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!

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.

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.

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!

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. 

Easter

April 27- E got these pop bugs for Christmas, she hasn't been too interested in them until lately.  She used to just chew on them, but now she tries to pop them together.  The only problem is that the bugs are too hard for her to pop or un-pop without help.  Bed time has become a challenge again, its taking E longer to fall asleep and she wants several stories.

April 26- E is now a stair climber, I think she learned how at daycare because in the past few days she constantly wants to climb up and down the stairs.  Grandpa M spent some time with her last week teaching her how to go down backwards, and now she knows to go backwards without anyone telling her.  She's working on learning how to carry things up with her while she crawls, which is pretty funny looking, but makes her so happy when she accomplishes it.

April 25- The weather was beautiful so E spent lots of time outdoors.  She and I went for a long walk and playtime outside. E didn't want to swing, so we spent time crawling up the steps of our neighbors.  When her dad came home she was back outside and even got to meet the mailman.

April 24- Easter Sunday.  The bunny came to our house and hid eggs for E to find.  They were filled with goldfish crackers and puffs.  E liked finding and opening the eggs.  We thought she'd love having a basket and putting the eggs in it, but it wasn't too high on her list of things to do.  We had brunch with Grandma and Grandpa N, where E tried an organic pancake and loved it, she wouldn't try the strawberries though.  Grandma N also introduced E to sugar cookies, which she was happy to eat.  We had dinner with Great Grandma, where E impressed everyone with her running and her ability to say by-bye.

Spring!

April 23- Uncle N is in town visiting for a few days for Easter, he last saw E at her birthday party, and a lot has changed since then, she can run faster and talks a whole lot more.  In fact, she told her uncle bye many, many times tonight.  She and her uncle played with her Easter Eggs, she throws them or carries them around.  She dropped them plenty and said uh-oh every time.  E also got tooth number 8 today, it sure took its time, so we were glad to see it. 

April 22- The Easter bunny came a little early to Grandma and Grandpa M's house.  The bunny brought E some socks, goldfish crackers, and new shoes.  E didn't notice her basket right away, and even when she did, she didn't seem to enjoy taking things out of it as much as I expected.  However, she did enjoy carrying the eggs around.  She also enjoyed running the loop at Grandma and Grandpa's in her new shoes.

April 21- We took E on her second road trip today.  We went to the Milwaukee Public Museum where E got to see the dinosaurs and other animals on display.  She liked the dinosaurs and her dad loved showing them to her and telling her about them.  She also liked the stuffed animals on display, and told many of them bye bye when we moved to the next exhibit.  She also really enjoyed the butterfly garden, although she was too excited for any of them to land on her.

After the Museum we headed to Brookfield to visit with her dad's uncle and cousin.  It was the first time her cousin had met her, and her uncle hadn't seen E since her baptism.  We went out to eat, and E had a hard time holding still at the restaurant. She made several attempts at escape, but we kept up with her.  She made it most of the way home without crying, about a half hour from home was her limit, but her CD saved the day.

April 20- E has taken to playing with her boppy, this is the first in a series of pictures, first she drags it to the floor, then she sits and/or stands on it, then she rolls over and lays on it, then she crawls around a little.  Then she starts the whole process over again. 

April 19- E is in the process of transitioning to the 1-2 year old room at daycare.  As part of the preparation, they are moving her nap to 11:30 and only having her take one nap.  Some days it works, other days, like this one, she slept for 40 minutes all day.  She was utterly exhausted when she got home.  We had a little snuggle time, but just for a bit since we still wanted her to sleep at night.

April 18- We are always so proud of E when she plays with this toy.  When she first got it, the noise was too loud for her and she was scared.  She's gradually warmed to it, and this day got it out for herself.  She pushed it around the house for a while, with a smile on her face.