Pinky and the New Mommy Brain

Cowgirl Eliza!

2012-01-13T08:51:00.002-06:00

This past Wednesday was Cowboy/Cowgirl day at school. We were luckily able to borrow some costume pieces from "A Christmas Story" (Ralphie's cowboy vest and hat from one of the fantasy sequences) and thus created Cowgirl Eliza who is pink, purple, and sparkly as all cowgirls should be. And really just too cute not to share. Yee haw!!!!

Recitals and Pageants

2012-01-09T11:43:00.001-06:00

Makes us sound like an episode of Toddlers & Tiaras, doesn't it? (I've never actually seen that show, mind you, but I think even the occasional preview sums it all up pretty well) We're not that extreme, but Eliza has had some fun in the last year performing here and there.

Last spring was her dance recital where she was a cupcake (Eliza is the third from the left, next to to the teacher).

This fall, her class ended their first unit of inquiry, Recycling, with a performance for the parents. It won't make much sense in the video...but it didn't make much sense even if you were actually there. So this video will make you feel like you were ACTUALLY THERE. Doesn't get much better than that, does it? (This was also my first run at using my iPhone for video)

This fall, we also bought a digital piano (which is not the same as a keyboard and is way cool) and Eliza started taking piano lessons. She goes once a week with another girl named Elizabeth and in December they had a little recital with the other students in Miss Rachel's school. She loved it. Lessons start up again today and apparently there will be a third little girl in her class. But probably not named Elizabeth too.

Our year ended with a Christmas pageant at a nearby church. We didn't mean to end up in the pageant - we were just looking for somewhere to go on Christmas Eve that wasn't the place we went last year. So we attended service the Sunday before Christmas just to check it out. It's a small church so as new people we were very conspicuous. The woman in charge of the pageant heard we had a five year old and asked if she'd like to be in it. I said she would love to and when asked if she would like to be an angel or a sheep, I didn't even blink. Angel. Definitely angel. So not only was she an angel, one of 12, she was the Littlest Angel, which meant her halo was different than everybody else's and she got to carry a star. Totally adorable, if I do say so myself.

Of course, all that angelic-ness can wear a girl out....

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year!

It's More Than Just Cornfields!

2011-11-28T12:47:00.001-06:00

One of the pleasant surprises about moving to Indiana is that it is not, in fact, all just flat cornfields. Don't get me wrong - there are plenty of those, too, but we've gone on some fun walks and found beautiful woodsy and hilly spots! So we thought we'd share a few...

How cool is this tree??

Halfway up a "mountain," taking a rest before continuing up.

Near our house - look at the size of that tree!

Seriously - look at that thing.

Fall Recap

2011-11-18T09:01:00.007-06:00

Good news - I'm actually posting something! Want even better news? I got an iPhone 4S! Why is this good news for Eliza fans? Because the camera on this thing is amazing, so we are taking a a lot more pictures now, which hopefully means I'll post more of them here.

But anyway, here is what we've been up to this fall. Eliza started kindergarten...can you believe it??? She's doing great, becoming very fluent in French, loves her teacher, has lots of friends. Good times all around at the International School!
She also had a birthday party at her new favorite place on earth, Interactive Academy, which is where she takes gymnastics. Aunt Mary took a bunch of great pictures from the party, so if you want to see more, click here.
She's also been playing with our dog. Did I mention we got a dog? This is Scout, who is infinitely patient. (Scout is a girl, named in honor of To Kill A Mockingbird, just like Eliza)
Close to Halloween, we went to a haunted trail where Eliza was very brave and got to eat s'mores. (Come to think of it, almost everywhere we went this fall seemed to have s'mores. Must be an Indiana thing)
Mommy is doing another play, "A Christmas Story," with the local theater here in Zionsville and Eliza came down one Saturday morning to help work on the set. She painted, held doors steady, fetched tools, and learned the difference between nails and screws. She did great!
And then there was Halloween. Eliza went as Ariel, from "The Little Mermaid." She would like you all to know that this is not her real hair. It's fake hair. Just in case you weren't sure.
Our most recent adventure was a visit from Uncle Friz. He came for work and since Aunt Leslie just started a new job, she and Cousin Jack couldn't come along. So we took lots of pictures for them.

The big day out was a trip to the Children's Museum, one of our favorite places in Indiana. Even the dinosaurs can't wait to get in!

This was Uncle Friz's favorite part. He could have done this all day. As could the random kid who figured out pretty quickly that this guy is really, REALLY FUN!

Important contest at lunch...who has a bigger tongue?
We wore Eliza out pretty good.

Look out, the dinosaurs are escaping!

(Points off from the Children's Museum for decorating the dinosaurs before Thanksgiving. Boo!)

Back at home, Eliza talked Daddy and Uncle Friz into playing her new favorite game, Hedbanz. Don't ask.

So that's what we have for now. Hopefully there will be more soon (I know, I say this all the time!).

Happy Birthday, Cousin Jack!

2011-05-05T16:36:00.003-05:00

A couple of different birthday wishes for Eliza's favorite cousin who is 6!!! Where has the time gone?

So...I posted these and for some reason the tail ends of the videos are getting cut off (and the sound is a bit out of sync - mysterious). Our apologies, especially to Jack who should know that Eliza can't wait to see him in July!

Et en francais!

Vive la Revolution!

2011-03-16T18:18:00.003-05:00

All she needs is one of those red liberty caps!

Allons enfants de la Patrie,	Arise, children of the Fatherland,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !	The day of glory has arrived!
Contre nous de la tyrannie,	Against us, tyranny's
L'étendard sanglant est levé, (bis)	Bloody banner is raised, (repeat)
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes	Do you hear, in the countryside,
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?	The howling of those ferocious soldiers?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras	They're coming right into your arms
Égorger vos fils et vos compagnes !	To slit the throats of your sons and consorts!

Aux armes, citoyens,	To arms, citizens,
Formez vos bataillons,	Form your battalions,
Marchons, marchons !	Let's march, let's march!
Qu'un sang impur	Let impure blood
Abreuve nos sillons !

New Bike!

2011-03-15T10:24:00.006-05:00

So, for starters, I'm not sure if the video functionality on Blogger is working all that well these days. There are videos in this post, as well as the one below (from October!) - if you can't see them, try clicking on the title of the post itself and then see if the video will play. I don't know what's up.

Anyway...big day for Eliza on Sunday. She got her first big girl bike!!! Obviously the training wheels are still on - since we're still trying to master pedaling, actually balancing on the bike seems like a bit much to ask right now. But she couldn't be more thrilled and now we just need the weather to warm up so we can go out every day.

Here are a couple of stills.

A quick interview with the lucky girl...

And she's off! Or maybe not.

And she's off! For real this time.

Indoctrination

2010-10-21T07:32:00.004-05:00

As usual, I am behind on my blog posts and I promise I'll put up some pictures soon from the fabulous 4th birthday extravaganza. In the meantime, we are all adjusting well to life in Indiana...as this video should attest. Sorry, Bears fans!

Indiana Wants Us

2010-08-16T09:45:00.005-05:00

So, we have made it to Indiana (for those of you who don't get the title reference, here it is, in a super cheesy video)! We came down on Thursday late afternoon, after a challenging week of packing, loading, etc... (and we wouldn't have made it through without Aunt Mary, whose praises we can't sing enough!). We're still in corporate housing for the moment - scheduled to close in a couple of weeks and then move. But even though we're just in temporary housing, we've packed in a quite a lot of activities already and here they are for your amusement.

First off, this is actually back in Chicago, in the July 4th parade at her school and it just cracks me up. Hopefully you all feel the same!

Also in Chicago (Evanston, actually), but I thought it was a lovely picture.
And now here we are. On Friday, her new school (the International School of Indiana, where she is in the pre-K French immersion program) held a "picnic" for the new families. By picnic, they meant bring your own food and sit in the gym to eat it, but it was still fun!
The better part came after we ate, when everyone went outside for a photo op for the school fundraiser: grape stomping!
Apparently, the grapes were really, REALLY cold.
On Sunday, we headed to downtown Indy, which is lovely, to take in an Indianapolis Indians game (appropriately they were playing Syracuse - I didn't know who to root for!). Lots to look at.
Especially the mascot, Rowdie. As you can see, she is very shy.
New BFF's.
Then Daddy took her to the gift shop where she picked out this hat. Click on the picture to enlarge so you can really experience it in its full glory. It's special. And Dippin' Dots, of course. This after a tub of popcorn and lemonade.
Which brings us to today, the first day of school! She was a little nervous, but when we got there and she saw all the kids in uniforms like hers, she got really excited and started dancing around like crazy.
Another mascot sighting, this time the Griffin of the ISI. It's like she goes to Hogwarts! With her are future classmates Miko and Montgomery. Eliza and Miko had the same Disney princess backpack, which thrilled both of them to no end.
Standing still briefly for a pic w/Daddy-O.
And one with Mom.
On the way into the building, all the kids got to ring the bell as part of the first day ceremony.
And here is her spot at one of the tables in Monsieur Robby's class.
I will try to take more pictures as we settle in and get them posted. For now, it's off to do some laundry! Hope everyone is staying cool and having a great summer.

Ballet Recital

2010-07-07T15:23:00.004-05:00

Yeah, yeah, this was almost two months ago. Doesn't change how cute it all is, even after all this time.

And some video from the rehearsal (the performance was exactly the same).

Mexico addendum

2010-04-21T08:35:00.002-05:00

I realized I forgot to mention a couple of things in yesterday's post...

First, definitely check the Facebook photos. In addition to more dolphin pics, you can see more shots of Ixtapa, our fabulous cooking class, AND me on a TRAPEZE! That's right. Trapeze.

Also, there was an earthquake while we were there. It was 12:15 AM on Wednesday morning (Wednesday was quite a day - earthquake, dolphins, and trapeze all in one day!). Eliza did not wake up, but Mac and I did since our whole room was shaking and there was definitely some noise along with the shaking. We found out the next day it was a 5.1, located about 50 miles away. No damage, but still legit and really, really scary!

Eating BBQ'd Iguana

2010-04-20T10:41:00.007-05:00

Okay, so we didn't really eat bbq'd iguana, but we certainly saw lots of live iguanas, which pretty much guaranteed that the song, "Mexican Radio," was in my head most of the trip.

Anyway, we're back now and had a fabulous time. After a little bit of a rough start (being afraid of the water and not liking her "club"), things got great pretty quickly. Eliza conquered her fear of the ocean, as you will see, and Club Med graciously allowed her to move up from the 2-3 year old group into the 4-5, where she was much happier.

These pictures aren't exactly in chronological order, but still show a good time!

