NEW PHOTOS! FINALLY!

August 8, 2009

August 7, 2009

July 4, 2009

July 3, 2009

July 3, 2009

Riding The Original Ducks in the Dells

Riding the Ducks with Daddy

This is the FIRST TIME Elizabeth ever fell asleep while eating supper! TOO FUNNY!

Chillin' on the back deck, sittin' her big girl chair!

Gettin' ready to take a dip!

Sauk County Dairy Breakfast- Petting Zoo, she LOVED the goats!

Miss E's new hiding spot! Under the kitchen sink!

Climbing...higher & HIGHER!

Everyday seems to be a new experience. E's learning/finding new things and mommy & daddy are putting things up higher & higher. Just throwing things on the table & counter tops used to be "high enough"...no longer is that the case. And we have a climber on our hands. I found E on TOP of our kitchen table recently...I was so afraid I couldnt speak...as I knew if I would have showed her a loud reaction, she would have fallen off the table. So, she's climbing on kitchen chairs, recliners, rockers, couches...OH! She has learned that she if she takes her chairs/toys and steps on them, she can get a wee bit higher! Aigh Aigh Aigh. She is afraid of NOTHING! Which, is scary!
Elizabeth is constantly on the go-go-go. And she keeps climbing up-up-up. She knows what she can/can't do, but, still tries to do those "naughty" things when mom & dad arent looking. She's very sneaky at times. When she is playing in her bedroom, and all is quiet, I MUST MUST MUST peek my head in there just to make sure she's not climbing up on anything, and making too big of a mess! She has a toy that she got for Xmas from my brother, it was a bit advanced for her back in December, but she's gotten the hang of it since...its a little red barn that has different holes to put the different shaped pawns/objects in (shapes/numbers). For the most part, she has been able to put the square shape in the square hole...the numbers are a bit harder for her, but she's working on it. So, there have been multiple times when I have found E sitting on the floor in her room, calmly and patiently trying to get these shapes figured out.
Ahhh, recently E saw me scrubbing the laundry room floor on my hands & knees...Guess what E does with her wet wipes (if they arent high enough & out of reach!), or any dish towel/wash cloth that may have fallen from the laundry basket....YUP! She's mimicking mommy, and wiping up the floor...or dusting furniture, or, just wiping her face like mommy does after meals. And speaking of meals, we have transitioned from eating w/ our hands, to, using silverware! E has her own fork/spoon set, that, she loves to use. Even if she's eating food that doesnt require utinsels, she'll still try to use them. Its pretty hard to jab a apple slice, with plastic spoon, but, she'll try! Once she gets frustrated enough, she'll resort to just using her hands again, but, this is also usually the point when she just starts throwing food on the floor. Thats when we know she's had enough!
It seems she is physically changing every week. Her little mullet keeps growing longer & longer (but the hair on top hasnt seem to caught up yet!) Because of the awkward hairstyle, I havent been able to even put pony tails in her hair! I've tried little clips, but, she likes to just pull these out. She loves to wear hats though, so, we use those to pretty up the outfits as well as to keep the sun out of her BABY BLUE eyes!
I'll post some new pictures- hopefully soon!

A few new changes in the works

Just a few updates as I am thinking about things.
We have Elizabeth about 99.9% weened off the pacifier. She used to "need" it every night before bed and would even wake up at wee hours of the night, screeming, looking for it. With in the last couple weeks, she began falling asleep w/ out it, and not needing it much through out the day. Whew. What a relief! Now, we are working on weening her off the bottle. She does pretty good with sippy cups, but its usually times like, bed time, that she prefers the bottle. Working on this! Hopefully sooner than later, we can be just giving E sippy cups! Also, for the most part, E is drinking regular milk. SOMETIMES its mixed with formula, but we're getting away from that as well. Now, if I can just get grandma to keep the pacifier away from her, and start giving sippy cup before bottle, we'll make better progress. It will take a little more time.
Its amazing to see these small changes...small changes, make a "big girl"!
Elizabeth has continued sleeping through the night, and now that I think of it, since she has stopped "needing" her pacifier, is when she stopped waking up in the middle of the night. And here, I blamed it on teething. (I am sure that has something to do with it as well, though.)
I have become a garage sale junky! I am pretty sure if they had "Garage Sale Anonymous" classes, I would be the first to sign up. But, I just can't justify spending full price on new clothes that E will outgrow, sooner than later. And with living on the farm, and playing outside, she doesnt need new clothes. So, every Thurs-Fri I stop at garage sales. Finding new treasures every time. Usually, clothes/toys/stuff for E, but, once in a while, I find good deals for me as well. Jamie thinks I am crazy, I think, but, it sure beats paying full price! I have gotten so many good deals, I would be craazy NOT to garage sale. Anything from kid clothes/shoes, to book cases to wall art, to under the bed storage containers, to bird baths, to books. Someone elses junk is my treasure! I dont know what I will do when garage sale season is over. Maybe turn into a thrift store junky?
I better get going. I have a busy weekend of doing a whole lot of nothing!! Well, I am planning on taking E to the Sauk County Dairy breakfast in the AM...I hear they have a petty zoo there. Then, Saturday afternoon & Sunday, I am not sure what we will do, but, beings we have a busy week next week, I am sure we'll just relax and enjoy family time together!
I'll let you know next week, what we end up doing!

