A Taste of Fall

Last Saturday, we went to a pumpkin farm south of the city. For the occasion, and because she's a big girl now, we turned Eliza's car seat to be front facing. She couldn't be happier to ride in the car now!


Once there, we went right for the "petting zoo," which really meant give the goats some food and try not to get bitten! Eliza got licked once or twice to her great delight, but we pretty quickly used up our allotted supply of whatever it is that they gave us to feed the goats. We also investigated the llamas, but when the guy next to us actually got spit on (they're nasty creatures), we quickly found other things to do!


Eliza really enjoyed the playground area, where she could stomp around the grass and ogle the older kids. Here she is inside the small train, where I caught this photo about two seconds before she would have gone careening off the edge of the caboose!


And of course, the pony ride!!! I think I was more excited than she was, since I still have that horse obsessed girl that I was living inside me. At this point in her life, I think Eliza prefers her rocking horse from Nan and Gramps. But doesn't she look cute???


Next up, some pumpkin trivia. Post your answers and we'll let you know if you're right!


Checking out pumpkins with Daddy. Which one to choose? And apparently pay with using Mommy's wallet.


You call it corn; my people call it maize (does anyone remember those commercials?).


Off into the sunset with Daddy.

In and Out, Open and Close

Dear readers, it was recently brought to my attention by one of you (who shall remain nameless) that it's been over a week since I posted anything. I am flattered that some of you are so dedicated and to prevent such WAILIN' (hint) in the future, I will try to post at least once a week, maybe twice.

So to that end, Miss Eliza has reached the developmental stage of being fascinated by the whole concept of opening and closing and that things can go inside other things. She spends her days opening and closing the door to her bedroom, to my bedroom (although not as much now that she's closed herself in alone a couple of times!), to the kitchen cabinets. She also likes to do this with the lid of her beautiful toy chest...thank goodness for safety hinges. It's all a little unnerving as I picture small fingers getting smushed, but she's only had a couple of small pinches, which may have been enough of a warning for her as she seems much more careful these days.

Along with opening and closing comes in and out. If there is a container around that could have things in it, she will find things to put in. If a container already has things in it, she will take them out. We recently bought some wooden clothespins (not the hinge kind) from the craft store and they now reside in a large Tupperware container where she can sit and put them in and out to her heart's content. And she does. Sometimes her blocks go in there too. And her shoes. And her sippy cup. It's very funny.

We also bought a "chunky" wooden puzzle, where the pieces are large wooden animals that go into spaces painted the same. She gets the general idea, but lacks the motor skills to put them in, so she takes the pieces out, then hands them to me. I put them over their designated spaces and she "helps" me press them back in. She loves it.

Yesterday, we received a wonderful present from Aunt Anna, Uncle Bryan, and Benjamin...a drum with other musical instruments stored inside. This meets many needs - in and out plus making noise in rhythm (a weekly occurrence at Wiggleworms, of course!). She was so excited by this one that she protested vigorously when I put it away for bedtime. I bribed her with a bath, though, which made everything better. It's the little things in life for this girl!

We went to a pumpkin farm over the weekend and I will try to get the pics off the camera and onto the blog soon!

Christine, I hope this satisfies your blogging needs...oops, did I say that out loud???

Blog Action Day

I don't consider myself a "real" blogger - as in, someone whose blog is read by other bloggers and someone who wants their blog read by other bloggers. I don't go to conferences or comment on anyone else's blog besides a couple of other mommies that I know personally. I don't advertise this blog to anyone who doesn't know Eliza. But I do read lots of other blogs, mainly about parenting, and learned that today is Blog Action Day.

It is defined thusly:

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

So, okay - I can blog about the environment today. It's something that has always mattered to me in that vague, crunchy, yay it's Earth Day kind of way. But since having Eliza, it suddenly matters so much more. That whole thing about not inheriting the earth from your parents, but borrowing it from your children actually means something to me now. I fear for what kind of world we are leaving her. Was it selfish to even bring her into it? I worry.

