YellyPants

I'm not sure why I did it. I'll never do it again. Not ever. No way.

Today, Eric joined the Pittsburgh Steelers for a lunch reception kicking off pre-season football. He headed to Pittsburgh early in the morning and stayed late for the 7:00 pm game. I, on the other hand, picked Elaina up from the babysitter's and took her to my chiropractor appointment with me. Thinking I was being a good mom, I packed her favorite books, her sippy cup and her binky. All good things for a little girl to enjoy while sitting in her stroller for 40 minutes, right ?

As much as I like my chiropractor, he has a tendency to run behind. I did my best to keep Elaina entertained during the 20 minutes that we had to wait and then, it happened. The doctor walked in and she began to cry. Did I say cry ? I meant nose running, tears-dripping screaming crying. I have to commend my doctor, father of two under 3 years old, who told me that it happens often and he had no problem with her crying. After my adjustment and stressing over her discontent, I apologized profusely and made my way out of there as fast as I could.

I'll take the blame. Lesson learned. I really should have called neighbor -Katie again to babysit. My mistake. Now I know.

Fun at the Fair !!

Hey, have you heard ? The fair is in town !

Today I was helping to campaign for one of the judges I work for by volunteering some of my time in his re-election booth at the fair. After my 3 hour shift of passing out notepads and nail files, I soon had my fill of people watching. Eric and Elaina met me at my assigned booth and helped me to scour the fairgrounds trying to narrow down what fat-laden-overpriced-fair-food would be my dinner. Seriously, I wish they had a sampler platter - I could eat it all ! Elaina was quite content with sharing some greasy-vinegar-soaked french fries as I headed for the pork tenderloin.

Upon finishing dinner, we went straight for the animal barns. We started out with the ducks, followed by the goats, sheep, cows and horses. I was anxious to introduce Elaina to some real, live animals that we read about in her books. Elaina began to "moo" in her seat, letting the animals know that she was near. Throughout many of the barns, the animals heard the screeching squeal of our excited girl and took cover. The girl who was afraid of bubbles showed no fear as she rubbed the goats heads and tried to put her hand in a cow's mouth. (Smart cow wouldn't let her - only backed off in fear.) Just outside of the barns, we saw a young girl who had her cow out on a leash. She welcomed us to pet her 9 month old cow who stood every bit of my height, and someone asked to take our picture. After the photo, we discovered that it was a reporter from the local paper and she had taken our picture to publish ! How exciting -Elaina's first taste of publicity !

Although our evening was wrapping up long past Elaina's bedtime, she held on strong for the rest of the entertainment. On our final lap around the fairgrounds, I spotted a train ride that was just boarding. I left Eric in line for a funnel cake and Elaina and I ran to catch a quick ride. She sat on my lap, taking in all of the sights, sounds and lights that surrounded her. Even though it was a mere 20 foot loop, she enjoyed every minute of it almost as much as I did. Of course the ride was no thrill for me, but finally being able to put my arms around my girl and experience our first fair ride together was priceless.

Shortly past 9 o'clock, we bid the fair a fond farewell until next year. Eric strapped Elaina in her carseat and cuddled a blanket next to her. With her binky in her mouth and one in her hand, she was out before we made it out of the parking lot. What an enjoyable family day out !

Table Manners

The count is up to 4. For the past 4 days Elaina has screamed and resisted me putting her in her highchair to eat dinner. Does Daddy have this problem in the morning when he feeds her breakfast ? Of course not. What gives ? I always win, her butt goes in the seat.

The only half-bit compromise she will offer is that I have to have her in one hand and her plate of food in the other, ready to place before the Queen. Not like she'll eat it, it just has to be visible. Tonight, after her sit-down-strike, I offered her some applesauce and let her help spoon it into her mouth. By her fifth bite, of course she believed that she was a pro and would do it all on her own. Okay, like I was in a position to resist that mess - at least she was eating and having fun. She and I were both so proud of her, she did really well. She has used a child-safe plastic fork in the past month and just eats off of what she spears. The spoon was an accomplishment. She was consitent from the bowl to her mouth several times in a row.

In our "Brady Bunch" meal of "porkchops and applesauce" she faired better than last night. Her appetite is still not where I'd like it to be, but she doesn't seem to be starving. I'm hoping for a complete turnaround within the upcoming weeks.
More teeth = more food = less pain.

Progress Report

The good, the bad and the ugly ....

The Good -
Elaina is feeling much better ! Yeah !
The babysitter reported that she had a pretty good day for the most part. She is finally beginning to act like her regular, sweet, little, silly self.

