More walking

E and I are both sick but it does not seem to phase her! She has boogies galore and can barely breath she is so stopped up. She is her playful self while I am faking a smile so that she does not see that I want to crawl into bed and sleep a few more hours! I wish I had her happy outlook on things :) 

But, I am happy it is Christmas Eve and look forward to tomorrow morning with Elle. We have a lot to look forward to in the next few days so that keeps my spirits up. 

I was about to put Elle down for a nap when she decided to practice walking again.

Christmas Festivities have started

Eating an ornament

Uncle Nate and Elle

We went over to Grammi and Poppi's house on Saturday to decorate cookies and just hang out with everyone. It was good to see everyone, especially Nana! She has been sick for the past few weeks now and we have not been able to see her. She looked great and was feeling so much better. We are glad you are on the up and up Nana :) 

We did not get a tree this year since Elle is into everything as it! So she was very enthralled with the tree at Grammi's house. Luckily everything on it is kid friendly so she had a lot of fun touching and chewing :) on all of the ornaments. She also had her first christmas cookie which she loved!

It was great to see everyone and we look forward to Christmas Eve and Christmas day at the Durham's and then off to Sedona to be with my family. We are so excited to see Gigi and Grandpa Rich! It has been too long!

Here is a video of Elle entertaining us at dinner

Seeing Santa

Elle, Miles and I went to the downtown Neiman Marcus this afternoon so that Elle could see Santa. We have been to Northpark a couple of times and the line is just too long. My mother-in-law told us there was no line to see Santa when she was at Neiman's so we went to check it out. And, she was right! We just walked on up and sat Elle on Santa's lap. He was the most authentic Santa I have ever seen! Elle was ok at first but very serious. She did not crack one smile! Then she started looking at Santa every other second...so cute. She started crying but not at Santa. She DID NOT like the guy taking the photos. I agree, he was pretty annoying! 

We bought a pic of her and Santa looking at one another. And we figured we would print off pics we took of her looking straight ahead. Well, not so much! Something is wrong with my camera and all of the pictures we took are distorted. I am just sick about it!

Walking...I think

Elle walked tonight! At least, I am going to call it that. She took several steps towards me and did not fall. She still can not stand up on her own but she walks around furniture ALL DAY long. She would much rather do that than play with any toy. So, I am whipped when Miles gets home! She is so much fun though. AND, one of her front teeth finally broke through the skin so she is a happier little girl.

 I kept making her try over and over again since Miles is in a meeting and was not home to see it. I did not get video of the really good "walking".

10 months

My baby is becoming more and more like a toddler. It just baffles me how independent she is becoming. Well, I say that, but she wants to do everything by herself but also wants me very close by to watch her :) That part gets a little tiring at times because the moment I walk away she does this grunting thing. It started out very cute but now when I hear that sound, I get a little flustered! 

Some of the things E is doing lately:

. Taking steps! It is so exciting to watch her explore new things. She is such a strong little girl and nothing stops her from conquering a new thing. 

. Patty cake is a new favorite. I have done it with her since she was very young and she always seemed bored with it. She just started acting interested when I do it. She will clap (so HARD) and bounce up and down and she just started patting her legs when I say "pat it". SO CUTE!

. She is very interested in books now. I have been waiting for this to happen. I read to her daily but usually have to force her to stay in my lap. Now she will bring me a book (usually "Brown Bear, Brown Bear") and sit in my lap as I read to her. 

. Music, music, music! She is obsessed with music and I just love that about her. Growing up, I remember music always playing in my house. For every song there is a memory for me. It made me feel like our house was so warm and full of love. I hope E feels the same way when she looks back on our home. 

. Dancing machine...with the music comes the dancing!

. E only drinks from a bottle right before bed and that is only because I am usually out of sippy cups by the time night time rolls around. She was never attached to nursing and it is the same with a bottle. She doesn't care what form the milk comes in...just that she gets it!

. She is saying "da-da", "na-na" (her name for me ??), "duh" for dog, and "na" for Nash. There are many other things she says but I have no idea what they mean :)

. Her favorite new thing to play is "roll the ball to me and I will roll it back". We do this at least 5 times a day. She has gotten really good at it.

. She also just started stacking. She will sit down with her blocks and be in her own little world. 

. She has a temper and it comes out daily! She will throw herself around if she does not get what she wants. It is pretty hilarious but she is hearing "no" or "no ma'am" a lot these days! 

Well E, you are growing up so fast and I can barely keep up. I can no believe you will be a year old in two months. I am already tossing around ideas for your party!

I love my days with you and look forward to going and getting you out of bed every morning. Our days are full of laughter and it is all because of your silly nature. I love to watch you spot the dogs for the first time in the mornings. You start huffing and puffing and waving your hands around. I have to automatically put you on the ground so that you can chase them. It is hilarious!

Daddy and I love that you have such a silly side and that you are able to play games with us. You love to be tickled and for us to chase after you. As long as we are nearby, you are happy as can be. That is an amazing feeling for a mommy and daddy! 

I have never been as happy as I am with you and daddy. We will always be here for you no matter what the circumstance. You are our special girl and will forever be our BG. 

Love you!!

Mommy

This is something E does daily! She will search for something from the floor to put in her mouth and then hold it close to her mouth and make grunting sounds. Once she gets my attention she will start to slowly put it in her mouth while I am saying "No No". She then drops it and starts quickly crawling away so that I will chase her. 

E loves to be outside. It was so cold yesterday but I could tell she was getting stir crazy. I took her push cart outside and let her cruise around. It was just what she needed!

Miss Independent. E wants to do everything herself. I just gave in last night and let her eat spaghetti on her own. She was in heaven. 

