Eleanor is 7 months old!

Did you think I would let a little thing like a trip across the country stop my obsession with these month birthday photos? Bah.

It seems like I just typed the 6 month post, but here we are again...my baby girl is 7 months old. It looks like she's a little surprised herself. By the way, she is sporting her first little Aggie shirt, courtesy of her Mimi. Gig 'em, Eleanor!

Here's what she's up to:

• Obviously, the inch worm move...see post below.
• Occasionally holding her bottle and even that darn sippy cup, which now works by the way.
• Squealing loudly and often with excitement.
• Reaching for and grabbing EVERYTHING! (e.g. yogurt dumped in my lap this morning)
• Getting sturdier and sturdier at sitting up.
• Shaking things to make noise.

I've been tagged

After reading these lovely little tidbits, please scroll down to see some really cute pictures of my little worm and her friends.


I have been tagged by Shana to post "Things you may not have known...or cared to know for that matter."

Four Jobs I've Had In My Life
Video store clerk
Part-time ninja
First grade teacher
Disney store cashier

Four Movies I Would Watch Over and Over
The Holiday
Sweet Home Alabama
Elf
Beverly Hills Ninja

Four Places I Have Lived
Northeast Texas
The secret ninja-training place
Central Texas
Southwest Texas

Four Favorite Bands And Singers
Third Day
Milli Vanilli (just seeing if you were paying attention)
Jeremy Camp
Ayiesha Woods

Four Loves of My Life
Jared
Eleanor
Ashley (she's sitting right here)
York peppermint patties

Four Most Memorable Moments
My wedding
When the doctor pulled Eleanor out of my tummy
When I was born
When I became a ninja

Four of My Favorite Foods
York peppermint patties
Guacamole
Jason's Deli turkey wraps
Black beans

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now
Where my husband is
Where my husband is
Where my husband is
Where my husband is

I tag Lisa and Robin.

My little inch worm

Eleanor is trying ever-so-hard to keep up with Ashley's big kids, and has started doing the cutest little inch worm move.


So, it's not crawling, right? What IS it called when she uses her face?!

And some more cute pictures of the gang...

We're here!

We have arrived in Texas. Yipee! The flight was great; although, I was reminded how much I am annoyed by the evil stares of baby-haters at the airport. Really, babies have a right to travel too, people! I love when she's great on the plane because I feel like maybe we did our part to change mean peoples' minds about flying babies a tiny bit.
We're staying with my awesome friend Ashley and her family this week. Here are some pictures from outside play time yesterday. Her kids are Kelsey, Jake, and Megan. Megan is the little one. I didn't technically know her Mommy and Daddy when she was born, but I like to think it is more than coincidence that we share a name. So kidding...but we do both get a kick out of the fact that we have the same name.

Off to Texas

Hey, friends. Eleanor and I are headed to the Lone Star State bright and early in the morning. I'm sure I'll post while I'm there, but I don't know when or how often.

Until then...

What a big girl

Yesterday, Eleanor rode in the cart at Target for the first time. I could be way late on this...I just never felt like she could sit up well enough to allow me to get my shopping done. I didn't want to try to hold her with one hand the whole time while trying to grab items from the shelf.

She was SO proud of herself. She kept giving me this look that said, "Did you know I was so big, Mommy?" When we would pass by other babies in carts, she would smile and laugh at them. And then I would laugh. And then the other mommy would look at me like I was a weirdo. Whatever. My girl and I were having a moment.

This is an awful picture quality-wise, but was taken in direct sunlight with the point-and-shoot camera I keep in my diaper bag. It works for capturing the moment, though. Look how happy and proud she looks. That's my girl...

