Friday's update

I'm glad it's Friday. Mike's back, the Monkey is healthy again and the weekend is now including the hubby when I previously thought he was going out of town with friends. His work travel has gotten a little hairy as of late so rather than joining his buddies for a weekend away he decided to stay home with his girls. Yeah for us!

The Monkey and I returned to music class today. Since she seems to be completely healthy again, I thought it was safe to venture back into the world of germs so she can catch something else and we can go through this all over again. I will say, last Friday I thought she was fine but every time she sneezed,which was still quite a bit, a trail of snot would come flying out of her nose. I honestly didn't want to see the reaction of the other moms (I guess I wouldn't blame them. I would have wondered why the kid wasn't left at home too if I saw that.). Anyway, she's snot free and sneezes have disappeared so out we went.

Music class is a riot. She really enjoys it and really, I do too. The moms (and caregivers) are all very nice. The kids are cute and each week is totally different so we never know what to expect from the teacher. Today the class was unusually small (which was kind of nice) and so for each activity, the kids got tons of space to spread out, no one was banging into each other (an occassional toddler tumble happened here or there but that's to be expected) and there were lots of extra props from the teacher.

Eloise's fav from today was the giant bongo drum that all of the kids surrounded and each tapped their hands on (I'm so bummed I didn't have my camera today. as of now, every parent has broken the "no pics rule" so I will be doing the same next week.). Then she was totally digging the brightly colored scarves that she brought out. We played hide and seek and sort of a parachute game with those. Also, the bouncy balls came out again (we've seen these before and they were a hit) and she's a big fan. She bounces on them, with them, we roll them, and then in true Eloise fashion, she tries to eat them, which they are literally the size of basketballs so I'm not sure what she's thinking.

This class has been really helpful in showing me new ideas for fun activities to do with Eloise at home. I've learned that I don't need to turn the living room into Romper Room with tons of brightly colored plastic toys that make sounds and sing songs. She's just as happy with a scarf or a bouncy ball. (or a giant bongo drum - not sure were ready to go there yet.)

Anyway, for the weekly update - during music class today, Eloise was signing "more" like a mad woman. I'm now starting to wonder if she really understands what she's saying. She basically wants "more" of everything. Hilarious. The teacher realized what she was doing so she was helping me follow through on what "more" of she wanted but really, I don't think either of us could keep up. And then when we got home, she was chasing her kitty around - never ending quest - and when she was unsuccessful, she'd stop, sit up and sign "more". So I'd say, "you want more kitty?"  See where I'm going with this? I'm wondering if sign language is back firing on me?  Or maybe we need to expand the words we're teaching her to include "play." "Do you want to play with the kitty?" I guess both words work in this situation. Maybe not too much of stretch.

So I screwed up yesterday's blog post and wrote down the wrong times on this supposed nap routine were in now. I have a mush brain. Well, kind of I do. Most of the time, I can really keep it together. Anyway, it's been corrected (on the previous post) but I thought I'd jot it down here for future reference:

-Up at 6:00am
-Nap between 8:00am  - 9:20am or so
-Nap between 11:00am - 12:20pm or so
-Nap around 2:30 til about 3:00 or so
-Nap around 5:00pm til about 5:30pm or so
-Start bedtime process at 6:30pm
-Asleep by 7:00pm

Now lets just see if this really sticks. Like I've already predicted, it'll stay in place for 2 weeks or less and then we'll have something else on our plate.  Well and really, it's already slighty off because today she got up at 6:30am and we had music class at 11:00am.  Whatever for a schedule around here. Why do I even blog about it?? It was nice to think we had one for a minute:)

One tid bit of info that I just learned about yesterday. There is another kid's consignment sale coming up - and it's next week! There are either always 1,000 consigment sales for kids (that I never paid attention too because I was sans kid) or because the economy is so terrible, they are popping up like mad. Tight budgets go much further at a consignment sale or shop, that's for sure.  I got wind of this one from my friend Wendy. And the cool part - I get to go to the early bird special!  I helped the sale organizer by writing a press release about the event and then created her a local media list in an attempt to help her promote it. So with that, here's my own plug for the sale - go to The Upscale WeeSale in Rock Hill next week. 45,000 items for sale from 600 consigners. It sounds insanely huge. Lots of deals to be had! Details here or you can see pics from last year's event on their Facebook page.

