Beach Baby.

This afternoon we went and had lunch with my college roommate Parissa, who drove down to hang out with us. We decided to go to San Clemente and had lunch at the pier, and once we got there, I realized that we've totally neglected to take our little California girl to the beach this summer. So after a nice meal and a stroll down the pier, we went and dipped her toes in the ocean for the very first time.
I think she liked it!

Our busy day followed up a busy weekend. Sunday afternoon we went to a first birthday party for Ellie's friend Tre, the oldest in our group of baby friends. There's 8 of us who get together regularly, and our babies span a three month time period. It's funny how when we first started hanging out they all seemed to be so far apart in age, and now as we approach toddlerhood, they've very much alike in terms of their skills and their milestones. Check them out!

Hunter got a little fresh with her. Probably because she bit him on their last playdate.

Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Sunday family dinner.
Here are te boys during some excellent babysitting. Jake let her crack her face into the coffee table, but thankfully, she didn't end up with a shiner this morning.

Before we left, Grandma gave her a bath and read her a few stories. Is this not the sweetest picture you've ever seen?

Stuff and Things.

The weekend is only half over, but man am I tired. Today I went to the gym in the morning, and then Ellie and I went to the gem show with our friends Kristen and Lexi. It was a fun trip - we put Ellie's "big girl" carseat in the car and let Lexi be the guinea pig in it (so we could fit both girls in the backseat) and then both Kristen and I had a baby in an Ergo carrier. When we walked into the fairgrounds, some woman goes "how cute! Are they twins?" Umm... no? This is actually the second time we've gotten that, and I always wonder, do people think that we have twin girls with two mommies? Because Kristen and I look even less related than the babies do.

Ellie helped me pick out a few new shinies, and was generally pretty well behaved in her carrier. She took a big fat nap right after we arrived home though. This evening we went to a coed baby shower for our friends Brooke and Ryan, who are expecting a little boy in October. It was so sweet - several of their family members came over and said "THIS is Elizabeth! We're heard so much about her and how beautiful she is!" She is a tiny, minor celebrity. She did pretty well and we stayed out a little bit later than normal because she was pretty giggly, all crammed up next to me in the Ergo with a water bottle to chomp on.

Tomorrow we have our first First Birthday party for one of her baby friends! The oldest of the group turned one on Tuesday, and it seems like we'll have plenty of parties between now and Thanksgiving. Even though most of the girls are back to work , we've all kept in touch for the most part, meeting up for the occasional lunches and evening play dates at the park. Several of us have expressed that going to Mommy Matters class and meeting our little core group of 8 has been an absolute lifesaver. Even if we're not always on the same page about parenting techniques or lifestyles, we're all very supportive of one another and we've become real friends. I compared becoming a new mom to your first days in the dorms - you have a set of questions that you always ask "how old's your baby? What's his name? Where are you from? What's your major?" and you have be willing to be way more outgoing and less judgmental than you normally would, because you never know who might end up being your best friend. This week has been extremely busy in terms of play dates, but I feel like if I can, I never want to turn down the chance to get out and about, see my mom friends and have Ellie interact with her fellow babies. Even if sometimes, she does try to give them a little chew on their noggin.

Here are some other things she's been up to, in photographic form:

We went out to lunch with Grandpa and Grandma on Thursday - and Ellie even got to sit with her Grandpa before Grandma pulled her back in!

She can pull herself up on our coffee table now - a week ago she needed a hand to get up. Her outfit is because it has been HOT at our house. Sometimes, the easiest thing to do is to strip a sweaty baby down to her underoos.

We got a new entertainment cabinet (well, new to us. We bought it from Ed.) The old one is currently hanging out in our living room until I can find a new home for it via the magic of craiglist. In the meanwhile, Ellie can put herself up on it as well. Look at her little tippy toes!

Her nap this afternoon. Why would you sleep in a crib when you could have a great bed like this? Most of the time, she still naps in my lap, but Tim reports that bedtime no longer requires that she suck his finger in lieu of a pacifier. Slowly but surely, she's growing up and getting a little easier to have around.

A Few More.

