My Super Special Friend

Look where?? What do mean?? What's a mirror??

Ohhhh..right. Gotcha. THAT'S a mirror.

Here, let me get a closer look and show you my plumber's butt.

Oh hey Mom!! Look!! My super special friend is in the mirror!! Can we go play?? Puleeeeaaassseee????

Hey, I think my mom is gonna let us go play together!

Wait, what do you mean that's me in the mirror?? I thought that was my super special friend!

But...but...she looks just like me! I mean, maybe not near as cute or with my savvy style, but pretty darn close.

Sassy, lay it on me. Is that really me or is Mommy pullin' tricks?? Level with me.

Wordless Wednesdays

Ready to Crawl...and Walk??

That's our little baby. The one with the monkey hair and chubby little face. Or at least that's what she used to look like. Now she's turning into a little girl, pigtails and all. And she's getting ready to crawl. And walk. Not sure which will happen first at this point as she loves to stand up and will walk while we hold her hands.

But she stood tonight leaning off and on against the sofa. She'd lean into it to grab the remote, then straighten up and do a little dance. Guess it's time to baby proof the house??

Rockin back and forth

"I can do it, I can do it!"

Getting the leg out

Piggy Tails!!!!!!

I have been waiting for this day since I found out I was having a precious little girl...yesssss...PIGTAILS!!!!

We've got one happy Miss E over here

The smiles just keep coming

Who is super cute with pigtails??? ME!! Oh Oh Me!!!

Big smile!

And this is what happens when a baby has her hair in pigtails all day...

This photo was not posed. As soon as I took the rubberbands out, this is what I was looking at, so I ran and grabbed the camera. On a side note, her early morning/post nap hair looks very similiar.




And totally unrelated but just too cute to pass up...JUMPING!!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 6 Month Birthday Ella!

Today, Miss E you are a whopping 6 months old! You have grown right beneath our eyes and I don't want to forget one moment of it. You have gone from a teeny, tiny baby to a curious, laughing baby girl.

Coming in at 15.5 lbs and 25 inches, Ella:

Studies patterns and graphics on clothes

Said "da" (we are pretty sure anyways!)

Does her own version of the 'scooch' while laying on you

Stares at her hands and feet a la "Sixteen Candles" when Samantha's sister Ginny is all doped up before her wedding

Sits up for 30 minutes or so by herself

Stands for just a few seconds while holding herself up

Barely starting to pull herself up

Gives raspberries all.the.time

Has teeth right around the corner...she's been very chewy lately

Actually waves goodbye by opening and closing her fist

Grabs at everything (mommy has to watch where she sets Miss E...we won't mention the glass vase she somehow got a hold of on the kitchen counter)

Is very, very, very curious...she picks things up and studies them

Rolled over twice with alot of encouragement from me but really has no interest in it

Leans so far over when sitting that she flips herself onto her tummy

Is in love with Boo the dog, who is not so in love with her (wanting to grab the white fur is what led to the first scooches)

Flips pages in books while reading

Loves faces and hair and yanks on both

So here you are baby girl, looking cuter and cuter every day

Grabbing at the camera...something she has had a long standing fascination with

Notice the hand on the right

I want it Mommy!

Still grabbing at the camera...I'm still flashing away, probably blinding her at this point

GOT IT!!!!

Angel with a tutu

Leaning forward to study the floor

Told ya she likes patterns

ptttthhhhththththh...

Finally I get a smile!

A bow initial I made for Miss E's birthday. She's got so many bows we are on four bow boards and this! And yes, she does wear them every day. Have you met me?!?!?

To celebrate the big day, we played in the Jumperoo for a bit. It has a new found interest for her now that she really plays with all the gadgets on it. Here she is trying to figure out just how to get that banana from Point A to her mouth.

We played a little KneeBouncers with Sassy

And ended the day poolside

This kid looooooves the water. She was a bit grumpy because she decided in her infinite wisdom that afternoon naps are for babies. Put her in the pool and voila! Happy, Happy Baby!