After Brunch....

Another family photo...after brunch...I was wishing had was wearing sweat pants at the time!

Elizabeth got a pretty white hat from a family friend and she just loved wearing it! We went out for a nice brunch with Jamie's family for his dad's birthday. I didnt think E would leave the hat on, but, she did, and she was proud! (And definately ADORABLE!)

A Day in the Yard & on the Farm

All of the Grandkids

Needing a Drink AFTER the Big Party

DISCLAIMER: THE BEER CAN WAS CLOSED. I REPEAT, THE BEER CAN WAS NOT OPEN! LOL! THIS, I THINK, WAS THE FUNNIEST EVENT OF THE DAY! AFTER EVERYONE LEFT, MOMMY & DADDY HAD AN ADULT BEVERAGE...E ALWAYS WANTS ONE TOO, THE COLD CLOSED CAN FEELS GOOD ON HER GUMS. ANYWAYS, SHE JUST PLOPPED DOWN ON HER NEW COUCH AND CHILLED! LITERALLY!

Birthday Pictures--PAST DUE!

This is just a small collage of pictures taken from Elizabeth's birthday party. I'll describe pictures, starting with the top roll, left to right. Picture 1: Mommy, Daddy & Elizabeth with our colorful lei's on. We went out for supper to Pedro's in the Dells for E's birthday dinner. I swear, its what Elizabeth wanted! Picture 2: Elizabeth fed the giraffe at Storybook Gardens in the Dells. This was an awesome experience. She wasnt afraid of anything! Picture 3: A group shot of the "Welter Grandkids" on the slide in our backyard. For the most part, I beleive all the kids, kind of, cooperated, for once! They aren't all looking, but, the important part was that not-a-one-of-them was crying! FIRST TIME EVER! LOL!. Bottom Row, Picture 4: Elizabeth wore a pretty yellow dress while opening presents. I wanted her to be the "sunshine" of her party! Picture 5: BEFORE cake, she had a pretty pink outfit on...and all the kids at the party got flowered lei's. Elizabeth was having a blast putting them all on. She was ready to party!! Picture 6: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! Mommy & Daddy helped blow the candle out with Elizabeth. It was a beautiful cake! I will have to post a close up picture. The bakery did an excellent job on this! Picture 7: ITS CAKE TIME! She was a mess, but it was so much fun watching her eat her birthday cake! Needless to say, after cake eating was when we had to change outfits!!!
This was the Thank You card I mailed out to friends/fmaily that helped celebrate Elizabeth's birthday.

Another Month has gone by since my last post! This just means that life has been crazy busy lately, and I have more things to do, than I have the time to do them! Since the last post, we have celebrated my first "official" Mother's Day. (Although last year, everyone said I was a Mother already as I was ready to pop with Miss E!) We celebrated Mother's Day and Elizabeth's birthday together, and had both our families to our place for a wonderful meal, cake & presents! What a blast! Elizabeth turned ONE on a Tuesday, so I took off work to spend the day with her. My best friend from "back home"-- Diana, and her daughter Victoria (who is only a few months older than Elizabeth) came up for the day and we took the girls to Storybook Gardens in the Dells. It was a GORGEOUS day. (For more pictures, check out my Facebook photo album). Tuesday night, Mommy & Daddy took Elizabeth out for supper to Pedros (HEY! Its where SHE wanted to go!). We all got to try fried ice cream for the first time! YUMMY!
So much has happen in the past year. At times its overwhelming (usually in a good way). I just can't believe how fast time goes and as each day goes by, we all learn something new. She's at just the right hieght to grab things off the edge of the counter tops and/or kitchen table. We need to make sure everythings out of reach. And everything still goes in her mouth! She has tasted grass, dirt/sand, rocks, and anything else she has found outside. She loves to pick flowers (AKA- dandelions) and put them in her little pail. Or, grass, she'll pick up as much mowed gass as she can fit in her bucket! She loves playing outside, and I love taking her out there! She plays in the grass, on the swing set, pets the kitties, she has even pet the calves. She is getting to go down to the barn with Daddy more & more. He's loving this! It still makes me nervous, but I am getting used to it. Theres alot going on that I would miss out on, if I didnt send her to the barn. I'd never get to leave the house, I'd never get to mow the yard, I'd never get to play volleyball, I'd never get to garage sale. So, its been working out! Ahhh...garage sales.. I am a garage sale junky! I am been stocking up on clothes for Elizabeth, winter gear, shoes, decor, etc. Reedsburg recently had their City Wide...I got a little carried away. E should be good on clothe until shes 4!
So much has been going on lately. I need to post more frequently so I dont forget! I have to sign off for now though. Its a 1/2 day...and we have a long week ahead of us! Wedding, Memorial Day, Jamie's grandma's wake/funeral, and Jamie's mom is having surgery on her shoulder. So, lots of time off work, and I am praying for good weather. I will post pictures when I have more time. Otherwise, you;ll see some recent pics on facebook!