Here's a couple more pictures from the company picnic on Saturday:

Here we are, taking our 10 month old on the ferris wheel like a bunch of IDIOTS. This picture does not display how desperately tight I am squeezing Elizabeth against my body.

Crisis averted, here she is with a mug full of fruit, being cute for the camera of one of Tim's coworkers.

We've had a tough couple of days, and on Sunday, we realized that she's got a gap in her gumline were a new tooth is breaking through. She's getting a canine. That's right. A vampire fang. Nothing better than a baby with a sharp! Thankfully, she hasn't used her new one to bite anyone yet, unlike last week when she left tooth marks on her little friend Hunter's arm.

The rest of the week is pretty busy in terms of baby dates. I realized today how lucky I am to have found a wonderful group of moms who are becoming my friends, not just "mom friends." I'd hang out with them even if we didn't have childrenses! It's nice to be Ellie's social secretary - thank goodness for Google calendar!

Party Party!

Today was Tim's company picnic. It's funny to think last year we went after a morning at CPR training. I thought I was so huge pregnant then - too bad I still had 8 more weeks of baby baking to do!

So last year I didn't get to do much because I was huge pregnant and not approved for any of the rides. This year I didn't get to do much because I had a 20 lb baby strapped to my chest, and was wearing a dress (not a good look for the ride that flips you upside down, I guess.) But we still had a good time.

After we ate, we got Ellie her first tattoo. I think it's very pretty and feminine!

We also rode the Ferris Wheel, which unlike her Auntie Sara, she quite liked. She was a little crabby during the loading portion, but while we were actually going, she thought it was pretty good. It was just a little nervewracking because they wouldn't let me keep her in her carrier, and I was waiting for her to fling herself out of my death grip.

Then after a snack, she fell asleep in her ergo, having toyed with my necklace for long enough. I love my Ergo carrier. It has a zippered pocket so I can carry my wallet and keys with me, and it has a hood that snaps up for when she falls asleep - her head is shaded, and I don't have to worry about her neck suddenly sagging backwards and waking her up with a snap. It's also more comfortable for me to wear long term now that she's turned into a hefty lump of baby.

Overall, a great day. I can't wait until next year, when she's actually able to partake in all of the games. And I will be more prepared to partake in all of the rides and other activities!

X.

Can you believe it? Elizabeth Beans is officially 10 months old. Time feels like it's going so fast. I can remember when she was a tiny newborn, wondering what she'd be like at six months. Never did I think we'd get this far. I mean, I thought for sure I'd be institutionalized before now.

But I'm not! And motherhood gets better every day. Except for the days when it really sucks, but those are pretty few and far between with a baby as cute and funny as Miss E.

At ten months, Ellie can:

-crawl with purpose. She doesn't crawl on her knees though - she uses one knee, and then the other leg is sort of crabbed up behind her and she uses her toes to push off with that foot.

-pull herself up on the furniture

-do some cruising along the coffee table

-take a few slow steps if you're holding her fingers (she is not very enthused by this though.)

She's beginning to understand words. She stops what she's doing and looks at me when I tell her no. She will look for Auntie Sara if you ask her where Auntie Sara is. She claps if you ask her to clap, and sometimes waves if you ask her to wave (waving is way less fun than clapping, apparently.) She mimics the way we say "kitty" some of the time, and today when Auntie Sara sneezed, she faked a sneeze of her own.

She still loves swimming, loves the pool and bath time too. She likes coming in the shower with me in the mornings if I have time.

She loves small children and animals, especially dogs. She shrieks with joy at them when we see them in public, and she chases after our cats pretty frequently. Thor is exceedingly alarmed that the small human is now on the move. Rocky is the most patient and least irritated with her. Petunia still hates her with a fiery passion, but takes her aggression out by leaving revenge craps on the carpet.

She's just such a funny little lovebug. She laughs uproariously when I sniff her feet and make gagging noises, declaring how smelly her tooties are. The last few nights, she's gotten the giggles during her last nursing session before bed, which earns her a couple extra goodnight snuggles and kisses, because it is just SO CUTE.

