GOTCHA!

My happy girl!

Friday

Thank you all for the car seat advice. I've started putting her in the car seat just to hang out while we're at home over the last day. She still fights it, but a couple of times she has tolerated it for a few minutes before screaming. Then, this morning, when I MADE her leave the house with me to go visit my mom at work (I know, the HORROR), she only screamed for 5 minutes out of the 10 minute drive there! So, maybe we're getting somewhere...? Time will tell, I guess. But thank you for the support - it helps. Any new tips or suggestions are still welcome!

Tonight, hubby and I are going to an event for our favorite local public radio station. They are having a birthday party and invited a few different bands to play. I'm most excited to see Mason Jennings. My parents are watching Eliza for us. Better go get ready!

Car Seat = TORTURE DEVICE

Wanna see my beautiful, sweet, contented girl turns into a she-devil (and I say that with nothing but the MOST love and adoration)?

Just put her in her car seat.

O. M. G. Srsly, people, it's bad.

I went to Target this morning, and as I took her out of the car SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER, I was sure the old lady sitting in the car next to me was going to get out and request that I PLEASE STOP BEATING MY CHILD NOW.

It's not a cry that leaves her mouth as much as it is an unholy scream. Here's how you at home can replicate it so you can see what it sounds like! Ooh, it's like a fun party trick: take a deep breath, and SCREAM. Make sure you KEEP SCREAMING until your lungs have no air left, so that at the end of the scream, your mouth is still open but no sound is coming out anymore. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat... REPEAT.

Okay, I joke (well, kinda). I love my baby girl and I want her to not hate leaving the house! So really, I'm wondering if anyone has had a child who hated their car seat (and, thus, driving in the car)? Any suggestions? Did it go away at a certain age? She's been like this since week 1, and we thought it would eventually get better with time, but honestly, it's actually getting worse. She's almost 2.5 months old and it shows no signs of stopping. She arches her back when we try to put her in the car seat now, and screams from point A to point B. We've tried having someone sit in the back with her, singing to her, offering a finger (or pacifier, but she generally hates those) to suck on, we've tried a convertible car seat (instead of the infant bucket seat)... nothing.

Any advice is appreciated!!!

Le Duck

Eliza has a blanket with little ducks on it that her Auntie Julian made for her. It totally rocks her world. She loves looking down at it, which doesn't make it the best tummy time blanket, but it's fun to watch her look at it and study the ducks.

Ooh, look at that one!

Ah, that one is interesting.

Srsly mom, have you seen this blanket?

IT'S FASCINATING.

My Beautiful Subject

Just playing around with the camera this morning during tummy time... then mama had some fun with post-processing...

Two Months - Part 2

Eliza, you are TWO whole months old! Mom is very proud of you. You have learned a great many things in your first two moths of life. It is so much fun for me to watch you grow and learn.

• We recently installed a mobile in your crib, which you seem to think is pretty much the most spectacular invention on the planet. You look up intently at it and follow the shapes around as they spin. You seem to favor the yellow lion - your eyes and head follow it around its entire 360 degree journey. Oh, and you like your play gym, too, especially when daddy lays under it with you and talks about all the different animals that hang from it.

• You are now smiling up a storm; usually in response to something that mommy or daddy does. It's the best medicine if anyone is having a bad day. That gummy grin can light up a room! Mom is still having a hard time catching a great big grin on camera, though. She'll work on that...

• Last week when you were hanging out with Grandma M, she said you 'found' your feet. She said you stared at them for a long time, as though you just realized they were there! It seems that you like to showcase many new talents while hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa - we hear about all kinds of new and amazing things you do when we leave you with them (I think there may be a minor case of over reporting going on here... your Grandparents pretty much think you are THE smartest human on the planet - you are the center of their world! Mom thinks you're smart, too... just for the record ;).

• You're fitting into all 0-3 month clothing now (even getting a bit too long for a few outfits), and you are wearing size small cloth diapers (though your x-small Thirsties CDs still fit), and size 1 disposables.

