Bah Humbug!

We did our annual Christmas photo shoot, sans Dame Catoe, on Saturday morning. We missed her, but I think Danny did a good job. This is how she really feels about photo shoots, but she enjoyed being outside on the beautiful grounds of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection.

On a completely different note, Elizabeth's weekly day at preschool always goes smoothly. She never cries when I drop her off. I've figured out why: It's the pampers my mom bought her. They have Elmo on them, and we don't have them at home. She knows that when she goes to school she gets Elmo diapers. The last two Mondays one of the first things she does when she gets there is go up to her teacher, Judy, and say "Elmo diapers." I can't believe the pull of brand name products has already got her in its grasp.

18 months

At this rate, I'll only be blogging at E.A's annual check-ups. There has been a lot going on. We bought a house and moved and that's been kind of crazy and we are renovating our new house which has been more craziness and we have tons of stuff to unpack which is even crazier and, and, and.... We love our house and we have cool new red furniture and we're happy about moving forward.

E.A. got her 18 month check-up today. I'm not at all satisfied with her measurements, though. They had new ways of measuring and weighing her, and I'm not convinced that they are accurate. Anyway, they said that she was 33 1/2" long and
29 1/2 lbs. That means she grew 1/2" and gained 3 1/2 lbs. Possible, but I think she gained more like 2 lbs and probably grew at least an inch. Anyway....she was healthy and happy and cried the most she ever has when she got her shots. 3 this time. She got the MMR shot, which is a big one. No more shots until she's 4. YEA!

15 Months

Elizabeth had her 15 month check-up last week. She's growing like a weed! When the nurse measured her at 34 1/2 inches long, and then the doctor came in, he re-measured her. The nurse had messed up and she was actually 33 inches long.
"On the charts, not Amazonian" were the doctor's exact words! She was 26 pound, which puts her at the 95th percentile for height and the 90th percentile for weight. She's not gonna be a petite girl, that's for sure!

This was the first doctor's visit that she seemed to know where she was. And she wasn't happy to be there. She cried and fussed a little, and watched the whole time while she was getting her shots. She got the Chicken pox shot this time. Next time, at 18 months, she gets the dreaded MMR, among others. After that, no more shots until she's 4. Woo Hoo!

The Gym

One of my goals this summer is to get in shape. So I decided a gym was a must. After a failed attempt at one gym (another customer service NIGHTMARE -- oh cruel fate...) I found my way to the oasis that is the YMCA. They are friendly and helpful and wonderful. Today was the first day that I took Elizabeth to the childcare room and went and worked out. I was nervous leaving her there, and actually snuck down once and peeked in on her. She had a blast! The girls said that she spent a lot of time just watching the other kids, and then she starting exploring the room and looking at things and playing a little. When I went to pick her up one the workers was holding her and looking at things out the window with her. They said, "Please bring her back...she's so sweet." That made me feel really good. I know that she's wonderful, and it makes me happy to share that with others.

Sick!

Elizabeth had her first official sickness. Last Friday, I noticed after a short walk that she seemed warm. I took her temp. and it was 100.7! Danny took her to the doctor (one that was referred by her regular doc who was on vacation). She had a virus, one that we could even name -- Roseola. It gave her a fever for 3 days, she didn't eat much, she was cranky and fussy, and then she broke out in a rash at the end of it that cleared up in a day. Not such a big deal. But when your child gets sick, and it's your first one, you freak out. I was so worried about her, taking her temperature all the time and constantly monitoring her condition. We even got up in the middle of the night to check on her. She had a mild stomach bug a couple of week ago, but it wasn't so bad so we just waited for it to pass, which it did! But this was different. I was so worried about her. We gave her tylenol and motrin every 4 hours, and I kept taking her temp. constantly. We even missed a family shrimp boil / swimming party with Danny's family. That was a bummer, but that's the way it goes. Apparantly, this virus is responsible for the first fever in more than 50% of babies. We found that on the internet.

She's better now, and growing so fast. I look at pictures and I can't believe how fast she is changing. She's babbling so much now. She can say several words, like Momma, Daddy, ball, duck, baby, bye, la-la (for her cousin Lauren), and circle, kind of. She mostly just babbles consonant and vowel sounds. She understands TONS. She can wave, and give hugs to people and her dolls. It's so amazing to watch her grow and learn new things every day.

Sonic Stinks!

Well, this blog is an infrequent update on the life of my daughter. I write so seldom that I'm sure no one reads it anymore. But I just had to vent about my trip to Sonic today.

I went out to run a few errands, and decided to pick up a fresh-fruit slushy for the trip. A summer treat that I always enjoy. Long story short...I got to Sonic, ordered my strawberry slushy, and the girl came out and told me that it was $2.75. I was like, "what??" On the menu, all of the drinks were listed with one price at the bottom, ranging from $1.39 - $1.69. Since I ordered a small, I expected to pay about $1.50.

I asked her about the price, and showed her the menu. She huffed and puffed, grabbed the drink, stormed off, and said she would ring it up at that price. She mumbled something about fresh strawberries being more expensive, but ran away before we could discuss it. She came back out and had a lower price, and I looked at the slushy and just prayed that she hadn't spit in it or something gross like that. Elizabeth and I both drank it and we're O.K.....so far.

I showed her the menu again, and suggested that maybe they should list a price for the slushy. THERE WAS NO PRICE LISTED FOR THE SLUSHY. She looked at me like she wanted to shoot me and said, "I"ll put that in the suggestion box." And she was a manager. So unbelievably unprofessional and RUDE. It annoyed me, and I drove away from Sonic disturbed and unhappy.