Easter Sunday

We spent Easter Sunday with my family. It was great to see everyone. We did the "family" church outing, and the a BIG lunch at mom & dads. FORTUNATELY, the weather was nice so we were able to do an Easter Egg hunt, and not worry about it being too cold, too wet, or too much snow! It was perfect! Well, nothing a couple beers, or a couple Tylenol couldnt take care of! Sugar PLUS fresh air PLUS 5 grandkids = CRAZY TOWN!

HOPPY Easter Weekend! Ribbit Ribbit!

WALKING ALL OVER

Elizabeth spent most of the weekend walking, and doing VERY little "scooting"! I can't say "crawling" b/c what she does to get around, I wouldnt consider to be crawling! She has this little scoot thing that she does! I'm going to miss that when she decides to ONLY walk!

Bla bla bla bla bla

Sorry it's sideways! You get the picture though!

Splashing in the swimming pool!

Swimming in the bath tub at the hotel!


Swimming in the real pool at the hotel!

cheap entertainment

E does this thing with her clothes (PJs, Shirts, Pants, whatever she can find). Puts the clothing on her head, and scoots around the house until she bonks into something. Then, removes the clothing from her head, looks at what she just ran into, laughs, puts the clothing back on her head, and wanders around until she bonks into something else. REPEAT.
Seriously funny & cheap entertainment!

Tid Bits & Quick Updates, for now

I'm going to be real general for this blog, until I have more time to write. I just want to be sure to get things down on paper (or on a PC) before I forget!

Elizabeth:

has taken her first steps on March 29, and continues to take more & more steps each day!

is getting braver & braver every day!

is getting into everything!

is becoming the master of pat-a-cake pat-a-cake! (She's got the clapping down, and for the most part, the rolling, and the TOSS IT UP HIGH is funny to watch!)

also has learned parts of Little Rabbit Foo-Foo...she knows how to BOP the bunny on the head! HILARIOUS!

covers her ears when people talk to her and goes "bla bla bla bla bla!" Who taught her that?! (Ok, I did, but, she was only supposed to do it to daddy when he talks!)

when she hears the bath water/shower water run, she scoots QUICKLY to the bathroom and starts throwing all of her bath toys into the tub...including the cute wicker basket we put them in! And, if its the case that mommy or daddy needs to take a shower, she gets MAD!!! She loves her baths!!

she has learned that the little cup bath toys she has make great drinking cups...YUCK! She loves to drink her soapy, dirty, bath water. Kids will be kids!

no matter how many times she pinches her fingers in doors, or cabinets, she still insists on trying to get into them!

she has figured out how to climb into the oven drawer! FUNNY!

Wednesday nights are E's nights w/ daddy in the barn, so mommy can have some "me time". As much as I hate to say it, she LOVES it down there in the barn, and Daddy loves it too! The good news is, I am usually gone on Wednesdays nights and so Daddy then has to watch her in the barn, get her dinner, and give her a bath! Mommy gets out of the dirty work ONCE a week! And then I come home to a sleeping baby (most of the time!) and a 1/2 asleep daddy!

playing with a beach ball is the best fun in the world for her. Its kind of like watching a cat play with a ball of yarn, buzzed up on cat nip! HILARIOUS!

we went swimming a few weeks ago, and she loved the water! It was like one big bath tub. But, it was a "big person" pool so mommy and daddy had to hold on to her while she flopped around in the water. over the weekend I found a plastic kiddy pool at a garage sale, so we look forward to using that ALOT this summer!

continues to wave bye-bye...to everyone!

has been eating alot more "big girl" food VS baby food. She has become very independent, and likes to feed herself...and not with a spoon! BY HAND! BIG MESS! tends to spit food out & make goofy faces when she is done eating. its hard NOT to laugh at her. silly girl!

continues to say ba-ba, da-da, and ma-ma. haven't heard Miss E say much else. once in a while we "think" we hear something, but we're never for sure!

I know she knows what we are saying too...and when we refer to certain objects (bottle, ball, diaper, book, toys, etc), she knows what we're talking about.

