Monday, May 30, 2011

14 Months


Dear Ella B,

This morning, you and I sat on the porch at 6 o'clock in the morning and it started to rain. We sat and watched the drops splatter rhythmically on the driveway and snuggled each other, silently. You sat in my lap and your little bare legs flopped against mine and your hands held my thumbs. I kissed the top of your head and breathed in your beautiful babyness, or what is left of it anyway. I was filled with more love than I can possibly express to you. I can only hope that one day you get to feel this kind of love for someone or something, because let me tell you, there is nothing like it.

Today you are 14 months old and I can't beleive what a little person you have become. You are opinionated, fearless, and full of life. You want to go, go, go all the time and never want to stop having fun for one minute. Today at Nene and Pop Pop's house, you kept tickling everyone and running away so we would chase you. You pet a horse right on his nose. We tried to sit outside and have a barbeque, but you were having none of it. You wanted to find the kitty, see the birdies, where's Nanny? I want to go inside! I want to go upstairs! I do it myself! I tried to take you for a walk and halfway through you nearly squirmed and screamed yourself out of the stroller, so I had to take you out and have you hold my hand and walk next to me while I pushed the stroller.

You are exhausting and you are amazing. There is no one quite like Ella B and though you drive us crazy, we can't imagine our lives without you.

Happy 14 month birthday Ella B!

14 month highlights:

Weight: probably like 22 lbs
Height: No idea, 30 inches?
New words: meow, tweet, cup, all done, nana (banana), baba (bottle), bubu (bubbles), ba (ball or bath), Pop Pop, Nene
New feats: animal sounds, turning her palms up to say "I don't know", lots of waving, tickling, sliding herself off the bed, going down the slide at daycare all by herself, wearing everyone else's shoes, taking off her own shoes in the car, throwing a ball, learning to sit and listen to an entire story before getting up.
Firsts: ear infection, touching a horse, solo sliding, going in the woods, sleeping in her crib during nap time

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Date Night


Once in a while every mom and dad deserve a date night. Unfortunatley for my husband that meant heading out last night to the senior prom. For me it was a win/win. A chance to get dressed up and go to a fancy hotel for a free meal, and be able to spend a nice night with my kids before they graduate. For Michael, it was standing around in a hot room and taking pictures of me with random high school kids he doesn't know. Oh well, he was a good sport about it anyway. Normally, Christina and I would go together, but as she is awaiting the birth of her child literally any second (it will be tomorrow, Chris, I can feel it!) she refused to attend. I told her that a little bumping and grinding on the dance floor might shake that baby loose, but alas, she would not listen to me.

So, we asked Ella's favorite teacher from daycare, Miss Amanda, to babysit. This is a big deal since it is our first time leaving her with a real babysitter (by real of course I mean someone you have to pay) rather than her Nene and Pop Pop. I was really not nervous at all and excited to have a reason to put on nail polish and Spanx. Mike stayed for most of the night and then headed home. I stayed with my friend Wendy and we didn't get home until 2 am! I haven't done that in years, and it felt good to just pass out with my makeup on and a fun night behind me.

Of course, it was back to reality at 5:30 when Beezer woke up and wanted to cuddle up with me and her bottle and watch Wow! Wow! Wubbzy. So, I'm hurtin' a little today, but still glad we went and had a baby free night.

BTW, how cute is my prom date?

PS- Yes this is the same dress that I wore to Kevin and Laura's wedding and Chad and Holly's wedding. Ya know what- if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Ella B, Ella B, Ella, Ella, Ella B

In case you don't know, Kristy, Tommy, and the boys wrote a song and recorded a music video in honor of Ella's first birthday. It was definitely the most thoughtful and awesome present anyone could have given her. For those of you who haven't seen it, and those who would like to see it again, Kristy posted the "Ella B" music video performed by the Black Eyed T's to you tube. I'll warn you, it is pretty addictive. You won't be able to get the song out of your head.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Due Date, Shmue Date

Well today is my friend Christina's due date and no one expected her to last this long. She has been home from work for about two weeks now and is trying her best to enjoy a little R and R before the giant upheaval of her life (I mean, um, the miracle) of having a baby. Every pregnant woman counts down to this day and yet, ironically it is probably the day you are least likely to go into labor.

It got me thinking about my own due date, March 25th 2010, and what I did that day. I had been out of work for a couple of days and was frantically trying to finish my grading, my baby shower thank you cards, cleaning my car (no easy task if you know me), cooking mac and cheese and chili to freeze, etc. I remember I took some time that day to head to the gym (oh yeah, I remember the gym, the building with the exercise machines, right?) and got my nails done. Of course, I didn't have the baby for another five days, so my nails were already chipped by then, but at least my calluses were gone. The best part about your due date is that when you go out and people ask you when you are due you get to say, "today," and they act very nervous and excited as if you shouldn't be out and about and that the baby might just fall out right then and there on the elliptical and they will have to catch it in their gym bags.

