Big Girl Beds and Babies

Eliza is getting her big girl bed next weekend, and she is very excited.  We've been talking about it for a while, and she has been saying how she is going to sleep in it ALL NIGHT LONG, MAMA! Okay, honey, we'll see!  

We've also been talking about babies - we know a few babies, siblings of some of her toddler friends - and she is quite enamored with them.  Hubby has started asking her if she wants a baby to come live in our house (OMG no I'm not pregnant), mostly to see her reaction when he asks his follow-up question: "would you share your milky with a baby brother or sister?".  Usually she says "no", or, more specifically, "no that's MINE'S!".  But more recently she's been getting a bit more on board with the whole big girl concept and is changing her mind.  

I got a little bit of this conversation on video today and she even went so far as to explain where a baby would sleep.  So cute.  She definitely understands baby things vs. big girl things and I'm hoping this will eventually lead to the promised sleeping in her bed ALL NIGHT LONG, MAMA!  Until then... we're good (baby steps, right?).

Wordless Wednesday - Video Edition

At the coral reef exhibit at the zoo

Total Randomness

• Tomorrow morning Eliza has her 18 month check-up.  She is starting to understand about going to the doctor.  We've talked about it a bit and she has this book at Grandma and Grandpa's house, which talks about going to the doctor.  Also, she came to the doctor with me on Monday and saw my doctor look in my ears, my mouth, listen to my heart, etc.  We thought it would be a good idea for her to see that so she doesn't think that SHE is the only one who has to go to the doctor!  Oh, and I have a sinus infection.  Blah.  I guess after having a cold for 2 weeks straight, it's not that surprising...

• Need a new blog to read (I know, I know, you probably don't, but hear me out)?  I've been reading Amalah since Eliza was born, but not sure if I've talked about it here.  Amy Storch writes it and she is hilarious.  She's a mom of two boys and due with another baby boy in a couple of weeks.  I adore her humor and her writing style, and she is the perfect combination of tender and sarcastic.  And I love the way she uses exclamation points and caps lock, heheh.  I sorta-kinda want to be her - or, at least, be able to write like her.  So if you're looking for a laugh, check her out.

• I'm thinking about getting a peace pole for my front garden.  Anyone ever heard of or seen one?  It's a large pole that you put in the ground - many people put them in their gardens or in their front lawns, or at local community or religious centers - and on each side, the words "May Peace Prevail on Earth" is translated into different languages.  There are quite a few in the city I live in, but none in my neighborhood.  It's something I've been thinking of for a while and every time I see one I am reminded how much I want one.  I'd probably get the four-sided cedar pole.  You can choose the four languages you'd like on it, and I noticed today that one of the "languages" you can choose is animal paw prints!  Cute.  I think I would choose English, Spanish, Hmong... and I am honestly considering the paw prints :)

• Eliza is definitely saying "love you!" to us now.  She said it to Andy this morning as he was leaving for work.  It just melts my heart!

• Hubby and I found this great little play kitchen on sale at Tar.get the other day for only $30, so we snatched it up immediately.  It's small, wooden and just so sweet.  And hard to beat that price!  We haven't set it up for Eliza yet, and we're thinking we probably won't until she's closer to two.  Maybe it will be a birthday gift...?  Or, we'll at least wait until later this fall when the weather gets cold and we're forced back inside to play (nooo!!!!).

• And finally, this video cracks me up:

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!

What Does Eliza Say?

Videos!

I'm usually not great at remembering to take videos of Eliza, but I took two short ones recently and I want you all to experience the pure joy and cuteness that is my child.  Haha - what?  It's true!  So here you go:

The first is Eliza climbing the stairs at her Aunt and Uncle's house.  They have nice carpeted stairs, and she loved climbing them.  We don't have any stairs at our house, but clearly she knows just how to handle them!  The second video is from this evening.  We were playing with Maxx, our kitty-cat (who Eliza ADORES).  She was waving a straw at Maxx, which he would bite and paw at, and she thought it was soooo funny!

Eliza Live!

I still haven't had a chance to get Eliza's entire birth story down, but I thought I'd share this video of Eliza from her second day of life.

Btw - thank you sooo much for all the sweet comments! We also think our girl is pretty darn beautiful, but we might be biased :) We are so in love with her; it is overwhelmingly powerful. Things are going great so far, I think. Eliza is a really good nurser (yay!) and we've been able to get some 3 hour stretches of sleep in between feedings a few times, which feels great to mom and dad! Trying our best to follow the "when she sleeps, you sleep!" motto... well, we try. She is just so cute to look at when she sleeps, we don't want to close our eyes! She is currently sleeping peacefully against my chest in the Baby K'Tan. Wearing her brings tear to my eyes. I've been waiting so long for this (and every other, for that matter) moment.

Have I mentioned how in love I am? Oh, maybe I have...