Monday, May 30, 2011

Ti-ti, Up, and No

May 30- We went to the Monona Memorial Day parade this year.  It was E's first Memorial Day parade.  She enjoyed most of it, there was music, a whole section of dogs, kids walking and throwing candy (although she didn't collect any), veterans, and old cars.  The only thing she didn't really like was when the fire trucks beeped their horns.  We spent the whole parade at the edge of the road, with E often actually sitting in the street.  It was the most dirty she's ever been.  After the parade we had lunch at Grandma and Grandpa M's house and then went home and played.

We also had a parenting milestone at bath time today, it was E's first "accident" in the tub, bath time was cut short for some cleaning!

E has known how to say "no" for a while now, but today she really had it working for her.  She vetoed several outfits and chanted "no" for most of the car ride to the parade.

May 29- E isn't trying to climb the coffee table, or practicing her high kicks.  We went to the zoo on the 28th, and she got a pack of zoo animal trading cards.  She learned that if you stepped on the card with bare feet, the card stuck and you could move it around the room.  So, here she is, getting a card to stick.  You can see it on her foot.  Since it rained all day today we took E mall walking to get some of the wild out.  She had a great time, and even got to play in the toy-ride ambulance.

E also learned to connect "up" to going up the stairs.  She climbed the stairs with me three times and said "up" each time she went up a step.

May 28- Our zoo is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, and Saturday was the kick off.  So we took E.  The zoo was absolutely packed, but we got to ride on the carousel, and get a piece of birthday cake.  E even ate her own mini-cupcake!  It was her first time actually eating a sweet.  We had some flashbacks to a trip to the zoo last summer, when she was about four months old.  For one, she was wearing the same outfit (a new sunhat though) and last summer's was the first time we took E to the zoo when she was awake.  E's favorite part of the zoo was the polar bear, it says "wooo woooo."

May 27- Here is E and her dad looking at momma's ti-ti (pretty) flowers.  E walked around the yard pointing out the ti-ti flowers for both her dad and I.  She doesn't have a real favorite, although the pink geranium is high on her list.  We are working on having gentle hands when we touch flowers.  That isn't coming along as well as ti-ti.  Now, we just need to teach her to say Titi the next time she sees her Titi Willy!

May 26- All packed up and ready to go to Grandma's house.  E was such a good helper getting all her things together, although she is carrying my lunch, not hers.  Duck Duck goes along each Thursday for company.  Today, Uncle Ted was around to play too, and they went to story time at the bookstore, and to play at the Ba.  E also went to the hardware store, but didn't want to go, she screamed the entire time.  I think she just likes to remind us she has opinions sometimes.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

May 25- E's love of using a fork is clear here, as she tries to eat soup with a fork.  She and I shared dinner tonight, and she stirred my soup frequently, she also refused any bites with a spoon.  This was her second day in the one year old room at daycare and they certainly wear her out.  She was asleep at 7:30 tonight one of her earliest in a long time

May 24- E and Grandpa at the "ba." Ba is E's go to word it currently means button, ball, bottle, book, and playground.  The meanings are all very specific and she uses it correctly when she talks about those things.  As soon as he gets to Grandma and Grandpa's she starts asking to go to the ba.  Today was also a big day, it was E's first in the one year old classroom.  She's leaving her beloved Miss. Chris, so her dad and I are anxious to see how it goes.  To top that off, today Uncle Ted came to visit, E warmed up to him quickly and even let her uncle play ba with her.

May 23- We took E for new shoes today and learned that she knows how to make vroom vroom noises when she drives cars.  I was pretty excited with this new skill, I've been trying to teach her it for a while now.  She also got to play at the library where she colored a picture and tried to put together a puzzle. 

 May 22- This was another big day for E, she and I went to the Sassy Cow creamery open house with her friend A and her parents.  The girls had a wonderful, they got to see cows (according to E, cows say "wooo wooo"), play farmer, try ice cream (E refused), play in a field, and color pictures.  E loved the farmer play station and would have stayed there all afternoon, her favorite was pretending to milk a cow and collecting the "milk" in a plastic bottle.  I didn't have my camera at the creamery, but fortunately our friends took pictures. 

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Second road trip

May 21- We visited Minnesota this weekend and got to visit with lots of friends and family.  We had breakfast with Uncle Nate, who got to see E eat with a fork for the first time.  We then got to go swimming with Titi Willy and her daughter who showed E how to splash and play in the pool.  In the evening we went to a reunion with some of my friends from college, their little girl had this bubble lawn mower which was a favorite will all the kids.  E made sure she got lots of turns.

May 20- This was the first day of our road trip to Minnesota, we left at night so that E would sleep in the car.  She woke up after two hours so we stopped at the Black River Falls Perkins where E played with the table display and had a little snack, we learned that she still doesn't like ice cream, and she also doesn't like pie.  After the stop she cried the entire rest of the way to Woodbury, MN.
May 19- E is eating orzo pasta, it is her new favorite food.  She insists on feeding herself which is a huge mess.  As she gets more and more independent about eating, she has to have more and more bowls.  I'm not sure why.  Although it has taught her to say bowl!


May 18- In the last week or two E has become determined to eat with a fork, not the plastic kid forks we got for her, but with a full size grown up fork.  She's pretty good at it,  but it is difficult to get the food all the way to her mouth on such a long fork.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011




May 17- A tired little girl, she took her nap too early at daycare today, and was worn out for most of the evening.  She and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to play so that Dad could get ready for a house showing tomorrow.  E got to go down the slide, which she loved, I tried to teach her to say "weeee" when going down, but I'm not sure it worked. E also has a new habit, she sleeps with her blankie, duck, and her other duck (actually a monkey)

May 16- E is helping to clean.  Usually she uses a rag to wipe the floor, but today she got her hands on the swiffer.  She ran around the house with it, and didn't actually hit anyone or anything!  E also got to go Mall walking with Grandma and Grandpa in order to let us get ready for a house showing.  You can see that E's toys have been moved out, I wonder what she thinks about it.

