fit!


mmmm nom nom nom!


This is the routine when we get home lately cause I get home from physical therapy and feel like my bladder is going to burst- so she gets set down so I can use the bathroom! So content! (I then pick her up and hold her just in case you're curious :) )

So that's about all that's been going on. E has officially grown out of her 12 month pj's---her toes curl at the bottoms!! She's growing like a weed, but I love every millimeter of her!

Tomato Epiphany

I've wanted to post this for a couple of days now and just haven't had the time to do so. Monday I had PT and E has been all weird and stayed up til 9pm- that's my bed time, so we went to bed at the same time.

Tuesday I had to go buy new running shoes + inserts since I got the go ahead to slowly start running again (starting wednesday's test)

So then today, I had PT, got to run for a whopping 2 minutes, but it didn't hurt at all- I was so excited I wanted to go running afterward but was told no, no, no. Soon!!

So anyway, back to my point--

I traded "jobs" with my teaching assistant and I'm letting her get some experience doing reading groups, and I've taken over the writing table...which I secretly love cause I can correct papers and yell at kids and still get kids to write, whereas at the reading table, that is my focus, I can't do anything else. Anyway, I was sitting there, listening to her talking to the kids about the tomato book they were reading. I heard her say, "So can a beefsteak tomato ever be a roma tomato?" and the kids all chimed in and said no. She asked, "why not?" and they said, "cause it's a different tomato, it's not the same." and she said, "Right! They come from different seeds, they will never be the same."

I was admiring how succinct and clear she made her statements and it's like the heavens opened and you hear the angles going auuuuhhhhhhhh with a giant lightbulb going on over my head. I had an epiphany! This is what I thought:

I will NEVER be a Roma Tomato! Ever! I am a Beefsteak Tomato and I should be OK with that! That is the seed I was planted with, and that is the seed I will die with. I will lose this extra baggage that plopped on while pregnant, but after that, whatever happens, happens. I like being active, but I also know that unless I exercise over 2 hours a day and eat next to nothing, there's no way I'm going to lose any more weight....and right now in my life, my family, and my daughter are more important than being a gym rat right now.

I do think I'm going to go renew my gym membership since I found a coworker to go to Zumba with, and I like having different exercise equipment (that I can most likely use in the next couple weeks again- hooray!)- and during the summer, I can plop E down with the other kids to get some socializing in while mama does her business since she seems to get bored with me after a few days. I think it'll be a good thing. I'm excited.

I like random shizz

I like meaningless surveys where you learn a lot about me. hahaha

Top 5 Desserts:
1. After School cake from Konditorei - it's similar to the one you make mom w/the choco chip frosting...
2. Flower cookies from Backer's Bakery
3. Oatmeal cookie dough
4. Chocolate chip cookie dough
5. Roll out cookies with frosting and sugar sprinkles

Top 5 Pet Peeves:
1. Not thinking of others
2. Inconsistency
3. Not brushing your teeth
4. People doing those fake smiles
5. uhm...when I ask someone to do something and they don't do it *now*


Top 5 Trivial Things I like to do:
1. digital scrapbook- I got some stuff over xmas and I absolutely adore it- it's all the fun stuff without the clutter
2. make baby noises lol
3. Chew gum
4. Pick at my nails when I'm waiting for people i.e. at the doctors office, etc.
5. complain.

Top 5 Quirks:
1. My classroom is a mess, but I get upset when kids leave stuff on the floor by their desks
2. I have to floss, brush, rinse and fluoride my teeth every night before bed, or else I can't sleep
3. I think of the worst case scenario in most events- the way I think about it is better to be prepared than be unprepared when something terrible happens
4. I have to clean E's ears every night after her bath. I feel embarrassed for people who's children have dirty ears. I also have her brush her two teeth 2ce a day. LOL
5. I use to have to fall asleep while on my stomach, but after I got pregnant and I haven't been able to for 16+ months, I can't do it anymore.

