Discoveries of the Month: 13 month update

Eliza's been goin' full speed lately. She's hard to keep up with. Luckily she's very good at entertaining herself if given enough space to speed-crawl, roll, cruise, and her new specialty, "knee walking."

Knee walking is Eliza's new way to avert walking a couple more months, I think. It's like she's kneeling, only moving forward. It's really funny to watch and pretty inefficient. Except that she can carry things with her when she does it.

One of her other favorite things to do/say lately is, "Uh oh!" Especially if anything drops on the floor. She figured out that dropping doesn't always have to be an accident, though, and often drops messy splatters of her favorite dishes like spaghetti noodles or squooshy fruits to the floor, and then calls out, "uh oh!"
When we got home from picking Steve up yesterday I was carrying Eliza in along with the mail and the diaper bag. My hands were full so I decided to just drop the mail onto the floor and try to readjust my load.

Eliza sang out, "Uh-uh!" and I set her down next to where I had put the mail on the floor. I unloaded my diaper bag and sunk down onto the couch, catching my breath. Sweet Eliza, being the helper she is, said Uh-uh a few more times as she carefully managed to pick up all the mail I had dropped and knee-walk it across the living room floor in order to hand it to me. She dropped one envelope on the way and went back and got it too and retrieved it for me. I thought it was really cute. She's becoming quite the helper! Already cleaning up after her messy mommy!
She's really added to her verbal repertoire lately. Steve and I were at K-mart looking at some cheap lawn chairs. I found a kid one and was showing it to Steve, asking him if he thought we should get it. We thought Eliza would like it a lot but were trying to decide if it was worth the 10 bucks (probably not). Eliza must have realized that this was her time to shine, and she pointed at the pink, Disney princess clad chair and said, "Toy?"
And being the oh-so-easily-impressed first time parents that we are, we had to buy it for her. After all, she had earned it. Right....? That won't work too many other times, though.

She's really loved the chair, though. Despite a few tip overs.
She loves climbing into it all by herself. Once in it, she usually settles in to join the conversation or hug a stuffed animal or something. However, if Steve or I are standing up or walking by her, she instead stands up in the chair and reaches for us. Or she pushes it across the room and then climbs up it and then onto the couch that we're sitting on. Pretty ingenious!

Eliza also learned how to say swing. Her favorite part of playing at the park! She just purrs and squeals with delight during swing time. I don't know how long she would stay in it, if I didn't always get bored of it first.

Another one of Liza's favorite words is ball. I've been trying to teach her the word for ball for forever, and I read in one of my parenting books to emphasize the first consanants of words. So for ball, I've been saying to Eliza "bah-bah-bah-BALL." Apparently I went a little bit overboard because now Eliza calls balls, "bahbahl!" putting special emphasis on the first syllable- ah.

So I've successful taught my daughter how to stutter.

But I've also been noticing just how many little kid things start with the letter B. Is this because that's an easier consanant for them to master? Seriously, though. Ball, binky, bottle, baby, bib, bath, baa-baa (sheep), block, banana, boy, bark, barf, brouhaha...
I'm sure that's where all of those words originated from... a one year old's vocabulary. Especially since Eliza calls banana's, "nanas" and kind of growls her sheep's "baa's."

Eliza actually growls a lot of things. It's one of her favorite things to do... very lady-like. I blame my mom. Ever since Eliza heard mom's dogs playing and growling at eachother, Eliza has been growling. She loves looking through her little animal board books and pointing out the lions and tigers and bears, o my, and growling at/with them. It's really cute. She seriously will spend like a half hour with her "First Words" board books, just turning the pages and pointing and making animal sounds, etc., over and over and over again. It's neat to see, but makes me very grateful for library books that help add variety to my life.

Eliza really has gotten into the drawing. I bought some of those no-mess markers that only draw on the special paper and that has done wonders to eliminate her tattooing of her face, arms, belly, legs, my face, arms, legs, and the table, carpet, chairs, pets, you get the idea.

But another fun one has been sidewalk chalk! I love this outdoor activity! Gives me some great extra time in my garden too, although, Eliza, of course, likes it best if I just sit to do it with her.
I think Eliza really likes being able to do the action of drawing and seeing the immediate consequence of her action and effort. Which relates to her other obsession of pressing any button she can find.

She's learned how to turn the TV on and change the channel and the menu. She LOVES all remotes, phones, cameras. Computer keyboards and mouses are comparable to cat nip for kitties or cookies for cookie monster, and she loves when I let her stand in the front seat of the car on my lap and press all the radio and air buttons and play with the steering wheel and windshield wipers while we're waiting for Steve in the car.

