Fun in the sun!

Ella Beth's first lake weekend was fun, but a lot of work!  I am a little anxious about our week vacation in Daytona now that I have first hand experience how difficult it is to keep a little one occupied, happy, and safe out in the sun and water all day.  My favorite part, of course, was Ella Beth's bathing suit debut.  She had to have a wardrobe change mid-day so that we could all see her in BOTH of her summer suits!  Ella Beth had a great time playing with her cousin, Kaitlin.  Scott's parents, sister Karla and her husband Greg, Kaitlin, sister Jamie and her boyfriend Scott all joined us up at my mom's.  We enjoyed a nice long boat ride while both of the girls took in a nap.        Ella Beth also enjoyed herself in the dock swings that my mom has.  Can you believe the muscles in my daughter's arms???  It's because she uses them all the time! 

I was brave enough to venture out in my bathing suit, but kept myself covered most of the time.  I think I may have waited too long to find a tankini because I can't find on in my size any where.  Oh well.  I'll just keep a cover-up on while at Daytona...or, I can wear my bathing suit down there because those people will never see me again!  Here's the only picture of Ella Beth and me from the weekend.  I love taking pictures, but it's rare that I get in one with her.  You can see that she had her wardrobe change!  And, of course, another picture with Daddy.  Such fun! 

Crusin' Around

Ella Beth is up and ready to go...walking that is!  She is perfecting the art of "crusing" around furniture.  She loves to go back and forth between her crib and rocker in her nursery.  In the living room she totters back and forth from the outside of her exersaucer, to Daddy's chair, and then to his ottoman.  She has actually taken up to 3 steps at a time on her own this week, too!!!  Ella Beth's fiesty side is starting to come out with her new found mobility.  She will definitely let you know if she doesn't like something.  Sitting, for instance.  Now that she has seen the world from a different view point, she has decided that higher is better.  If someone tries to sit her down to rest her tiny legs, oh boy - she doesn't like that!  She will reach out her hands and get very frustrated until someone helps her up (or puts her next to something that she can pull up on).  It is just so funny that this baby is turning into a little person with quite a personality! 

Another funny trait that Ella Beth is showing would be her "goofy face."  Of course, she is overly encouraged by Mommy and Daddy to do it, but it's just so funny!  She loves to make her goofy face while she eats, and we just all laugh together.  Ella Beth knows that she is doing something funny because she will do it over and over! 

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial weekend.  For all you teachers out there...HAPPY SUMMER BREAK!  We are headed to my mom's for the weekend.  It will be Ella Beth's first official "lake experience."  We have a new hat, two adorable bathing suits, her sunglasses, plenty of sunscreen, and a little pool for the dock that will prove to bring on lots of great pictures!  Scott's parents, sister, her husband, and our neice are going to join us on Monday.  Can't wait!

4 Whole Ounces!

Who would have ever thought that 4 ounces could make someone so happy, but when Ella Beth went in for a "weigh in" today we were all happy!  She is now 14 lbs, 2 oz. :)  It's still not up to her weight in March of 14 lbs, 8 oz, but at least she is gaining and not losing weight!  Of course she is still way below the chart, but we wouldn't want her to jump up to the 50th percentile in two weeks!  Speaking of "the chart," I have done quite a bit of research in the last couple of weeks in regard to it and what I found was pretty interesting.  Did you know that the Growth Chart that is used in the United States is based soley on formula-fed babies?  In Europe, they have two growth charts - one for formula-fed babies and one for those who are breast-fed.  Why don't we?  That's a good question, and it is actually somewhat of a hot topic in the world of pediatricians these days.  Ella Beth is still "under" the chart for breast-fed babies, but not quite as much.  In doing my research I found that I am not nearly as concerned as I was.  Scott is very lean, I am petite, so it's really no surprise that our little girl is a little squirt!  She's healthy, growing (smarter and cuter :) every day, and is happy.  What more could we ask for?! 

Mother's Day and Brushing Teeth

My first Mother's Day was wonderful.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I may like Mother's Day even more than my birthday...which is a lot!  I absolutely love being a mommy.  Every morning when Ella Beth wakes me up (somewhere between 5:30-6:30), I walk to her room with my eyes barely open and think, "I wish she would sleep longer."  However, the moment I open her nursery door, I honestly feel my heart wake up and long for my little girl.  When I go to pick her up, she smiles at me and claps her hands because she is so excited that mommy has come.  It's the best moment of every day! 

After church, my mom came down for Mother's Day and we all went to Scott's parents' house where the whole family (all 32 of us now) spent the day.  We ate a delicious lunch, played a game of baseball in the yard, opened gifts, and just spent time enjoying the day and one another.  After we got back home, Scott gave me my gift of five hydrangeas which are my favorite.  He planted them for me under our cedar tree where they will get plenty of shade and acidic soil.  I could not have asked for a more perfect gift!  I can't wait until they bloom so that I can cut fresh flowers and bring them inside to enjoy. :)  I don't know how to top that for Father's Day!

Well, Ella Beth has been introduced to her tooth brush.  It was quite entertaining to watch her open her mouth the first time I brushed her teeth.  She didn't know whether it was something to eat or something to play with!  I ran it under some water and gently brushed her two teeth.  Well, now she has the hang of it all on her own, and we brush our teeth together every morning.  It's so cute!  Scott caught us on the video camera, and it's funny because it looks like Ella Beth is trying to be so grown up and copy me.  I know it's just a glimpse of what's to come having a little girl who is so much like her mama! 