Uncle Dave is the man!!!

When we were in Abilene for Thanksgiving, Bonnie, Dave, Elle ,Miles, and I went downtown and Dave shot some pics of our family. He is such a great sport! He is the family photographer and we really take advantage of his skills :) We love he and Aunt Bonnie lots and appreciate their talents! Sorry there are so many but it was hard to choose and this is not even half of them.

This one was taken for Gigi (we thought it would be perfect hanging in her office-she is a social worker)

Can't keep up with this girl!

Elle stood up, without any help, last night in the bath tub (of all slippery places!) She is growing up so fast and I feel like I can not keep up! What happened to my baby? She wants to do things her way and is so determined. It is shocking how little she hurts herself since she is constantly being a daredevil! It amazes us how her association with things is so right on too. I can't fool her for anything :) 

Also this weekend, we were at a car dealership looking in to getting me a larger vehicle. I was playing with E in the "kids area" and she took FIVE steps! We were clapping and shouting. It was hilarious!

Stop staring already!!

Elle and I went to the grocery store last night and you should have seen the looks we got! You know how the lights in a grocery store are super florescent and you can see every little imperfection on your face? Well, try looking at your sweet baby with pink eye in that light! Uhhh, not pretty! Especially b/c we just found out that the reason her whole face has a rash on it is b/c she had a reaction to the eye drops :( So, she is swollen and red. I really wanted to scream out that she was sick and to stop staring at us!! I seriously almost burst into tears when I finally got to the car. I know...pretty pathetic!

So, Elle is now on antibiotics and we are no longer using those TOXIC eye drops :)

FIRST STEPS!!

My dad came over for a visit last night as he is in town for work. It was nice to show him all we have done to the house. He is always into that sort of thing since he was "Mr. Fix It" when I was growing up! He always had a project going on our house :) 

We were playing with Elle on the floor and she was showing him how well she can stand up now. All of a sudden she took a step towards us!!! It was so awesome to watch! She smiled so big and clapped for herself. She did it several more times and we just were cheering her on! I was sad that Miles was not there to see it but she did it for him when he got home. And, I was so glad Popi got to witness it. 

GO ELLE!!!

You can go to http://s473.photobucket.com/albums/rr100/skdrmd/ 

to see videos of Elle. The title of the newest ones are "First Steps", "More Steps" and "Dancing"

Not what it looks like!

My sweet baby looks like someone threw a right hook at her eye :( She woke up yesterday morning in Abilene with green gunk in her left eye. It wasn't very bad so I was hoping it would just go away. On the way home to Dallas, Elle slept for two hours and when she woke up her eye looked a little swollen and still gunky. I figured I would take her to the doctor in the morning since it was Sunday. Once we were home she played and took a nap. When she woke up from her nap, the eye was swollen shut. It looked horrible. I called my mom and she thought I should probably take Elle to a walk-in clinic to get it checked out. I called Prima-Care and they were open but for only 30 more minutes. We hurried over there and got it looked at. They diagnosed her with PINK EYE! UGH! So, we got some drops and hope that will take care of it. She woke up this morning and it still looks really bad. My poor baby!

The funny thing is, it doesn't seem to phase her.

Thanksgiving in Abilene

Cousin bath-Ally and Elle 

Dave and Bonnie brought their dogs, Jake and Josie. Elle wanted to run and play with them.

Daddy and Elle

Aunt Bonnie and Elle

Bonnie and Ally

Elle was just in awe of her cousin Aidan

My sweet cousin Hannah and Elle. I remember when she was Elle's age!!

Poppy and Elle watching the Cowboy game

Bonnie, Ally, Marsha and Elle enjoying a nice day

Marsha and Elle

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend in Abilene with my dad, Marsha, Bonnie, Dave, Susan, Cory,  Aidan and Ally. It took Elle a day to get acclimated to all of the people but she eventually warmed up to everyone. It didn't help that she is teething and had a horrible diaper rash :) Once that was all cleared up, she was a much happier baby girl. She really loved watching Aidan and Ally run all over the house and play. She would just sit back and watch. You can tell she looks up to them and can't wait to join in the fun. 

Thank you Poppy and Marsha for such a wonderful time. We had a blast and can not wait until the next time. Love you!!!

I did not do a very good job of taking pictures and do not have ones of all of the family. David took some great pics and I will try and download those soon. 

Happy moment of the day

Poor Elle is teething and it has been bad this time around. She has two bottom teeth and we did not have much trouble with those. But, her front teeth are giving her lots of pain :( She has not taken an afternoon nap in three days and has been waking up in the night screaming. It is obvious she is in pain and I hate to witness it! She does not have much of an appetite which is unheard of! She is an eater and loves her food. This morning she woke up screaming and had quite the full diaper. No telling how long she had been lying in it b/c she has a horrible diaper rash on top of everything else!  Needless to say, not a good morning. BUT, I had made blueberry and flaxseed pancakes for dinner last night (I love breakfast for dinner) and saved some for her to eat this morning. She really enjoyed them and I got to see my baby smile. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is a good day b/c we are going to Grammy, Poppy and Nana's house for dinner. Miles' Uncle Kelly is in town from Florida and Elle has never met him. We are excited to hang out and catch up with him!

Going for a stroll

Trying her new toy

This is fun!

No mom, I don't have a leaf in my mouth :)

Scaling the wall

Elle is literally all over the place. I can not take my eye off of her for one minute with out her getting into something. A lot of that is our fault! The house is not baby proofed well since it is on the market :) 

She has really been doing well with standing up on her own so I went out and got a toy that would help her to walk around. I L-O-V-E Once Upon a Child! That is where I get most of her big toys since she goes through them so fast. She gets bored very easily!