Holiday Parties

I had so much fun showing off my cute little one at holiday parties this year and it was really neat for me to see how Ellie responded in those situations. I find it interesting that she responds so drastically different to various people and I wonder what it is that causes it.

At one party she was not fussy, but was a little overwhelmed by all the grown-ups who speak in deep voices. I hadn't thought about the fact that, with the exception of Daddy and occasionally Grandpa, Ellie hasn't really had males talk to her before. And there were plenty of males at my group's holiday party (so is the nature of engineering). Ellie was fascinated, but for the most part she shyly clung to her mommy whenever someone else was close by.

However, there was an exception... Chuck. I don't know what it was about Chuck that Ellie liked, but instantly she was drawn to him. Maybe it was the fact that he spoke **to** her and not **about** her? Maybe it was his beard? I'm not sure, but she kept reaching up to touch him on his arm, shoulder, back, face... whatever she could reach. It was really strange, but neat to see her open up to a complete stranger like that.

At another holiday party, and ironically another Chuck's house, she was once again fun to show off. Most of the time we sat in the living room and she entertained herself with the toys that belonged to the host's daughter. Ellie was a happy baby. Then the host's daughter decided that she liked me. I don't know what I did to convince her that I was worth her attention, but there was a point where she came over and sat on my lap to show me a book of hers. Ellie was a few feet away from me and instantly got fussy and started pulling herself in my direction, as if to say "No, that's MY mommy!!" Fascinating.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun bringing her along on the parties. I'm so proud to be her Mommy!

And on that note... we leave to visit Pappy in Oklahoma so you won't hear from me for a week. Hopefully when I return, there'll be plenty to talk about.

Are we connecting or going crazy?

Ever since Ellie's birth, Michael and I have been having strange dreams. What's the most strange about them is that we often dream the same strange dream. For example, last night we both dreamt about working at the law firm of Boston Legal, and we haven't even watched that show for over a week now!

This has me wondering if it's a sign that we are connecting on yet another level. It's either that or we've started to show the signs of going crazy by talking in our sleep.

8 Months Later...

... and we're STILL getting bills for Ellie's birth! UGH!!! How is that possible? She was only born once! When will the craziness end??

Weekend of change and spit-swapping

I thought about writing multiple posts about this weekend, but then I changed my mind. I'm not sure why but it is my decision to make.

This weekend was crazy in terms of how much my little Ellie changed! Why does it seem like I am just being a mom, minding my own business, when BAM! Ellie grows up!

First, she is getting so close to crawling. So very very close. Let's not linger on that topic for too long because her mother has different thoughts on whether or not that's a good thing.

Starting over...

First, she slept through the night. Completely. She went to bed around 7:30 and didn't wake until 7:00. Usually she wakes once for a feeding. Isn't that exciting? The crazy part, though, is that she has done that 3 nights in a row!!! UMM??? HUH??? BAM! She knows night time is for sleeping, not eating!

Second, she now knows how this "reading" thing goes. We have a couple books where you read some words, then open the page to find hidden words. One example of that is Peek-A-Boo Kisses. The page starts off saying, "Peek-A-Boo, I see..." with a picture of a cat with its paws over its eyes. Then you open the page and it says, "Fuzzy cat kisses!" and you can pet the fuzzy cat. Usually when I read a book to her, she tries to eat it, but this weekend, she sat and listened patiently. Then when I opened the page and said "fuzzy cat kisses!" she leaned forward and pat the cat. Then she leaned back again and waited patiently for the next page. UMM??? HUH??? BAM!!! She knows books are for reading, not eating!

Thirdly, she's getting great at the kissing. She kisses me all the time now and is constantly sliming me with baby drool. Michael learned that if he blows gently into her mouth, she'll go in for a kiss. It's really quite adorable. I must say that I love the baby kisses, even if they leave the side of my face dripping in baby drool. I wouldn't trade these moments for the world.

It was bound to happen sometime...

It finally happened, though I wish it did not. Ellie peed on me. Yep. Pee. In fact, she did it after I turned on the bath water, which leads me to wonder if she has reached that point where the rest of us are, where the sound of running water makes us want to pee. I guess I'll consider this a milestone for her to reach. Let's check it off the list and move on please.

November Pictures

Enjoy!

