Ladies Day Out

After our photo shoot in the park, I had to run to Rosenberg to meet with the photographer that did Elizabeth's sixth month photos this week.  We had not really had any good pictures done of Elizabeth and Greg and I both decided it was past time.  We found a local photographer in Richmond that does really great pictures and was actually pretty reasonable.  After reading her website, she and I had the same taste in photos.  The photos were taken on Wednesday and I can't wait to see what they look like.  Elizabeth did great.  So, back to Saturday... after meeting with the photographer, we went to eat some yummy food and did a short shopping trip.  Elizabeth LOVES and I mean LOVES to ride in the stroller.  I don't know if it is because she is a nosey rosy and loves looking at everyone but she just sits in the stroller and looks around and is just so content.  It definitely makes shopping a lot easier! 

Just chilling with her feet up... strolling around...

This smile just melts my heart! :)

Needless to say... we had a great day out, just us girls.  Sunday we went to look for blue bonnets to take pictures in but of course I forgot the Bumbo and Elizabeth could not sit on the uneven ground so she kept falling over (plus it was really hot!).   Here is the one picture I got! (My mom got a few on her camera of both Elizabeth and I together but I don't have those with me!)

Traveling with Grammie and Popo is always entertaining so we had a fun filled day.  They dropped us off at home on Sunday and we got ready for another long week.  Of course we also had a break in the middle of the week where we got to spend a whole day with Daddy!  Those are rare these days and we will take what we can get.  Wednesday we had Elizabeth's photos done and then I had a hair appointment.  I cut chopped off all my long hair.  Can you believe it!?!  Greg was not too happy about it, but I love it and it feels great.  For the first time on Wednesday Elizabeth sat in a high chair at a restaurant.  I think she really likes being out of that stinkin' car seat! All in all, we are doing great!  I love Elizabeth so stinkin' much and time is just going by way too fast! 

Eggtravaganza

I love Saturdays... of course we spend every Saturday with my mom, but I still love Saturdays.  I never thought in a million years that I would want to"come home" so often.  I fought so hard to get out of El Campo and here I am coming back to it every weekend.  Maybe if Greg didn't work such a shotty schedule... but lets not dwell... So on Saturday, my mom and I took Elizabeth to the Eggtravaganza in El Campo.  I wanted to get a few pictures of Elizabeth with the Easter bunny and other Easter stuff.  Of course our little lady bug is so busy checking out everyone else there that we could not get a smile for anything but here are some from our adventure.

This was before the action... she was resting up for a very busy day!



TGI(almost)F

The weekend... where are you...

I am so looking forward to the weekend, not just because I get to spend it with Elizabeth but because I don't have to come to work for two whole days! :)  I love my job, but this has been a long week.  Elizabeth grows and changes so much in just a weeks time that just looking at these pictures makes me smile.  This weekend we are going to go to the "Eggtravaganza" in El Campo and will hopefully get a couple of cute pictures of E.  I have also decided to have professional photos of her next week which will be her Spring/6 month pictures.  I should have done it when she was born too but at the time, we were just worried about how to take care of her and not that we need to get pictures of her.  She is now sitting up pretty good so we thought it would be a good time to get pictures of her.  Here was our week in pictures...

Mastering holding my bottle... my mommy lets me drink from a sippy cup at night though...

Big girl trying to learn to crawl... about two seconds later, she screamed!  I don't know why she hates to be on her belly! :)

So even though I would like to think of my daughter as a genius, I know she is just a normal kid to everyone else.  This being said, she is now a master at putting her pacifier in her mouth on her own.  She will chew on just about anything she can get her mouth on but she is so funny when she is chewing on her paci.  I was thinking we would be seeing teeth soon but none as of yet.

Our lives are pretty boring except for the little quirky things my daughter does.  This week while feeding her green beans, she stuck her tongue out and made a nasty face.  She has had green beans before but I guess she knew she wanted something like bananas or apples instead.  I was laughing so hard that she was doing these funny faces every time I put green beans in her mouth that Greg started laughing and then Elizabeth started laughing.  Silly girl!  I guess tonight we will have to have sweet potatoes or squash.  She loves those vegetables!  She still won't eat her cereal but we are now eating and doing so well with fruits and vegetables that I am not worried.

Our shopping addiction

When it comes to Elizabeth, everything is game!  Between me and Greg, Elizabeth has more "things" than she probably needs.  It is truly an addiction.  Since this is our first child, she gets all kinds of new things and I will truly feel sorry for the next child that will have to use all the old stuff.  Some of the things we bought were "experiments" for our trial and error ways, but a lot of the stuff is CLOTHES.  I wish I could go to the store and just pick up something cute for myself but for her, we find ourselves trying to put back something cute because she doesn't need it.  It is funny that Greg is so into buying things for Elizabeth since usually he is our "penny pincher".  Since we have moved into the new house I have been telling him that I would like to get a freezer.  We didn't want a deep freezer but just a stand up freezer because the refrigerator freezer fills up fast.  Of course he kept putting it off and putting it off... UNTIL.... I started making baby food for Elizabeth.  Anything for Elizabeth! So, this week we bought a freezer. 

