Countdown to 1st Christmas!

I cannot believe that it is almost Christmas! My parents instilled in me very early the LOVE of Christmas. Christmas carols always playing on the radio, constant rotation of treats through the oven, and decorating the house like we owned a Christmas novelty shop. Poor Tim has embraced my sometime annoying holiday spirit, and laughs as I try to pass down my good tidings to Elliot.

As a kindergarten teacher, we are always doing crafts this time of year. So I was in a particular ambitious mood when I decided my 9 month old was ready for some crafts. I was ready. Paint, wet wipes, glitter, markers, and a naked baby looking at me like a crazy person from her highchair. Elliot let me know right away that she did not appreciate paint on her hand. Baby girl's shrikes could be heard throughout the house. But I was determined to get one holiday craft for her 1st Christmas! Poor baby. Anyway, above you will see the product of our labor... it is a hand print Christmas tree. After our crafty adventure, Elliot took a long nap :)Elliot loves daycare, and I adore the lady who runs it! She had all the kids, including my baby, make adorable Christmas crafts all month! Yesterday, Elliot came home with a wreath made out of her tiny hand prints, a Santa she colored, and a photo album of Elliot during their little holiday party. I almost cried, I was so happy. Elliot also brought home her own gingerbread house which proudly adorns our kitchen windowsill :)I am so excited for Elliot's 1st Christmas! Of course, 80% of the presents under the tree are for her...but I wouldn't want it any other way. Tim's family (mom, step-dad, and brother) are joining us this year :) Stay tuned for more pictures...probably next week. Have a very merry Christmas!!!

...and we're back!

Has it really been over 2 months since I blogged! Goodness! Well it's not entirely my fault, we've had internet problems (that still aren't resolved) and I cannot access the blog from work... so that's part of my excuse.

Well since it has been so long, I figured I'd update you through pictures...since that the best part anyway :) This blog will be about October and November.

Tim, Elliot, and I participated in the DC chapter of Light the Night Walk in honor of one of his coworker. It is a wonderful cause, and the route we take through the city is breathtaking. The streets are blocked off so you can stroll through our beautiful city surrounded by amazing caring people. Even though we had to take a short cut due to a tired baby, we still had a good time!
Elliot turned 8 months in October and crossed over to major personality. She so desperately wants to be a big girl, but doesn't want to take the steps, or crawls, to make it happen ;) She looks chubby in this picture which is deceiving ( I think she just ate), because according our charts Elliot is still thin.
Happy Halloween! Elliot was DeSean Jackson, the WR for the Eagles. Friends of ours got her the jersey when I was pregnan,t so we thought it was easy, and oh so adorable. And no, I did not paint her face. Come on. It is painters tape with very little stickiness colored black.

In November, we got Elliot a highchair. She and the dog love it! She was feeding herself before, but now she can sit up high with Mommy and Daddy. It is a nice wooden one that matches our dining set. When my parent came to visit I said "Did you notice the highchair?" My Mom: "No." Me: "Exactly!"

We had an amazing fall this year!!! The leaves almost made it to Thanksgiving...which is really long. With every light storm the leaves hung onto the trees and just got more vibrant. Here is the tree outside our kitchen window. Isn't it incredible?!
My parents came up from FL for Thanksgiving! They were a big help! I needed some support since I had been taking care of a sick husband (Tim had pneumonia for 3 weeks...only 1 hospital visit) and a baby on my own for awhile (it sucked). Although Elliot's "separation anxiety" kicked in again, they were able to get some quality time with her. We, minus Tim who was still sick, went to my Aunt Nancy's for Thanksgiving dinner along with my cousins and friends. As always, their visit seemed too short.

In November, Elliot turned 9 months. I love this age! No she's not officially crawling yet, but she makes up for it by hanging out and talking our ears off. I love it! Every day after I pick her up from daycare, we chat about our days at school. She mostly yells/sing-songs babble with a couple "mama" and "dada" thrown in there from the car seat. Elliot is also now very polite (aside from the loud talking). She loves to share her toys and food, and she gets really excited when you say "thank you!" Elliot also waves hello and goodbye to us...and the dog...and the washing machine...and basically anything. She did well at her 9 month well visit, where she got her second round of the flu shot. I am so thankful (thanks Brittany) that I had her get the flu shot, because through all of Tim's pneumonia, her and I did not get sick! Elliot is also still our long and lean girl at 28 1/2 in. long and almost 18 lbs.
Now that I flew through October and November, our recent events in December will be close by...if the cable company can fix the internet on Saturday...

Yay October!!!