You also know that within a few days you will get to finally see the little person who has been sharing your body with you for so long. I told Christina that it is like waiting for Christmas, except you don't know when Christmas is going to be, so it is extra exciting. She said, "yeah, if Christmas is the most painful thing you can possibly imagine, then it is just like that." Of course, having a baby is really painful, but it is also kind of cool. No matter whether you have an epidural, a C-section, or a natural birth, five hours of labor or two days of labor (sorry Gina), by the end of it, you have a human all your own and you have a story to tell, a story in which you (the main character) did the coolest, most amazing thing human beings are capable of. And you get to know that you totally rock. forever. And that is pretty awesome.

So, happy due date Christina! Put your feet up, eat some Chef Boyardee, and relax because you won't get to do that for another 18 years.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Eat, Play, Love

So anyone who has ever had a child knows that the weekend is not quite what it use to be, in good ways and bad. There is no more sleeping in, relaxing over a cup of coffee and the morning paper, making dinner plans with friends, etc. As an English teacher I never really had much of the lazy Saturday, anyway, but now we are up at 5:30 and on the move ready to eat, play, and love. Saturday Night Live has become Sunday Morning DVR'd because I now go to bed at the same time every night, which I suppose is much healthier anyway. The upside to all this is that by noon we have usually already eaten two meals, mowed the lawn, emptied the dishwasher, washed two loads of laundry, grocery shopped, and hung curtains. Sometimes we look at the clock and say, "It's only 10:30?" because we have already done so much. It also means lots of fun times with Beezer and that is the best reason to get up at 5:30. Here are some of her highlights from the weekend:





  1. Blowing bubbles with daddy




  2. Eating Sunday breakfast at Nene and Pop pop's house




  3. Looking at Aunty Christina's funny belly button (cause it's poppin' out preggo style)




  4. Flirting with Uncle Jeremy




  5. Wearing daddy's shoes




  6. Getting a big blue ball at Walmart




  7. Eating guacamole




  8. Petting Madilyn the kitty katty




  9. learning to say "meow" and "quack"




  10. Picking buttercups and wild onions for my mom

Monday, May 16, 2011

Beezer and the Cornfield



It sounds like the title of a children's book, but really it is just what we did on Saturday. Amy invited us to walk around the cornfield with her as part of a fundraiser for the relief efforts for the disaster in Japan. I was nervous about going for all the usual reasons: too close to nap time, beezer doesn't like the stroller, blah, blah, blah. But then Michael, in all his wisdom said, "Just go. If she's terrible, then come home." And ya know what? He was right. (Don't tell him I said that). This is one of my husband's greatest qualities, and one that I sorely lack. He is very, very chill. This can be annoying at times, but when it comes to Ella, it is usually a good thing. I am constantly keeping myself (and her) from doing fun things because I am always worried about how she is going to be (bratty, snotty, sleepy, grumping, what-have-you) and this paralyzes us and keeps us locked in the house. Michael always tries to push me a little beyond my comfort zone and sometimes it doesn't work out, but sometimes it does. Saturday was one of "does" days.

We walked around the cornfield in our fancy jogging stroller and beezer quietly fell asleep, no pacifier or bottle or anything. Amy and I were able to have a nice walk and some girl time and beezer got her nap. It could not have worked out better. When she woke up, we headed over to the bake sale and all shared a giant scone. Even Amy's beagle, Bowie, got in on the action. Everyone kept admiring how cute she was and for one fleeting moment I became one of those women with the wonderful baby that everyone is envious of.

Me. I was that mom. It was awesome.

So, the moral of the story is. Sometimes, you just need to relax and take beezer to the cornfield (insert your own "beezer" and "cornfield," whatever they might be for you).

Also, sometimes, whether you like it or not, your husband is right. (Sorry ladies).

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Beezer is the Best

So, my husband informed me yesterday that my last couple of blog posts have been pretty negative about the beez, so I figured I should do a post about how awesome and super cute she is. Here is a list of some of the best things about Gabriella Marguerite:

1. When you put a clip in her beautiful, curly hair, she gets all excited about how pretty she looks
2. She likes to splash in the bath tub and walk around naked, with her cute butt all out and proud.
3. She knows where her belly button, feet, and hands are.
4. She knows how to put her hands palm up as if to say, "I don't know."
5. She has an excited "dad stop tickling me" laugh and a devious "You're not putting that diaper on me" laugh.
6. She blows kisses.
7. She eats hummus with a spoon.
8. She gets all excited when I pick her up at daycare.
9. Yesterday she put pieces of an omelet inside a hollow Easter egg and was very proud of herself.
10. When she gets up in the morning, she lays her little head against my shoulder and puts her arms around me....magic.