May 15- We went to dad's cousin's graduation in Brookfield, Wis. today, so here is Miss e in her party dress.  She and I didn't go to the ceremony, we played at a playground with a four year old named Sam, E was smitten.  Sam taught her how to go down slides, how to climb up things, and how to find the best woodchips.  After the park, we joined the family for a reception and dinner out.  E was perfect at dinner, running around the mostly empty restaurant and eating a plate of macaroni and cheese, she impressed everyone with the mac and cheese!

May 14- E is showing off her bed roll.  This is what she naps on a daycare and we are always amazed that they can get her to hold still long enough to fall asleep.  So, just to see what would happen, I unrolled it at home and she went right over and laid down for about 20 seconds.  She's also holding one of her new sippy cups, she got two new ones, and they are a huge hit!

Friday, May 13, 2011

May 13- I always tell people that E and I share everything food, cell phones, regular telephones, cups, and anything else I have that E decides she needs.  Today was no different, E unpacked my lunch bag and carried both the bag, and my baggie of crasins around for most of the evening.  She puts the lunch bag over her arm like a purse, its very sweet.  Also today our little Belly learned where her belly is.  She can now point our her nose, toes, and belly!

May 12- E spent the day with Gramma today, and in the afternoon, Grandpa took her to the playground.  When I came to get her after work, they were standing near these tulips, but needed an extra person to get the picture.  I was surprised that E wasn't interested in touching the flowers at all, she mostly just wanted to run around.

May 11- We celebrated mother's day with Grandma and Grandpa N tonight, E's toy box is in the right hand corner of this picture.  The first thing she got out was this puzzle, and the next was this empty tube she plays with.  She put all the puzzle pieces in the tube and then used it as a noise maker.  I guess she has a little bit to go before she is good at puzzles.  She also tried cherry pie for the first time, it was not a hit.

May 10- Tonight at dinner E finished a whole tub of Gerber baby purees for only the second or third time in her entire life!  We were so excited that we had to take her picture with it.  Here she is chewing on the tub. 

May 9- Today one of E's friends came over and they played ghost together.  They had the best time playing under E's blanket like it was a parachute.  The girls would giggle, and hug each other when the blanket would move.  It was so cute to watch. Although the girls are friends, it always takes them a little while to warm up to each other.  E is much more outgoing and more wild then her friend, and her friend is usually a little intimidated when she first arrives.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day

May 8- For mother's day today Grandpa M and Dad made lunch for three moms, great Gramma, Grandma M, and me.  E ran around on the grass at Grandma and Grandpa's something that she is still practicing.  She doesn't do as well with uneven ground as she does with cement.  We also went to Michael's Frozen Custard for a free sundae, e got a wafer cone, which she loved.  She actually ate the whole thing! 


May 7- E and her Dad went to Free Comic Book Day today with the members of the Comic Book Club.  E also got to go out for lunch with the club.  Last year, the club named her their mascot, and she didn't disappoint this year.  E is dressed as a superhero, she's the Hulk, with her green shirt, and purple pants that rip open.

After I got home from work we all went for a walk and E got to run around the high school football field.  She loved playing with the orange field marking cones.

May 6- These two tooth brushes have proven to be quite a bit of fun.  The one on the right is E's, and even though we haven't opened it yet its been great for chewing on.  The weather was so nice tonight that E got to play on the swings with her friend A.  Both girls liked getting outside and seemed to love feeling the wind blow their hair.

May 5- E is throwing a tantrum here.  At this point, we find them adorable, ask us in a few months though.  The tantrums tend to come when she is tired and are caused by her dad or I taking something away that she wants (usually its something she's not supposed to have in the first place).  She throws herself to the floor and cries for 5-10 seconds, she then gets up, gives a hug, and then goes about playing.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

High 5, dancing, and climbing



May 4-  For the last couple of days E has been setting her piano to automatic play and insisting that we dance with her.  Her dad is her favorite dance partner, but I'll do in a pinch.  She insists on three to four songs per dance session, and claps and giggles the whole time.

May 3- E has learned to climb, she can go up and down the stairs, and she's figured out how to climb up on this chair.  Once up, she likes to stand backwards, bounce a little bit, and look behind the head cushion.  She has also been carrying around these two bottles of water for the last couple of days, mostly she shakes them, and sometimes has a little drink.


May 2- Was another mama and E day, we did some more bird watching, here I've distracted her from the cardinal.  She's was teething pretty hard this day, and spent a lot of time chewing, no new teeth yet.

May 1- E learned to high five today while I was at work.  She insisted on getting many high fives, and would hold her hand out until she got the five!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Baby birder!

In the past few days E has discovered a new activity, bird watching!  A few weeks ago we bought bird seed that was supposed to bring us a mix of colorful birds, and they've finally started arriving.   Her favorite are the house finches and cardinals because the red is easy to spot.  Today's yellow finch was actually not the hit we expected.

The one problem E has with bird watching is that the birds aren't always there when you want to look at them.  But, the bird feeder has helped keep her in her highchair during meal times, which is a huge plus.

April 29- E is pointing at the feeder, there weren't any bird there this time

April 28-  E is reading one of our bird books.  We have two with color pictures, and she loves looking at them. She even turns the pages carefully on her own.