backyard fun!

we've been neglecting the blog lately and here is one reason why:

ellie loves it outside. there is so much to see and hear.

you might notice that judge isn't the best at fetching.
he runs and chases, but he doesn't like to bring the frisbee back to me.

i like to think it is his way of saying:
"no, i will not bring it back. you're just going to throw it away again!"
kinda smart, really. smart and lazy.



oh, and happy memorial day!
hope you get some good weather!

failsafe.

oh, sunday brownies.

once upon a time, my little sister decided that she wanted to make brownies. she found a recipe. in fact, i can't remember where it came from or when this started, but after she made that first batch the requests for more brownies just kept coming and coming. they became such a family favorite that my grandma put the recipe in her ward recipe book.

some time after we moved here, i needed a fix. a sunday afternoon fix. i remembered how these used to be our staple, mostly because they're fast and easy and you don't really need anything special to make them. i also started experimenting with the recipe. these brownies are great on their own, but if you add something to them they get really fudgy. in fact, if you add anything to them they are spectacular!

they're really good if you dump chocolate chips over the batter. i've spread chocolate chunks and caramel sauce over the top before i baked them and that probably turned out the best. most recently i cut up some reese's cups and sprinkled the bits on the batter before putting it in the oven. i haven't done nuts yet because they aren't exactly a favorite around here, but i can imagine it would be great. i think i want to try a mint frosting sometime soon.

anyway, they're my failsafe.

since i decided that i need to try and share treats when i make them (otherwise i eat them all by myself) i double or triple the recipe most of the time. (if i triple it i make one 8x8 and one 9x13.) i guess i'll also share across the interweb!

here's the recipe:

erynn's brownies

1/2 c margarine or butter
1/3 c cocoa
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c flour
1/4 tsp salt

preheat oven to 350. melt the butter, add cocoa and blend. add sugar and mix well. while beating, add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla, flour, and salt. spread in greased 8x8 pan. (here's where i add my stuff, just sprinkle it over the brownie batter before i put it in the oven). bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. (i usually take them out after 25 minutes or so - it keeps them fudgier.)

another 1000 words.

this is how it has been lately. diapers on the floor, laundry everywhere, mail piles and most of all

way too much diet soda. like, wayyyy, wayyyyyy too much.


i think i'm going to have to quit the caffeine binging, though. i'm pretty sure it is making ellie really testy. it's going to be a lot harder to curb this habit than it was giving up beans when they made her too gassy.

wedding weekend.

it has taken me a while to get back on track. we had a crazy weekend. crazy fun!

my brother-in-law finally married his sweet lady after what is possibly one of the longest mormon engagements ever: 9 months. and they dated for a year before that!

unfortunately it was literally crazy, so i didn't get the pictures i wanted to get.

on thursday night, family flew into town from utah and we headed up to my in-law's house to have some dinner and party before the big day. we only decided about thirty minutes before we left that we were going to spend the night. luckily, i had packed ellie's stuff for the next day and i had seriously overpacked at that. that meant i had to get myself and the dog (and, okay, a few extra baby things) and evacuate the house in half an hour. needless to say, i forgot the camera.

on friday morning we left around ten-thirty for the drive to south carolina. we rode up in a van - mom and dad, uncle johnny, aunt lauren ann, and daddy and i on either side of the car seat in the back. it was ... an adventure, to say the least. they're renovating the atlanta temple, so columbia is closest. it is one brutal drive, due to construction on I85. by construction i mean that, for a leg of the journey, 85 southbound does not exist. we got to the temple just in time at four in the afternoon, everyone went in and we played outside with ellie and the cousins who weren't old enough to go in, then we took some pictures and left. i think it was worth the drive to see their happy faces ... but not something i want to do again any time soon. on the way home we had to take a very, very long and out of the way side road through some small towns. the homes were gorgeous, but it got old quick.

ellie was arguably the best passenger of the day. she slept almost the whole time, ate when we stopped, and only cried once. we changed her diaper and she was good to go again. it probably helped that she got to play with mommy and daddy in the backseat, though. we loved it.

we got home late saturday and slept in before heading back up to the atlanta area for the reception. it was gorgeous. i got a couple of pictures there:


and then i got caught up in the baby-wrangling and partying. it was a gorgeous night and everything was just perfect. my resolution is to get over my fear of being the annoying person with a camera and just take pictures. i want to remember this stuff!

ellie had finally given up her sweet reputation by the time the reception was winding down and we headed home. somewhere between the party and our car we lost her very last pacifier. thinking she would calm down as soon as we got going, we started the hour and a half drive .... only to end up singing to a screaming baby for forty-five minutes before she finally fell asleep. poor party girl.

we spent sunday sleeping and recovering our wits.

the really great thing is this:
ellie has pretty much slept through the night ever since our stay at the in-laws.

shhhhhh. don't jinx it.

rolling over.

she actually did it in the picture:

she hurled her body over, right at me.

attitude + mobility = watch out.

p.s. - wedding today!! hooray!

