So Much to be Thankful For

Thanksgiving is just a day away and this year, I have SO MUCH to be Thankful for, thanks to my Miss Elizabeth! She's been such a ham the past few days! I can't help but laugh just thinking about all of the funny things she has been doing. Whether it is a funny look or expression that she comes up with, a funny sound that she makes, or just the way she plays with her toys. She is still making an empty tissue box her favorite toy. Who would have thought!
Elizabeth's legs are getting so strong! When you go to put her on the floor to play (sitting down), she FIGHTS to stay standing (holding your hands of course!). She's attempting to pull herself up on thing....attempting being the key word. She just doesnt have all of the strength needed to pull herself totally up, but, she sure tries! And when you are helping her stand, she has such great balance, and even tries taking a few steps. She'll be walking before she crawls, I think! She gets so excited when she is standing up. Her mouth just opens wide and she has a grin on her face, ear to ear!
She is doing excellent when it comes to trying new baby foods. She drank more milk than usual at Grandma's this week (well, the two days that grandma had her anyways!)...so I think she hit a growth spurt again. I also think her teeth are really bothering her. She still just has the two bottom teeth, but I think she's working on some top teeth lately, just by the way she's been gnawing on things!
We had her 6 month doctors appointment on Friday. She is 27 inches long (90th percentile) and weighs 21.3lbs (97th percentile). The doctor always comments that she "eats well!". I mentioned to Dr. Johnson that she has been waking in the middle of the night to eat the past month or so...and that before that she was sleeping perfectly through the night. He suggested NOT feeding her when she wakes, and to just let her cry! OMG! I dont know if I can do that! LOL! Just kidding. It made my day to hear him say that. I know it will be easier said than done, but at least by hearing him tell me that I DON'T always need to feed her when she wakes, I feel more comfortable just nudging Jamie to "go & check on her!"...otherwise, he was sleeping right through the night because he couldnt wake up & feed her, beings I am still nursing! What a relief! So, I was interested to see how easy or hard it would be to "just let her cry"...but, it just so happens, that since her doctor's appointment on Friday, Elizabeth has been sleeping through the night! I couldn't believe it! She must have heard the doctor tell me not to feed her at 3am anymore, and so she figured.."whats the point of waking up anymore if mom's not going to feed me!"
I'm off work now, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday...so I will be spending LOTS of quality time with Miss Elizabeth! I'm not sure what we'll do, (I definately know I'm not taking her our shopping on Friday, thats for sure!), but, it will be nice to wake up with her every morning, and not have to worry about rushing about, getting ready for work, then getting E ready for Grandma's. This weekend....we'll do things at our own pace! I can't wait!
It will be a fairly busy weekend...we just wont have to be up at 5:30am everyday! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving at my mom & dad's. Friday night is a hockey game in Madison. Saturday is Jamie's families Thanksgiving in Black Earth, and Sunday we have to go to church so Elizabeth can get her Baby Bible. All babies that were baptized in 2008 will recieve a bible from the Pastor. I guess it's a tradition at Jamie's church. I guess it won't be such a bad thing! Its been a while since we've gone to church as a family!
Anyways, I must run to the store now to pick up my groceries for my salad I must bring to mom & dad's....then...a night at home with my babe...and we'll probably make some more funny memories! I will be posting pictures next week. I am running out of time! I hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving. Take a moment, and remind yourself of all the things in your life you have to be thankful for. I am going home now to see the two people that I am most thankful for! Jamie & Elizabeth. Then tomorrow, I will see the rest of the people I am thankful for...my family...then...Saturday...we'll be thankful to be with Jamie's family!
God Bless and Safe Travels!

Homemade Baby Food

Over the weekend, I attempted to make my own baby food for Elizabeth. It was a pretty successfull attempt, I must say! Making baby food is ALOT cheaper than buying it at $00.38/every 2.5 oz of food! (Give or take!) So, I bought some banana's, carrots, chicken and avacodo to steam & puree. Who would of thought it would be so easy! It was fairly time consuming, but, really easy! Now, I am not so sure how much Elizabeth will like the avacodo plain (as I only like avacado when its made into guacamole!)...it has a pretty hard taste to it, but, we'll see. For one of her meals this weekend, I mixed some pureed chicken & carrots together. She wasn't too keen on the taste (or maybe it was the texture) of this concoction, but, she managed to choke it all down! I think it was because it wasnt as smooth & creamy as the store boughten foods. It was still pureed up pretty well, but, not as well as the professionals get it at Gerber! In the meantime, I have bought some sweet potatoes, green beans, and pears to work on in the next few days. I'll prepare it all, and freeze it, and use it when I run out of the store bought food I have. I have some squash stored in the freezer from earlier. I plan to feed that to Miss E as well. She seems to like squash. Squash & pears seem to be her "favorites" so far. Well, these are the two foods that she makes the least amount of "icky" facial expressions with!
I plan to research some more on baby food recipes. A friend gave me a website today that I have to check out wholesomebabyfood.com. I havent looked at it yet, but will be sure to do so, right after I post this! I'm hoping it points me in the right direction for more ideas! Anything to save a buck!

