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yesterday penelope was over and the girls were both on their blankets with their own toys. elenora decided that what she really wanted were penelope's toys, which were aparently much more interesting. so elenora, who is extremely mobile, pulled herself hand over hand as fast as she could, over all the toys that were in her way, in order to get to penelope's blanket and toys.


here are the photos:

southern chicken what?!

first off, i just want to preface this with saying that i never eat macdonalds food. that being said, j. and i found ourselves extremely hungry last night after leaving his parents' after a visit and the only quick food place between there and home was macdonalds. j. pulled up to the drive-through and ordered a southern chicken sandwich. i kept looking at the menu and couldn't find the picture or description of it, but j. was pressuring me to order (he hates when someone pulls up behind him...he feels like he has to move right away...no idea why). so i just said "okay, get two of those" even though i didn't know what it was. i was thinking it would be like their other new chicken sandwiches with the lettuce, tomato, and a wheat bun. maybe a special sauce or cheese. boy, was i wrong.

this sandwich is a soggy buttered white bread bun with fried chicken and pickles on it. really. fried chicken, pickles, butter, bun.

what the hell are they thinking?!?

so i ate that and then opened my apple pie that j. had ordered (yes, this is the most unhealthy meal i've ever eaten) and before i took even a bite it slid out of the box and down through the crack next to my car seat and onto the floor. i couldn't even fish it out because it pulled apart all gooey every time i tried.

so much for lovin' it.

seven months and growing

elenora is seven months old! she is more fun every day. tonight after her tub and bottle i rocked her and we cuddled and laughed together as i kissed her cheeks. she's the most precious little girl in the world.

this past week we tackled the nap schedule issue, and everything has become so easy so fast. dr. weissbluth says to put the baby down for a nap at 9 am and 1 pm. until now it's been kind of random--just waiting for her to appear tired. but that hasn't worked too well because neither of us knew what time she'd be going down for a nap. this week i started keeping her awake in the mornings until as close to 9 am as possible. she always fell asleep without barely a peep. then i'd put her down at 1 pm and she'd do the same. her sleep ability has really been amazing. she always goes to sleep at night without any crying and then sleeps through the night.

now that ella sleeps, i have more freedom to do things. last night i went with k. to target to get some summer clothes. i only bought a few things, as money is real tight right now, but i feel like this will really freshen up my wardrobe.

here are some of elenora's seven month pictures:

my itinerary and other things

first of all (any boys who read this can disregard), i got my period today after more than a year without it. not something i'm terribly excited about, and i'm hoping that doesn't mean that my milk supply has diminished a lot. elenora is eating a lot of solids now, but i'm still nursing her a lot.

time for some b.c.

here are the solids ella is eating:

rice cereal

peas

carrots

sweet potatoes

prunes

apples

the last few days i've been trying to introduce her to those gerber puffs, just so that she'll have a food she can snack on in the car.

oh yeah. we got a ticket and fly out on May 9th. here's the itinerary:

• May 9th-May 12th: stay with my brother and his family (they've never met elenora, and it's been a year since i saw my now 3-year-old niece).


• May 13th-May 15th: stay with momby's cousins mona and willis (i can't make that up) since my brother's family gets shipped out to live in japan. momby arrives the night of the 14th.


• May 15th: travel as far as we can get before we need to stop for the night (i'm going to try to keep elenora on a somewhat regular bedtime routine/schedule). probably end up somewhere on the other side of WA, like spokane.


• May 16th: travel from wherever we get to Yellowstone National Park. see as much of it as we can.


• May 17th: travel from Yellowstone to cheyenne WY.


• May 18th: travel to lincoln NE to stay with momby's sister and to see a lot of j.'s cousins. this will be a great time of rest and fun. everyone in NE gave me such a lovely baby shower last summer, so now it's time for them to meet ella. plus, i get to see c. and her family. yay!


