Eleven Months and On the Move

 Getting a good picture of this little one is a challenge these days because she won't be still! I should have known when I was pregnant with her that she would be me running! Now, with her itching to walk and her love for crawling, I have split seconds to try and capture a picture. Most of the time she ends up looking like an alien because the camera captured her movement.

 Today Eliza is 11 months old! Her favorite things to do right now are to blow raspberries on mom, to eat finger foods and to push her cars across the room.

 She is working on pushing 2-3 teeth out on the top and experimenting with more sounds.

 She is also toying with the idea of standing on her own. At times she'll let go just to see what happens. Today, I peeked over at her and she was just standing playing with a toy next to the ottoman. I think once she figures out how to put a foot forward, it is all down hill from there.

 This sweet girl has made ours lives so much more fun over the last year. Can't wait to see how her BIG personality continues to develop.

Preparing for a Party

 Tonight was a big night! Because my hand-me-down sewing machine was going to cost significantly more than it was worth, we finally got me the sewing machine that I have been wanting for years (yes, actual years). I got a Baby Lock Sophia 2 and she is so cool! It is a sewing, quilting and embroidery machine, so I can make Eliza's birthday outfit myself! After getting the machine, we stopped by the craft store to pick up a few things for her upcoming party. Michael couldn't help himself when he saw the dowel rods! Not only did he pick one up and challenge me to a duel, he gave one to Bug, too! She thought it was great, I thought he was setting a poor example ;)

 Michael was also skipping down the aisles with Eliza and you could hear her giggling from the next aisle over. Thankfully there was no one else around to give us mean looks for acting like wild animals in a store. But, I think we finally have everything we need for Eliza's UNO party :)

After we put Eliza to bed, I made her tutu and Michael helped me make her high chair skirt. This party is going to be Legen.... (wait for it)... DARY!

Three Important Faces

 If you want to know what Eliza is thinking or concentrating on, here is a guide.

 The above picture is "happy." You will see this face when she is in a good mood, right after she ate, or if you are playing a silly game with her. Peek-a-boo will get this face very easily. Sometimes this is a trick and will very quickly be followed by her infamous baby pterodactyl screech. 

 This second face is one of intense concentration, most of the time a product of pooping. I can always tell when she is using the restroom, because she gets very quiet and very still. When she has this face, it is best to leave her alone and let her concentrate. When she is done concentrating, she will go back to face 1 or will go to her crying face (not pictured).

This last face is my favorite right now! This face means, "Look, isn't this cool!" Because she is taking in everything around her, I get to see this face often. It is a happy face, but also one of wonder and a love for learning. I have been taking a picture of her every day since she was born and putting it in a photo album. Since we are so far away from family, it is nice for her to flip through here occasionally to see people who love her and remember their faces. 

A Lovely Sunday

Eliza and I had a wonderful morning, so we went to church. Her nap wasn't as long as it should've been, but I chanced it anyway. Our congregation is currently using another church while ours is being renovated. It was a nice building, but definitely different (and older) than our church building. It had a nice feel and I really enjoyed the look of the pews. Because we haven't been in a while, many people were amazed at how 'grown up' Eliza looks. She got a lot of attention.

After church and a much needed nap, she continued to be in a great mood. There are times during the day that Eliza prefers to just do her own thing and play with the toys by herself. So, I sit back and watch. This is the little show she gave today :)

Stands Alone

Before we get to her standing, I was reminded that Brian, our BFF here, often takes pictures when he is around Eliza and send them to Kimmie (another friend). How can you not when she's so cute. Here is a video of her back in late September. I laid her down on a blanket in his apartment and she grabbed the corner and rolled over. It resulted in a baby burrito that she was stuck in. Super cute!

The last 2 days have been literally 'touch and go'. She has started toying with the idea of standing on her own, but when she realized she is doing it, usually sits down. Today, I put some magnets on the door for her to play with and she started standing by herself. Thankfully she did it again so I could grab my phone. Walking is just around the corner I hope/fear!