Here kitty, kitty

Eleanor realized a couple of months ago that we have cats, but has just recently become interested in interacting with them. One of them just runs away when Eleanor (or any of us, really) looks at her. This one (Alex) will come around, but wisely stays just out of Eleanor's reach. She tries to grab him, but he just stares at her as he brushes past her chubby, little outstretched hand. Eleanor just wants to be friends, but I can't say as I blame him for being a little leery. She can get quite a grip on your hair with those tiny fingers, and has brought tears to Mommy's eyes more than once. "Whatever. I'll just eat my blocks by myself then!" "Or play with this awesome, new toy Mommy got me."
Seriously, if anybody's baby needs lessons on entertaining themselves, let me know. She played with this chip bag for a good ten minutes, making herself laugh hysterically a couple of times. I know what the Easter Bunny's bringing...

Watch out...I know Tae Bo

Okay, sorry about the lack of posting (SO not like me), but we were having so much fun with Mimi that I couldn't find the time to post. Then, yesterday, Eleanor and I were sulking because she went home. We forced ourselves to suck it up today, and get back into our normal routine, which now includes...

Tae Bo. For a little over a week now, I've been doing a Tae Bo workout tape in the mornings. I did not do it while my mother-in-law was here, as it's embarrassing enough to do with my six-month-old looking on, much less another adult. But today I got back into the groove, and got my workout on.

Me+Tae Bo= Hilarious on so many levels for so many reasons. But mostly because I am THE most uncoordinated, least graceful person that has ever walked (or stumbled) upon God's creation. I'm pretty sure even super-fit, uber-healthy Billy Blanks himself would drop dead of a heart attack if he snuck a peak through my living room window and saw me butchering his workout moves. Seriously, my body flails about in ways that make a headless chicken look like Sammy Davis, Jr. Whatever. I figure because I'm sweaty and sore at the end of the tape, I must be getting a good workout.

But about Billy Blanks...can you say superfreak?! He is so weird and so lame that it is sometimes hard for me to believe that he's actually human. The first time I did the video was probably the best workout I've had so far because I laughed my butt right off. Is he serious? First of all, let's talk wardrobe. He's wearing a red, spandex half-shirt. Half-shirt?! I don't care if you're sporting a twelve pack of rock-hard abs, dudes don't wear half-shirts. And then there are those "motivational" phrases that he uses to "inspire" you throughout the tape. For example, 'I'm watching you. I'm always watching you. Even when my back is turned, I'm still watching you.' Actually, you're not, Billy. I'm watching you. Because you're inside my TV. Have they explained to you how this video thing works? And my other favorite- 'Don't give up. Look to a higher power. Whatever higher power you believe in, look to that for strength.' Really? I happen to believe in THE higher power- the REAL one, and am pretty sure He doesn't care whether or not I finish this Tae Bo tape. Nice try, though, Billy.

Anyway, as goofy and ridiculous as I find Billy Blanks to be, I'm going to continue his workout in pursuit of my former body. I hope he doesn't read this and come Tae Bo me. I think I'll do an extra closet check tonight just to make sure he's really not watching me.

Mimi is here!

Jared's mom arrived yesterday for a week-long visit. We are so excited to have her spend time with us, and get to know her granddaughter better! We took a little trip to the park today, but will be stuck inside for much of her visit due to a significant change in the weather. (Snow tomorrow- BOO!) At least we're stuck inside with good company!!

Who says girls can't wear blue?

Ladies, get out your nail polish

I just realized this morning that it is now warm enough (at least for today) to wear open-toed shoes. BUT, that means it's time to get out the ol' nail polish, and have a go at those seasonally neglected toenails.

I'm not a make-upy person at all. In fact, I think the last time I wore full-on make-up was at my wedding seven years ago. But I just can't let myself go out of the house with bare toenails showing. Okay, 'can't let myself go out of the house' is a drastic exaggeration, but I do prefer that they are painted. I think this year I might even branch out and get more than one color.

I'm really terrible at painting my toenails, but I couldn't help but notice that I was able to a much better job than last summer since I have no baby belly in the way. I laughed as I thought of last year when my dear, sweet husband would try to help out his incredibly un-sexy pregnant wife by painting her toenails for her. Oh, what our husbands do to avoid the hormonal wrath!

And now for my artsy attempt at a bottle of nail polish...I just don't like to post without a picture...