Let me name your baby for you

Our neighbors had their baby last week. She is just so gosh darn small! She was born at 5 pounds and 4 ounces. When I saw her I wanted to cry because she was just so precious!

They were keeping the name a secret until the baby was born. Her name is Elliana. They plan to call her Ellie for short.

Now you may be thinking that I'm writing about this because I'm upset about them having the same nickname for their daughter as we do. But I'm not. Besides, I don't even think they know we call our little one "Ellie".

But here is why I'm writing about Elliana...

When we were talking to our neighbors about the names we were thinking of, we said that our top two girls names included Elliana because we really liked the nickname "Ellie".

Their response was "Elliana, oh, I like that name", which is similar to how anyone would respond.

But 6 months later...

... well let's just say that it was an honor for them to allow us to name their first born child.

A disturbing thought...

I was kissing my baby's lips the other day, and making her laugh in the process. Then, there was a kiss where, briefly our tongues touched (don't ask me how it happened, it just did). The first thing that came to my mind was "Oh my gosh! I'm teaching my daughter how to french kiss!"

Baby Thoughts

Today's deep thought:

I know that when I think, it sounds to me like I'm talking. In other words, I think with words. I'm assuming that everyone does this.

However, if a baby can't understand words, but obviously has thoughts and feelings... What do baby thoughts sound like?

Pregnancy Induced Memory Loss

I'm beginning to realize that pregnancy has a real affect on memory. I know it's been a while since I was pregnant (can you believe it's already been 7.5 months?) but here's the deal... Apparently if I met you while I was pregnant, then I do not remember you. Do not assume that just because I pretend to know what you're talking about when you say "it's been a long time!" that I agree. Do not take it personally. Actually, since you don't know I don't know you then you probably won't.

A rose by any other name

I'm finally starting to feel the consequences of giving my baby a unique name. Already, she has been called (typed as they sound):

Laura-lie (by a mommy in my group, who really should know us by now)
Ariel (by another mommy in my group, who again really should know our names by now)
Lori-ellie (ummm... the last e isn't pronounced... I guess it's French)
Marie-elle (I'm guessing they heard me wrong?)
Allie (instead of Ellie, innocent mistake)
Gloria (huh??)

Ok, people. I understand that it's a unique name, but please... GLORIA??? Lori-elle. Gloria. Lori-elle. Gloria. Actually, I guess I can see the connection. Not.

Product Recall

There have been so many baby toys that have been recalled recently. I am thinking (though I could be wrong) that this is always the case, but sometimes it really makes me laugh. Recently the bumbo was recalled. Why? Maybe it was the lead paint? Nope. It was recalled because parents were stupid and used it exactly as the warnings say NOT to use it. Apparently when placed on top of a counter or table, and then left unattended, a baby can fall out of the bumbo and cause serious damage hitting the floor.

Ummm... is it just me or does this strike you as stupid? I feel bad for the company who has to recall a great product just because the parents don't use it properly.

And the super funny thing about it is that soon after the recall announcement, I got lots of emails from my group of new mommies saying "Oh my gosh! I'm so not going to use this anymore!" Umm... not to sound insulting, but maybe you could just start using it on the floor instead??

It makes me wonder if I should be more concerned about things like this than I am.

Sick Baby

My little girl was sick this weekend. Whether or not this was the first time is still up for debate. We've had our fussy days and our slimy days, but this was the first time that she expressed her "not feeling well" by being very... what's the word? Mopey? You know what I'm talking about... that feeling that you get when all you want to do is lay in bed all day long and never get out to eat or shower? Unfortunately for Ellie, she still can't tell me that this is how she felt, so I unknowingly forced her out of bed, forced her to get ready for the day, forced her to eat, and forced her to socialize with our company (Grandma is in town). Ugh. Who wants to do all that when you don't feel good?

Anyway, it marked the first time that my baby was content in just laying in my arms. So it was a bitter-sweet weekend. On one hand, I felt bad for her, knowing that she did not feel good at all. On the other hand, I finally got the picture perfect baby just laying in my arms, just like they are in the movies (minus the snot)!

The grossest thing ever

This morning I found that Ellie had a layer of dried boogers covering her entire nose. I'm talking about the nose being completely encased in a nose-shaped booger shell. And let me tell you how happy it made her for me to pick it all off. Actually, let's not.

If that's not the grossest thing I've ever seen, it's at least the grossest thing I've seen today.