Just last night, I grabbed a diaper out of her diaper bag on one side of the living room...and as soon as she saw the diaper, she high tailed it away from me to the other side of the living room. I thought she was just trying to get away from me so she wouldnt have to get changed. ENDS UP, she scooted to the other side of the room to where the box of wet wipes were, turns and looks at me, and starts hitting on the box of wipes and smiling...almost like she was saying "mom, you're going to need these, arent you!?!!"

teething has GOT TO STOP! Oh, she's been a bare at times. The week before my birthday, was horrible. Then, she was sick with a cold the week after my birthday, on top of teething. No more sleeping through the nights...(TODAY I am living off of 5 hours of sleep, for the past TWO days). She usually wakes up, long enough to wake mommy & daddy and the whole country side, and then goes back to sleep. Lately, she doesnt want to go back to sleep. One night, I am pretty sure she had a tummy ache b/c she just flopped around and couldnt get comfortable, and just whined. Other times she just tosses & turns so much, she wakes herself up! I NEED a good nights sleep!

E took her FIRST STEPS- MARCH 29

(This picture isn't of her FIRST STEPS on the 29th. It took place one week later. E was walking to Jamie's cousin Becky. Elizabeth hasnt been cooperating at home when Mommy tries taking pictures of her when she takes more steps! As soon as she see's the camera, she plops down and scoots as fast as she can, to get to mommy & camera!)

Its been a few weeks, once again, since I've updated on her. This just means, this momma has been super busy! Busy watching my baby girl, turn into a big girl! Elizabeth will be one on May 12, so, exactly one month from Easter. Where has the time gone? I do not know. But, one thing I do know, or have learned, is that its sure amazing how fast Miss E has changed from tiny baby, that had a blast just sitting in her bouncy seat and/or swing, and now, she's on the go, getting into every thing that she's not supposed to!
March 29th was my 28th birthday. I was super prgnant on my 27th birthday, so this year, I decided to make up for some lost time! Elizabeth, Nana Ann and I spent the day shopping in the Dells. E LOVES shopping as much as mommy does. The only thing is that she LOVES to take her socks off, and just drop them, well, where ever! So, while at Kohls, I found myself retracking our footsteps to locate the pair of sock E decided to ditch! So, when we shop now, I remove her socks before she can lose them! And its pointless to even try putting shoes on her. They get kicked off as soon as you get them on her chubby little feet! Its cheaper to replace socks, so, I dont even try it with shoes! Anyways, after a long day of shopping, we invited some friends over for a cook out, then we went out and celebrated at a local "establishment" while Nana and E stayed in. It was good to get out. Sunday comes around...Nana Ann leaves to go back home. Mommy & Daddy and E are trying to get ready to go out for lunch, and Miss E decided that that was the day she would take her FIRST STEPS. She took two little steps in front of Jamie & I. AMAZING! Then, ker-plunk! LOL! Later that day, when Daddy wasnt around, she took FIVE steps. Oh my goodness! What is going on! She would get so excited by this new thing she learned, that, she would just plop her butt on the floor and just smile, and try it again. I'm trying to NOT be as encouraging now. Sure! Its cute, but OMG, I am NOT ready for her to be walking! I JUST got used to her crawling and getting into every thing. NOW, its going to be a whole new ball game! Its been fun though! Every day she gets braver and braver. It just a matter of time she gives up the crawling and wants to walk everywhere!

Picture Updates!

TAKING THE LION FOR A WALK ON THE DECK! (MARCH 2009)

SUPERVISING AT DADDY'S WORK-AKA-the barn! (MARCH 2009)

PRE-HOCKEY GAME (3-13-09) GO BADGERS!

SWING-TIME! (MARCH 2009)

HAPPY SAINT PATTY'S DAY! (MARCH 2009)

