Well behaved women rarely make history...

Eliza's discovery of the week is...

... that sleep goes much better without teething, booster seats are neat-o, colorful fridge magnets are so entertaining that we now have about 10 more minutes to do dishes or cook, and that Aunt Katy is the most awesome babysitter ever!!

I surprised Steve with tickets to the National Opera's performance of Hansel and Gretel this last Saturday for his birthday. So Steve picked me up from work at 4:30, and we headed up to D.C. leaving Eliza with her Aunt Katy! Katy was such an awesome aunt and babysitter-- she had Eliza in bed by 7 and she even did our dishes!!!!!!! THANK YOU, KATY!!!

Eliza's fourth tooth broke through FINALLY early last week and since then she's returned to sleeping from about 8pm to 5 or 6am. WONDERFUL!
I also finally broke down and bought her a booster seat. They're really pretty cheap. I checked all the different store, price options- Target, Walmart, Ebay, etc., and actually found the best option for us at Kmart for only $20. Eliza really likes having her own tray to slap repeatedly and squish food on. I think she looks like such a big girl in it!

My discovery of the week is...

... teething biscuits! Yippee! Eliza loves 'em and although I don't love how they get EVERYWHERE, I love that she loves them, especially in her car seat. It steals us some major minutes of contentment! I also discovered that Eliza is quite the eager "helper" when it comes to wrapping birthday/Christmas presents! Shiny ribbon, crinkly paper, Mommy on the floor, what else would a 7 mnth old want?Another discovery of the week is that if Eliza doesn't want to be left alone on the ground or some other similar situation, she has learned to respond with a very shrill and loud SCREAM which was getting some very quick results for her for a while.

I think it's ironic that the week after I post something on people manipulating to have their needs met, Eliza developed this wonderful manipulation technique. But too bad for her, Steve and I are finally catching on to her little trick. Lucky for her, though, the next few weeks she'll have many willing arms to hold her as much as she wants while we're visiting family.

Isn't this the craziest photo? I think Eliza was startled by Mika or something. Funny girl! I love her shirt, by the way- Mom and Abby found it for me!! Thanks guys!

Most of you know that yesterday was Steve's birthday. We celebrated by inviting a few friends over to make sushi and eat cherry topped cheesecake! We had a blast (even Eliza- she was partying hard, laughing at Katy and babbling long into the night)- thanks to every one who came! Here is some of our pretty sushi that we made:

We made some basic California rolls but also had some excitement with fresh raw tuna, canned octupus, mango, and caviar wasabi spread! YUM YUM!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1- I love the way you wake up oh-so early every morning and play with Eliza so I can have another hour or so of sleep.

2- I love the way you always refill the Brita pitcher.

3- I love when after a long day of work as an illustrator, you come home and keep working as a husband and dad.

4- I love that after a long day, even though your back probably aches just as much as mine, you give me a back rub without even being asked.

5- I love that you tell me bed time stories when I can't fall asleep that make me laugh and relax so that I fall asleep before you even finish.

6- I love that you laugh in your sleep.

7- I love that the sun makes you sneeze.

8- I love how you rock our baby to sleep like no one else can.

9- I love how you make me laugh every single day- and not just a chuckle but like a knee-slapping, five minute guffaw.

10- I love the face you make when you can't hear what I just said but you're smiling and agreeing anyways.

11- I love you because you take my crazy, grumpy dog outside every morning before you leave for work.

12- I love that you read poetry.

13- I love that you read like 8 books at once.

14- I love that you create beauty with pen and brush every single day.

15- I love when we stay up late talking about all the plans and dreams we have for our family in the future.

16- I love that you're a boring old man.

17- I love the way you call any dinner that includes squeezing a lemon on top, "Gourmet."

18- I love hearing you sing to Eliza.

19- I love that you plan on living to 100 or older.

20- I love how many stories you tell about Pennsylvania and New Zealand.

21- I love how you say, "Maybe so..." like 30 x's a day.

