Back to Blogging

It has been at least four months since the last time I posted. I am going to try to be more regular about it but sometimes it is hard to get time in front of the computer.

Ella is going through a vocabulary explosion. It is so interesting to be able to tell how much of what we say she understands. She answers to most questions and commands (as long as she is willing). My girl is a stubborn one. She can say almost all of her ABC's though my favorite part is the middle where she says e-e-e-e-p (for l-m-n-o-p). She can count to 10, though she always misses 5 for some reason. She repeats the last word of just about any sentence these days so I have to be careful to not say things that should not be repeated. "Cool" is in big use these days after a visit from Benjamin and Elizabeth, my nephew and niece. We have also been working on being polite so she says "Thank you" and "Bless you" for all kinds of things. She also says "Pa-Pa" loudly and proudly which will make two Grandpa's happy.

Each stage seems the cutest and every day I marvel at how lucky we are to have her.

On Vacation

I have never been good about taking time off. After taking 3 months maternity leave, I felt guilty taking any time off when I was first back to work, especially since the first month happened unexpectedly when I was put on bed rest. Then the build up to get ready to move into the new library and all the increased business after the move, made it really hard to take time off. Eric was complaining about never getting a chance to get any of his projects done so I decided to take a week of vacation. This is the first time I have taken more than one vacation day in a row in 18 months! I had great plans of playing the perfect stay-at-home mom and planning all kinds of fun, interactive and educational things Ella and I would do together. I have instead learned why I would not make a great stay at home parent. I let her watch too much TV and we have gone two days without getting properly dressed. On the up side, I am reveling in all the snuggle time I get. We are singing lots of songs together, though I will admit they are all theme songs from the Sprout Channel. She also did her first time of playing dress up. At least I think that's what it was and I wish I had taken a picture. I put a hooded towel on her head and commented on what a lovely princess she is. She proceeded to swish around the room for quite a while hanging on to a side of her "train" and making lots of quick turns so it billowed out. I still have several days of vacation to go. I can't promise we will do all the great educational things I have planned but I have learned that I am missing too much when I stay at work late and that this is too important to miss.

First Night Away from Home

Well, we hit a big milestone this week. Ella had her first overnight stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house. All the other grandkids on my side of the family had already spent several overnights with the grandparents by this age. My mother's health is not good and she can barely lift Ella who is now almost 18 months old. My mom also cannot get out of a chair on her own. For this reason, the idea of my parents being alone with Ella has scared me. She moves fast and they don't always pay close attention. We worked out a compromise where my 11 year old niece also spent the night to help. My niece was exhausted after the experience but they all seemed to have a good time. The report was that Ella behaved well with just a few temper tantrums. By the time she came back, it felt like she had been gone forever. Eric must have been as anxious as me. This was a rare opportunity for him to get alone time and take care of projects. He ended up making two trips to the library and took me out for lunch. It was almost like he didn't know what to do with himself. Needless to say, we were both glad to have her back home. Though they had a good time, I think Grandma and Grandpa were also glad to bring her back. Now I just need to get brave enough to let someone other than an immediate family member babysit her.

Giving It a Try Again

It has been ages (weeks at least) since I added a post. I decided I better try again to keep up this blog or give up the whole thing and delete it. A lot has changed in the last few weeks. Eric did not get any of the jobs he applied for which was sad but may be for the best in the long run. The engine blew up in our newest car so we are arguing like crazy over what to do about it and what we can afford to do. Most important, Ella has been changing a lot. She is talking all the time. Most of the time we can't understand what she says but we are starting to catch phrases. My sister caught "Why do dat?" which was the phrase she kept repeating over and over. I can't believe I need my sister to translate for my own child! It turns out Eric says "Ella, why did you do that?" when she does something that upsets him. She also said "Oh, yes" the other day. I don't know if she has any understanding of what these mean but she is growing up. She went on her first overnight trip to Indianapolis with my parents, sisters and their kids. She got to stay in a hotel and swim in a pool (which she did not like at all). She also saw the Indianapolis Zoo. She was not impressed but I don't think you can see much sitting in a stroller. She remains a joy and something new every day!

Meanwhile back at the ranch...

It has been a while since I added anything. Work has been hectic and I have been sick. I ended up with this horrible sore throat. For over a week, it felt like I was swallowing razor blades. Turns out I had beta strep. It took the antibiotics several days before they started to work. Now, I am beginning to feel more like myself. Eric has had a problem with horrible nosebleeds which is not good for someone on blood thinner. I wish he would see the doctor to figure out how to make them stop but neither of us is very good about going to the doctor. I just hope Ella does not get sick with all this.

