Things that shouldn't be told mid-Mtn-Dew-chug...

Michael: How did this morning go? Were you able to get ready and feed her and everything without too much trouble?

Me: It wasn't too bad, actually. I let her sleep in until 7:15, got up and nursed her and then I got ready and she played with tampons. Then we went down and ate breakfast.

It's about time...

It's been almost 3.5 months since we came back to CO from MD, and I appreciate you being patient about the pictures. Finally! Here they are!

March Pictures

February Pictures

January Pictures

A lesson in Ellie talk

"Hi!" - Eh!
"Hold me!" - Eh!
"Look at this." - Eh.
"Here, take Bun Bun." - Eh?
"Give me Bun Bun back" - Eh?
"NOW!!" - Eh!
"Let's go over there." - Eh.
"See the cat?" - Eh?
"What's this?" - Eh?
"Can I see that?" Eh?
"I want to see that now!" - Eh!
"GIVE ME!" - Eh!!

The list goes on and on. It's actually quite amazing how large her vocabulary is with the single sound! I find it fascinating, but I'm ready to move on. Bring on the cute words!

Some things should be illegal

You know how the world tends to present events with great timing? And by "great" I mean "strange"?

Yesterday I got an email from my college friend. This friend, just so happened to have her first baby on the same day as Ellie was born. For the last year, we've been writing monthly emails to each other to catch up and see how things are going. This time, in my "Happy Birthday, Hailey!" email I asked my friend if she was still staying at home. As it turns out, she is still a stay at home mom (used to be a Chemical Engineer) and loves it. She can't imagine missing out on any of the things that Hailey does because she changes so quickly.

So of course, this makes me feel guilty. Sometimes I wish I could spend more time with Ellie, even if overall I think that daycare is actually the best thing for her. Anyway, yesterday I spent the day wishing I wasn't at work and instead I was playing with Ellie.

And of course, when I go to pick her up at daycare, of all the days... she chose yesterday to start walking. I mean really walking. She has been spending the last week trying, but never really succeeding at staying standing after taking a step on her own, but yesterday her teacher said "She's walking! She took 4-5 steps a few different times!"

UGH!!! Why? Why on the day that I feel so guilty about missing out on time spent with Ellie? I've decided that it should be illegal for daycare personnel to tell working mothers that their babies took their first steps. That way the mother will go thinking that the first ones happen at home and that she didn't miss out on anything. I think that sounds completely reasonable!

Toe fettish

We have a new game in the household. Ellie has decided that it is her goal in life to get our toes into her mouth. I personally feel like she's setting her standards a little low and that she can accomplish much more than that, but she doesn't seem to be interested in hearing what I think.

So now she tries to stick our toes into her mouth and we make a big deal out of it. There are lots of "Ewws!" and "Yucky" and "Gross!" sounds that come out of our mouths and that just seems to encourage the little one even more. She thinks it's hilarious that we try to stop her. She'll laugh and laugh everytime she gets close to succeeding, only because she knows that the closer our toes get to her tongue, the more her parents squeal.

It's because of this "fun" game that she has learned that if we say "Eww! Yucky!" it's her cue to stick whatever it is into her mouth. Hmmm... how do you undo that one?

It's different when it's your own...

I remember years ago we saw a baby boy at the airport. He was just starting to learn how to walk and had on squeaky shoes. Every time he took a step, he would be rewarded with a squeak. He obviously got a real kick out of them.

As cute as it might have been, it was also the most annoying thing I can remember about that day. The plan was delayed and everyone was in a bad mood, and yet there was this constant "squeak squeak squeak" sound that you couldn't get away from. It was frustrating.

Fast forward to now...

My little was has the cutest little pink shoes! Wanna hear the best part about them? Get this - They squeak whenever she walks! OH MY GOD!!! THEY ARE THE CUTEST THINGS EVER!!! Though Ellie isn't quite walking by herself, she understands that the squeaks come from her feet. So, now when you say "Squeak squeak" to her, she bounces her butt up and down until he feet squeak. SOOOO CUTE!!!!

The blue mat special

We've been pretty lucky with Ellie because for the most part she sleeps really well. Our bedtime routine is pretty simple. Here is our formula:

1. Mommy nurses Ellie
2. Daddy gives Ellie a bath
3. Mommy reads Ellie a book
4. Mommy sings Ellie a song
5. Mommy leaves Ellie in her bed

Last night, though, Ellie added an additional step to the routine:

1. Mommy nurses Ellie
2. Ellie rolls around naked on the blue bathroom mat
2b. Daddy gives Ellie a bath
3. Mommy reads Ellie a book
4. Mommy sings Ellie a song
5. Mommy leaves Ellie in her bed

Apparently she thought that the mat was just the softest thing she's ever felt on her skin. Ever seen a dog try to scratch an itch that it has on its back? Well, that was Ellie - all squirmy on the bathroom floor for a good few minutes.