Grabbing for the camera, yet again.

I remember thinking this day would never come. That we would be stuck at 2 months forever. That she would never stop crying and I would be waking up twice a night for the rest of my life. Yeah..they grow out of that. Well and a formula change helped! But here we are. Halfway to her first birthday. I know people say not to wish your baby will start crawling, walking, etc. But I truly can't wait. I love watching her discover new things. I will stop what I'm doing and just watch her. I got to see her figure out a toy where when you pull a string, a pinwheel spins. Her eyes lit up with amazement as she watched the colors fly by. I remember thinking how glad I was that I turned around to see that just in time. It is a picture that is forever imprinted in my memory. Can't wait to see what's next Miss E!!

Thoughts for the Day

So at the moment I have no picture to share. Just a thought or two that I want to remember when I'm old and gray (oops too late) and can't remember anything.

As Miss E sleeps, for the second time today, only crying for MAYBE two minutes before falling asleep I am wondering if this is her new schedule. Out of nowhere yesterday she apparently decided she only needs two naps during the day! She just refused to nap at 9am like usual. So I thought, well no biggie. We'll just see what happens. Sure enough she slept an hour and a half in the morning then two hours in the afternoon. And she is repeating it again today. WHOHOO!! As nice as three naps is a day, do you have any idea how hard it is to run errands when you are either feeding, changing or putting your child down for a nap all.day.long?!?!?! Two naps is much easier. I'll give it a week before I get too excited and rejoin the normal world that doesn't go to eat lunch until 2pm.

And here is the other thought that I have been wanting to keep, but kept forgetting. Something happened at 4 months. Up until then I knew I loved my daughter. I carried her for 9 months, worried about her safety, worried when she poo'd, worried when she didn't poo. All the things a new mother does. But the day she turned 4 months, something clicked. Ella is MY daughter. This little pink smiley thing is mine! And I really fell in love.

Maybe it's because she started laughing. Maybe it's because she suddenly was a baby, not an infant. Maybe it's because she was kinda fun now and not all work. Don't get me wrong, it's still work, but now there was a payoff in smiles. Whatever it was, I was hooked. I fell. Hard. So hard it made me cry that afternoon while I was holding her in her room.

I don't know why it took so long. I know a lot of moms experience this right away. But I've never been a big baby person. I'm more of a toddler person, when they can tell me what's wrong. And I'm not a big fan of not getting 8 consecutive hours of sleep either. I'm very practical and didn't feel the need to sugarcoat those first few months so I felt "together". Maybe that's why. I didn't even know to expect it until it hit me. It was such a turning point in my life as a mother. Very much like the day I realized that somehow, my husband was perfect for me. Its a cozy, comfy feeling I don't ever want to forget. When we have the next one, I want to look back at this and smile as I am struggling to get up to feed the new little one at 3am. Knowing that eventually he/she will make me feel like I do now.

I still remember my life before baby, as many moms say the opposite. That they feel like baby has been a part of their life forever. Heck, I still live my former life on a pretty regular occasion and often regret it immensely in the morning. It's still my life, only better. But I do miss her terribly now. Even just going to the grocery without her. I've even missed her at night and wanted to go wake her up just to kiss her and cuddle with her before she hits the teenage years when I become the uncoolest person she's ever known. But...I mean let's get one thing straight...I'm in love..not crazy.

Wordless Wednesdays

Swim Time!!

Today we officially introduced Miss E to the pool! And she loved it! It was so much more than I expected. She usually enjoys bath time, even plays a little. So I was hoping for a good reaction. She ended up staying in there for about 45 minutes.

Ready for the pool Mom

So serious

First dip in with Daddy

She just kicked away in her float, laughing and talking

Every once in awhile she'd put her head down for a minute. Like, oh, this is so much work!

And then back to making silly faces

She was actually trying to swim. She kept kicking her arms and legs!




Chillin with Grandma






Playing with Tia Santa





And drying off in her butterfly towel





Looks like we will be spending lots of time lounging in the pool this summer with Miss E!!