Looking Forward

 Each day, I feel a little more excited to see what Eliza is going to do. Since she has started crawling, the milestones aren't as huge of a development. The ways that she is growing is much more subtle. For example, she is getting very skilled at touching items with her pointer finger. She is also showing much more interested in the dogs. Like above, the fur kids were complaining about being locked in the kitchen and Eliza crawled over to the gate and tapped Angel's nose. (We keep them in the kitchen when it is muddy outside so that Eliza doesn't crawl through dirl)

We are also looking forward to Eliza's birthday party right around the corner. I can't believe that in 6 weeks, she will have been with the family for a whole year! The major challenge right now is to experiment with recipes so that she can actually eat (and enjoy) her birthday cake. I found these mixes in the health section at Hy-Vee, so I am hoping they are successful. If not, I will have to start from scratch to make a dairy, soy and egg free mix :)

 Warmth is also a hope for the future! Today it was in the 60s, so I asked if we could take Eliza to the park for the first time. I have been dying to see if she likes the baby swing. You be the judge!

 I think the thing that Eliza looks forward to the most right now is feeding herself. She gets frustrated sometimes and tries to take the spoon from me. So, tonight, I stripped her down and let her have a go at it. It wasn't completely unsuccessful. She managed to get some in her mouth, but she had a great time. She was in the zone and would look and smile like, "Look at me, Mom!" Perfect picture :)

Valentine's Weekend

 

Michael and I decided to do our Valentine's Day celebration on the 15th in order to get the baby sitter that we wanted. So, really it turned into a two day affair. Early in the morning, I woke up to a card and an azalea plant on the counter. To make the day better, Eliza was very peppy and started the day off really well. Lately she has been a bit fussy, and I think the two lumps in the front of her mouth are to blame. We will have 2 front teeth very soon.

I read Eliza a story about Valentine's Day (not the actual story, of course) and she must have really gotten into the spirit, because she couldn't quit kissing her penguin. Since she is starting to catch up in size to the penguin, she gets along much better with it. Michael cooked dinner for us that evening and we enjoyed a nice family evening!

The above picture is what my love bug looks like after a good nap! You can't have a bad day looking at this cute face! For our date night, I cooked dinner at home so that we could spend time with Eliza. At about 6, Eliza's babysitter, Emily, came over and we got to go out! We started off by heading to the Coffee House for dessert. After finishing up a cup of coffee (which I needed to stay up late), we headed over to the Johnny Carson Theatre to see Chicago. All in all, it was a much needed date night and we had a great time.

Challenge Accepted

My dear daughter is a trouble maker! If there is even a slight possibility that she is not supposed to get into something, that makes her want to do it even more. If I take something away from her and she sees where I put it, she sacrifices her body trying to get it back, all the while griping that she has been wronged.

This morning, I noticed her crawling over a pillow a few times, so I decided if she wanted a challenge, then she was going to get one! I took all the pillows in the living room, her giraffe chair, the Boppy and her penguin and made a big pillow pile with them. I crawled over it once to show her that it could be done, then I sat back and watched. Within a few seconds of me sitting down, she began her first go at it. 

 Before I knew it, she had spent 20 minutes going back and forth over the mound. At one point, she just lay in the middle middle of the mess and took at break. I guess her little baby muscles needed a rest. Before too much longer, she was over the pillows and moved to something more exciting.

 The more exciting thing was walking around the circular end table to try to get to a jar of pens and pencils. I moved her away from the table and she again felt wronged. Now that she knew that I didn't want her to get to it, she made it her mission to get the pens. Finally, I just had to move the pens. I fear we have a stubborn one!

12 Month Clothes

I have noticed that Eliza has been growing quite a bit lately, so just for kicks, I put her in some 12 month clothes. They fit! At first I was super excited because that means that she is eating better and may start to pick up on her growth chart. Then after watching her cruise up and down the ottoman in her big girl clothes, I started to miss my little baby that I had in March.

