Toe Sucking! YUMMY!

Oh yeah, and on Sunday, Miss Elizabeth learned something NEW...how to SUCK on her BIG toe! Yummy! So, she is rolling around alot more! She is continuing to TRY her darndest to figure this crawling thing out. She sticks her butt in the air and whimpers b/c she doesnt know what to do next! She's making progess though! The other night she was trying so hard, I swear I saw her push her tummy up off the ground, but, thats all she could do, and it only lasted for a split second! She's becoming more flexible, as you can see! She is sucking her toes now! She is still trying to pull her toes closer to her mouth so its not such a work out, but...hey, ONE toe is better than NONE! I'm thinking her next accomplishment will be sitting up on her own. We've put her up against a pumpkin and she held herself up for a few seconds, and I have put her up against the couch and once again, she has held herself up for a few seconds. I'm hoping she learns to sit up before she starts standing, but who knows! I tell yah though, my child has ambition! (I wish I had some!). When she sets her mind to something, she's pretty good about making it happen!

1st step: BIG TOE in the mouth, 2nd step: sticking her foot in her mouth! Ill have to make sure she has clean feet from here on out!

Rock On' Brew Crew!

We watched the Packer's LOSE on Sunday, but we also watched the Brewer's WIN! Elizabeth was pretty excited! (Almost as excited as Daddy!). Looks like we should have had her wearing a Brewer's outfit instead, but...she looks so darn cute in this Packer's outfit that her Great Aunt Debbie gave her!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

WOW! I've been slacking a little on this blog page. I should have looked to see where I left off last week. Any-woodle...We had a wonderfull weekend! (Friday night Mommy & Daddy enjoyed a date night to the movies. We saw Burn After Reading with Brad Pitt & George Clooney. It was a good flick.) Saturday though...OH! Saturday was a blast! In the AM I made a trip to Spring Green to meet up with the girl that had an Exersaucer for me for $10. She emailed me pictures, it looked decent, so, hey, for $10...let's get it! We met in the parking lot at Culver's. When I looked at the exersaucer, I couldnt believe she only wanted $10 for it! It was in GREAT shape and was used by FOUR kids! What a steal! I couldnt wait to get home so I could wash it up (it looked clean, but, you know those germs like to hide!) so Miss E could start playing with it! We went to a couple garage sales on our way back home. I found a few things for Elizabeth for when she's closer to 18 months!
Once we got back home and after I wiped down the saucer, I got E in it to see what she thought! SHE LOVED IT! She had a blast, but only for a few minutes, b/c the poor girl was starving! In the meantime, Jamie had called to let me know he had the afternoon off from work (well, I am sure he could have found SOMETHING TO DO, but, he chose to want to spend the afternoon with us!). We packed the vehicle back up and headed BACK to Spring Green. This trip was to Pecks Farmer's Market. I've never been there before, so I wasnt sure what to expect, but I had just heard it was a neat place to go in the fall with the kids. And sure enough, it was AWESOME! There were pumpkins galore, and there was a petting zoo, horse drawn wagon rides, mini-haunted houses, and of course, the farmer's market! And it was ALL FREE (except the farmer's market!). We donated a few dollars to help feed the animals, but otherwise, everything we did was FREE! The animals were GREAT! Donkeys, Llamas, Goats, Birds, A Pig, Miniature Horses, Deer, An Aligator, and MUCH MUCH MORE! Elizabeth was very good the few hours we spent there. I wasnt sure how she'd do, but she was great! We had her in her stroller part of the time, carried her around the other part. I hate to keep her cooped up in that thing for too long! But most of all, mommy & daddy enjoyed our day much more than we expected!! We found a mini-pumpkin for E to bring home,and then we called it a day! And what a day it was! We had SO MUCH FUN making memories as a family! And the weather cooperated! That was the best part! We were all pooped by the time we got home. What a great day!

Saturday night we didnt do too much. Elizabeth slept most of the evening, which, I was worried she wouldnt sleep that night...but, she did! She woke to get her PM dinner in, and was back to bed by 10pm!

