Girl on the go

That's right. Our girl is a walking machine. It started out as a few steps here and there a month or so ago. Then it was making laps around the love seat, holding on with one hand. Then one day last week, I came home from work and Julia walked across the room. Just like that...


Now she doesn't crawl anymore, she walks.... all over the house.


Oh, and now that she is upright, her hands are free to carry stuff... all over the house.
She takes her dirty laundry out of the hamper and carries bibs all the way to our closet on the other side of the house. The set of blocks from Aunt Lisa, they turn up in the strangest of places. The other day she carried around a new container of Diaper Genie refills, who knows why....


It's exciting to see our girl doing new things, but it still tugs at my heart that every step takes her further away from being my baby... ugh.


But one good thing about all this is that we're shoe shopping and finally getting to wear some of the ones already in her collection.

So thankful

I've been complaining about how much I dislike my job and the hours I work so much, that I figured now would be a good time to reflect on some of the good things....

I mean, I am thankful for my family beyond words. There's the biggies like my health, their health, having my mom here, our home, our good friends (as far away as they might be).... Those go without saying.

But there are lots of little things to be thankful for, like

• When Mike and I decided to start a family, I don't know how much further we thought past, well, we better get us a baby. Who knew God would give us one with the biggest most beautiful eyes (the color of which we still can't determine) and the most delicious chubby cheeks; who waves and says "baaaabeee" when she sees herself in the mirror; who snuggles on the couch in the morning to watch Sesame Street; who claps every time she hears music; who gets excited beyond belief when she sees her Nana; who can imitate a dog and a monkey; who splashes like crazy in the bathtub; who laughs so hysterically when you tickle her you can hardly believe the huge sound is coming from such a tiny being; who can identify her belly, her feet and her nose; and who has her dada's laid-back style and silly sense of humor and isn't a cranky nervous-nilly like her mama? We are so blessed.
  
• All of my laundry has been washed, dried, folded and put away. That seems like a rarity these days.


• I can finally fit back into my pre-Julia clothes. Some are even baggy!


• There's a Law & Order marathon on TV today. Love that!


• The newspaper is full of ads. My favorite part of the paper.


• My turkey is a fully cooked one from Publix that requires nothing more than a few hours in the oven!


• Pumpkin spice cheesecake bars! Yum-o!

Life's a beach

November is so fabulous in Florida. The temperature drops down into the 70s and it's been super sunny. So nice to be outside. And you can even wear those few remaining sweaters in your closet. Love it.

So... any of our friends and family in colder climes, now would be a good time to visit....

We took advantage of the weather last weekend and went to the beach.

I love this one! It's sort of like, please, no autographs...

And one of the other nice things about November.....

WARM JAMMIES!

Enchanted by Ella

So, I finally had some free time this morning (thanks to Daylight Saving time and Mike getting up with Julia) and I used it to drink coffee, read the paper without a 1-year-old climbing on me and finally ordering prints of all the digital photos I'd been hoarding.

And as I was shipping them off to Walgreen's something caught my eye -- a yellow and blue creature in almost every photo....

That would be Ella, Julia's stuffed elephant, bedtime companion, teething toy, snuggle bunny, source of comfort and best friend. She loves that thing. It goes everywhere. She had it when she was in the hospital this summer, it goes to Publix and Target, it's been left behind on the floor at Kohl's where it had to be searched for frantically by mom.... Ella gets around. And I don't think Julia could sleep without her. She gets so happy when she sees her. She snuggles with her at night and chews on her nose when her teeth are hurting (poor Ella is starting to look ragged).

Julia's got a new trick now though -- she likes to throw things, including Ella out of the crib, when she's fighting a nap. Then when she realizes she's ready to sleep, but Ella's on the floor, hysteria ensues. We're trying to figure out what to do about that one.