The Bad -
Elaina continues to be on a food strike. Apparently, she ate alright at lunchtime, but by the time dinner rolled around, she was only willing to try yogurt.

The Ugly -
The "ugly" made it's presence known in Elaina's diaper. The sight, the sound, the smell .... oohh, what a mess.
Just one more good reason for Elaina to feel better.

Babysitting

So you'd be inclined to think that I was finished talking about babysitting in yesterday's post, right ? And doesn't it bother you (like it does me) when parents say they have to stay home to "babysit" their own children ?

Well, I used the title, "Babysitting" for today's post because that is all I did today - sat with my baby. We rocked, we read books, we watched cartoons, we slept - not a typical day. Elaina is sick. A sick that I really can't explain, I'm going to have to put it under the symptom category that she is teething and she is on dental-protrusion-overload. How's that ?

Elaina was good all of yesterday yet, in the evening, refused to eat any dinner and was overly tired. This morning, she woke up and shot snot from her nose with each sneeze and refused to eat breakfast. I began to detect that we weren't going to have the best of days. Wanting to make her comforatable and content, I made a little nest for us on the sofa with a giant stack of books to read to her. She snuggled in with me and somewhere in the middle of our third book, she leaned forward and sat back up and hurled vomit of curdled milk everywhere. Twice. ( I should have put a disclaimer on the gross content at the top. That's all - no more gross from here on. ) Elaina began to cry and I cuddled her tight and took off her jammies and threw everything into the wash. Thank God (and Mom) for a slipcovered ottoman ! She settled down in a warm bath and fell asleep immediately afterward.

The rest of our day I spent sitting with Elaina. She was the most cuddly, huggy, close child you could ever want. She barely left my side or my lap, or my hip. Can't say that I had a problem with that ... 7 hours of hugging my baby; I just wished she would have felt better. I kept her loaded with Tylenol for the majority of the day since she had been running a fever and I could tell minute by minute as it began to lose effectiveness.

Daddy came home today about 4:00 from the NASCAR race in Bristol and was anxious to see his girls. Elaina welcomed him home with a big hug and rested her head on his shoulder. For the majority of the day, she refused to eat and shoved food right back at me. After daddy had been home for a while, Elaina picked up a slight interest in eating. I was pleased that she drank a fair amount of Pedailyte with a hint of apple juice for flavor throughout the day and had consistant wet diapers. She went to bed easily and I hope that she's all better by morning ! She'll still have plenty of hugs waiting for her without being sick !

Getting There

In "getting there" I am referring to the fact that I am finally giving into admitting that there will be circumstances beyond our control that we will be leaving Elaina with a babysitter (other than Monday - Friday) and we will both be okay.

This morning I was invited to a baby shower brunch for my good friend, Jessica. Her guest list was fairly large and seating was already limited without children being invited. This was the perfect opportunity to break in a new babysitter. Our neighbor, Katie, whom I have babysat for in the past years and love, came over to watch Elaina for a couple of hours while I was at the shower. It just made sense; Katie is 14 and loves Elaina and is super cautious and responsible and is the big sister of two younger sisters. I don't really love leaving Elaina behind, but since the party was only 5 minutes from home, I would be close. Finally, I think it's good for Elaina to get used to someone other than myself or Nancy to watch her. All of this fit perfectly today in a two and a half hour window while I was out.

I arrived home to a smiling Elaina and a happy Katie and the toys all picked up in the living room. Katie commented that Elaina was a sweetheart and they had a good time together. I didn't have any doubts, but just have to say that this was a good experience for all of us.

Here it is !!

Pictures of the long-awaited-new patio !

I love it ! Our new stamped concrete looks like it belongs on an entirely different house, since this is the biggest upgrade we have made to the outside of our house since we got new doors. I've included some before shots (not the best example) and of course, the finished product. Now Elaina can play on the new patio with her picnic table and ride her tricycle (next year) and I can even decorate with some flowery planters.

And did I mention, no more weeding between the bricks ? And, I can't say that I'll miss falling off of our former short-back-step and nearly twisting my ankle on the broken brick at least one time a year. Also, as of last week, we had a giant metal water-catch basin next to our back door. That has been replaced by a barrel burried in our yard and a giant-sized step ready for plants in it's place. As if you couldn't tell by now, I love our new patio !

Tea Time !

Just about two weeks ago, Elaina and I enjoyed a tea party as we were playing in her "kitchen" together. We each had little bowls and teaspoon measuring cups to stir our imaginary "tea" with and then sip from our spoons. We included Elaina's doll baby at our tea party as I showed her how to offer BabyDoll sips from her spoon. She loved it ! ( Elaina that is ... Babydoll didn't comment.)

