Where Did My Baby Go?!?

Ah, sweet Ellie, the formerly teeny Beanie. She is still small, don't get me wrong, but she's such a big girl now.

See? Look at this thigh! I have to remove lint from those folds every morning after it accumulates from her pj's overnight. :oP It is montekyuge compared to her calf. There are rolls upon rolls! I love a roly poly baby. :o)

Her newest nickname is "Gert", short for "Grabby Gertie". My goodness does she grab. Nothing is safe around her. I had her sitting in her Bumbo right next to me and she reached into the bowl of sungolds and got a handful! I kept trying to explain she has no teeth and would therefore make no progress with them, but she wanted to hear none of it. ;o)


I've taken to calling her "Mini B" as well. Yes, Hannah looked like her daddy, but jeepers creepers, this child is her daddy made over. He calls her "Mini Me". :oP I would like to have another baby so I could try to have one who looks like me...;o)


She is quite squirmy and you will rarely find her in the same position in which you left her. She is so desperate to move it's not funny. She is ready. I, however, am NOT.

She is also working on sitting up by herself. She can't get herself into a sitting position, but she can sit for a few minutes if you prop her up.


She is now eating at 8, noon and 4 during the day and then right before bedtime, 10ish, 2ish, and 5ish. I'm waiting for her to realize she can go longer at night as well. :shakes head:

She is still the urpiest of my girls. She will burp and urp, there it is. She doesn't seem disturbed by it, it's just messy. Heck, she's messy. She is a drool-monger. Anything she manages to get her grubby little mitts on goes right in her mouth. She gnaws and chews and drools pretty much incessantly.

But, with this grabbing and mouthing comes the--fanfare, please--ability to re-paci herself! If, of course, she hasn't flung the dratted thing from the crib. Oy.

She is quite serious--I have to work to get smiles--and very stubborn. She will NOT go down without a fight! I long for the day I can lay her in her crib and have her go to sleep with no crying. A mama can dream, right?

Her hair is beginning to show signs of laying down--in the front. It's also doing what Han's did, turning blonde. There are golden threads wending their way through the darker locks. The hair that was already there is growing longer--there's no sign of any hair falling out--yet! She has even avoided a large bald spot on the back of her head. Yes, there's a patch where she has rubbed it off, but it's far smaller than that of either of her sisters.

I just can't believe four months have passed. :shakes head:

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I have ten pregnant friends and family members and I have to say, I'm insanely jealous! I would love to keep having babies, but I know we're finished. First of all, I would want to have one a little closer than four years, and well, that would be three kiddos, two of them fairly close in age. Would Lil be left out then? Would the younger two be in cahoots and Lil left to mother them? I just don't think it's a good idea.

Buuuuuut, boy would I love to have another one. Just sayin'...

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Today's Sparklies:

1. I've been Rick Rolled two days in a row by NPR. Hee hee!
2. Ellie is playing so beautifully on the floor. It's been over an hour and she's still happy. Hooray, we're beginning to see more awake time!
3. Lil and I are working hard to get her schoolroom ready in time for school on Tuesday. Eek!
4. Waylen is still plugging along. I'm stunned, truly I am. What a tough little dog!

No milestones.

My Diva

This girlie likes to go up to her bathroom and put on her "make-up". There are some tubes of sickeningly sweet lip gloss, some Laura Ashley perfume (left over from Lissie) and a sparkly Mary Kay powder puff. She will coat herself in each item, come downstairs, and bat her baby blues at us and ask if we think she's beautiful.

Now then, I tell her she's always beautiful, and that the make-up merely enhances the beauty.

If you enlarge the photo, you should be able to see the sparklies. Oh, my.



LOVE this one. Hee hee! Look at that face!

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Caught in the act of being WAY too cute! :o) She is such a wonderful big sister. Oh how she loves her baby. :o) My heart gets all mushy watching them together. I'm trying to remember this for when they get older and do nothing but fight...

I was reflecting today on how joyful I am to be home with the girls. I think I appreciate it all the more because I had to go back to work after Hannah and Lil were born. I know how precious it is to be able to be home with the girls.

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Today's Sparklies:

1. Ellie is such a jabberer and squealer. And, we're starting to get some laughs from her.
2. Getting Lil's room cleaned and straightened.
3. Working with Lil on the importance of putting items where they belong and keeping the house straightened.
4. Revisiting the Bridgertons. Ahhhh, my favorite JQ series of all time. :happy sigh:

No milestones.
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For all my fellow Hokie fans out there, this is for you!



