A1:W7

So we're back in the saddle again, down from our vacation high and into the groove at work and school.... only left is to catch up on the housework, but I'm pretty sure that part doesn't happen until I have children that are older than 18 (maybe).

We had a fun week of going to the park and meeting new people and playing with the kitchen. Mary Eloise is beginning to discover more of the world around her and different things around the house.  Something new she does not like is the vacuum.  When I turn it on, she turns and runs away (our dog Millie, however, is hot on my heels).  I will see ME peek around the corner and inch closer, but she runs away when it comes near.  To hopefully help with this fear, I leave the vacuum out a few minutes before I start, so she can look at it and touch it. I also decided to take some of the attachments and leave them out so she can play with them like her own vacuum-- that she loves.  She will "vacuum" the floor minus the sound-- too bad it really doesn't vacuum.  Now on to teach her to mop!!!

Mary Eloise also loves her kitchen.  This past Christmas a dear friend of ours, Penny, found this great kitchen at a consignment shop and bought it for ME.  A few weeks ago on a rainy afternoon, I brought it upstairs for ME to play with.  She loves to go over and play with it and her grocery buggy her Tee gave to her for her birthday.  This week, Tee brought over a bag of play food that Rhett cleaned out of his old kitchen-- ME hasn't been out the kitchen since!  She really loves a microwave that he sent-- it has buttons, lights, and sound, and she likes to carry it around.

Other than that, we enjoyed a low key weekend, and ME and her daddy enjoyed a nice lunch with Mim, Reed, Tee, Grandaddy, and Aunt Ra on Saturday, while mommy went up to work to get a project finished.  We have really enjoyed the feeling of early "fall" being in the air-- it has been a much needed break from the humidity and heat. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Splashing in the bath rocking a shampoo mohawk!

"Vacuuming"the floor

Playing in my kitchen before church

Getting back into the swing of things A1:W6

We began the week with lots of rest and getting back to our normal home life routine.  Sunday we had some errands to run and Jason wanted to spend his birthday gift from Mary Eloise (a Bass Pro Shop gift card), so out to Leeds we went.  Mary Eloise loves looking at the big fish tank inside, so we looked at the fish while Jason picked out fishing gear.  Since ME is walking well (and she didn't want to ride in the buggy) I let her walk around with me.  I decided to take her upstairs on the elevator and she thought it was the greatest ride because she could look out the windows while standing there and watching us leave the ground.

After Bass Pro Shops, we worked up an appetite and went to my favorite place- Red Robin. ME liked my turkey burger, but chose to eat macaroni and cheese (which is awesomely fresh and delicious).  She loved the Red Robin mascot and made fast friends with him. 

Since walking, we love to go to the park in the evenings to get out that last bit of end of the day energy and also to cure the boredom.  ME loves running in the grass and is getting fast!

We were a bit nervous about her returning to school after a week off, but she went with only a few tears and her teacher said how proud she was of ME and how well she has adjusted to school.  ME is also moving to the other side of the classroom (it is divided into 2 sides) because she is moving so well and other babies are moving up to the 2 year old class. My big girl is growing so fast...

So I'm really going to brag now, I am super proud of how Mary Eloise has developed words and uses her baby sign language.  She can identify lots of things and will say "milk" when she's thirsty and if she finishes her drink or food and she wants more, she will sign for "more".  Super proud Mommy :)

On Wednesday, ME had her 1 year check up- it was a bit late, but the only appointment they had when I made it in early June!  She is 33 1/2 inches tall and 24 pounds- 95% for both.  She had to get her hematocrit checked by a finger prick (not my fav) and she wailed like a banshee.  I felt so bad for her.  Then she had to get 3 shots, and only cried for a minute.  Afterwards she was very fascinated with her new "stickers" and spent her time removing them from her finger and thighs. She was all smiles and waving bye-bye by the time to leave and went home and took a long nap, while I cleaned the house.

I got off work on Friday and ME was super excited I was there when she got home. It was very nice to eat dinner with them and then Jason and I had a sofa date and watched 21 Jump Street- a bit lame, but raunchy funny :)

On Saturday, we played at the park in the morning and then had a visit from Mim and Reed that afternoon.  For dinner we went to ME's favorite, Moes!

Today, we went to mass this morning and ME was very good, playing with her baby doll and giving the little boy in front of us a high five for her sign of peace :)  We came home, while Daddy was off to his Fantasy Football draft, and took a long nap.  After waking up, we decided to make the most of the last day of extended zoo hours and went to the zoo.  Some of the animals were napping but the land tortise was on the move, and a few of the monkeys were playful, but it was the goats in the Children's Zoo that were the highlight.  A few of them put their faces into ME's BOB to take a look and hopefully grab a snack.  She was very interested in them and laughed and held her hand out to pet them. 