Tonight, as we were enjoying our tea party, Elaina pulled Babydoll over and began to offer her "tea" from her spoon.

She remembered ! She remembered how we played last time and she remembered to share ! Just another shining moment in the life of my one year old ! I'm so proud !

Precious Moments

Last night ended somewhat hurriedly as Mike, the concrete man was finishing our patio and Elaina and I had returned from a walk. After giving Elaina a quick bath and a mini-baby-massage, she was down for the count. Then I was back to discuss the final care of our patio with Mike, until he would return the following day.

As I was wrapping up my evening all by myself, I hadn't felt that I had suffient-baby-hugging-time with my favorite girl. I peeked in on Elaina sleeping in her crib just like an angel and just had to peel her out to get my fill of cuddles and kisses for the day.

I've always thought that adoption was an amazing to thing to unite a family in love. I guess that it's true that you don't know the power of that love until it happens in your life. I can't say that my love for Ella or Ava was any stronger than my love for our adopted angel. Each of them are a part of my heart. As I rocked Elaina in my arms, I began to play the "who-does-she-look-like-most-game." She looks like Eric and she has my characteristics. When we first became her parents, I wondered if there would be a day that I look at her and see her bio-mom. I am here to tell you that there is barely a resemblance. Elaina is and always has been custom made for us.

It's amazing how fast time flies, yet I can honestly say that not a single minute has gone by that I am not eternally thankful for our beautiful, healthy daughter. There hasn't yet been a time that I watch her and haven't been amazed by her. I still well up with tears of gratitude and awe when I think that this is the exact baby that God had made for us. It wasn't by luck or coincidence - it was a miracle. What an incredible gift to wrap my arms around every single day !

The Need for Speed

Can someone explain to me how watching race cars go around and around and around the racetrack can be so exciting ? I guess I'll just chalk this one up to "I'm-just-a-girl-who-doesn't-get-the-sport" kinda thing.

Eric left this morning (along with 11 other guys in an RV) and headed to the NASCAR races in Bristol for the weekend. I'm glad that he gets away to enjoy some down time with his buddies once in a while, but I don't understand how Eric makes it through the whole race. While watching the race on TV at home, he moreless ends up watching the insides of his eyelids. The constant hum of the race cars always puts him to sleep ! I'm going to have to guess that the actually race is more thrilling from the stands.

Since Eric is gone, Elaina and I will be enjoying some girl time this weekend. I can't even tell you how much I am ready for this weekend to get here. What a busy week ! Our concrete patio will be finished tomorrow night when I get home from work and I'll be posting a new picture shortly thereafter. It really looks great so far and I'm glad that we decided to get it done. One more house project to cross off the list. WhooHoo !

Back to School ...

and the kids are back ! Back at the babysitter's house that is. With the exception of Elaina, everyone of the kids that Nancy (the babysitter) watches, their parents are teachers. So that means that Elaina had the entire summer to soak up all of the spoiling as the only child, until now. The kids have now filtered back into the babysitter routine.

I just have to say that Nancy is awesome. She admits that she and Elaina have a special relationship and that she just loves her. She loves all of the kids that she cares for, but at least she has left me with the peace of mind to think that she loves mine the most. So, amidst all of the chaos and activity throughout the day, at least I know that our baby won't just be bumped off to the side. Nancy really does an incredible job of caring for all of the kids. There just happens to be one little boy who she watched last school year who really tries her patience. Luke is 6 months older than Elaina and isn't the easiest child to say the least. Apparently, he screamed and cried for 2 hours straight which interfered with all of the other kids' naps and disrupted the peace all day. (Thank God that he's only there 3 days a week ! ) I remember from last year that he was very temperamental and just screamed alot. In fact, our Little Miss Sweetness learned how to scream at the top of her voice as well. That only lasted one day at home before she learned that it's not necessary and we don't do that at home.

When I arrived to pick Elaina up this afternoon, Nancy met me outside with Elaina and told me about Luke-the-Screamer. Elaina barely got a nap (nor did the other kids) and she was dog-tired. As soon as we got home, the tired's got the best of her and she was out. She took an hour nap and woke up as good as new ! She just needed to recharge her battery and make up for lost time. We had a nice evening together and she played and played - happy to be the only center of attention again !

Feeling Lucky

It seems as though Elaina's little, white sandals won't be making it through the end of the summer afterall. Her feet are growing like crazy ! That leaves her with only one pair of sandals and they make her feet stink like a skunk farm.