Honest to goodness, "Enter Sandman" began playing and I began squee-ing. I'm SOOOOOOO anxious for college ball to start I can hardly STAND it!! One week folks, one week. I hope I can make it without having a heart attack. This waiting is killing me!

Let's Go to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

Friday was cooler than it had been, with temps in the mid-80's. However, it was still hot in the sun, and the humidity left a lot to be desired. Thank goodness the kids didn't notice it. Well, Greyson and Lily anyhow. Tucked in her stroller, Ellie was definitely toasty-oasty-oasty.

We spent about two and half to three hours there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It's a small zoo compared to some, but still nice. And, with Lil the animal lover/adorer along, it was hard not to enjoy yourself. :oP

The first part of the zoo as a farm/barnyard area. It was funny listening to all the comment from people who obviously had not been around livestock and their erm, emissions before. ;oP It smelled just like home to me, lol! No, the 'burg doesn't smell like that all the time, but there are certain times during the year when manure is spread on the fields and then it is stinky. :oP


Isn't this garden gorgeous?

I have to say, I sympathized with this sow, lol!

Lil and Greyson spent much of the trip doing this.


Hee hee! I loved this guy's face and expressions. :o)

I especially loved his underbite and teeth. ;o)

What are YOU taking a picture of??

Look at those peepers! She got 'em just like her big sisters. :o)



Trying to grab her piggies. Alllllmost there...

Whew! Got 'em!

The peahen that scared the beejeebers outta Greyson. It's okay, Buddy, lots of people don't like birds.

It wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't come right up to our table while we were eating. Hee hee!


Check out the size of this crepe myrtle. Man!

Prairie dogs and peepholes. The dogs were quite nosy and would go right up to the bubbles and peer at the peeps peeping at them. :o)

You MUST click to enlarge this image to see Lil's face and read the sign.

Fabulous live oak.


Lil admiring the kangaroos.

Finally napping. Whew!

"If I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars
I would buy you an exotic pet
Yep, like a llama or an emu!"

We rounded a corner and I caught sight of the ear and this and I couldn't help it, I squeed. Loudly. Fennec foxes are my most favorite of dessert animals. Those ears! How can you not LOVE those ears??

I had no idea they were as tiny as they are. They're not much larger than a chihuahua, and have the teeniest, tiniest little noses. And those great BIG ears! :oP


Lions, anyone? They were dozin' in the shade and I had to zoooooooom my lens and then MAJORLY crop the photo so you could even see them. The viewing public is definitely safe from these guys, lol!

Happy "renoclears" are happy. :o)

Viewing the giraffes.


Still sleeping. Whew!


These mandrills had technicolor hinies!

Adult and calf.

Two adults and calf.

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Yesterday was a trip to the Gardens with Lola, Nic and Elijah. The big kids had a BLAST! Ellie is so stinkin' nosy she wouldn't sleep and when she did finally fall asleep, it wasn't for long. We will try going back, but not for quite as long, and hopefully once the weather cools a bit more. Autumn can't be too far away, right?? I LONG for sweatshirt weather...

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I'm keeping an eye on Hurricane Earl, his projected path has him hitting us come Friday. Um, yeah, that's how I want to spend my Labor Day weekend. I'm wondering if maybe we shouldn't just load up and head to the 'burg for the weekend...I'll keep my eye on the weather. If nothing else, I need to be some place that has electricity on Monday. I'm GOING to watch my Hokies play their season opener come Hell or high water (which just might be...).

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Weekend Sparklies:

1. BG Saturday. It was wonderful to catch up with Lola about life at school. Have I mentioned how happy I am to be home?
2. Studio time last night.
3. Dinner Friday night with Mom and Dad at Little Creek Reservoir. There was NO ONE there but us and it was cool and breezy and we had Pierce's for dinner. Yum! It was simply beautiful there. We'll be going back for sure.
4. Dinner today at our house. Nan and Pop came to join us and it was delicious. :o) Fun too. :o)
5. Ellie slept so soundly last night, and again for her afternoon nap. Hooray!
6. It going to be a "whatever night" for supper. We LOVE those nights. :o)


No milestones.