• May 22nd: travel from NE to naperville IL to my uncle's house. i'll see my cousin there, who is getting married a few weeks later. i won't be able to go to her wedding because i'm doing this trip, but it will be great to see her and i'll probably get to spend more time with her this way.


• May 23rd: not sure. we might travel again, or we might stay another night. have to see how we're feeling. if we travel, we'll head toward cleveland OH.


• May 24th: either travel to OH or leave OH for the fingerlakes region of NY. hopefully get to see that area a bit, as they have beautiful wine country there.


• May 25th: either leave OH for NY, or travel from NY to home. we'll probably want to just get home and see j.


• May 26th: either travel from NY to home, or rest at home on Memorial Day with j.

forward.

yesterday afternoon elenora was playing with a little rubber duck and it dropped just beyond her reach. for the first time, she actually pulled herself forward to get it. now she's been doing that pretty regularly. momby came over tonight so that j. and i could get out on a date, and ella was pulling herself military style across the living room.



i've been getting ella outside and onto the grass for play time. i love having the sun on our heads and seeing her experience of the different sounds and textures. we walked across town yesterday to the town hall for our beach sticker. on our way back we stopped on a grassy hill and just played under a tree for about fifteen minutes.

j. and i went to weathervane tavern tonight for dinner. we used to go there all the time. it's where we went the night we got engaged. but we haven't gone much since we moved towns. usually there's a 45 minute wait, but they seated us right away! what luck. then we went to the college for a concert of the st. petersburg quartet. it was really fantastic, but after months of sleeping 5-6 hours every night, i just could not keep my eyes open! so sad. i was prepared to go sit in the car for the second half, but j. decided we should just go home.

i'm on the verge of buying a plane ticket. i think i have to take two weeks off of work. thankfully i have a lot of vacation time saved. but this will pretty much deplete that. momby is extremely excited. i'm nervous, but i think it will be a lot of fun. i feel so sorry for elenora, though, being stuck in her car seat so much. we'll have to get her a few new toys to entertain her.

grass

ella and i took a walk outside this afternoon and it was so lovely that i spread her blanket on our lawn and put her on the grass for the first time in her life. it was so much fun to be outside on the ground and looking at the trees and dandelions, which she of course wanted to eat.

i love this weather. i love that i can take her out for long walks. she's so pleasant.

speaking of which, here is another video of ella laughing at her grandparents' dogs. i can't believe her sense of humor. i mean, looking at the dog on the right side of the screen, it really is a funny looking little thing.

squeals and kisses

elenora is squealing today in a very conversational way. she squeals and then waits for you to squeal and then she laughs.

she's also taken to smacking her lips together in a really cute way. it started at dinner a couple nights ago. she'd take a bite and say "mmmm" and then smack her lips. but now she's been doing it just randomly throughout the day and loves it when you do it back to her. i call it "giving kisses."

this morning while she was playing i nodded my head at her and ella looked at me a second and then nodded her head back at me.

we took ella to church yesterday. the ride to church was pretty bad. we got lost and then we got pulled over by a cop to inform us that j.'s registration sticker isn't on his plate (which he knows and has tried several times to remedy). we got there about 20 minutes late, but luckily they were still singing praises, so i didn't feel so bad. i left ella, some "elenora notes" i'd written up that morning, and some of her own toys with the nursery worker, who was amused that i had written out instructions. probably a very first time mom thing to do. after the service we went down to find elenora very happily watching the other children.

it's so nice to know that we can go to church and not worry about her.

here are ella and j. playing with "cody" (the dog) after church:

i fed elenora prunes last night since her stools were a bit difficult for her in the morning. but i think i might have fed her too many because she's had quite a lot of pooping today. this afternoon she had the first blow-out since i can remember. i think maybe i'll just give her one or two spoonfuls every couple days from now on instead of a full half of the jar. i'll be getting a covered ice tray in the mail any day now, and i can freeze small portion sizes.

