"Self, self, self"

Our new nightly routine is such: I pick up Eloise around 5:15pm. We're home by 5:30pm and then immediatley get dinner going. She hunkers down at the table and we eat together. Off to the bathtub next and then some playtime along with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Toy Story.  This is all crammed into a mere 1 hour and 45 minutes because she goes to bed at 7pm. Ahhh...the life of a working parent. It's a total rat race between leaving work and getting Eloise to bed and no, I don't feel like we have enough time together but for what we have, we make the very, very best of it.  Being a full-time working mom truly makes you appreciate the time you have with your baby.  I defintely don't take a second for granted. Even when she's screaming and being bad and trying to push my buttons.

Today when we got home we did the same drill....immediately get dinner going.  Tonight's dinner was going to be a serious hodge podge, I'll admit it. She likes to eat right away so I have to race around here a little and get her something to snack on while I have her chicken nuggets (or whatever we have that night) cooking in the oven. Well tonight I decided we'd have some sweet potatoes.  She still eats these in the baby food version so I poured a good amount in the bowl and Eloise went crazy yelling, "self, self, self" to which I quickly figured out she wanted to "eat by herself" with no help from Mommy.  So I handed over the spoon and I'll be damned if that little girl hasn't mastered using a spoon (at least with sweet potatoes). Alas, another 2 thumbs up for daycare.

I've let her practice with her spoon numerous times but I'll admit, sometimes it's just easier to feed her the cereal or the rice or whatever it is.  And because of this, she hasn't used her spoon enough where I feel it's safe to just hand it over and let her eat unattended. She's great with a fork, but spoon usage around here gets quite (messy) scary.  Throw a kid in daycare and all reliance on Mommy is quickly thrown out the window. I wonder what's next? Maybe she'll drive herself to "school" tomorrow. Or at least dress herself. I mean, really.

Sadly I missed the photo-op moment of her literally shoveling sweet potatoes in her mouth so you have to take my word for it. It was quite impressive. She had a few drops on her shirt and her mouth was a mess but she didn't get any on the table or the floor. Mucho impressed Monkey girl!

And the additional good news for you....I finally ordered a camera lens and should get it early next week. By the time you next see Eloise you'll think she's 5 or something. I'm sorry it's been so long!