Such a fun week with sweet memories to cherish :)

My new pal

Running around and laughing

Look at me go!

Ahhh, nothing like some juice on a hot afternoon

Mmm cinnamon buns and peaches for breakfast

"You want a bite?"

Blowing on the cinnamon bun

My new goat friends

Hey goat!

Wonderful Week! A1:W3

What a fun week it has been! 

Mary Eloise has gotten the hang of walking and is trying her hand at running.  Most of the time her upper body gets ahead of her feet and she tumbles, but she takes it all in stride and gets back up.  She is also used to wearing shoes out and walking in them.  When she began to pull up and stand, I bought her some shoes to wear to get used to the feel.  She is becoming more and more comfortable in them daily, but like her daddy, prefers to be barefoot. ME has always liked to jump and dance and now really tries to do so by herself and improves daily. 

On Monday, we went to visit my Mother's parents, my Grandmother and Gran-Gran.  They love to see Mary Eloise and have enjoyed watching her grow.  This time while over, she found the Nilla wafers and shared some with my Grandmother.  My Gran-Gran also turned on Sesame Street so he could hear her talk about Elmo.  Like her friend Vivian, Mary Eloise is obsessed with Elmo.  She likes to look at her little toys with Elmo on them and say "Elmo" and then sings "la, la, la".  It is so amazing to watch her put things together. 

Mary Eloise goes to "school" on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  She has really grown to love going and now gets down out of Jason's arms, without tears, to play in the mornings when he drops her off.  She also naps and eats well while there.  We really love all of her teachers and the love that they show to her. 

On Wednesday, we had a playdate with Vivian.  We met them at the Hoover Library for a marionette puppet show called the Zany Zoo.  It was really cute and Mary Eloise was excited to see Vivian and Vivian was excited to see her "MeMe".

It was  a fun and busy week!

Eating Nilla Wafers with my Great Grandmother

Mesmorized by the marionette show

The pretty Belly Dancing Rabbit

Jumping around with my Bestie

Clean as a whistle!

Month 13! A1:W5

It is simply amazing the little changes that occur daily and then come to fruition as new skills.  How a teeny, tiny baby can change over the course of 1 year and go from laying there to talking and walking-- simply outstanding. 
This week was a busy one!  We went out of town to the beach for a family vacation with Jason's family.  We also celebrated Jason's 32nd birthday and Mary Eloise turning 13 months old. 

This was not ME's first beach experience, in fact it was her 4th, but definitely her best overall! 

On Sunday, we got up and played around the house and finished packing for our trip.  After a nap, it was off to our bestie Vivian's 2nd birthday party.  It was a ton of fun and Mary Eloise was so excited to run around with Vivian.  She also liked looking at Vivian's birthday loot.  After the party, we left for the beach. We timed it very nicely so that way we knew ME would rest a little in the car and we could be on our way.  Mary Eloise did well in the car until about 45 minutes away-- never makes for a fun end of the trip, but when we did finally arrive she was given a grand welcome and played for a while.

We got up and went for a run and she enjoyed looking at the change of scenery. (We went to Panama City Beach, Florida, we generally go to Destin, but my oldest nephew Reed had a baseball tournament.) We then returned and went down to the beach.  At first ME wasn't sure about the sand, but my youngest nephew, Rhett, allowed her to sit on his boogie board and he played in the sand with her and she warmed up fast.  She also liked the ocean and going out in the water.  By the end of the week, she was an old salt with the sand and the ocean and was mastering walking in the sand.   

ME also loved the pool and showed off her skills by jumping off the side of the pool.  She does great sitting on the side and jumping off to you and will stand there as well, the problem with standing is one must keep hold of her because she will run off and hop into the hot tub! (She didn't but the look in her eyes told me everything :) ) 

Each day was about the same and she enjoyed eating out in the evenings, although I noticed her appetite wasn't great.  I figured it was the change of environment and also teething.  We are now awaiting her 1 year molars to cut through.

On Saturday we said "Bye-Bye" to the beach  and blew it a kiss.  It is so cute to see her expressions progress. We traveled home and she did perfectly.  We stopped at a new favorite place outside of Troy and Montgomery, Sweet P's!  Mary Eloise adored Sweet Pea the cow and moo'ed and clapped her hands and was eager to pet her.  Then we had some delicious lunch and ME ran around for a little while and we finished the remainder of our trip home, which ME slept!

We were very happy to be home and in our beds that night! The Scoggins family was out by 8:30!

Until next week!