Fun in the Sand

My first time touching sand

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Burying Mommy's sandal

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Taking big girl steps in the ocean

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This water's cold and fun to play with

At the Beach

Mommy and Daddy and Me at the Beach

Still our little girl

This is from right before bed time the other night. Lizzie just couldn't quite make it.

Even though some days it seems she is growing up so fast, this just goes to show she is still very much our little girl.

Fun in the Kitchen

Daddy bragging

Our little girl is really starting to come into her own.

From this past week:

• Lizzie has started using a fork. She seems to understand the concept. Now it's just a matter of the practical use of it. She likes the stabbing food part, still working on the "get it to the mouth" part.
• Lizzie has rhythm. We all know she likes to dance, but sitting last night, listening to her GloWorm, she was clapping her hand on her leg in rhythm and on beat.
• Lizzie really has the concepts of some words down. Last night, playing on the far side of the living room, I asked her where her ball was (which was on the other side of the room out of view behind a chair). She promptly stopped what she was doing, directly crawled over to it and hit it in my direction.

That's a smart girl right there.

Eliana Pool

In celebration of Ellie coming soon, Steph and I are going to host a pool. The best part for you: it's free to throw your guesses in. The best part for us: seeing your guesses. The winner receives a giftcard from Starbucks (a $10 value!). Or, if you're really really against the giant mariner woman who is going to take over the world with her flavorfully warm caffeinated beverages, we can get you something else (still a $10 value!).

How to enter: click on the comments link at the bottom of this post. Leave a comment with your guesses for:

Date	50 points
AM or PM	15 points
Time (12 hr clock)	within 60 min: 25 points, within 30 min: 35 points
Weight (in lbs & oz)	within 1 lb: 20 points, within 3 oz: 40 points
Height (in in.)	15 points
Hair color	10 points

Bonus: for the adventurous, you can put 45 points on the line and guess the gender as male (knowing the ultrasound tech has said otherwise). Guess boy and end up right, you get 45 extra points. Guess boy and Ellie comes out, lose 45 points from what you have.

The person with the most points wins! Your guess must vary from everybody else's in at least one category.

The deadline for the pool is November 15th of 2006 so get your guesses in now!

Here's what we know: the 'official' due date is Dec 2. We've had multiple doctors pontificate that Little One is indeed a girl. This pregnancy Stephanie has been craving: bagels and cream cheese, fish, and coffee. Lizzie was over a week late and induced. Lizzie was born with dark, dark hair and was very petite.

Leave your guesses in the comments. And as always, if you leave your name as anonymous, your submission will be stricken from the record and you will be seriously made fun of.

Ellie Update

I know we haven't been keeping everyone up to date on the many prenatal doctor's visits for our little Ellie, so I decided to update you all today.

Today was the 26 week appointment (can you believe it! 26 weeks already which means in around 14 weeks our little Ellie will be here!). At todays appointment I took the glucose test which showed that I do not have gestational diabetes, which is great. We also got to hear her heart beat, and boy did it beat. It was really loud. Finally Dr. Fisher measured my big belly and said everything looks great.

A nice simple, almost boring doctors visit, just the way we like it. So all is well and Ellie is growing as she should. Though I must say that she has a kick that far exceeds Lizzie's when Lizzie was at this point. I hope that doesn't mean that she is going to be that much more active once she is here since I already have one ball of non-stop energy. Oh well. I guess for that we will just have to wait and see.

Lizzie on the Pot

The other day I was doing dishes while Lizzie played with the pots and pans. All of a sudden the room went from being filled with sounds of banging metal to eirie silence, and then a screach from a small child who found that pots and pans are great fun right up until you get stuck:

The Lizzie in the Cupboard

Lizzie was playing in the kitchen (as usual) tonight. I looked down and yelled for Steph to get the camera. Here's why:

Like her Auntie Maria

(What is about to follow is an approximation of what occured last night, July 31st, 2006. Since I was not present, some details may have been fudged. Pardon the pun. You'll see...)

So I come home last night to my wife and my mother (who is over for dinner) with incredible smirks on their faces. Perhaps incredulous is a better word.

Steph: "Figured out how your daughter takes after your sister."
Allen: "What, writing with poop all over the walls?"
Grandma: Chuckles "No, but close."
Steph: "All over the crib, all over her face, all over her body, on the floor..."
Grandma: "Even up and down on the spindles on her crib..."
Allen: Incredulous as well now... "When did this happen?"
Steph: "20 minutes ago"
Allen: "Did she not have pants on? Or did she take those off too?"
Steph: "I was doing laundry, so I just thought, 'Oh, it'll be okay this once...'"
Allen: "Ouch"
Steph: "And I went in there and she was just smiling..."
Allen: "So did you take straight to the bath?"
Steph: "When I opened the door, I was in utter disbelief. My mind tried to understand the situation, but it was struggling. I think I told myself, 'It's just chocolate, yeah, that's it...' I called for your mom and she came in and laughed..."
Grandma: "Yeah, I could tell by her voice that Lizzie wasn't hurt or anything, but I could tell I needed to get there... and then..."
Steph: "I picked Lizzie up and Mom started the bath for me and then she worked on Lizzie's room and crib while I washed off Lizzie. I don't know what I would have done if your mom wasn't here."

And so the story went. The next five to ten minutes were spent repeating the story from various angles, adding in new details here and there as they came. All mixed with laughter and simple incredulity.

Mom, we are very glad you came over yesterday. Your help was indispensable.

Maria, like auntie, like niece... :-)