A Saturday Morning

Heading out the door, bright and early, sippy cup in hand.

Skirt + Sandals = Summertime!

Coloring as we wait for our breakfast

How much is that baby in the window?

Playing with Dada and Trunco

Iced coffee, a kitty on my lap and a baby napping... the end to a great morning!

Weekend Recap

Warning: Photo heavy post!

We spent last weekend at the lake, and we had a great time, as usual!  The only downside was that Saturday was a dreary day, and it was the day we had friends coming up.  It looked like this for most of the day:

But that didn't stop us from having a fun day.  Our guests arrived - good, wonderful friends and their little guy (3 months younger than E), Isaac.  As soon as they arrived, everyone got right to playing inside the cabin.  Eliza and Isaac enjoyed using the daddies as jungle gyms, playing with Eliza's Thomas trains, and generally being crazy, cute toddlers.

Even though we were trapped inside for most of the day, we still had fun.  Eliza LOVES her friend Isaac.  She talks about him ALL THE TIME (she even said his name in her sleep one night!), so she was giddy having him there.  There was a lot of hugging, giving kisses, and, of course, some wrestling and some arguing over toys (they ARE still toddlers, after all, no matter how much they love each other!).

Handsome boy!

Eliza making her 'faces' for Dada :)

The babies enjoyed running wild and eating on and off all day (no highchairs at the cabin) - there were no real defined meals that day, and they didn't eat as well as they usually do, but we kept saying "meh, it's the cabin!"  We were all pretty relaxed that day!  Later on, the mommies took the babies to the park in town while the daddies cooked dinner.  Good trade, I say :)

Our friends left on Saturday night, and Eliza fell into bed - exhausted and happy - at 8:00.  The next morning, we went out to breakfast and then came home and relaxed.  I was still tired so I convinced Eliza to cuddle in bed for a bit when we got home (okay, I totally bribed her with nursing and reading books!).  

My mom came up later on and she and Eliza went out to the dock and watched Daddy fish for a bit.  Eliza said hello to the bait:

Daddy had to leave that evening and drive back to the city so he could work the next morning, but Eliza and I decided to stay another night with my mom so the girls could have some together time.  It was great!  We played in the lake a lot, throwing rocks and playing with her new toy boat (say that 10 times fast!).

My parents set up a hammock at the cabin and Eliza loves swinging in it.  She probably spent 45 minutes in it while Grandma swung her.

On Monday morning, Grandma took us out to breakfast (she had yet to try the new - and only - breakfast cafe in town) and then we went back to the cabin to hit the water one more time.  Well, actually, Eliza and Grandma went in and Mama stayed on the dock and took pictures.  Eliza rode on Grandma's floaty, though she wasn't too keen on it, so she opted instead to walk in the water and/or be carried by Grandma for most of the time!

It was another lovely weekend at our Shangri-La.  Good friends, family, food, and... as long as I'm on an 'f' trend here, I almost forgot: new futons to sleep on!  YAYYYYY!

Wordless Wednesday: Eliza and Isaac

July 2010:

July, 2011:

Weekend, Extended

We had a fabulous weekend at the cabin this weekend.  Good friends of ours came up on Saturday with their little guy (who is 3 months younger than Eliza) and we had a really fun day.  On Sunday, my mom came up.  Eliza and I stayed the night last night while hubby went home so he could work this morning, so the 'ladies' got a little cabin time, which was soooo much fun!  I haven't uploaded any photos yet, so I'll wait to do a better post until I can include pics of our weekend.

Right now, I want you all to go over to Missy's blog to congratulate her - she and her husband have a match!  They have been waiting to adopt for a while and their prayers have been answered today with the wonderful news that a birthmother has chosen them!!!  I have known Missy for three years and I have watched her go through so many struggles and heartache on her journey to motherhood - she was there for me during the hard times I went through, and then she celebrated with me when Eliza was born - even when  I know it was hard for her (and she sent me the cutest hat and booties that she crocheted when E was born).  I am overjoyed to finally be able to celebrate with her as it is now her turn to become a mommy; her baby girl is due the end of October!  Congratulations Missy!

The Lazy Mom's Update - 19/20 Months

So... yeah, it's been two months since I did an update about my sweet girl.  Time flies.  I can't believe it's been that long since her 18 month update.

Dear Eliza,

You are 20 whole months old now, and just as busy as you were last month and the month before that - if not more!  I love watching you learn and explore the world.  You get smarter every day (which also means you get a little sneakier every day, as well!), I just can't wait to see what you will learn each day when we wake up.

So what have you been up to lately?

• You say cute little sentences now like "uh-oh baby!" when something drops on the floor or something else that is "uh-oh" worthy happens.  Another one you say is "more ____ please" when you want something (like ice - you LOVE to play with and eat ice).  You are very polite and say 'please' and 'thank you', too, although you need a gentle reminder when to say these things, but that's okay.  You also say "oh no!" a lot.  Sometimes the emphasis is on the "oh", and sometimes it's on the "no".  It's funny to hear you say it as you sound quite serious.

• Your verbal skills have seen a lot of development recently and you now will repeat things we say without prompting.  The other day I said "come here honey!" and you said it right back to me in your sweet sing-songy voice.  