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere...

In an effort to inexpensively entertain the whole family, we decided to give Eleanor her first bubble bath. She was very interested in the bubbles- but only as something new to put in her mouth. She kept dipping her face in the water with her mouth open. Then, she decided that it might be more efficient to use her hands to bring the bubbles to her mouth. Thank goodness for harmless Johnson's Baby Wash!

Moms against Daylight Savings Time

I'm crazy about most of Ben Franklin's ideas- electricity, the stove, bifocals, etc. But I do believe he made a serious error when he thought up Daylight Savings Time. I think that just because he was really smart, all the politicians jumped on his time-changing bandwagon without really thinking through this idea. "Oh, yes, Mr. Franklin, why don't we rob everyone of the precious hour of sleep they so deserve?" I understand that you supposedly get the hour back in the fall, but that's a pretty long time to wait. (I hope I'm not this crabby until then.)

So, I might be able to recover from getting a little less sleep. (In the past week, I've gotten quite used to having only 4 or 5 hours a night anyway.) But it is just wrong to mess with my baby like this. She totally doesn't get it. I know, I know, she is six months old. Why doesn't she understand Mr. Franklin's brilliant system of time-switching? Well, she doesn't, and she has been quite bewildered by it all morning. I finally got her down for a nap, but had to listen to her shouting (what I'm pretty sure were curses) at me for 30 or so minutes. Why, Mr. Franklin, why? Why have you done this to us?

I'm thinking that mommies of infants and toddlers should form an organization called Moms Against Daylight Savings Time, and put a stop to this nonsense. On second thought, I think I will open the organization to anyone, as I can think of several groups of people who are probably against DST. Pastors who are preaching to a half-sleeping congregation on Sunday morning. Teachers who can't get their students' heads off their desks on Monday. Even college kids who lost a good hour of partying Saturday night (however inappropriate- they have feelings too.)

We will storm the capitol, and demand that Congress hear our pleas. They will probably tell us to move to a country that doesn't participate in DST, to which we will reply...

...I don't know...I thought of the name. I can't do all the work.

I feel so nature-y

So, against our better judgment, we went hiking again today. The weather was really just too nice to stay indoors, so we packed up our gear and headed over to the same nature preserve we went to last weekend. Thankfully, this was a totally different experience. A.) Eleanor was a happy, little trooper in her pack and B.) We actually found a geocache. The cache was loaded with all kinds of interesting goodies. (It's obvious that that's what's in the picture, right?) I was the one to actually find it, though I will admit that Jared had a 17-pound handicap on his back. (I can't believe I just referred to my child as a 'handicap.' You know what I mean, right?) Redo: Jared had the 17-pound love-of-our-lives on his back, which hindered his ability to dig in the mud for the cache. That's better.

Also, I went down the ravine again to try to vindicate myself against that stupid "mystery cache." (I like to think of that as a brave move- not whatever descriptive word you were thinking of.) I think the "mystery" is that it's not there. It was even muddier today because of this week's snow, and I slid halfway down the hill on my bottom. (Much to the amusement of some fellow hikers.) I looked EVERYWHERE at the bottom of that darn ravine. Jared called to check on me. A cell phone ringing in the woods is not nature-y, but necessary for a novice hiker such as myself. I gave up after a little while, and climbed back up that stupid hill. I think I did a little bit better than last time, but still emerged from the woods a red-faced, muddy, thirsty mess.

I will not try to find that stinky cache again. And I will not speak to Jared if he goes back and finds it (except to ask him where the dumb thing was).

