future school

These pictures were taken March 3rd, one Saturday, when E and I went to try out her future elementary school's playground. She approved. It's a very short walk from our house.

The school in the background. These knobs are for bigger kids to climb on - pseudo rock climbing.

I went down this static-y slide with her but it was a tight fit!

This is what E spent most of her time doing.

E can vacuum too

I saw Marie's pictures of Victor vacuuming and felt competitive...

along a similar theme...

dreaming of cats?

On Monday night E meowed in her sleep. Actually it was "me-oo" instead of "me-ow" but she still sounded like a cat.

like mother like daughter

This morning E and I were brushing our teeth together in the bathroom. Then I put on some earrings. E reached over to the tray where I leave many of my earrings and picked out the dangly green ones for herself - they weren't together, so she picked them out separately, knew they matched. She stuffed one of them into her ear so that it hung there for a second, and then tried to mash the other one onto the other ear. It fell instantly to the floor, but by then she was on to something else -- no matter.

It's a small thing, but such deliberate copying is new. In the past she would see me put the earring in my ear and then try to grab it. Or she'd try to play with the ones on the tray. That reminds me too, this weekend she actually managed to walk a few steps in my shoes. They're about as long as her whole leg!

like father like daughter

When my in-laws visited recently they brought David a box of his old comic books from their attic. E was entranced.

I think she is looking more like her dad lately. Especially when she's squinting in the sun!

We've been trying to get outdoors more this month. E loves it. She still thinks she needs her coat - she'll go and get it whenever she hears the word "outside". She doesn't trust the spring weather yet.

Who does she look like?

In these cute pictures I think E favors a little my mother in law, which is a side of her I hadn't noticed before.

I don't know who she gets the shoe obsession from -- certainly not me!

weekend break

Boy, it has really changed my blogging habits that I now can't do it around E. (Well, I could, but there would be tears and frustration.) I didn't mean to take a break for the whole weekend, but I guess I did. Whenever she naps, I usually want to nap too. And it's hard for her dad to distract her when I'm around - she wants to be near me. I guess he's going to have to start taking her off the premises. Last night I went out by myself, to a friend's house, and she cried. She stood on the sidewalk with Daddy and wailed heartbrokenly as I drove off. But he said she was happily playing with sticks and gravel moments later. The reason I'm up right now is that E woke up at 3:00. I listened to her whine and whimper for 30 minutes before I gave in. Ten minutes later she was back in her crib - wailing loudly - but as soon as I shut the door to her room, she stopped. Not another peep. I could have just gone right back to sleep, but of course my mind seized the opportunity to fret over a weird telemarketing call I got at work last week. Don't usually get those at work. And the guy had my name, address, and the last 4 digits of my bank account -- plus my work number. I contacted the bank and they said they would keep an ear out for any similar calls/reports. My account has no suspicious activity, but that's what I felt compelled to get up and check just now. I had forgotten to do it all weekend! I guess it wasn't enough of a worry to interrupt my daily life, just my sleep. Great.

Anyway, I'm wide awake now and will try to make the most of it. Photos coming next!

late for work

...so no new pictures today. But I must brag about last night when E followed more complicated instructions than she ever has before. David was telling me about a new toy phone he bought her at the dollar store, and I said (several times) "Emma, where's your new telephone? Can you show me your new telephone?" She climbed off my lap and made a beeline for David's office, then called back to me insistently ("Gah...!"). When I came in she was standing there clearly searching for something on the floor. I spied the phone a foot away and pointed it out to her. She understood what I wanted and remembered (more or less) where she had left the toy!

talking computer

E was playing on the computer this morning and turned on the "narrator" feature in Word. I didn't even know we had that. It narrates out loud every key you type and mouse click you make. So that was pretty exciting ("space space control space b b b space" etc.).

peekaboo in the curtains

These were taken about 6 weeks ago. She still loves her window seat. So does Kaylee - they're constantly replacing each other in the same spot.

a year of blogging

I just realized this month marks a year of baby blogging! So much has changed. But no time to reflect right now - must hit the showers before E wakes again. Have a good day!

good hygiene

I'm resurfacing after another hormonal migraine. D gently urged me to see a doctor about them - "this seems a bit extreme," he said. At the very least, it would be good to count the weeks and plan my schedule around a sick day in bed.