To begin with, this was the end of the week when they do a circus show. Eliza's age group, the Geckos, were the lions and tigers. Here she is at rehearsal.

With some other geckos at rehearsal.
After the rehearsals, Eliza announced she didn't want to be in the show, just to watch, and kept up this assertion right until 8:45 PM when the show actually started, at which point she began sobbing, "I want to be in the show!" They would have let her, but we opted to remind her that choices have consequences and that she could do the show next year. So she is counting the days.

Early in the week with the younger kids, Eliza was part of the Earth Day parade.
Hanging out at lunch with the Geckos. Eliza definitely enjoyed eating ice cream twice a day or so!
Highlight of the trip on Wednesday. We went swimming with dolphins! Eliza and Mac did a 20 minute kids program while I did the full 45 minute extravaganza. Pictures are here on Facebook.
Ummmm....so she liked the IDEA of the dolphin better than the actual being in the water with the dolphin...
Snack time!
Another important event of the week was getting our vacation hair. Eliza was much braver than I thought she'd be and we both enjoyed our low maintenance do's the whole week.

A lovely girl in green in all the lovely green. The lagoon behind her is actually home to a crocodile who only showed himself when we did not have the camera. Of course.
Enjoying the sunset.

Snack time for Geckos.
The Geckos also had a great Eliza size pool. Unfortunately, she would only swim in it with Daddy, not with her actual friends.

Then there was the ocean!
Undertow run!
She was also a huge fan of digging in the sand and generally making a mess. What else is vacation for?
And to take us out, here is some actual running on the beach for your enjoyment.

Bathroom Remodel

2010-02-17T08:46:00.009-06:00

Okay, so this doesn't have all that much to do with Eliza, other than she got a new(ish) bathroom and is super excited about it. But I thought people might enjoy a trip through our latest home improvement project (and by project, I mean something we paid other people to do). It was much less painful than the kitchen, I have to say.

So, this is what Eliza's bathroom looked like when we bought the place. Yes, that is high gloss, fluorescent aqua, in case you were wondering. Walls AND ceiling. Ugh.

All we did when we moved in was repaint, which something of an improvement, although we were still stuck with hideous floor tiles and ugly vanity.

So, here is the "new" bathroom - i.e. new, big, white tiles on the floor and a nice white vanity. Clean and simple and she loves it.

Then there was our bathroom. Again, here is what it was when we moved in (yes, that is the vanity that is now in Eliza's bathroom - reuse and recycle!):

After a coat of paint, still not great, but less fuzzy at least.

Demolition begins - gone are the ugly floor tiles and the ridiculous gigantic mirror. A huge improvement already.

Jump ahead to the finished product!

Happy Birthday, Nan!

2010-02-16T15:46:00.002-06:00

Since we forgot to call yesterday and say it in person, here is Miss E's video card for Nan. (and you can all see her healing boo boo - note the nice bruises around the eyes now too)

BIG OUCH!!!

2010-02-11T14:24:00.003-06:00

Sometimes it is really, really hard to be three. Now, you know we all love our Eliza dearly, but she can be a bit athletically challenged at times and her running style closely resembles that of an emu, which is to say that she pinballs and careens off things all over the place. And she trips a lot. A lot.

Today she was running to her room, emu style, when she tripped and did a header right into our front door. I have never seen an actual knot on someone's forehead until today and wow, is it something!

No worries - we called the doctor and they are not concerned. So Eliza gets to take it easy today and (of course) watch "Sleeping Beauty" (Aunt Mary, she eagerly awaits your company in this endeavor).

They're kinda like mug shots from a bar fight, aren't they?

Snowy Day

2010-02-10T13:46:00.003-06:00

Now, I know this doesn't compare with what is happening on the East Coast with your fancy blizzards and all (and I never thought in a million years that I'd move to Chicago and consistently get LESS snow than in NJ), but we did get a nice snowfall yesterday.

Eliza and Mac went out to shovel some snow.

Eliza quickly realized she'd gotten the raw end of the shovel vs. broom deal.

So they swapped, but after a few seconds of toiling...

...she wised up completely and resigned her position...

...for the much more rewarding task of making snow angels.

Then she proceeded to eat about a pound of snow (only safe in fresh snowfall, before the dogs come a walkin'). Afterwards, she came back inside for some hot chocolate, most of which ended up on her face, and a new movie to watch, "Sleeping Beauty."

A Video Christmas Card

2009-12-24T19:24:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Halloween Part II

2009-11-11T14:43:00.005-06:00

First up, in case you don't feel like browsing through the ten million pictures from Eliza's birthday party in the last blog post, Eliza's Gramps created this great collage. Click on it to enlarge.So, for Halloween proper, Eliza went out to her Mimi & Papi's house in the suburbs to trick-or-treat properly (i.e. at houses, not stores, like we have to do here in the city). She opted for a more casual princess look, with her hair down this time:

Late afternoon spooky shadows!
Getting the bag ready for treats!
She loved all the Halloween decorations that people had put out.
Trick-or-treating with Daddy and Papi:
And as a final added bonus, she got to jump in the huge leaf piles along the curb. She also helped hand out candy inside and got to eat a hot dog for dinner. So, overall, I'd say she had a great Halloween!

Halloween Parade!

2009-10-30T10:50:00.004-05:00

Today was the Halloween Parade at Eliza's school. Fortunately, the rain stopped for almost the duration of the parade, starting just as we got back into the school. Eliza is Princess Presto this year, from her current favorite show, Super Why (although Angelina Ballerina is creeping up the ranks). We paraded around the block and it was VERY windy, as you can see from her hair.

Back inside, she posed for a quick pic with good bud and fellow princess, Chloe. Just a hunch, but I think she was getting hungry.
Back inside the classroom for group shots, which is, as Kerri said aptly so long ago, like herding cats. Eliza decided she had had enough. She said she wanted to twirl instead, but I think what she really needed was some food. Huge stacks of cupcakes were at the ready.
Definitely click on this one below to enlarge. Her face is priceless.
I need a tissue!
Are we done yet?Stay tuned for more pics after she goes trick-or-treating at Mimi & Papi's house on Halloween!

Also, I haven't posted anything about Eliza's birthday, but she had a grand ol' time and fortunately Aunt Mary took about a million pictures, which you can see here.

All Hail the Big Girl Bed!

2009-08-05T19:13:00.004-05:00

We have arrived! A day long talked about and long anticipated....Eliza has her big girl bed! The agreement was that she could get one (with Dora sheets, of course) when she could poop in the potty (that being the hurdle in the potty training process). She delivered, so to speak, and got her reward.

First up, a quick video of her first look at the bed.

And now a few stills of what one can do with a big girl bed:

Be a cheese dog.
Lie back and relax with one's wand.
Get comfy with a book.
Find one's favorite part in said book.
And, of course, snuggle in.

Birthday Wishes

2009-06-22T18:31:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy! (for those who don't know, Daddy is traveling to NYC during the week, so can't be with us on his actual birthday)

She's not getting a cupcake on Daddy's birthday. But if she did, it would probably look something like this:

Diamonds and Trikes

2009-05-10T18:24:00.003-05:00

Just a few quick pics...

Since returning home from Florida and her triumphant turn as Princess Penelope, Eliza has been clamoring for a crown and wand of her own. I finally obliged, but the only non-Disney Princess (ugh) crown I could find also came with earrings and a beautiful necklace. So Eliza likes to channel her inner Zsa Zsa, especially first thing in the morning. B/c what goes better with footie pajamas than sparkly jewelry?

Her other big news is that she got a tricycle! After only three times out, she is actually really good at pedaling and even likes to "go fast like an airplane." Here she is working hard...
And loving life!!!
Hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day. Ours was lovely.

Nobody puts Baby in a corner

2009-04-22T14:26:00.008-05:00

We weren't in the Catskills and she didn't dance with Patrick Swayze in the finale, but Eliza definitely had the time of her life in Club Med this year.
Our journey down was smooth and uneventful, which was a huge improvement from last year and everything only got better each day. Lots of sun and fun and relaxation. And here are a few (well, more than a few) highlights.

Our first full day there was Easter Sunday and look who was at breakfast! We had to go back a few times before Eliza was comfortable enough to actually take the picture.

Next up, we took her over to the Petit Club where they suited up for the Easter Parade. Her group was the Tigers - obviously. She was fine with this as long as we were around...

...but not so thrilled when she realized we weren't in the parade too.

Back at Petit Club, though, she seemed to have a good ol' time.

Later, she donned her Easter dress and posed with her gifts from the Easter Bunny.
After dinner, she took to the stage (the first time) and made friends with several of the older girls. They had so much fun dancing and jumping that Eliza kept asking for them all week. Unfortunately, this was never repeated. Ah well.

For the "off" day (when there is no Petit Club), we went to an oceanographic institute of sorts where Eliza and Mac touched a stingray,

did some very serious sitting on a tree stump,

and played with shells.
And now the moment you've all been waiting for....the big show! Again, see last year for a refresher on Eliza's stage presence and then be impressed that she was the STAR of this year's show. We're not really sure what the plot was, other than she was Princess Penelope,
wooed by her prince, Justin Time. To the tune of "Your Cheatin' Heart," he regaled her with gifts that she kept rejecting, including his heart...
Until she finally relented and it was true love (Justin, for the record, was played by a charming young man named Paul, who lives in France, and was quite smitten with Eliza. Look out, Connor!)
Then for reasons no one could understand, she was suddenly separated from Justin and living on a farm where she was being pursued by Bad Billy (or something), said pursuit consisting of little boys on hobby horses and Eliza waving her wand and twirling. Eventually Justin found her and they were reunited. Awwwww...
The rest of the trip was the usual fun - rocking chairs,
music playing,
frolicking in the play area with cool play houses,
jumping in the pool with Daddy,
who is still her number one guy.
And as always, lots of slushies and pretzels to make vacation complete!

Can a Girl Be Too Fancy?

2009-03-18T18:43:00.003-05:00

We're going to go with "no."

Tonight Eliza announced that she needed to "wear something special" and went trotting off to her room. This is what she came back with:

Here's the back...b/c if you're going to wear the ears, you MUST wear the tail too. For the record, she also has the bow tie that came with the cat costume around her wrist. Along with three purses and a change purse.Work it, baby!

Eliza hearts President Obama

2009-01-20T08:39:00.004-06:00

Aunt Mary sent Eliza an awesome gift to commemorate this historic day. She is very proud to wear it (click on the pics to enlarge if you can't read the shirt):

And she's a little cheesy as well...this is what you get when you ask her to smile:

Green Dinosaur Cookies

2009-01-15T16:31:00.004-06:00

As anyone with access to any kind of news source probably knows, it is frickin' COLD in Chicago right now. Our high today is zero. That's right, zero. So, as you can guess, our desire to go anywhere is slim to none. Hence, baking as an afternoon activity!