Eliza still loves her music too. She especially likes the harmonica and kudzoo and her keyboard. She has figured out how to get her little barnyard toy to play the Old McDonald song, and so she kneels and pulls the switch over and over and over again and dances to the music. Unfortunately the other side of the sliding switch sets off the rooster's crow so we end up hearing Old Mcdonald interupted by a "cocka-doodle--Old McDonald had a--Cocka-do--Old McDo...." and so on.

The best toy I have found for Eliza, though, especially for church because it DOESN'T make any noise, is a kleenex box!! Nice, right? Recycled, emptied kleenex box. I stuff some of her favorite small toys into it, especially little animals and pacifiers and finger puppets, my beaded necklace, and then I show her that I'm putting one of her favorite toys into the box and give it a little shake and she goes for it! she gets busy searching through the box.

Often she gets distracted by the other toys that she pulls out and forgets about the last one I stuffed in until much later. It's been fantastic. Eliza really likes gathering things into containers- bags, buckets, baskets. She loves them all. My pediatrician says that girls are often "gatherers" and boys are "dispersers." I found that interesting.

Eliza's finger dexterity is improving too. She just started stacking blocks on top of each other instead of just employing destruction where e'er she goes, and she also has been able to fit bottle caps onto my water bottles. Impressive little fingers. Busy little fingers. Adorable little fingers.

Pointing, I think, is the most helpful finger gesture, even though the other signs that she's picked up on are extremely beneficial. Yesterday morning, I was holding her on my hip and opened up the fridge to pull out some breakfast for my hungry girl, and she pointed to where we keep her favorite food, and said, "eese!"So I gave her cheese and applesauce for breakfast. And cheerios.

Last of all, Eliza has discovered how to point to our eyes, nose, mouth, and ears on demand, but we're trying to get a video of it. We'll see what we can get. Most of the moments that would be most blog-tastic don't happen once the camera comes out.

And I'll conclude this month long post with a sample of Eliza's couch peek-a-boo and her hilarious, intoxicating laughter in this video.

Meldau's Up North

My parent's and Abby came up to visit to celebrate Aaron's Law School graduation. Congrats, Aaron! That's quite the feat!

Congratulations are also due to Aaron for his exciting new job that he starts next month in the White House as the Director of Presidential Speech Writing. Not bad for right out of law school, I'd say!I only got to visit with the FAM for a few hours on Saturday and at church on Sunday b/c of my working. But the time we had was fun! Enough to fit in the Meldau classics: a hike and game night!

We actually got to see Abby the most since she spent the night in our living room. It was a blast! I miss her so much! Even though she's just three states away. My neighbor came by and was like, "Was your sister here earlier? I saw a girl at your place and she looked JUST like you! I knew it had to be your sister!" Yes ma'am! That's my Boo! Abby and I probably resemble each other more than we do Katy and Robby (but Kate and Rob look a LOT alike. Sometimes we find unmarked photos of them when they were younger and we have to guess if it's Katy or Robby.).

Anywayz, I thought it'd be fun to compare these two tye-dyed pictures of Eliza hangin' with her Aunt Abby:

Eliza- 12 1/2 months Abby-15 yr

Eliza- 4 mnths Abby- 14 yr

Even though I just saw my family a couple weeks ago, I can't wait to see them in 3 weeks when we all head to San Diego together!!!!

Good eats in the month of May

For those of you who think we have a mild mannered, chill baby, meet Eliza Mae! for breakfast.

This is the face Eliza makes at us when we stop feeding her. Who needs sign language? Eliza makes her point very clear! haha. Steve was actually asking Eliza if she wanted more, and instead of making the sign for more, she made a face... and then the sign for more.

Cinco de Mayo cupcake.

Good morning Blackberry jam!

An Apple at the park! "They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But if you don't have regular check ups, you'll go bananas!" Deep thoughts by Peggy on King of the Hill.

Watermelon dinner.

Oreo Dessert

Eliza also knows how to tell us when she's full:

This video is dedicated to Steve's grandmother and Eliza's Great Grandma Beckstead who was SO sweet to sponsor a soft serve ice cream cone at McDonald's for Eliza's first birthday! THANK YOU!

Glass Menagerie

The beginning of May was a blinding time for our family. One morning, Eliza reached for Steve's glasses (as she so often does) and yanked them off of Steve's face, throwing them down onto our wooden stairs. They cracked right in the middle.

Thankfully, we have great vision coverage with Steve's insurance. Especially since the next day my contact tore. We found this new optometrist's office that is really nice, and they said they could fit Steve and I in the next day. The next morning one of the "legs" of my glasses broke off my glasses when I put them on. NICE.

Here's our family getting ready to head to the optometrist. Steve's in the glasses he got back in 2001 before his mission and wore until he wanted to date me... You can't tell in this picture, but one of the sides of my glasses is missing. Hence the crookedness.

Eliza looks like she's already plotting to grab our glasses off... just trying to decide whose to pull off first.

Here's our "after" pictures.