• Your hair is becoming more red by the day, and we think it is so beautiful. Coming from a family of dark brunettes, your parents are hoping it stays that way!

Mom is trying hard to keep up on documenting everything about you, but as this is a nearly impossible task, she is learning that this is an exercise in futility. And sometimes, it is just more worth mom's time to sit and cuddle with you than to document every little thing! :)

2 Months!

Eliza is two months old (still need to do a 2-month update...I'm getting behind again, ack!). We had her 2 month checkup today; here are her stats!

Weight: 12lbs 6ozs = 85th percentile

Length: 23 3/4" = 90th percentile

Head Circumference: 15 1/4" = 50th percentile

We go back over the next month to do her vaccines (didn't get any today). SUCH a huge thing to figure out... we're following Dr. Sears' Alternative Vaccine Schedule, and we decided we are going to space them out and only get one at a time. It's no problem for us to drive in to the clinic frequently (and my mom works there, so we can visit her when we go!), so why not? We won't forgo any of them, I just don't want to give her too many at once. Just thought I'd share - it's been a difficult decision-making process for us... and I am always wondering what other parents choose to do.

Happy Friday!!

It was her...

A little Eliza Live for your viewing pleasure :) I was trying to get a nice big grin (which, of course, she was giving me before I turned on the camera!), but instead I got something else at the very end... ha! She's going to kill me in 15 years for posting this...

Things I don't want to forget...

I've been working on this post for a while... trying to get down in writing all the things I don't want to forget... knowing that I am forgetting some thanks to the haze that comes over me when I look into her beautiful eyes; the way she smiles at me that makes my mind go to mush -- I sit down at the computer and often find it hard to recall what it was I sat down to do. Ah, motherhood! It is - overwhelmingly so - the best job.

SO, this post might be more for me - so that I can go back to this later on... forgive me if it's disjointed and not very well written!

How she wakes up in the morning. She stretches both her arms above her head with her little fists clenched tightly, and she makes these little stretchy-grunty noises. It's pretty funny. And she looks very grumpy that she just woke up, her eyes all squinty and her brow furrowed. It's so cute!

How she falls asleep when she's in the sling or the moby. I *LOVE LOVE LOVE* this. She is so warm and cuddly. I put my cheek against her head and just breathe in her beautiful baby smell. It's a wonderfully peaceful time and makes me forget about everything else in the world.

The way she stares at her cow picture above her changing table. Seriously, that thing is like baby crack. She'll coo at it, smile at it, talk to it... it's apparently WAY more interesting than we are!

How she SLEEPS. She sleeps. Thank GOD she sleeps. We get into bed around 10:00 and usually don't get out of bed until 9:00 or 10:00 the next morning. YES, she wakes up every 3-4 hours to nurse (closer to every 2 hours after about 5:00 am), but then she goes right back to sleep. THANK YOU, dear daughter of mine. You know me well, and you know how important sleep is to mama...

How her tiny thighs are getting not-so-tiny. Mama's milk has given her some mighty adorable thigh rolls. I love them, each cushy one. Oh, and she's also got a bit of a buddha belly going on! I make sure to give it raspberry kisses frequently - just doing my job.

The way she nurses soooo vigorously, and if she accidentally delatches before she's finished, she wildly turns her head back and forth looking for the nip.ple, her arm flailing as though to say "Noooooo! Just kidding! I wasn't done, come baaaaaaaaaaaack!". Oh, and sometimes she makes a similar (but just a bit more excited) motion when she's just starting to nurse, too. It's so cute, I can tell she's excited. I call her 'The Bo.ob Wrangler' when she does this - it's like she's taming the bo.ob as if it's a wild animal. "Child," I tell her, "it's right there and IT'S NOT MOVING. YOU ARE." And then I chuckle as she grunts and waves and wriggles about until she finally finds IT - that ever illusive nipple (not).

Her snorts. She is a snorter, just like - unfortunately - me. Though she rivals even me in volume and frequency. It's when she wakes up, when she is starting to cry, when she is frustrated... it's too funny!

