Today's random fond memory

Is it strange that 9.5 months after my baby was born I still think about how much I miss being pregnant whenever I feel my stomach grumble?

Where's the beef?

I'm having a major issue that I don't think I have the strength and will power to overcome. I need to start introducing meats to Ellie's diet. I feared pureeing the meat myself so I went and bought some from the baby aisle.

YUCK!!! I wanted to barf when I opened the jar up. YUCK!!! The stuff absolutely reeked.

What am I going to do?

Oh god. Just thinking about it makes me want to gag.

Baby breath biscuit

Everyone questions if the only REAL difference between a doggie chew toy and a baby teether is the store you buy them in, but have you ever wondered why they don't sell biscuits to help clean a baby's smelly breath like they do for dogs?

Booger Nation

One thing is for sure, I never considered how much slime would be involved in having a baby. Luckily, the more slime you deal with, the higher one's slime tolerance level becomes. A year ago, I didn't think I would ever be someone who would hold another being to the ground with force while I tried to pick their nose to get a booger out that has just been bothering me for longer than I could stand. Or that I would do it often enough that it's threatening to become my latest hobby.

Niffer - Booger Extractor Extraordinaire!

Maybe it's the Brittish verison...

Uncle Justin was giving Ellie her bedtime bottle and later told us about how well it went...

Uncle Justin - "I was telling her the story about the three bears and three pigs."

Aunt Erin - "I don't know that story, how does it go?"

Uncle Justin - "You know, the one about the three bears - papa bear, mama bear and baby bear and how they had the beds that were too hard, too soft and just right?"

Aunt Erin - "Uh... ok..."

Uncle Justin - "and how the three little pigs come and visit and they huff and puff and blow the house down. I just couldn't figure out how the little piggy made it all the way home."

What's your plan?

A bit of background: Ellie was trying to follow a cat, who wisely jumped off the bed.

Daddy:
"Ellie, what is your plan when you reach the end of the bed?"

Ellie:
Crawl crawl crawl [got to the end of the bed], crawl crawl [fell off and was caught by Daddy], crawl crawl crawl.

I'm thinking the plan was executed flawlessly.

Ellie says...

knuhkjkk;cx8u52qa21ZXm, (>:<~1`Z 2W3MN UNJMZZZZXRC
cCCCCCzx3ev21cx-0[p`q=[p-x HGBYYUHNHUNUI
NM B NBDZX
XM NI zAZZZ BM M F ZE4SZXCMVBNMBN G N CFX
. M,NHM 8

Worst sound EVER

I used to think that the worst sound ever was the sound of chalk or finger nails on a chalk board, but boy was I wrong. No, the worst sound ever is the sound of my daughter grinding her teeth together. UGH! How on earth do I get her to stop doing that???

So tired...

so very very tired. I didn't think it was possible for Ellie to sleep less than she did the first night we were back in Colorado, but I was wrong. I'm so so so tired. The poor little thing, hopefully she'll go back to sleeping after getting used to her new surroundings. Please. Please sleep again. This state of sleep deprivation probably isn't very good for mommy's interviews (which I've had two phone interviews today, one even woke me from a nap, so you can imagine the first impression I gave that guy!).

Moving with Baby

We have to laugh at ourselves when it comes to moving with a baby around. There are so many things that needed to get done that we ended up failing miserably at trying to keep the house a baby-proof place. Ah, who am I kidding? We haven't even started baby proofing our house yet!

A few things moving-related that I have noticed that made me wonder, "Hmm... maybe I'm not going to get Mother of the Year Award this year either..."



On the bright side, the pieces of drywall are providing great opportunities for Ellie to practice her fine motor skills!

P.S. Colorado, here we come!

December Pictures

Just as a warning, there are a lot of pictures. Lots happened in December and as you will see I am quite fond of the pictures of Ellie crawling for the first time. On the other hand, I'm highly disappointed in the variety of pictures overall. I don't know how I made it through the month without getting pictures of Ellie with Aunt Erin or Uncle Justin, or Grandpa Lou or Grandma Jeanne or Grandpa Bob. I suck. I just don't understand how that could have happened. Believe it or not, I actually do have to remind myself to take pictures at times.

I know that there are other pictures out there, though! I'm just waiting to get copies of the ones that other people took. Hint hint. Wink wink. Say no more. Say no more.

Buh bye Ms Lexie

Today was Ellie's last day at school, and I must say it was hard on me. Even at such a young age, it's very apparent that she loves her teacher. Ms Lexie is the only person (other than Mommy and Daddy) who she will throw herself at. Her eyes brighten up, she gives a great big smile, showing all the teeth, and she squishes up in her excited ball whenever she sees Ms Lexie. I think we hit the jackpot for a good daycare... I certainly hope she likes the next one as well. This transition is going to be hard on her.