And another tooth breaks through

Sunday, November 16- We found another tooth had broken through in Miss Elizabeth's little mouth! She now has two little teeth on her bottom gums. Too cute!! They are kind of hard to notice, beings they are fairly new, but, pretty soon, our little girls going to have a mouthful of teeth when she smiles (which is ALL THE TIME!). This little girls LOVES to smile. And she is very good at entertaining herself, which is a life saver when I am trying to do things around the house!!
Another weekend has come & gone, and I was so excited to be able to spend every minute with Elizabeth! Going back to work full time (which I have been doing for about 4 months now) makes me miss Elizabeth so much during the week. So, it makes me really look forward to the time I spend with her on the weekends. The memories we make are priceless! I try to capture as many memories in pictures or on my video camera, but, I've learned that I usually miss some of the best moments while I am gone looking for my camera!! So, my memory is jam packed full of memories & moments that I will (hopefully) never forget!
Sunday night I was feeding Elizabeth her supper (chicken/carrots). She didnt seem to like the new flavor/texture. The look on her face every time she took a bite was priceless. She would make a sour face, but, always open her mouth for another bite. I think it was just a flavor she needed to get used to! Anyways, after so many hilarious looks on her face, I paused the feeding, and went to get my videocamera. I just had to get this on tape! It was too funny! Well, low & behold, as soon as I turned the camera on, Elizabeth started being goofy & was smiling while she ate, acting like she really liked her chicken/carrots conconction. I couldnt believe it! She totally changed her facial expressions as soon as the record button was pushed!! She is such a ham. I think she knows when the camera is on and when a picture is being taken of her. She instantly turns into a little clown! I have so many priceless pictures of her! (Thank god for digital cameras and big memory cards!! And I can't afford to print off EVERY picture I take, so thank god I can pick & choose!). And going through all of the pictures I have, starting from Day 1, I can not believe how much Elizabeth has changed (& GROWN!). She used to be so long & skinny...almost too skinny! But, not she is (still long) but also...filled out! I have to be careful when talking about her weight. She is sensitive (just like mommy!).

More milestones...

Last night I continued to be entertained by my Miss Elizabeth! She's going to figure this crawling thing out if it's the last thing she does! Once she gets in the crawling position, she does this little "hop" thing with her butt and she moves. Wow! She's figured out a new thing! But, I think it takes up too much of her energy because she does this little hop thing once and then goes back to laying on the floor! However, along with the hop, I also noticed/witnessed Elizabeth actually take a "step" while trying to crawl...she made all the right movements with her hands/knees, but, once again, did it for a very short distance before going back to just laying on the floor & playing with her feet! She also has figured out how to go from the crawling position to the sitting position. I couldnt believe it. Well, I could, because my daughter is super intelligent, but...I was suprised it happen when it did! She still isnt too gracefull in going from sitting to crawling, or from sitting to laying down. Its usually more of a ker-plunk...and she hits the ground! I tell yah though, she's got a strong noggin b/c she has had her fair shares of hits to the head and has hardly ever cried. (Whether her head hits the floor, or lands on a toy, or she forgets that she is on hardwood now instead of carpet! Whatever it may be, she finds a way to clonk her head on something!) She has some very strong legs, and I am pretty sure she will be holding herself up against furniture soon as well. It really is amazing to witness her make all of these new accomplishments & milestones!

Eating my Fruits & Veggies

Carrots seem to be the messiest, but most fun to spit out!


She needs a drink of water to choke down some of the new flavors!



Mmmmmm...Yum!


Yeah, look at me! I'm a ham! (A messy ham!)

6 months old, already!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 marked Elizabeth's 1/2 birthday. I can not believe that little girl is 6 months old already! I have a weird way of looking at it...sometimes 6 months seems like an eternity, sometimes it seems like such a short period of time. I guess it all depends on what it is that we are talking about. It seems like Elizabeth's 6 months outside of the womb has gone by much faster that the last 6 months of her being in the womb!!

I don't even know where to start when it comes to talking about all the joys and memories E has brought to my life in the past 6 months. And all of the changes she has made in her development as well. It's really overwhelming! We've recently started feeding her cereal and stage one baby foods. I've let her taste carrots, green beans, applesauce, bananas and pears. (Pears being the most recent, as that is what she had for breakfast today, and I really think it's her favorite so far!). In the morning, I tend to like feeding Elizabeth fruits, as, they are really, the least messiest, and I dont always have the most time to feed E, and then get her all cleaned up for Grandma Bonnies! Usually at night, when she gets her veggies, I have to put her in the bath tub and scrub her up...from head to toe!

