Five Fabulous Months with Eloise Marie

I am sorry. There are just too many here that I can't choose one. So I chose four. I loved this last one because it shows what's she's been doing this past month a lot: rolling over. And as you can see, she is pretty good at it! What a fun time to see her really starting to get moving and interacting with everything around her...Lucy, her toys, family, friends, and most of all, us. She grabs our faces, watches us and smiles back, and loves talking to us. She even learned to laugh this month! Our beautiful girl blesses us everyday, and we are so grateful. I feel like I am kind of getting in a groove with her, and honestly, that feels really good. It allows me to focus more on being with her, and the rest comes secondary. Now, we've still continued to chip away at our ever present to do list, but in a way that is making more time for our family. I hope we can continue to do this, and when I catch myself worrying about all there is to do, I hope I can remind myself of why I am here: to be with and teach my classroom of one. Well here's all about this month...Enjoy!

5 Months Old! 

Weight: 14 lbs. 3 oz.

Length: 27.5 inches

1. Eating? This big girl is now eating cereal! She has some once a day, but is otherwise still nursing. Thankful she is growing and still so healthy!

2. Sleeping? She is doing great still with sleeping at night! We put her to bed about 8:30, and she will sleep in until 9:00, and sometimes later! This month we have learned how to take better naps, and try for at least one long nap each day. Usually it is in the afternoon, but she'll sleep for two or more hours on most days! So though it is not a strict schedule like I thought I would have by now, we are making progress on napping, which makes our evenings with our girl that much more enjoyable!

3. Milestones? There have been so many this month! Our favorite milestone has been hearing her sweet laughs for the first time at one of her very own family members...Lucy! She is so much more coordinated in her fine motor skills, and loves to grab everything...her own feet, her toys, my hair, my phone, cups, and pretty much anything else she can reach! She sure can kick too, which adds to the bounce of her bouncy chair. It cracks us up! She also has really learned to roll over, and does it just about every time we lay her down. She likes to roll over at night too, which caused some sleepless nights for this momma, but now she likes sleeping on her belly, and looks so cute too. Ellie loves putting her feet in her mouth too, and it sometimes seems that she'll get the whole thing in her mouth! Haha! And now she enjoys her baths more, since she gets to sit in her yellow bath sponge in the sink. She eats cereal now too, and does a great job eating it. She talks and talks while eating it, and starts crying if we don't feed her fast enough! We got out her exer-saucer thingy about two weeks ago, which has been fun to watch her play with her new toys. She loves that thing, and gets so excited playing in it! 

Right after she rolled over (purposely) for the first time!

Cutie pie is liking her baths more and more!

Ellie first time in her exer-saucer! She loves it!

4. Activities and adventures?
My goodness...There is so much this month again! We started this month with work on the outside of our house, and unfortunately, are still working on it. I thought this was a cute picture of Lucy and Dexter, but it also shows how much work there is left to do. Oh well...We will get it done eventually!

The first few weeks of the month were full of house and Pride of Oklahoma drama (more to come on this one), but then my 30th birthday rolled around and we were busy busy! The night before my actual birthday, Chris and I went out on a date to watch Disney's "Planes" and dinner at Bienvenuti's while Auntie Fran watched our little girl. It was so nice to get out just the two of us! 

My actual birthday was filled with time with friends and family, and I had a day I will always remember. My mom arrived in the morning with gifts, dessert, and "30" balloons to help me with Eloise, because many of my Tiger family members were coming over for lunch. We ordered sandwiches from Midway, and Brenda, my mom, and me made desserts to share. My friends arrived with smiles, hugs, and even a birthday card, which made my day since I had really been missing them. We were able to relax and have a nice little lunch in the backyard! And then I had a lovely delivery from my dear old Dad: an Edible Arrangement with extra chocolate dipped fruits!

After lunch, Chris arrived home early from work, and my Mom and I headed out for some pedicures! Then for the final leg of my 30th birthday, my little family headed downtown for some picnic shopping (though I brought other treats from the day) at Whole Foods and a picnic at the Myriad Gardens. We ended up getting there much later than we intended, but still had a nice evening together, and got to watch the reflection of the sunset on the Botanical Gardens. It was a wonderful day surrounded by many wonderful people that made me feel so much love. So thankful!

The card from the English department for ME! Wow!
One of the sweetest things, and just about brought me to tears.

Beautiful artwork from beautiful artists!

Gifts from my Momma

Flowers from Chris and friends!

Some of the friends that were able to join us for lunch!

Awesome balloons...Until I accidentally released one! Whoops!

First family photo with a smiling girl!

Mimi, Ellie, and me!

A few pictures from our family picnic!

The week continued with many more fun activities, some just because and some for my birthday, but with each day, it helped me me not be so sad about not going back to school. I was surprised to find myself missing the excitement of the beginning of the year, but most of all, seeing all my friends on a daily basis. One awesome activity that I got to go on was a Full Moon Bike Ride downtown wearing my "This is What 30 Looks Like" with my long-time friend, Joellen, her sister, Amri, and a few other friendly faces. Joellen and I were also celebrating our 17th friendversary, so we made the most of our evening adventure! 

