Rock-a-bye Baby

 Last Monday, I could tell that Eliza was starting to feel bad, however she didn't have any symptoms other than fussiness. Tuesday passed with her slightly fussy and then Wednesday brought a runny nose. Her fussiness and nose got worse with time, so I called and made an appointment to see her doctor. Her weight is going up, and the doctor said it must be a virus. I also had her look at the rash that was coming back on Eliza's legs. Dr. Matthias determined that it is likely adding the dairy back in that is making the rash comeback, so now we are dairy-free again.

 Little bug hasn't been sleeping well, so while I was pumping gas I looked in the car and found a warm, snugly baby getting some rest. While I am all for saving the planet and conserving fossil fuels, I did a bit of useless driving in order for her to get a good nap. My neighbors probably think I am nuts (for more reasons that one) because when I get home, I sit in the back seat with her with the car on until she wakes up. Cardinal rule: DON'T WAKE THE BABY!

The last two days, the only way she'll nap, besides in the car, is to be held. Although my arms are burning and I would love to have a break, I know that I will miss this when she is older. I try and remind myself of that each time she is super fussy and can only be consoled by being held. When she is 16, I can't rock her like this.

All Kinds of Trouble

 It seems that over the past week, Eliza's ability to get into things has perfected. In the last week, she has started pulling herself to standing. First it started on her little giraffe chair, like above. Then it moved to the pack n' play that we had stored in a corner because the Christmas tree needed it's spot.

Then, I stood her up on our ottoman, which is pushed against the entertainment center to keep her curious hands away from things. She thought that was great! Over the next few days, I noticed her trying to pull up on to the ottoman and the couch by herself. After a few bonks, tears and grunts, she has managed to do it a few times. It is very exciting to watch her learning, but it is also terrifying because I don't want her to fall and get hurt. Unfortunately, that is part of the game.

She also tried to get into every nook & cranny in the house. Thankfully the present barricade around the tree is working, although the paper is a bit damaged! She has also in the past week full on crawled, but it is usually on the rug. On the wood floor, she still does her inch worm scoot thing because she can't slip and she can just use her toes to push herself while she carries things with her. 

 In her adventures around the living room, she chases the cat. The cat is smarter than the dogs and tends to lay places that Eliza can't get her... until now. While I usually save Eliza before the cats gives her a bunch of claws, I know it is coming. The cat is very patient and gentle with Eliza, but eventually Eliza is going to realize that Saphira is a foul, contemptible feline. Am I a bad mother that I risked Eliza's cute hand to get a picture before I scooped her up?

 While she didn't get into the basket herself, she has certainly tried. This one below is just because she is so stinking cute!

Baby or Puppy?

 I often wonder if Eliza identifies as a human or as a dog. Many of her behaviors more closely resemble that of a puppy. For example, in the picture below, she is crawling around her structure carrying the monkey in her mouth with her. She does this a lot with stuffed items. It's like she has to be somewhere and the monkey has to be there with her.

Then, take the picture below. Is this her discovering her tongue, or panting? One can never be sure. She does blow raspberries with it, which I have never seen Angel do.

Finally, I caught her chewing on the baby gate yesterday. Like full-on gnawing on it! Conclusion: More time is needed to determine her species.

Tree Hunting

My dear husband went to bed a bit early so that he could get up and help Eliza and I pick out a Christmas tree before he went to work. After waling around a big field, we all decided that this tree was the one!

I was telling Michael while we were at the tree farm that I have never been as excited for the holidays as I am this year. Having Eliza makes everything more exciting! I can't wait until I can get this home and decorated to see what she thinks of it :)

 

After a little work on Michael's part, we got our tree cut and paid for. The farm that we bought it from take the tree to shake it to get all of the critters out and then nets the tree for you. 

 

They even help you tie to the top of your car. With a short stop at the hardware store to get a stand, we got the tree home! After Eliza went to sleep, I turned on some Christmas music and got to work. 

The finished product is below. The bottom 3 presents that are huge aren't actually gifts. The middle one (green) is the empty box that Eliza's ball center came in. The ones to the left and right are the storage totes that I keep all of the decorations in. I wrapped them and duct taped them together so that Eliza can't get to the tree. We'll see if that actually works :)

Quite the Feast

 While Thanksgiving has never been one of my favorite holidays, I am so excited for it this year! I am so thankful that my house is coming together, I have a great husband, I have sweet little Eliza and family came to visit!

 Right after we got through eating breakfast burritos for breakfast, Angie and I started preparing the feast! These two scrumptious beauties are my first ever pumpkin pies. I wish I could give Eliza a taste, but I am scared to because of her little tummy. Maybe at Christmas, she can taste the awesome that is pumpkin.

  

While we were cooking, Michael was sleeping, Todd was playing Portal, Alexis and Bryce were taking turns on the DS and Eliza was trying to help them push buttons. Poor Bryce had to keep shuffling around the room because Eliza would scoot over and mess with him. It was super cute. 

 

At around 3, the feast was ready and we got to eat. We had  turkey, candied yams, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, dressing...

Green beans with slivered almonds, deviled eggs, gravy, rolls, apple cobbler, and pie. While none of us needed the food coma that was induced, it was nice to have all of our Thanksgiving comfort foods here in Nebraska.

After dinner, Todd and Angie ventured out to Target. Looking through the sales ads, I decided that I had to go to Toys R Us to get a toy for Eliza. When I got there, Todd and Angie had the exact same toy because they were afraid that I wouldn't get there in time to get it. They bought it for Eliza and I got another awesome toy for her. This is so exciting!

The next morning, Todd put the toy together, which was quite a job. The finished result was bigger than we all though, but super neat. Once we got batteries in it and it started making noise, Eliza was a big fan! She looks so small next to it! She loves to crawl around it and to bang the balls on the floor. Although she doesn't get how to put the balls on the track herself yet, she loves watching them when others do it. Thank you for the gift!

 

Later in the day when Michael woke up, we went to Morrill Hall, which is a museum on campus. We all had a great time getting out of the house. We came home, ate left overs, then cuddled up on the couch and watched The Croods. What a great end to a great time.

8 Months

 I should have taken her 8 month pictures yesterday, but with the excitement of family coming in, I didn't get to take them until today.

 This sweet girl is just a pure joy! Her favorite things to do right now is to wave, explore under tables (which mom tells her not to do), and chase the cat. She laughs at her toys now, which I think is super adorable.

She is starting to stand while assisted and I have a feeling that she is going to start scooting around the ottoman. We are so very lucky to have this beautiful baby.

The Rickmans Come to Visit

Todd, Angie and the kids showed up just before noon. Since Nebraska gets pretty lonely, I was ecstatic to see them pull up. They brought Eliza a soft little chair that looks like a giraffe. Since it is rounded she falls right off of it while sitting, so we laid her on it. She stayed there for quite a long time rubbing its head and trying to eat the tag on the ear.

For the rest of the day, we caught up and just chatted. When Michael got up, we made personal pizzas for dinner, then watched Pitch Perfect. I had never seen it, but was super glad they brought it because the BFFs have been getting on to me for not watching it.

 

After the movie we got silly! While not the best picture of me, I had a photo op with the Goddaughter. 

 And my Godson. He looks pretty good with his mustache!