Where'd She Put It

There are a few items in the house that Eliza loves to play with. They also happen to be the items that we would like her to leave alone. These items include our cell phones, the remote control, the PS remote, the wireless mouse, etc. Some days, we have to go on a scavenger hunt to see where Eliza put it last.

Eliza is attacked by the paparazzi on 5/27

The first place you always want to look is at the bottom of the stairs. This is the best place to 'hide' things because it makes such a glorious noise going down.

Playing with daddy on 5/30

If it is not at the bottom of the stairs, the next best place to hide things is in her clothes drawers. We have Eliza-proofed her room, so she goes in there to play now. When I put up laundry, I find all kinds of things in her drawers (legos, cheerios, missing socks and more).

Taking a nap in her toy bin on 5/29

A favorite place to put things right now is in her diaper pail. We just use a normal spin top trash can with a reusable liner. She sees us putting things in there all the time, so she has started using it. I am having to get creative about how to keep it closed because anything that goes in there is a goner!

Protesting the end of our evening walk on 6/2

Finally, her favorite hiding spot, particularly for snacks is my oven mitts. I have them hanging low, so when I go to use them, I frequently find graham crackers, cheerioes, blueberries and more in them. I don't know if she plans on coming back for them or that's just a good place to stash them so that she doesn't have to eat them. Silly baby keeps me busy <3

Eliza's New Pool

Today was a good day to set up Eliza's new pool! So after getting her 'kini on, ample sunscreen and filling the pool, it was time to get started!

Just One More Time

 I don't know what it is, but in the last two weeks, Michael and I have realized that we  no longer have a baby. Eliza is a full-blown walking, jabbering toddler. She has gained a sense of independence and wants to do most things on her own. However, she has realized what she needs us for. When her cup is empty, she'll walk up to me and tap me on the leg with it and jabber something. I assume that means, "Mom! More please," because when I refill it, she totters off jabbering more happy sounds.

Eliza painting for the first time

 I was telling Michael that I would give anything to go back to when she was tiny and hold her again. When I told a friend the same thing, she said it was time for another one. That's not want I want, at least not right now. I want my tiny Eliza just one more time. Specifically, when she would fall asleep in my arms, and when she would wake up with a big toothless grin. A time where she was content being held to go from place to place and where shhhhing still worked. The same time when we were amazed that she made a sound or when she rolled over.

 I say just one more time because she is so much fun right now! Although I miss her as a little baby, I have never seen anything cuter than her running away in just a diaper when we are playing "I'm Gonna Get You." I am also in love with her little baby imagination that can turn anything into a phone! It can be my shoe, a spoon and, just yesterday, a wireless keyboard. (I was amazed she could even pick it up)

Eliza's bikini she got for her birthday

 I know I have said several times over the past (almost) 14 months that this is my favorite. I remember writing that when she started smiling, and again when she was Army crawling. I probably said it again when she started standing. But this is the best so far! She is a little person now that is learning how to play and enjoys being around others. She is a happy girl who waves to everyone she meets and enjoys playing with her two dogs (who now are very interested in her since she sneaks them treats). She likes to go swimming and kick her legs.

 Right now, she loves being outside. We go out many times a day to explore and play. She loves the swing and watching the bigger kids run around. At home, she likes to bend down and talk to the ants in a voice we swear only they can hear. She is very interested in our garden and is learning (very slowly) that we have to look with our eyes and not our hands.

We seriously have the coolest kid! She is beginning to play dress up with any item she finds around the house. I don't even dare do laundry around her anymore because she is the fastest unfolder I have ever seen. She puts shirts around neck and tries to wear our shoes on her arms. Flip flops are great because she can slide her arms through them and wear them near her shoulders. 

The newest thing she is working on right now is learning how to scoot on her new scooter/tricycle. She mostly like to stand in front of it and push it around. It has a little trunk in the back where she store things. I am sure she'll have the hang of it before too long.

Eliza at 2.5 months

I would give anything for one more day of her at this size, but I am thrilled that I get the rest of time to have new favorite stages!