On my lunch break today, I set out to the local children's resale shop to see about getting Elaina one more pair of sandals to get her through the next month or two. What incredible luck I had ! I found the cutest pair of brand new brown sandals that don't make her feet stink !! They are perfect and had never been worn. While at the store, I checked out their inventory of used books to find 2 bathtub books. That's exactly what I had been looking for in the stores and I found 2 here for under $1 a piece !! I cleaned them up and Elaina loves reading her new books in the tub ! Seriously, the girl can't get enough of her books.

While we're on the subject, I'll just document more proof of my addiction problem : I bought Elaina a new winter vest, a spring rain coat and more pj's. And another pair of brand new shoes. And more books.

Okay .... I've always wanted a girl to spoil and now that I've got her... this is what happens ! Commit me !

Automatic Baby Washer

Who needs a bathtub ?

This is one of Elaina's favorite spots ... right on the dishwasher door !

Family Date

What a most unusual day ... we went the whole day without any plans ! Yeah !

The biggest thing on today's agenda was to go phone shopping. My cell phone was in dire need of an upgrade and so we headed out to pick out a new phone for me. Just for the record, I have to say that I would rather have the skin cut off my knees than to shop for a new cell phone. The people at the store were less than friendly, hardly helpful and acted like we were in their way. That doesn't make for happy customers. The problem is that we had to stay with our current cellular provider due to the fact that it has the best coverage in our area. Otherwise, we would be with a different company in a hot minute.

So, on with our family date. No spankings for Elaina this morning, in fact, when she got tired I just lay her in her crib and she napped for nearly an hour and a half. Even more surprising, Eric and I took a nap too ! I'm not sure the last time we had a mid-morning nap other than times we've been sick. It was lovely !!! I know that every family is busy, and we're not much different. It was nice to finally have some down time and forget about the floor that could be mopped, the toys that could be picked up and all of the dust that could be dusted from the entire house. Not today ! Today was family-date-day !

Elaina was so very good. Two days of shopping in a row and she was great. We even went out to dinner and she did well. We must have fulfilled her shopping quota for the day since she fell asleep in her car seat barely 5 minutes after leaving the restaurant.

What a wonderful ending to an incredibly busy few weeks !

It's hard to find good help ...

Lucky for Daddy - he's got the best helper ever ! Here is a partial picture of our new concrete work. The flower box has been laid and the back step has been created. We were hoping the job would be completed by this weekend, but with rain in the forecast both Saturday and Sunday, the cement mixing places were closed. ( I may need to think of changing careers.)

How about Elaina's pseudo-Uggz ? I was taking inventory of her 18 month old sized clothes to see what I could get away with buying and came across these new kicks ! She's right in fashion with her slinky, sundress and her wooly boots ! That's one way to mask the odor from her "stinkin' feets !" (she thinks that is funny !) Whew ... until the boots come off !!

One and Fun !!

*** Just for the record, this photo was not prompted in any way ... the girl loves her books and her sofa ! If there isn't a cozy lap making room for her rump, this is her second favorite spot.

Doesn't our Little Sweetness look just like an angel ? Sitting on her mini - sofa, reading her "Jesus Loves Me" book. What a good girl !!

The first thing that you have to know is that this photo was taken on Friday. Let's just fast forward a little to this morning .... that would be when Elaina got 2 little spankings. The first one was to get her attention and the second swat was to make sure that she didn't forget. Please keep in mind that we hardly ever spank our child, nor is there reason to. Also, this mornings' "spanks" were really more of a swat. As far as I'm concerned, there is a difference. (you never know who's reading and making their own inferences) So when I was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast and Elaina was sitting on a chair at the table (4 feet from me) playing happily with her sippy cup and scattering the newspaper around the table, I felt secure that by turning around every minute to see her was okay. NOPE. The last time I turned around, she was standing on top of the table !!! Little stinker ! It's amazing that a one year old can make such quick and stealth moves - like a cat ! I don't even have to be reminded that it's only going to get worse. No wonder you hear so many accident stories begin with, " I only turned around just for a minute ... "

And so, Elaina recovered after brief tears and a sobbing cry after only a few minutes. I think that I hurt her feelings more by quickly plucking her from the table and scaring her than I did by swatting her rear. I have to admit that I'm okay with that - I would rather scare her into never doing that again than having her fall on her head. Oh, and did I mention that our table top is granite ? Not especially bounce- friendly. It looks like the next thing on the baby-teaching agenda will be " no climbing on chairs OR TABLES ! " I'm beginning to agree with great-grandma when she says that we need to tie an anchor to Elaina's legs to keep her from climbing. Now, where do I go about getting an anchor ?

