Holiday Road

Having loaded up the Family Truckster and driven to Wally World (a.k.a. Charlevoix, MI) and back, the Griswolds are back home! Eliza and I got home a couple of days ago, after dropping Mac off in beautiful Allegan, but it's taken us that time to recover in terms of getting back on schedule and unpacked and all that jazz, so I'm just now posting. I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

We were fortunate to have nice weather almost every day, which meant we were so busy having fun that we didn't take nearly as many pictures as we should have. Particularly disappointing since Eliza had so much fun with her extended family - I wish I'd caught those moments on...disc? (A new semantic puzzle - what do we call capturing these moments now that they're not on film and really exist only as bits and bytes? Much like audio books - can you say you've read a book if all you did was listen to it? Ponder that and get back to me with your thoughts, please) Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Eliza added one new person to her list of approved NOTMOM's who can hold her - kudos to Aunt Mary for spending enough time on the floor that Eliza decided she was okay. Given another day, pretty Cousin Ramona surely would have made the list as well since she wears fun jewelry that can be grabbed and understands the fun of sand on your toes.

Eliza's main adventures were: the beach, of course, which she loved;

a walk into town; playing in the park,


which had the added bonus of meeting Pumpkin, the friendliest dog around;


and a photo session with Cousin Richard and his fancy camera.


She was also incredibly chatty all weekend. I think because there were so many people talking in these big group settings that she felt her voice needed to be heard as well. Fun times and it's a shame everyone lives so far away.

Also, before we left last week, she went for a swim at Connor's house in his fancy pool. Good times were had by all!

Blah blah blah GINGER

Not a whole lot going on here with Miss E., but Mac pointed out that I was due a post so here it is. I think we have had so much excitement lately what with crawling and teeth and new cars and porches and so on that just the little things that make a day fun have gotten lost. She knows her name now - somewhat. That is to say, she will turn to me when I say it. I have not tested this theory by saying something else and seeing if she turns (would that be the opposite of "blah blah blah, Ginger"?). She is also starting to understand the sign for "milk" - sort of. I say it and do the sign, she smiles and comes over to me. Who knows what she is responding to? Blah blah blah MILK blah blah blah.

Eliza has also discovered the concepts of gravity and cause & effect. Translation: she likes to drop things on the floor b/c they fall and I will always pick them up. We sat out on the balcony and did this with a flower for about 15 minutes. She could have given that Isaac Newton guy a serious run for his money.



What else? She is still loving to dance by bouncing up and down on her knees. She also tries to clap along to music (and speaking of music, those of you with kids should pick up Rick and Audrey's new CD, Imagine That! Lots of fun. Eliza likes the map song. She is her father's kid, after all!). I think she also sings, although she has yet to produce a tune I really recognize. But I might be out of touch with current music, so who can say? Her favorite time to sing is when she has woken up from a nap and is shaking the bars of her cage, hoping to be freed.



We are headed to Michigan on Friday for a family reunion on Mac's side - Eliza's first long car ride! Wish us all luck!!! Hopefully we'll have lots of fun pictures and fun stories to share when we return. In the meantime, I leave you all with Mac's company's newest consultant, hard at work showing her dad the problems with his deck:

KITTY!!

Eliza's new passion is chasing the cats. Everytime she sees either of them, she lets out a squeal and starts crawling. If she could speak, that squeal would surely be just like the little girl from "Monsters, Inc." yelling "Kitty!" The cats aren't sure what to make of this at all, but I can't help but think they are actually enjoying it. When she starts in, they don't truly run away. They just move a few feet away and continue to watch her, then flee a few more feet when she gets too close. Let's face it, it's the most attention they've had in months, so I'm not totally surprised. When she does get close enough, she pulls their fur rather than pets it, but once she's past that, I'm betting they'll all be best of friends. One can hope anyway.

Happy Birthday to Me

Thank you all for the good wishes today! I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around how old I really am, but let's dwell on the positives. Eliza was GREAT all day today, which is the best birthday present she could give me. Good naps, good spirits, good sport at playgroup. Maybe a few more poopy diapers than would really be considered necessary, but that's a post for another time. She even danced to "Dancing Queen," just to show how much she loves her mommy. (It was actually pretty cool. She likes to "dance" - i.e. bounce up and down - so I said to her, "okay, dancing queen, let's turn on the radio and maybe they'll play the real 'Dancing Queen.'" I turned on the XM and literally the next song on was that one. I laughed, so she laughed. I sang and she happily danced. Happy Birthday!)