She drives me crazy, but she is my little nugget and I adore her!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Beezer's first earache

So, it finally happened. Beezer got her first earache. Now, I know I am lucky to have gotten to thirteen months without one. If my sister ever read my blog (which she doesn't) she would surely tell you that Izzy practically came out with an earache and had them on and off for the first two years of her life until she finally got the tubes. But man, earaches suck. For two days (including Mother's Day) she was a miserable wreck and wanted nothing else but to be in our arms, intermittently switching back and forth between us, hoping that one of us would finally have the cure to her pain. She slept in our arms all day on Sunday and then barely slept Sunday night. Mike stayed home with her yesterday and every time I called she was crying in the background. When I got home at 3:30, he had her in the Baby Bjorn (just like old times!) and he had that look on his face. The same look I had for my five month maternity leave.

You remember that look, don't you? The one that says, "I haven't slept, washed my hair, changed my clothes, or eaten anything in five months and if you don't take this screaming child out of my arms, I am going to send her down the river with a note pinned to her shirt." Michael proceeded to tell me how difficult the day was and then passed out on the couch. I hope he understands now why I was such a basket case last summer. You see, it is one thing to have a bad day like that when your baby is actually sick, but my baby spent months crying and wanting to be held and NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH HER! And, at least he wasn't also nursing her about twelve hours a day and trying not to cry out from the pain of his nipples bursting into flames every time she latched on.

This whole experience just reminded me how far we have come in the past year. Even though she is still a "spirited" young lady, she is sooooooo much happier than she was a year ago. These past two days I have missed our silly little nugget so much.

Finally, just before bed time, we saw a little glimmer of the old beez poke through. She started flipping over her Princess chair and playing peek-a-boo with her daddy, she was splashing in the bathtub, and giggling while we chased her and tried to get her diaper and PJ's on. She seemed okay this morning, so we sent her off to daycare. Hopefully she will be her old self by this afternoon.

So, we've almost survived the first earache and I am looking forward to having the old Ella B back.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

You're still a mother on Mother's Day












Today is Mother's Day, and in case you forgot, I am a mother (wierd, right?). So, today is my day to relax and enjoy the fruits of all my hard work being one serious mother. I told Mike that I didn't want any presents/cards/what have you, I just wanted to sleep in (until 7:30- crazyiness!) and I just wanted Mike to be in charge of Beezer all day. So, basically, on Mother's Day I just didn't really want to have to be a mom. Is that wrong? Well, before you judge me, it didn't work out that way anyway. Beezer ended up getting sick and spent the entire day either crying or sleeping in either of our arms. I felt pretty bad for my little nugget and for us. I guess there really is no day off for moms. So, today wasn't as great as it could have been, but I still get to be the lucky mom of the cutest little nugget on the planet. I'm also pretty lucky to have such a great mom myself. And happy birthday tomorrow, Mom!

Yesterday I was also lucky enough to spend time with my sister and her family and my cousins Kristy and Jacob. We played outside, ate pulled pork burritos and chocolate cookies, and walked to the park. Who's better than us? (Hint: no one). So, there were some ups and some downs, but I guess that's what being a mom is all about.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone. And Happy almost Mother's Day to the prettiest pregnant girl in the whole world, Mrs. Christina Allen!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Sights from the weekend

This past weekend was simple and lovely. We took Beezer to Woodbridge Rec to play with Pop Pop, but it got canceled so we played at the Beecher playground instead. Beezer loved sliding down the slide and swinging on the swings. Mike even showed us some of his old playground moves on the rings. I was pretty impressed.

We spent the rest of the day playing outside and taking cute pictures. Beezer's favorite thing to do is collect rocks and dandelions and hold them in her hands. She also likes to eat sticks and plants and gets mad when you tell her not to.
This rock is too big to hold, so she decided to stand on it. She's pretty cute, right?

She also slept in her crib during nap time. Go Beezer! No picture of that. We don't disturb sleeping babies.





On Sunday, we did some gardening and Beezer helped by putting leaves in the leaf bags, trying to eat mulch, and climbing up and down the front steps.

Neither of us have ever really planted anything other than vegetables, so it is a work in progress, but we are getting there.



This last picture is of the Beez wearing her new bib c/o Kim and Meg. It is a reminder to myself to keep blogging, even when I want to just go to bed and forget it. I know it will be worth it later on when we have all of these electronics memories.

Thanks for checking in and a special thanks to Alex, Larry, Christina, and Jeremy for an awesome birthday dinner at Barcelona. Yum!