Top 5 places I'd like to visit:
1. Italy- kind of more of a European tour, but I think we'll start in Italy
2. British Isles
3. Australia - the east side primarily
4. Brazil - Sao Paolo and the Amazon- maybe a few different trips?
5. Any of the African countries where we can do a safari

That was fun, wasn't it?

Happy Easter Everyone!

How was your Easter? Ours was like a whirlwind. A good one, but definitely fast, exhausting and a glad to be home time. My brother, sister in law, nephew and niece made a trip to see my family up in Washington. We were asked to come up, so Thursday night around 9pm, I packed us all up so we could go up Friday night. We made it up pretty late, but Saturday and Sunday were good. I wish we could have spent more time there, especially since weekend trips are so rough on the wee one. Maybe next time.

Here's some pictures to enjoy!


E with Nana- she found the egg with money in it- as you can see, she had a GREAT time shaking it. She has her dress off cause she got it so wet with a sippy cup went wild time.


Getting ready to color eggs


Having a fit in the hallway cause little Jimmy took her money egg away. So sad.


Tasting the sour licorice from one of the eggs. hehehe Love it!!


Her new favorite game is spinning in the computer chair. She definitely had a way better time alone, but she was up to sharing as long as it wasn't long.


Happy Easter baby!!! Thanks Nana Bunny for stepping it up! hahaha


Katie had white smear from some of her chocolates- it was so cute!


Waiting for the other kiddos to get pictures together.


The second they sat down, E decided she was *DONE* and needed to sleep SO badly


THEN, Katie started attacking Jimmy and it was just a disaster! I love these pictures


Jimmy was so cute- he wanted to play with E SO badly. He was having a hard time understanding that she didn't know how to run around with him yet- so he got down with her and let E poke him in the eyeballs and mouth. Darling!!


E was so good with the puppies this time! She petted Hunter and even rubbed his ears rather than grasping them like they were the most delicious thing in the world! Good job little girl, and good job Hunter for being the only brave one! --Honey wouldn't have anything to do with her, and Hopper only got touched when he didn't realize she was close- she touched his tail and he growled. hahaha

It was a great trip and I'm glad we went, but like I said, I'm glad to be home and back to routine.

Happy Week After Spring Break

Is it just me, or is it harder to get back into a routine after a short amount of time off than a large amount of time? I am just exhausted this week. I have some valid reasons why, but definitely way more tired than I feel I should be. After all, I am Supermom, right?!


What's this you ask? Well my friends, it's my welt. I really have two of them. I had a difficult time getting the lighting right, and this really doesn't even do it justice- the colors are so much more vibrant in person. I started with a new physical therapist since my last one didn't work very well, and we're trying some (obviously) aggressive treatments to get my ITBS fixed. Keep your fingers crossed for me. It hurt, but I kept thinking, at least it isn't post-child birth pain! I'll take it!

I think most of these pics were during Spring Break, but they're cute anyway.

Playing with glasses- I was amazed she kept them on long enough to get ONE picture!


Playing in the sink. I have a bad habit of putting her on the counter top while I do things. I had her on the other side, had turned on the water to clean up some stuff and she was practically bent over so she could see the water around me. So, being the cool mom I am, I just pulled off her pants and let her play and splash. She rinsed off the counter with her splashes, and I even let her have a bubble back in the sink after I cleaned it out. What a goof!



Beads, her new favorite toy


chillaxin, watching some Tyra. I put her sitting up in the middle- she likes to rock herself (not very efficient, but fun to watch)- once she was done, she wiggled herself into the corner and watched for like 5 minutes. I had a good time watching her entertain me!


This is what happens when Mommy gets desperate and says as long as you eat, I don't care what kind of mess you make! (once again, on the counter. haha)


I think that if her first steps don't involve figuring out how to get herself into the bathtub, I'll think something is wrong with her. I love my water baby!