Christmas Recap

We had a wonderful, full, relaxing, fun Christmas.  I always get a little sad when Christmas is over - I just love it so much - the time with family, the cheery feeling that comes with any holiday (for me)... and this year, watching Eliza enjoy her second Christmas made it all even sweeter.  So I feel a little bummed that it's all over and we have to wait a whole year for it to come around again!

We spent a lot of time with both of our families; Christmas Eve was spent with my family, Christmas Day with hubby's family.  We stayed a couple of extra days with hubby's family, which was really nice (especially for Eliza - she had a great time!) and very relaxing for us - there were so many babysitters around (heheh!) :D.  I got to catch up on sleep - for some reason Eliza slept GREAT while we were there (AND, she didn't wake up earlier than 6:30 when we were there.  She usually gets up at 5:30 when we're home - WTH??!!).  And then I also got to sleep in while Daddy and Nana played with Eliza each morning.  It was heavenly.  We also did some really fun things while we were there like visiting the aquarium, going out to eat, and going to a really huge Christmas lights display.  It was so much fun, and we can't wait to take Eliza back - she had a wonderful time with her Nana and Pop Pop!

She loved the dump truck!

Mama, I do not want to sit here with you there are toys to play with!

The shirt says it all: best gift ever.  So true.

Checking out the tree at Nana's house with two of Eliza's cousins

Playing in the new tunnel from Nana and Pop Pop

Looking at the Christmas lights display from the Ergo - I don't think she was a fan of being all bundled up, but we were warm!

I hope everyone had a peaceful and happy Christmas, and I hope you are still enjoying the fun of the season - in my opinion, Christmas isn't over until after the new year!!

Christmas!

We have a busy holiday week ahead!  We are celebrating Christmas with my family on Friday and then we're driving up to be with hubby's family from Saturday through Tuesday.  We're looking forward to a relaxing mini-vacation away from home and from allllll the snow we have.  Something like 34" has fallen already this month!  Too much, if you ask me.  I can barely get out of my driveway!

Anyway, our little star is going to have a really fun Christmas, I think.  She doesn't know what presents are yet, of course, but just spending all that time with both sets of grandparents and all of her family will be great fun for her.  We're not big on giving a ton of gifts, so Hubby and I bought her a few books and this truck, which I think she will really like.  She's started taking the two little cars that she has and "driving" them around the floor lately, which is so cute!  No one has ever taught her or modeled that for her, so I don't know where she picked it up...!  So I think she'll love this truck - AND, it's made from 100% "curbside collected plastic milk containers".  How cool is that??

As for Mama, I finished all my school work for the semester, which feels great.  What a relief to be done with that semester.  I have a break until Spring semester starts on January 18th; I think it's going to be a tough semester, class-wise, so I'm going to enjoy this break and soak up every minute of mental freedom knowing there is no school work hanging over my head!

I hope everyone has a peaceful and very merry Christmas!

Practicing!

We took this video this morning (so please excuse my totally messy hair and the sweatpants!!) -  Eliza has, in the past couple of days, taken TWO unassisted steps in a row (!!), so we were trying to get her to do this on camera.  No luck, but it's still a cute video - I especially love how she goes down, almost in slow motion, at the end.  She was in such a goofy mood, we were having a lot of fun.  She CAN do it, and we will get it on video soon!

13 Months

Eliza, you are 13 whole months old.  Mama can't believe it.  You've been here for more than a year already, so now we can say "a year ago, you were THIS TINY, or, a year ago, you were doing THIS".  And, in fact, I'm going to do it right now!  A year ago, you were THIS TINY!:

And now, you are THIS BIG!:

Except usually, I get pictures of you looking away from me because you are too busy for mama and her camera.  I know, I do get kind of annoying with that thing.  Exhibit A:

You are busy, there is no doubt.  Unless you are asleep, you are moving!  And, preferably, moving in the direction you want to go, most certainly not the direction anyone else *cough, mama, cough* wants you to go.  You have definitely become your own little person lately, and you are not a baby anymore, you are my little toddler.  I guess you're still not technically toddling yet (and, erm, you're not that little...), but in every other way, you are a toddler!  