For Christmas, Eliza got a green dinosaur cookie kit from Aunt Mary. Yesterday we made the dough and today we rolled them out and baked them. The raw dough tastes a bit like Play-Doh and honestly, the cooked version isn't much different. I won't lie to you - they're not good. But I am not the intended audience, so here is the true judge of taste.
She likes them!

December Recap

2009-01-07T16:58:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. We had a great, albeit hectic, time and are now trying to settle back into a routine. Eliza started pre-school on Monday and is doing fine, so far (she's only been two days, so Harvard hasn't come knocking yet - or should that be Williams?). She has also decided that naps are completely optional and she would like to opt out of them. Mac and I do not agree with this view of the world, so life around here is pretty fun as you can imagine!

However, here is a look back at our December. It was a very snowy one! Here are Mac and Eliza "making tracks" and examining snow. I wisely stayed inside and took pictures from upstairs.
We made our annual pilgrimage to Zoo Lights and were rewarded with some gorgeous Hollywood snow. With all the lights and the carols playing, it was like being in the finale of "It's a Wonderful Life."

Part of our visit included a stop at the Conservatory where they had a special train display set up in one of the rooms. Eliza was mesmerized (she must have inherited this from Gramps) and just walked back and forth between the displays, happy as can be.We stopped in the Lion House to warm up and found there was a very special guest inside...
Santa!!! Eliza really got Santa Claus this year - that he was coming on Christmas, that he would come down the chimney, that he would bring presents. She had no idea WHY he was doing these things, but she was on board with the plan. She told him she wanted "Dora presents."

Ask and ye shall receive:

She also got some fabulous dress-up clothes from Aunty Anna to go with her Dora purse. Stylin'!
She also got to spend time with one of her favorite people in the whole world, Aunt Mary, who is probably second only to Santa Claus in Eliza's eyes.We look forward to many more adventures in 2009!

Cookie Baking

2008-12-12T13:56:00.003-06:00

We all did some holiday cookie baking yesterday. Andrea came over to take pictures, I mean help, and Heather and Connor showed up as well. It was quite the scene.

Here are Eliza and Connor helping to mix some cookie dough... Connor decided it was also a good time for some smooching.

Here Eliza returns the favor.
Post nap, Eliza worked on her rolling skills.
Then she cut out some shapes. I'll admit, she didn't quite get the whole just push down on the cookie cutter part, so most of the cookies have little finger prints in them for that extra special homemade touch!
And then there was this moment. I could explain it. But it wouldn't make any sense. So why bother? Just enjoy the insane picture.

Young Love

2008-11-30T10:50:00.003-06:00

I'm so far behind in posting anything that I've given up trying to do it in a coherent or linear fashion. Instead, here is a paean to best friends and young love. Also to summer, since it's now cold and gray here in Chicago!

This is from Labor Day weekend in Michigan. Eliza and Connor LOVED the fountain (here they just got sprayed in the face...special thanks to Jamie for all the awesome pics):

Well, I said it was young love, didn't I?

Can't you just picture them 60 years from now still rocking on the porch?
The happy couple contemplates the view.
And in case you think it's just a summer romance, fear not...love knows no weather.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

The Endorsement

2008-10-08T14:07:00.003-05:00

Forget the New York Times or the Washington Post or even the Chicago Tribune. THIS is the political endorsement everyone has been waiting for. Please also appreciate Eliza's brief homage to Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford (could her Tina Fey/Sarah Palin impersonation be far behind?).

Also, as a footnote, we just got back from the doctor, which is why she has stickers and Band-Aids that must be talked about.

Eliza, Where's Your Head?

2008-10-03T17:04:00.002-05:00

One of the favorite activities among Eliza and her cronies these days is watching home videos of themselves and others they know on the computer (blogs are highly useful for this). So in keeping with that and in honor of Eliza's upcoming 2nd birthday, here is some video from her 1st birthday. Enjoy!

Eliza on Parade

2008-09-19T14:10:00.004-05:00

Just a few photos of this 'n' that b/c it's been a while...

First up, Miss E. has been teething on and off and when she is, it's hard for her to eat. So nothing makes her happier than when Daddy makes Jello (I won't touch the stuff, yuck!). And where else to eat Jello than on the floor?

Also in the kitchen, Eliza has discovered the fun of making cookies (she "stirs" the dry ingredients and helps hold the mixer for the wet) and the even greater fun of eating the cookie dough. Note the two fisted technique. (And for the egg wary among you, these cookies were made with applesauce replacing the eggs)Next up, we have our fashion show. Eliza has become very particular about what she wears and it often takes everything I have to persuade her than one cannot wear flannel lined jeans when it is 80 degrees outside. Sadly, I didn't get a picture the day she picked out striped capri pants, her way too big Williams t-shirt with none of the colors of the pants in it, and her frog boots. It was special.

One of her very favorite outfits is this Elmo track suit that we found. We call this look "ZaZa from the block."

This might be some sort of hip hop move. I'm not sure.

She also got this adorable dress from some friends in Michigan. I think she likes it.
Why, yes, I am cute, thanks for asking.

Needing a fix

2008-08-14T13:14:00.005-05:00

I got an email from Aunt Mary imploring me to post something b/c she was jonesin' for some Eliza...so you can all thank her for reminding me that I had pictures on the camera to download and share with you all.

And speaking of fixes, Eliza has a new hard-core addiction. It's called water. It started with a trip to Foster Beach here at home. She was in heaven.

Then we left for Michigan where she spent nearly all of every day asking to "pay wawer" (for those not fluent in Za Za speak, "play water." It also sometimes sounds like "wadder" or "wahwah."). So we went to the beach a lot where she also threw rocks (about three inches) and swung in the "yewoh swing." If there had been a purkle swing, no doubt that would have been the one, but we were with her - the pink swings were lame.

The other great discovery, though, was the redone waterfront downtown, which included the world's most fabulous fountain. The first time we went was by accident so we were completely unprepared - i.e. no camera, no towel, no change of clothes. But we're no dummies, so here is visit number two.

She starts out dry...
Then does things like this...
Getting wetter...
There's the good stuff!
This is living!!!
It was actually hard to get photos of her as she was usually running away from me to the water. But I did shoot some video that, while it doesn't record any of her beyond delighted shrieking, hopefully captures some of the exuberant joy.

ZaZa and the Purkle Crayon

2008-07-25T12:37:00.003-05:00

No, it's not destined to become the next classic in children's literature, but it certainly does describe life around here lately!

To start, Eliza has learned to say her name. Sort of. For a while, she would actually say "Eliza" - except that it took about five minutes to get out and she had to be coached on each syllable (E. pause, pause, pause. Li. pause, pause, pause. ZA!). Now she has discovered that it's both easier and much more fun to refer to herself as ZaZa (insert your own joke about punching cops here).

Next, she has become obsessed with coloring in her coloring book. She's pretty good about not coloring anywhere else, i.e. the walls or the floor. Only a couple of mishaps. Her favorite color, by far, is purple...or as she calls it "purkle." That crayon is worn down far more than the others and you'll notice in these pictures that the majority of the scribbles are, indeed, purkle.
Daddy helps along.
You may have also noticed that she has a real little girl hairdo! She finally started letting me put it in pigtails as we wait for the various lengths to even out. I had to demonstrate on myself first and then she got so much praise from various people that every day she now requests for her hair to be "pretty."

Lastly, way back last October, Eliza's Aunt Mary gave her some fabulous boots for her birthday. At the time they seemed HUGE, being a size 6 and all. Now, however, they fit just fine and Eliza and her daddy took them out for some serious fun during the very heavy rain last weekend. This was before. After was just a big wet mess and they both had to change all their clothes.
We're off to Michigan next week. Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Millennium Park Madness!

2008-06-26T14:25:00.004-05:00

Last week, we met up with some other playgroup pals for Wiggleworms at Millennium Park. Lots of fun, which we'd like to share with you here.

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands,
...blow a kiss,
...touch your nose,

...or give a hug!
After the music (and after Eliza and Connor tore around the lawn for a while), we all went down to the fabulous fountain to play.
Eliza and Connor were mystified by the shower of water.Run, run, run! Splash, splash, splash!

Rachel knows what it's all about!
Can we come back here every week???

Water babies

2008-06-11T16:49:00.004-05:00

Every Sunday, Eliza and Mac go to the YMCA for swim class. There are several positives about this: Eliza gets comfortable with the water; she and Mac get some daddy/daughter time; and I get a much needed 90 minute break each week. However, this past Sunday was the last day of the session, which meant I could come along and take pictures. So here they are (btw, it's really hard to take pictures of moving children in a pool. These are the least blurry of the bunch).

They work on many skills, including jumping off the side of the pool:chasing after balls:
floating on backs:

and generally having a good time.

And because it was the last day of class, Eliza got a gift from the instructors. Yet another rubber duckie for her collection. It's the same gift each session, but this time she got a PRINCESS DUCK!

10 things Eliza has taught me

2008-05-15T11:56:00.006-05:00

I didn't think it was fair to keep depriving the world of these pearls of wisdom, so here you go:

That furry red monster is called "Melmo," NOT "Elmo," as I'm sure many of you thought. Consider yourself corrected.
Peas are an excellent lunchtime food. They are, however, completely unacceptable at dinner time.
It is impolite to acknowledge one's own poop. Therefore, if asked if you have pooped, the answer is always "no," even when odor and diaper size indicate otherwise.
As a corollary, it is imperative to point out all other poop, whether in a potty book or a grownup going into our bathrooms or every dog in Chicago.
Similarly, grownups are woefully ignorant of all water in Chicago and, like poop, it must be pointed out at every turn. Puddles, sinks, fountains, lake.
A book's meaning isn't truly gleaned until you've read it at least ten times in a row. Ditto with songs.
When one is sick, Jell-O, ice cream, and Motrin are their own food groups. Actually, you probably already knew that.
Child proof is a misnomer. Child resistant is perhaps a better term. Where there's a will, there's a way.
Drawers are for standing in.
It's never too soon to start wearing a bra (bikini tops also count).

I'm sure there are more than 10, but these will do for now. I hope you are able to learn as I have and apply these teachings to your own lives, which will surely be better for doing so.

Famous Names

2008-05-12T13:45:00.004-05:00

This doesn't really have anything to do with us and I know I owe you all a real post (with pictures, yes, Mary), but I did help make this happen for my friend, Kerri, mother to Eliza's friend, Libby. Plus if you're a name nerd like I am, it's interesting:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/136270

And okay, here's a picture to placate the masses. Come on, who among us doesn't like to sit in a rocking chair with a hairbrush and just a diaper on?

