Great Friends

To our delight, Ellie has discovered a new love for Rudy. When they first met there was indifference on both sides. Then Rudy was probably more interested in her then she was with him for a while, but now there is a beautiful relationship in bloom. So cute! A few special moments together:

"That" Mom

After Music Together, I joined a friend over at Tulio's for lunch today. They have 'slammin' sandwiches (to use a term my husband likes). She has a son about six weeks younger than Ellie. We've gotten together several times since our children have been born, yet I've never witnessed him having any kind of mini-meltdown or being the least bit difficult. While he slept quietly in his infant seat, Ellie continued to bang on the table, eat the paper place mats, smash saltine crackers everywhere, and try to snatch everything within a three foot radius of her. I actually kind of find it cute, but she's definitely not as easy to take to restaurants as she used to be. As we were leaving, I looked around the table where we had been sitting at the destroyed paper products, smashed crackers, napkins I had used to wipe her runny nose, and realized that I had become "that mom." I was completely in my own world and too involved in conversation with my friend to notice that I was oblivious to my behavior. That is so not okay! I used to work at a restaurant in college (as a hostess because I could never quite graduate to waitress status) and I remember how annoyed everyone would get at "those moms." They would leave broken crayons, food all over the floor, spilled drinks, etc. I had become one of them. The horror! If my child is only seven months old, it can only get worse. From now on, I promise to police my area before I leave and clean up any mess my child has created. This is my pledge. If this isn't possible for one reason or another, I promise to leave an extra generous tip at the least. How did I let this happen?

January Blues

The excitement of the holidays is long gone. I was really looking forward to this month. I thought it would be nice to cleanse, organize, and have some quiet time (ha ha). Although I LOVE Christmas, it was a lot of work this year with an infant (I'm sure it is with children of any age). Now, everything is kind of BLAH. It didn't help that I saw Marley & Me over the weekend. Oh my God! SO sad. I assumed that the dog died in the end (because everyone said it was such a tear jerker, so what else could it be?), but there was so much more. Great movie, but a little depressing. I'm still thinking about it. Then, I finished an extremely disturbing memoir about the Holocaust on Sunday night. I still can't stop thinking about that either. Monday night the Bachelor came on, so that was a little bit of a reprieve from all the sadness. But then the news starts at 10 and is there anything good to say about what's going on in the world? Please tell me something good! Were there any new baby Polar Bears born at the zoo that I can see some footage of? No? Also, Ellie has been going through a new phase (one I don't like so much) for the past couple weeks where she SCREAMS at the top of her lungs every time I leave the room. Maybe I should feel flattered, but I'm not. Even if she is twenty feet away from me while I walk over to the kitchen sink, tears start streaming down her face. It breaks my heart. I really don't know what to do. Do I embrace this phase and hope that it passes soon? What if it doesn't? Am I spoiling her by running back every time she cries or is it cruel to not go pick her up right away? Does she think that I've disappeared into thin air every time I leave the room? I can see how that may be traumatizing to her if that's the case. I'm kind of hoping the answers will just come to me.

Anyhow...on a lighter note, I did manage to snap a few cute photos yesterday. I think that they're pretty good given that I don't have a super-fancy high tech camera (but I would like one). They are the many faces of my sweet girl:

Then and Now

Then...
We welcomed Elizabeth Clare on June 24, 2008. She was just a little 6 pound 9 ouncer. 19.5 inches long. I was expecting a very bald, blue eyed baby, but she had brown eyes with a mountain of dark hair. I was in love.

Now...
Christmas Eve was her 6 month birthday. Today was our Dr.'s. appointment. She is weighing in at a solid 17 pounds, 10 ounces. At almost 28 inches, she is in the 95th percentile for height. Huh? What happened to my little peanut that couldn't even fit into newborn clothes? She is growing like a weed! I want to freeze her at this age forever in time.

I think she's been saying "Ma Ma" the last few days, but I'm not sure anyone else is convinced of this.

New Beginnings

I'm not sure why, but I have a lot of New Year's Resolutions this year. It's actually kept me up at night thinking about them. I've never really taken them seriously before. Some years I failed to even make any, but this time is different. I plan to really hold myself accountable. Some are big and some are smaller. I want to drink more water (and less wine), organize every single closet in our house, run a Half Marathon this spring, go to church more frequently, read great books and less Us Weekly, and the list goes on. Most importantly, I want to be a better person.

A Better Daughter. This was my first role in life. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at this one after 28 years (although there were a few rough patches in High School and College), but I'm sure there are always areas for improvement.

A Better Sister. I forgot to send my one and only brother a Christmas card this year. Can you believe that? One of the most important people in my life. He was pretty hurt to say the least (and I definitely heard about it). I neglected to get his new address. To my credit, he's moved several times over the last few years, but there is still no excuse. I feel terrible. I promise to send him a Christmas card next year.

A Better Friend. A lot of my close girlfriends (and cousins) are spread throughout the country. I am not the greatest at keeping in touch. I think about them every single day, but sometimes picking up the phone seems like a chore (I'm not much of a phone person). Then weeks pass (sometimes months), and I avoid calling even more because I know there's so much to catch up on. Don't they know how much I love them? Unfortunately, that isn't enough. I will continue to try and get better at keeping in touch.

A Better Wife. I need for my husband to feel more appreciated. He works so hard for his family. He makes it possible for me to stay home with our daughter, which is what I've always wanted to do. I need to tell him this more often instead of just assuming he knows. I need to give him ten minutes to change his clothes, say hello, and hear how his day was when he gets home from work instead of asking him to take out the trash, clean up dog crap, etc. Surely this can't be too difficult.

A Better Mother. When I was pregnant I had visions of hanging out and playing on the floor all day with Ellie. Unfortunately, it doesn't exactly work like this. There's always so much laundry, bottles to clean, appointments to make, phone calls to return, errands to run, places to go, dinner to make, a dog to walk, gifts to buy, etc. Sometimes I don't know where the day goes. She's only a baby for so long. Soon she'll be talking back to me and throwing temper tantrums in the middle of the grocery store (not my sweet Ellie). I want to have just one day a week where all we do is play and spend one-on-one time together. The grocery store and laundry can hold off for a day. There's typically nothing really that pressing that I do. I hope she doesn't get sick of me.

A Better Dog Owner. I love Rudy. I really do. I'm afraid he may not know this. I complain about him a lot. I yell at him a lot. He is a special dog that requires a lot of love and attention. He likes scrambled eggs, plenty of walks, and lots of petting. His needs are quite basic really. The sooner I realize and accept this the better off we'll all be.

I'm sure I've missed so much, but there's a start. Today was a good day. I drank lots of water, organized a whole closet, and gave the dog a fair amount of attention. It's a start.