You do the sweetest things like give kisses and hugs, and smile when you see your family.  And you've started to turn our heads in the direction you want us to look - you put your palm against a cheek, and then move it left or right.  Ha!  

You understand almost everything we say to you now, I think.  If we ask you to pick something and give it to us, you do.  You are so smart - I think I've said that every month since you were born! 

Eliza, you have recently started walking behind your walker - we wondered if you would ever do this!!  Well, not really, but you really have not been interested in using it at all until the last couple of weeks.  It is so amazing to see you walking upright!  I know it won't be long until you are walking by yourself.  And, if the way you walk behind your walker is any indication, you will just start RUNNING when you officially learn to walk.  I think we are in trouble!

You are very verbal, though most of what you say could be categorized as babbling at this point.  You do say "Mama" really well and it is still music to my ears to hear it.  You also say "duck", "dada", "up" (though this one sounds more like "mup")... and make lots of animal sounds (cow, dog, owl, lion, duck, bee).

Well, I have more but you are waking up from your nap, so I better go!

I love you so much, Eliza, and I am excited to celebrate your second Christmas next week!

Walker, Texas Eliza

(I totally stole the idea for the title from my friend Abby - she used to call her daughter, ViolaMae, "Walker Texas Vi" when she started walking.  Heheh.)

This weekend Eliza started using her walker all by herself!  Yesterday she was using it and I was holding the back of her PJs so she didn't fall (the walker goes rather fast on our hardwood floors), but then hubby suggested I let her go and when I did she was totally fine on her own!!  It is so adorable and makes me so proud to watch her.  My big girl!  I can't believe how quickly she has progressed in terms of walking/standing since her first birthday.  In only 4 weeks she has gone from showing no signs of being interested in forward motion (she would side-step around the furniture, but would never actually walk forward using her walker or holding on to our hands)...to this!

Sorry I have to link to the video - after two days, I give up trying to load it here!

Technical Difficulties!

I've been trying to upload a video ALL. DAY. LONG. but blogger doesn't seem to want to finish "processing" it.  Frustrating.  Anyway, still working on it...

Anyone else having this trouble with blogger?

MIA

I've been away for a while - can't believe Thanksgiving was two weeks ago!  Ack, I've gone two weeks without recording what my dear Eliza has been up to.  :(

And I don't have much time tonight, either - it's late and I need to get to bed!

Long story short, things have gotten extremely busy for me lately because it's nearing the end of the semester and I am frantically trying to finish up final papers that are due, and I'm grading papers as well.  A the same time, I'm also (FINALLY) finishing one of my prelim exams (it's actually a paper, not an exam) for my program.  I've been working on it since before Eliza was born, so needless to say, I am beyond excited to finally turn it in.  But, this means that literally every night (and during nearly every one of Eliza's naps), you can find me sitting at the dining room table on my laptop working, typing away.  It's been a very productive week+, but NOTHING else around the house has gotten done, and obviously, no blogging has been done either!

So, what's been going on?

• Eliza is saying "Mama" now, which is pretty much the cutest thing I've ever heard.  I walked in the door to my parents' house yesterday after school and she looked at me and said "Mama!".  OH YES, I MELTED.

• We saw the new Harry Potter movie.  AWESOME.  And, it was the first movie that hubby and I had been to since before Eliza was born, so, YAY.

• My beloved laptop (that I got when I entered my grad program over four years ago) has been replaced with a newer faster (but still not as pretty) version because my old one needed a significant amount of repair and buying a new one made the most financial sense.  I love the new zippy model, but I miss my sweet old reliable (er, right up until the end there) laptop.  We've been through a lot together!

• I got a haircut.  Yes, this is the excitement that is my life right now - and I can't think of other, more interesting, things to include here, so it made the list.

• We put up the Christmas tree, and (even though it's fake, boo), I LOVE IT.  The house is so cozy and cute with all the decorations up.  I have to give credit to the Christmas tree for some of the awesome progress I've made this week - I sit right in front of it at the table when I write and look up at it once in a while. 

Okay, I can't think of anything else.  But, it's late.  So, here, I will distract you with some photos!