Eliza didn't take a nap this afternoon, so she was nodding off while eating puffs before dinner tonight. Of course her Mommy found it adorable and just had to get it on video.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Eliza is 10-months-old.
Our sweet, funny and genuinely cool baby girl turned 10-months-old today. She was born last summer and here we are in summer again. In two brief months from now and we'll have ourselves a kid with a full year of life experience under her belt. Here's what Eliza can do now that she couldn't do last month.
-She crawls and cruises like a champ. She can walk from one side of the room to the other as long as she has enough furniture to steady herself.
-She can drink an entire bottle on her own without having to have me recline her to finish it.
-She just started taking baths in the big tub.
-She will eat almost any baby food we give her, and she's starting to try more grown-up food. This month she tried watermelon and iced tea for the first time.
-She's babbling up a storm and says DADADADADADADADA constantly. She's beginning to realize that it actually means Daddy.
-Her top left tooth is poking through. Good thing we just started brushing with her brand new Hello Kitty toothbrush.
-She tries really hard to wave, but sometimes it's a delayed reaction. Someone will wave at her and she'll wave 5 minutes later. She also randomly waves during the day or waves at the TV or computer screens.
Last night we went to the drive-in again and took a few pictures. As much as we love watching a movie under the stars, the movie we saw was terrible. Eliza sat and watched the whole movie like a big girl. She even sat still and ate puffs out of my hand most of the time. So big.
Here are a few pictures of Eliza's first bath in the big tub, our trip to the movies and, of course, this month's Raggedy Ann picture.
-She crawls and cruises like a champ. She can walk from one side of the room to the other as long as she has enough furniture to steady herself.
-She can drink an entire bottle on her own without having to have me recline her to finish it.
-She just started taking baths in the big tub.
-She will eat almost any baby food we give her, and she's starting to try more grown-up food. This month she tried watermelon and iced tea for the first time.
-She's babbling up a storm and says DADADADADADADADA constantly. She's beginning to realize that it actually means Daddy.
-Her top left tooth is poking through. Good thing we just started brushing with her brand new Hello Kitty toothbrush.
-She tries really hard to wave, but sometimes it's a delayed reaction. Someone will wave at her and she'll wave 5 minutes later. She also randomly waves during the day or waves at the TV or computer screens.
Last night we went to the drive-in again and took a few pictures. As much as we love watching a movie under the stars, the movie we saw was terrible. Eliza sat and watched the whole movie like a big girl. She even sat still and ate puffs out of my hand most of the time. So big.
Here are a few pictures of Eliza's first bath in the big tub, our trip to the movies and, of course, this month's Raggedy Ann picture.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Eliza's Summer Fun
Eliza went swimming outside for the first time today. She absolutely loved it. We had a fun afternoon hanging out with my old friend Lyssa and her adorable son Ryder.
Yesterday our neighbors were nice enough to share some watermelon with us, so Eliza had some for a snack. Enjoy these videos of our summer fun.
This week Eliza has made great progress on the road to walking. She can cruise anywhere there's a piece of furniture to steady herself with. She always gets a little too ambitious when trying to change pieces of furniture and lets go too soon. This usually leads to abruptly falling on her rear. Luckily Eliza fears nothing, so she just picks herself up and tries again.
She's also become a human vacuum cleaner. She'll find pieces of food we dropped months ago hiding under furniture, etc. She always manages to find a months-old puff and shove it in her mouth before I can stop her. Thankfully the incidents seem few and far between and have been isolated to food and not other, more dangerous objects.
Our little baby is doing so well. I can't believe she'll be 10-months-old on Sunday.
Yesterday our neighbors were nice enough to share some watermelon with us, so Eliza had some for a snack. Enjoy these videos of our summer fun.
This week Eliza has made great progress on the road to walking. She can cruise anywhere there's a piece of furniture to steady herself with. She always gets a little too ambitious when trying to change pieces of furniture and lets go too soon. This usually leads to abruptly falling on her rear. Luckily Eliza fears nothing, so she just picks herself up and tries again.
She's also become a human vacuum cleaner. She'll find pieces of food we dropped months ago hiding under furniture, etc. She always manages to find a months-old puff and shove it in her mouth before I can stop her. Thankfully the incidents seem few and far between and have been isolated to food and not other, more dangerous objects.
Our little baby is doing so well. I can't believe she'll be 10-months-old on Sunday.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Eliza's 9 month doctor visit
Eliza went to her 9 month check-up on Tuesday. We were initially really irritated because her doctor's office changed her appointment and then never called us to tell us they'd rescheduled her. They did work her in, but I think this just underscores our resolve to find Eliza new pediatrician soon.
Eliza has grown to 28 1/4 inches tall, which is 60-something percentile, and 22lbs. 5oz, which is 90th percentile. So, not quite as tall for her age, but still just slightly less heavy. We were told to give her at least 3 bottles a day, with a goal to have her totally off of bottles and onto sippy cups by 12 months. Still no milk, eggs or nuts. So I guess cake is out. Bummer.
After the doctor, we went to Babiesaurus to get a babyproofing item we really, really need. Since Eliza has started pulling up on furniture and attempting to cruise, she's bumped her head on the table a couple of times. We decided it was finally time to get corner guards. It was either that or a helmet. We decided the table bumpers would be more attractive (but only slightly). Eliza loves the bumpers, but perhaps too much. Check out this video we took Tuesday night.
Eliza has grown to 28 1/4 inches tall, which is 60-something percentile, and 22lbs. 5oz, which is 90th percentile. So, not quite as tall for her age, but still just slightly less heavy. We were told to give her at least 3 bottles a day, with a goal to have her totally off of bottles and onto sippy cups by 12 months. Still no milk, eggs or nuts. So I guess cake is out. Bummer.
After the doctor, we went to Babiesaurus to get a babyproofing item we really, really need. Since Eliza has started pulling up on furniture and attempting to cruise, she's bumped her head on the table a couple of times. We decided it was finally time to get corner guards. It was either that or a helmet. We decided the table bumpers would be more attractive (but only slightly). Eliza loves the bumpers, but perhaps too much. Check out this video we took Tuesday night.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Because I promised...
...I'm writing about the Kings Island trip as well. (It's hard to stay motivated to write here when I spend all day writing for a living. Gotta work on that.)
Kings Island was probably the best park experience I've ever had, honestly. I've now done: Disney World; Six Flags St. Louis; the late, great Opryland USA; Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom; and Kings Island. Kings Island is the clear No. 1, with SFSTL running second.
The day at the park started with having to park halfway to Akron. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the danger of showing up at a park after lunch.
Once we made the epic trek into the park, we were immediately bombarded with people wielding cameras. I did manage to get the picture of Eliza with Spongebob while they were also documenting it for the low, low price of $14.99 per refrigerator magnet.
Following the First Law of Avoiding Crowds, we went left and ended up at Drop Tower, a ride I would normally pass up. Janie talked me into starting off the day with it, though, so I jumped on the fairly short line.
While I was in line, though, the wet stuff started to come down a bit. By the time I was actually strapped in on the tower, it was becoming noticeable. As we rode to the top of the tower (and let me tell you, that's a long ride) we actually moved through a band of rain and ended up in a dry zone until they dropped us.
About five minutes after I got off Drop Zone, as I headed down the eight miles of queue that leads to Flight Deck, I met a group coming back who said they had just shut the ride down. The rain was still extremely light at this point, but off in the distance was a dark cloud that would be the bane of our existence for the next three hours.
Since most rides were closed, we headed toward Nickelodeon Universe to keep Eliza amused (and because that's where Janie prefers to start her park visits.) The rain had yet to close the carousel, so Eliza and Janie took a twirl while I manned the video camera and guarded the stuff.
After the carousel, we took Eliza to meet her favorite Latino child star, Dora la Exploradora. Then, it was back around the kids' area to look around until... the heavens opened.
We spent the next 90 minutes, at least, huddled inside or near a merch stand, trying to stay dry, eating a $2 bag of pretzels and drinking a $4 bottle of Coke Zero (the pretzels, oddly, were regular price. Strange,) and waiting on the rain to slacken or stop. At one point, Eliza tried to shoplift a stuffed animal by grabbing it when we weren't looking.
Finally, though, the rain let up enough for us to move, so we headed back toward International Street while we debated calling the day a washout. The rain started to pick back up, so we piled into Skyline Chili to wait and see what happened.
The rain did eventually begin to stop, which meant it was time to head back out and wait for the test runs to start going. We happened up on Vortex getting ready to open, so I jumped in line and was one of the first out after it restarted.
Now, it's important to remember that, while I'm strapped into the front car of a very high-speed coaster, this is the first time I've been on a coaster in close to five years. I'm also older, heavier and in generally worse shape (that shape being round.)
I got a little blurry while on Vortex. Nothing major, just a little tunnel vision during a particularly high-G turn, but still, scary for someone who's been on high-speed coasters with no problems in the past.
I blame most of it on trying to compensate for neck muscles that aren't quite as strong as they used to be (witness the tension headache I had all evening as we went home.)
After Vortex and a quick trip through the Backlot Stunt Coaster (ehh), it was off to get in line for what was one of my main attractions: The Beast. I've made it a life goal to ride the 10 fastest wooden coasters in the United States, since I love wooden coasters so much.
As seems to befall me every time I'm in line for a coaster I'm dying to ride, though, the rains returned. Light at first, but enough to shut the ride down and leave everyone in line with a choice: bail and give up your spot or ride it out and move up.
I took a (correct) bet that the rain would move back out, and stayed. That meant that 90 minutes later when they got the all-clear, I was on the second train out after the ride check. As I prefer to do on woodies, I went to the last car and was tail-end Charlie.
The Beast is an amazing thing. It's long, fast and with three tunnels, has multiple "headchopper" moments. The best part, though, was bursting out of a pitch-black tunnel into an uphill right-hander in brilliant, dazzling sunlight. Almost a religious experience at 65 mph.
After getting off The Beast, I was refreshed just in time for perfect weather, so I hit the almost-vacant Racer to cross another coaster off the top-10 list. Still need to ride the red side for completeness, but I was glad to get this one in. Had to ride the first car instead of the back, but still got it in.
I followed up Racer with a successful visit to the nine acres of railing that is the Flight Deck queue. Honestly, I almost could have stayed on after my ride, it was so empty. Flight Deck, by the way, is about 30 seconds (and a coat of paint) away from being a great coaster. As it is, it's too short.
After Flight Deck was the No. 1 coaster on the list: Son of Beast. 78.3 mph of wooden fury, combined with a neck-stretching "Rose Bowl" double helix. Again, I was tail-end Charlie and loved every bone-rattling second of it.
By this point, it was getting later in the day and the line for Diamondback was getting longer, so we swung by Invertigo, which was the last coaster of the day. Had a scary moment when, on the backwards ascent at the start, my harness needed another click to be tight and I was having to push myself back against the seat until we took off and the G-forces would push me down enough to click it. Got it latched tight, though, and I loved the rest of it.
So, since Janie and I had so much fun, we're going back for her birthday. We're going to spend all day July 4 at the park, from open until fireworks. To make sure we get everything in, we're going on a "coaster diet" to shed a little weight for comfort on some of the tighter seats (I'm looking at you, Vortex) and so we feel better walking all day. We're also going to get a "parent swap pass" at the front gate so we can trade off riding and watching Eliza without having to stand in line twice.
Man, this was long. Here are two videos to make this post even longer on the page:
Kings Island was probably the best park experience I've ever had, honestly. I've now done: Disney World; Six Flags St. Louis; the late, great Opryland USA; Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom; and Kings Island. Kings Island is the clear No. 1, with SFSTL running second.
The day at the park started with having to park halfway to Akron. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the danger of showing up at a park after lunch.
Once we made the epic trek into the park, we were immediately bombarded with people wielding cameras. I did manage to get the picture of Eliza with Spongebob while they were also documenting it for the low, low price of $14.99 per refrigerator magnet.
Following the First Law of Avoiding Crowds, we went left and ended up at Drop Tower, a ride I would normally pass up. Janie talked me into starting off the day with it, though, so I jumped on the fairly short line.
While I was in line, though, the wet stuff started to come down a bit. By the time I was actually strapped in on the tower, it was becoming noticeable. As we rode to the top of the tower (and let me tell you, that's a long ride) we actually moved through a band of rain and ended up in a dry zone until they dropped us.
About five minutes after I got off Drop Zone, as I headed down the eight miles of queue that leads to Flight Deck, I met a group coming back who said they had just shut the ride down. The rain was still extremely light at this point, but off in the distance was a dark cloud that would be the bane of our existence for the next three hours.
Since most rides were closed, we headed toward Nickelodeon Universe to keep Eliza amused (and because that's where Janie prefers to start her park visits.) The rain had yet to close the carousel, so Eliza and Janie took a twirl while I manned the video camera and guarded the stuff.
After the carousel, we took Eliza to meet her favorite Latino child star, Dora la Exploradora. Then, it was back around the kids' area to look around until... the heavens opened.
We spent the next 90 minutes, at least, huddled inside or near a merch stand, trying to stay dry, eating a $2 bag of pretzels and drinking a $4 bottle of Coke Zero (the pretzels, oddly, were regular price. Strange,) and waiting on the rain to slacken or stop. At one point, Eliza tried to shoplift a stuffed animal by grabbing it when we weren't looking.
Finally, though, the rain let up enough for us to move, so we headed back toward International Street while we debated calling the day a washout. The rain started to pick back up, so we piled into Skyline Chili to wait and see what happened.
The rain did eventually begin to stop, which meant it was time to head back out and wait for the test runs to start going. We happened up on Vortex getting ready to open, so I jumped in line and was one of the first out after it restarted.
Now, it's important to remember that, while I'm strapped into the front car of a very high-speed coaster, this is the first time I've been on a coaster in close to five years. I'm also older, heavier and in generally worse shape (that shape being round.)
I got a little blurry while on Vortex. Nothing major, just a little tunnel vision during a particularly high-G turn, but still, scary for someone who's been on high-speed coasters with no problems in the past.
I blame most of it on trying to compensate for neck muscles that aren't quite as strong as they used to be (witness the tension headache I had all evening as we went home.)
After Vortex and a quick trip through the Backlot Stunt Coaster (ehh), it was off to get in line for what was one of my main attractions: The Beast. I've made it a life goal to ride the 10 fastest wooden coasters in the United States, since I love wooden coasters so much.
As seems to befall me every time I'm in line for a coaster I'm dying to ride, though, the rains returned. Light at first, but enough to shut the ride down and leave everyone in line with a choice: bail and give up your spot or ride it out and move up.
I took a (correct) bet that the rain would move back out, and stayed. That meant that 90 minutes later when they got the all-clear, I was on the second train out after the ride check. As I prefer to do on woodies, I went to the last car and was tail-end Charlie.
The Beast is an amazing thing. It's long, fast and with three tunnels, has multiple "headchopper" moments. The best part, though, was bursting out of a pitch-black tunnel into an uphill right-hander in brilliant, dazzling sunlight. Almost a religious experience at 65 mph.
After getting off The Beast, I was refreshed just in time for perfect weather, so I hit the almost-vacant Racer to cross another coaster off the top-10 list. Still need to ride the red side for completeness, but I was glad to get this one in. Had to ride the first car instead of the back, but still got it in.
I followed up Racer with a successful visit to the nine acres of railing that is the Flight Deck queue. Honestly, I almost could have stayed on after my ride, it was so empty. Flight Deck, by the way, is about 30 seconds (and a coat of paint) away from being a great coaster. As it is, it's too short.
After Flight Deck was the No. 1 coaster on the list: Son of Beast. 78.3 mph of wooden fury, combined with a neck-stretching "Rose Bowl" double helix. Again, I was tail-end Charlie and loved every bone-rattling second of it.
By this point, it was getting later in the day and the line for Diamondback was getting longer, so we swung by Invertigo, which was the last coaster of the day. Had a scary moment when, on the backwards ascent at the start, my harness needed another click to be tight and I was having to push myself back against the seat until we took off and the G-forces would push me down enough to click it. Got it latched tight, though, and I loved the rest of it.
So, since Janie and I had so much fun, we're going back for her birthday. We're going to spend all day July 4 at the park, from open until fireworks. To make sure we get everything in, we're going on a "coaster diet" to shed a little weight for comfort on some of the tighter seats (I'm looking at you, Vortex) and so we feel better walking all day. We're also going to get a "parent swap pass" at the front gate so we can trade off riding and watching Eliza without having to stand in line twice.
Man, this was long. Here are two videos to make this post even longer on the page:
Monday, June 15, 2009
....and the rest of the weekend.
This is my husband. He's smiling because I woke up yesterday morning and decided to reward him with a trip to Kings Island. It rained, it sunned, we laughed, we nearly cried, but we had a great time.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The weekend so far...
We decided that we were going to have a relaxing weekend. So far, so good. Yes, I knocked whatever kind of Target furniture particle board this desk is made of.
Last night, Aunt Cheryl and Eliza's cousin Bransen came over and we played a couple of games. Today we watched some TV, hung around the house, grilled some steaks and went to walk at the park.
We managed to capture a few pictures of fun moments we've had lately. Thought we'd share.
Last night, Aunt Cheryl and Eliza's cousin Bransen came over and we played a couple of games. Today we watched some TV, hung around the house, grilled some steaks and went to walk at the park.
We managed to capture a few pictures of fun moments we've had lately. Thought we'd share.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Eliza visits Daddy's office
Yesterday was a particularly fun day. I've been doing a lot of baking lately and just recently decided to try my hand at baking and decorating cakes. My first attempt was a congratulatory cake for Brian's new editor. I'm told it tasted better than it looks, although, that's not half bad for my first attempt at decorating a cake. Ever.
We took the cake to Brian's office and Eliza had fun typing at his keyboard. Doesn't she look like a little cub reporter?
If you're interested in reading more about my baking exploits, visit my baking blog.
Right here!
We took the cake to Brian's office and Eliza had fun typing at his keyboard. Doesn't she look like a little cub reporter?
If you're interested in reading more about my baking exploits, visit my baking blog.
Right here!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Eliza's first video game
I thought Eliza might like to play some Mario, but the old Nintendo isn't hooked up. Brian decided to show her some Sonic instead. You'll see that she's trying to move the analog stick on her own. She's a natural.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Eliza stands up!
I didn't witness it, since I was at work, but I got a call this morning that Eliza successfully pulled herself up on her baby pen to better watch educational programming.
Janie said the biggest problem was that she couldn't find a way to sit back down.
Tomorrow is Janie's heart cath, so I'm taking advantage of having to work Saturday to have tomorrow off to be there.
Janie said the biggest problem was that she couldn't find a way to sit back down.
Tomorrow is Janie's heart cath, so I'm taking advantage of having to work Saturday to have tomorrow off to be there.
Monday, June 1, 2009
More on our mini vacation and Eliza's first movie!
For Memorial Day we went to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg with Brian's Mom and his sister. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we managed to get in a game of miniature golf and some swimming in the indoor pool. Mostly, we just chilled in the hotel room and got some R&R. Here are some pictures.
We've had a bit of a crazy week. I had some medical tests that turned out a little yucky last week, so the end of this week is going to bring a cardiac catheterization. Yikes! Scary stuff. We're hoping for good news, so keep your fingers crossed for me.
In the meantime, we've been enjoying some family time together. Last night we went to the drive-in to see Up and see Star Trek for the second time. The first movie was cute, but wasn't as fantastic as everyone seemed to say. The drive-in is such a cool, retro place to go and hang out. Last night was a little chilly, but it couldn't have been a more beautiful night to be out on a blanket under the stars enjoying a movie with your family. Eliza had a bit of a freakout when she got sleepy, but we managed to put her in the car seat to sleep as we sat in the front and enjoyed the second film.
Brian was excited because Eliza looks poised to be a car enthusiast like her Dad and Poppa. Here's a little video from our trip to the drive-in last night.
We've had a bit of a crazy week. I had some medical tests that turned out a little yucky last week, so the end of this week is going to bring a cardiac catheterization. Yikes! Scary stuff. We're hoping for good news, so keep your fingers crossed for me.
In the meantime, we've been enjoying some family time together. Last night we went to the drive-in to see Up and see Star Trek for the second time. The first movie was cute, but wasn't as fantastic as everyone seemed to say. The drive-in is such a cool, retro place to go and hang out. Last night was a little chilly, but it couldn't have been a more beautiful night to be out on a blanket under the stars enjoying a movie with your family. Eliza had a bit of a freakout when she got sleepy, but we managed to put her in the car seat to sleep as we sat in the front and enjoyed the second film.
Brian was excited because Eliza looks poised to be a car enthusiast like her Dad and Poppa. Here's a little video from our trip to the drive-in last night.
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