**Every photo except the last one was taken while Eliza was 13 months old.

Learning

 Our life at the Cleveland House is getting much more interesting now that Eliza is a walker. She can explore new parts of the house and has figured out that the dog door is a portal to the outside world. Now, it is cool to throw the dog bowls, toys, food and other items through there. We have to keep her gated out of the room or else she tries to put herself through the doors.

She has also mastered the skill of getting in a chair to sit down. Before, she would climb in and tumble out or knock the chair over. She likes to carry the chair to different places in the house and sit down. She tried to climb in the chair to get something off the counter, so we only get the chair out a few times a day. 

My favorite thing she is doing right now is learning to play with other children. When we were last at the library, a four year old girl was very interested in playing with Eliza. I felt sorry for the girl because Eliza played well for about 5 minutes and then wanted to do other things. The girl couldn't understand why she kept walking away and didn't want to play anymore. The girl was building towers for Eliza to knock over, but Eliza rudely walked away. The girl was resetting all the puzzles so Eliza could put them together, but she would go somewhere else. I think we still have a little work to do in this category, but she's getting there :)

Above is a video of my little dare devil at the Children's Museum. For other videos, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel..

Mom Knows Best

Eliza trying to eat my bubbles

 I haven't given Eliza any formula since Thursday night and she is a different baby. Instead, I have been giving her a calcium-fortified rice milk and she is so happy! She is playing again and giggles at silly things. Although I don't have a medical degree, MOM KNOWS BEST!

 Just 4 days out and she is eating a ton! I have to go grocery shopping because she is literally eating everything we have for her. 

 She has gone through a half gallon of rice milk in 2 days and can't seem to get enough. I love that she is eating again!

My Wild Child

 Eliza woke up in a great mood yesterday morning! While she was eating her snack, she was watching the birds play in the bird bath and eat at the feeder. Since she seemed like she was feeling better, we took Michael lunch and then had a mommy & daughter date to the Children's Museum.

 She played pretty hard and seemed to have a great time! One of her favorite things to do while we were there was to climb the stairs to a 'tree house' and slide down. I can't believe that she is big enough to do that! It slapped me in the face that we are in full on toddler time now... she's not really a baby anymore :(

Today, though, has been a different story... She woke up fussy and seems that her stomach is in pain again. Although her doctor doesn't think it is the new formula that is messing with her tummy, I do! I haven't given her any since last night and am going to wait to see if it gets better.

 After seeing her little face cry like this, and her doctor not really giving me any good tips, I have decided that we are changing doctors and have an appointment with a Registered Dietician for next week to help me meal plan so that she is getting enough nutrients without milk or formula.

We'll see if she starts feeling better soon...

More Tummy Problems

 Eliza has been showing signs for the last few days that her tummy was uncomfortable. But, on Easter, she woke up really fussy and had many of the MSPI symptoms again: mucous in her stools, crying and discomfort after eating, unable to be soothed, etc. The only thing we have changed is going from Nutramigen to Nutramigen Toddler. The doctor doesn't think that is the problems, so we are kind of at a loss.

 Her appetite is down to just fruit. She doesn't want to drink a bottle and doesn't want to eat much at all. We went to the doctor on Tuesday and I am frustrated because we didn't really get any answers.

She thinks it might be a virus that has upset her tummy, so she told us to get a pro-biotic to boost her tummy and see if it gets better. We are supposed to call back Friday to give her an update.

Easter Bunny

 

 Mrs. Cherie invited us out to Greenwood to see her as the Easter Bunny. Since I wanted to get a picture with her this year for Easter (since she was less than a week old last Easter), I thought it would be fun. Brian drove out with us and got his picture taken, too! ;)

 

Eliza wasn't scared of the Easter Bunny, she just looked at it and had a funny look on her face. When the Bunny held her, she looked a bit weirded out and pet it's hand. All in all, it was a successful meeting between Eliza and the Easter Bunny!