What has Elizabeth accomplished in the past 6 months? Well, she is sitting up on her own. Rolling over (this seems to be her main means of transportation!). She does the army crawl VERY well...this gets her from point A to point B pretty quick as well. She is getting up on her hands and knees and making baby steps (no pun intended!) when it comes to actually crawling. She rocks back & forth ALOT and does this little hop thing with her bottom. It works for her, I guess! She has wondered off her "play blanket" and is scooting all over the living room now. She has even wondered into the kitchen! She has noticed there is a different feel between the living room floor (carpet) and the kitchen floor (wood). She hits her hand on the carpeted floor...and then she hits her hand on the wood floor. She knows there is a difference in the feel and the sounds they make! OH! She got her first tooth on Friday (I've mentioned that in a previous post!). She' s growing like a weed. Her 6 month doctors appointment is next Friday, so I will let you know then what her stats are as far as height & weight. But, to put things into perspective, she is wearing 6-9 months clothes (12+ month PJs) and is ready for the next size up, sooner than later. She has super strong legs. WOW! She can stand up very well (if you're holding her of course!). And if you lean her up against the couch, she can hold herself up for a few seconds. When she is getting frustrated in the crawling position, she sometimes pushes herself up into the push up position. She's making all sorts of noises. No words yet, but...soon enough I am sure! She does this thing...she makes the farting noise with her mouth/tongue! Its hilarious! She will do that ALL day long. Covers herself in drool...then she pants like a dog!

For the most part, she is a very happy baby! I used to be able to say she only crys when she is hungry, but thats not the case anymore. Now she crys when she is hungry, as well as when she is tired. And boy, oh boy, is she a bear when she is over tired! And now that she is teething, I am quite sure some of the crying is due to the pain. I don't blame her. I wish I could take the pain away! (I've tried with baby Orajel and/or baby Tylenol, but, that only works for so long!).
She keeps an eye on mommy and daddy. Her little eyes follow us where ever we go! She does really good with following where sounds are coming from. Like, if one of us is in the bedroom and the other is in the living room, she knows to look towards the bedroom b/c she knows thats where the other voice is coming from. And last night...it was too funny! I was talking to Nana Ann on the phone and Elizabeth was beginning to get cranky (it was time for her bedtime snack!). So, I put the phone next to E's ear and let Nana Ann talk to her...she got silent! And she was looking at the phone, confused, wondering why she could HEAR Nana Ann, but she couldnt SEE Nana Ann! I really thought mom's voice was going to put her (ELizabeth) to sleep!

Anyways, lots of new things going on every day. Sometimes I think "I can't wait for Elizabeth to be able to crawl/walk/talk/ect"...but then other days I patiently wait for those things to happen, b/c I don't want to wish any time away! Time goes by fast enough! I will enjoy the happenings of now, and just look forward to the new things to come!!

A Friday of Firsts!

Friday, November 7, 2008- Elizabeth's FIRST tooth broke through her gums!! For the longest time she had a soft white dot (kid of looked like a white head on her lower gums), and now, where that white spot used to be, there is a tooth! It is on the lower right hand side. I am sure it bothers her upper gums when she smiles and does things with her mouth b/c I have noticed that she holds her mouth different when she smiles and makes certain noises! I couldnt believe how fast the tooth broke through though, b/c just the day before I was feeling her gums and felt NOTHING! So, we celebrated the new tooth by taking Elizabeth to the UW-Men's hockey game. (We were planning on taking her anyways, the new tooth was just a bonus!) She did AWESOME at her 1st hockey game! (WOW! Friday was a day of FIRSTS!). We had her dressed in her Wisconsin Badger hand-me-down outfit. She was too cute for words! While we were at the hockey game, we not only got to see Elizabeth on the big screen (the cameras really zoomed in on her! It was awesome!), but we got to get our family picture taken with Bucky Badger!

Elizabeth was definately the entertainment at the hockey game! Everyone thought she was just the cutest thing ever! Well no kidding! Look at her mommy & daddy! LOL! She did well through the whole game. She got a little fussy when there was 2 minutes left! It was a WIN for the Badgers and an awesome family night for us! Weather permitting, we'll be taking Elizabeth to many more hockey games!!

Monkeying Around

Elizabeth spent alot of time Monkeying Around this weekend!!
(And I think she may have found a new friend to play with!)