The more things change...

2008-04-07T13:22:00.003-05:00

...the more they stay the same.

This is me probably around 18 months.

And here is Miss E. on Easter.I'm a little older in this shot, but quite happy in a shirt, underpants (you can't tell, but I know that to be the case), and a very dirty face.

And, well, there it is.
In case you were wondering, yes, she did get a haircut, her first. Stay tuned for pictures from the big event!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2008-03-30T11:40:00.006-05:00

...Springtime? Well, maybe where some of you live. Certainly not here. These pics are from last week, the first day of spring as a matter of fact. So sad...

Eliza thought it was fun at first.
We even made an Eliza-size snowman (well, I made it and she watched), but by that time she was already cold and tired of it all.
Yesterday we went to Millennium Park. Where it was not as snowy, but still cold. Eliza was more captivated by pushing her stroller than by the Bean.
Yup, still pushing that stroller!

Quick break for some crackers and to wipe a runny nose.What happened to that warm sunny Florida weather???

Oh yeah, and in the midst of all this cold misery came Easter. Easter, for cryin' out loud! She had a very cute dress that she had to wear with a long sleeve shirt, winter tights, and a sweater. We didn't get any pictures, but maybe if spring ever shows up, I'll dress her up again and take some pics, as she really did look cute.

Meanwhile, here she is on Easter morning with Duckie, her new best friend.

Another Holiday Road

2008-03-21T14:05:00.004-05:00

As I sit here watching up to 7 inches of snow get dumped on Chicago yet again, it seemed like a good time to finally post some pictures and write a little bit about our Florida vacation. It was great. Very warm, very relaxing, and very fun. We swam, we ate, we drank, we read, we played tennis, we even took some exercise classes!

I will admit that I almost had to post when we first got there to say that pride goeth before a fall. With all my FLORIDA-ing in our last post, I doomed myself. We got to Midway Airport, checked in, and found they canceled our flight just as we got to the gate (for no good reason, other than they needed our plane in Milwaukee). We got rebooked onto a flight to Orlando, not West Palm as originally scheduled, which was farther away, but had the one advantage of being a direct flight. However, said flight was FIVE HOURS later, so we had to just hang out at the airport which is oh so much fun with a toddler. She napped in her stroller for about 40 minutes and that's the best I can say about it.

Once on the plane, she was okay, if a bit squirmy (we didn't buy her a seat - never making that mistake again!). Nearing the end, though, things were a bit bumpy and she'd been eating mostly crap all day, so of course, she threw up. On me. Good times. I had a change of clothes for her, so freshened her up when we landed. Then we realized our bags hadn't made it to Orlando with us. Big surprise there (AirTran sucks). Mac spent quite a while arguing with the baggage people while Eliza and I wandered around the baggage area. Then we all went off to collect our rental car...and Eliza and I wandered around the car rental area while Mac stood in line forever. It was really late by the time we got our car and at least Eliza fell asleep on the drive to Port St. Lucie. We were all happy to get to bed, I'd say.

Sadly, though, our bags weren't destined to show up until noon or so, so this is what I had to wear:

So like I said, pride goeth before a fall. Suitably chastened, we went to Target to pick up some clothes to carry us through and then had a glorious time.

Eliza loved playing with Sam and Jack, sons of our friends Andy & Jeanne, who are the ones who persuaded us to go Club Medding with them in the first place.

Eliza couldn't have been happier with being outside in warm weather!! BTW, Andy and Jeanne took most of these pictures with their amazing zoom lens. Good stuff and we are very grateful.
On Thursday, Eliza went to Baby Club Med for the first time, which is their daycare. She did okay, but was pretty overwhelmed. So imagine her dismay when these strangers not only kept her for the day, but then dressed her up in a costume and put her onstage! We, of course, were thrilled, but as of right now, she doesn't seem destined to follow in my footsteps.

Comfort from the thumb and the sippy cup:

Full on meltdown, at which point they took her offstage. Awww....Fortunately, they had slushies on hand for all the talent and Eliza discovered a new favorite beverage:
We were pretty bad with having the camera handy, so didn't get any other fun pictures until our last night there. Here is Miss Eliza on the beach, contemplating life:
Big shadows:
See you next year, Club Med Sandpiper!!

You oughta be in pictures

2008-03-10T13:45:00.007-05:00

I realize I did not post again last week as intended, but honestly we were too busy enjoying our new kitchen, getting life back to normal, and preparing to go to FLORIDA! That's right, we are leaving tomorrow, escaping from this never ending parade of gray and snow to be in sunny FLORIDA. Five glorious days of warm weather in FLORIDA. For those that might have missed it, FLORIDA.

Anyway, for those of you not fortunate enough to be going to FLORIDA and living in the Chicagoland area, you might want to head up to Old Orchard Mall. We had Eliza's portraits done at Picture People there in November. It came to our attention last week that among the many beautiful babies and children adorning their walls, there was one in particular we might be interested in. This past Saturday, Mac and I drove up there (with Eliza, of course) and sure enough, one of the new wall models is none other than Miss Eliza Harper. There are about eight or so pictures of her in the section where you pick out what frames you want. It's right at the front of the store so you can even sneak in and sneak out if you so choose. Not that we did, of course. We were the dorks loudly pointing out our child's picture to her and making sure everyone around us knew that was her. Sigh...I never thought I would turn into that person.

Did I mention we're going to FLORIDA?

If you can't make it to Old Orchard, here are a couple of pictures from New Jersey that Eliza's gramps took of her with her new found passions of rocking chairs and pianos. Enjoy! We'll talk to you all after we get back from FLORIDA! (Okay, I'll stop now)

IT'S DONE!!!

2008-03-02T13:20:00.005-06:00

Yes, I realize it's been nearly a month since we posted anything, but once you see some of the pictures, you'll know why. Our February was about as hellish a one as I care to go through ever. I won't bore you with details, but many thanks to everyone who gave us a place to lay our heads or just spend some time.

But let's not dwell on the negative because...THE KITCHEN IS DONE!!! We've put a full album of before and after shots on Snapfish (you'll probably have to sign in to view them - sorry about that) for your viewing enjoyment. But for those of you who prefer the quick and dirty...

Here is our kitchen before:

Here is the h*ll it became:

And here is the beautiful finished product:
Seriously, go to the Snapfish album. Much more fun.

I hope to be better about posting this week. After that we're off to Florida for some much needed sunshine, warmth, and relaxation!

Sing Along with Eliza

2008-02-04T09:09:00.000-06:00

So, it's 9:10 AM and Eliza and I are supposed to be a flight to NJ departing at 9:15. However, last night they canceled said flight, so here I sit while she naps. We're on a 2:15 flight (NOT sitting together - that should be a fun time with the ticket agent), which hopefully will leave on time.

In the meantime, here is some video of Eliza singing her new favorite song (well, it might not be her favorite, but it's the only one she can sing). I'll grant you, this is not her best rendition of it, but sometimes she gets shy about performing.

I don't know how much blogging we'll do from NJ, but I'll try to take lots of pictures so we have things to show everyone when we get back. Plus, we can also post updates on our kitchen by then. Oh, have I not mentioned the kitchen remodel that will render our house unlivable for at least two weeks if not longer? That's why we get to go to NJ!

Hail to the Chief

2008-01-31T07:15:00.001-06:00

Okay, these pictures are kinda old and we all know I'm no fan of our current president (but I am getting pretty excited about the current political scene and have already cast my ballot in the primaries! Vote early, ~~vote often~~!), but he was in town, a mere two blocks away, so we packed up and met friends Katie and Alice to check out the scene.

Eliza so not thrilled with the scene. There was a lot of me: "Eliza, look! Reporters (or a car or secret service or whatever)!" Eliza: "Cracker! Dog!"
Katie looking good, next to another mommy named Katie that we met:
Miss Alice, also suitably unimpressed (the bib says future president):
This is actually supposed to be a picture of what we think was a sharpshooter on the roof of the school, not the doofus in front of us:
Reporters on the scene:
More reporters:
You have to click on this one to enlarge it and see the group of men in suits exiting the school. We thought one of them was Mayor Daly. Bush wasn't among the crowd - we think he got into his car somewhere out of view. And then pulled out of a different exit, so we only saw the motorcade from really far away. I know, as opposed to these stellar close-ups I have here!In my defense, if they'd come out this entrance, they would have driven right past us and then the pictures would be cool. No worries - we'll take Eliza to see President Obama when he comes to visit. :-)

Sometimes life is too much...

2008-01-28T15:27:00.001-06:00

...and you just need to lie on the floor for a while.
She does this all the time now. We don't know why.
But would that we could all be so cute while doing so.

Still Not There

2008-01-18T07:46:00.001-06:00

My apologies...we're having a hard time getting back into the swing of things, which certainly includes posting frequently like I think I promised I would do sometime in 2007. I'm not sure WHY we're having such a hard time, but we are. Eliza is bouncing back and forth between one nap and two (trying to get to one) and her sleep has been very erratic, which always colors the rest of the day. We're back in Wiggleworms, but most of the kids are different, so even though it's the same teacher, who we love, and the same room, she's a little weirded out by the whole thing. Week two was better than week one and I have a new baby crush on a 20 month-old in her class named Auden.

We also had our first swimming class yesterday (missed the first one last week b/c she had a doctor appointment. THAT certainly didn't go well, as she wanted no part of the nurse or of being weighed or obviously of her shots), which was not quite the success I hoped it would be. She started crying before we even got to the locker room and I really think she has a thing about fluorescent lighting (don't we all?). She did the same thing in the fitting room at Target (don't ask). Even after seeing all the fun buddy Connor was having, it took her at least half the class to calm down and enjoy herself even the slightest bit. Hopefully next week will go better.

Eliza is becoming quite the chatterbox these days. Her newest words are "back," as in "this is my back," and "cracker," as in graham. She also loves to ask for "nana" (banana) all hours of the day and night. Seriously, it's the first thing she says in the morning, even before "mama" or "dada." As Heather pointed out, it's probably fun to say a word and actually GET something when you say it. I never knew one person could eat so many bananas. I think cracker is my favorite. I'll try to get some video of her saying a few of her words. No promises!

We're Back!

2008-01-08T07:57:00.000-06:00

Back in a cyber way, that is, as we didn't actually go anywhere for Christmas. But with preparing for the holidays, having the holidays, and recovering from the holidays, there seemed to be little time for posting. Mac was home on vacation and we decided it was a vacation for everyone...which meant we got to sleep a lot ("a lot" being relative, of course), do very little, and let our house get beyond messy. Now we're trying to get back to normal with Wiggleworms and playdates and of course, our blog!