We are facing a big dilemma in our house. Eric has an interview for a job. This means we will need to put Ella in day care. That is a really scary prospect. I have not always been pleased with the way Eric has done things with her care but since I am not the one there I cannot complain too much. He loves her so much and tries his best. In one way, it would be good for her to be around other kids and have the more structured day. It would also be good for her to be with someone who can help her advance in skills and education since neither one of us seems to be good about that. The other side is that no one will look out for her welfare as well as we do. Will these people neglect her or let some other child bully or hurt her - or worse, will she become a bully? It is just so scary to think of leaving our precious little girl with a stranger. Of course, we are going to do all the checks and ask all kinds of questions but once you are gone you have no control over what happens. Eric and I are both freaked out about this. He would like to get back to the semblance of the life he had before and I have been spoiled in that my schedule has changed little since he has been at home taking care of things. Now I will need to worry about leaving work by a certain time to pick her up and take time off if she is sick. A part of me wants him to get the job and the other part doesn't. We will just have to see how things work out.

As for Ella, she is growing up so fast. She just got her first upper molars. I wish we could get her to use them more. We are still struggling with getting her to eat a variety of food. She likes pasta but no much else. We still have to give her baby food to get her to eat fruits and vegetables. While she likes to take turns holding the spoon, she also does not show much of an interest in using it to feed herself. Not a problem for me because I hate the mess but it might be a problem for a day care. Will they let her go hungry if she is too picky or does not feed herself? She has added several new words recently. Hello has been added to Hi that gets said all the time. She is saying Daddy about as much as she says Da-da though heaven forbid she rarely utters Mom-mom just so Mom does not get too excited. Yesterday she went to the gate on the stairs and clearly said "Up!" We have been counting for her and she sounds like she is repeating the numbers though she could be saying anything that sounds like that. She took a nasty fall at my parents and badly skinned her nose last week. Amazingly it has already pretty much healed.

I have gone on long enough. I'm not sure how long I will continue this blog. It is great to get things out there but takes some time. I will have to see tomorrow if I feel like continuing.

Learning New Skills

Ella just keeps learning new things. She talks all the time in some language all her own. The speech patterns are getting really close to regular language and any day she is going to come out with a string of stuff. She has not been one to feed herself. She will do some finger food but has shown no interest in doing anything else herself. I will admit that I have not pushed it because I am not crazy about all the mess that creates. Yesterday, for the first time, she wanted to hold on to the spoon and put the food into her mouth. I loaded it up most of the time but she dumped it into her mouth. A couple of times she also tried to put applesauce on the spoon and managed to mostly get it into her mouth. Of course, she was completely covered in sticky stuff but she was pretty satisfied. Afterwards, I stripped off her onesie and let her run around in just a diaper. She kept working her diaper down so she had some baby buttcrack showing and kept going near her potty. I asked Eric if he thought I should just try putting her on the potty. I took off her diaper and sat her down. She stayed there for a couple of minutes and I expected her to hop up and start running around naked. Imagine my surprise when I heard this faint tinkling noise. My baby had peed on the potty!! Of course, we had a huge dancing around/clapping party and called my parents, sisters, etc. to proclaim the wonder. I am sure it was a coincidence but if she is going to start to want to use the potty I won't stop her.

Growing up

Ella is changing so quickly these days. She is certainly becoming her own person. We are dealing with issues of temper when she does not get what she wants or she cannot make me understand what she wants. Of course, that comes from her father.

I am still so amazed every time I ask a question or say something and she understands me. I am so used to thinking she is like a little monkey. A couple of days ago I was putting lotion on my hands and arms before I put on my ring and left for work. I looked over at her in her Pack and Play and she was imitating my movements, rubbing her hands together and then rubbing her arms and elbows. When I put on my ring and watch, she starts to wave bye-bye because she knows that means I am going to leave for work. A few days ago she was poking at her father's hair while he was in bed. I generally just talk and talk at her not expecting a response. I said "Yes, that is Daddy's hair. Where is your hair?" I was so shocked when she patted the top of her head. Yesterday, I asked her what a cow says and she quietly said "Moo." Today when I asked her what a kitty says. She said "ow" which I assume means meow. I can't believe how quickly she has started putting things together and is changing overnight. How lucky Eric and I are to get a front row seat for the start of what seems like a very interesting and entertaining little girl.

She is with her cousins Elizabeth and Claire in this picture.