This month we have transitioned out of her crib. She kept waking up every time she bumped into the walls and wailing, but she'll sleep all night through if she's in the center of the queen mattress in her room. So we bought her a bed rail and called it a day. Upside: I don't have to fight to transition her to a toddler bed when I need the crib for a hypothetical second baby! I mean, I get it. I wouldn't want to sleep on a sheet from Babies R Us when I could sleep on Macys Hotel Collection 600 thread count sheets. Baby skin is very delicate you know!

In short, Elizabeth is a dream come true. Even when she's a tiny baby nightmare.

I call this "do you know how to open the door?"

A couple of videos of Ellie's newest skills:

Stupid Human Tricks.

LOOK AT HOW SMART SHE'S GETTING!

Electric Ladyland

Ellie Belles and I have had such a great week this past week, with all of our girlfriends. It was so nice to have Becca staying here with us, and then to go over to mom and dad's to hang out with Great Lisa and Auntie Kate and go swimming in the pool. It's a good thing my little lady wasn't a boy, otherwise she might have been real bored.

Here she is being a regular sack of taters with Auntie Becca.

She is not quite getting the joke with Great Lisa at Mr. Pickles. Thankfully though, everyone enjoyed Mr. Pickles. As you do - that place is delicious.

Her face in this picture cracks me up. She is wondering if someone tooted. I think Auntie Kate probably did it.

Here she is with all the girls, right before Auntie Kate had to head to the airport (Ellie then had to head for a nap.)

Now that she can stand up, she is all about standing and pulling herself up and doing more standing. Now she can stand on her own in the shallow end of the baby pool!

THIRTY!

Here's the first blog post from an old lady. Old and creaky and taking Metamucil with every meal.

Just kidding. I feel much the same as I did at 29, strangely enough.

Becca and my party was amazing. We had a great turnout, some fabulous costumes, good food, good drink and a wonderful evening of hanging out and chatting and laughing. It was perfect - from my friends to my family, I could not ask for anything more. My little walrus was a total doll throughout the party and happy to be passed around from grandparent to grandparent to friend and then RIGHT BACK TO GRANDPARENT GIVE HER BACK. And I must admit, in the hecticness of the party, it was nice to have a couple of minutes to sneak away and curl up and feed my baby girl. No matter how old I am, she will be the best present ever and I am so lucky to have her, her unbelievable daddy, our sweet little cats and our warm, happy little house.

And here are the pictures!

Here is my costume! Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

There were a lot of diamonds. A LOT. Also, lots of fake eyelashes.

Here the birthday girls with our wee birthday walrus (me in my alternate costume, due to sweatiness.) Becca's outfit was In My Life, with the names of people and things she loves.

Our Yellow Submarine cake, along with the other delicious desserts.

The ladies of the Miller clan - a blackbird, Molly Jones from Obladi Oblada, Two Lucys, one Walrus and a Beatles superfan

The fabulous Fords - Tim's back in the USSR, Eileen was the Fool on the Hill, and Don is Let it Be.

All You Need is Love, loving on a certain little baby friend.

Ellie's friend Carina, and my friend Christine and her husband Dan - winners of one of our best costume prizes. They were Here Comes the Sun and they even got Carina a onesie that says "little darling," from the song.

Honey Pie Kelly, For You Blue Ian and Cry Baby Cry Jonathan (another costume winner!)

And our final costume winners - Jackie and Ken as Eleanor Rigby and Sgt. Pepper. Jill was Heather Mills (very funny and snarky) and Janet was Strawberry Fields. My knitting ladies are the best. Or rather, moms knitting ladies who also let me be their friend because I have a cute baby.

One of my favorite pictures from the night - mom rocking out on her ax to Beatles Rock Band.

Almost Birthday!

The old blog has been pretty quiet lately because we've been pretty busy! Tuesday we had an excellent swim lesson. The instructor has started letting go of Elizabeth while she's in her back float, and she floats herself for a few seconds. Then we went to go see Great Lisa, who had arrived in town for her summer holiday. It's so fun that she's getting to see Elizabeth so often, and that she's so much bigger and more fun each time she visits.

