Nov. 2011

So, November always seems to come and go so quickly.  We have Halloween and we turn around and we're at Thanksgiving.  We were excited because this would be Elizabeth's first Thanksgiving that she actually participated in.... Last year she didn't feel well and we stayed home.  This year she was excited to try out all the yummy food.  Her favorites were the green bean casserole, stuffing, and mashed potatoes.  She's just not impressed with meat for some reason!  She won't eat it!  If the bite she has contains meat she simply swallows 'around' it and she's left with a mouthful of meat!  She'll leave it in there for hours, no joke! 
Here's a few pics from Thanksgiving. As you can see, she is still 'apprehensive' when she goes anywhere...even my dad's house!  She typically takes a good 20 minutes to warm up.  It's best to 'ignore' her until she's ready for you, or it prolongs the warming up period. 

Not sure why I ever try taking pics of her when we first get somewhere.... this is her 'I'm so scared I'm a statue' look.... poor thing! 

Still not ready for pics....

Landon and E attacking Grandpa

E and Gram-ka

Elizabeth is for sure all girl!  I'm surprised we have any glass left in our house, she can squeal so high and loud, it's actually amazing! 
I'm sad to say that there are still nights we have to take a little trip driving around trying to get her to sleep. Unfortunately, it seems to have worn off and even going all the way to Ravenna doesn't work.  Time for new tricks!  One night I found that if I gently kissed her cheek she would stay asleep while I rocked her... if I stopped she woke up... so I did a lot of kissing that night!
She gets her flu shot in November and is 23 lbs and 11 oz at the beginning of the month.  She's still in the 90th percentile.  We have her 1 year pics/Christmas pics taken (at Portrait Innovations, of course).  She decided to be very social and waved to the lady the entire time, so cute! 
She's finally getting better at feeding herself.  I thought I was going to have to go to kindergarten with her and feed her like a baby bird!  She's very good at asking for 'more' in sign language. 

By the end of the month I've decided that she's 'sleeping better'....not great, but better is....well....better.... She takes 2 1-hour naps in a typical day, although when she stays with Aunt Kay she'll only take one after she's completely wore out.  She drew a picture for me at Aunt Kay's...it's hanging on the fridge.  One day they even did a pudding painting at Aunt Kay's.  Elizabeth realized it was good to eat and shoved her entire face in the plate..... poor Kay had a mess to clean up!

She has to have a blood test (testing for led and if her iron levels are good).  She did well with the finger prick, quit crying pretty quick, but kept saying 'boo boo' all the way home and held her finger up in the air. That night when I took her band aid off I asked her were her boo boo was and she pointed to her finger (the wrong hand, but she was certain she still had a boo boo!).

It's amazing how much she's talking now.  Impossible to list all the animals she can say the sounds for, so cute!  She now realizes if she says 'please', which sounds like 'peas' she can get most anything she wants!!

Oct. 2011

Elizabeth is 23 pounds 11 ounces by the end of October.  Elizabeth loves Mexican food, just like me! She could eat rice, beans, and tomatoes all day!!!!  I have conferences in the beginning of October (3 nights after school until 8).... It's quite torturous because she's in bed by the time I get home. "Luckily" she wakes up at night to see me and we can cuddle/play/talk/fight for awhile before she goes back to sleep.  She also is an early riser (4-6 am) so I get to see her before I leave for school. 

It is so adorable because she says 'kitty-cat' for my Dad's black cat.  She's a little scared of the cat though.  She gets all excited to see it (from afar) but as the cat gets closer she gets less brave and starts climbing up my leg.  She also now has 'grandpa' it sounds like 'gmka'.  Of course my dad thinks it's great!  She doesn't say momma though!!! She calls me dadda still... NICE!  She also says 'please' which sounds like 'peas' and 'cup' which she says perfectly.  She says 'ut-oh'.....even when it's something she did on purpose..... she really emphasizes both syllables and drags out the 'oh', so cute!  She can also say 'baby' 'pretty' and 'all done'.  I think she's a great talker! She makes lots of animal sounds including bear, duck, lion, pig, cat, dog, and cow. 

She smells everything, which is our fault. We of course always smell her little piggies and say PU and we all laugh..... So, she thinks she needs to smell everything....flowers, clothes, books, her own feed, and your feet!  She gets such a kick out of it I can't help but encourage it!!!!  I could just eat those little feet up they are so precious! 

She has also discovered her belly button... and when I say 'discovered' I mean she is obsessed with it... I try to keep a onsie on her at all times because she pulls up her shirt and jams her finger in her belly button and yells 'bay-boo' (that's how she says belly button...).  If this isn't funny enough for you she then comes up to Audie and I and wants to do the same thing!  She's caught us a few times not ready for it and we received a tiny finger jammed in our belly buttons!  CRAZY! 