I was able to celebrate my birthday with more of my family, and with a delicious and gorgeous cake made by my lovely sister, Jennie! WOW! It was incredible! They all brought a dish of my favorites, and I enjoyed being able to spend time with the whole group. I received many thoughtful gifts and cards, and had another beautiful day!

Some of the Cash women!

Some of my favorite cards were from my nieces, each with their own special "note"!

My final birthday celebration (I know...Enough celebrations, alright!?!) was with friends from all parts of my life at the Food Truck Festival near downtown OKC. There were more than a dozen food trucks to choose from, and ate our treats on a blanket nearby. I guess you could say that I love picnics and I love all the fun OKC now has to offer! What a great city! 

I love this card more than I could ever express. It is a note from my best friend, Francesca, with 30 things she loves about me. It is something I will always treasure, and keep it close to remind me of my good qualities even on my worst days. Love you Fran!

I have incredible people in my life, even those that will break the law with me just for fun! Haha...We tried to release some lanterns after the Food Truck Festival (I bought 30), and though it didn't work out as well as I had planned, we have a great story to tell! We only launched 2 because they were so difficult to send off! Those two were beautiful in the sky though! 

 

This past month Ellie experienced her first game day too! It was so hot, but we had to continue with our tradition of watching The Pride at their pregame concert and eating at Hideaway. I had wanted to attend the game, but with the heat and Miss Baby, I didn't think it was possible, until Francesca asked me to go with her and sit in her college's suite! It was so much fun, and so much delicious food. An experience I never thought I'd get to have, and I did! Thank you Fran!

We also celebrated Lola's birthday this month with a meal to Hideaway and cake and gifts at our house! Ellie loves her Lola, that's for sure!

We celebrated another two special people in our lives, Memaw and Poppy! Ellie's great-grandparents love her to death, and she does too! They are such sweet and giving people, and had a wonderful time celebrating them!

Ellie and I got to spend some time with some stay-at-home mommas and babies recently as well, and had a few fun adventures with them. This picture is after a fun day going to Green Bambino and Whole Foods with Joellen, and her sister, Amri. It was tricky juggling 4 babies, but we had a good time together!

On Eloise's actualy 5-month old birthday, we went on another adventure with two good friends and their babies, who are also teachers turned mommas. We went to the zoo with the Bassets and the Colemans! I can really understand why some mommas have such a hard time getting out and about with the babes, because it really is just easier to stay at home, but I also think it's important, at least for me, to get out and do something fun! Even if it means being sweaty and exhausted at the end of the day! Thankful to have friends I can do these things with now too.

Later on that day, we attended Taste of Norman and the High vs. North football game, both being more firsts for Ellie! I was happy to see so many familiar faces, both friends and students. And to top it off, we won! Hooray!

Finally, I was able to watch a cutie pie of a Norman High tiger and Ellie had a friend to play with for the day. Cameron is a charmer and made Ellie smile many times. I love him and his momma too!

5. Favorite baby item? Her exer-saucer! I actually have no idea if this is what it is really called, but it's the best way to describe it. She LOVES it and can play in it for almost an hour if I let her! 

6. Favorite moment this past month? When she started laughing at Chris and Lucy while they were playing! We have been trying to get her to laugh for weeks now, and all of the sudden she was doing it! She was cracking up so much at Lucy, I thought she was getting upset. I love her little voice and can't wait to her more giggles!

7. Looking forward to this next month? She is ALMOST sitting up! While I am excited about this, I am also a bit tearful, because this means she's growing up. Oh, and of course, FALL! I am so excited about sharing it all with Eloise too!

8. Visitors?: Though we didn't have any new visitors to our house, she did meet several fellow Pride alumni at the first home game. It was so wonderful to see everyone, and they were all so complimentary of our sweetie. 

9. One thing I've learned: For now, I've stopped making weekly, daily, and just about hourly to do lists.   I have an idea of what I'd like to get done each day, but without them, I've been able to let go a little more, enjoy a little more, and still get the most important things done each day. I've been happier about my abilities as a wife and momma, and now just take it a day at a time. I keep reminding myself that I chose to stay home to be with her, and that everything else is secondary. 

10. My message to Ellie:

Five months old! Goodness! Where has my tiny baby gone? It's hard to believe it's almost been half a year with you. This past month has been the most fun so far: listening to your giggles, watching you roll over, feeding you cereal while you blow bubbles, and snuggling with you each morning. Your little personality is starting to show through, and I love seeing that in you! You are so happy, and your smiles make each day worth any of the tough stuff. One of my favorite things is when I turn to look at you, find you already watching me, and then you greet me with a big toothless grin. You are so beautiful and everywhere we go, people stop to talk to you and tell us so. Every experience is new for you, and it has helped me to slow down and take it all in. I love that you are so much more interactive with us, and even Lucy, and playing with you is simply the best. Looking forward to showing you all the beauty of fall over this next month too! Love you so much sweet girl!!!

Here are some more of our favorites from this past month...