3 months.

eleanor will be three months old on saturday.
i wanted to get this in before our weekend gets extremely crazy with the wedding!

she loves music and noise. in fact, we recently went to a party and she slept through a dozen rowdy kids (post-cupcakes). she's finally starting to sleep at night. notice that i didn't say through the night, but she is getting much better. she's figured out that the night is for sleeping, anyway. that, however, means that she doesn't nap as much during the day. she has been wiggling and cooing instead. she rolled over this morning! it was on the bed, so i have to make her do it on the floor now. she likes her swing and the bumbo, but she also arches her back when she wants to get out. she knows i'll come pick her up before she flings herself out of her seat. she's teething. she's grumpy. she has progressed from the newborn mewing to full-on screaming (and boy, is she good at it). she has also discovered her toys - she has started grabbing on to them. she also grabs her pacifier and tries to put it back in her mouth herself. she's still perfecting that one.

she has so much personality.
these pictures are in order - i just went snap, snap, snap.
check out the attitude:

ellie likes:

mornings
standing up (with help from mom and dad)
car rides
holding her head up
riding in her baby carrier
going to the store
smiling
kicking her legs
lights
noise
telling jokes and singing with mommy
flying up high with daddy
wiggling
cuddling with mommy and judge
screaming
picking out clothes
drooling
bathtime
grabbing anything (especially mommy's hair)



she dislikes:

sore gums
sore bums
being too tired to fall asleep
getting really scared
waking up from a good nap
losing her pacifier when she's half asleep



beanie, we love you.

out with the old!

i finally got new glasses.


see the cracked frame where judge bit them right after we first brought him home?
that's right, they've been like that since before i got married.

and now, today, these:


they're tortiseshell. i've had black and brown, now i choose both.
as much as i like them, i like husband's more.

his are ray ban's. i tried some on, but they don't make me look adorkable*/nerdy-cool. they just make me look homely. i'll get a picture up soon.


*many thanks to my cute cousin mckenna for introducing me to this word. don't you love it?

affirmations.

i've been having a rough little while. well, mostly i've just been rough on myself. let's face it, i'm a stress case. if i try not to get stressed out emotionally, my body just decides to stress itself out physically and i fall apart. yeah, yeah, i'm working on it.

anyway, after reading a few blogs by moms who have a lot more stress and realizing that they are doing okay, i felt a little better.

and then i saw this video on facebook. click on it. you'll smile.

i'm totally serious when i say that i want to start my days like she does. i think i really will try it.
(i especially like that a screaming baby doesn't interrupt her affirmations.)


in other news, ellie's been hanging out in her bumbo.
it's pretty cute, even though all she does is sit.

do you like how she's found a way to pretty much suck on the pacifier and her thumb at the same time? what a greedy little genius.
she has her cake and eats it, too.

all dressed up ... part 2.

not again, you say?
yes, again!

this time we went, though. she's a party animal.

trouble with a capital T.

my friend lauren sent this outfit with a note that said "i know she's a girl, but i couldn't resist!"
neither could i, and daddy loves the dinosaurs.


we're seeing the first signs of trouble here at our house:

smiling after she makes a big mess
getting grumpy when she can't seem to fall asleep
shrieking when she doesn't get her way
arching her back when she wants someone to pick her up
kicking and thrashing and pouting


and somehow none of these tantrums happen when we're out.
i guess she loves the public eye.

she sure can be a little godzilla when we get home, though.

all dressed up and ready to ...

snooze.

we thought about heading out to the park today.
got all dressed up and ...
yeah, i figured i would just let her sleep.

pickles.

my mom is starting up a small business. she's selling her wonderful children's clothing under the brand name ginger & pickles. (she's also working on an etsy store: little pickles 4 u.)

she made ellie's blessing dress and it is beautiful. we did a little photoshoot yesterday to help her get some pictures for her store.

i just have to share the gorgeous dress and the gorgeous baby.

i guess the dress is comfortable, too. she fell asleep during the shoot.

wait ...

... you mean to tell me that it gets better than this?!

daddy wants more babies to add to his "pile."
(he tells me so every day.)

mothers day #1.

i have the pleasure of waking up to this face every morning
(and most two-o'clock-in-the-mornings, too).
it doesn't get much better than this.
eleanor marie, i'm honored to be your mother. thank you.

also, thanks to all the ladies out there who have mothered me and/or inspired me to become a good mother. you're doing a great job and you make it look easy.




(and thanks to to my great friend lauren for the outfit. ellie really is my sunshine.)

little friends.

these little guys and their friends have been hanging out around the yard.

i can't wait until she's old enough to be as excited about the animal kingdom as i am.

honky cat.

the sun is out and it's going to be 90 degrees today.

yep, we're ready.

p.s. - are you seeing what i'm seeing?

the eye of the storm.

this is my desk.
you can't really see it, but i broke out the little bike-pedal thing that my brother-in-law left to pretend i'm counteracting the dark chocolate chunks, marshmallows and homemade meringue cookies (thanks kate!) i'm munching.
i have bills and projects and laundry and whatever.
maybe i need a bigger desk?

i mean...
don't worry, i've got it all under control.

giggles.

not a picture of the actual event.

she laughed for the first time last night ...
in her sleep.
i was rocking her when suddenly her whole body shook with little laughing gasps and she got a big grin on her face. her features immediately fell back into complete relaxation and it was over.

funny, both of her parents have been known to do the same thing.
i guess it's genetic.

she's showing all the signs ...

of teething.

snotty nose? check.
and this girl has never, ever had so much as a trickle out of her nose in her whole 2.5 months.

moving her mouth like she is trying to chew on a sour balloon? check.
her poor eyes asking "ugh, why?"

constantly trying to gnaw on anything she can? check.
those soggy, soggy fists.

low grade fever? check.
at least, i'm pretty sure. it's hard to get an armpit temperature from a wiggler.

drooooool? check.
and the coughing that comes with the extra spit in her throat.

whining while eating because the sucking hurts her gums? check.
and she pretty much just munches on the pacifier.

irritability? check, check, check.
poor girl. i don't blame her.


then again, maybe i'm just paranoid.
i have tried to feel for a tooth but she won't hold still long enough to let me.

useless.

we can't wait for daddy to come home.
we're stuck without a car and our baby medicine has been recalled.
looks like mommy is going to be holding grumpywigglebaby non-stop for the next few hours at least.