After the the excitement of our new centerpiece for our table and Mommy's heart palpitations wore off, Elaina and I went shopping. She was so well behaved all day until the very last store, which even then, I knew I was pressing my luck. We had been out for nearly 6 hours and had a good time together. We stopped for lunch at Wendy's and shared our meal as Elaina bounced in her highchair with french fries in both hands. It was so cool eating out with just my daughter and myself. I go out to lunch plenty with my friends, my husband, and often in my car as I shop, but it was so special just to sit in the restaurant and enjoy a quick meal with my favorite girlfriend of all. We had a no-rush, no-agenda kind of day. A successful day at that - I even found a fall/winter coat for her.

** Editor's note : we weren't really shopping for a winter coat yet, it's just that her summer wardrobe is jam packed and her fall/winter wardrobe is ridiculous already. I just really needed a legitimate item to buy that she would need. Did I mention that she is fun to shop for ? I really have a problem.

She Likes It ... She Really Likes It !

Today, August 17, 2006, Elaina likes pizza !

On several previous occasions, we have had pizza for dinner and encouraged Elaina to eat what we were eating. On these several, previous, occasions, Elaina has not wanted any part of eating pizza. Now what ? I had already foreseen that there would be plenty more pizza dinners in our future and hated to have to rely on bologna as the back-up dinner for her. So, tonight as the guys were working hard on our patio demolition (Eric is working with them, sweat- equity) Elaina and I went out to pick up dinner. Pizza. I had already fed her dinner earlier so that she wouldn' have to starve and she ate plenty. Once we arrived home, I put the pizza box on the table and she reached her little arm up requesting her share. I tore off some crust and she happily walked around the kitchen, munching on her prize. And then another. And then another.

Elaina likes pizza ! What a little Goofball !

Can't Argue With That !

As we prepare to have our new concrete laid this weekend, we've been going to different homes to see some finished work done by our contractor. As we went to yet another home tonight to check out another pattern, the wife of the contractor admired Elaina and commented, "BOY .... does she look like her Daddy !"
We smiled together and I acknowleged the same.

Who are we to argue with that ? God knew what He was doing, it's not a coincidence. Elaina is a custom-made miracle. Of course she looks like her dad !

Stinky Jobs

Soon, we are going to be breaking ground (again) at this Old House. Eric will be tearing out our aged, brick patio in order to have a new stamped-concrete pad laid this weekend. Unfortunately, when he and his friend were digging out a hole in the ground with a gigantic backhoe ( it's good to have friends with big toys !) in order to bury a watershed barrel, they hit the sewer line. Oops ! It's lucky that I have a very inclined and capable husband who was able to fix and replace the damage in just under an hour !

Let the demolition begin !

Grumpy Grower

I think I have mentioned several times now how amazingly fast kids grow ! I am certain that Elaina's little body is growing by the hour. Tonight, she resisted a second nap at the sitter's house and was cranky-tired by 5:00. She only wanted to eat mandarin oranges and Goldfish crackers for dinner and that was only in between whines and food throwing. It's not her fault that she is so tired, the poor baby is ever-changing. I carried her upstairs and cleaned her up and gave her some Tylenol. I rarely like to medicate her on a whim, but tonight's behavior is completely out of the ordinary. I'm sure that her growing molars are painful and she is just uncomforatable and exhausted. I rocked her for a few minutes to sooth her before I lay her in her crib. Once down, she screamed like no other. Oh My !! My heart was breaking, she never does this. I kept telling myself that I did what I needed to do and I had to let her be. Also, because this happened in the middle of dinner, I didn't want her to think that this behavior will release her from the table and demand attention. Once downstairs, I counted the minutes on the clock as Elaina sobbed overhead. It was painful to hear her cry. I set a limit when I was going to give in and console her. I would wait out a full 10 minutes. Time seemed to take forever as we stared at the minute hand. Three long minutes later and not a peep. That's all it took. Whew... 3 minutes can be an eternity!

An hour later, sleeping beauty was revived, refreshed and recharged. My girlfriends came down with their babies and we took out the jogging-stroller brigade to walk a few laps around town. As my friends and I chatted along, Elaina laughed along as if she was part of the conversation and she was the one making the jokes. She was cracking herself up ! What was even more funny is that she would begin to laugh at our stories about 30 seconds after we stopped laughing. She kinda reminded me of watching a film with a delayed soundtrack ! What a little silly ... this is the girl I know and love !