Rockin' Rollin' Little E

A couple weeks ago, Elizabeth learned to roll over. She could/can only roll over from her back to her belly, and only to the left side. (I think I've mentioned this before). Anyways, there were times when I could tell she was trying so hard to roll back onto her back from her belly,but she just didnt have the strength to do so. Well, NOW SHE DOES! The first time it happen, I missed it. But I KNOW it happen because she was 1st laying on her back in the living room on the floor, and I saw her roll over onto her belly. I went into the kitchen to get something,and when I came back out, she was back on her back again. Magic? I dont think so! My girls got skill! So of course, I was treating her like a little pooch saying "roll over, roll over!" Come on mom! She's not a dog! She doesnt do tricks!
With time though, later that evening, she did it again, all on her own. She was rolling back & forth from back to belly, and belly to back. I was so proud of her. I couldnt wait for Daddy to come in from the barn so he could see it too. BUT, of course, by the time he came in that night, she was so tuckered out, she didnt have the energy to perform her newly learned "trick"! She is still trying her hardest to get scootching around, but she just can't get it all figured out. This still frustrates her! Someday! Someday soon, I'm afraid! I better start baby-proofing the house. I know I keep saying this, but its about time I actually do it so its DONE!
She has a little v-tech ball that her grandma gave her,and it makes noise, sings songs and rolls on the floor, on its own. It's a unique toy, but very entertaining for both E and I! Anyways, one of the songs it sings goes "Rockin Rollin' little ball, how I wonder where you'll roll..." So, now I sing that song to Miss E "Rockin' Rollin' little E, how I wonder where you'll roll!" Doesnt have quite as nice of a rhythm to it, but it works! Now that she is capable of rolling over, she is usually rolling off of the blanket that we lay down for her, which, for the most part is fine, because we have carpet, but, no matter how many times one vaccuum's the floor, you never know what kind of bugs are living beneath the surface! ICK! I get the willy's just thinking about it!

Stealing the Bink!

The past couple days have been fun, and full of accomplishments! First off, I TOTALLY FORGOT to mention in my shopping trip blog, about how Miss E stole the pacifier from me. I put Elizabeth's pacifier in my mouth (gross & full of germs, I KNOW, I KNOW!) and I picked her up to carry her. Now, we've (Jamie & I) done this before...had her pacifier in our mouth...and she has NEVER done anything. She looks at us a little goofy,but thats about it! But, on Saturday, lil' ELizabeth saw that Mommy had her binky and she YANKED it right out of my mouth & tried sticking it in her mouth. She obviously knows now that the pacifier is HERS and only HERS! LOL! So, she TRIED sticking it in her mouth, but was sticking it in backwards. She couldnt get the darn thing turned around so the nipple would go in her mouth. She has that problem alot lately. Even when she is laying on the floor playing. If her binky falls out, she can reach for it and pick it up, she just cant figire out how to get it from her hand, and into her mouth...the right way! She uses the nipple as the handle to hold on to and she just can't seem to get it turned around so she can suck on it. Its pretty entertaining to watch. She eventually gets frustrated and just flicks her pacifier away and either fusses, OR continues to play with something else. That's her new things now, though..since Saturday. Anytime I put her binky in my mouth she takes it right back away! It's kind of our little game we like to play! Sometimes she likes it and thinks it's funny, and sometimes she just gets plain ole' mad because "Darn it Mom, that's MY bink!"--if only she could talk!

Elizabeth's First Shopping Trip (To Madison)

I packed Elizabeth up on Saturday and we headed to Madison to do some heavy duty shopping! The main intention was to get me (Mommy) some new clothes, but of course, now-a-days, that NEVER happens. I find it hard to buy for myself knowing there are things Miss E either needs now, or will be needing in the future! I will just have to make due with the hundreds of articles of clothing that are in my closet, in my dresser drawers and lingering on my bedroom floor! (For goodness sake, I have even taken over 1/2 of Elizabeth's closet with clothes I NEVER wear!). I really need to go through everything and DONATE DONATE DONATE! Whoa, what a tangent, back on subject now, Kate!
Anyways, we met my long lost friend, Stephanie in Madison. (It was SO GOOD to see her! She came to visit us in the hospital the day E was born, and you know, she is the ONLY one that came to visit us that I DONT have a picture of in the hospital...and we took LOTS of pictures!). So we met up and the 1st store we went to was a 2nd hand store called "Once Upon a Child"...on Gammon Road. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! (Thanks Jessica for letting me know about this place!). It was basically like one big garage sale. Tons of kids clothing, all barely used. One outfit I got STILL had the tags on it! It was maybe a $15 outfit and I paid maybe $3 for it. I was able to find a winter jacket (in perfect condition) and a winter bunting (again, perfect condition) for Elizabeth to wear this winter. Everything else I bought her will be for next summer. She doesnt need any more clothes for now! The girl has a ton of clothes (she is already taking after me!). For lunch, we went to the OLIVE GARDEN! I know, you're jealous! Soup, Salad & Breadsticks (& DESSERT!) YUM!
We wandered over to the Mall, then to Shopko, and then to TJ MAXX and final destination...Target. It was a LONG day, but we had so much fun, and Elizabeth was SO COOPERATIVE! She had so much fun! (well, I am assuming she did beings she was SO GOOD!). She didnt even fuss when she got hungry!! I definately rewarded her with lots of new stuff (for next year!) for being such a good lil' shopping buddy! Shopko had some really good deals as well. I bought her 2 new swim suits for next summer, for les than $5 (total).
Needless to say, Elizabeth was tuckered out by the time we got home. (It was about 7:30pm when we pulled in the driveway!) She slept most of the way, and was very hungry when we got home! We let her stretch out and play around for a little bit in just her diaper, before we dressed her in her PJS and left again for another birthday party! WHAT A BUSY DAY! She was so happy to be out of the stroller/carseat/or having someone hold her, she loved playing on the floor with her toys (after she ate of course!). She was all smiles! When I went to pick her up to get her jammies on I noticed WHY she was all smiles! She happen to relieve some "pressure" and it squished out of the front of her diaper and smoooshed all over the blanket she was playing on! Thank god for Dreft Stain Remover! Thank god, after some scrubbing & soaking...the "stain" was removed and we are all able to play on that blanket once again! LOL!
What a successfull shopping day! I probably shouldnt start her out so young with these shopping trips...but we had so much fun! It was so great to spend time with Stephanie and catch up on lost time. Miss E loved spending time with her as well! Maybe someday Aunt Steph & Josh can make Miss E a little friend to play with! :-) (HINT HINT WINK WINK, Steph!)We will have to meet again, sooner than later!