And I know we're not as "green" as we could be. I try in small ways, most of which drive Mac up the wall. I turn off lights now. I have taken the pledge to not drink bottled water for a year (!) and only use my Brita filter and Nalgene bottle (scroll down to the bottom of the blog and you can take it too!). We've replaced as many bulbs as we can with compact fluorescents (although haven't moved onto our dreaded flood/recessed lighting). Our neighborhood now has blue bins and I recycle just about everything. I bring plastic bags back to the grocery store where they have recycling for them and try to bring my canvas bags with me as much as possible. Sometimes I forget and then I'm annoyed with myself. We're slowly transitioning all our cleaning products over to Seventh Generation or something comparable.

Like I said, we try. But we have an SUV, for as much as we try to pretend our beloved CRV, Clark, is anything but. We use disposable diapers for Eliza - again, I do a little bit of green living by at least flushing the solid waste before I throw out the used diaper and I know that there is equal issue with the cloth ones as far as environmental impact (let's face it, babies are hard on the environment!), but there is still that guilt. We leave too many appliances on all the time, which apparently are energy vampires, consuming resources even when not actively in use.

I'd like to think our little actions help, that each drop in the ocean will swell the tide. But I also know that bigger changes need to come from bigger sources, like corporate America and our own government. So should I become more of an activist? Or am I just trendy green with my Nalgene bottle and self-righteousness? Probably the latter.

I'm not sure what I accomplished with this post, but at least I did my little bit to be part of Blog Action Day!

And now here's our girl last week enjoying her leftover birthday cake. Let's leave her a nice place to live, okay?

Crabby Birthday to You

For reasons unbeknownst to anyone but herself, the birthday girl is in a FOUL mood today. She woke up crabby, napped crabby, rallied a bit for Wiggleworms and lunch with Connor and Heather, then completely melted down at the end of lunch. The jury is still out on the rest of the day, but hopefully it will improve.

In the meantime, let's hearken back to a happier birthday celebration, which occurred on Saturday. She was a bit crabby then too, but at least we knew why - our downstairs neighbor had all his windows replaced and the majority of the banging took place during morning nap, significantly curtailing said nap. Ah well. She rallied. Several times.

Here is the birthday princess in her dress from Disney World.


This is cake #1, i.e. the grownup cake.


This is cake #2, also known as the Smash Cake. Exactly what it sounds like.


At first she wasn't quite sure what to do...
...then quickly discovered the butter cream and chocolaty goodness that was hers for the taking!

The end result:
Many presents were brought by people who refuse to follow directions (except Rich, who does what he is told). She didn't quite understand the concept of unwrapping them, but thought the paper itself was quite delightful!
Overall, she had a great time, as did we. So let's forget today's crabbiness and all smile with the birthday girl in a picture that should be everyone's new wallpaper.

Marathon Sunday

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the Chicago Marathon. And what a day for runners and spectators - we had folks in both camps.

First off, this was us at the marathon last year:

Eliza was not even two weeks old and it was cold and rainy. Pretty typical for October.

This year we went, of course, because it's fun and goes right by our house, almost. Plus as an added bonus, Uncle Rich was running! Since we're only at mile 7, we were sure we'd spot him. We made a sign and everything:
Notice anything? I mean besides we're a year older and I apparently only own one hat? Well, we're wearing a lot less clothing b/c it was really REALLY hot!!! It was in the 80's by the time we were out there at 9AM and they ended up ending the race early b/c it was just too hot. One guy died, although that was apparently due to a heart condition, not the heat. Extra kudos to Rich for not just running, but for making it all the way to mile 18!

Here is Eliza with the best view available:


Someone is getting hot and tired.



Sure, Rich could be one of these people. Why not?



We gave it our best, then headed back home. Miss Eliza did her own marathon by walking the last half block on her own two feet. She was quite proud of herself!


And tomorrow, our girl turns one! Stay tuned for pics from her party!!!

I've got a blueberry for a daughter!

We had blueberry pancakes this weekend. To say Eliza enjoyed them would be an understatement. Note that her entire right hand is purple. (I've also discovered it's much easier to take pictures of her in the high chair, as it's the only time she's sitting still these days!)


Our new walker also just got her first pair of real shoes. I think we might have a young Imelda Marcos on our hands. She was so thrilled when I put them on her feet that she immediately started stomping all over the house. (It was hard to get a shot b/c she just kept coming right at me. And the bulb syringe was the toy of choice today...whatever.)


But what's not to love? They're brown, they're pink, they're awesome! You can't see the velcro straps very well (or at all), but she loves that feature as well.