Little Bitty Squirt

Well, it's official...Ella Beth is a squirt.  She went to the pediatrician this morning for her check up, and she has lost 1/2 a pound since April.  Yes, I said LOST.  At 8 months she was 14 lbs, 8 oz; today she was 13 lbs, 14 oz.  Oh my word!  The doctor isn't "too worried" yet, but she has to go for a weigh-in next month to make sure she is gaining weight.  And can you believe this...I have to start counting her calories each day to take to the pediatrician b/c they may have to put her on a special nutrition diet.  Oh my word!!!  The crazy thing is that Ella Beth eats all she wants!  She is just the most active little baby, so she is burning more calories than she is taking in.  The doctor instructed me to start feeding her yogurt because it has twice the calories of a jar of baby food and some fat.  It's just weird to me b/c most babies are roly poly.  I hope that it's just petite characteristics.  If she doesn't start gaining a good amount of weight, she is going to have to go through tests and blood work to make sure nothing is wrong.  Just one more thing to worry about for the next month. 

On another note, Ella Beth is so stinking cute it takes me by surprise every day.  I love taking pictures of her when she is looking at the camera and when she's not.  The camera and video camera have to be the number one invention of all time.  I cherish the fact that I have pictures to help remind me of when she was teeny tiny b/c I just can't remember it (not that she's all that big now, right).  I have updated pictures in her Growing Up gallery for you to see.

Grammar Lesson

Anyone who knows me well, knows that my pet peeve is bad grammar.  Well, tonight is no exception.  It surprises me that even well educated people, news anchors for example, have poor grammar.  Here is my lesson for the few who will read.  Do you think I could make a copy of my 6th grade Grammar textbook and send it to them???   

The Personal Pronoun - the most common grammatical error.  Here is your lesson:  If you have a sentence with you and another person, take the other person out of the sentence to determine if you should say "me" or "I."  For example, "My favorite picture of Scott and I is on our honeymoon."  Okay, take Scott out of the sentence.  "My favorite picture of 'I' is on our honeymoon."  NO! NO! NO!  You should say "me."  Therefore, the sentence should read, "My favorite picture of Scott and me is from our honeymoon.")  I hear people make this mistake every day.  In fact, I just heard one of the Braves' announcers say:  "You can watch my partner and I make fools of ourselves."  If you take "partner" out, would you say, "You can watch 'I' make..." or "You can watch 'me' make..."?  Correct!  You should say, "You can watch my partner and me make fools of ourselves."  Now, if the sentence had read, "My partner and I will make fools of ourselves," that would be correct.  If you took "partner" out the sentence would be correct with "I" as the personal pronoun.  It's all in how you phrase it!

Yes, I'm a nerd...I'm okay with it. :) 

On a different note, my BFF :), Meredith, came to visit today with her new addition.  Jackson is a handsome little fella, and Ella Beth could barely keep her hands off of him!  They talked in the car together - both excited to talk with someone who understood their "language" I'm sure!  Mere and I had a nice time at the outlets, and a great time catching up from the last month.  It's so nice to share being a mommy with such a special friend!

Long Night

Someone please tell me that it's normal for babies to go through good and bad sleeping stages.  PLEASE!  Ella Beth slept maybe 4 hours last night...maybe.  She went to bed fine.  Woke up 30 minutes later.  Went back to bed fine.  Woke up at 11:34, and she didn't go back to sleep until almost 3 AM.  She got up this morning at 6:30.  Needless to say, Scott and I are exhausted; we are also a little concerned that something's wrong.  She didn't have a fever, but she cried a lot for a long, long time.  Is it a stage she's going through?  She'll be 9 months old on Monday...her gums aren't swollen, but could she be teething again?  I had to nurse her throughout the night (on Scott's "off shift"), but is that bad?  I did try long and hard walking her around, singing to her, rocking her; finally I tried nursing her, and it worked.  Is it bad that I gave in, or is it okay since that's what she needed?  Oh how I wish she could just tell me what's wrong.  She's asleep right now.  Thank goodness.  I'm tired, but I couldn't nap if I tried. 

Well, one bright spot in my day.  I tried on a "pre-prego" bathing suit today - bravely - and it fit.  WOW, that was a surprise.  However, there are some areas that could use some improvement before bathing suit season arrives.  I'll save that "improvement" for my spare time.  HA!  The funny thing is though, I can't decide if I want to be a bikini-girl any longer.  Does it seem inappropriate now that I'm a mommy?  Should I embrace the tank-ini? 

Okay, off to do laundry - the never-ending chore.  How you working moms get everything done is beyond me.  My applause goes out to you!

Got Peas?

It's still funny how messy Ella Beth can get at supper time.  She is usually a neat eater, but yesterday she was the complete opposite.   With a cough and a sneeze mixed in, peas were everywhere...even on Mommy!  She didn't mind, as you can tell, silly girl.   I can't believe it, but I will miss this stage once it passes.  I can honestly say that I don't mind hosing down the high chair on a daily basis.  Now, the floors are a different story. :)

I love watching Ella Beth learn new things.  She has been clapping for a while, but she always clapped the top of her left hand with her right.  Well, she has learned how to clap the traditional method now.  However, it's neat to watch her b/c she now knows when she's doing it wrong.  She will stop, look at her left hand, turn it over, and then start clapping again.  Her deliberate manner is fun to watch.  I believe her perfectionist personality is already shining through - she gets that from Mommy and Daddy. :)

Off to the mall...