The diaper changes are no longer fun....not because of the mess but because she hates them now.  She rolls and thrashes about, of course making it the never ending job.  We try to give her something new to play with and keep her attention on it... it works 50% of the time. 

She is also obsessed with my iPad.  She especially likes the "Monster at the end of the book" app with Grover.  If she sees the iPad or even the bag I bring it home in she yells pitifully "GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEERRRR".  She also loves the 'talking' apps that repeat everything you say in a funny voice.  She's so good at finding what she wants and clicking on it! 

We have  her birthday party at the church (mostly because I couldn't handle cleaning my house and getting it 'party ready').  We had a ladybug theme and it was wonderful.  We had rigatoni (which she loves), salad, parsley potatoes, green beans and chocolate covered pretzels that I made into ladybugs (so cute!).  Her cake was adorable!  When it came time for her to eat her cake she knew she wanted it but hated the thought of getting her hands all dirty!  She refused to use her hands.... so my smart little daughter realized she could just stick her face in it and eat it like a dog!  And her hands stayed clean!!  She got lots of great presents and had a good time. I created a video of her first year and showed it to everyone.  Hard to believe how fast a year can go!

At the end of the month we went Trunk or Treating at the park for Halloween.  She dressed up like a ladybug and was so adorable.  Looked so cute walking around!

Audie and I say every day how lucky we are to have this perfect baby.  She has brought so much to our lives and amazes us every waking moment.  She is constantly learning something and is always wanting to do more.  We are truly the luckiest parents.

September 2011

Elizabeth is 20 lbs and will be 11 months old at the end of the month.  She is definitely a walker.  Grandma bought her a ladybug tent and Elizabeth loves playing in it. So cute!

 

Her sleeping is improving (knock on wood).  She 'only' gets up a few times a night and typically goes back to sleep easily.  She hates having her hair washed now because of the water that gets in her eyes.  She also hates getting her diaper changed.... she' s just too busy.  This makes me sad because she used to be so calm and we would talk and laugh on the changing table... now it's WWIII!

She is so smart and loves to look at the animal flash cards.  We have to go through each one and make the animal sounds.  During the day she pulls out every book and gives them to Audie for him to read to her.

 

  Peek-a-Boo is one of her favorite games still.  She now initiates the game by hiding behind her hands or a towel and waits for you to say "where's the baby?"  She also loves to play chase... She'll chase and you have to chase her.  She just jabbers away as if she's telling stories to you.  She makes so many 'connections' that I'm amazed.  She pointed to the owl on the wall then got out the book and pointed to it..... She is also able to mooo for a cow and says 'cocka' for a rooster.  She also points at any vehicle and says "car" with a really hard "r" sound.  I love hearing her say it! She tries to put on her own pants (what a good helper!). 

She loves to do "itsy bitsy spider".  She's now trying to run and ends up stomping her feet in place then takes off like a cartoon character.  We tell her to 'stomp it out' and she stomps and just giggles.  She is starting to feed people now and started with Audie, it's so cute!

We went to the pumpkin patch and rode on a hay ride.  She just loved it!  

 

Her favorite things in life though are remotes and cell phones.  (Are we in trouble or what?)  She knows which one goes to the TV and wants that one... she also wants a working cell phone, not some old one or one that is turned off. 

I got a wonderful surprise on my birthday.  Sara and Kay came up to my school at the end of the day with cupcakes for the class and... Elizabeth for me : )  Then Audie met us at Roadhouse and we had an awesome dinner.  So fun!

August 2011

Here are some highlights from August:

• standing alone (may be the cutest thing EVER)
• Can take 2 steps and by the end of the month takes 3
• When asked "How big is baby?" she raises her hands up in the air, tilts her head to the side and we say "Sooooooooooo big!"  She loves it.
• I love being home.....
• She loves pushing her cart around, thinks she's such a big girl
• She naps 2 or 3 times a day
• Sings in a light airy voice
• Growls lots!
• Has 'foot fights' with mom (this began from me pumping.... we played lots of foot games, of course she likes to foot fight best!)
• Loves tomatoes and cheese
• She can growl when asked what a bear says and quacks when asked what a duck says
• Can say "dada, be easy, bear, bad, and I love you"

You wouldn't typically think 'be easy' would be one of her first words, unless you remember our nightly battles..... I always end up telling her 'be easy' because he flails around and throws a few wild punches at times.  (Other nights she wants to cuddle and be kissed.... depends on the night!) She loves to repeat what I say of course so when I looked at her sternly and got in her face and said "BE EASY" she thought she should repeat it.... I couldn't help but laugh!  So, she decided one day when I was wrestling her down to change her diaper to say "beasy" (as if it was one word)... I promise I wasn't being rough, but she thought I was!!!! She hates to have her toenails cut for some reason (again, I promise I'm not being rough) and while I cut them she says "beasy" to me...  Too funny!