So much going on...Playing Catch up

The last couple weeks have busy. Lots going on, and many new things to blog about. If only I can remember everything, and in the right order.
We found tooth #5. She now has 3 teeth on top, and just the 2 on bottom. Her one top tooth is still longer than the others, so, its pretty amusing to see her smile. It really is amazing to see how different teeth can make a baby look! I was getting used to her toothless smile, then I was getting used to one tooth, two teeth, three teeth, NOW 5. Next thing I know, she'll have a whole mouth full and will be eating steak off the grill with us!
Speaking of the grill...its almost grilling season! The weather this past week has been WONDERFUL! We've been trying to get out for walks & fresh air as much as we can. Which, is kind of a challange (minor challenge) being 1st of all, Elizabeth refuses to wear shoes. You put them on her, she takes them off. You put them BACK ON, she takes them BACK OFF. We never win! So, we don't put shoes on her. Its not worth losing a shoe over! So, every where she goes, she is wearing socks...kind of...until she takes those off and drops them where ever she finds convenient! I am constantly doing a double take at her feet when we are out shopping or walking in town. Never fails, I usually have to back track to find one of the missing socks! And the backseat of my Trailblazer is usually a good place to look for missing socks. Elizabeth CAN NOT make even the shortest trip without pulling off her socks and trying to suck on her toes. I don't know why she insists on sucking her toes, her feet stink horribley bad! Anyways...
Last night we went for a walk around town. There was a gentle breeze and at one point in our walk, I noticed Elizabeth was trying to "grab" the wind. It was so cute. She could feel something blowing on her skin, so she just stuck her hand out and started squeezing, as if the wind were something she could get her little pudgy hands onto! She looked to see where the chirping was coming from. Noticed the cars/kids that went by, and was just very observant to EVERYTHING! She was so alert and was just taking in all of the new scenery! And what a great day to do it! We are all ready for spring!
We went out on the swing set earlier this week as well. We were able to swing, but there was mud surrounding the slide, so,we didnt attempt that! I am ready for green grass, and solid ground. I can only imagine how much fun E will have crawling/walking around in the grass. I am sure the grass will feel weird at 1st, but, she'll eventually get used to it! As there are many things in life that are "weird" at first, but, you get used to it!
One of Elizabeth's favorite toys to play with is a beach ball that my boss gave me to give to her. He gave it to me (I am sure he just got it in the mail from a vendor trying to sell him crap) when Elizabeth was only weeks old. I couldnt figure out what a newborn was supposed to do with a beach ball! NOW, I know! She pushes it and punches it all around the house. Simialar to what a cat does with a ball of yarn. We had a blast throwing the beach ball around last night in the living room. E gets so into it. Sometimes, too into it that she will pounce after the ball and mis-calculate the distance and wipe out on the floor. She gets over it! We all laugh it off and keep on playing catch/push/shove, whatever it is we are doing with the beach ball. So, there was a purpose to this beachball, and I am glad I kept it around! I will add it to the list of cheap entertainment!

Lead Levels are A-OK!

Lead Levels are A-OK! I was super stressed about the appointment for getting Elizabeth's blood drawn, AGAIN. I was so afraid it was going to hurt her. But, I should have known better. Elizabeth is one tough lil' cookie! She flinched when the stuck the needle in and whimpered a tiny amount when the pulled the needle out, otherwise...she was a champ! (I can't believe they didnt even give her a sticker! LOL!) I was so proud of her. If I would have known it was going to be this easy and QUICK, I would have requested them to take blood directly from her vein the first time around! The nurses were MUCH better this time around. Not that our 1st nurse was horrible, she just, well, wasnt the greatest. She was very sloppy. There was blood everywhere when she was trying to get the blood from the finger prick into the vile. Blood all over E's hand, my hand, she even got blood on E's clothes. Argh. Good thing it came out! At this last appointment, after the nurse put the bandaid on, and pulled E's sleeve back down, Elizabeth wanted to go to her! She, the nurses all ooooh'd and ahhhhh'd over her. "She is such a cute baby"--they kept saying! Well, no kidding, she is! :-)
I got a call on Thursday afternoon from the nurse saying that Elizabeth's lead levels came back excellent this time around ( less than .5! Much better than 14!) so we have nothing to worry about. One less thing to worry about!

Updates on 9 month Dr. Appt.

I got a call from Elizabeth's doctor's office last night in regards to the appointment we had the night before. The appt on Monday night was just a well-child visit...no shots...just an exam, and iron/lead testing. They had to prick her little baby finger, and take some sample blood to test. Well, like I've previously stated, the nurse seemed to be having a hard time getting what she needed, and poor Miss E was cooperating so well. She was getting antsy, but, thats because she doesnt like it when you restrict her, and when we had to hold her and her finger/hand still, she was the least bit happy. The type of blood draw that was done on Monday evening was called a capilary draw...beings they just pricked her finger. So, anyways, the nurse said she had enough blood, and we got E all band-aided up and we were on our way. Ok...so, then I got a call last night saying that we need to come back in for another blood draw. This time, a venus draw, which, is when you draw the blood directly from the vein, b/c the lead levels in Elizabeth's blood was higher than normal. Average lead levels in a baby are between 0-9. E's levels are at 14. This could mean a few things. One being the obvious, she has lead in her blood. The second being that they just didn't get enough blood the first time around, so that threw the testing off. I am hoping for the second. So, tonight, I will take Elizabeth in once again (her doctor's office is 45 minutes away). And I am not looking forward to it, as drawing blood from a baby's vein just doesn't sound like it will be a good experience. It doesn't appear that E has any symptoms of lead poisoning, which, is a good sign. So, we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope to live to talk about tonights appointment in a blog later this week!

