A Fun Day...

Today Eloise decided to wear her Halloween costume a few days early. She wanted to go visit my friends at school - so we headed out there at the end of the school day. She got lots & lots of ooh's & ahh's. :) She was even a good sport about being passed around from person to person.

After school, we headed to the pizza parlor to meet up with our small group for dinner. They too had requested Eloise in costume, so we didn't disappoint.

Here are some 'Mommy & Me' pictures from this evening:

These are our friends Ashley & Grace. Grace is a Giraffe for Halloween. :)

Such a nice fun day.

7 Months...

My little cheetah is 7 months old as of last Friday. This month I decided to take her elephant pictures in her Halloween costume. I love her outfit & think that the series of events that took place while we were doing the elephant pictures was actually very appropriate - you'll see:

Here she is sitting next to 'the magical shrinking elephant'. Just the elephant & my little cheetah.

The cheetah notices an elephant sitting next to her - hummm...maybe it will taste delish - I should find out...

The cheetah pounces on the elephant.

The cheetah & I agree - elephant ears are the best! :)

This month Eloise is:

Rolling over
Eating food. She likes apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, & tolerates rice cereal. She does not care for peas.
She is learning how to giggle, but it mostly sounds like a fake cough right now. :)
We are taking a Kindermusik class & she loves it! She 'sings' along during all of the songs & smiles the entire time - so sweet.
She is going to bed at 6:45 and sleeping until around 8:00 most mornings. Awesome.
She likes playing in her exersaucer, but only if you'll sit near her. If you get up to walk away, she gets upset & wants to come too.
She is a happy little traveler & accompanies me on almost all of my errands - such fun to take her with me! She especially likes it when we go to Starbucks...I'm just sayin'.

The Beach & Pumpkin Patch

A week ago this one came over with her family to visit us. We were able to stay at the beach for the majority of their visit which was oh so fun. We played on the computer by the ocean, drank lots of hot tea, chatted, gabbed, & talked some more, played with our kiddos, & generally enjoyed each others company. Andrea took a photo of our little family for us while we were visiting Newport. Here is our most recent family portrait:

On Sunday, Andrea, Ethan, Eloise, & I went to the pumpkin patch. It was a perfect day for it & not a lot of people were there when we arrived. We took many photos (much to the surprise of Andrea & I - we don't have a very good track record of photo documentation when we are together). Here are some of the photos we came away with:

Andrea & Ethan:

The girls: (Photo taken by Ethan - nice job buddy!)

Ella enjoying her first time at the patch:

Tu-Tu Much...

Seriously, I don't think this little one can get any cuter - & then she wakes up the next morning & surprises me again. Not that I'm biased or anything. :)

Here are some photos of Eloise taken today in her new tu-tu onesie.

Gymboree...what have you done to me??

Oh my. The Gymbucks have gotten to me again...(thank you Mom!!). Tonight we went to Gymboree in search of a few things for Eloise & to use our Gymbucks that my mom gave to us. Well, we found *a few* adorable things & came home with them. I wish she wasn't in bed so I could dress her up & take photos for you. Instead, you'll just have to picture her wearing this for Christmas, this around the house (maybe even for Halloween instead - because it's too adorable), and this to keep her warm this winter. There *might* be some pictures of her in these adorables coming soon to a blog near you - maybe...

Eloise This Week...

This has been a big week in Eloise's world! She began the week by rolling over from back to tummy - both directions. Since that evening (Monday) she's been going strong. I think she's enjoying her new freedom! The next night, I put together her booster seat that we will be using in place of a high chair. She ate her delish rice cereal in it & finished her bowl (about 2 T worth) for the first time! (See I told you, it's delish). Today, she took the day off from monumental works & went to bed at 7:00. That works for this mama. Here are some pics from our week thus far:

Eloise chillin' in the Bumbo:

Her new 'eat seat'. (That's right, I just made that up myself - cleaver, no?)

A little after dinner music, provided by Eloise & the caterpillar rattle/tether...

More Birthday Wishes...

Wishing my Grandad & Father-in-law a very happy birthday today!

We are so blessed to have you in our lives Richard & I know that Eloise already loves her Papa. Happy, happy day to you!!

Happy 86th birthday Grandad! We love you dearly!!

Splash-o-Matic 3000

Eloise Bath, originally uploaded by dickieadams.

She kicks, she smiles, she's the Splash-o-Matic 3000! Now with extra cute.

Erin-O

Wishing this sweet friend a very happy happy birthday!! I don't know what I'd do without my Erin-o. Enjoy your special day my dear friend and may all of your wishes come true this year!

xoxo

6 Months Old...

Our little sweet-pea is 6 months old. We celebrated her 1/2 birthday in style by introducing her to rice cereal. She loves to dive right into it and spread it on as much of herself as possible. She's starting to get the hang of this 'eating thing' now, and it's always entertaining to see what she'll do next. So far we've stuck to rice cereal & one serving of sweet potatoes - she wasn't too sure about those. We'll try again this week...

At her 6 month well baby check-up she came in at the 75th percentile for her height & weight. She's 17 lbs & 1 oz, 26 1/2 inches long.

She's babbling a lot, making lots of raspberries, clicking her tongue, & exploring her voice. She rolls to her side and thinks that's good enough for now. She loves to smile at people & thinks that everyone is here to look at her & coo to her (works for me). If someone isn't paying attention to her when she thinks they should, she'll stare them down. This is especially entertaining when you're on a plane & your seat mate isn't watching her...

She goes to bed around 7:15 & wakes up between 5-6am to eat, then it's back to bed until around 8:30. Nice. She is loving toys & noticing the cats. I think they're getting worried...

Ella-roo & the Elephant:

Our Idaho Adventure...

This past week and a half, Eloise & I were in Idaho enjoying visiting family & friends. We began the visit by participating in the Women's Fitness Walk on Saturday. It was a 5K & we were joined by these lovely ladies:

Summer, Renee, My Andrea, & Stacie.

I had a blast participating in this & am already planning to go again next year. Beautiful day, fabulous company, not to mention it was a good workout. :)

While we were there, Eloise asked for some new sunglasses -I was happy to get them for her:

We spent a lot of wonderful time with My Andrea & big E. Ethan asked if he could pretend to be Eloise's big brother while we were there...I think he was trying to break our hearts with his sweetness. :) Here they are in a posed picture together - so cute:

Big E & Lil' E

I so enjoyed my week home. We were able to spend time with my parents, Tim's parents, my family, My Andrea & a few friends. The only bummer of the trip was 1. It was a little too short
2. Tim wasn't there to join us & 3. We all got colds while I was there so I wasn't able to see two of my dear friends. :( I'm feeling much better now, so Kelly & Cyndee if you want to come over - we're germ free right now. :)

Thanks again to my parents & My Andrea for hosting us! More pictures to come...