New Quirk

Everyday, Elinore is revealing more and more of her personality (I think we will have our hands full...). Lately, her newest quirk is to look like this one moment:


...and then look like this the next moment:

This face is always accompanied by pursed lips and fast, rapid breathing through her nose. We crack up every time, which I think, spurs her on even more!

Finally!

A little white nub can be seen just below the surface of Ellie's lower gum. Let's hope that these first teeth pop up quickly, with as little pain as possible...

Everybody Loves Bubbles!

Roadtrip

Last weekend, we took a road trip down to Richmond, VA so that Jeremy could get a weight lifting certification, and also so that we could visit our good friends the Gaubatz family. With the exception of our flight back to Idaho for my postpartum recovery when she was 5 weeks old, this was Ellie's first trip away from home.

We were a little trepidatious about how she would do eating- and sleeping-wise, as she is not the best at either under even the most ideal conditions. The trip did not head off well in that she would not go to sleep or eat for 6 hours (!). However, praise God, by the second day she was eating and sleeping very well, much to our astonishment and relief. Actually, she slept better than she often does at home!

Unfortunately, my camera batteries died early in the trip, and having had to pack a UHaul-worthy load for the Little Miss, I forgot to bring our charger. So, here are very little pictures for a very full weekend:

Elinore was ready to rock and roll in her new car seat!

Sharing a snack with Mommy...(Don't be alarmed: She just licked, drooled and gummed the apple)

Little (big!) Jeremy and Big Sis Bethany

Ellie and Bethany, who is trying to hold her "gently"

And YAY! Jeremy passed his training course with flying colors, and is now a certified weight-lifting trainer. He keeps saying that he is going to have Ellie be an Olympic weight lifting champion, and now it looks like he could officially help her meet this goal (over Mom's dead body).

"She is not big at all..."

"...for an average 12 month old," our pediatrician stated with a laugh at Ellie's 6 month appointment.



6 MONTH ELLIE STATS, in no particular order:

• 17 lbs., 2 oz. (she dropped to the 75 percentile), 28.5 in. (um...off the charts!)
• She is sitting up without any help -- this makes grocery shopping so much easier, as I can just plop her in the cart and both of my hands are free. This also makes bathtime more fun for her as she can sit in the big girl tub and play in her floating toy land.
• She can stand up if she is holding onto something for brief periods of time.
• She can roll front-to-back, back-to-front quickly and like a pro. No more leaving her unattended on the bed, etc.
• She hangs out on her tummy quite a bit now, but still shows no interest in crawling (which is fine by Mom, at this point!)
• She is almost certainly teething as she drooly, drooly, drooly. Also, she gnaws on her hands and anything that is in her path. Baby Motrin is our nighttime friend.
• She is a Chatty Cathy. Her favorite consonants are "Ba ba ba" and "Ga...ba." She still loves trilling spit in the back of her throat too.
• She is still attending physical therapy, and her neck muscles are getting much better. Although the PT said, "Well, now both sides of her neck muscles are a bit tight...I think it is just because she is so...active and wants to grab at everything." Yes. That would be our Girl.
• Her reflux seems under control, and her appetite is fantastic now! That is certainly a relief, although considering her size, she was never in the "failure to thrive" category, now was she?
• She is obsessed with the cats, and desperately wants to be their friends -- particularly Thomas'. However, she expresses this by lunging and shrieking at him, and also by lurking over him in her jumper while he eats. He is not ready to make a commitment to her yet.
• She is growing up too quickly.

There is more than one way to skin a cat...

Elinore figured out a clever way to get more longevity out of her tummy time...even if she was tired, and finding it difficult to hold up her head:

"What? Doesn't every baby do this when they're tired?"

"Dad, you crack me up!"

Cherry Blossoms

Last weekend, the Peterson family braved the overcrowded metro to go down and see the beautiful cherry blossoms at the tidal basin.

It was a fairly nice day, and it was great to get out and get some fresh air! Ellie loved everything from the elevator ride at the metro station to the endless people watching.

Our little Cherry Blossom in from of the cherry blossoms

Daddy and his Girl

We spread out a blanket and let Little E romp about with Mom and Dad snapping photos like paparazzi...

Caught in the middle of a "Ba ba ba" commentary

"Yuck! I think I swallowed a bug!"

Mommy and the Girl

You won't believe it, but...

Jeremy and I had our first date-date (read: without the little bean) yesterday. Our amazing friends at church provided us with a gift certificate to our favorite restaurant, Filomena Ristorante, coupled with babysitting.

The date began a bit crazy as I knocked off our passenger side mirror by hitting another car's mirror (!!). However, after being frazzled and venting about the narrow streets of Georgetown, we ended up having a lovely time over an authentic Italian feast. We recalled how the Lord has been faithful to us throughout our marriage, and talked about how we wanted to strengthen our marriage by His grace and for His glory. The humorous moment of our date was when the waiter innocently asked if we wanted coffee, and having been up since 6:00 a.m. that morning with a teething princess, we practically lunged at him simultaneously with an empathetic "YES!!". Then we looked at each other and laughed. I am sure he thought we were nuts.

March Recapped

Okay, so sorry for the drought of pictures and updates this last month. It was a busy month, so here are the quick hightlights:

• Grandma Stephanie came into town at the beginning of March, and we had a blast! We were scheduled to drive down and visit Ellie's Grandma Great Madeline in NC; however, GG got to flu and unfortunately, we were unable to see her. Despite the change in plans, we had a great time, and Ellie had fun showing Gram all her new moves in her new jumperoo:
  

Ellie with her "dancing shoes" and her BabyLegs on, courtesy of Grandma Stephanie

• The third week of March, my college roomate and dear, dear friend SooKyung came into town with her husband. It was great to catch up, and see Ellie with her Imo.
  
  
• Then, for Easter, Jeremy played the trumpet at the church of our good friends, Vell and Carmen. Afterward, we had brunch at their home, and E got to play with E. (As I mentioned before, Jeremy is set on these gals being best friends, and they certainly look as though they are well on their way to becoming just that!)
  

** More Easter pics to come!**

• Finally, a few days after Easter, Auntie Tara dropped in for a visit on her way back down to NC, and showed us her own baby dog, Ella (I teased her that her name choice sounded an awful like someone else's name...)
  

And WHEW! I think that was it for March.

For now...

Well, a lot has happened these last two weeks: visits from family and friends, and -- of course -- Easter yesterday (Praise God for His faithfulness to an unfaithful people!). However, as far as pictures go, this is all I have for now...



More to come!