Then & Now...Before & After

May 2008


February 2009

9 Months of Doctor's Visits

We just had Elizabeth's 9 month doctor's appointment. It went excellent, mainly because we didnt have to get any shots this time! Elizabeth had to get her finger pricked for a blood sample so they could test for lead/iron, but other than that, NO SHOTS! And even when they pricked her finger, she didnt' flinch! Good girl! There was alot of blood though. I was suprised by the amount of blood they had to collect for the little girl to do these tests. I talked with a nurse friend of mine afterwards and she made it sound like they took too much. Ahhh, oh well. We all live to talk about it, I guess, so it wasn't too bad! The only issue I had with afterwards was that the nurse put a "big people/adult" bandaid on Elizabeth's tiny little finger. It took 3 bandaids to get it on right. Then, once it was on, (and the finger wasnt even really bleeding), alls Elizabeth wanted to do was bite it off. I should have taken it off RIGHT away, myself. But I left it on. I made a pit stop before we left Sauk, and good thing I did b/c by the time we got 4 blocks away, Elizabeth had the bandaid off her finger and in her mouth. Talk about choking hazard. My nurse friend also told me that they do not put bandaids on babies for that very reason. They have the parent hold a piece of gauze on the finger until the bleeding is done. Which, would have taken, maybe 2 extra minutes. Anyways, once again, we live to talk about it, so it wasnt too big of a deal!
Anyways, at last nights appointment i had the nurse write down the past 9 months worth of chart info (height & weight) so I could take it home with me and get it in Elizabeth's babybook. I've been keeping up (for the most part) with blogging, but, not with the babybook itself! So, in this blog I will share the progress, from Day 1, of Elizabeth's growth.

BORN: May 12, 2008- 6lb 13oz, 21 in
1 week appt (May 21, 2008)- 6lb, 14oz, 21 in
1 month appt (June 4, 2008)- 8lb, 5oz, 21 in
2 month appt (July 14, 2008)- 12lb, 10oz, 23 1/2 in
3 month appt (August 19, 2008)- 17lb, 3oz, 25 1/2 in
6 month appt (November 21, 2008)- 21lb 3oz, 27 in
9 month appt (February 23, 2009)- 23lb 9oz, 28 1/2 in

9 months old

On February 12, 2009, Elizabeth was 9 months old. Where did the time go? I have no idea, but, we've made LOTS of memories in the past 9 months, and I only anitpate w/ excitement the MANY more memories we will enjoy throughout our wonderful life with our wonderful daughter!

With less than 3 months to spare, I have already begun planning for Elizabeth's 1st birthday party. We plan to have it on Mother's Day, so we can kill two birds with one stone. I look forward to celebrating Elizabeth's birth, with the company of our mother's, as well as, hopefully, our grandmothers, and the other mothers (sisters) in our family! We are trying to figure out what to do for a gift for Miss E. I am pretty sure, a big chunck of her gift will be given as a CD through the bank. Something that she can use YEARS from now. She really doesnt need any toys. Or clothes. I am attempting to refurbish a rocking chair that I bought last summer at a garage sale. Maybe I can get that finished w/in the next few months. We've also pondered on the thought of a book case as well, beings, when she was born, she recieved SO MANY nice books as gifts, that are sitting on the sheft in her closet in the meantime. It would be nice to give them a home! And it will be a piece of furniture that she can grow with, and take with her when/if she ever decides to move out! I also started the tradition of getting Elizabeth a willow tree angel for special occasions. (I started this at Christmas time). So, I will probably get her one of those as well...maybe she could showcase her collection of these on her book case as well...Hmmm...Good idea! So, if anyone has any thoughts of what we could do for our SOON TO BE one year old's birthday, email me! I am eager for ideas!

An early HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

So many changes...

Things are happening so fast now-a-days. I don't think I am ready for this! EVERY DAY there is something new & amazing that Elizabeth learns. She stands on her own...but falls down when she tries to make a move! She can walk if she is pushing a toy around. She is very cautious when she does this, but seems to book it around the house!

Just over the weekend...she started making a clucking noise with her tongue. Amazing! I think Grandma taught her that last week. So, all weekend while crawling around the house, she'd cluck. Elizabeth waves good bye now...and still gives to sweetest kisses! And when I think E is leaning in to give me a kiss good bye, or good night, or just whenever, she ends up going for my nose! She has a fetish of sucking on noses! Who does this! LOL! I am pretty sure her 4th tooth is ready to break through. Her gums look pretty white where it will come through.