Then, in no time at all, she was doing something else really neat and I started thinking of a cute little walking girl that I could take to the park. I think we are going to be ok here ;)

Headphones

The last few days have been a bit rough, but I think she and I are now feeling back ourselves. The only problem is we passed it to Michael. What I can I say, we share in this family. Over the last 2 days, Eliza has been very interested in my headphone. She likes to put the cord in her mouth. She doesn't have any top teeth yet, so she can chew through the wire. What cracks me up about it is it looks like she has foo man shoo mustache. I giggle every time I look over and she is just chilling with it in her mouth. 

 I thought maybe hiding them would work, but she always seems to find them. I could put them up high, but now it is a game to see if she can find them. By the end of the morning, she would just keep them in her mouth while playing with other toys. She is so silly.

Unfortunately when Michael woke up this afternoon, he was still feeling rough. Luckily for us, we got another night with him at home, and lucky for him, Eliza is a very caring nurse! :)

Fun and Games

Each month, our church has an Adult Game Night. Don't let your mind wonder here! All this means is adults getting together and playing board games. When I say adult game night, and they know it's out of a Unitarian Church, some people go other places with that. We agreed to host it at our house this month. A potluck starts at 6:30pm and games start at 8. My contribution to the potluck was a king cake (and a salad). Not to toot my own horn, but it was delicious! The cream cheese inside was to die for.

 As game time got a little closer, Michael and I moved a few things around and set up 2 folding tables in our living room. Eliza decided that this looked like a lot of fun to crawl under and walk around. I think it would have been fine with her if we had left it like this!

We had 10 or 11 people here to share food and wonderful conversation with. The fun didn't stop on Saturday though! Dad got up a bit early on Sunday we broke out the sled!

I don't know if she knew what to think about it. As you see, she didn't change her expression at all! She wasn't scared, but also didn't appear to be too excited.

Bath Time

 

 I don't know how it's possible, but this little girl gets cuter everyday! And, thankfully, seems to be feeling a bit better. She was able to keep 2 ounces at a time down today and was very interested in eating solids. We always love nights that Michael is home because he is in charge of bath time and mom can just sit back and enjoy her two favorite people. I think swim lessons are making her enjoy the bath more. She gets so tickled at herself splashing. I think it might be time to get in the big tub instead of in her baby tub, in the big people tub.  

 

Stomach Bug Still Visiting

 If someone were to walk in our house today, I don't think they would think Eliza is not feeling well. She woke up with smiles, kisses for me and vomit after her first feeding. As soon as she finishes throwing up, she is back to her happy self. It is very confusing.

I brought a load of her laundry up from the basement to fold, but made a cup of coffee before starting. When I came back in, she was laying on the clothes in the basket. At first I was worried that she didn't feel well because she was leaned over funny, but I think she liked the warmth. When I called her name, she popped up with a smile.

 I got sidetracked again and didn't immediately fold the clothes, so Eliza helped me by taking them out of the basket. I put them back and then she wanted to climb around it and in it. I always joke with Michael that we don't need to buy her toys because she finds joy in everyday things.

 When I finally committed to folding the clothes, she got in the basket as if saying, "No, those are my toys!" She is such a silly girl.

Also today, we bundled up well and put signs up in the neighborhood for our kitty, Saphira. We haven't seen her since Monday and are hoping that someone will have some information. I love that cat, but what hurts my feelings the most is the pure joy that Eliza gets out of the cat. I hope that she comes through the dog door any second and let's me love on her.

Bug Caught a Bug

 Today started very early for Miss Eliza and I. Around 2:30am, I heard little baby whimpering. When I went in, I noticed she had spit up a bit and had moved to a different part of her crib, I guess to get away from it. I picked her up and she gave the signs for being hungry. I fixed her a bottle and put her back down. At 4am, I heard her in the monitor and when I checked on her, she had lost all of the milk that I fed her. I had to change her because she was quite gross and changed her sheets. 