On a different note, on her last day at school, Ellie did her first piece of artwork Her teacher put the glue on the page, and she placed the snow. As you can see, it shows an incredible insight that is rare for a 9 month old to have... by clumping all the snow into one area, it's obvious that she understands that snow comes from the clouds. Don't you think?

I'll be honest. I never thought that I'd get all sappy over these sort of things, but as soon as I saw the snow and I realized Ellie did it, I cried. I love it. I love it. I love it. And yes, this comes as a complete surprise to me.

Family Dreams

Mommy's dream:
I was life long friends and an old Chinese woman who was going to a fertility clinic to try to get pregnant. I found out that she was finally pregnant using one of my eggs. In the end, I was torn between my dedication to my life long friend and my dedication to my egg. My egg!

Daddy's dream:
He was inventing a canon that would compress green leaves. He needed the canon when he entered the doorway of hell. Why was he going to hell? To steal their red phones, of course.

Ellie's dream:
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba. uh uh uh uhhhhhhhhhhhh. ba ba ba. ma ma ma ma. Eh! Ehhh!

Bunny Overboard

Our latest theory on why Ellie won't put herself back to sleep at night*... She tossed Bun-Bun Overboard!

Some thoughts that might have been going through her head:
Oh my god! Bun Bun, are you ok? Speak to me, Bun Bun! Are you there? BUN BUN!!! What have I done? Where are you Bun Bun? You're not responding, so it has to be bad news. I'm so sorry! How could I have done that to you? Bun Bun! I'd help you if only I could get out of this prison! Please believe me! Please don't be dead! This is all my fault! Bun Bun, you've been so good to me. How can I survive without you? Mommy! Mommy! Come quick! Something has happened to Bun Bun! I think she's hurt! Oh wait, here comes Mommy! Mommy, I need a hug! I've lost Bun Bun! She's gone for good! What's this? BUN BUN! You're alive! Oh thank goodness! Thank you, Mommy for saving her. I love you Bun Bun! I'll never toss you overboard again!**

* Other than the obvious theories of: traveling for the holidays screwed up her schedule, it's too cold, it's too hot, she's teething, etc.

** Hopefully, but the number is up to 2 now.

Parlez-vous Spanglish?

We just experienced the stupidest thing.

So we're in the process of getting the house ready to go on the market. In attempt to make this story short, I'll just skip to the part where the cleaners came today...

Here's the deal - the cleaners hardly speak English, but Cookie (from the realtor's office) said she would come out and "translate" for us to get started.

Here's how it went:
Cookie: Hmmm... I expected your house to be cleaner.
Me: Well we had to patch all the holes from the pictures you told us to take down and that's the drywall dust from doing so.
Cookie: Ok, let's see what we have here... (she starts to point things out to the cleaning lady) We have the first floor here, then there is the kitchen upstairs, and tres bedrooms and dos bathrooms on the top floor.
Cleaning lady: How much you pay? $100?
Cookie: Oh no, tres hundred.
Cleaning lady: Three hundred?
Cookie: Si, si.
Cleaning lady: Ok, I go get my husband to help.
Cookie: (turning to me) She thought that we were only paying $100 and so she's going to get her husband to help.

Umm... hello? Does she REALLY think she's translating for me? Here I was expecting Cookie to speak Spanish, but I speak more Spanish than she does! On top of that, the whole conversation was in ENGLISH (minus a few insultingly simple words for the sake of pretending to speak Spanish) and I, too can understand English even without a translator!

It was awkward. I felt bad for the cleaning lady.

Just another example of how I really really really hope that we are able to raise Ellie to be bilingual... or at least not ignorant to the point where it's almost insulting. I'm not sure what our plan of attack is, but wish us luck!

If a cow can do it, so can you

Last week we were dealing with Ellie's new found ability to pull herself to a standing position. I had heard that sometimes babies learn to stand in their crib and then freak out because they don't know how to get back down. I never believed it really, but then last week happened.

Yep... After about 10 or 15 minutes of crying instead of falling asleep for a nap, I went to go check on the little one. I found her standing in the crib, with her head lying on the railing and her bunny as a pillow. By the time I got to her, she had nearly fallen asleep... STANDING! Oh how I wish I had a picture of it. Sadly, though, I didn't think about the camera because the site was just so sad and funny at the same time. Poor little girl.

Groggy Mommy

You know the horrible feeling you get when you just woke up and you're so tired that you can't remember where you are or what you are doing? Motherhood* puts a whole new twist to that, one that I have failed to find humorous.

Since Ellie has been teething, apparently I have become sleep deprived. The other day, I woke from a nap and couldn't figure out where I was. Then I suddenly freaked out wondering where my baby was!

Oh my god! Did I crush her in bed? Did she fall out of bed? Was she even in bed with me? I don't know where I put her! Did I leave her downstairs? What if she fell down the stairs because I wasn't watching her? What if she got stuck behind the couch? Is she even at home with me? Did I find a babysitter for her? Did I leave her at the grocery store? How would I get her back if I did? Who would return a baby to a mother who left her at the store? Is she ok? Is she still alive?