Some quick Christmas highlights:
A trip to Lincoln Park Zoo for their annual Zoolights. Eliza loves Christmas lights so this experience was beyond magical for her.

Our own Christmas tree was a constant draw for her. She also had her own small tree with ornaments made at my NJ baby shower. Every morning she would rush out to the living room and be very insistent that we turn on all the tree lights. Then life was good.
Opening her stocking on Christmas morning.

Chaos around the tree.One of her favorite gifts - magnetic gears. She got another gear toy that she will also spend hours playing with. What is it with babies and gears???

Her beautiful Christmas sweater from Nan & Gramps. She looked very festive.Mac's family joined us for Christmas dinner where Eliza and I much enjoyed our macaroni and cheese while everyone else ate prime rib. She loved having family around and even had a sleepover with Aunt Mary while Mac and I escaped downtown for a night. I think she's having a hard time adjusting to it being just us again, but like I said, we're getting back to life as normal. Aren't we all?

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Happy New Year!

Health Update

2007-12-17T20:33:00.000-06:00

Miss Eliza is slowly on the mend. It's been a long three days, though. She's sleeping a lot, not eating that much, and still quite prone to frequent diaper changes that involve all new outfits. I'll not go into more detail than that, which you all should probably thank me for! Saturday was very snowy around here as well, so between her and the snow, we canceled all our remaining plans and stayed home. We put up the Christmas tree while she was sleeping and it thrilled her to no end when she came out and saw it. She has a small tree as well, decorated with all the ornaments everyone made for me at my NJ baby shower (did I say that already in an earlier post? My brain is so fried). She has taken a few ornaments off the big tree, but all the breakable ones are out of her reach, so it's okay. Her very favorite thing is the M&M tree lights we have (disclaimer: not my auction, just wanted the picture!). Sadly, the M&M's come off pretty easily, so I spend most of my time taking the small plastic figures away from her.

I hope everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit. We're trying!

This picture of Eliza isn't great, but she had dedicated herself to cramming everything she possibly could into her horse's saddle. It was really quite impressive.

Sick Baby

2007-12-15T09:00:00.001-06:00

It seems incredible that we have made it 14 months with no real sickness aside from the odd cold here and there, but our run of luck is over.

Last night, we put Eliza to bed and she had a pretty tough time settling down. We figured it was because she'd already slept a lot during the day and we had a friend over, so life was too exciting to go to sleep. After about an hour and a half of intermittent crying (never anything huge), I went in to check on her. I thought maybe she was teething, so I brought in some Motrin, which she happily took. When I picked her up to rock her, I noticed her pajamas were a little wet. THEN I felt that they were, for lack of a better word, chunky. Oh dear.

I called Mac in to help and he changed all the bedding, right down to the mattress pad, while I changed her pajamas, her onesie, her diaper (she had diarrhea as well), and the changing table cover. I gave her some water, rocked her for a while, then put her back down. She fell asleep quickly and slept through the night. A little restless early this morning, but okay.

We got her up at 7:30 (late for her) because we were supposed to go look at kitchen appliances. She only wanted milk and a little banana at breakfast and seemed pretty dazed still. After breakfast, she wanted to brush her teeth of course, so we headed into the bathroom to do that at which point everything came right back up on me, on her, on the sink, on the floor. Twice. Good times!

Needless to say, we canceled our appliance appointment, got everything and everybody cleaned up, dispatched Mac to the grocery store for BRAT foods, and settled in for a day of sick baby. She's sleeping again now.

Hopefully her parents are coming to pick her up soon. :-)

The Literary Look

2007-12-14T10:37:00.000-06:00

In homage to Eliza's literary forbears (Elizabeth Bennett, Harper Lee, Eliza Doolittle, my mom the journalist), we're trying yet another template. Consensus was that the last one was indeed too much pink. Thoughts?

New look, same name

2007-12-11T08:34:00.000-06:00

I was playing around with Blogger's templates and thought we'd try out a new look. Too much pink?

What's in a name?

2007-12-07T16:11:00.001-06:00

What? Two posts in the space of about five minutes? What gives?

Well, I have realized that the title of the this blog - Pinky and the New Mommy Brain - is no longer entirely accurate, as I am no longer a "new" mom. Some days I feel like quite the seasoned pro, actually. Then I quickly revert to "when are her parents coming to pick her up?" mode. But be that as it may, I am wondering if perhaps we need to rename the blog. Do you, dear readers, have any thoughts on the matter? Or any suggestions? Somehow "Pinky and the Mommy Brain" doesn't seem as funny, but maybe that's just me.

Four out of five dentists

2007-12-07T15:59:00.000-06:00

Eliza is obsessed with her oral hygiene today. Don't ask me why. Usually she brushes her teeth (and if you think by "brush" I mean chew on her toothbrush and drool all over the place, you'd be right) after breakfast and just before bed. Today she has insisted on brushing after every snack and lunch as well. And I mean insisted - screaming and crying if we head anywhere but the bathroom after she gets out of her high chair. I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with.

Oooh, a toothbrush!

I am SO brushing my teeth!

GAAAAHHH - INSANE TOOTH BRUSHING BABY!!!
Also, a quick apology for the delay in approving the most recent comments. For some reason, Blogger neglected to email me and let me know I had any!

Fashion Show

2007-11-30T09:10:00.000-06:00

Eliza has gotten some great outfits from people and now seems like a good time to showcase them. As always, huge thank you's to all!

First off, from her birthday we have a stunning ensemble courtesy of Carolyn. The embroidered jeans are hipper than hip and she's all that in her pink hoodie. You can see this was taken back in the warmer days!
Another birthday gift came from Aunt Barbara and Uncle Bob (my godparents). This gorgeous yellow sweater has smiley face buttons that Miss E. just adores. And who wouldn't?
We also got a huge box of stuff from Cynthia. I haven't taken pics of all of it yet, but here's a sampling. Black and white gingham overalls with a rose embroidered top:
Seriously purple overalls (Daddy loves these - go Williams) with a matching lavender onesie:
More overalls, this time in red, with a festive holiday shirt (click on it to see bigger):
Another view of the overalls, so you can see the fabulous plaid pattern on them (as Heather pointed out, it must be nice to be a baby and not care about wearing plaid pants that make your hips look huge!). She's also modeling her heavy winter ensemble, courtesy of Target.Nice to see that she's trying to earn her keep by helping Daddy rake leaves.

Where's Waldo?

2007-11-23T14:31:00.000-06:00

I've gotten a lot of notes from people asking where was Aunt Leslie in all the pictures from cousin Jack's visit. Did she really come? The answer is yes, she did, but I, as principal photographer, was mainly concerned with getting pictures of the cousins. In hindsight, we should have taken a picture of the two sisters with the kids, but alas, we didn't. She WAS in a picture that we posted...she's the one pushing Jack's stroller in the pic where they are holding hands, but since her head is cut off, I don't suppose that does anyone much good.

Anyway, here is the only picture she is in, trying to help Eliza understand the drumming chaos that Jack and Mac are up to.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Eliza enjoyed her stuffing, but wasn't so enthused by the turkey. She definitely enjoyed dessert...brownie trifle from Heather's oh so yummy recipe!

Mini Me's

2007-11-20T13:04:00.000-06:00

These are our friends, Mark and Katie. This picture was taken at our wedding...I have no idea why I don't have a more recent picture of them, but I don't. Anyway, Mark and Mac went to high school together, so have been friends for a long time.

Mark and Katie just had a baby girl, Alice, and last week little Alice and her mommy came over to play with us. Pretty fair to say that both these little girls look just like their daddies...a couple of little mini me's!
(It's amazing how much babies grow in a year, isn't it?)

Deceptively Delicious

2007-11-14T13:56:00.000-06:00

Deceptively Delicious is a new cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld, wife of Jerry. Apparently she was on Oprah and talked about it, but I, oblivious as always, missed it. However, suddenly this book kept cropping up in every food conversation I had with anyone, especially our various babysitters. Eliza had just entered into what I'm sure is the first of many phases of finicky eating, so the principles behind the book caught my attention. Basically, it's about sneaking healthy food into "regular" food so that kids will eat it. Think lots and lots of purees. I'm sure it's mostly geared toward the older picky eaters in the world, but since we were really moving away from any and all baby foods, I decided to pick up a copy.

One of the best decisions I've ever made.

Seriously, we've tried several recipes at this point and haven't hit a dud yet. Eliza has loved all of them: macaroni & cheese with butternut squash; pink pancakes made with beets; twice baked potatoes with cauliflower puree; and most recently, turkey lasagna with sweet potato and cauliflower purees. She's in a no-meat phase, but happily chowed on the turkey at lunch today. It was amazing. As an added bonus, this stuff all tastes so good that Mac and I eat it too (well, we were a little "eh" on those pink pancakes, but we don't like beets, so what can you do? I froze the rest and Eliza still loves them). Nice to know that when she is old enough for family dinner, there will be food we can all eat!

I also count us lucky that Eliza already enjoys many interesting foods, like quiche and broccoli (preferably with cheese). She also appears to realize that American cheese is not, in fact, cheese and should not be eaten. She'd much rather have some cheddar or muenster or those cute little Babybel cheeses. Yummy! And the girl does enjoy a grilled muenster cheese with avocado. Who wouldn't?

For those with kids, go buy this book. For those who know someone with kids, buy them this book. I think that should cover everyone. :-) If you want to sample a couple of recipes, Oprah has those too!

Now if only there was a comparable guide to good napping every day.

And since we weren't blogging when Eliza first started solids, here's a pic of her first "meal" - really watery cereal (rice?). Such a baldie!

Self Image

2007-11-10T10:14:00.001-06:00

Call me crazy, but I think maybe, just MAYBE, Eliza knows she's cute.
She definitely knows how to work it these days.
And speaking of working it, sometimes the mamas can get in on the action too. This is me with Gen (mother of Sam) and Heather (Connor's mom) all dressed up and looking good at the Infamous Commonwealth gala last week.

Jack Attack!!!

2007-11-05T19:00:00.001-06:00

This weekend, Eliza met her cousin Jack! Jack and his parents (Aunt Leslie and Uncle Friz) flew in for a whirlwind visit, arriving Saturday night and leaving Monday afternoon. Sadly, the first part of our visit on Sunday was spent at Navy Pier and the Children's Museum where a grand time was had riding the carousel and train and playing with all the cool stuff in the museum...but no one brought a camera. Oh well. Next time.

So on to Sunday post naps, where Jack took an immediate shine to Eliza's drum set. Here's the handsome devil:

And then Eliza wanted in on the action:

Jack and Uncle Mac, too cool for words!

