5K!

Ellie and I participated in the 5K Fun Run for Ethan Mendenhall this morning.  (Ethan is a student of mine who is fighting cancer.) I ran a little bit, but mostly walked while pushing Ellie in her stroller.  It was at 6 am so Ellie was in her PJ's still, and drank her breakfast as we went.  She dozed off towards the end.  Ethan was standing at the finish line with a bunch of cheerleaders greeting the runners.  It was so neat to see him!  I was glad to be done (it was getting pretty hot!) but I was glad we did it.  It made me realize how out of shape I am, though.

9 month checkup

Okay, so Eliana is technically a week away from being 9 months old, but we made her appointment early so that I could get it done before the school year started. (Getting a sub is a nightmare sometimes.)  Anyway, she weighed 16 and 1/2 pounds, and she is 27 inches long!  This puts her at the 10th percentile for weight and the 45th percentile for height.


Ellie and I both had a bad cold/sore throat over the last week, but when the doctor checked her out today, he noticed that she had an ear infection!  I felt so bad--I thought she was starting to feel better like I was, and that she was just fussy because she was teething. Anyway, she got some antibiotics, so hopefully she'll start feeling better now.


At (almost) 9 months:

• Ellie crawls, pulls up onto furniture, "cruises" down the couch and loveseat, and has started letting go to try to stand by herself (not successfully).  She loves holding onto your fingers and walking across the room!  She claps and waves and loves grinning at her reflection in the mirror. 

• She loves peek-a-boo, especially when it is played with her stuffed animals.  She is starting to obsess over toys--holding onto them for hours at a time, and not letting anyone take them away.  She loves reading and gets really excited at pictures of dogs and cats.  She says mama mama a lot, but I don't think she means me.

• She is not sleeping through the night, and doesn't go to bed easily, but she is napping better during the day.    When she is really fussy, taking her outside usually calms her right down.  She likes swinging on the back porch and going for walks in the stroller.  Sometimes we even go feed the ducks--which fascinates her.  She plays more independently, but still loves playing with mom and dad. 

• Her favorite time of day is bath time.  She gets so excited when we turn on the water in the tub!  She has three rubber duckies, a turtle, and an octopus that she likes to play with in the tub--always two at a time--one for each hand. 

• She's doing okay at daycare so far. She likes playing with the other girls and with the fun toys (way cooler than the ones we have at home!) I get so worried about her, though. I'm not used to being apart. 

Cruisin'

I sure love my Stinker-poo!  She's getting so big, so fast!

Countdown to the beginning of the school year

Get Ellie enrolled in daycare. Check.

Buy Ellie some shoes to wear to daycare. Check.

Buy some nametag holders for my classroom. Check.

Spend as much time playing with my baby as possible before I have to leave her for 8 hours a day. Check.

Gear myself up for teaching again. Sort of Check.

Ready or not, here it comes!

My little jailbird

Number forty-seven said to number three:
You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see.

I sure would be delighted with your company,
Come on and do the jailhouse rock with me.

Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock.

Ellie looked like a little convict this morning in her

striped pajamas behind her crib bars. 

Just couldn't help getting Elvis Presley's 

"Jailhouse Rock" stuck in my head.

Have a happy Tuesday! 

And stay out of the "Big House," folks!

Kasi's Pictures

My sister-in-law, Kasi, is a multi-talented lady.  She is currently working to get a nursing degree, but one of her many hobbies is photography.  These are a few of the amazing pics she took of our family this past weekend in Boise:

Thank you, Kasi!  You're the best!

Shauna and Rob's Wedding Celebration!

This past weekend, we went to Boise to celebrate my sister Shauna's marriage to Rob.  They are the cutest couple--and so lovey-dovey!  By the way, Shauna is an amazing singer, and Rob is an amazing pianist, and I'm hoping they'll collaborate on a recording project soon!  My sister-in-law, Kasi was the photographer for the event, so for this post, I've hijacked a few photos (like this one) that she has posted to the internet and mixed them with a few that I took.  I can't wait until I get more of Kasi's pics!

Here is a picture that Dave took of Ellie and I at the reception.  It was such a relaxing event!  Good company, yummy food, and to-die-for-desserts made by my very talented sister Hannah. 

Ellie had a blast!  Ellie couldn't get enough of playing with the beautiful bride, aunts, uncles, and especially cousins!  She played so cute with Samara--and they looked like twinners in their pink seersucker dresses!  Her older cousins, Alyssa and Katie, were so good to help take care of Ellie!  I wish they lived closer so they could come babysit for me!

We missed having my brother Nathan there (he's on a mission in Mexico) but we videotaped the festivities and found a funny way to include him in our family photos.  (Look towards the top right of the picture:)

 
It was Andrew and Tatiana's 1 year anniversary!  Aren't they cute!  Oh, to be young again.

My mom made us all quilts for our early Christmas present this year.  Aren't they amazing?

We got ours when we visited Merced a few weeks ago:

Before the festivities began, we went to Lowell Lake where my family went boating.  Ellie waded in the water, and sat in the squishy wet sand and played. Isn't this an adorable shot!  Thanks Kasi!