I've beeen experimenting with formula the past few days...I am just not producing enough milk to keep her on breastmilk alone. I made it close to 9 months with strictly breastfeeding...even though I wanted to make it a year, I am proud of myself that I made it this long. She will still get BM, but it will be supplemented w/ formula. Maybe. She hasnt taken to the taste of formula yet...its smells nasty, and isnt the best tasting, so I don't blame her for not wanting anything to do with it! The first bottle I made for her was with Similac formula...I ended up throwing that out. The whole can of formula. (It was just a little can. Not even sure who gave it to me. I think we got it from the hospital). It smelled and tasted AWFUL! I've smelt rotten dish rags that smell better than that. E didnt want anything to do with it. She would spit it out as soon as she got it in her mouth. So then I tried Parents Choice formula. She took this better than Similac but still, wouldnt drink it like she would drink a bottle of BM. It still smells bad, but NOT as bad as the Similac. Hopefully, we can introduce this little by little, so she can make the adjustment to formula. At least it will only be for a couple months beings she can drink regular cows milk at 1 year...but, I wonder how she will like the taste of that. That tastes alot different than BM as well. I'll mix BM and formula for the time being, until Elizabeth can stand the full taste of formula. We'll see how that goes! I am pretty sure she would skip a feeding if it meant she didnt have to drink straight up formula! Actually, she did that over the weekend, but, of course, woke in the middle of the night because she was hungry! The good thing I guess, is that she isnt drinking as much milk as she used too beings she is eating baby food now. That seems to fill her up.
Elizabeth has been babbling up a storm. She still hasnt said any "real" words yet, but I am IMpatiently waiting for her to say MOMMA! (or dadda!) It will happen soon enough I'm sure! Oh, how fast things change! I just want to keep her little forever!! w

Cheerio Lover!

Elizabeth loves chomping on Cheerios. They are her FAVORITE snacks. I am sure the crunchiness of them feels good on her teething gums. Even though she only has her two bottom teeth (a third one on the top is well on its way...ready to pop through any day now!), she gets those cheerios all chewed up (or just soggy enough to swallow! Who knows!)

We will give her the container we store her cheerios in and tell her to just take one or two. Does she listen? NOPE! She quickly take a heaping handful and tries to stuff them all in her mouth before we know whats going on! Of course, I am cautious that she doesnt choke, but its super funny to see her try to sneak more than what she should. I can only imagine how sneaky she is going to be when she is older! Every time I take her out of her high chair after her meals, I usually find a stash of about 10 cheerios laying underneath her bottom! Or, on the floor. And if I don't get them cleaned up RIGHT away, she usually finds them later while she's scooting around the kitchen. I guess she's saving them for her evening snacks! It's too funny! She loves her cheerios! I never leave home without a baggie of Cheerios! Its my lifesaver!

Car Wash

We took my vehicle through a car wash the other day. Boy was it dirty! Anyways, this was the first time Elizabeth had gone through a car wash. She kept looking around like she was amazed at what was going on! I snapped a picture of her while we were waiting for my vehicle to get clean! She was wide awake & alert! Just being nosey, really! But, it was a neat 1st experience for her, and for us too! Just the facial expressions of a wee lil' one, learning/seeing something new! It was priceless!

Getting Cozy Anywhere!

Elizabeth seems to be getting to that stage where, once she gets tired, she can fall asleep anywhere. It used to be that she only fell asleep in our arms, or in her crib. Now, when she gets sleepy, she just rests her head on whatever is soft & comfy and takes a brief "time out". Whether its a soft blanket, Mommy's pillow's, Mommy's belly, or the bobby. She's such a relaxed baby! And she seems to get comfortable in some of the most awkward positions too! Whatever works! Pretty soon she will be falling asleep standing up, or in her highchair and anywhere else that look uncomfy to you & I!

Mommy's Little Helper

Mommy's little helper is getting into EVERYTHING! Last weekend, she helped me get food out of our over stocked fridge, put the dishes away out of the dishwasher, and she even decided to help with the laundry! I think she makes more messes than anything, but, its fun to see her get so excited when she gets into things! I am sure with time, I wont think its so cute b/c she seems to create more messes than anything! But, thats what kids are for though, right?! I just let Elizabeth do her thing, and worry about picking up the mess after she goes to bed. Whats the point of cleaning while she is awake...it will just get messy again! We have to keep all the bedroom & bathroom doors closed, or she's getting into the toilet, garbage, closets, etc. Everything she isn't supposed to be getting into! It's been a blast though! Its more enjoyable picking up after her, rather than picking up after her daddy!!!