We did presents at home last night since Mac is traveling today and tomorrow. Eliza got me a couple of books - one for me and one for me to read to her, since she thought I might be getting bored with the selection. However, as I told Sarah, there are only a few books she really really likes, so we'll have to see if the new book passes muster. It will be hard for anything to achieve the splendor that is Alice the Fairy.

Mac gave me beautiful blue opal earrings (to replace the blue opal necklace from Australia that vanished shortly before our wedding - so sad) and tickets to "Forbidden Broadway," which should be lots of fun.

And now, since I haven't showed up in this blog yet...not bad for an old girl, yes?

You are not my mother!

You are a SNORT! Thank you, P.D. Eastman.

Eliza has some hard-core separation anxiety going. Although Snorts are known in our house by the slightly less judgmental moniker, NOTMOM, the end result is the same: hysterical crying with real tears the second she is placed in anyone else's arms. Last Monday, we went to the gym and then left the gym because I couldn't even get out of the kidcare room (they're not very patient with crying babies).

Sometimes even Mac gets painted with the NOTMOM brush, which is just a bummer on all levels. She's mostly over that, unless she senses some serious NOTMOM time coming. On Saturday, Andrea came over to help with planting our flowers. Eliza was fine with her being there... as long as she stayed OVER THERE. We went to the store to buy the flowers and left her with Mac - in her mind NOTMOM took Mommy away. She was okay with that for a bit since we did come back, but then after her nap, she freaked on Mac completely - but only while I was in the room not holding her. If I left, she was fine. Fun times. During her dinner, she watched Andrea very closely ("NOTMOM, do you like oatmeal? It's very tasty"), but was willing to sit and play with her post. We left quickly and quietly (had tickets for "Diary of Anne Frank" at Steppenwolf - great production). Andrea said all went well until she picked Eliza up to start bedtime, at which point she was only NOTMOM and there was to be no consoling. Fortunately, Andrea doesn't take it personally and is a great babysitter!

We had a very nice mother's day (for the record, I have no use for mother's day. Or father's day or valentine's day or any of the other stupid Hallmark holidays that insist we spend gobs of money to convince people we love them. Even the founder of mother's day came to hate it. Yay consumerism!). Eliza sent me flowers and persuaded her daddy to change all her diapers for the day. Mac cooked a delicious pasta with pesto for dinner and then we vegged out in front of "The Sopranos" (where I correctly predicted it was time for someone more major than Tim Daly to die).

In other news, our porch is not done yet. I didn't realize there was work to be done on the foundation, which involved much jackhammering on Saturday morning. Today they are putting in the railings - a sure sign that the end is in sight. Just in time for the cicadas.

Quick porch update

This is from a few days ago. It looks like they might finish this Friday. Very exciting!

Daddy Daughter Week

Lucky Eliza! Mac has effectively been "on the beach" (consultant speak for not having to go into the office and making everyone who knows you insanely jealous) all week and home to play with his little girl. On Tuesday, they kicked me out of the house for the afternoon (yeah, okay, I got a pedicure and went to a movie, so not so bad for Mommy either!) and had a grand old time. Apparently there was much banging on things like a plastic bowl with a wooden spoon and on the tambourine. Other fun times this week included going to the Lincoln Park Zoo via her first bus ride, swinging in the park, and walking to Starbucks.













She also appears to be sprouting a second tooth, but has gotten quite shy about letting me see in there at all. So I guess we'll have to wait until the teeth are PLAINLY VISIBLE to post more pictures (you people really need to look harder).

Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem

It's here! It's here! Eliza's first tooth is here!

Can you see it?

No? Look harder.

It's on the left as you're looking at her.

Really?

Seriously, look harder.



Okay, here it is:

"fungal glucans" and "bacterial endotoxins"

No, really, they're a good thing!