Her first steps were not 'typical' first steps, as only Elizabeth can do.  She decided for her first steps she'd take a side step, turn around, and go the other direction!  She is a cautious walker.  Some kids just topple through their first steps, hers are very precise and calculated.  She knows when she's going to fall and decides to stop right before it.  She's such a little perfectionist (not sure where she got that) and gets so frustrated when she can't do something. Poor thing!

She loves to pull the grass outside and adores waving bye and saying "hi" to us. She also says I love you back to us... it sounds like "I ung" and ends with a hug... so sweet!

By the end of the month she has 7 teeth.  The teething really affects the nights, in a not so good way.  Thank goodness I don't have school. Typically, Audie takes her in the morning for a few hours so I can get some sleep. 

We take her to the fair, which she loves looking at the animals and all the lights.  After a few hours she falls asleep.....

This month she goes to the school to 'help' get my classroom ready for another year.  For some reason she loves my large dice.  She crawls around the room and I chase her.... We don't have air conditioning in the school and of course she wants to be help lots of the time so we both are sweaty little pigs by the time we leave there. 

At the end of the month I start back to school : (  So difficult.....  So glad she's with Audie.  She just adores her Daddy and he may be the best dad I've ever seen.  He has endless patience, even with all of his pain he constantly has.  I swear each day he teaches her something new.  She's so lucky to have him.  We're also fortunate because Aunt Kay watches Elizabeth once a week and that allows Audie to go to doc appointments or take a well deserved break.  I so don't want her to go to a "place" or "someone's house"...... my list is endless as to why.  So far, this is working, although it's difficult on Audie. 

July 2011

We had Audie's mom's 74th bday party at our house.  It was a nice reunion for his family. His brother and wife came up from Florida and we saw lots of family he hasn't seen in a long time.  We had over 40 people.  Dad and Kim were the official chefs, which was a huge help for Audie and I.  Elizabeth was very well behaved and even let some people hold her.  She takes so long to warm up, but it helped that it was actually at our house... her turf!    

Audie and his mom

The chefs and E

Audie, Ruth, Diane, Max, April, Linda, and Jacqueline

Ready for the P-A-R-T-Y!

Well, we were all set to go to the 4th of july picnic at Diana's but someone was taking a nap (it wasn't me!).  And since we have so many sleeping 'issues' I do not wake Elizabeth unless it's because of a fire.... so I figured we'd be an hour late... or  two... or she'll do whatever she wants and slept through the entire afternoon, so funny!  She was dressed so festive of course....

July is a busy month... we met Karla and Gavin for lunch at Panera.  We went swimming at Kay's with Landon.  Landon was more interested in getting out and Elizabeth loves splashing.  We did some shopping of course.... We put up our baby pool that Dad and Kim got Elizabeth for Easter.  She loves it!  She can say 'dada' and 'bear'.  "Bear?" you're thinking... well, her room is decorated in winnie the pooh and each morning I sing the winnie the pooh song and at the end I sing "silly, willy, nilly, old bear" real slow (and in perfect pitch : )  Well, on one morning I sing that part and she repeats 'bear' just as plain as can be at the end!  Great part was that the monitor was still on, so Audie got to hear it too!  So now she loves to sing that song with me. I must admit I love it too! 
She is now up to 5 teeth, so far she hasn't used them to bite me... I'm sure it's coming though!

We also found that we had to put up our baby gates now!  On the 14th of July we went to the Akron Zoo.  Elizabeth loved it but at times you could see her look at the big animals and think "is this safe????"  The jellyfish and fish were her favorite.  We need to find an aquarium to go to!

jellyfish

EATING:
   *likes stage 3 baby food
   * tried cottage cheese and watermelon.... but wasn't impressed
   *ate freeze dried apples... loved them
   *likes potatoes and bread

SLEEPING:
    *each night is different.....  I know many suggest the cry it out, ferberizing of kids... It's just not for me.  I see sleeping as a skill kids need to learn how to do.  I cannot think of another skill that I will expect them to just 'get' by me saying 'night night' and letting them cry as I come in and out every now and then.... not for me!  She gets up between 2-6 times a night and is almost 9 months old... so not exactly 'fun' but I feel like I'm doing my best for her. 


CAN DO:
     *cruises around furniture... can crawl so fast!
     *can say 'dada' and 'bear'
     *gives 5
     *walks with a push toy
     *can stand alone for 3-5 seconds, has great balance!
     *rolls ball back and forth with mommy and daddy
     *loves to mimic noises people make, especially loves to growl!  Each morning she comes into the bed with Audie and I... well, I must yawn a lot because now she mimics me yawning... it's hilarious!
     *bangs toys together

Such a fun age to be off of school and spending every minute I can with her.  At her 9 month check up she is 21 lbs 12 oz and 28.75 inches.  We also visited Aunt Sara that day at work because it was her birthday. 

Audie's first car show with his Torino finished