I have ten minutes to make a post. We'll see how well I can do! Work is crazy busy. Homelife has been crazy busy. And I have been slacking like crazy when it comes to this blog. Darn me!
Anyways, Elizabeth is growing & changing every single day! She is such a happy & well behaved baby. We just love her to pieces! She is pulling herself up on EVERYTHING...and guess what!? NO matter how many times I said "I NEED to baby-proof my house" I still havent done it yet! I better get a move on! She continues to keep her crazy sleep habits...waking up anywhere between 2-4am. Its getting old! Last night, she did make it through the night without waking, and she was even in bed 2 hours earlier than normal. And I STILL didnt get a good night sleep. I kept waking up, thinking she was going to wake up "any minute now".
OH! Elizabeth gives mommy & daddy kisses now. Its the sweetest thing in the whole world! You ask her for a kiss, and she leans open, with her mouth slightly open. Sometimes...she slips out her tongue! LOL! She is so sweet! And snuggly! I love snuggling with E when she is getting tired. Its such a wonderful feeling!
We went home over the weekend & my aunt & uncle babysat for us...and E doesnt see my aunt & uncle much, so I was wondering if she would play strange with them and give them a hard time. She didnt! She had a blast with them (and of course, they had a blast with her!). They said she is such a good natured baby! I KNOW! I KNOW! They had a plastic kids chair in one of their rooms that had hard wood floors. Elizabeth pulled herself up to the standing position next to the chair and started pushing the chair all around the room. Like she was walking. With the help of the chair. I couldnt believe it! She'll be walking before we know it! Which, is scary! Maybe we'll have the house baby-proofed by then!
WEll, my ten minutes is up. I must go get my baby girl! I'll catch up some more tomorrow...or Friday...or next week. Who knows!

Surviving the Holidays

We traveled from Reedsburg to Cross Plains. Fom Cross Plains to Hazel Green. From Hazel Green to Reedsburg. All within 10 hours. What a day. But like I said before, at least the weather was decent to travel in, and it was great that we were able to see both sides of the family. Christmas just wouldnt be Christmas if you couldnt spend it with your family! I have never been away from my family on the holidays, so it was a pretty big deal that we made it home to see everyone! Granted, all the other kids (grandkids, I should say) we impatiently waiting for our arrival. NOT because they were excited to see us, but because they knew they couldn't open any presents until we got there! They waited quite a while, but the wait was well worth it!

We spend some time with my family. Opening presents. Eating. Playing Cards. They typical family Christmas. I was able to get a picture of Elizabeth, myself, my dad, and my grandma (Dad's mom)...It was nice to get a generational picture! Then, we Stocked up on the caffiene, and headed back to Reedsburg. I had to work on Friday, and I knew it was going to be a late night by the time we got home & got E off to bed!

We survived though. Eventually made it to bed...and I eventually made it to work on Friday. Saturday morning I took myself & E to the DR. I woke up with itchy eyes, and Elizabeth was just not acting like herself. Ends up I had pink eye, and Miss E had an ear infection. So, we got our meds and went home to feel miserable together. We both seemed to kick the infections pretty quick, but, a day or two later, I came down with a horrible cold. Horrible enough, I actually took a day off from work. HOLY COW! I didnt know what to do. I didnt think Moms EVER got sick! I guess we do! And you know, it was extremely weird, sitting/laying at home, all alone. No Jamie. No Elizabeth. Peace and Quiet. I am not sure if I liked it, but, I took advantage of the time and took a nice long nap, and eventually, a nice long bubble bath! Then, I cleaned my kitchen. Why couldnt I just relax! But, I felt much better by the time Grandma brough Elizabeth home, and I was able to enjoy the next few days!

I've been on hiatous for a few weeks. Jeeperz. I thought I would better at this blogging thing. Once again, lots to catch up on! We made it through the holidays. Christmas on both sides of the family generated alot of traveling for us on Christmas day. Thank God the weather was decent.

Elizabeth was able to open her "first Christmas" presents on Xmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa Haags (Jamie's parents). It was late by the time we got home to our house, so we had to get Elizabeth to bed, and make sure the house was ready for Santa to come! Elizabeth and Jamie went to bed, mommy cleaned the house, and got out the cookies & milk, and even carrots for the reindeer! I eventually made it to bed around 1:30am. I was exhausted. I was so tired, I didnt even hear when Santa came to visit!

And then it was Xmas Day! It was pretty exciting, BUSY, but exciting! Jamie woke up for work, at whatever time...and a couple hours later, Elizabeth & I woke up. I tried my HARDEST to keep her from opening any presents, but Daddy put Mommy's present (from Elizabeth) on the floor, and Elizabeth JUST HAD to open it! (See, Santa was smart. He put all of E's presents up on the toybox so she couldnt reach them!). So, the fun began! She opened my present first (it was a JUICER! LOVE IT!). She didnt want to stop there, so Jamie hurried up to the house and we let her tear into all the presents Santa & mom & dad bought for her. I was right...I knew she would be more excited about the paper, bags, and boxes than she would be about the actual presents inside! Oh well! We got it all on video tape, and it was a blast! We definately enjoyed our very first Xmas morning with Miss Elizabeth Grace! Now...the crazy, busy, travel-filled day begins...I am glad we were able to enjoy 45 minutes of excitement as a family, before the rest of the chaotic day started!