As I previously mentioned, the never-ending quest for Eloise to get the kitty continues. I captured it today...

At this point, the relationship is a little one-sided. (btw - I must note that the cat and the baby are the exact same weight. scary, huh?)

Eloise, do you want "more" kitty? (she was doing it here - hard to capture on camera.)

Last thing to mention, I read somewhere that by this age her eye color is what it is. So with that, we have a hazel eyed girl. The combo of colors in those hazel eyes are blue and brown. And in true hazel fashion, they change color based on what she has on.

Have a great weekend!

Nap update

As promised, I wanted to update the blog on our current nap status. I was a little afraid to even go there until she had a week of good naps under her belt. A week will be tomorrow so I feel I'm safe to mention this.  (don't want to jinx this - but really who am I fooling? we'll have this new nap pattern in place for maybe 2 weeks and then it'll likely change. sigh.)

Ok, here it goes - Eloise has a new routine. (might I call it a schedule??) She gets up at 6am and then naps from approximately 8-9:20am and then again from 11am-12:20pm.  And as I said, this has been going on for nearly a week. Let me tell you, this is such the polar opposite from where we've been for 8 months that honestly, I thought we had a greyhound in the house again. (they sleep 18-20 hours a day)

So let me break this down. After sleeping since 7pm the night prior (11 hours of sleep), this little nugget is now napping for nearly 3 hours all before 12:30pm.  What?? Where did this come from?? I know she's on the move now and getting faster at crawling daily but is she really wearing herself out that much?

The 2 long morning naps is a little unusual. I've never talked to a mom who had  a baby do this so I'm just going with it. I'm not sure if they'll stay in place for long or if maybe they'll be combined into one long morning nap (although 70-90 minutes is extremely long for Eloise so I'm not complaining whatsoever). Too many unanswered questions and "what ifs" but for now, this is the deal and I'm not going to lie, it's kind of nice having a baby who actually really naps. She's so much happier. Like all smiles nearly all day. Love it!

Oh wait....so the rest of the day's schedule....she usually starts rubbing her eyes again around 2:30 or 3pm and will sleep for her standard 34 minutes. Then most days she'll do this again around 5pm, and again, sleep for 34 minutes. Then we start our nighttime routine at 6:30pm and she's asleep by 7pm.

In conclusion, if this pattern continues, she's taking 4 naps a day for a total of 4 hours. It's so insane, I can't believe I'm even typing this.  And in doing so, I feel she'll never nap like this again as I've just put a curse on us forever. Yes, I'm becoming as superstitious about naps as Mike is about the RedSox. Seriously, give me some drugs.

Let's move on to another subject as quickly as possible.....look what I saw yesterday....

A Monkey with a pacifier??? I almost died!  She has these lying around, typically clipped to links and really serve as nothing more than noise makers. She shakes them like rattles and has never attempted to use them for their original purpose. Because of this, I never bothered putting them up. She's proven from the beginning not to be into pacifiers. She does suck her thumb but what's nice about this is it serves as another signal that she's tired. It's the only time she ever puts her thumb in her mouth. (we'll see how long that lasts)

Anyway, yesterday was the first I've seen her grab the paci and put it in her mouth and suck on it for maybe a good 10 minutes. (I wanted to see how long she'd go. she even dropped it and put it back into her mouth for more sucking.) After my little test, I grabbed all of the pacifiers and have officially put them away. I'm not trying to be mean but since we dodged this bad habit (believe me, I've successfully created SEVERAL bad habits on my own with this sweet little one) why have another to break down the road?

Here we go....MUCH better......

She's a Cruiser

Just got back from Target. Our main purpose (although I do tend to get pulled in 1,000 directions at Target. who doesn't?) was for diapers and wipes. I had the Pampers coupons and I was ready to shop. I wanted to move the Monkey up to size 2-3 diapers but couldn't find them. Do they even exist like 1-2's do?  Anyway, they didn't have them so I got her size 3 which means she's officially a Cruiser! Is that a milestone? (and not to cause any confusion - no, she's not cruising furniture yet. now that would be considered a milestone. diaper size, i'm not so sure.)

So while at Target we were using our new shopping cart cover to keep the almost healthy Monkey germ free. She was sitting comfortably for about 1/2 of the trip and then started fussing. The shopping carts at Target have a wider/bigger area for the babes to sit (compared to Harris Teeter) so she was a little bit all over the place and before I knew it, she was seriously pimping the shopping cart. Like totally low-riding. What a riot!  I then figured out how to jam her jacket behind her to double as a head rest and some back support so she could sit upright again but more than anything, I was really bummed I didn't have the camera. Low riding, shopping cart pimping Monkey. Hilarious!