I made Steve let me take this picture of him in his freakin' awesome new specs:
I ended up choosing Prada frames. I felt dumb getting something with that kinda brand name. But they were the ones that fit me best, and I've been sick of being embarrassed to leave the house in my glasses when I have problems with my contacts.

And guess what?! I tore another contact yesterday. That's what I get for trying to take my contacts out without turning on the bathroom light... not smart, I know. I was tired.

I can't wait to get laser eye surgery like my mom. What a relief it would be to not have to worry about our demented vision! Poor Eliza is probably doomed with our genes. I've had glasses since 3rd grade, contacts since 6th grade (for soccer), and Steve's had glasses since he was 12.

So here's a shout-out to good vision! We're so grateful for modern technology. Steve and I would probably be the town idiots if we were born in like medieval times with no handy dandy optometrists around.

Motherhood isn't always pretty

Every time it's time to pick Steve up for work, I always think that we'll just come STRAIGHT home afterwards.

So it shouldn't really matter if Eliza or I don't have shoes, I let the dog come along without a leash, I'm not wearing make-up or I still haven't gotten a shower since my morning workout. No problem because we won't see anyone and we'll just come straight home. And every time I tell myself that, something always happens to thwart my (lack of a) plan!

Lots of times, I just forget to bring my cell phone, which requires me to pull 'Liza out of her car seat and tromp upstairs in my disheveled state to Steve's office on the top floor to let him know we're here.

Other times, I think we'll go straight home so I don't pack Eliza any baby food, and we end up deciding to go to Kate's house to work on paintings or to the library, or to go out to eat b/c we don't feel like cooking. Thankfully, Eliza now can eat a hardy meal of "real people food" instead of only pureed versions, so that's helped.

Usually I just can't manage to find the matching sandal or sock or bow. And at those times, I always worry that people see me and think, why would that mother let herself/ her daughter out of the house looking like that or with no shoes!

Today we were going to meet Steve for lunch, so I threw everything and everyone except the cat into the car along with heated up lunch for Steve and took off in the car. I called Steve on the way b/c I was thinking that maybe since he got to work so early, he might just want to work through lunch and then get off in an hour. He agreed that this sounded like a good plan so I'd see him at about 2:45.

Well, I figured since we had finally managed to get ourselves mobilized, there wasn't much sense in just turning around. We could kill an hour easily. I reviewed my options- library, park, dollar store shopping (helps me blow my shopping impulse without ruining our budget), produce run, Petsmart, or park.

Then I reviewed our resources available to us in the car. I had packed snacks and water, toys, paci, diapers, stroller, wallet, dog. We went to the library yesterday and Petsmart last Friday so we were well stocked on those items. I hadn't worn my tennis shoes so I couldn't go to the gym. Mika wouldn't be able to go into the store with us, and it was a pretty hot day... so park it is!

And then I remembered Eliza had no shoes and Mika had no leash. So this is the part where I employ my McGyver like skills and scrounge around in my Mary Poppins bag aka trunk and see what I can do. I found a 10 ft piece of fuschia colored ribbon from the wedding I attended last month, and told myself that not that many people notice if a baby that doesn't quite know how to walk yet is wearing shoes or not. Eliza hardly keeps hers on anywayz when I do manage to bring them.

So we had a fun time at the park. Swings and giant sand box, water fountain, and luscious grass under the shade of a tree. Great way to kill an hour on a Friday afternoon.

I feel like I should put together a backup kit in my car for times like these that would include an extra pair of shoes for both Eliza and me, a leash for mika, hair things for me and Eliza, water, change of clothes, hair brush, non-perishable snacks, string, batteries, umbrella, $20, and a transistor radio. Yeah, that's a 72 hour kit.

Anywayz, I feel like I totally relate to the Suave commercial....

and it makes me laugh everytime I see it...

the wisdom, joy, and influence of women or "mothers"

I felt it was time to give my requisite mother's day report about now....

Besides the fact that I had to work for about 9 hours of my mother's day, I had a great day for my 2nd mother's day EVER! Steve made me dinner after I got home from work-- he made me the yummy sesame chicken w/ broccoli from my Weight Watcher's cookbook! Which is my favorite meal.

Before we left for church, Steve gave me the option of receiving my mother's day presents now or after work, and so of course I chose NOW! He got me an awesome pepper shaker to match the salt shaker he got me I think for Valentine's day... It's awesomeness can only be done justice via a picture:
Eliza thinks they're her toys. She doesn't realize that her mother has toys too.