From BabyCenter.com:

A bit of a dust and dirt in the house may be a good thing for your children, suggests a University of Cincinnati study in the May issue of the journal Allergy...Children exposed to high levels of "fungal glucans" and "bacterial endotoxins" were about three times less likely to wheeze than those in more sanitized settings..."If you keep your house too clean, you don't provide the microbial components to stimulate the immune system," said study lead author Yulia Iossifova.

Finally, one less thing to feel guilty about!

And now a word from our soapbox

From the Chicago Tribune:
More toddlers have own TVs, study finds

No further comment on this story is necessary (although feel free to add your own).

Jacko de Mayo

Just a quick shout-out to our nephew in Seattle, Jack, who turns two today. Happy Birthday, Jack!!

(Jack in the box - get it?)

And another shout-out to Katie, who was on the front page of the Tribune today. Very cool.

So, a pretty quiet weekend here thus far. I am happy to report that the workmen returned on Wednesday and work on the porch is progressing. Before long we'll be able to walk out our back door again. Hooray! Maybe later we'll take some more pictures.

We also picked up the new car yesterday and drove home cursing every other driver on the road for coming even an inch closer than they should to us. It didn't take long for the birds to christen the car properly of course. Sigh...

Eliza is enjoying the new car as well, but was a bit cranky by the end of the day, having spent far too much time in cars and strollers for her taste. So just one walk today and then lots of playtime. Tonight she gets to play with her new babysitter, Valerie, whom we know from the gym.

BTW, GREAT story on NPR yesterday (one that was too short in my opinion) on the evils of marketing to children. The synopsis from the website:

Morning Edition, May 4, 2007 · Susan Gregory Thomas, author of Buy Buy Baby, questions the value of the "smart toys" aimed at children from early infancy. A toy market estimated at more than $20 billion preys on parents' fears and ambitions.

You know the drill - buy this toy/video/cd/whatever and your kid will get into Harvard when s/he is 18. The story makes the point that there is NO science to back up these claims (shocker) and that mostly they serve to create brand and character recognition. Never too early to mold kids into eager consumers, right? So frustrating. And the fear is insidious. I often find myself wondering if I'm stimulating Eliza enough, if I need to change the radio to an all classical station because otherwise she'll fall behind (fall behind what, exactly?). Regular everyday life is stimulating to babies, the story reminds us. Good to know.

We noticed this fear factor even before she was born. Cribs, for example. Every crib sold in the United States has to meet the exact same safety requirements (space between bars, no hardware sticking out - things like that). So the cheap crib from Walmart is just as safe as the insanely expensive Italian import crib. I'll grant you there are cosmetic/structural differences that can be important (quieter rails and so forth), but for safety, they are the same. Yet, you feel like a "better parent" if you buy the more expensive one. It's just insane. And manipulative. And it's hard to stay conscious to the fact that you are being manipulated.

I'm rich! I'm a happy miser!!

Oh, no, wait. It says IF stay-at-home moms got paid. Bummer.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/ThePriceOfAMom.aspx?GT1=10019

Anyway...we had family day today. Mac took off from work and we started our day with a trip to IHOP for breakfast. Miss Eliza was a hit, as always, and while she did not partake of the delicious pancakes, she thoroughly enjoyed her oatmeal and prunes (they worked, btw). The women at the next table were amazed at how straight she could sit up for a 6 month old. We opted to not tell them she was crawling as well. Wouldn't want to brag or anything. Of course, they also kept referring to her as "he," in spite of her blatantly pink outfit. Is this what comes of living on the northern edge of boys' town?

After a nap, we packed everyone up and headed to the Shedd Aquarium. Good times with all the fishies and tons of kids on field trips. Things have changed since our visit to the Baltimore Aquarium four years ago when every kid was losing his or her mind over the Nemo and Dorrie fish. Today we didn't hear a single cry of "Look, there's Dorrie!" (well, okay, there was one, but it was me) - instead they were all enraptured by the penguins and referencing "Happy Feet" at every turn.

Eliza was a big fan of the penguins as well. She also delighted in the sharks. And the lights reflecting off the water. And her toes. And the straps on her stroller. And her burp cloth. You get the idea.

Back at home, we went for a walk in the park where she played on the swings and crawled on grass for the first time. She was a big fan of both activities, so I know how we'll be spending our sunny days.

Tomorrow, we are off to pick up our new car for real. The sales manager came through with an acceptable deal, so family truckster here we come!