Post-bath hair cuteness

Eloise's hair continues to grow and it's getting a pinch unruly but of course, I totally love it. It flips up above her ears and is actually even curly in the back. Where did those curls come from? Or do all new babies have curls until we cut them off? But her flips and dips are sometimes short lived based on naps or just every day wear and tear so I'll sometimes catch her post-bath (when it's the craziest and curliest) and grab some quick pics of her hair cuteness. Here are a few.

In the milestone area, Eloise has now done "more" in sign language 3 times. It passed the "must do 3 times" rule that I adopted from Megan.  Now I will preface this by saying, she's also recently learned how to clap so the two could be getting confused. The sign for more is very similar to clapping but you bring your finger tips together over and over again vs. your palms. Each time she has signed "more" it has been in relation to getting more to drink or more puffs. I'm not totally sold on this but wanted to record it nonetheless. (oh and one other reasoon I believe this one needs more time is she's done the "more" signs at rapid fire - 3 times since yesterday afternoon so I'm not sure if she really understands what she's doing yet.)

One other milestone that has hit the 2 times mark - (kind of breaking my newly adopted rule by even mentioning this - will fully document when she reaches the "must do 3 times" mark) she's waved goodbye twice. I've really been working on this one and she has done it twice in complete context. She waved at me coming into a room to greet me and then I was so excited she immediately started clapping for herself. Hilarious. Then the next time she waved goodbye to the baby whisperer as she was leaving for the day. She's done lots of hand movements that seem somewhat wave-like but I'm going to give this one some more time before it's officially a milestone.

More from me later regarding naps. We've taken a turn for the much much better here so I must share later. Baby just got up so we're off to Target.

Toodles!

A tip

I'm seriously the biggest sucker alive. It pains me. I get had by about every scam going for the simple fact that I cannot say no. I'm incapable of it. It's not in my genes. And seriously, it's getting bad. Meanwhile, I'm married to Mike who will not only say no with great pleasure, but does it without thinking twice and then, delivers it with his classic "get the hell out of here" look on his face. It's a masterpiece really. I envy him.

Well I was had again. What a surprise. AT&T is going door-to-door in our neighborhood. What is wrong with these people? Who sells anything door-to-door??  Honestly, unless you're the US Government looking for Census numbers, don't come to my house. Anyway, AT&T came literally 8 times over the course of 4 hours. Each time I avoided them and didn't answer the door. I know my weakness here so I figured, don't even answer the door. Then the 8th "knock knock knock" came and I snapped. It was 7pm, I just put the baby to bed and I was so totally annoyed that they were still out there and STILL coming to my house (even after 7 previous failed attempts) that I finally answered it.

I won't even get into the details of the next part. All I can say is about 20 minutes later, I had the Vail residence signed up for new TV and computer service. All the while, Mike had pulled in the driveway having just gotten home from the airport. What did he do? He took one look at the AT&T freaks, gave them a "get the hell out of here look" and went inside.  And where was I? Stuck outside with said AT&T freaks completing the transaction I knew Mike was going to kill me for.  Ugh, it's getting worse by the minute. Not only am I incapable of saying no, now Mike is home to watch the painful transaction go down by peering through the blinds and laughing at me.

Why couldn't I just say, "we're not interested" you might ask? Well, I did. Repeatedly. But you know how these crazy people are. I mean, they're crazy enough to take on a door-to-door sales job so seriously, they must be clinical.  Why couldn't I have just said ANYTHING??  I don't know. Honestly, kill me. The good excuses don't come to me until after the fact. I'm not quick enough on my feet in these situations. Grrrrr.......

So they finally leave and of course, I think of all the things I should have done and said to get them to leave me alone but at that point, the damage is done. Mike's already rolled his eyes at me at least a dozen times by this point and given me the "why didn't you just tell them........yada yada yada."  Or "why didn't you just tell them....yada cuss word....yada yada....cuss word?"