A whole lotta noise!

Eliza wasn't sure what to do with all these goofy guys.

On Sunday, we all walked to the park, where Eliza and Daddy experimented with a tire swing.

Jack and Uncle Friz rode their mighty steeds.

And Eliza learned that slides are lots and lots of fun...she signed "more" as soon as she got to the bottom.

Cousins swinging along.

After lunch, Eliza walked home with two handsome fellows...
...who can lift her REALLY high!!!

And here are the happy cousins, holding hands (although Eliza's foot is blocking the view a little). Awwwww!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

2007-11-01T13:52:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween, everybody! I'm counting this as Eliza's first Halloween because, let's face it, last year she was neither aware of it nor enjoying it, as this photo shows. She had already outgrown her "Baby's First Halloween" outfit, but I jammed her into it anyway. She reciprocated by looking a bit like Dr. Evil.

So, this year, much more fun, if not any more photogenic. We went to Lincoln Park Zoo on Saturday for their Halloween celebration (one of the sad things about living in a city is that kids can't really trick or treat, so there are lots of these kinds of events to go to instead. Fun, but really crowded). Here's our ladybug, eyes half closed in a picture b/c she is her father's daughter.
She walked the whole time by herself, sometimes not even holding anyone's hand, which made it that much more challenging to keep track of her in the crowds!

When it was all over, she showed off her big girl skills by pushing the stroller along on her own.

And another one for the desktop wallpaper collection...

On Halloween proper, we went to a playdate at Kerri's, where we met up with an awfully cute cow outside (Connor):

Inside, it was pretty much impossible to get a good photo of anyone, so here is the bug again, pondering the mysteries of a block:

CHAOS!!!

There were some guests at playgroup this time, including Alejandro - the lion with the reflective eyes in the center of the picture. He gave Eliza a goodbye kiss that rendered her absolutely Marcia Brady "I'll never wash my cheek again." Look out, Connor!

A Taste of Fall

2007-10-27T15:58:00.001-05:00

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

2007-10-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

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

2007-10-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

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

2007-10-09T14:41:00.001-05:00

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

2007-10-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-10-01T19:20:00.001-05:00

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.

Feeding Frenzy from Kerri

2007-09-19T09:11:00.000-05:00

Yeah, eventually I'll get to our NJ trip - so many other things keep happening, it seems. In the meantime, Kerri posted a brilliant recap of our impromptu playdate last week that I thought you would all enjoy:
Feeding Frenzy

Houston, we have a walker!

2007-09-17T19:05:00.000-05:00

I think this pretty much speaks for itself (but apologies for the loud audio)...

Mamma Mia!

2007-09-14T20:37:00.001-05:00

We are back from New Jersey, I am happy to report. A wonderful time was had by all, but I will confess it was nice to come back home to an absolutely gorgeous streak of early fall weather. Crisp, clear, windows open, great sleeping weather. Eliza is not so thrilled about needing to wear socks - actually, she doesn't think she needs to wear them at all and I am slowly coming around to her way of thinking. She doesn't seem cold and they only interfere with her attempts to walk anyway.

Speaking of - we were hoping that milestone would be achieved while we were east, but it was not to be. We will all have to settle for the arrival of the syllable "ma ma ma," which she now babbles all day long. At first I was very excited, but that excitement has been tempered by comments from Gen and Kerri that prove that just knowing how to make the sound does not translate into labeling the person. I think this is because there isn't anyone to constantly reinforce the label. I spend all day saying "Daddy," whether we're looking at his picture or he himself. Same goes for the cats and for every cow, lion, and penguin we see in the books. I can't really reinforce myself; it doesn't make any sense to her. Yet.

More details about the trip itself will be forthcoming, along with some great pictures, taken by her many admirers. For now, this is one of our faves, from first cousin once removed Ben (that's bread all over her face - she made quick work of a crusty piece at the French bistro where we ate brunch in NYC):

Happy Birthday, Gramps!

2007-09-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

Eliza wants to wish a very happy 75th birthday to her Gramps in New Jersey. She'll be visiting him and Nan this weekend to celebrate and is much looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting the new kitties, Topsy and Turvy.

Sounds like...

2007-09-04T19:37:00.000-05:00

We think Eliza has some real words now. She makes the same noise every time she sees the cats and it kinda sounds like "tat." She also makes "da da da" sounds consistently upon seeing either Mac or a dog. Sometimes she even produces a full-fledged "Da-dee" when she sees him or I ask her where he is. There is, of course, still no "mama" in the bunch, not even as babbling. Mac decided this morning that she is going to master every word in the English language and still not say "Mommy."

I can see it now: "Excuse me, primary caregiver, what is your opinion on anthropomorphism? May I have another beverage please?"

Don't ask. Anthropomorphism is just a word you don't get to use much.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes

2007-09-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

We'd love to say this is her new favorite song, but her version would have to go more like "head, la, la, la, la, TOES." She is learning to point out different body parts when we ask. Toes she can always do. Yesterday she could do head, but today she's lost her head (groan). However, head has been replaced by belly today, so that's exciting. Sometimes she knows tongue, sometimes not. Tongue sounds a lot like toes so she gets confused. Really, when in doubt, point to the toes - that's her motto! Still, it's fun to see and she enjoys the game.

Life otherwise is going on same as usual. These pics are from a couple of weeks ago when we were intending to go to Millennium Park and let her play in the fountain. But then we locked ourselves out of the house and had to resort to calling our cat sitter to find someone with a copy of our keys. She lives down in Lincoln Park, so we trekked down there and ended up lunching at John's Place. It used to be one of our favorite restaurants, but the service lately has been pretty sub-par, so we're less than happy. Still it was a fun lunch and Eliza was feeling very photogenic.

We did end up at Millennium Park last week and she loved the fountain. Of course, we forgot the camera that time. Oh well.

Awwww....

Wonder Twins Power - Activate!

Cutie in a restaurant.

Eliza's first ride on the El.

HOLY %*&#@!!!!

2007-08-24T09:58:00.000-05:00

Forgive the (implied) vulgarity in the title of the post, but there is simply no other way to describe the weather that went down here yesterday afternoon. Crazy!

We actually had a doctor appointment scheduled at 4:15. Miss Eliza has been pulling at her ear all week and getting more and more cranky, while sleeping less and less. I figured it was teething, by by the fifth day of it, it seemed like a call to the doc was in order. I only wanted to speak to a nurse to confirm my suspicions, but the receptionist thought we should come in. So we did.

The weather was starting to look ominous around 3, so I checked the radar online and saw the storms heading right for us, approximately the time we would be leaving. I decided we should just leave a bit early, get to the safety of the doc's office and be all set. Well...the best laid plans of mice and men and all that.

We set out in the last of the sunshine. Not quite halfway there (it's only a 10 minute drive, if that), the guys on the radio suddenly start screaming about a tornado warning and the storm moving 50 miles per hour and GET UNDER COVER TAKE SHELTER NOW!!!! Sure enough, out of the west came an enormous bank of BLACK clouds and a complete wall of rain. Within about ten seconds, I couldn't see anything and was completely terrified. In the back seat, Eliza had no clue and was happily singing to herself.

I didn't know what to do. Had I reached the point of no return? Should I venture onward or go home? Having no idea what I would find either way, I slogged one more block, then turned east toward home and more major streets, i.e. those with fewer trees that could fall on us. It was scary, like driving in a blizzard scary. I got to our street and there were huge branches down on either side just around our driveway. Mercifully, I could pull in (no idea what I would have done if the driveway had been blocked - had a nervous breakdown, I think) and the big tree over our parking area had not fallen down. Although I was convinced it would do so as soon as I got under it. Obviously it didn't.

We ran inside and I turned on the radio while trying to avoid the huge picture window that makes up the front portion of our living room. Did I mention that Eliza opted out of her second nap so had been awake since 10:30 that morning? So she was feeling all kinds of special. The rain and wind and lightning were intense. But because the storm was moving so quickly, the worst of it was over soon. Right around the time I would have left the house to go to the doctor under normal conditions actually. Of course.

I called the doc to make sure they were all still alive and there. They were and actually seemed to find my question odd, which means they have no windows. We saw a lot of fork lightning as we drove and several downed trees, one of which forced us to improvise a detour. But we made it, waited for almost 45 minutes (which isn't like them), and found out that....she's teething. Even the doctor was annoyed with the receptionist. Oh well. Better to know, right?

Drive home #2 was still challenging, but not as terrifying. Quick dinner for Miss E and then I put her right to bed b/c she was exhausted. Round #2 of the storm rolled in with much lightning and rain. Mac was at the Shedd Aquarium for an event and said it was amazing. We are due to get even more rain, possibly storms today. But we have no plans to go anywhere!

Here are the pics of our street from our balcony:

Immediately after Round 1, before we went to the doctor again.

A close-up of the car under the tree in front. Note how dark it is at 4 in the afternoon!

The scene this morning, after one visit by clean-up crews.

I hope all of you in the Chicagoland area weathered it okay. I promise to post again soon with catch-up on Eliza's other recent adventures!

It had to happen

2007-08-19T13:45:00.000-05:00

We had thus far escaped all the toy recalls and were breathing sighs of relief that Eliza is not yet of an age where she cares about Dora or Thomas or even Elmo. But then on Friday night came the news that Toys R Us is pulling all its vinyl bibs off the shelf as a "precaution" since the lead levels exceed their standards....but not, apparently, the standards set by our government. So it's not an official recall, which is actually worse. All the information conflicts, with some sources saying it's fine as long as the bibs aren't torn and others saying no, no, get rid of them all. We have three of these bibs and haven't used them since Friday, but also haven't done anything to dispose of them either. I guess we're waiting for either more information or a sign from the gods. So if anyone is much smarter than we are about this whole lead thing, please give us a clue!

Honestly, the whole thing is enough to make you not want to buy toys again. And I've checked - ALL her toys are made in China. No shock there. Perhaps it's time to go old school and just give her some pots and pans and a wooden spoon or two to play with. Ahhh, the good ol' days.

Also, I'm sorry I haven't posted anything recently. We've just been doing the same old same old for the most part. Eliza is getting better at "cruising," which is baby parlance means she can walk around holding onto furniture. She has managed an occasional step on her own and, more importantly, is placing her feet flat on the floor more often instead of tippy-toeing around, which is a sure sign that walking is near. Don't worry - THAT I'll post as soon as it happens! And I'll try to get some more pictures up soon.

I didn't do it!!!

2007-08-10T14:41:00.001-05:00

First off, a quick congrats/shout-out to sometimes boyfriend, Connor, who is now walking! Way to go, Connor!!