22- I love how you try to cuddle with your head when you're really just stealing my pillow.

23- I love how you don't get mad at me after I've spilled something else on the couch for the 20 millionth time, just like you thought I would. Sorry!

24- I love that you try to play your violin for Eliza even though she's scared of it.

25- I love that you never ever give up on me, even when I give up on myself.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Christmas Tree-ing, Baby Teething

So our "deck the halls" in the apartment has consisted of setting up a $10 fiberglass tree that I got at Wal-Mart along with some lights on our balcony and maybe a cinnamon candle. Officially Festive! But it's brought us some Christmas cheer! And we're not even gonna be here on Christmas, since we're flying out to Utah.

I'm just ecstatic to not be cramming for finals right now for the first time in 4 years! (Good luck, Mom, Davey, and Aaron)


However, Eliza's been feeling a little more like this lately:That is one sad girl! Steve just set her down on the ground to see if she'd smile for a picture... and this was the product. I think she's got the frustrating combination of experiencing some major teething pain and being very ready to MOVE but not quite able to crawl yet! Poor girl...

We're looking forward to her getting back to her normal spunky, happy self:


Eliza's discovery of the week this week is...

... she learned how to arch her back! She actually started doing this a couple weeks ago for no apparent reason. Whether happy or sad she's added this skill to her wiggly repertoire!

We were talking with some friends a while back about what evolutionary purpose this arching skill serves infants. It seems like it just makes a still fairly immobile infant more likely to be dropped and that does not seem to be any sort of aid in their survival to adulthood... especially when done in the bathtub, on top of the changing table, in the car while resisting the car seat buckles, and any other precarious situation Eliza might find herself in. Any ideas in your textbook or pediatric expertise to share, Mom?

Well for better or for worse, the arching is here.



My discovery of the week is...

...Mandt Training! I had the opportunity (err... obligation) to become Mandt certified this week at work. It was a 2 day training that I was dreading on how to deal with aggressive clients. I was not looking forward to the intrusion on my very tentatively held together schedule or being away from Eliza and having Steve have to use 2 of his vacation days and miss work.

But the class actually ended up being really fascinating! It felt like I was back in one of my more useful social work classes! The class outlined many different ways of nonphysical interventions with aggressive clients along with physical restraints to be used in the case of imminent danger.

The restraints were kind of weird especially since we had to practice them on the other class participants. There were only 3 of us in the class. One very petite, former ballerina who worked as a middle school counselor and one VERY large Clinical social worker with long stringy gray hair and lots of Native American jewelry and stories using metaphors with coyotes and hunters who thought he should teach the class.

Two points of interest that I gained from this class, though, besides how to do painful hugging were:

"One of the purposes of manipulative behavior is to gain safety and security or basic human needs, when these are not met." This was very interesting for me to consider. Instead of just condemning manipulative people as unfortunate and needing to be avoided like I think I have the tendency to do, I can consider what of their needs are not being met or have not been met for them to be using this behavior.
This also is a very basic help for me to consider why Eliza might be "manipulating." So this week I've been asking her when she starts fussing, "Which of your needs is not being met, Baby?"

The other point I found very interesting was in dealing with conflict and confrontation. Mandt teaches that "Fear drives most confrontation. We wait until the pain of maintaining the relationships is greater than fear of rejection." After you take a minute to digest that sentence and let it sink in, it's really interesting! Lets us see why conflicts or confrontations should be handled so carefully.

It also taught that we should only talk to the person we're having a conflict with while our motivation is to improve the relationship. And instead of using "You" messages such as "You don't think about anybody but yourself," we need to communicate with "I" messages: "When I see the gas tank's empty..." or "I feel anxious..." Good information for building a marriage relationship, I'd say!
Anywayz, hopefully not too boring. If you've made it this far down the post, Congrats and thanks for reading!

Oh, and by the way, here is my life in one picture:

On Thanksgiving...