Now I'm left to unravel the madness before March 2 between 1 and 5pm when the AT&T freaks will descend upon my house once again for installation. To save any amount of face that I may (or likely may not) have left, I called Time Warner after my mom gave me a little tip that they will reduce your rate if you call to complain. Perfect. So I called and said, "AT&T was at my door. They'll give me all the same monthly services for much less."  TW ran through all of the many reasons why AT&T sucks and why TW is much better, yada yada. And by the end of it (which was all I was waiting for), they agreed to drop my bill by $25 per month. Perfecto!

So here's the tip for you (and hopefully you got some enjoyment out of knowing I'm the biggest sucker on this earth)....call TW and ask for the "retention department."  When you get them, tell them AT&T was just at your door and is offering you a much better deal.  They will cut your bill by an average of $25 per month. It's worth the call! Oh, and if you're in CLT - here's the number to call TW: 877-566-4892.

And one more tip - if AT&T comes by your house, be brave enough to tell them to "shove it". Or at least say "thanks, no thanks."

Happy Monday! 

Gorgeous Sunday

We enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous end to our weekend. 67 degrees and sunny. What a treat! I'm certainly from the camp of folks that complains when CLT gets cold, snowy and icy but I'll tell you, I'm also the first to shout "hip hip hooooray" when it's beautiful outside.  Today was definitley one of those days. Mike - ie - son-in-law of the year - helped my mom by painting and repairing her fence. Her homeowners association did an assessment of everyone's fences and hers was noted as needing some TLC. So today was painting day (yesterday was repairing day) and the Monkey and I decided to pick up lunch and head on over to Grammie Judy's to join them. Here we are post lunch getting some sun on our piggies (toes).

The good and bad of a blog

The original intent of this blog was to chronicle our house building project back in 2008. We told our friends and family to come to this web site and stay up to date on what was going on with our new home. It then morphed into a baby blog as we announced we were expecting a baby girl after about 5 months into the construction process. I toggled back and forth on subjects to write about. It wasn't uncommon for a post to be about landscaping and baby strollers all at the same time. Basically, this blog was a perfect showcase to example how crazy our lives were with so much going on all at the same time. But it was what we planned and for that, we loved every minute.

The idea of a blog actually originated at my old job. My co-worker was responsible for the "Smart Borrower Center" and she liked the idea of adding some blogs to gain traffic (fresh content, good for search, real life experiences for all to follow - what they call the web site's "sticky factor.")  I was iffy on it at best. I knew Mike wouldn't be on board with a Vail Tell All online diary. He's pretty private by nature so for me to dive into the scoop and start sharing with the world was extremely foreign to him. And honestly, I was right there with him. Although I personally subscribe to the "read me like a book" theory with my friends and often display my heart on my sleeve, it seemed a little strange to be using my story for the sake of a businesses web site "sticky factor."  So the idea came and went. I had jotted down a few weeks worth of construction scoop and that was about it.

Well, then I got thinking and decided I did want to create a blog, but I wanted it to be our blog vs. the company's blog and I wanted to post pics and share what was going on with our house. I liked the "all in one spot" idea of a blog where I could point people too if they were interested. And I decided I wanted to keep it going like a journal of sorts for our friends and family, but more selfishly, I really wanted it for our own personal reference down the road. With that in mind, I then got slightly obsessed with making sure I captured it all. I wanted to jot down everything that seemed important because I didn't want to lose the moment. Building our own house was exciting. And then having our very first baby....what could be better??

Fast forward about 18 months and the blog lives on and is going strong. I've locked it up to make sure my tell-all is only for the ones we care about most. I've continued to share the inner making of a Vail and hilarity (or sadness) that ensues on a daily basis. I use the blog to feed my photography obsession. I use it to sharpen my love of writing, and to me, the blog has almost turned into a friend. I tell her about my day, the good, the bad and the ugly. I grab a warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate and rattle out my recap. It's almost like a dorm room/roommate catch up session after a long day at school.

But here's the bad. This blog seems to have replaced my normal chats with all of you. It never even dawned on me that this would be the consequence of having a blog. People read it, get caught up on some happenings and it replaces a typical phone call. Ok, no prob. But what's missing is I have no idea what's going on with you. How are you doing??  And honestly, a one-sided convo about the Vails all the time must be painfully dull. I'm certainly not that narcissistic or conceited to be interested in only my life.  I want to hear all about the fun and trouble you're getting into. So with that - what's going on with you?  How are you doing??

