Did You Know?

You can buy melonheaded babies in bulk at Costco now. And once you've made your purchase, you can steer them by the sample stations and fill them up on free lunch. (Ellie on the left, her buddy Clare on the right.)

Wearing a Great Dress...

...doesn't mean you can't get a little dirty.

Down to One.

My love bug is officially a one nap a day baby, and I have to be honest, I love it. Most moms worry and stress when a nap is dropped, but it just seems like it's streamlined my life.

And let's be honest - six weeks ago I spent up to three hours a day HOLDING my 25 pound baby so that she could take naps. So any sort of alone time/naptime/bedtime is more than I had before.

Last week on Monday and Tuesday she took a morning nap, and then was an angry bear jerkwad all day long. No afternoon nap, no matter how hard I tried. So I decided that we would spend a little more time being awake in the morning, and go down sometime after noon. It's been a revelation.

Somedays she naps less than she did formerly (for instance, she'll only nap for an hour, that's it) but I feel like for the 45 minutes of nap time I lose, I also lose 45 minutes or more of time stuck in her room, trying to rock her to sleep, trying to shush her and pat her back while also trying not to get frustrated and irritated. Now when we do nap time, we go in, we stand and rock for a couple of minutes and I tell her that it's time for a nice nap, it's time to go to sleep, and usually, the second I lay her down, her eyes flutter and she's out. I usually lay there and count to 100, then sneak away and go celebrate in the living room. I also feel like there's less rushing and stressing about timeline. I don't have to get home in the morning to get her down by a certain time. We don't have to leave the park in the afternoon so that she can have a snack and nap by 4pm. We just hang out in the morning, and then have all afternoon to do as we please.

It's not a bad life.

From Hop Hops to Quack Quacks.

After the fun of the petting zoo on Saturday, Sunday Ellie got to hang out with waterfoul when we visited the boathouse at East Lake Village. Grandma and Grandpa know how to show a girl a good time!

Grandma got her a cup full of duck feed, and Mr. and Mr. Mallard came over to visit her (the Mr. Mallard closer to the left later bit her on the leg, but Ellie did not really react.)

She did not quite understand that feeding ducks was not quite the same as feeding bunnies.

She loved her time on the boat, especially the mushroom puff appetizers that were made available.

Plus she wrestled the wheel away from her grandpa, AND insisted that she get to put her cup in the captain's cup holder. She's a naughty one.

Not pictured: she pooped her pants, and while trying to convince Ellie to sit quietly, Eileen ended up with poop on her jeans. That's why I avoid Ellie and her bomb diapers at all costs.

So, our boat ride was ended early, but there was still a whole night of delicious food and fun with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Jake. Next time duckies, next time.

Hop Hop/It's Got Fangs!

We decided today to take Ellie back to the petting zoo, since she is officially obsessed with rabbits (or as she calls them, hop hops.) Every time we pull up to mom and dad's, she wants to get out and see if there's any rabbits at the end of the street, and then several times during our visit, she requests to go check on hop hops again. The part that cracks me up is that mom tells her that you have to be quiet when you approach the hop hops, and so now when Ellie talks about rabbits, she goes "hop hop!:" while waving her hand to indicate hopping, and then puts her finger over her lips and shushes us, to indicate how nice and quiet you need to be. It is just about the cutest thing ever.

So this morning we got dressed and ready in our new bunny shirt from Grandma, and some sweet new pants from Children's Orchard, and headed to San Juan. Ellie was immediately impressed and pleased, and we spent close to an hour chasing rabbits around, petting guinea pigs (which she also called hop hops) and looking at the larger animals. The petting zoo also has a slide, so that was a big hit.

It's so fun now that she's at an age to enjoy going out and about and seeing new things. Seeing her happy little face makes me feel like I must be doing something right. Afterwards, we went to El Maguey for a little lunch, as Pedros Tacos closed down yesterday (RIP.) And now she is home taking her nap. Who knows what fun the rest of the afternoon will hold? (I do know it will involve me trying to mend her pants, or buying little patches that I can sew on.)

"You guys, are you seeing this? There is a hop hop here!"

"THIS IS A REAL HOP HOP OH MY GOODNESS HOP HOP!"

"Mom? Mom? He is eating my pants."

"Excuse me, little hop hop, but i think there is something amiss with your ears. Maybe they will grow in later?"

"This place is pretty awesome."

Picture Dump!

Not much to say, but a little something cute to show!

First off, yesterday Mom achieved a months-long dream and bought Ellie a Capistrano hat from the trading post in San Juan.
At first, Ellie didn't like it.

Then she discovered it had a whistle and she LOVED it! Upside: the whistle doesn't really work, but what does she know? I know that it doesn't bother me any!

She continues to be thrilled with it today. Here she is, practicing for the Swallows Day Parade next month.

After our walk today, she took her baby for a walk. The stroller has her baby, her cell phone, a photo album, her keys and some chain. She is putting on her bracelet so that she'll be dressed up enough.

So, the other day we were over at mom and dad's (and as you can see, Ellie was wearing her amazing Missoni for Target sweater that her Grandma snapped up for her.) It was kitty treat time, and so mom was giving the kittens a few pieces of turkey breast. Ellie butted in, because she also loves turkey breast. So I look into the kitchen and see that Rocky is getting some turkey, then Ellie is getting a bite of turkey, back and forth. Then mom goes "oh Ellie, you and Rocky are having a turkey party!" and I could not stop laughing. She loves some turkey parties!

Valentimes.

It was not our best Valentines ever of all time. The molars are hurting Ellie, but they are killing me. I swear. I try to keep her comfortable and dosed with baby Advil. If only they had a mommy-patience drug that I could take (I think it's called rum? But perhaps not the best for afternoon usage.)

But we had a nice time hanging out with Grams and Grizz and Auntie Sara today, even though there were no naps. ONLY FUSSING. And then, running around like a crazy baby person. Also, eating the inside of an entire Baja taco by herself, and following that with a fairly hefty slice of meatloaf. So perhaps teeth plus growth spurt?

She does love her Auntie Sara though.

And her Auntie Sara's baby Rocky. Oh those kittens, always getting into trouble together!

Oh, and Grams and Grizz sure do love their kitten!

Blurry bonus: she was quiet in the kitchen the other day, and I came out and found her sitting at the stool I made in middle school shop class like it was an old fashioned desk. While shoving her string cheese into the outlet.


Just kidding on the last part!