Fall has been so beautiful here in Charlottesville. This was my first autumn here and these are some pictures I took just from our back balcony.

I had to work on Thanksgiving and the two days after, so Steve and I decided to celebrate our little family Thanksgiving on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It was a fun day.

Here we are hanging out groggy in the morning in jammies!

Here's Steve doing some Thanksgiving cookin' with his happy helper!

Then while we waited for the turkey to cook, we took a trip to one of our favorite parks!

It was such a gorgeous and warm day that Steve wore shorts! It was perfect weather-- crazy for the end of November! We loved it!

Here's a hungry Eliza and Steve.

Here's our spread of goodies. Steve made a lot of it! Eliza and I were spoiled with the classics: Turkey breast, mashed potatoes, Sw. Potato casserole, rolls, carrots, homemade cranberry sauce, etc. Yum Yum!

And here's my strawberry pie with homemade whipped cream!
It was a great day!

And here's me after 3 days of work in a row... so tired!

Here's what Eliza's been up to lately:

Playing with jingle bells, a new favorite toy we found at the mall!

Watching Baby Einstein and playing with blocks.

Recovery from a yucky cold and her first ear infection!! :(
which is the biggest reason I haven't blogged in a while...

Chewing on markers-- why do babies love markers so much??
She's currently teething her fourth tooth, can you tell?? She chews on anything within reach.

Trying to steal mommy's fancy Lindt chocolates-- good taste already, Baby!

Just chilling out with another marker....

And playing a mean air guitar.

And giggling and chewing on daddy!

Death by Chocolate

I'd like to dedicate this post to our dear, little and "ferocious" dog, Mika, who had a near-death experience this week after consuming about 12 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips that I had left out (apparently 3x's the toxic level for a dog his size)! Sorry, Puppy!

Mom has tried to convince me for years that chocolate is bad for dogs, but I never really believed her until Monday night when I was scooping up puddles of melted chocolate mixed with canine stomach acid off of our carpet and bedspread. YUCK!

And then the trip to the 24 hr. vets office in the middle of the night where they wanted to hospitalize Mika overnight and then the next day and ruin our Christmas by charging us >$600 for his medical treatment (Sorry, no).
As soon as I brought him home from the vets, he ran immediately to sniff the trash can and then the place he had previously found the vomit-inducing chocolate.

So this one's for you, Mika! We're grateful for how patient you are with a baby who constantly is in your face and grabbing your hair and tail and ears. And for how much entertainment you provide her! And for what a good snuggler you are! And for your canine-vacuum cleaner skills helping to keep our house clean by licking up all the crumbs! And how well behaved you are for a half-blind, half-deaf, grumpy old-man, rescue dog.
I'm grateful for my little "velcro" dog who would never leave my side if I'd let him.

Here's a fun summary of papillons (mika's breed) that Mom found, if you're not familiar with them.



Meet the Papillon -
The distinctive pointy ears shaped like butterfly wings and framed by sprigs of hair have earned the papillon (the French word for butterfly) its name. Papillons are known as cuddlers, but they're selective about their companions. Although they're devoted pets and protective of their owners, papillons are not as friendly with strangers, and they tend not to socialize well with other dogs. Considering their toy size, papillons are surprisingly agile and athletic. They are usually easy to train, but housebreaking can sometimes be a challenge. One thing owners can surely appreciate is the breed's clean reputation -- although regular grooming is necessary, these dogs carry very little odor and need infrequent bathing.

In case you can't tell, that's Mika's head sticking out from where he's curled up with our couch throw. Eliza is dancing with joy.

On a ROLL!

Guess what I did today?

First I went to the doctor's for my 6 mnth check-up!
I am...

Height: 26 3/4 in
75th Percentile
Weight: 17 lbs. 11 oz
75th Percentile

All my busy-ness has gotten me leaner (and proportional weight/height)!

The doctor was very impressed with how good I was at sitting up very steady with no help needed! She also said I was great at my consonant sounds like Mamama and babbaba and at making good eye contact-- a sign of being well bonded to my parents! Which is why I won't let mommy out of my sight if I can help it!