And, no this doesn't mean the blog is ending. For my own selfish reasons, it will carry on because it's my way of chronicling our lives. I want to some day look back at the fun (and sad) things we've experienced as a couple, as a family. But this blog replacing many of my typical chats, my lunch outtings, my get togethers, that's not acceptable. If that's the case, please don't read this blog any longer and let's go get a glass of wine! Lol! Let's go shopping. Let's chat on the phone and not once mention the Vails. I want to hear all about you. Enough about us. How are you??

Friday's update

This week can nearly be considered a full on hibernation. With a sick Monkey we really hunkered down. We even missed story hour, music class and the consignment shopping I wanted to do today because it didn't seem worth it to drag her out with a cold. She ebbs and flows with being happy and then full on exhausted so it seemed safer to stick around the house. And since the cold knocks her out after about 90 minutes of play time, she's been taking more naps than usual (could she possibly take more? yes.) so going anywhere seemed unrealistic. That said, we did peek our heads outside today to enjoy the warm sunshine (nearly 60 degrees!) and together we played in the leaves for quite a bit. Sweet Pea joined us and so it was pure 100% entertainment for Eloise. What could be more fun than her kitty and some leaves to try and stuff in her mouth? (she was actually getting good at listening to me after about 10 times of saying, "no. we don't eat leaves." and then I'd give her arm a gentle nudge down, away from the mouth.)

Speaking of, she actually knows quite a few more words than I've previously given her credit for. She's very alert and responsive when I point out things and say their name (repeatedly - that's how I think she actually knows some more words). One in particular that I must jot down for future reference - we bought sconces and hung them in the stairwell. My brother freaked me out during construction of the house about the stairwell being really dark because it's literally smack dab in the middle of the house - not a chance for natural light. So with this input, we selected sconces to hang in addition to the standard canned lighting that is always in the ceilings of hallways/stairwells. You see where I'm going with this - the sconces are a BIG hit around here. To Eloise we call them "lights", obviously. She's been on to this for awhile. We'll walk up the stairs and notice that she's smiling. Then she'll even start to giggle. This is all while her head is completely cranked back and she's gazing up at these sconces hanging from the wall. We quickly figured out her light humor because literally every trip up and down the stairs she'd go through this smile/giggle/head cranked back routine. The stairwell has become a 10x daily highlight for her. Isn't it funny what amuses a baby? Too cute. So now we play the light switch game and turn it on and off and then on and off. And she loves it! Of all the things. Anyway, long story short - she knows the word "lights." This is on top of several others that she really seems to pay attention too and lead me to believe she knows.

This next item is totally random but I'll add it just in case this topic pesks someone's interest. Here goes it - I've mentioned this before, I author a couple of blogs for work. They all happen to be healthcare clients and so the posts for February have been about heart health since it's American Hearth Month. Great topic - (I thought) - lots of areas to cover with good stats and helpful advice to provide readers, etc. Perfect. Well I'm nearing the end of the month and honestly, I'm a little over heart health. It's all so obvious. Don't smoke. Start exercising. Know your family medical history. Get a physical. Yada, yada.

Anyway, in my quest to find something to write about (I was very close to throwing in the towel and instead write about the phenomenon of "dying of a broken heart", which I think is fascinating but seriously, what a total buzz kill.) I thankfully came across a press release from the National Barley Foods Council (yes, such a thing exists) who threw themselves a bone this month and told the world - "Barley makes your heart healthy" (lowers "bad" cholesterol).  Alrighty then. Alas, my next blog topic. One post later - complete with "how to find barley in your grocery store" (in the dried beans aisle - next to the rice)  plus a few tasty recipes - and I'm pleased to announce, this random topic peaked my own interest enough to go buy barley and for the first time ever, cook with it. I made beef barley soup this week and it was really good. My mom even had some today and she thought it was delish! So, there you go. Barley - makes your heart healthy. Remember, you heard it here first:)  Here are lots of barley recipes. And here's what I made this week. This recipe does not call for potatoes but I added one, diced.

Today I was able to go running because Grammie Judy came over to watch the Monkey. Big score for me! And tomorrow, she's coming back over to watch her again while Mike and I go out to dinner. Big score for the Vails! Thanks so much Mom - we really appreciate it!

I think that's about it for our Friday's update. A little light on the scoop this week - sorry. Playing nurse maid and getting the Monkey healthy again has been priority #1. After that, work was work and Mike was out of town so basically a typical Vail week at the homestead.

Have a great weekend! If you're in CLT - we're going to have awesome weather!