• Eliza, you are usually a very happy toddler from day to day... but when you want to do something, you are quite serious and fierce about your desire and you like to tell us all about it.  We saw that in you even before you were a year old, so it is nothing new.  Thankfully, you have become a very reasonable girl, allowing us to explain something to you and then deciding on your own to put something back (like the jelly beans at the store this morning) or transition from one activity to another.  Come to think of it, we haven't seen a full-blown tantrum lately.  I think your increased vocabulary is helping on that front!

• You have stopped throwing your food so much, for which your dada and I are very grateful.  When you are done with your meal, you now say "all done" or you just hand your plate right over to me.  This is a major change, as just a few short weeks ago you were still resorting to whipping food across the room like a baseball pitcher to signal the end of your meal!

• Your hair has gotten so long recently!  We finally took you in for your first haircut, though it was just more of a trim to get the hair out of your eyes.  You looked so cute!  And you sat so still while the stylist cut and blow dried (and then styled!) your hair.  You were dubious, but you were patient.  At the end, you got your first sucker, which, of course, you enjoyed very very much.  And just yesterday, you let me put your hair in pigtails and you looked SO CUTE!

• You are very physically strong and adventurous.  You run and climb like you are a big kid!  You always want to go to the highest point in the playground and freak your mama out (which reminds me, why do playgrounds have huge openings at the top of the structure, like 10 feet in the air??). 

• Speaking of playgrounds, they are pretty much your favorite place to be!  You love going down the big slides, climbing, and playing in the sand.  But I think your favorite activity is swinging.  You enjoy it so much that you close your eyes and smile whenever you are on it - it is so magical - you get this look on your face that makes you seem wise beyond your years!  You just soak up and enjoy the simple feeling of swinging back and forth.  It is precious.  Your grandpa first noticed it when he took you to the park, and now you do it almost every time you swing.  

• You weigh 30 pounds now (though I am not sure how tall you are), so you are still our big girl!  You are still wearing the same 'ol cloth diapers.  Our stash is made up of 20 dipes and it seems to be just the right number.  Those things have saved us a lot of money!  Especially in your second year - we are really reaping the financial benefits now.

• You are napping once a day, from about 11:30-1:00 and going to bed somewhere between 7:15 and 8:00.  Bedtime has been an issue lately as you have been fighting going to sleep more and more... we're not sure why... but you just don't seem tired at night.  I try to run you ragged during the afternoons, but sometimes even that isn't enough!  I guess you just have a lot of energy - certainly far more energy than your mama and dada do :)

• You are still nursing and loving it just as much as you always have.  You now ask to nurse either by signing 'milk' or by saying "ilky".  I am happy to let you nurse as long as you don't hurt mama, which has happened lately when you slap or kick me, or pinch me (usually my other nip.ple, ouch!!!).  I've started telling you to be gentle or you will be done nursing, and the times I've had to make you stop you haven't liked it much, so I think you are figuring it out and are becoming more gentle.  In fact, you are nursing at this very moment and you are being very gentle and sweet.  You look up at me and smile and it just melts my heart.  I often ask you while you're nursing: "do you like mama's milk?" and you will answer by nodding your head, it is so cute!!!

• You talk in possessives a lot.  You will point to something and identify whose it is.  For example, you point at your sippy cup at say, very clearly, "Eliza's", and then you will point to my glass or waterbottle and say "Mama's".  The same thing with hats or coats on the hooks by the front door.  "Dada's" you said today as you pointed to his bike helmet.  And just the other day when we got home and were coming up the stairs to our house, you pointed to the house and said "Eliza's house".  Ha!  

Mama loves you so much, Eliza.  You are my sweet girl, and we have so much fun together every day.  I so enjoy spending my days (and nights!) with you, and even though I might sometimes need a mama-break, or feel like I'm at my wit's end some days, there is nothing I would rather be doing right now than being your mama.

Wordless Wednesday: Nursing on the Shore of Lake Superior

The After and Blog Hiatus!

So here's Eliza's "after" photo from her haircut on Wednesday.

Really, we didn't have much taken off, it was just a trim (we want to keep those curls going on in the back!).  It was just getting so long we had to get out of her eyes (and SOMEONE likes to rip barrettes out of one's hair).  We took her to a Kids' Hair salon, which was cheesy, but well worth it - the lady was really good with her, and Dora was on the TV in front of her chair, which didn't hurt.  Eliza stayed calm (and slightly angry, apparently, as you can see in the WW photo!) and didn't move a muscle the whole time.  The lady "did" her hair after she cut it, which I found really funny - she even put product in it (!!!!).  It ended up looking super cute, I think, and Eliza somehow didn't rip it out, so it stayed cute all day!  So, first haircut was a success!

My little love and I are leaving this morning and will be gone for about 10 days, so the blog will be silent until we get back.  Hubby is coming too, later today.  He'll be coming home early though, because he wasn't able to get enough time off work :(  We're sad, but Eliza and I will be with my family so we won't be alone.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Wordless Wednesday: First Haircut

Reminder!

Dear Readers, if anyone would like me to make a blog header, email me at empberry  gmail.com!  Wendy already requested one and I had a ton of fun making it for her (and she had some great suggestions which helped me make it perfect for her!), and it turned out to be super cute thanks to the photos of her ADORABLE little guy.  Thanks for letting me do that for you, Wendy!

Send me the photo/photos you want me to use and any other important details and I'll be happy to give it a go.

Hope everyone (in the US) has a magical, fun, safe and happy holiday weekend!