Did you know that I LOVE fall?! Of course you did because I talk about it all the time, sorry Tim. I love everything about it! The changing colors, cooler weather, breezy days, fresh pumpkins and apples in the stores, pumpkin spice lattes, and of course...the Renaissance Festival! This was our 4th annual trip with the Clements. Our first trip was when they first met Tim, and then slowly we've all gotten married and had babies. And every year we have the best time! Rachel and I drink hard cider and watch the guys Drench a Wench, while their two year old, Wilson, says "Let's go Daddy!" So the Renn Fest is MD at a permanent location. It is this big area surrounded by trees with permanent building housing shops, food, stages, and of course jousting. And let me tell you, the craziess really come out for the event. There are of course the paid actors who portray the king and queen and so on, and then there are the people who dress up as whatever they want, and boy do they take it seriously! Let's just say it is my favorite place to people watch ;) So here are some pics from this year's trip:

Mommies and Babies:

Princess Elliot doing the "princess wave":

Queen Ellie and King Wilson:
First time on a swing was a hit!

7 months!

On Sept 24th (I'm still catching up on the posts), Elliot turned 7 months old! We don't have a dr visit this month, so I don't know her stats...but she's still our long & lean girl. Here some new developments:

• Her two bottom teeth are about a third of the way out. This mean I will probably stop nursing her soon...no explanation necessary.
• She sucks on her thumb occasionally but still wants nothing to do with the pacifier, which I'm told is a good thing.
• She shoots, but not too much. She still prefers to roll around.
• She says "mmm ma, ma, ma" when she eats. I have a feeling "Mama" might be a first word ;) Sorry Tim.
• She gets slap-happy at night right before bedtime. So that's when we get some really good laughs out of her!
  
• She loves any kind of food she's given and always squeals for more. Except store bought baby food. We forgot to make a new batch of her food, so I had to use my emergency stash of Gerber baby food. So gross! The whole time she was looking at me like "Really Mom?! This is supposed to be bananas?!"
• She is holding on strong to the 4:30 am feeding. I have a feeling another round of Cry it Out might be in store (cringe face).
  
• She loves daycare and hanging out with the big kids.
• She is over her stranger anxiety, thanks to daycare, and will let people hold her again.
• Her favorite restaurant is Guapos, THE best Mexican restaurant which happens to be in our village that we walk to. She loves all the lights and bright walls.
  

I know you all probably get tired of hearing this...but I love this little girl! We are so blessed to have her! She cracks me up every day and I can't wait to see more of her personality shine :)

PS-Today, Oct. 5, marks Elliot's first real cold. She has a little cold with some conjestion a couple weeks ago, but this one was accomponied by some feverish nights and fussy days. So with some good advice from my friend Brittany, and hopefully the dr tomorrow, Elliot will be well again soon!

Mary Vistis!

Tim's mom, Mary, came for almost a week in September. We had a great time! It's been hard balancing chores and caring for baby girl now that I'm working, so Mary helped out with some of the chores, which was nice. She also bought Elliot some adorable outfits that I can't wait to put her in this winter! The 5 of us walked to Village almost everyday and ate at some of our favorite restaurants. On Saturday, Elliot and I took her to Le Madeline. I knew Mary loved everything French, so I thought it would be perfect place for a girl's lunch. While Elliot contently muched on Cheerios, we dinned on soup, salads, and pastries.

On Monday, we went to Dogfish Head Ale House for Tim's favorite beer...and dinner. Of course they were out of his favorite, but they had mine! Tim likes it too, it's called Punkin. It is a nice pumpkin flavor beer with yummy spiced but not too heavy. The Today Show featured it, and the hosts loved it too! We usually eat dinner with the early birds because Elliot be less fussy (although she's always well behaved), service is better, and we get better seating. It was also a great time to get some nice photos of us :)
This one is my favorite:

Working Mom

I wrote this post a couple weeks ago, and I just forgot to post it...

So this week was the first week of school. My 20 kindergarteners arrived at 8:30 am in the gym where we met them to walk down to the classroom. As the tearful and eager parents watched through their photo lens their babies walk off into elementry school, I thought "That will be me some day." Being a mother has already made me a better teacher. I am more easy going and don't worry about the little things, like our schedule being changed on the third day of school. And when a kid is giving me just a little too much attitude, I think "this is someone's Elliot."

It is a first day tradition that we read "The Kissing Hand" in kindergarten. I'm sure many of you have read it, but it is about a little raccoon who is nervous about going to school. So his dear mother kisses the palm of his hand and tells him that her kiss will stay with his all day and even at school. As I was reading this story to the class, I started to get teary eyed think about my own little raccoon at daycare and how I wish I could give her a big kiss. Thankfully, kindergarteners are pretty oblivious to everything, so no one noticed their emotional teacher.

So now that they first week is over, and putting these two examples together, I think it will be a good year. I am now a Working Mom and I have excepted that role. Elliot is in good hands and enjoys being around older kids, and I am getting my adult conversations while also donating to our saving account. I value my time even more with Elliot. While some days this summer were spent running errands between naps, now Elliot and I have quality time together :)

Weekend Tradition

My favorite family tradition we've started is the Weekend Mornings. Tim, Elliot, and I always sleep in, eat breakfast in bed, and watch a little TV. It's the best! Our favorite is watching Sunday Morning while eating a breakfast trail mix while Elliot chows down on Cheerios :)
Here are some of my favorite pics of my favorite snuggle bunnies.