The way she rests her little head on my bo.ob when she's finished nursing at night. So precious. She comes off when she's done eating, lifts her head up a little and puts it down like my bo.ob is a pillow. This is usually how we sleep. Tummy to tummy, using mommy's rack as a pillow.

How she smiles when I make faces at her. Or make funny noises with my mouth. Or sing to her... she's turning into such a happy baby, and it's so amazing to watch. The transformation from newborn to infant is a magical time, I think. It's tough at times - there is fussiness that cannot be explained or soothed easily - but it is so beautiful to watch your child grow from a tiny squishy inward-focused little creature to a being who recognizes her world, explores her surroundings and finally - finally - realizes YOU are THERE. I remember the first time she really looked at me and smiled at me (instead of just smiling at the wall or her cow). Tears welled in my eyes and I said "There's someone in there!". It was so changing. We connected - for a second in time, we connected for the first time.

Oh, and yesterday she started staring at her feet. It's like she just realized they're there. Not sure she realizes that they are attached to her yet... but she was looking at them quite intently yesterday.

I'm sure there will be more posts like this - she does so much every day, and I worry I will forget. The guilt - OH THE GUILT - of not writing down every single thing in a baby book (don't get me started on the baby book subject...). Of fearing that these milestones will be forgotten, lost in the busyness of life. OH THE GUILT! (So if anyone has any advice - and if anyone actually made it through this entire novel of a post - I'd be happy to hear it!)

Six Years!

It's my anniversary today - six years ago I married my best friend. It's been quite an exciting, up-and-down, wonderful, difficult, rewarding ride. I am a lucky woman to have such a loving, supportive partner and I am grateful for him every day!

I love you, honey. Together we bring beauty into the world!

Anatomy of a Sneeze

Lost

Just in case anyone was wondering... less than one month left until the Lost premiere!!!!!!!!

Speaking of lost... I haven't been able to put together a coherent blog post yet since the new year, so this post might have a big of a lost feeling to it... bullets seemed appropriate, so here we go.

• Eliza is smiling now! Real, beautiful, heart-melting smiles. They aren't predictable yet, they seem somewhat random, so you can usually find us staring down at her doing crazy things just to try to get another one out of her. So far, funny mouth noises and happy faces seem to work... admittedly, we HAVE tried a little Sir-Mix-A-Lot, á la Friends... just for fun ;)

• Hubby and I went to a great NYE party - we left E with my parents for the evening (and 4 ozs of EBM) and she did great. We stayed aaaaall the way 'til 10pm! Yeah, I know, we're out of control. It really must stop.

• We went to see Sherlock Holmes today. There's a theater nearby that does "Movies for Moms and Dads" on Tuesdays. It's AWESOME. Every Tuesday, the first showing of the day for each movie is a special screening that is baby-friendly. They leave the lights dim (instead of turning them off), the sound is turned down (just a bit), and babies are free to cry and coo and nurse to their hearts content without parents worrying about disrupting the movie. It's SO great! Eliza slept through most of the movie. She squawked a few times and I just nursed her or let her suck on my pinkie and she fell back asleep. I think I might go to a movie every Tuesday from now on!!

• My growing girl is growing... right out of her clothes! She's into all 0-3 months clothes now instead of newborn, and she's grown out of nearly all her size x-small cloth diapers, and into size small. The AIOs are still a little big on her so we'll wait to start using those until she's a little bigger. In disposables (which we use overnight and when we go out), she's wearing size 1.

• We picked up this awesome little product yesterday, on the recommendation of a friend. They really work! And, they are pretty cute, too. No more lost socks!

• Date night tonight - we're going to a new favorite restaurant - it's a tiny Thai place near our house. It's housed in an old Ember's or something, and so the ambience is pretty much non-existent, but the spring rolls are fantastic! Grandma and Grandpa are watching E.

• Oh, and it's apparently blog de-lurking week or some such thing... I heard this from a few other bloggers, so I'm joining in on the world-wide-blog de-lurking requests. Step up and introduce yourself. I promise, I don't bite (exception: my daughter's teeny tiny scrumptious toes!).

Gah, that post was all over the board!