If you are like me, you might ask "why tonight, and not before?" The answer to that, my friend, is that tonight I helped her "walk" into the bathroom instead of carrying her (she is soooo close to walking on her own). And as soon as her little foot went down on that mat, she stopped and looked at it and then collapsed onto the floor. Maybe you should have been there, but try to believe me that it was hilarious.

Good thing she's so cute

A couple weeks ago we had a guy come out to show us some carpet for our new house. He was a big (not fat), tall guy. When he went out to get more carpet samples, Michael said "Wow, he is a really big guy!" Soon afterwards he returned and when he did, Ellie stuck her hands way up in the air to say "Sooo big!!!" In that moment in time, we were thankful that she still couldn't say anything out loud.

We've come a long way, Baby!

Words can not describe how I feel today.

The big day

Tomorrow is the big day! I am officially dumping the pump! Woohoo!

Well, technically speaking, I dumped it last week because I had *just* enough stored milk to make it through tomorrow. However, I've been so busy unpacking and with the new job that I didn't have the opportunity to tell you. Sorry.

But Woohoo! anyway, right?

Let's celebrate! Milk's on you!

Fond memories

I just found out that a good friend of mine is pregnant and I couldn't be happier for her. I find myself thinking back on my pregnancy and how much I enjoyed the whole thing. Sure there were annoying moments like morning sickness and acid reflux, but overall my pregnancy was quite pleasant. I hope my friend, C, has the same experience. Congrats, my friend! I'll try not to be too envious. I wanna be pregnant again!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

There are a few examples of decisions that I've made in my life that I wonder what Ellie will think of if she were to learn about them when she gets older. One of those would be this recent decision to change jobs after having accepted a different offer. In the end, I know I made it very difficult for the small company because they have a big deadline September 1st, and they have been waiting for me to start work for almost a month now. They could have been looking for someone during that time, and that's a lot of time when you have so much to do with such a short deadline.

I wonder if Ellie will appreciate how it was a difficult decision for me to make and if she will think I made the right one. Or, if she'd even care. I guess that's an option too.

I just hope that this decision really is what is best for my family and that it won't come back to bite me in the future, like Ellie being diagnosed with ADD sometime.*


* Disclaimer - I'm really not that pessimistic, but I do feel bad for what I have done to this small company.

Scapegoat

Everyone needs someone to blame for their problems or even their decisions, right?

My scapegoat has become my daughter.

I got a job offer today. Huh? Yes that's right. I got a job offer even though I already accepted a job. This second job seems to be a fantastic fit for me. However, even putting that aside, there are a lot of pluses to it that the job I accepted just can't beat:

Advantages to second job (compared to the job I accepted)
- Higher base salary (10% higher)
- 5% Bonus (no bonus)
- 3 weeks vacation, don't keep track of sick leave (3 weeks personal leave total)
- 5% 401k contribution (no 401k)
- 5k Flexible spending accounts for healthcare and daycare (none)
- 6-8 weeks paid maternity leave (leave w/o pay)
- FMLA leave for 12 additional weeks (too small to comply w/ FMLA)

I think it's a no brainer. The only problem is that the job that I have already accepted is also a fantastic opportunity. It's an interesting project that will really make a huge impact on childrens' lives in the future. It would be a good experience. And I LOVE the people.

This second job offer also has people who I think I would like and it would also be a good opportunity. But... I hate to tell this small company that I am going to quit the job I just accepted.

But really, can you blame me? In the end, isn't this second job (forget the fact that I think it's a better fit in general) the best thing for my family because of everything they are able to offer? Am I not obligated to do what's best for my family? Or is that just my excuse to justify me being greedy?

Now we just need a horse

We closed on our house in Boulder today! Woo hoo!

One of the things that made us smile was that we realized that the path behind the house leads to Grandma's house. So, we can really mean it when we sing:

"Over the river, and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go..."

Hissy fit

I think that Ellie is going to mess up her entire class on the day that they learn about Old Mac Donald's farm. The naive teacher will sing "Old Mac Donald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o, and on this farm he had a cat e-i-e-i-o..."

And Ellie will wisely say "Hiss!"

She's no dummy. She's had entire conversations with cats already. She goes up to the cat, and the cat says "Hiss!" and she smiles and says "Hiss!" right back!