Next, as Miss E. continues to chug along the developmental track, I thought you would all like to know about her latest "milestone." She has figured out how to point. Not always at the thing she wants, but still she is pointing. This would be great...if she was using the traditional pointing finger, also known as the index finger. She isn't.

I swear I didn't teach her how to do this!!!! Mac disavows himself of any responsibility either. Maybe she crept out in the middle of the night and watched last week's Flight of the Conchords, where Bret and Jemaine learn how to flip the bird. I don't know. But it is the only finger she'll use. Sigh...

Also, hope you all enjoy the new slideshow feature that we added on the left hand side. Fun stuff!

Just for laughs

2007-08-06T16:40:00.001-05:00

This is one about me (sort of). We were looking at these pictures a few days ago and they cracked us up. From right before Eliza was born.

From the back...it looks like a normal person.
And then it turns around...GAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

Really, it was amazing I didn't tip over.

She's ready for her close-up, Mr. DeMille

2007-07-28T13:52:00.000-05:00

Eliza is on YouTube!!!

Since everyone who comes over these days gets treated to Eliza's interpretation of "Tragedy" by the Bee Gees, I thought it was high time those of you farther away enjoyed the show too. So I shot some video of her dancing and posted it to YouTube. I had to reduce the frames per second a wee bit to get the file size down (if there's a better way to compress, someone please let me know!). It's funny to watch her short attention span at war with the driving rhythm of the music - should she dance? Play with her phone? Touch the stereo? Dance? Too many choices!!

And at one point, you'll see her stop and kind of look up and behind her. Our obsessive compulsive upstairs neighbor starting vacuuming. Again. Even Eliza is tired of it.

Instructions: hit the play button and wait a few seconds for it to load. The direct link is above, in case it's not working.

Also, the final frame of the video (if you last that long) goes by way too fast for my taste, so here's our girl:

The Must Have Toy of the Summer

2007-07-23T13:12:00.000-05:00

In Eliza's playgroup anyway. The toy in question is the Fisher Price Gymtastics Activity Wall. One mom had it and everyone else said, "oh, that's really cool." She proceeded to tell us that it is impossible to find. So of course we all looked. Yes, online it is nearly impossible to find. There was one for sale on Craig's List, which another mommy almost purchased, but her husband insisted that their child have it new. They happened to be at Babies R Us (a haul for those of us in the city proper, btw) and found one, so snatched it up. Then she hosted playgroup and we all went, "ahhhh..." at their activity wall. Another mommy and I discussed it and its difficulty being found. I casually said that if she ever saw them, she should pick me up one and I'd pay her back. About a week ago, she emailed me and said she thought of me b/c they were at the same Babies R Us and scored one, but she didn't have my number with me, so didn't call to see if she should really get one. Then she hosted playgroup and again, we all oohed and aahed over the fun of the activity wall and lamented the difficulty of finding them. Hostess thought there were still a couple left and I finally succumbed to the frenzy. I threw Eliza in the car for the unpleasant trek to the suburbs, hoping and praying there would be one lonely activity wall left on the shelf for my beautiful daughter.

There wasn't.

There were at least 20. On the shelf. On the overstock shelf above. Probably in the backroom. I didn't have to take down any other moms to snag one for my beloved. There wasn't even anybody else in the section. All in all, I felt a bit sheepish. And perplexed about why we all bought into this concept that it couldn't be found.

Anyway, it's here, it's assembled, and Miss Eliza loves it. Exhibits A, B, and C.

Wiggleworms

2007-07-17T14:24:00.000-05:00

Every Tuesday at 11AM, Eliza and I attend our Wiggleworms class at the Old Town School of Folk Music. I think there are twelve pairs of babies and caregivers total in the class, but usually about half that show up. Our instructor, Tisa, plays the guitar and all the grown-ups sing along, rock the babies, help them clap their hands, and so on. Sometimes we stand up and walk around in circles while singing. Or we stand in a circle and swing the babies in and out. The babies do whatever they feel like doing - laugh, cry, look alarmed, wave their arms, clap their hands, poop their pants, and so on. At the end, Tisa blows bubbles (from Gymboree, which apparently has the best bubbles ever. Ever. Must buy some.), much to all the babies' delight.

Eliza generally enjoys her time at Wiggleworms. She likes clapping and seeing other babies and having bubbles land on her face. She's not so keen on the song at the beginning that has everyone's name in it - or rather, she likes the song, but not the part when we're singing about her and the whole room is looking at her. I find this odd, especially in light of her behavior today.

We were a little late because she was napping so we actually missed the first song. Everyone looked at us b/c we were late, which Miss E. did not enjoy. For the first half of the class, I'd say, she was very shy and almost fussy. Once we got to our feet and starting swinging the babies in and out for "Bingo" (B. I. N. G. Ohhhhhhh), she cheered up immensely and became her usual happy self. Then came the rhythm portion.

Wiggleworms requires shakers of some kind. We bought the baby maraca from their store, but Tisa also passes around big maracas and you are also welcome to bring any kind of shaker from home (shaker being a fancy word for rattle, of course). As Tisa was doing the passing, Eliza took it upon herself to crawl up to several of her classmates and take their shakers. Sometimes right out of their mouths. Nice. No interest at all in her own maraca, but plenty in everyone else's - even if everyone else's looked EXACTLY LIKE HERS! I corralled her back just before Tisa starting playing, but she was having none of it. She took off toward the big shakers that were in the middle of the circle and started playing with those. Then she got up on her knees and starting vigorously dancing to the music, while still holding onto a maraca that was about the size of her head. One little boy joined her in the center, but he didn't dance - merely clapped his hands at her to keep her going. She did this for about three songs and seemed mighty disappointed when the music finally ended.

Tisa laid her guitar on the floor for the babies to touch and strum and whatever. They all went for it except Eliza who just tried to dance again every time one of them successfully produced a sound from the strings. However, their rhythm was not acceptable so eventually she gave up and crawled over to bang on the guitar herself. To make amends, after lunch I put the Bee Gees on the Ipod and she immediately started grooving to "Tragedy," which is, I think, her new favorite song. She actually has a very good sense of rhythm and can almost clap in time to the music.

Up next? Contact Improvisational Dance, of course!

Some Eliza stats

2007-07-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

Since we went to the doctor on Wednesday and got measured and weighed and all that good stuff, here are a few fun facts about our girl:

Height: 29 1/2 inches (97-100th percentile)
Weight: 20 lbs. 1 oz. (75th percentile)
Head: 45.2 cm (80th percentile)

So she's tall and thin with a nice size head.

Other stuff:

Number of teeth: 2 1/16 (not a scientific measurement, but her first top one is coming in)
Number of hairs: many more each day
Rate of growth of fingernails: too fast
Opinion on baths: love 'em
Opinion on washcloths: hate 'em
Favorite foods: avocado and yogurt (not necessarily together, but sometimes)
Favorite book: Alice the Fairy (still)
Favorite activities: dancing, blowing raspberries, clicking, babbling, and pulling the cat's tail

I'll never let go, Jack

2007-07-11T15:11:00.001-05:00

I need to start this post with the end of our Michigan trip, which will explain the title. Well, if you've seen the movie, Titanic, it will explain the title. If you haven't, then I hope you are enjoying life under your rock.

The last part of our trip was spent on Mackinaw Island at the Grand Hotel (featured in the treacly film, Somewhere in Time, starring Jane Seymour, whose picture, BTW, is everywhere in that freakin' hotel). There are no cars on Mackinaw aside from the fire truck and the ambulance. Everything else is bicycles and horses. On Sunday morning, when we were leaving, it was raining something fierce and everyone, it seemed, was trying to leave the hotel at the same time. Horse drawn taxis are slow and they didn't arrive in a timely manner so the crowds waiting kept growing and growing. It was getting pretty ugly when a taxi would show up and it all reminded me of people trying to get onto those lifeboats when the Titanic was sinking.

A long winded explanation for a not very funny joke.

Anyway...we're back and, as usual, Eliza had a great time. Rich and Sally joined us for the first few days and Rich proved himself a master at trading raspberries with Eliza (her new favorite game, so it's a sign of affection if she sticks her tongue out at you. Truly.). He apparently also has an eminently grabbable nose.

She's a bit back in the NOTMOM zone, but Sally persevered and eventually won her over.
She's getting quite accomplished at pulling up on everything in site and can now even stand unsupported for maybe a minute at a time. All this work to learn to stand and then all she's going to want to do is sit down. Let's face it - standing is tiring! Here she is seconds before floomping over on Daddy again.

In Mackinaw, she unfortunately slept through her hay ride experience and missed it entirely, but we felt a good nap was probably more important. She did partake of the other fine activities, though, such as boccie ball on the lawn and the requisite rocking on the porch.
Mac took her in the Esther Williams swimming pool and she loved it, but we left the camera in the hotel room, so you'll just have to take my word.

As is pretty obvious to most people, Miss E is something of a ham. She also has taken a dislike to getting her diaper changed...unless someone is willing to photograph her while in action. Cheers her right up!
Before:

And after:

The trip back, once we finally got in a taxi and then to the ferry and then finally to our car, was looong and certainly not helped by our getting lost. Yup, that's right. We both have advanced degrees, yet when confronted with an option to go east or west to get home, we both opted for east. 40 miles later, we realized that we do, in fact, live WEST of Michigan. Well done. In my defense, I've lived on the east coast nearly my whole life so home is always east. Civilization is also generally east - no offense to the LA denizens out there. Chicago traffic was not so civilized, so that slowed us down as well as our stupidity.

But now we're here and Eliza is recovering slowly but surely. She had a doctor visit today where her progress and development are excellent. She enjoyed her travels, but is happy to be home. I think, though, that she might soon be ready for another adventure. What do you think?

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2007-06-29T14:00:00.001-05:00

Yeah, okay, so Mac's birthday was last Saturday and I'm just now posting about it. It was a kinda crazy week with Eliza having some serious trouble sleeping and waking up every morning by 5:30 at the latest. We think her top teeth are coming in, but they have yet to actually show themselves. Fun times.

Anyhoo...last weekend was a genuinely fun time. To celebrate his birthday, Mac requested that Eliza come down to the last kickball game of the regular season, which was at 10AM, her usual napping time. We went down early at 9 and she was a good sport and fell asleep in her stroller for a bit. She had a great time at the game and was popular with both teams. Mac's team won - hooray! Here she is helping Daddy coach at 3rd base.
It was too chilly to wear the uniform skort, so she opted for her Williams sweatshirt instead. A happy girl with her birthday guy.
However, the game couldn't always hold her attention, especially when there was important sandal eating to be done.
We also had a surprise meeting with Julene, sister-in-law Mary, and young master James, who were all out jogging for a good cause.
After the game, we went to Stanley's for brunch with the team where Eliza flirted shamelessly with the boys and had cantaloupe for the first time. She LOVED IT and was able to eat it on her own courtesy of her mesh bag (best invention ever), but we didn't realize how messy it truly was until later. The pictures show it quite nicely, though.
She has continued to celebrate Mac's birthday all week in her own fashion. Her new favorite syllable to babble is "da da da da." All day long. Which isn't remotely upsetting to those of us whose syllable might be, oh I don't know, "mama?"

