Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

On Friday night Jim and I decided to give Elizabeth some oatmeal cereal. She took about 10 small bites and maybe swallowed five. We were busy on Saturday so no oatmeal, but tonight we'll try it again before tubby time. She told me she was done with the oatmeal by taking the spoon and not giving it back! I found a great website and made homemade old fashioned oatmeal.

The big news for the week is that Elizabeth can roll over from her tummy to her back. She did it for the first time today while playing with Grammy on the play mat, then did it several more times this afternoon. She's so proud of herself after she rolls, probably because we all cheer. Hopefully this week I can get a video of her rolling over and post!

I spent Tuesday interviewing sitters and found one that we love. Her name is Sonia and she is wonderful! Elizabeth spent Thursday and Friday afternoons with her and did very well. Sonia is confident that in a very short time she'll adjust. Elizabeth is the only girl and the youngest of Sonia's other charges. The little boys call her "princess Elizabeth." I'm sure when she figures out that that means we'll never hear the end of it.

We've started reading to Elizabeth and playing games like patty cake and itsy bitsy spider; she smiles through the songs and wants to play more when finished.

Long Holiday Weekend

The week has been a busy one, stressful as well. Elizabeth was not making the adjustments to her sitter so later in the week I'd drop her off and Jim would pick her up just a few hours later when he got off work. On Friday I even took her to school with me for the day and had many volunteers from fellow teacher to watch her while I taught. In the end we are looking for a new sitter for our "Little Bits" and I've set up interviews for this week. In the mean time Grammy and Grandpaw are helping out.

On Saturday we all drove up to Gilbert in two vehicles (our van & dad's big truck) to help Jeff, Lisa, and James move into their new house. Lisa was very well organized and had everything purchased and ready to be unpacked and installed. Jim and Jeff spent most of the day intsalling celing fans, while Betsy and Jamie worked on window treatments. Betsy thought ahead and made chicken and potatoe soup for lunch that just needed to be warmed up. The meal was complete with cheese, rolls, and iced brownies. James loved having both his Grammy, Nana, Grandpaw, and Papa around as well as Little Bits. He had already decided the extra bedroom would be hers. The day was complete with a couple trips to Lisa's parents to haul their belongins which were being stored in the garage. Unfortunately, neither mom nor I remembered to bring a camera, so no pictures of their house... next time!

On Sunday dad and Jim took off with gold digging maps and a metal detector for the Helvetia mine area. They did not mention finding any gold, so I'm assuming their prospecting was not profitable with either method. While they galavanted around Helvetia, mom and I went to Cost Co then home to rest for the rest of the day.

Its a short week coming, but in my experience the shorter the week the longer it feels in the end. I've not counted the days, but think its only 3 weeks until Rodeo Break.

A Week of Changes

This week brought many new changes for all of us. Jim started working the midnight shift; he goes to work around 10:30 p.m. and gets home around 8 a.m. Amy returned to teaching after being off for over four months and Elizabeth went to a sitter where her playmates are two one year old twin boys, Austin & Connor. Adjustments are still being made, but we are getting there. Amy's commute is now 80 miles per day and about 2.5 hours of driving. Elizabeth had a hard time the first couple day but by the end of the week had mostly settled in. She is coming to love tummy time and enjoys her Bumbo seat as well. She'll still play on her mat and grab onto the hanging friends but is quickly moving onto big girl things. She finally seems to be growing into her head, her body is getting longer and more solid. When she has her clothes and/or diaper changed she loves to wiggle and stretch naked on the pad and is really starting to enjoy tubby time! The sucking on everything continues, we think she might be in the early stages of teething. Elizabeth continues to be a great sleeper and sleeps through the night. She did wake up Tuesday morning at 3 a.m., which made for a very long day. To remedy that Jim now wakes her up around 9 p.m. to feed her a few ounces then she goes right back to sleep until 5 a.m. when I'm ready for the day and wake her up. Elizabeth's new trick this week is "talking" and making all sorts of new noises.

Three Months Old

Elizabeth on Jan. 1, 2009 at three months old. She's not our skinny little baby anymore.


Amy & Elizabeth are ready for the Colts vs. Chargers game on 1/3/09, Colts lost in OT:(

Elizabeth is now three months old growing and changing rapidly! She loves to play on her mat and will do so for about an hour at a time. She's grabbing the legs and tail of the giraffe as well as monkey's arms and legs. She is sucking on her index finger knuckles and I'm hoping she'll soon find her thumb (unfortunately the loud lip smacking sound was gone by the time I got the camera and started with the video). She loves to hold onto rings of any kind and puts those to her mouth as well as anything else she can grab onto. Her smiles keep us smiling each day. Earlier this week Elizabeth went through her three month growth spurt which kept her eating, sleeping, and fussy for several days. She even started waking up at night due to hunger, which she'd not done for nearly a month. She seems to have evened out and is eating more at each feeding as well as sleeping through the night again.

Monday, January 5th will take me back to reality and school as well as Jim has a new shift... midnight shift. This leaves me to transport Elizabeth to and from her sitter, which will double my drive time. I'm sure about the time we get the hang of it something will change. I've spent the past several days trying to get organized at home and in my classroom. Two trips to the classroom over a couple days and spending about 7 hours has me comfortable with the week ahead. The room is a mess, but I'll have the kids help with that over the next couple weeks.

My recovery from knee surgery continues. I'm mostly off the crutches at home, but for any distance or standing they are a must. I'm hoping to be completely rid of them by spring break in mid-March.