Sitting Up on Her Own

Elizabeth has also learned to sit up on her own! This just happen within the past week or two. I really wanted her to be able to sit up by herself before Halloween, so she could actually sit up in her pumpkin costume, and just the week before she learned to do it! She is getting so strong! Here, she has found the remote for the TV...she was having fun pushing the buttons. She watches TV just like her daddy...DO NOT DISTURB her when she is watching it! Just yesterday, we were watching the Packer's play. She loves to watch football! Anyways, she was happy go lucky when the game was in play, but as soon as there would be a commercial break, she would get fussy! EVERY SINGLE TIME! It's funny watching her sit up though, because, she hasn't totally figured out how to gracefully go from the sitting position, to the laying/scooting position. She usually just falls right over & is hoping that there is nothing hard under her that will break her fall! She has been pretty lucky that she hasnt bonked her head (too hard) yet! Pretty soon she will go from the sitting to crawling position like there's nothing to it! And pretty soon, she will be getting into EVERYTHING!

Taking Her First Bites...

So, despite the uneventful Halloween, It was however, the date of a big milestone! Elizabeth took her first bites of rice cereal on Friday, all dressed up in her (2nd) halloween costume. She seemed to like the rice cereal. I mixed it with breast milk. I didn't think it tasted too good, but, she liked it and kept wanting more!! I just gave her a few spoonfulls for now, beings I wasnt sure how she would react to it. Which, I am glad I didnt give her much more than what I did, because, she spit it all up about an hour later when she was playing with Daddy! I assume this is normal beings it was like putting foreign food into the little girls tummy! (And by the taste of it, I would have probably spit it up as well! ICK!). As I have mentioned before, I was pretty spoiled with Elizabeth sleeping through the night, but last week, wasn't so pleasant. Almost every night she woke in the middle of the night wanting to be fed. So, I thought with introducing cereal (and soon enough real food!) maybe she would sleep better through the night b/c her tummy would have a little more substance in it. Well, this didnt work either b/c she still woke in the middle of the night for a feeding. And Saturday night/Sunday morning she woke up TWICE in the middle of the night to be fed! This did a number on Mommy as I really didnt get any sleep over the weekend! We were pretty busy on Saturday, so she didnt get to try anymore rice cereal, but I tried again on Sunday. This time I gave her a mixed fruit flavored rice cereal. This tastes much better! Plus I mixed it with diluted apple juice. And speaking of apple juice, I decided I would let Elizabeth drink something other than "mommy's milk!", so I put some diluted apple juice in a sippy cup for her to see how she would take it! (She has never used a sippy cup before either, so this was an adventure as well!) She would taste it, give me a dirty look, and then go back to drinking it! She seemed to like this as well, despite the dirty looks! I'm not sure how much of it she drank, as her bib was soaking wet by the time she was finished, but, at least we're trying new things! Overall, feeding her the rice cereal went well this weekend! I will keep her on the rice cereal for a little bit, and then mix in some fruits & veggies with the cereal soon, so she can get a taste of those flavors as well. I am hoping that once she starts eating more "food" she is less demanding on the "milk" consumption. This weekend was hard!! Seemed like she ate every 2 hours on Sunday. I couldnt keep up with her. I wonder if she was going through a growth spurt this past week. She was due for one of those I suppose. Last night she slept right through the night! (AMEN!) But, she was OVER- READY to eat when she woke up and she let me hear about it! The girl has lungs! I am pretty sure her teeth are bothering her too. She was very fussy last night and it was hard to calm her down. So, because of this, I am very suprised that she slept through the night! She is also becoming attached to mommy, I think. Not that this is a bad thing, BUT last night, for about 4 hours straight, any time I left the room, she would just scream, and as soon as I would come back, she would calm down only to scream some more. And of course, I had a ton of things to do last night (laundry, dishes, other cleaning, supper,ect) that all had to be put on hold, so my little girl didnt have to freak out. I hate to say it, but once a parent is put in the position of letting a child cry, or tend to their needs, its so much easier to just let the child have their way!! (I HOPE I dont continue to do this!!) But, with knowing that Elizabeth is really usually a good baby, I feel that she was just in desperate need of some TLC when she gets in these moods. It really doesnt happen often that she needs the attention that she screamed for last night. Thank God! It was nice that I was able to get a good nights sleep last night as well! We'll see how long this keeps up! I am hoping it was just a phase or a growth spurt! Another week of sleepless nights could possibly send me straight to the loony bin!

All Dressed up with No Place to Go...

Friday, October 31, 2008....Elizabeth Grace's 1st Halloween! I'm afraid to say it wasn't too eventful, in the "dressing up and parading Elizabeth around town" aspect of it all. We did dress her up in a cow costume and Megan & Summer & Bonnie came over for pictures, but other than that, we didnt do much other than play & clean. I was ok with this as I really didnt have many places to take Elizabeth, and I had ALOT of cleaning to do. Elizabeth was tuckered out as well. She took a nice long nap, which helped me get some housework done! And by the time she woke up, Megan & Summer came over for pictures & candy. Once they left...we wondered into the next milestone...eating rice cereal!!

Happy Halloween 2008!