Oh, and she LOVED the cute doggies.  Nicole's Cleo made Ellie laugh like I've never heard her laugh before!  So sweet! 

Ellie took her first airplane ride on the way to Idaho. It was just Ellie and I, so it was a challenge to get through the airport with all of our gear, but we did it!  She did relatively well on the plane--considering the turbulance, but I'm thinking we'll wait a while before we try that again.  Dave drove up for the reception and we all drove back together.  She did super on the car ride home!  Phew!

To my family:  I love you!  I wish we could have stayed longer on Sunday to hear the music and see all the quilts together.  I can't wait to see you all again!  Thank you for being so sweet to Ellie!  She loves you guys already!  Shauna and Rob, thanks for your hospitality!  You two are awesome and deserve every happiness!

So far this summer...

We had a Memorial Day BBQ.

We celebrated Father's Day at Chuckarama.

Ellie watched her first big fireworks show!

This is what she thought of the fireworks.

We toured San Francisco.

We went to Yosemite National Park.

We visited my Mom in Merced.

Ellie loved playing with her Grandma Good!

We hung out in sunny CA.

And stayed cool at Black Rascal Pool.

And now we are off to Boise, ID for my sister's wedding reception!

I'm on the top of the world

This is the view from our back porch swing.  Pretty, huh?

This July was the hottest July on record here in Mesquite!  The average temperature, including both day and night, was 96.7 degrees.  Ellie and I like to swing on our back porch early in the morning, so that we can enjoy being outdoors before it gets too hot.  We swing, sing songs about morning and nature, watch for birdies, and enjoy each others' company.

Our favorite morning songs:

I'm on the Top of the World (Carpenters--thanks, Mom)
What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
Whenever I Hear the Song of a Bird (Primary)
I Love the Mountains (Camp Song)
Way Up in the Sky, Where the Little Birds Fly (Grandma)
Good Morning Merry Sunshine (Mom)    
Oh What A Beautiful Morning (Oklahoma)

This is Dave's garden. Can you believe this will grow in Mesquite?!

Many hats

(Recent edit: Okay, this post kind of sounds like I'm bragging. I'm just trying to record some of our experiences so I don't forget them. Sorry if I sound a little too proud of myself!)

I  wear many musical hats.

I am an elementary music teacher, elementary choir director, children's theatre musical director, primary chorister, nursery singing time leader, and sometimes performer.

Because of this, my little Ellie has been exposed to a lot of music that she wouldn't ordinarily have been.  I would belt out the song "Defying Gravity" from Wicked as I was practicing for a performance--and Ellie would look at me--transfixed!  I've even put her to sleep in my arms as I was walking around the house, singing at the top of my lungs. (And this was during her colicky stage!)

Earlier this year, I performed "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady, and "He Came For Me" from Women at the Well.  It's been a while since I've sung these at home, and when I sing them now, Ellie turns around and stares right into my eyes while I sing--like she's remembering a song she's forgotten.  It is so cute!

 As I taught over 30 different Disney songs to my school choir for their Disney Spectacular show, I'd come home with them stuck in my head--and sing them to Ellie all evening.  Someday My Prince Will Come, Heigh Ho, Candle On The Water, A Dream Is A Wish, Zipadeedoodah...  Such fun songs!

I "wore" Ellie in a baby carrier (hanging in front of me, facing outward) during almost all of our rehearsals for "Alice in Wonderland Jr."  Ellie loved watching the kids sing and dance!  She would cry when they stopped!  Now she loves watching the DVD of the show!

Every Sunday, Ellie helps me fulfill my calling as Primary Chorister and Nursery Singing Time Leader.  Her favorite Primary song is Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam, because she loves jumping on all the "BEAM"s.

I love my many musical hats, but my favorite ones are "baby entertainer" and "lullabye specialist".

Eliana is 8 months old

Baby Update:

Little Ellie is fast becoming a big girl.  It is so fun to see her crawl across the floor--ignoring all of her toys along the way--to get to any piece of furniture that she can pull herself up on!

Music Tip:

Being a musician, I've naturally wanted to share my love of music with Ellie from the very start.  When she was in the NICU, I could only hold her for brief periods of time.  I would sit by her bed and sing to her, so she could at least know me by my voice.  It was December, so I sang Christmas carols, along with lullabyes and primary songs.  I've been singing to her every day since.

Here are some of the songs that I sing to her on a daily basis:

You Are My Sunshine
We Love You, Conrad (Changed to I Love You, Ellie.)
Skinnamarink
Handel's Hallelujah Chorus (Changed to Eliana instead of Hallelujah. Is that sacriligious?)

Frog In the Middle
Rubber Ducky
I Am A Child Of God
Twinkle, Twinkle
Rockabye, Baby
Lullabye and Goodnight

Why sing to your little one?  Kidshealth.org says:

“Children who grow up hearing music, singing songs, and moving to the beat are enjoying what experts call "a rich sensory environment." That's just a fancy way of saying a child is exposed to a wide variety of tastes, smells, textures, colors, and sounds. And kids who enjoy such a rich environment do more than have fun. Researchers believe they forge more pathways between the cells in their brains.”


 So, don't be shy! Have fun with your little one and sing to them!