Here are some pictures from last week in February - E "brushing" her teeth.

brushing her hair

here, mom, you need to comb your hair

untitled

I'm still here, we're all fine. Just not finding time or energy in the mornings, lately. E is starting to sleep better, again, since her little "bug" so maybe I will catch up on my sleep too.

applause

E is better now, and we had a good visit yesterday with her Grandpa Bud and Grandma Mickey. Here's another picture from my mom's retirement party - E loved all the applause and clapped along.

happy upchuck day

E is not quite well. She threw up in one of the most inconvenient places yesterday: her car seat. Chunks in every crevice and buckle. There have been 3 similar incidents, in easier to clean places. Don't quite know what's going on, but I assume it's a "tummy bug". She's sleeping now, and has been for 3 or 4 hours. Yes, I checked that she's still breathing!

I napped for a while today too, awoke to a telemarketer. He was allowed to call me because it was to renew a magazine I used to subscribe to. In my ...

...I was interrupted there by a familiar, ominous strangling sound on the baby monitor! finishing this 6 hours later after E is in bed ...

Anyway, I accepted the magazine offer - a 3 year commitment. Not an awful price, but something I don't really need. Why do I do that? I've done a lot of laundry today - just now put in the last vomitty load. E wanted to be held ALL the time today, and I don't blame her. About the only time she accepted not being held was on our walk to the grocery store. I wanted milk for my tea, desperately, and we were low on diapers and baby food. It was a nice day and since the car seat still isn't clean (I'm not strong enough to get the screws on the back off, which lets you take off the straps and seat cover) we walked. Well, I walked. E rode in the stroller. She was so cute - when her sippy cup would wobble and fall over on the stroller tray, she'd reach up and right it. She has only eaten crackers, breastmilk, and "pediatric electrolyte solution". And some baby food bananas. She perked up at dinner time and I let her feed herself half of the bananas. She enjoyed that. She enjoyed her bath too. Sometime this last week I think, I gave her a shallower than usual bath and she learned to lie on her tummy and kick her feet. So proud of herself! Well, David just came home from his trip and I'm going to sign off here. I'll try to get to some pictures tomorrow.

busy week

I took the morning off because I'll be at "work" all evening - though it's fun, it's a special conference I go to twice a year. Marie is going to keep E since David's out of town. I will not have chance to post here again til the weekend. Hope you all have a good few days.

Here is a picture from my mom's retirement party. Notice the halo on my dad.

favorite things

E still loves her green fuzzy blanket, but she doesn't carry it around anymore. She seems to be especially fond now of her salmon-pink terrycloth housecoat. It was made by David's grandmother for David's sister, originally. Emma loves wearing it and has taken to sleeping in it the last 2 nights, which keeps her covered better than a blanket. I'll get you a picture of her in it before too long.

We're hurrying this morning, so that's all for now.

family visit

These pictures are from almost a month ago, when Grandma and Grandpa brought Great Aunt Dwanda to visit one afternoon.

Reading E's new "Colors" book

I do not want them in a box, I do not want them with a fox...

5 adults watching 1 toddler - E's preferred audience ratio

Grandma tries to interpret the current version of "Gah!"

London Story

Interesting idea! A "chain story"...
http://www.timeout.com/london/books/features/2654.html

nice day

E and I took a two hour walk today, with a lunch stop at Yum-Yum's. She ate a whole hot dog and bun. I shared a few crumbs from the candy bar I ate afterward. She's had peanut butter now, in very small amounts. That's the last potential food allergy danger I guess -- though allergies can apparently strike at any time. I gave her some of my peanut butter & pear butter sandwich this morning, and there were peanuts in the candy. It was a beautiful day. We both took a nap afterward. David has been working out back in his little workshop the last few days. It rained endlessly the last 2 days (before it ended) and our backyard is a big squishy mess. I should clean the carpet near the door, now that Emma has gone to bed, but I'd rather just go to bed myself!

Emma has made the animal sounds for cow, pig, duck, and bee. She'll follow some instructions if she feels like it. She'll point and whine at the refrigerator or the kitchen counter if she's thirsty or hungry, and she'll raise her arms if she's ready to get out of the high chair, crib, or bath (though it's quite rare in the latter). She astonished me recently by patting her chest and smiling at me when I said "Mommy". She did exactly the gesture I used to make when I was trying to tell her who I am - I was simply trying to say "this is me" by patting my own chest, up near the base of my throat. I guess she took it as a sign language sign. This was months ago, and I had stopped doing it, but she remembered!