Just kidding. It's adorable to hear.

We're off to Michigan again for the 4th of July. Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!

Amen, Sister!

2007-06-29T09:36:00.001-05:00

Found a new fun site, courtesy of the Tribune: the Chicago Moms Blog. No, I haven't been invited to join, but that's probably due to the fact that this blog is basically private, available to only those I tell about it. The latest entry, though, is why mommies should blog about their babies. Read it and enjoy, then come back to us and enjoy some more. We're glad you're here!

Why Mommies Should Blog About Their Children

When cottage cheese becomes finger food

2007-06-26T18:22:00.000-05:00

Along with macaroni & cheese (pureed) and mixed veggies (also pureed).

In spite of the mess, or perhaps because of it, this was the most fun meal we've had in weeks. Click on the picture to view full size and really see the mayhem.

Attack of the Dawnzer

2007-06-20T18:29:00.000-05:00

Attack of the what? The dawnzer. It gives lee light.

Anyone? Anyone?

Ramona the Pest reference. In kindergarten:

Next Miss Binney taught the class the words of a puzzling song about "the dawnzer lee light," which Ramona did not understand because she did not know what a dawnzer was. "Oh, say, can you see by the dawnzer lee light," sang Miss Binney, and Ramona decided that a dawnzer was another word for a lamp.

Yesterday the pull up queen decided to pull up on the floor lamp. Actually she's been trying to do this for a few days now and I've been on hand to discourage her as I could sense imminent disaster. Yesterday, however, was the day that I looked away for a nano-second and then heard the horrible crash, bam, thwack, followed by much crying.

She has recovered and learned nothing. The offending floor lamp is now gone, but there still remains one in her bedroom. It's like a magnet for her. It too will soon be gone.

This and that

2007-06-18T14:11:00.000-05:00

Our apologies for being MIA last week. We returned from Mac's reunion on Monday night and then spent most of the week putting Eliza back together again. We all had a great time over the weekend, especially Miss E, who thrived on all the people and babies that were willing to pay attention to her. However, sleeping in dorm rooms that were overly bright (seriously, the curtains may as well have not been there for how much light they shut out) with so much going on made it hard for any of us to get enough sleep. So she was more than done by the time we got home and needed several days to get back to normal. Plus we all caught colds, probably on the plane, which only added to the fun. But I am happy to report that by Friday she was her old self again.

We were lucky to be on the same hall as Mac's friend, Susan (the other red-haired Susan), and her husband and son, Larson, who is about a year older than Eliza. She was thrilled to have him to run after and play with for a few days.

Back at home, she is pulling up on everything in sight now and can even balance on her own for about half a second before falling down again. She clearly has grand visions of walking sooner rather than later. Mac did some more baby proofing this weekend, attaching tethers to bookcases and the like. She has become a fan of all books on the bottom shelf, pulling them off and removing the dust jackets so she then alternately chew on the book or the dust jacket. True to form, though, she is already more interested in the books on the next shelf up, as well as the few items we placed above that for safekeeping...apparently not so safe.

Father's Day was pretty low key, in keeping with our aversion to Hallmark holidays, but Eliza did get her daddy a globe that he can write on like a whiteboard and a little flip book of herself (great site: flipclips.com). We all had pancakes for breakfast. She didn't like hers so much, but is exhibiting more interest in grown-up food each day. Cheese and yogurt are her new faves.

It's been very hot and humid here, so not very many outdoor adventures to report. However, she is adding more and more people to the approved NOTMOM list, so hopefully the worst of the separation anxiety is behind us. This phase of it, at least. I'm sure it will rear its ugly head again. I'm just happy to be able to go to the gym or leave her with a sitter and not have it be a total disaster.

Wind Storm 2007

2007-06-07T18:37:00.000-05:00

Chicago weather is CRAZY today. Really hot (90+) and REALLY windy. And now there are big thunderstorms on the way in, the kind they are calling supercells. Eliza and I went to the diner around the corner for lunch today and I just carried her b/c I didn't want to deal with the stroller in the wind. A good call, I think, as we almost got blown over just the two of us. Eliza thought it was great. She laughed the whole way there. We had a nice lunch and she made friends with the waitress, the manager, and our fellow diners, one of whom is expecting a baby on October 7, two days before Miss E's first birthday! She was pleased to think what she had to look forward to. Eliza is good baby PR that way.

Later we went for a real walk with the stroller to the post office to mail a package. It was insane. A few times we almost went backwards from the strong wind and other times she was almost blown away from me by strong winds from behind. In one of my not so great decisions, I wore a skirt today...yeah, you can imagine how that went. Hee! So there I was trying to drive the stroller with one hand while holding my skirt down with the other. Well done. The post office was not air conditioned, so that was pretty miserable (when is the post office NOT miserable, really?), but Miss E was a good sport. She is definitely her parents' child, though, as she was sweating and her face was bright red by the time we left. Bummer for her.

We are off to the beautiful Berkshires tomorrow for Mac's 10 year reunion. We're also visiting Karen and the gang, so hopefully more fun photo ops. Have a great weekend!

Hide and Seek

2007-06-06T18:44:00.000-05:00

After the somewhat depressing and certainly unnecessary diatribe that the earlier post devolved into, here is a more uplifting update on Miss E. One of her new favorite things to do is play hide and seek. In her version, I go around the other side of the chair where she can't see me. Then I pop my head around the corner in intervals, scootching back farther as she gets closer. Eventually she comes around the corner all the way and "finds" me. She absolutely loves this and whenever she is about to get into something I'd rather she didn't, all I have to do is start hiding behind something and I have her full attention.

Two Interesting Articles from the New York Times

2007-06-06T15:15:00.000-05:00

The New York has two really great articles on kid issues. I'm including links and just a couple of quotes that I found particularly salient - to read the rest, click on the links (and sign up for your NY Times access if you don't already have it). I don't want to be accused of any copyright infringement! :-)

Doll Web Sites Drive Girls to Stay Home and Play

Presleigh Montemayor often gets home after a long day and spends some time with her family. Then she logs onto the Internet, leaving the real world and joining a virtual one. But the digital utopia of Second Life is not for her. Presleigh, who is 9 years old, prefers a Web site called Cartoon Doll Emporium.

The site lets her chat with her friends and dress up virtual dolls, by placing blouses, hair styles and accessories on them. It beats playing with regular Barbies, said Presleigh, who lives near Dallas...

I can't decide which is more depressing - the fact that these sites exist and girls are playing with virtual friends or the fact that someone named their daughter Presleigh.

And she's nine - how long a day can she have?

Either way, I am terrified of the kind of marketing forces that will be at play for Eliza. Between television and Internet, it's like no one wants kids to go outside and just play ever again! As a kid, I loved, loved, LOVED playing Barbies. And I am quite confident we did things with them that would never be allowed on websites. I don't like that children's play can be proscribed this way. Where is the outlet for imagination and creativity and so forth? I see it even with the babies we are meeting now - many of them have lots and lots of activities they participate in. Granted, most of this is for the moms who are going a bit stir crazy being in the house, but it's hard not to feel the pressure and the guilt that I am not doing enough for Eliza. At which point I must remind myself to repeat the mantra, "Everyday life is stimulating for babies." Of course she loves when we go to playgroups or out for walks, but she equally loves chewing on her blocks and chasing the cats and staring at her own hand. She likes to just play.

And with that segue, here is article #2:

When Should a Kid Start Kindergarten?

First she read Leo Lionni’s classic children’s book “An Extraordinary Egg,” and directed a conversation about it. Next she guided the students through: writing a letter; singing a song; solving an addition problem; two more songs; and a math game involving counting by ones, fives and tens using coins. Finally, Andersen read them another Lionni book...

Wow, that's a lot of stuff in kindergarten! I pretty much remember finger paint and maybe some juice. Oh, and nap. Good times.

The half day devoted to fair play and nice manners officially began its demise in 1983, when the National Commission on Excellence in Education published “A Nation at Risk,” warning that the country faced a “rising tide of mediocrity” unless we increased school achievement and expectations...As a result, many parents, legislatures and teachers find the current curriculum too challenging for many older 4- and young 5-year-olds, which makes sense, because it’s largely the same curriculum taught to first graders less than a generation ago. Andersen’s kindergartners are supposed to be able to not just read but also write two sentences by the time they graduate from her classroom. It’s no wonder that nationwide, teachers now report that 48 percent of incoming kindergartners have difficulty handling the demands of school.

No wonder indeed! The article goes on to describe the economic differences in kindergartners - the older ones tend to be more affluent and thus do better while the poor ones, who need the "free" daycare of public school, are younger and start falling behind, setting the stage for a lifetime of underachievement. It was sad.

There was also this frightening stat:
In 49 out of 50 states, the average annual cost of day care for a 4-year-old in an urban area is more than the average annual public college tuition.

Ugh.

Children are a commodity and parents are looking for their ROI. Not that they haven't always, I guess. Only now instead of putting them to work at age 5, we start putting immense academic pressure on them from birth, telling them they must achieve and achieve and achieve, so that we can be a nation of web-surfing, television addicts who don't know how to play.

Now I'm depressed. Cat's in the Cradle, anyone?

Stand in the place where you live

2007-06-03T20:55:00.000-05:00

The fun never ends around here. Miss E has figured out how to pull up in her crib - another developmental milestone! It's very cute, as you can see from the pic, and she couldn't be more proud of herself, but it has its definite drawbacks. Mainly that every time she wakes up even a little, she thinks she needs to stand up and then can't get down. Makes naptimes a real challenge! She is currently scoping out the windowsills as her next conquest. Certainly they are the most stable surface she can grab onto - the glider and its ottoman still confuse her. Walking may still be a ways off, but the "cruising" (moving around holding onto furniture) is probably just around the corner. Apparently I was an early walker (9 months)...could she resemble her mother in more than just hair color?

Holiday Road

2007-05-31T14:20:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-23T20:15:00.000-05:00

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!!

2007-05-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-16T19:47:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-05-14T09:46:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-10T20:31:00.000-05:00

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

Daddy Daughter Week

2007-05-10T19:05:00.000-05:00

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

2007-05-07T17:08:00.000-05:00

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"

2007-05-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

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!