You can just BARELY see one of my teeth if you look closely!

Then when we were getting me dressed to leave,
I decided to roll over!!!
from my back to my tummy! Like it's no big deal... who knows why Mommy and Daddy were cheering so much!

Time to baby proof the apartment! Cuz I'm ready to move!

Cute Sunday outfit from Oma!

Check out some of my favorite games:

hanging upside down

and couch standing time!

Have a great week!

Babe in Toyland

I made a fun discovery this week while running errands at the local K-mart. I was making my rounds in the baby section getting some more baby oatmeal and a new pack of pacies to replace the one I lost recently on a walk, when I saw the baby TOYS.
It's so exciting! With Eliza's 6 month bday, she has made a big step in the baby world!

But one of the most exciting for me is that all the coolest toys all say "For ages 6m+!" Meaning it's play time in the Meldau Morrison house!
Steve and I used to joke about the reason we wanted kids was so we'd get to play again! And in many ways that's come true! It seems like the sillier we get, the more Eliza is entertained by us and the more laughs we're able to squeeze out of her.So I found some baby keys that Eliza was chewing on before we even left the store that also make some funny noises (which I'm sure we'll be sick of in about a week). And also found these really neat balls that have different textures to help the babies grab them. Eliza really likes them, and I'm hoping they'll motivate her to MOVE! She already scoots after them when she plays on her tummy!
Our favorite new toy is definitely the baby keyboard! Eliza was playing with it before we left the store too and now she's even learned to sing along. Perhaps she inherited the Morrison talent for musical instruments (sorry Meldau's, but you know the truth about our musical (in)abilities-- hard work and practice can only take us so far).

Another discovery she's made this week is that she now knows how to pick up her paci off of the ground and put it back in her mouth all by herself! This may seem like a small thing, but O NO! This is ground breaking! And this skill also provides minutes of entertainment for the times where she ends up putting the paci in backwards.

One of Steve's and my favorite new toys is our new Baby Einstein Baby Neptune: Discovering Water DVD that we got for cheap at Sam's! It's got neat music and some very neat nature clips along with some great corny puppet shows! Eliza we'll sit and watch (not quietly) only if we're sitting and watching with her! Which is how I am-- I always make Steve sit and watch my shows and movies with me too. Steve definitely lives with 2 very demanding women...
Another favorite new activity for Eliza is "walking." She loves for us to walk her around the apartment, especially when it involves chasing the puppy. Whenever she gets close to mika she screams with delight! She's gotten so fond of walking that now all we have to do is pull her into a standing position and hold her arms, and she starts kicking her legs forward and walking along! Once I'm ready to be done "walking," I'll try to put her back into a sitting position, and she locks her legs and won't let me!

She's so much more interested in "walking" and standing up against the couch or chair rather than tummy time or just sitting. But I still make her have some mandatory tummy time every day, and I've seen some improvement.

Her attention span with even her coolest new toys still is fairly minimal. Every minute or so she looks up to "check" on Steve and me, and if we're not close at hand she'll watch us walking back and forth or voice her displeasure. I keep thinking that she shouldn't have been a firstborn child because she just loves people (and animals) so much! Much more than any inanimate objects. She loves just watching all the older kids playing at the gym's child care center. Such a funny interactive child!

But what is it that never fails to bring this smile to Eliza's face....?...Mika! Poor mika! He's such a good sport with Eliza. She grabs him any chance she gets. Steve said he thinks we should shave mika... I don't think I'm ready for that quite yet.
With all the fun play time we've been having lately, by 6:30 or 7pm Eliza looks like this...


And did I mention that this wild woman is actually a cuddler?? She's all about cuddling in my lap and arms lately. She's such a sweetheart, and especially right after her nap, she snuggles up with me and her blankey for a good little while before she starts babbling to me and then squirming away to her toyland!