Let's Play A Game...

The game is called 'baby or blankets'? The first person to correctly guess where the baby actually is in this crib wins. Good luck! (And no, you don't win the baby - nice try).

Mommy & Me

Tim's computer was down for the last month & so I didn't have access to all of our photos. It's back up & running now - so I'm going to play a little bit of photo catch-up. These photos were taken in January & I just love them.

My little sweet pea sporting her sprout:

Clapping!

My love

Listening to Daddy's headphones. I wonder what she was listening to?? (Care to share Tim??)

Eloise

This weekend was Eloise's first Valentine's Day. Tim's parents were here to help her celebrate & we had a great long weekend together. Saturday we headed to the beach & while the parents & Tim measured the new beach property - Eloise & I hung out in the trunk of the car. Sounds fun doesn't it? Bet you wish you were there too.

When we got tired of those surroundings, we took a walk. It was a lovely day & a nice walk. The rest of the weekend was filled with lots of love celebrations, including a date for Tim & I. Thanks Richard & Faith for coming - we loved having you!!

Eloise chillin'

One of her new favorite things to do - point & talk to people/things

Playing

Oh yeah, and I made Valentine cookies for a bake sale at church. Here are some of the finished products - complete with homemade frosting (suggested by my bestie)

Sign Language

We are teaching Eloise sign language - however, the following is not part of it. :D I get weekly e-mails about my baby's development & this week they included the following:

What your baby tells you through sign language:

"Please change my diaper": Turn beet red and make straining expression, then smile.

"I'd like something to eat, please": Cram fist in mouth and suck wildly.

"I'm tired": Make a series of weeping gestures before closing eyes and lolling
head backward.

"Please pass me that thing up there that I can't reach": Point and grunt, then
continue pointing and open mouth into screaming position.

"No thank you. I think I've had enough": Throw food or object to floor with
exaggerated grin.

***These are so true. That's right - welcome to my life.*** :D

LoVe, lOVe, LovE

Here are some of my homemade hearts that I created for Valentine decorations around the house. These are Eloise's favorite. Each morning when we come in for breakfast she points to them until I spin them. Once they are spinning, she watches in awe. Then, she points again & the cycle continues. At lunch, snack, & dinner it's the same routine. What can I say - she has me well trained. :) They may need to stay up extra long since they are so entertaining to her.

These are hanging in the 3 front windows of my living room. I love them. With the exception of being attacked by the cat, they have done quite well here.

I used Shimmerz on some of these, because they deserved a little *extra* shine. Speaking of Shimmerz, I am extremely proud to announce that I will be a Guest Designer for the months of March & April!! (See new fancy sidebar!!) I can hardly wait. Make sure to check out the blog & Facebook page to get in on the fun Shimmery goodness!

Another heart...
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I hope your Valentine's weekend is filled with lots of love & pink. :) My in-laws are here visiting this weekend & we are having a great time so far. Tomorrow we are heading to the beach, Sunday we have 2 eating out dates planned & Monday is a free day. Wonderful weekend...not to mention that Tim & I went on a date by OURSELVES tonight. Thanks Richard & Faith for babysitting our Sweet-pea.

Happy <3 Day!

xoxo

Adorableness

Just when you thought she couldn't get any cuter...she goes & does this. I may be ordering one to hold for Eloise until she's older - how adorable!!

For The Love...

...of Valentine's decorations. I love decorating my house for Valentine's. In fact, do you want to know a secret? I usually put up a few 'love decorations' at the same time as I take down my Christmas decorations - makes me feel better. :) This year, I feel very nicely decorated with a few new items that I've made & that have been made for me mostly by two of my favorite people, My Andrea & My Erin. I think these decorations may even stay up after 2/14 has passed, because really, who are 'they' to say when the love has to come down??

Our entry-way:

Opposite wall of the entry-way:

Mantle (see the adorable bunting that this girlie made for me??) I *heart* it.

Taking Care of Business...

