sneezes, snacks and that sort of thing.

there are some random little things i want to remember. baby book sort of things, everyday sort of things. i have several notebooks from the past few years that have two or three pages of journal entries and then are filled with grocery lists and recipes, so chances are good that writing these memories down on paper would be a waste of time. i guess what i'm saying is that this blog is the best thing i have going as far as memorykeeping, so if this is boring and insignificant then .... uh, too bad.

a few days ago the three of us were sitting on a bench. ellie was in the middle, sitting all by herself (which was adorable all by itself). we were watching the wind in the leaves and enjoying the warm day. husband sneezed five or six times and each time ellie looked up at him, surprised. i told her, "say, bless you, daddy!" after his last sneeze, ellie looked down, then looked up, then sneezed. she turned to each of us with a big grin on her face.

she rolls around all day speaking her own little language, which is part "boo" from monsters inc and part wookie. 

ellie has tried a few foods now. vegetables: carrots, spinach, green beans. fruits: pears, bananas, apples. she had a hard time with applesauce the first time, but it was just because i mixed it with cereal and it was too thick for her. she loves them all, bananas especially. we have also given her some bread and crackers to nibble on (really just to suck on and crumble up in her sticky little fists). it helps her learn to chew and she is already using those tiny little teeth to crunch up her food. she loves it, so much so that the other day she crumbed bread into my shirt and fell asleep cuddling me, the bread wadded up in her hands. maybe food is her security blanket? is that an unhealthy attachment, or is it too early for that?

when she's finished eating she lets me know by growling, trying to stand up (even though she's buckled in) and pulling her bib off. subtle, i know. she's really good at telling us what she wants and feels. when she's hungry or if we are eating and she is not (how dare we?!) she crawls to our feet wailing "num, num, num, num!"when she wants to nurse, she grabs my chest with both hands, growls and starts banging her head against it - something i try to keep from happening in public as much as possible. when i'm getting her food ready she giggles nervously with excitement. she also makes a little hyperventilating sound when she's happy and excited. when we pick her up and walk with her she pounds on our shoulders with joy and grins ear to ear. when daddy comes home and picks her up she looks at me with pride and happiness, a face that says "look! i got my daddy!" when she's tired and wants to be held she wails "mamamamamama!" and nuzzles in when you pick her up, but not for long. she cries from sleepiness and pulls my hair and nose and her own ears. when she's working hard to crawl or pull herself up she grunts and groans like a body builder, and when she can't do it herself she whines and huffs in frustration while she crawls to me for help. my favorite expression of all time is when she looks up at me and wiggles her eyebrows - somehow she looks both innocent and mischievous at the same time. it's hard to catch with a camera, but it is something like this:

anyway, if that wasn't a unorganized journal entry i don't know what is.