Today's artistic attempts

Eleanor's new game

Eleanor has been playing a new game for the past four nights, and she would really like all of you to teach it to your babies. Here's how it goes:

Between the hours of 11PM and 4AM, wake up as many times as you possibly can and scream at the top of your lungs. Your mommy will probably appear beside your bed right away. If not, keep screaming until she does. Smile at her, kick you feet, and squeal with excitement. She may try to put your pacifier in your mouth; in this case, you should immediately launch it across the crib and resume screaming. You can stop screaming as long as she doesn't try the pacifier thing again. As your mommy stands beside your crib with her hand on her forehead begging you to go back to sleep, keep smiling and making cute noises. But when your mommy turns to go back to her cozy bed, resume screaming. If she does not return to your crib right away, turn up the volume. Keep increasing the volume as necessary until she comes back. (If you live in an apartment like me, your mommy WILL come back eventually to prevent the neighbors from calling the police.)

Repeat this process until your mommy is totally exhausted or until you're sleepy again. If you do it long enough, your mommy may put you in the bed with her. In which case, you may declare yourself the clear winner!

Have fun! As long as you do your happy dance in the morning when your mommy comes to get you from your crib, she will give you a big hug as if she forgot all about the night's events.

A better day

For the past eight days, I have been dealing with the grumpiest version of my daughter that I have encountered since her arrival. It has been a daily struggle to keep my sanity, but (I'm so jinxing myself now) it looks like we've reached a turning point.

I had been debating for some time whether or not I thought her reflux was bad enough to require a prescription, but I finally decided that being uncomfortable (and fussy) most of the time was no way for a baby to spend her days. I took her to the doctor yesterday and got a prescription for Zantac. I was preparing myself for another challenging 7-10 days while I waited for the medicine to kick in, but I'm ecstatic to say that Eleanor was a completely different (much happier) baby today. She contently played with her toys, and even showed me a couple of new tricks that she's been holding back. (Shaking a rattle to make noise and pulling herself to standing while holding on to my fingers) I'm overjoyed to have my smiling baby back! (Wait...I need to say a prayer that this wasn't just a fluke day and that we can make it through the night with no crying...Amen...okay.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I feel like I have to include this little tidbit as well...Robin sweetly volunteered to watch Eleanor while I went to the grocery store, and, unfortunately, Eleanor screamed almost the entire time. This is absolutely not to say that Robin isn't a fantastic baby watcher (baby "sitters" get paid, right?), as Eleanor screamed even once I had come back. I just didn't think it was honest of me to paint a picture of a perfect angel when this little event also took place today. Hey, nobody can be good all the time!

Mommy, I think this thing is broken...

Hiking with a banshee

Yesterday, we packed up our hiking gear and went over to a local nature preserve. This was our first real hike with Eleanor, and I'd be lying if I said it went as well as we had hoped. We put Eleanor in her pack......and she was fine for about ten minutes or so, but as we got farther down the trail, she started to lose it. After about ten minutes of her crying and us not being able to calm her down, we headed back toward the car. As we got closer to the car, she started to fall asleep... ...so we decided to continue on with our hike with her sleeping in the pack.

We hiked all around the reserve, and decided that we would try to find a geocache. Jared had the coordinates for this mystery cache, and the GPS was pointing us to the bottom of a ravine. Jared couldn't go down since he had Eleanor on his back, but, for some reason, I thought I could manage it. (Keep in mind this was like my second hike ever.) I practically slid all the way down the ravine because it was very muddy, and I looked all over the place for the cache. I couldn't find it, and I started to panic a little about how I would climb back up the steep hill to get back to the trail. So, I decided to just leave without finding anything. The climb back up the huge hill was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was so muddy, and every time I'd climb up, I would slide back down a little. I kept having visions of my unconscious body lying at the bottom of the ravine.

But I finally made it back to the trail to find Eleanor out of her pack and in Daddy's arms. Apparently, she had screamed the whole time I was gone. At that point, we decided we should head back to the car, which was about a mile away. We are in total agreement that that was the longest mile of either of our lives. Eleanor did her screaming banshee impression all the way back to the car. She was absolutely inconsolable, and was apparently doing some kind of experiment involving her lung capacity. It really was like some kind of nightmare. Finally, we got back to the car, put her in, and she went right to sleep.

Her Daddy says she can't go hiking again until she's 7, but we'll see. I have a feeling he'll soon forget that experience, and be ready to give it another go.