 For most of the morning, we napped together on the couch. There is nothing sweeter than snuggling up next to this precious baby. I hate that she isn't feeling well, but I love her being cuddly. Since she continued to vomit, I called the nurse and they said to bring her in.

Thankfully, Michael and I got up early to shovel and the city plowed our road early, so we had a nice clear path to get to the doctor. On top of that, it looked pretty outside. Unfortunately, it was in the single digits. We got bundled up and left for the doctor. They said everything looks fine, so she must just have a virus. Equipped with Pedialyte, we went home to snuggle some more.

What I am most thankful for is how happy my Eliza is. Even when she is not feeling well, she has a smile on her face and a kiss for me. I can't get over how cute it is that she laughs at herself being silly. I sure hope that she can always find this joy in life.

Basement Complete!

 Our work started in September, and we just finished all remodeling last weekend. Now, we get to build Michael's man cave. It is part of the basement, but it is something that we want to do for fun, not something that had to be done. We now have no more carpet in our house, only rugs. This makes for less allergies and easier cleaning :) The quote we got to do all of this was around $18,000 and we did it ourselves for under $4000!!

Office/ Craft Room (AKA Woman Cave)

There was mold all along the wall with the window, so we had to rip the wall out, change some studs, tear out the carpet, sand the floor, replace drywall, paint walls and floor and put everything back!

Basement Bathroom

There was mold behind the shower and some up the left wall. We removed the drywall and studs after ripping out the pre-fab shower and took out the tile. We sanded the floor, painted the walls and floor and tiled the shower.

Guest Room (and now legal bedroom)

 The left and back wall (the two you can see in the picture) were the worst with mold. We ripped out the drywall, replaced some studs, ripped out the carpet, sanded the floor, repainted the walls, painted the floor and had an egress window put in. What the above picture doesn't show s the mess we had when they put in the window. 

They didn't refinish the inside of the window sill or replace the drywall because they would only do one of two things: refinish the inside or put a cover on the outside well. Since the well cover was more expensive, we went with that.

Hallway

 The left wall had mold in it, so we ripped that out, took out the carpet, sanded it, painted the walls and floor and build game shelves at the end of the hallway.

Stairs

And finally, the stairs. We ripped out the carpet, sanded the wood, stained and painted and then finished it off with some polyurethane.

All in all, we are glad to be done! We have learned a lot but don't particularly want to do it again. 

Snow day

This morning before we got out of PJs, Eliza practiced her new found talent of banging on her glockenspiel. Look at that good posture while practicing! I love that poof of hair on her head. I think she gets cuter every day.

Over the course of the day, we got quite a bit of snow. Needless to say, Eliza and I stayed inside for most of the day. This gave us a plenty of time to play and cuddle. After I put Eliza to bed, it was time for me to do another round of shoveling. Oh how I long for warmer days, or a warmer climate.

She Likes What She Sees

Eliza is very interested in seeing picture of babies, especially this one. The above picture is Eliza looking at the phone so that she can see what we look like. I don't think she realizes that it is her, but she is always excited to see herself.

Last night, we went out to dinner with one of our favorite Lincoln people, Miss Sarah Fischbein. Even though it was very cold, we had Sarah take a family picture of us on the way out. I thought it was very cute that Michael wrapped 'Liza up in his jacket.

 

I definitely take advantage of the fact that Eliza likes to look at herself. If she is getting into something and she ignores my requests to redirect her attention, all I have to say is "look!" and show her the camera with the picture turned toward her. When she sees that there is "a baby", she crawls over and makes faces.

  

 I am not sure what she was thinking, but I am so glad that I caught this shot. It shows off her two bottom teeth so well. That scrunchy nose gets me every time :)

 What really melted my heart was this sweet face here. She was giggling at herself sticking out her tongue and making noises. It is days like this that make me feel so lucky to stay at home with her.