I don't think that Sonic is the only place where good customer service is lacking. There are a lot of businesses in this community with helpful, friendly employees, but more and more that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. We need a customer service revolution!!!

Summer is Here!

I officially began my summer vacation this week. Except for a few days of substituting, I'm spending the entire summer home with Elizabeth. Last night our 9 year old nephew, Logan, spent the night with us. Elizabeth loves having company, and we had fun playing putt-putt this morning at Nocalula.

Elizabeth had a first this week: throwing up. I went in her room to check on her like I do every night before I go to bed and she was lying next to a giant pile of throw up. So gross!!! We got her up and cleaned her up, and she went back to bed. She got sick again the next morning, but then was fine all day and didn't get sick again, so far. I was worried about her, but she seems fine. Of all of the things that scared me about motherhood, throw up was probably the worst. I just have always had a weak stomach and didn't think I would be able to handle it. With Danny's help, we made it through the first episode.

Elizabeth's language development is really growing. She can say several words, like Momma, Dada, ball, duck, la la, and bye-bye. And she understands a lot! She goes to the gate when I say "let's go upstairs." She goes in the kitchen to the refrigerator when I say "It's time to eat." She goes to the door when I say, "Let's go get the mail." She can bring me different objects that I ask for, like, Pooh, a ball, her bunny, or a book. It's so awesome to see her learning new things every day. She gives hugs now. So if you ask for a hug she will give you one. And she's obsessed with phones, not play ones but real ones. Especially cell phones. She called Jim on the phone this morning while she was playing around with my cell phone. Sorry, Jim!

She's One and Daddy's a Doctor!

Elizabeth is one year old. She turned one last Friday, April 13. Danny successfully defended his dissertation on March 2. His advisor told him that it was the best dissertation he had ever supervised. I'm so proud of him. We are looking forward to Danny's graduation on May 12. He's worked so hard and really achieved something amazing and significant. On the night of his defense, and after the grueling annual International Food Festival, Tom and Charlotte and Tammy and Clay came over to congratulate Danny and just celebrate with him. It was really special. I can't believe that Elizabeth is one. She is such a doll. She's walking now. She went from crawling, really fast, to taking a few tentative steps a few weeks ago, to walking 5 or 6 or 7 steps, to just walking across the room. Now she's practically running around. She walks really fast, and it's kind of scary because she walks around with her hands waving around in the air, and half the time she's holding on to something. This week it has been the ADORABLE wooden utensils that Patsy gave her with her name engraved in them. They are awesome, and she loves them, but she's turning them into weapons. She seems to be taking a break from her paper fascination. She's really into clothes now. I put a basket of outgrown clothes in the living room and she just sits there and stands there and takes them out and plays with them forever. It's funny! It's definitely better than playing in the bathroom/toilet, her second favorite place to play. And it's easier to pick up and a little safer than her other hobby, taking all of the tupperware lids out of the drawer in the kitchen.

The birthday party was a success. It was really crowded -- more than 20 people, but it was fun. Alot of Danny's family came, Tricia, Roy, Brittany, James and Anita, Grandmother, Elaine, Tracy and her boys, Eric, Jennifer, Logan and Lauren, and my parents were there. Tony and Dee came with their little girl, Kayleigh who turned one in January and that was fun. Of course Jim and Patsy came. Elizabeth loves Patsy so much. She is so wonderful with her. She has been such a blessing as Elizabeth's babysitter this semester. Lanny and Debbie came, and for moral support my friends%2

Working Mom

Well, it's a new year and new me. I've now joined the ranks of the working mom. There's them and us, and I'm an us. I really liked being one of them, a stay-at-home mom, but I'm trying to get into the swing of the whole working mom thing. The first few weeks have been kind of rough. The first few days I was just kind of in a fog, and then the misery started kicking in. I missed Elizabeth so much, and I spent at least half of my time thinking, "what in the world am I doing HERE!!!???? I should be with my baby!" I actually told my students that I missed my baby, and they said they could tell. Not good. That was a turning point. I knew I had to get my head in the game. Last week was better. My classes were better. I focused on what I was doing in class instead of wishing I were somewhere else. I never work overtime, like I used to (unpaid, of course), and when the end of the day comes I can't wait to come home and see that little face smiling at me. And I really enjoy the weekends. That's nice. When you're home all the time, the weekend doesn't matter.

Elizabeth has changed so much. She's 9 months old now. At her last check-up she weighed 19 pounds, over 4 pounds heavier than at 6 months. 5oth percentile. The doctor said that was good. She's pure delight. She's getting stronger, and smarter. She crawls so fast, and tries to open every door and drawer that she can. She loves to shred paper. That's her number one hobby. She loves all major appliances. Especially the dishwasher. I'm sure at night that she dreams she's pulling everything out of the fridge and throwing it on the floor. That would be her idea of a good time. She loves to take things out of bins and containers, and throw things down on the floor that are on tables. But she can't put anything back. Sooooo, our living room pretty much looks like a disaster area all the time. But that's o.k. She says da-da-da now. Danny says she likes him best. I just say, "It's linguistics, baby. Language acquisition only. I'm still the mommy!" She makes us so happy. I've never felt joy like the joy she brings me. It's like the feeling you get at one of those moments in life where everything is good. Like on a trip with people you like, having fun, eating dinner at the end of a fun-filled day, and just feeling like you're happy at that moment and nothing else matters. It's like that, but over and over again because you feel it every time you look at her.