I see it, so I must....

EG's memory is still not fully formed. If she can't see, it then it does not exist to her. However, when she sees something, she remembers what to do with it or how to get it. She is obsessed with the door stops, heating vents, electrical cords of any variety, and all the dog toys. If she sees any of the above, she kicks it into high gear and cruises to attack the object.

We have a stethoscope and blood pressure thingy that was part of a Halloween costume one year. She found it in a cabinet and every morning if the cabinet is open (and it usually is because that is where my hair dryer lives) she crawls to the cabinet - army-man style and starts chewing on all of it...we have proof.



E-

6 months

Today is EG's six month birthday. We went to the doctor this morning for the checkup and shots. She is 27" long and weighs 18 lbs. 13 oz. Perfect. In the 90th percentiles but perfect.

Here are her accomplishments to date:
*Rolls anywhere and everywhere
*Can grab things faster than I can see them
*Is obsessed with playing with cords...this should work out well.
*Does the army man crawl quite well
*Is eating lots of fruits and veggies but still has an affinity for avocado
*Has a strained relationship with the dog
*Steals the dog's toys, hence the strained relationship
*Babbles about everything and nothing
*Tolerates her carseat much better
*Can sit up independently, but really prefers rolling and crawling
*Puts toys inside other toys...like fish in the aquarium
*Usually sleeps through the night except for one feeding
*Has two teeth
*Is growing hair...although most people still say she's bald
*Looks when you say her name
*Knows who her mommas are
*Stranger anxiety is significantly reduced...especially for blonds
*Never sits still

We are having a great time with her. She is more than we dared to hope for.

m

Oh, the little things

"EG is so flipping cute." I bet we say that 100 times a day.

She is so fun just to watch. She is starting to army-man crawl and she can roll from one end of the house to the other. She loves a wide open space to roll and roll and roll. She enjoys playing with the heating vents and using her feet as hands. She likes to play with strings/yarn and is constantly looking for shoes to put in her mouth. EG also has an affinity for the dog toys and dog blankets. If she is quiet then she has a dog toy and is trying to lay low. She is starting to put things inside of other things. She has a little people school bus and is puts the people in the bus....okay...she put one little person in the bus, but at least she did it.

The dog wants nothing to do with her. The dog really doesn't like sharing her toys with EG at all.

EG wants nothing to do with solid food. She will begrudgingly eat avocados and oatmeal, but really that is it. We have tried all sorts of food, but she just isn't that into it yet.

Sleep. The ongoing saga. At the beginning of October she started to wake up all the time at night. It got to the point where M would take EG to the guest room to sleep. After weeks of reading, discussing, and observing we decided to do it. To let EG cry it out (CIO). We started last Thursday and it hasn't been that bad. The first night was hell. We used the Ferber method which meant we could go in and soothe her every 5 or so minutes, which seem to help. She was sound asleep in 20 minutes. We have had to do it on and off, but most nights she doesn't cry at all and sleep 9 - 11 hours with one waking for feeding. M is doing a great job of keeping track of EG's progress to make sure it is working.

She is also making great noises now. She giggles, squeals, blows lots of raspberries, makes the ahhhh sound, and grrrr's.

Her hair is actually starting to grow as well. She is still a little baldy, but it is starting to get thicker, which is a good thing with winter coming.



E-

The Great Pumpkin

The Great Pumpkin brought EG her first tooth. She cut it yesterday and is working on tooth number two today. Two teeth in two days. She won't let us get near it with a camera....

Holy Fun Batman

I wrote this post last weekend and forgot to "post" it......

EG is so freaking fun right now. She just smiles, "talks", rolls, and is highly entertaining. She can roll all the way across the room in no time. She talks to her toys, jumps in her jumper like she is trying to jump to the moon, and has to touch everything. I think we are entering a very fun phase of babyhood.

Random Updates:
1. She had her first cold. I couldn't believe it. It wasn't too bad.
2. She loves, loves, loves avocado.
3. She won't eat anything orange - squash, sweet potatoes, etc..
4. She refuses to sleep past 5:30 a.m. regardless of when she goes to sleep. The fall-back time change might kill us -- I can't imagine her getting up at 4:30 a.m. If you have any suggests we will take them.
5. She went to her first high school sporting event - girls volleyball. She lasted about 5 minutes because it was past her bedtime and very loud in the gym.
6. The weekends fly by.
7. The bathtub. We have a rockin' good bathtub. It is the primo. It has a molded center that allows her to be slightly elevated so she is easily washed. However, little miss eg has figured out how to sit up in the tub. Bath time used to be a splash fest which required me to take off my shirt just to wash her --- now, it is a wrestling match. I have to wash her while she is trying to sit up and not let her drown. M just sits behind me, swearing that she will never bathe her. I no longer get soaked, but it is exhausting and very, very fun.
8. Cousin E is coming this week. EG has a cousin that is 6 weeks older than her. Cousin is coming and we hope they have fun together.
9. EG is so tall that she is fitting nicely into 9 month clothes -- she is 5 months old.
10. She is going to be a ladybug for Halloween.

SAH Mom for a day

On Saturday M went on an art tour with her mom and sister. I was the stay-at-home mom all day. It almost killed me. The house was a wreck, EG pooped all over, and I was exhausted. Now, by the time M got home the house was in better shape and EG was napping, but for a few crazy hours there it was touch and go. I would need a lot more practice to be a full time SAH mom. I will just continue to go to work and bring home the bacon.

Being the working mom is a hard job too. I start my day at 5:30 a.m. and I feel like I am done when EG goes to sleep around 6:30 p.m. Then I get to relax and see my wife. However, this past week I had to go back to work three nights. So, I would work all day, come home play with EG, put her bed, and then go back to work. It was exhausting. M let me sleep in Saturday morning which helped. I hope to not have too many more weeks like that.

My mom was here last weekend and we had a great time. EG didn't know what to think of Ninna the first day, but she came around by that evening and then she was all about Ninna for days. We enjoyed the built in babysitter and some quiet nights to ourselves. We all went to get our fall decorations.......EG liked the pumpkins.

Life as a Stay-At-Home Mom

I had no idea what to expect when E and I decided that I would be the Stay-At-Home (SAH) Mom for a year. I knew it would be hard. I hoped it would be fun. I prayed I wouldn't have to call E at work in tears too many times. Much to my joy, it is wonderful to be a SAH Mom. More than anything else, I love knowing that EG is safe and cared for all day. She gets a ton of kisses and snuggles. She gets all the attention she wants. Next year she's off to daycare, so I am happy to indulge her.

I also love being a "housewife." I love the rhythm of picking up, cleaning, laundry, meals, errands, etc. E will be the first to tell you that I am picking up before she's out the door. I cannot tolerate nor get anything done when the house is littered with stuff. I love the peace of the house when EG naps and I love her sounds when she's awake. EG and I have figured each other out. I know when she's hungry and tired. I know when she needs to get some fresh air. We have gotten very good at running errands together. I have the smaller car of E and me, but EG actually prefers it because she gets such a good view and she rarely cries on car rides around town. I like having the time to do things for E or buy things for her that I know she likes.

This year is a total gift. People keep asking me if I like being at home. I wish I could make it a full-time job. I cannot fathom taking EG to daycare and going back to work next year. I hope that by then I can see how much she needs to be around other kids instead of me all day.

Here is a picture from an outing this week. We visited my workplace for a couple hours. This was EG in her carseat when we got home. I love the colors. I love that she is not letting go of that teether.

m