Print Edition - join the club!

Are you into reading?  Do you want to share with friends good (or bad) books that you've read?  Join Print Edition on Facebook!

Ok, advertising copy was never my thing so here's the deal. Lately, I've been giving and getting book advice online and just so happened to be getting the best reviews on Facebook (from friends, of course). Then I got thinking and decided we should all have one place where we can easily comment on books we've read (and get new books added to our "Must Read" list). Facebook was the easiest place to do it since that's where most people go daily for chit-chat. So on top of our daily convos, we can also get good book ideas.

This isn't a book club of sorts. We won't all be reading the same book at the same time and then answering a list of questions over wine in someone's living room (although those book clubs are fun as well). Instead, think of Print Edition as a quick and easy place to stop by when you are looking for a new book to read, or just finished one and want to share the scoop.

The name Print Edition is not creative or clever (remember, I'm not good advertising copy) but I couldn't think of anything on the spot and just wanted to get a page up there for all.  So if you are interested, consider joining!

Friday's Updates coming later today.

Sick Monkey

Here's what a day of incessant coughing, sneezing and leaky faucet nose will get you. My poor sick Monkey :(.

Odds and ends

Some quick items to jot down before I forget them....

1) Heard about this kids consignment sale yesterday - Kids Konsignment Sale March 13 at the Harris Branch YMCA. More scoop here.

2) When I took the Monkey into the Dr. this past Monday, she weighed 18lbs and 6oz (8 months). This is the first she's been weighed since her 6 month appt. so it was good to finally know.

3) Sleeping at night has been interesting with a sick Monkey. Yesterday, to try and relieve some of her chest congestion, the baby whisperer and I were trying all sorts of tricks and we netted out with a pillow under one end of her mattress. If she stays put while sleeping, it helps stop some of the coughing (post nasal drip is killing her as her nose continues to run like a faucet.)  As I type this, I know it will be the kiss of death but neither Mike or I have gotten this cold yet. Likely helps that Mike is out of town and I'm eating oranges like I have a citrus grove in the back yard.

4) Sadly, running has been a wash this week as the Monkey is sick and I've been really busy. I'm dying to get out there so I may pass up an hour or so of work today and go do 7 miles. If I do this, I need to get going as soon as the baby whisperer arrives (balmy temp of 29 but at least it's sunny.). Running while she is here is counter productive as I need to get work done but it's for my sanity. It's killing me not to run so I need to get out there.

More later...

Finger food

Today marks the day we've moved into the world of finger food. Up until this point, I've only given her puffs in the finger food category but I went grocery shopping yesterday (as I mentioned before due to my rising domestic status) and got some fun foods for her to try out. And then also, today I went to lunch with some fellow mom friends and were talking about feeding the nuggets table food and they gave me a bunch of good ideas.

Ok, so here goes it. Today she had peas and multigrain waffles. Weird combo, I know but I had the peas thawed and ready to go and the waffle was something easy to whip up to see if she'd eat it. Both went over just OK.  It appeared she was more stumped on the consistency than of the taste but who knows. She'd eat them both but not very much. A great first start at least.

About four bites went into her mouth....the rest was promptly thrown onto the floor.

She's a clapper

After many weeks of practicing this one, it's official - the Monkey is a clapper. Here she is today.  She showed me this new trick a few times yesterday and continued on into today so I'm convinced she can actually clap vs. just being a fluke. Also, here is a video of her clanking cups together. I do this just for fun and she then imitates me.

And another update, the Monkey and I went to the grocery store today. My domestic status is now back on par with the rest of America. I'm officially the grocery shopper of the household once again.  But I will say, it doesn't change the fact that Mike much prefers Harris Teeter over me and also, that when he's in town, he insists on cooking dinner. Yeah for me! 

Regarding the actual shopping excursion today - we got the Monkey one of those shopping cart covers and I dangled toys off of it. She was all about the ceiling lights and all of the products on the shelves. If I got her too close she'd reach over and try to yank things down. Almost another rookie mistake but I noticed right away and made sure I didn't park next to anything within reach. All in all though, she loved the outing and didn't fuss once - even in the car ride there and home. Perfect grocery shopping Monkey.