The Weekend with Nana Ann & Papa Dan

Last weekend my parents came to visit. I LOVE IT when my parents are able to come see us. They came up on Saturday early afternoon. We had a birthday party to go to for my cousin's hubby. Elizabeth didnt take to Paps Dan very well b/c he scared her from the get-go with his goofiness, and that poor girl did not forget all weekend. I felt bad for my dad b/c everytime he held her, or even looked at her, she cried. She has never had a problem with Papa before, so I'm hoping it was just a one time deal! She has always been a Papa's girl. Everytime we see my parents, it seems my dad is the 1st one to take Elizabeth from Mommy and play goofy with her!
This time around though, it seemed as if Nana Ann had the upper hand, and could make Elizabeth happy and comfortable! Nana Ann was also able to spend more time with E beings there were no other kids or distractions that she had to "attend" to! They were able to witness Elizabeth's roll-over, and smiles, and laughs. They even got to watch part of the Packer game with her. She LOVES her packer games!

Like always, their trips are never long enough! There is never enough time in the days/nights! It's hard living 1 1/2 hours from my parents (but I do realize it COULD be worse!). There is jealousy at times when I know my parents get to see the other grandkids way more often that they get to see Elizabeth, but that's just something I will have to deal with, unless I move closer to home, which at times, I am tempted to do! I just dont want Elizabeth to play strange when it comes to seeing Nana & Papa. It will break my heart. It makes me remember how things were when my niece Hailey was younger, and I had moved away. For the longest time, she played strange with me b/c she never saw me, and this broke my heart. But, once she got older she would remember me, and I wasnt a stranger anymore.
Before my parents left on Sunday my mom layed Miss E down for a nap. That little girl MUST have been tuckered out from her visit with Nana & Papa because she slept for 4-5 hours STRAIGHT! It's been a while since she has taken that long of a nap! I had to periodically check on her to make sure she was still breathing b/c this long of a nap was just unheard of lately!
It was a great weekend, and of course we were all sad to see mom & dad go. But, I know we will see them again soon, and I am sure that there will be new things for them to see next time.

We Survived the Shots!

Well, we survived Elizabeth's 4 month check up on Friday morning. She got her shots *again*, and of course, she cried and I cried *again*. (Not as bad as I did the first time. The first set of shots at her 2 month appointment, I think they hurt me more than they hurt her. This time around, it was just a few tears on my part,and then I grabbed her off the table after the last shot was given, and we both felt MUCH MUCH better!). I rewarded her with a *cheeseburger* (I fed her!) after the nurse left, and a shopping trip to Madison on Saturday! Sounds like she got a pretty good deal!
Before I get too far off subject, I should probably tell you that Miss E weighed in at 17lbs 3oz and is 25 inches long. She is at the 90th percentile for her height and 97th percentile for her weight! The doctor commented that it looks as if she is eating "plenty"! LOL! I think he was just trying to be "be nice" and not say "WHOA! Look at the leg rolls on that girl!" I think he knew better b/c we warned him that she gets upset when people talk about her weight (and age!). He told us that we can introduce some rice cereal to her diet if we want...once again, stating that she looks as if she is doing JUST FINE on breast milk! I still haven't decided yet when/if I will giver her any cereal quite yet, but, we have some on hand if I decide to any day soon. We'll see how her eating habits go for this week (last week she seemed to eat alot more than usual, so I dont know if she is going through a growth spurt, or just needing to be fed bigger bottles b/c she is just hungrier). Anyways...we'll see if I can or can't keep up with her demand and then we'll go from there. Ideally, I'd like to wait until 6+ months before introducing anything else. There are alot of things I would like to "wait for" but only time will tell. We continued to give her tylenol a few hours after her appointment, as well as before bed, b/c I am sure her chubby lil' legs were going to be sore. She didnt fuss much, if at all, Friday afternoon/night. She did take a super long nap once we got home though. Once again, she took a much longer nap than what I was used to. It worked out for everyone...I was able to sneak a little nap in myself, as well as get SOME housework done! I am sure I also created more mess than what I wanted as well! Ahhh...that just means there is more for me to do if/when she takes another "long nap" in the near future!