My mom always laughs at us when we put Elizabeth in her "sack" at night.  It is a sleep sack that babies use in place of a blanket so they don't get tangled up in a blanket.  We used the swaddle blankets for a long time and we finally graduated up to the sacks.  Our little worry wart daddy thought it would be a good thing and I must admit it is.  However, we only bought one to experiment with and have decided we need more than one because our little princess sleeps on her belly these days and every morning her sleep sack smells like pee pee (I think it is coming out the diaper in the front when she sleeps on her belly).  So, Mommy sends Daddy to Babies R Us to get another sleep sack... he calls me and tells me that he ended up spending $100! WHAT!  I tell you, it is an addiction.  He ended up buying her a hat, a short outfit, and two pair of jeans (12-18 month size on clearance) on top of the sleep sacks.  It makes me smile just thinking right now about how much Greg really loves his daughter.  He is such a great dad.  Here is a picture of her in her new hat...

We are definitley ready for summer time and more outdoor time!

My addiction to buying for Elizabeth is online.  This is partly to blame on Greg for signing me up for the website, but it is a great place to order things for her and myself.  The website is called zulily.com and they have clothes and shoes and all kinds of stuff for really, really great prices.  I actually just bought Elizabeth a swimsuit from there for $13 that came with a cover up (plus it matches mine!).  I also always find coupon codes online before I order so I can get free shipping or a really good discount.  I told myself that I am not going to buy anything else for a while for her because I have already bought her three outfits for the summer time... I need to practice self control!  Maybe if I would have had a boy it would be easier but do you not see all the pretty things there are for little girls!  

We are definitely ready for the weekend and we are hoping for some pretty weather... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Baby food factory

Sunday (since Daddy was off) I decided to take a crack at making my own baby food for Elizabeth.  She has just really started eating cereal and baby food last week.  At first she didn't want to have anything to do with cereal but once I started giving her baby food with it, she seemed to love it all.  She has gotten so much better at eating just in this one week.  So many parents these days choose to make baby food for their kids because of the organic side of it but as many of you might know (and see), I am not a health nut and neither is Greg.  Our reasoning is truly based on the cost.  I think that is the accountant in me!  After a trip to HEB to buy all the fruits and vegetables, I figured everything up.  We spent a total of $18.21 on all the fruits and vegetables.  One jar of baby food would cost $.44.  At that rate, we could buy 41 jars of baby food for $18.  In total, we had over 200 servings of baby food when all was said and done.  That is a total of about $.09 per serving versus $.44 per serving of jarred baby food.  I am hoping that maybe I will only have to make food about once a month so even my time is worth it.  Can we all say WOW!?!  In order to freeze all the individual servings I needed to find some ice cube trays.  Who would have thought trying to find ice cube trays would be so hard!?!

It was truly a very easy process.  I washed all the fruits and vegetables and got everything going in different pots and pans.  I had butternut squash baking in the oven, frozen peas in microwave, peeled and cut up sweet potatoes and apples in pots on the stove.  It worked out great because of course the peas were done first and I put them in the Baby Bullet (I got for a baby shower gift) and processed those.  Once those were done, the apples were ready.  The butternut squash and sweet potatoes followed shortly after.  I did do a mango for Elizabeth to try this week but I think that piece of fruit is more trouble than it is worth and you can't freeze mango servings.  After all was said and done it took me about 3 hours or so to complete it all.  I still have the pears, yellow squash, and grean beans to do but those will be done this week once I pop all the other stuff out of the ice cube trays. 

My parents came over yesterday afternoon to have supper with us.  This was truly another blessing because my mom entertained Elizabeth and fed her some fresh apple sauce and cereal for me while I worked.  She seemed to love the fresh apples and I can't wait for her to try everything else.   Here are some pictures of Elizabeth enjoying her baby food (and cereal):

The Leopold's (a new addition)

Well, we had yet another fast and furious weekend.  It seems time goes by so fast and it doesn't help that we lost an hour this weekend!  I was so happy to get off at my normal time Friday after a very busy week at work.  Greg and I always spend Friday afternoons together since we don't get a lot of time together.  We will usually see a movie, have a lunch date, or just hang out at the house.  This Friday, Greg needed to go to a western store for some new clothes for the wedding.  If you don't know Greg that well, let me fill you in... he has the hardest time making a decision on things.  So, needless to say, after looking at a hundred different belts... a hundred different shirts... a hundred different pants, he finally made a decision.  It is fun watching him debate over things like that.  After that we got all packed up to head to El Campo for the weekend.  Saturday morning went by fast.  My little angel slept until 6am and we ran around EC passing time until the wedding.  Here is my first try at sitting in the basket (she still needs to get a little more sturdy but she loves people watching and smiled at everyone as they walked by!):

Yep, Philip and Leslie tied the knot this weekend.  We are super excited for them and wish them the very best.  Now maybe Elizabeth has a shot at having a cousin one day!  :)  I got a few pictures but my camera was not taking great pictures Saturday night.  Here is what we got:

Grandpa Leopold and Elizabeth

 Mommy and Lizzy

 The new Leopolds! (with Elizabeth)

 Daddy and Daddy's Girl

(she definitely looks like Greg)

 My future beer drinker... all she wanted was that beer bottle!