Weekend recap

We had a super fun time in Raleigh this weekend and I'm very proud of the Monkey - she did a great job in the car and also spending the night at Aunt Corinna and Uncle John's house. She also got a chance to meet some of our RDU friends for the very first time. Corinna informed me in route that she was having a "Show Off Eloise Party" on Saturday afternoon/night. Lol! At the party, we also got the sweet treat of meeting little baby Rhyan for the very first time who is now 3 1/2 months old. Tiny little nugget. Again, I feel like I've forgotten Eloise that little and it was only 4 1/2 months ago. Crazy. We'll definitely be getting another trip on the calendar soon and next time we'll do a full weekend vs. just one night.

As we all know or could have easily guessed, this road trip was a trial run for me more than the baby. She adjusts to new places OK. She's not completely immune to new sites, sounds and smells. But she always seems to acclimate with some time getting used to her surroundings. Meanwhile, I prepped too much. Thought too much and consequently packed way too much stuff. Many lessons learned. Next time I'll be a serious pro. And I will reveal one secret (which is probably assumed by all) I sat right beside her on the car ride. Why risk it, right? I didn't want to be on I-77 going 75mph and have her screaming and fussing and me up front with Mike unable to help. So I sat right next to her and if there was ever a moment when that bottom lip started to peek out, I popped a puff into her mouth and we were good to go. We played with toys, we read books, we sang songs (Mike was very impressed with how many words I now know of the nursery rhymes on those cds he made) and also ate lots of puffs. She was also into watching the cars passing by and some snoozing was done so that was good.

Oh and throw this into the Mom of the Year category yet again...on Saturday when everyone was over at Corinna's for the "Show Off Eloise Party" she was fake coughing. She's done this before and its actually pretty cute because we'll play a little game of Cough Monkey See Monkey Do. So I noticed her doing it on Saturday and once again, joined in the fun. It's our little game. But then the coughing carried into Sunday where that "fake cough" moved into a full on hack with some umph behind it and her nose was all of a sudden a serious leaky faucet. She stumped me this time on the cough as it's actually a real cold. Her first ever. Mom of the year for this one. Lord.

So I took her to the Dr. today to make sure it wasn't anything worse than a head cold and she's fine. Her chest sounds fine and her temp. was good. Other than the cough and the nose, she's acting completely normal so I was hoping my gut was right on this one and that she was OK. Apparently little kiddos are passing around some crazy virus right now so I'm to keep an eye out for labored breathing and if her chest is raising and lowering rapidly almost as if she's gasping for air. That would completely freak me out so of course, I promised to call if I saw either or both. Really though, if I saw either or both I'd probably not call and just show up there. Either that or show up at the ER. My word.

Ok, so guess who found something in the house that is the exact same height as the book case shelf at the music class????

And this is where she stretches out before hand. Someone save us.

Friday's update

I didn't think I'd have much for our usual Friday's updates because yesterday was her 8 month birthday and I filled the blog with all sorts of stats. But just today, at music class, Eloise pulled herself up to a standing position for the very first time!  I was so stunned when it happened that I just blurted out to a room full of babies and stangers, "She just pulled herself up for the first time ever!"  Eloise then got a standing-O from the group and big smoochies from her mommy. That's my girl!

Here's how it went down. There is a tall book case in the back of the room that some of the boys found and were using as a drum. Eloise gave them a glance and went on playing with her ball. Then the ball got too far away from her so instead of going after it, she did a 180 and went straight for the book case. The boys had cleared away by this point so she just helped herself. I was thinking she'd crawl up to it, use her hands to bang a little, which I was encouraging her to do by banging myself. But clearly she had other things in mind. She grabbed on with both hands and before I know it, she's standing up. So cute!  Then she stood there for maybe 30 seconds and plunk, down on her bottem she went. Then repeat. She put hands back on the book case and lifted herself up again! Way to go Monkey!  Sadly, I didn't have a camera - I'm not sure we're even allowed to bring them in there (probably shouldn't have taken the pics we did at Puddle Ducks. oops.) but regardless, I got a 1/2 pull up shot below and will get better ones when I can.

A little exploring again today. And of course, back to her favorite spot, the vent.

Grammie Judy came over today with Eloise's Valentine. It was a BIG hit.

And then I tried to recreate the music class pulling up scene and realized we don't have anything the same height as the book case. I need to work on this. Instead, the Monkey did some 1/2 "pulling up" of her own on the music table. I could put the legs on it but it'd be a little high. I'm hunting around for something that will work.

And last but certainly not least, happy birthday Keesha!