A few minutes pass before I convince myself to calm down. Ellie is safe in her crib, taking a nap. Remember, that's why I decided to take one myself too? Whew. That was close call. I think I'll go back to sleep now.


* DISCLAIMER: It's not just a motherhood thing, but rather "parenthood" because it's been known to happen to Michael as well, though for the most part that was when she was younger.

Word of the Day

We love those days where we can find the one word that gets little Ellie laughing and laughing. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, we are the luckiest parents in the world.

So far, some of the words have been:

Socks!
No Poop!
You did it!
Peepee!
Pants!
Excuse Me!
A boo!
Moo!

Rudolf the rain deer red nose

Traveling over the holidays and seeing other little kids at the airport reminded me of how excited I am for Ellie to get to the age where she says things like that.

She's not a monster afterall!

Yay! Yay! My little one isn't a monster after all! She's just teething. Her third tooth appeared sometime today. Whew!

As a result, I found a great solution to the biting issue. She's been biting me recently and I can't get her to stop. Well, when I realized that it was actually a tooth that was bothering her, I gave her Bun-Bun (her most beloved bunny friend) while nursing... problem solved. She would nurse, then stop and bite Bun-Bun, then return to nursing.

I wish the idea had come to mind earlier!

Niffer on a mission

I'm actually surprised by how much stuff we've been able to accomplish in the last couple weeks. I kindof expected to have to fly my mom and sister out to help us pack up, but much to my surprise, it's going pretty well even without them. I think I still owe my mom credit for this, though, because I definitely take after her.

When I get it in my mind that I want to accomplish something, I become what my sweet husband refers to as "Niffer on a mission". Trust me, you don't want to get in the way. When N.O.M comes out, all she can focus on is the goal and she will pass out from sheer exhuastion trying to acheive it.

I wonder if Ellie will become E.O.M when she gets older. Part of me hopes she does because it's nice to know that when nesessary, I get the attitude of "if it needs to be done, then make it happen." I don't think that's a bad thing.

However, on the other hand, I do realize that it can go a bit too far.

Afterall, I did end up packing everything in site... including my trash bag.

Chomp Chomp

Son of a %($@*!!!

Here I was, minding my own business and nursing my precious little angel when suddenly she was invaded by the devil himself.

CHOMP CHOMP!!!

God. I don't think I can describe how much that one hurt, but there was blood involved.

How did I respond? I yelled out in pain, like most people would.

How did Ellie respond? She laughed and laughed.

I don't think I like her sense of humor.

An announcement

I suppose that since we have given work our official notice, it's no longer necessary for me to stay silent on my blog...

We're moving to Colorado!

I'm sure this surprises all of you for different reasons. Some would probably say they thought it would never happen and that I was just all talk. Others would be surprised because it's just so sudden.

Let me just say that it was the toughest decision I've ever had to make, and I'm sure it's tougher for Michael. The downside of this is that we both like our jobs and they're good jobs (stable, pay well, and we're working on ground-breaking stuff in the areas we're both interested in, not to mention the fact that it's the same company so we spend a lot of time together). However, even that isn't the biggest downside of us moving.

Michael's dad lives an hour from us, and we're going to miss them. Honestly, I wish we weren't leaving them, but I tell myself that the main reason we're moving back to CO is that we want to raise Ellie close to the **majority** of our family. Believe me, it sucks to have to tell Grandpa we're moving away. However we will be closer to Grandma, Grandma, Aunt Erin, Uncle David and Uncle Jacob... so overall, that's a gain, right?

Regardless, here's the plan as it stands now:
We will ship the cats to CO so that we can clean up the house to put on the market. My last day at work is the 16th of Jan. I will fly out there with Ellie on the 20th and most likely stay with my sister for a few weeks. During that time I will search for daycare and a job (the job story is a long one - in a nutshell I may have one but I don't know if I'll accept the offer if/when I get it). Michael's last day is the 2nd of February and he'll drive out that weekend to start work at LASP in Boulder the following Monday. We will most likely live with his mom until we sell our place and buy a new on in CO.

Questions? I'm sure you have them. Bring them on!

Then and Now

Welcome back? Why thank you. I missed you too.

It was a hectic holiday for us. A time of a lot of change. Let's focus on the baby changes since I still can not talk about anything else...

Ellie is not the baby you knew from 2007. She is a completely different person! A little person! She's just amazing. All the changes stem from a few major events:

Event: Then: Now:

Standing up on furniture NO YES
Sitting up on own NO YES
Crawling NO YES
Sleeping through the night YES HELL NO

Now that she crawls, she's like a completely different person. It's like a light switch went off and suddenly she realizes that she can go places. It's been fun to see.

Sadly it seems like the price to pay for that knowledge is sleep. She is back to waking every 3 hours again... Sigh.