After visiting the Easter Bunny, we went over to the Tyner's house so that we could sit Lyra. While we were there, Eliza just stood up and walked over to us. This is the first time that it has been more than a few steps! She is legit walking now :) My little Bug is the cutest!

Eliza Goes to the Museum

We have heard wonderful things about the Lincoln Children's Museum, so we decided to go. We walked in the door and immediately decided that we were going to buy the dual membership to the museum and the Lincoln Children's Zoo. I think that Michael and I were more excited than Eliza to play in the exhibits.

Eliza and Daddy harvesting corn

Eliza thought it was great to look at us through the window

We thought it was great to take funny pictures!

Eliza and Daddy driving a train

One of the exhibit that Eliza giggled the most in was the grocery store. There was a scanner, cash register and little buggies. Since she is really concentrating on walking right now, she thought pushing the grocery cart around was the best!

Dad Is Worried

I now teach 3-4 fitness classes a week, and because of this, I am always practicing at home. Eliza likes to watch me dance and has even been joining in. The other day, I was watching some Zumba choreography, and Eliza decided she knew the dance.

When I showed the video to dad, he just shook his head and said, "Oh no!" I think our dear Eliza is going to have some rhythm (which she obviously got from Michael).

Eliza is UNO!

Such a big girl now!

 There awesome cupcakes were made by Kimmie and they were delicious!! No party is complete without some food :)

 After some trial and error, I found a cupcake that Eliza could have. It is made by Cherrybrook Kitchens and actually tastes good. She seemed to enjoy it. I just used a regular white frosting from the grocery store that didn't have any dairy or soy.

My WILD girl is amazing! I am a lucky momma :)

Happy Birthday!

 The three of us survived a whole year together! This morning, when Michael and I went to get Bug from her bed, we threw balloons in with her. Besides thinking we were absolutely nuts, she thought it was great! We had to get her out of there when she started trying to chew on the balloons.

After a nice, relaxing breakfast with the 3 of us, we got everything ready around the house for family to come in. That evening, Vo, Vovo and Aunt Lydia showed up just in time for dinner. After a lively dinner and bath time, Vo read Eliza a bedtime story in Portuguese. Overall it was a great day!

What a wonderful year it has been!

First Steps

Until about two weeks ago, Eliza would not walk when we held her hands. She would cruise around objects by herself and walk along a wall, but if he grabbed her hands and tried to walk with her, she would sit down. Finally, she started walking along with us if we stood behind her and held under her arms. Now the last few days, she has been toying with the idea of steps by herself. Three days ago, she did one or two steps, but I think they were mostly falling.

Well, today, she still is wobbly, but she is walking short distances! She gets too excited and ends up losing her balance. It is all downhill now!

A Morning with Eliza

Teething

I always go into Eliza's room and get her out of bed the same way. When I hear her talking through the monitor, I reluctantly get out of bed, put on my glasses, put on a happy 'mom' face and start the day. I walk in, turn off her white noise machine, open her blinds and say "Good morning, Love Bug!" Based on her reaction to that statement, I can usually tell how the day is going to go. This morning, she rolled over, hopped up and started jumping on her mattress. She'd never done that one before, so I just laughed and was ready for an adventure!

I should have known right off the bat that she was going to be wired all morning. After getting out of PJs and eating breakfast, she began her mischief of the day. When I sat her down in her toy corner, she crawled full-throttle to her toy bin, and climbed inside.

 She got stuck for a minute, but after some heavy grunting was able to right herself (mostly). In a typical Eliza fashion, she started tossing all of her toys out of her toy bin. At this point, you just have to sit back and watch because there is absolutely no use trying to put them back in.

After she emptied her toy bin and tried to (unsuccessfully) crawl out, she moved on to terrorizing some other part of the house. I quietly put everything back in her bin because if she sees that it is all put back, sometimes she does round 2.

We are trying to teach her how to play with her toys. I have been sitting her on top of her horse and she can rock it, as long as I am supporting her. Apparently, she wanted to play with her horse in a different way!

This little one definitely kept me on my toes today and reminded me of how lucky I am to stay at home with her. I laughed all day at her silliness!