chillin' out/maxin'/relaxin' all cool.

more fun in the shopping cart. 
ellie rarely sits the way she should in the cart.
sometimes, she puts one leg up on the push handle and chills.
other times she leans all the way over the side and tries to snatch at things.
when she does sit the right way, she swings her little legs very sweetly. 
she knows exactly what she wants and screeches when i don't let her hold something
(so she can feel important).
she conned me into getting her an apple juice.
we usually have a great time at the store,
mostly because everyone loves to stop and talk to her.

she loves it, too.

seven months.

(ack! this is a 12 month size dress!)

our ellie turned seven months last week. i know, i know, monthly updates are now getting to be a bit much. we'll try to make this one a little simpler. a little. i just have to make the most of my adorable eleanor.

she has been eating solids for a while now and has already mastered cheerios, crackers and other such yummies. she wants to try everything and she likes most things. today she licked a lemonade pop and made a sour face but came back for more. she also liked the spicy rice i let her nibble.

she never stops moving, even in her sleep. she has started hands-and-knees crawling and sits up all the time without any wobbling. she's pulling herself up to stand on any vertical surface, including legs and bare walls. she waddles along the edge of the couch and still loves her box. everything has become a wiggly wrestling match - bathing, eating, getting dressed, buckling up, diaper changes, sitting still for any amount of time - so much so that i've actually lost a little weight just keeping up with her.

she and judge are getting to be better friends every day. they are about the same height when they sit next to each other and she tries to use him to balance herself while standing. she also likes to do belly flops on his back and pull his ears and fur like she's about to ride him bareback. he brings her toys and she waves them around in the air while he tries to figure out how to get them back without being too rough. we discovered she likes all kinds dogs the other day when she reached out to pet a friend's rottweiler - she wasn't scared one bit.

ellie has almost no fears (the vacuum is one) and loves trouble. she knows when i'm about to stop her fun and tries to crawl away as fast as she can. she already tests me when i say "no" by looking up at me with a smile and trying to keep doing whatever it is i told her not to do, except she does it in slow motion while staring at me.

she's mostly happy and is learning how to clap her hands this week.

she likes:

snacks

the park

dogs

other kids

drinking from cups

hanging out by the window

sweet potatoes

exploring

smiling at strangers

madeline

rain

dancing

climbing

when everyone gets excited and claps

dr. seuss

climbing up daddy's legs as soon as he gets home

standing up

sitting up

playing with judge

fooooooood

kisses

hugs

wiggling!

she dislikes:

holding still

being buckled in anything

being left behind

diaper changes

getting stuck

this is what i see most often - this little face right up in mine.

what a fantastic bean. 

we love her so much.

those with weak bladders,

be warned!

these pictures may be too hilarious to hold it in.
(or maybe you just had to be there, but i'm still laughing.)

ellie's new weave, courtesy of random halloween aisle at the grocery store:

she's in love with cheerios, by the way. she knew they were hers and she wanted to hold them the whole time at the store. i'm serious. 

so happy first day of autumn! (too bad it's still going to be in the 90s all week.)

and happy seven months to my-bologna-has-a-first-name-it's-e-l-e-a-n-o-r!! (yes, i do sing that to her.)

pictures and seven-monthyness coming soon.

fishin'.

 (ellie showing you her cheerios, getting ready to go off-road strollerin',

our fearless leader, "the spot")

on saturday we tried out daddy's new pole at the park by our house. the day was beautiful and we left just as it was getting too hot and sweaty. ellie loved the water and loved the breeze and we had a grand old time, even though nothing was biting (we kinda went too late - my fault). 

(it is red and sandy, another view, 

the campsite in the woods, daddy hard at work)

we saw some cranes and some doggies going for a swim (sorry, judge, that we didn't bring you along). the weather is starting to get really nice - except for the afternoons, they're still pretty brutal. we're so glad to have real weekends to spend together doing fun things like this. daddy is pretty much obsessed with fishing right now, so i think we can expect to spend more time out by the water. (maybe someday he'll get a boat and we'll be on the water . . . hmmm.)

 (mommy and baby hanging out)

 (playing around with the timer)

 (fish family)

most days should be spent like this. agreed?

(all done and we're pooped.)

weekend greetings.

hope your weekend is going well.

how to entertain your creatures.

step 1: place cheerios in center of bed.

step 2: place child in bed.

step 3: allow dog to sniff and beg beside bed.

step 4: replenish cheerios as often as needed.

step 5: enjoy for as long as it will last.

and that is "how to entertain your creatures" 

more commonly known as "how to get something done around the house for once!"

camp wiggle worm.

ellie had a little bug the past couple of days, but it wasn't much. just fighting a fever and lots of rest. on monday night the whole family (judge included) camped out in ellie's room. it was daddy's idea (he wishes we could do it every night). it was a little fun but mostly just tiring. here's a shot of what this looked like, minus the family:

she's feeling better. so much better that she's back to her regular waking-up-at-three-a.m.-to-crawl-around-and-play schedule. in fact, she is squirming with all her might on the chair behind me as i type this post right now. 

hooray . . . ? hooray.

so far hulu has saved my life by having three seasons of madeline streaming. it's the only thing that keeps her still for more than two seconds. we've spent a lot of time rocking to sleep while watching our little french friend's adventures. we usually wake up in a pool of sweat, seeing as ellie is the sweatiest little person i know. now if they would just play some family appropriate commercials during the show. there was a super sexy ad for gucci guilty right in the middle of madeline time and i was more than bugged. it is worse than the hot pockets ads that play during the pilates workout shows. little secret, hulu: we're not your target audience - and it really isn't appreciated.

little drummer girl.

trying to keep a baby entertained is what forces a mommy to be creative, especially if you don't have the dollars to spend on all the expensive toys. even if you do have all the toys a baby could ever want, it seems like they usually choose to play with the stuff around the house instead.

you've probably seen ellie's favorite toy, the box. she really spends half of her day pulling up on it (although it is becoming a little obsolete now that she can pull herself up on the couch).

i now present to you the drum set:

 (sorry it's sideways)

so if you know anybody looking for a good drummer, i've got one for you.

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.

expressions.

she's the proud owner of my favorite face.

my whirling dervish.

some more photos of a troublemaker i happen to know.

these were all taken yesterday afternoon 

(but still no decent pictures of teeth. oh, she's good.)

 untying mommy's shoes. 

 just hanging out under the desk.

 rolling herself up in the rug while mommy loads the dishwasher. 

 eating a catalog (hey, it isn't a magazine). 

 trying to eat mommy's stuffing for crafts. 

surrounded by booty (who needs real toys?).

she destroys the house and then looks at me like this:

then i kiss her face off. what else am i supposed to do?

p.s. - happy birthday to my sister, erynn! 

james and i decided that you (and nate, of course) win relatives of the year for letting us stay at your house and for being so hospitable. love you!

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.

you're in big trouble, mister!

here is why i am in big trouble:

 i keep catching her trying to stand up

all 

by

her 

self.

who'm i kiddin'? 

we're all in big trouble!

happy september!

her official six month measurements:

25 3/4 inches long and 17 lbs 6 oz.
that's 50th percentile for height and 75th for weight.
head size is in the 90th percentile - what a melon!

oh, and happy wednesday, too.