We had a wonderful time and we definitely realized having a baby and going to a wedding is a lot more difficult than before.  She did great even if she didn't want to go to bed because she is a little busy body!  We also got to enjoy some Daddy time since we don't get to see him much on the weekends.

Congrats again to Philip and Leslie Leopold!



5 months old

Elizabeth turned five months old yesterday the 5th of March.  I wish these days would fall on weekends so I could get some good pictures of her but as it falls, I get pictures with a blank stare.  Elizabeth has definitely hit a growth spurt and is becoming so much fun.  She is developing her own little personality and even though she might look like Greg, I think she gets alot of her personality from her mom!  Here are a few things our little baby is doing at 5 months:

• loves to sit up and has been doing really well by herself... won't be long before she is sitting up on her own!
• still hates to be on her stomach.  I am not sure if she just gets mad because she wants to look around or what but there is no leaving her on the floor to play any more because she will just roll over on her stomach and get mad!
• We still haven't figured out what color her eyes are going to be... green or brown.  Greg has green eyes but I have brown and everyday they look different.  I am sure they will turn brown like mine but you never know!
• Our little girl did not want to eat rice cereal.  That being the case, I decided to try oatmeal cereal and she eats that a lot better.  I have decided to try and give her some fruits and vegetables also but that just started this week.  I was reading that there was no scientific proof that starting with cereal was best and since our little angel doesn't want cereal, food seemed to be the best.  I did by a few jars of baby food but I will also be making some baby food too.  Right now she is eating cereal and fruit in the morning, a vegetable at lunch, and cereal and vegetable in the evening.  She is getting better at it everyday.
• Has started really "talking" to us.  It is so funny and we love the screeching and "empty" sounds she makes. 
• HATES and I mean HATES to ride in the car.  I don't know what I can do to make this better but this has to be the most annoying thing right now!  She is fine right up until I shut the door of the car and then it is scream time.  I always try to plan my trips around her nap time so then she might fall asleep!
• She is doing so well sleeping at night.  Goes to bed about 7:30pm and sleeps until 5am.  She will get a little fussy during the night but never wake up, we just put her paci back in and she is out! 
• She loves to play in the exercisaucer.  She has even learned to turn her self in it so she plays with all the toys on it.  She gets so excited when she is playing in it.
• She is such a calm little thing most of the time but just the last week she has really started to be a wiggle worm. 
• Loves to be naked!  Take her clothes off when she is screaming and she will instantly become quiet.
• Loves bathtime!  I think that has become everyone's favorite time of day because she will just splash and screech.  It is actually pretty funny.
• Loves to be sang too, or any kind of music/lighted toy.  I think she tries to sing back!
• One thing that always makes me laugh is now when it is time for a bottle, you better not show it to her or she will freak out.  She will try and grab it and whine until she can put it in her mouth.  So funny.  Now that she is doing really good holding her bottle, I might start trying to give her a sippy cup.  I can't wait for the day of no more bottles! :)

I know I have missed lots of things Elizabeth is doing now but it is so hard to remember all the little things.  She is growing so much.  Here is her "photo shoot" from her 5 month birthday...

I think she was saying "Seriously, Mom, you just took out my paci?"

You can see her green eyes in these pictures... maybe they will stay that way!?!

She is getting so long...

This is her new found favorite thing... sitting up and sucking on her toes. 

Month four flew by...

So, we didn't really have a lot going on the last couple of weeks.  We have been staying in EC every weekend since Daddy is still working weekends.  It gets really lonely when you don't have anyone to talk to but a baby so that is why we spend our weekends with Grammy and Popo (and Uncle Trey when he is around!).  It amazes me how fast time goes by.  I can't believe that we are now in March! :)  I think we are all ready for some warmer weather so we can spend time outside.  Elizabeth loves to be outside, looking around.  This past weekend we went and celebrated one of my best friends little girl's first birthday.  It was so nice seeing them and getting to hang out for a bit.  We even made a trip to see Daddy at work!  Below are some pictures I have taken over the last couple of weeks that make me smile.  Hopefully they will brighten everyone else's day too!

Just hanging out after school one day... literally hanging out since her feet don't touch!

 Sleeping beauty in her new sleep sack!  This is at Grammy's house one weekend. Such a good baby girl.

 Grammy and Popo are ready to take Elizabeth fishing!

 Smile... you are on candid camera!

 This is new... we now have a toe sucker!

 Elizabeth trying to "talk" to us.  She makes me laugh when she does this!

 Elizabeth loves to be naked!  Take her clothes off and she will be the happiest baby you ever met!

 Enjoying her tour of Grammy's yard.

 Such a little daisy!