Then on Wednesday, the happiest day ever, Becca flew in to town! She and Kate were supposed to be on the same flight, which was awesome. Except that around 3am their time, their flight got canceled. Becca was able to book herself on the flight to LAX that landed around the same time as their original flight, but poor Kate spent almost the entire day at O'Hare, waiting to get finally put on a flight. While we usually avoid driving up to LAX to retrieve visitors, it was worth it for our Auntie Becca, and plus the timing was perfect to scoop her up and then jet off to Bottega Louie for lunch together. Ellie behaved herself (mostly) and thankfully, the restaurant is pretty loud. Last time Becca was here Ellie was only nine weeks old, and all she really did was lay around and cry. Now she's a real person! Crawling, waving, clapping, eating portobello mushroom fries!

Today we hung out and relaxed in the morning and then headed over to finally see Auntie Kate, who'd arrived around 10:30 last night (but thankfully, got into Santa Ana instead of LA.) Ellie showed off her crawling skills and then clapped for herself when she'd launched her chubby buns across the room. Mom got some alone time with her little babydoll while the rest of us went and got our hooves done, which was incredibly sweet of her. Too bad Becca was loud and mouthy and we embarrassed ourselves at the salon by laughing too hard. THEN we went and bought fabulous fake eyelashes for the upcoming costume party. I'm feeling ready to go! Now if only we had the food all bought and the house cleaned. It'll happen in time, I suppose.

Tomorrow it's time for some serious party prep... after tumbling class of course!

Get that Kid a Wheelbarrow!

Crawling's hard when your head is so huge.

Working Out.

Here's a few more highlights from today's baby gym class. GETTING RIPPED!

Doing a little time in the hole.

Harnessing a dolphin for an awesome ride (sorry about the picture quality.)

Hanging out in the ball pit, thinking "SAVE ME, UNCLE JOHN!"

And shooting the cannon!

Like Father, Like Daughter.

Up Hair.

How do you like my new haaaaair?

We're Gonna Win Twins!

(...except when we don't.)

Yesterday one of my mom girlfriends emailed us and asked if we wanted to join her in her company's suite at the Angels/Twins game. I of course, jumped on it, since Dad said he didn't care if I went, seeing as I'm already dead to him for taking Ellie to see a game in April (a stupid Angels game! It didn't even have any good Twins players!) I was able to get two tickets, so I brought the two biggest Twins fans I know - Ellie and Auntie Sara.

It actually worked out great, because dad was also at the game, in another suite. We got there in time to see Bert throw out the first pitch to his grandson and then got some snacks and settled in. The suite was amazing. There were 12 seats outside, and then it basically had an attached living room with a couch, a nice chair, a TV, a bar and your very own bathroom. It's perfect with a baby - we were able to set Ellie and her buddy Jonathan down and let them wander around, it was air conditioned, and we could walk around with her if she got fussy. Ellie did GREAT. Very little fussing, overall. It helped that we had Auntie Sara there. She snapped the ergo carrier for me and she was always ready to put her hands over Ellie's ears if the noise got too loud. Kelly remarked after Sara left that Ellie is lucky to have such a great, attentive aunt.

We did get a chance to go over to Dad's suite and say hello (and eat some of their catered food, as you do.) It was really a nice evening, and she did so much better than I ever expected. I changed Ellie into her PJs before we headed out, and she slumped over in her carseat on the drive home. Hopefully she'll sleep in tomorrow!

How embarrassing. We're all wearing the same shirt! (Sara and I have our names on the back - Ellie's is a Joe Mauer shirt.)

The view from our seats

Shot of the sunset from Dad's suite

Ellie and Jonathan having a stare down!

"Gramps, why is my team losing!!!"

Seis.

This weekend, Tim and I celebrated our sixth holy weddiversary. And we did it up right, because both sets of grandparents volunteered to watch the baby so we could go out and celebrate. So we double dipped and got Grams and Gramps to take her on Saturday so we could go out for a nice dinner, and on Sunday we brought he to Grandma and Grandpa's and then we ditched out to see Harry Potter and have something to eat. It was so hot and humid in Yorba Linda that the theater was packed and we ended up having to go see a later show. To pass the time, we went to Knowlwood and had milkshakes and beer, and played some air hockey. I sadly, sustained an air hockey injury. That's why I lost three games straight. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Ellie had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. Check it - they taught her how to walk!