Ba-ba-ba, Ba-ba-ra Ann

As Mac reminded me, this IS suppose to be a blog about Eliza. We met some mommies from our Northwestern Group at the coffee shop today. Eliza sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time and was very social and happy. It's amazing how much the other babies have grown (we only see most of them once a month) and so fun to see all the smiles and hear all the chatter.

Speaking of chatter, Mac's relentless singing of "Barbara Ann" to Eliza is paying off. She's making silent "ba's" (hard to explain, but if you do it to yourself without sound, you'll understand what she is doing) and a couple of times today managed to get her vocal chords involved, thus making a real "BA." Exciting because it's a progression in her babbling beyond the "goo" and "ga" sounds she's been making for a while.

She also managed to sit herself up for the very first time from a tummy position. Lots going on with our girl these days! We're already seeing problem areas that must be child-proofed very quickly. Somehow I just thought we'd have more time. But isn't that true of all parenthood?

You think you hate it now, but wait till you drive it

Can you name the movie? Yes, National Lampoon's Vacation. Let's revisit the scene, courtesy of IMDB:

Ed, the car salesman: Wait a minute, I'll get to the bottom of this, we'll find your car. Davenport!
Davenport: Yes, Mr. Ed.
Ed, the car salesman: Where is Mr. Griswold's Sports Wagon?
Davenport: I don't know sir.
Ed, the car salesman: I know what must have happened. It didn't come in. Now I can get you the Sports Wagon; the only problem is that it may take six weeks. I owe it to myself to tell you that if you're taking the whole tribe cross-country, the Wagon Queen Family Truckster is the way to go. You think you hate it now, but just wait until you drive it.
Clark Griswold: Ed, I'm not your average fool. Now I want my super sports wagon now, or I'm gonna take my business elsewhere!
Ed, the car salesman: Davenport! Get Mr. Griswold's car and bring it back here!
[the car is in the process of being smashed. It returns flat, and Clark tries to squat and open the door]

That is pretty much the phone call Mac had today with the folks at the Honda dealership, who shall remain nameless for now. They don't have our car even though they swore to us they would have it this past Monday, although we're not supposed to pick up until Friday. They can get us one from Indianapolis, but it would have to be DRIVEN up here, putting a nice 300 miles on it. Ummmm...no. At least we called first. Otherwise, they would have taken Spaulding and put him in the masher (since he's just a lowly city car, after all) and THEN told us all we could drive home was the family truckster. Sigh...

Mac has given them 24 hours to solve this or we take our business elsewhere. Hee - thanks, Clark!

Creepy crawly

Coming at ya!

Movin' on Up


Road Block

If you're happy and you know it

Clap your hands!! I didn't realize that this was actually a milestone or I would have made a bigger deal out of it a couple of days ago. As is, it's going to be completely eclipsed by the news that Eliza is crawling!! Yes, it is time to start baby-proofing. She still falls over a fair amount and pauses to flail her arms or legs about in various directions, but no matter how you slice it, she's a girl on the move (can't quite say the same for her digestive track, unfortunately). I think she's going to be hard to keep up with. It's very exciting. It doesn't appear that blogger allows video or else I'd put up something of her moving about.

She actually crawled yesterday, April 30, but I was not able to get online until today. We are having our porch rebuilt and the cable got knocked out during the demolition, taking away our TV, Internet, and phone. After 90 minutes on hold last night, at which point I hung up in frustration, I called Comcast again this morning. Can someone please explain why they offer a bundled service like this and then make you speak to a different person for each service when all the technicians are trained to deal with whatever? All I needed was a technician at the house. Not complicated, but it took the baby crying in the background and me screaming at rep #3 (but only at service #2 as the first person transferred me right away) to make this happen. Lovely.

BTW, I spell-checked this post and the suggestion for Comcast was "compost." Hee.

Anyway, here is our house now:What's weird (and slightly disturbing) is that the guys did all this yesterday and have not returned today. Is it one crew for demolition and one for construction? Maybe our house is going to look like this forever. At least it's a lot brighter in our bedroom now (we're the middle unit for those who haven't been here).

But this blog is supposed to be about Eliza, so here she is in all her pea-eating glory: