two months, already?

It's been about two months since i started the photo journey of e's first year. unfortunately, we have had some serious issues with our pictures and our laptop since then. we have a new laptop now and our pictures seem to be working well. so, i will update the rest of the year soon. i will try to spend more time writing my own blog instead of just reading them!

for now, let me tell you about our day today. we went to the grocery store this morning after being awake all early morning and then back to sleep for an hour or two. ez woke up grumpy and yelling "eat. birds. milk. mama. dada." which continued for about an hour on and off between us each giving her any of those things. being an 18 month old babe can be very tough. but, it can be so awesome when we have days that improve like today has so far.

she dumped water all over her clothes on the car ride there but let me change her quickly in the back of the 'ru. at the grocery store, ez enjoyed naming the fruits and veggies as we shopped. she munched on a rice cake, half a strawberry and after much begging on her part, a whole banana. i bought it before she ate it. she got a bit bored in the cart, but she did enjoy pushing it around the store. in one aisle, i realized that she really wanted to be involved in the grocery shopping. so, i started handing her the items to put in the cart and she was overjoyed to toss them in. even when she needed help, she didn't get too discouraged. every toss was followed with many squeals of delight and some clapping.

we made it through the checkout line, a quick diaper change and no crying in the car ride home. a lara bar kept her company.

she helped me unload the car and put almost all of the few frozen items into the freezer. she waited patiently on the counter while her soup heated up. although she refused more than a mere lick at first, she did eventually sit in her highchair and feed herself a few bites. she ate more peas and a nibble of bread, as well. she devoured some smoothie before getting bored of the high chair. while i unloaded the dishwasher, (yes, andy will jump for joy about that!) she played peek a boo in the pantry with me. it's so nice to laugh with her and have fun instead of feeling overwhelmed by her neediness. she put away the silverware with me.

then, she tried to teach sherpa-dog to draw. she yelled, "sherpie, draw!" after plopping pen and pad down in front of him.


he eventually got bored, yawn and walked away.




then, she put away the diapers for me in her drawer after i folded them. she even helped me fold some, tried to put one on herself, let me put one on her and then threw all the remaining diapers to me so i could finish folding them. brilliant.

as she sat rubbing her eyes, i mentioned a nap and some milk. she had not nursed since 9:45amish and it was about 2:45pm. so, we headed to the bed where we read books, rolled around and laughed some more. then, finally a little nursing and a little napping. woo hoo!

watch her grow!

this blog was originally intended to be the life and times of our daughter from birth. but, well, new parents are busy so it got started many months, okay a whole year into her precious life. to help you all catch up with her, i decided to post some photos of her over the months. let's see if i can manage to keep them chronological. enjoy her brilliance!

this is the last picture of me (with a dear friend who i share the same name as!) before i was in labor. wow, my cheeks (okay, all of me!) were huge. i gained a bunch of weight during my pregnancy. my mid-wife had enough respect to never tell me to get on a scale or ask me about weight loss or weight gain. she spent an hour talking to me at each appointment instead in an effort to truly assess my well-being. fabulous concept, eh?

just born! safely and gently at home. wonderful.

sweet baby love less than a week old.

this was our life for the first two months that she was born. her friggin' awesome dad took two months off from his job to care for her. he got demoted for being on the daddy track after going back to work. so, he quit and now is self-employed so he can be more available for his family. they broke the mold, my friends. broke it to pieces.

her dog brother fell in love with her before she was earthside. he would sleep on my preggo belly just to be close to her. they are best friends now with all kinds of inside jokes and special secrets that i can know nothing about.

milk drunk. breastfeeding was still tough for us at this point but it as getting easier by the hour. there is no amount of thanks to give back to all the people who encouraged me to stick with it and offered wise advice and patience.

just sleeping after a light read.

baby's first christmas and one of the first of many ridiculous outfits.

chillin' in the swing while we cook in the kitchen.

tie dye

family pic in feb 2006 at the meet the baby party that e's glammi hosted.

downtown raleigh after veggie sushi

classic salon that andy's mom owns.

hanging with dad while mom was ice skating...the pants that nancy loved.

end of feb 2006, snowboarding trip to west virginia

march 2006 dancing with the bride.

april 2006 my precious laughing babe

baby's first bite of food other than breastmilk. organic applesauce it was though she wasn't very interested in eating it. who can blame her?

never too young to celebrate earth day!

laughing with dad in may 2006

in the new house, she stood up for the first time by herself by pulling up on her baby cage that we put her in while we fixed up the place.

june 2006 in the new house with dad

july 2006 tobacco district after a baseball game.

out to dinner. out to celebrate the sale of our house. trying not to mourn the friends we will miss!

they are both looking out into the yard together. that was a fun rainy day; ez explored wet leaves on brick.

trying to get some shots of her nursing before bed. is it just me or is she doing the sign for milk?

that chemlawn grass is just too green for anyone's good.

august 2006, we sold the house with the bathroom in it where e was born. on our last walk through, i sat with her and told her the story of her birth. we made a video of me telling her the story as we sat in the spot where she came earthside.

what are these fun sticks? baby e helped us set up camp.

still crawling.

beach baby zen mama ocean.

dada got a new sling made from hemp that day!

this was the day that my aunt came back to visit after a twenty month trip abroad. i didn't miss her and didn't exactly welcome her back on my wedding anniversary camping trip at the beach!

reading "the shape of me and other stuff" one of our fave books. i can recite it by now but it sends a great message about shape and size so i don't mind so much.

with her cuz aubie.

learning to climb up the stairs at the new place.

up late in the tent while camping at the lake nearby.

what does your crystal ball say, madam baby e?

snuggle sweets sleeps.

the youngest member of the gap tooth club, the only other female member other than me. flying on mom's knees.

my lil laughing babe. rolling around in the front yard, eating pirate's booty.

feeding me the booty. how can i resist?

at the LLL area conference in winston-salem, where we were newlyweds. and, thus begins her love affair with sitting under highchairs.

at steph's wedding to bob with her homegirl rice sporting a handknit poncho made by my mom.

getting to know one of her feline pals.

first time playing at the museum with one of her now fave play friends! we were there to celebrate LLL's 50th birthday.

baby and dada at the nc fair. i have two favorite annual events where i live. the state fair is my fave fall event in our area. my other fave event is the farm tour in the spring.

haloween 2006 we dress up with a theme most years. this year, our family was star wars characters. the year before, i was a preggo britney spears (who had just given birth to her first son) and hubby was k.fed.