On The Move and in the Mouth!!!

Elizabeth is in the beginning stages of being a mobile unit in our household!! (I think it will be time to "baby-proof" our house sooner than expected!) She is able to push her upper body up when she is laying on her tummy, playing on the floor.She then sticks her little but up in the air and kicks her feet. She resembles a fish out of water at times! Soon enough she will figure out that she has to use her arms to push up her stomach off the gound in order to move about. She gets frustrated when she can't figure things out, but that just means she tries even harder! Elizabeth has found a way to move about though. She does the infamous "ARMY crawl"...kind of anyways! Somehow she manages to move on her belly, but I dont think she realizes what she is doing! I can put her on the floor with her head facing the kitchen, and with in 5 minutes, she is totally turned around and facing the front door. This my friends (and family!) is a true sign she will be scooting around soon!
Elizabeth loves tummy time, but, like everyone, she gets bored when she gets stuck doing the same thing over & over again for long periods of time! If you put her on the floor, on her back, within seconds, she is rolling over onto her tummy trying to reach for anything she can stick in her mouth! Even if there is nothing around her (within a 1-foot radius) she finds her way to it!! (And whatever she finds...it she finds a way to get it in her mouth!)
Elizabeth chews on everything....her toys, mommys hand, my shoulder, arms, stuffed animals, blankets. Whatever she can get her hands on! I am sure that she will be getting some teeth in soon as well. It's just a matter of time! She has a pretty firm grib, for being such a young one! She LOVES to hold onto Mommy & Daddy's fingers. I think it gives her security, especially when she is trying to fall asleep! Speaking of sleep, now that she is moving around more, I have noticed (when she is with me anyways) she gets tuckered out quicker, and likes to take her naps. This past weekend, she slept for FOUR HOURS straight! I couldnt believe it! She has been sleeping through the night since before I even came back to work. This has been absolutely awesome!
We have her 4 month doctor's appointment this Friday. She gets her 2nd round of shots. Once again, I am sure Mommy will cry! I think it hurts me more than it hurts her! When we took her in for her first round of shots, I really think that was the hardest thing I have had to do as a parent, thus far. It is this doctor's appointment that they will probably tell us that we can start feeding Miss E ceral/rice with her "mommy's milk". I know some people/doctor's suggest introducing cereal at 4 months, some say 6 months, because it gives the child more time to develop, and introducing foods too soon is a great way to find out if your child has allergies. So, I am debating when I want to start her on cereal. Any suggestions?!
It's not like she is a starving child! She eats very well! Sometimes too well!
That's enough for now. But, I will be keeping you posted as she keeps on the move!

I created a collage of Elizabeth's pictures from the past month or so...just to show how much she has changed, and how adorable she really is! She looks different in every picture! MOST of the time, she looks exactly like Jamie. SOMETIMES she looks like me!! She gets her BIG eyes from me, but, everything else comes from her daddy! She is her Daddy's daughter, that's for sure!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Elizabeth Grace turned 4 months old on Friday and I realized that I have not been doing a good job of documenting her life. Sure, I make notes in her baby book, but, I decided that I really should do a detailed documentation of her life so I can share her life with my family and friends!

She has accomplished so much in the first four months of her short life. She is jabbering baby-talk all the time. She has the most beautiful smile that a toothless infant can possibly have. She is rolling over (from her back to her tummy, and so far, only rolling to her left side!), and pushing her shoulders & chest up off the ground. She watches things very closely. She LOVES to watch baseball & football with her daddy! She seriously, will sit and just stare at the tv screen in great determination to figure out why the guys are wearing such silly outfits, and running with a brown ball on the pretty green grass!

Elizabeth has been such an amazing addition to our lives. I wake up every morning, patiently waiting for her to make her morning noises to let me know she's awake and ready to get going for the day. (Unfortunately, there are some days that I have to wake her from her slumber so I can get her dressed and fed so she can be ready to go to Grandma's for the day.)