i think i'll be heading to WA in a couple weeks and then driving back across the states with momby and elenora. that is a very intimidating trip. but it could be wicked cool to see so much of the country. i wish j. could come.

pop-pop's birthday

first off, this morning j. got up with elenora so that i could sleep in for the first time in...forever. it was absolutely fabulous and i just have to thank him for giving me that present.

this afternoon we headed to j.'s parents' house for his dad's birthday bruncheon. i put elenora into her easter dress and some adorable striped leggings from d. ella was so precious and had fun with everyone. she's really not a dice roll to take places. just so well behaved and happy. and when she got tired i put her in the pack and play and after ten minutes of fussing she was asleep for two hours. when she awoke she was in the best mood and was so interested in the two boston terriers that were running around the living room. all of a sudden while looking at them she broke out into the most energetic belly laughing that we have ever seen. the dogs must have just struck her as being the funniest things she'd ever seen in her life!

here is some video footage. j. wants me to add a disclaimer about the voice he was using to call the dogs, since he was talking in his "talk to baby voice." he doesn't really sound like that. anyhow here it is:

spring

yesterday it was in the sixties here. i took elenora outside with a t-shirt on and a light sweatshirt and no hat. it was incredible. the babysitter took the girls out for a long walk in the morning and she said ella was just talking the whole way. then elenora and i went to the hannas' and took a walk with l. when we got back j. and i took ella out again after her nap.

she's just the most pleasant baby i've ever met in my life.

(i understand i'm biased.)

today i was informed that my brother, a navy pilot, is being stationed in Japan in the next couple months and could be there 1-3 years. it's so sad to me since i will see my niece even less and my brother has never even met elenora. i really hate the military. i wish we all lived close and could see them often.

anyhow, here are some pictures that j. took this evening while i fed ella:

rocking out

elenora is hanging out up on her knees and rocking back and forth. this is new as of friday. and twice she has landed forwards instead of back. it's difficult to keep her on a play rug now, since she backs up and goes in circles. she's now digging into her baskets of toys herself instead of just sticking with the ones i've taken out and laid around her on the blanket.

she's also sick again. runny nose and a gravely cough. she's been waking up pretty frequently during the night and just howling for twenty minutes before falling back to sleep. this is very unlike her lately, as she's been sleeping 9-12 hour stretches a night.

could this be teething?

i thought she was teething before, but no teeth appeared and she stopped pulling at her ears. so now i just don't even know.

this weekend we took elenora to the park for the first time and put her in the little black baby swing that has leg holes. she really enjoyed that. mostly, she likes looking at the other children. and there was a three-legged dog there to watch. as ella would swing towards me i'd say "ahhh-boo!" and she would laugh!

no, unfortunately i did not think to bring the camera. but i will next time.

here is a sixth month picture from saturday:

a few more photos.

teddy bear from lorien

lorien sent ella a sweet teddy bear. here they are:



i title this video "oh, hey there friend!"

Jumperoo fun

she's really standing in this thing now.




ella loves the fly.





here's another video for e., who especially requested more:

evening walk

after penelope left ella and i headed out to smell the spring. so so warm. maybe 60 even. the breeze was blowing the branches and leaves, and all of the birds were celebrating. elenora just kept looking around at everything and talking. when we got home from the walk i sat with her on the stoop and we looked at the trees and birds around our house. she was so interested and kept looking this way and that way with an excited look on her face.

that's my girl!

six month stats

i can't believe i haven't put these down yet, as this blog has sort of become elenora's baby book.

she weighs 15 lbs and is 27 inches long. that's the 95th percentile for height, if you can believe that from a girl with relatively average-to-short parents. tall and skinny baby girl.

she got her shots and they really didn't seem to affect her much. i mean, she cried right when the nurses administered them, but then i nursed her and she was a darling.

it's warm out today (50s) and if i wasn't babysitting we'd be outside enjoying it.

i've got the windows open instead.