I know, I know - it's way past time for a new post. And I'm sure you'll be disappointed to learn that this post will not contain any adorable pictures of a certain sweet-pea. Sorry. This post is to just take care of a few house-keeping agenda items. :) Some of you may have noticed that random/nonsensical comments have been appearing on my blog. Well, after a month of this happening several times a week - I'm calling it quits. I've put a word verification step in the comments to help keep those spammers away. BTW, who does that anyway? Does someone just sit at their computer & think, hmmmm, I'm going to pester this blog with ridiculousness. Who are these people?? Okay, back on track, I hope that you will still leave me comment love, as I do love reading the comments you leave. I hope that a few letters won't stand in your way. :)

That's all for now. We are enjoying a low-key week again this week. I could get use to this. Right now, I have fresh cupcakes from the oven for tonight's small group - getting ready to frost them. And I also have a (plug your eyes Erin) roast cooking in the crockpot with all of the 'fixins'. It's been a productive morning so far. Now if I can just get those spammers to leave me alone...

10 Months

Our little sweet-pea turned 10 months old on Saturday. I can't believe that I'm already starting to plan her first birthday - wow! For our photo shoot this month, Eloise requested to wear her adorable over sized flower. I was happy to comply with her request. :)

Eloise is a great eater. She eats anything I put in front of her. She doesn't care for green beans, but she will eat them. Her favorites right now are black beans, kiwi, bananas, spaghetti & of course the puffs. She is starting to sign for things - she has done 'more' & I think the other day she signed 'all done'. We're still working on 'please' & 'thank you'. :)

She is army crawling everywhere & beginning to show signs of 'real' crawling.

She LOVES books, particularly the Noah's Ark book my parents got her for Christmas. We spend a lot of time each day with Noah & his animals. :) She loves balloons & balls, the kitties, & her table toy.

She giggles & loves to play Peek-a-Boo with us. She is always very happy, about the only time she gets fussy is when she's ready for a nap.

She goes to bed at around 6:30 pm & wakes up at 8:00 am - I'm a lucky, lucky mama!!



Eloise & her friend the Elephant:

Smilie:

Okay, okay, I'm about done with this people...

That's it - I'm outta here!

The Book Whisperer (Singer?)

Click to watch

An Update...

These past few days I spent at my sister's house while Tim was away on a business trip. Laura & I had a blast with our little ones. Last night however, we deemed 'girls night' & Mark stayed home with the sleeping babies so we could go enjoy a drink & appetizer by ourselves. What a fun treat! Thanks Laura & family for hosting us these past few days - can't wait to see you again on Sunday!!

Me & My Sis:

Eloise crawling through Laura's living room, stopping to pose for the camera:

Melia & Eloise - I love this photo:

Bathtime for baby!! (Look at those delicious rolls!!)

Just For Fun...

Here are some pictures taken last weekend. We went to dinner with Nicole, Jim, Beth, & Adam. We enjoyed our triple date & Eloise enjoyed all 6 adults doting over her. :)

Here she is being ferocious:

Checking out Uncle Sound Guy's beard (aka, Jim, self proclaimed USG):

What's On The Menu?

Last night we went to dinner here. This is our favorite place to go & every First Wednesday they are open for dinner. We decided it was a sign (well that & our gift certificate!) so we went out for dinner. Miss Eloise was very interested in what they were serving for dinner. She thought she'd take a peek to see what she might like to order in a few years...

Having seen nothing on the menu worth ordering, she decided to eat said menu...

Nope, not tasty either, I guess I'll just settle for the organic food mom brought for me to eat...again...

A Few More Photos:

Here are a few more photos from our past few days:

Eloise in her Christmas dress - look how big she's getting!!

9 month elephant picture. Is it just me, or is she the same height as the elephant? We had her 9 month well baby check up last week & she is 19.5 lbs & 28.5 inches long. She's in the 80th percentile for her height & 60th for her weight. Doctor says she's doing great!

She's now wearing size 12 month clothes. On New Year's Day she decided her resolution would be to learn to crawl - so she did. She's now an expert army crawler. I have a video of it to post here in the next few days. Stay tuned. :)

Sitting up & posing for the camera (see Julie - she sits up!) :)

Today she discovered that she can roll & army crawl to get to her toy basket. Nevermind that I had the center of the living room covered with toys for her. She rolled & squirmed & crawled to the basket & picked out the toy that she wanted. I can hear it now 'I can do it myself mom'...

Christmas Wrap-Up

I thought since it's already January 4th, that maybe I should finish the Christmas posts. :) Here are a few final shots of Eloise & some of the family during Christmas:

Grandparents with ALL of their grandkids! Precious...

Grandma & Grandaddy with Ella Roo:

Auntie Laura with Eloise (notice her little sprout!!):