labor.

i think yesterday was the first labor day that neither husband nor i had to actually labor. the weekend was long and we didn't do much but take it easy. we did play with grammy and poppop yesterday afternoon, but the bulk of the weekend was spent with the windows of the house open and the attic fan on, tinkering in the garage with the game on the radio and generally lazing about. oh, and husband went fishing once.

i know, sounds pretty relaxing. it was ... at times. 

we have had a lot of stress lately, including (but not limited to) one cranky, destructive, curious, demanding and often inconsolable baby. she had a rough weekend and, therefore, we all had a rough weekend. i would be lying if i said that i've been managing to keep it all together - the truth is that she's a wreck and i'm a wreck (you should see my hair these days) and the house is a wreck. you know when you use all the clean laundry straight out of the basket and never actually put it away before everything is dirty again? yeah, like that. 

now that she can move and pull up on things, ellie constantly bonks her head (she's top-heavy, okay?) and needs it kissed better. she's into everything and does not like when we take away the magazine she's ripping apart/doggie toy she's playing with/shoe that she wants to eat. she wobbles and scoots around the house whining and shrieking all day sometimes, leaving only chaos in her wake. she tries to climb mommy's hair like something out of rapunzel and loves to smack us in the face. 

and after all that, it's almost impossible to get her to fall asleep. you think she'd be totally exhausted, right? well, she is, but she still can't sleep, so it's about a million times worse.

here is a photo of the tasmanian devil. we've captured a moment rarely seen in the wild:

asleep mid-destruction. 

good thing we love her so much.