And Steve also gave me one of the best types of gifts which is a FREE one! He had gotten free week-long passes for the mother of all gyms in Charlottesville, ACAC. They're doing some sort of 'Get Fit, America!' program where they lure you in for a week o' fun experiencing their Mommy and Me Yoga classes, State of the art machinery all with personal HD cable TV screens attached, Mommy and Me pool classes, top notch step classes, Family fun pool time in the warm water pools, peaceful sunny decks on the top level to quietly read on after you're grueling workouts... all while they let your kid play in a Kid Zone resembling an organic version of Chuckie Cheese's that doesn't allow any peanut products... So they're pretty much the gym gone to Heaven. And I guess they figure that you won't be able to go back to your mediocre $50 a month Gold's gym contract.

So, yes, I was really excited about that gift and love having Steve come work out (or swim) with me after he gets off of work! and we certainly have been tempted to become life-long members after the free week is up.

However, I feel like I would be saying goodbye to the little community I've come to know the last 8 months since I started going in the mornings to work out 3-4 times a week at Gold's. The childcare workers know Eliza's name and she (sorta) knows them. She at least is familiar with her surroundings there. (Although, they said she didn't cry once while she was at the organic Kid Zone today.)

At ACAC, I don't know any of the instructors or classmates--yet. This first year of life with Eliza has often been a lonely one for me, and the gym really helped me feel a lot less isolated from the outside world-- Grown Up World. So it would be hard to turn my back on them... so we'll see!

I received my final Mother's day present today. Presented to me quite (un)ceremoniously by the UPS guy this afternoon-- which is probably the most awesome present EVER!! Steve honored my request / picked up on my not-so-subtle hinting and SLURPED my Blog into a Blogbook. For those of you less familiar with the blogging world, No, I did not make up that verb. Slurp is the real word describing the loading and formatting of one's blog content into bound, hard copy, book form!

And now I have one. It's neat, and I'm stoked to have it for years and years to come and to be able to show to my grandchildren someday or something. Eliza likes reading it too... since it's mostly pictures of her. It's like an Uber-scrapbook or journal. Steve formatted it to begin with the very first stuff we published on this site last year... and it was sooo neat to look through and remember that Eliza really was a round little, slug-like newborn at one time. I had forgotten what she looked like! So I think it's perfect to have my first year of blogging all stored up in one little blue book. Thanks, STEVE! (and Eliza, I guess). She's the one who's given me most of the material to write about this last year).

So happy Mother's Day all...

BUT WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IS...

My first summer back from BYU, my dad (who was a bishopric counselor in my home ward), asked me to speak on Mother's Day, which gave me the opportunity to study the awesome and fascinating talk by Sis. Sheri Dew Are We Not All Mothers?

This is one of my favorite talks of all time:

While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord’s language, the word mother has layers of meaning. Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve “the mother of all living”—and they did so before she ever bore a child.

Many days my mothering of Eliza feels tedious and wearisome, but I love considering these words. Before I had Eliza, I always thought I'd be a pretty good mom... and although I consider myself a little above the "not terrible" category, I don't really feel like I'm that good at this mom stuff. My house is rarely clean, for example, our clothes are usually wrinkled, and like this week, I'd much rather read about the heroin Chinese immigrants in my Amy Tan novel than dust the bookshelves or clean my kitchen. (Just so we're clear, I'm not giving up on improving my housekeeping skills, but I'm just hoping there's more significant things on which my eternal exaltation depends...)

So I also deeply appreciate Elder Ballard's words from last month:

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many [mothers]...may have to work part- or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.
And, Sis. Dew's concept of "Mother" helps me feel more substantial and valid-- and helps me get through the days of poop-wiping, dish-scrubbing, tear-wiping, and rice-cooking... There is more to this - THANK HEAVENS. There is more purpose to my current existence.

And I believe, like Sheri Dew said, that "all around us are those who need to be loved and led," and that women are fulfilling their "mothering" role through developing their personal capacities to grow in "wisdom, joy, and influence..." and sometimes posterity too.

Which also makes me so grateful for the many examples of this in my life from the women I respect and learn from... my mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and friends.

This, I suppose, is what the men in the ward who pass out the flowers or roses or what-not on Mother's Day, are trying to express their appreciation for... as awkward and icky as it ends up being.

So Happy Mother's day, women!

My family also had the boon of speaking with Robby ...eer, Elder Meldau, on the phone from Sao Paulo, Brazil!! He's only got a couple of months left on his mission, but we were still thrilled to be able to hear his voice, stories, and spirit come through the phone! My family was able to do a three-way call to me at work... and after a little rearranging of the self-esteem group I was supposed to lead at 1:30, I was able to duck out and enjoy the moment! and I MISS Robby soooo much! It unequivocally was my favorite part of my WHOLE day!!!

And there's only like one month left until our OUTRAGEOUS San Diego trip to visit my Oma on her super-duper 70th bday bash!!! woohoo!!

Called to Serve...

Steve was called today to the Primary Board which is really exciting (especially for me!) because now we'll be teaching the CTR 8 class TOGETHER!! All three of us- Steve, Eliza, and me!

I told my class the news today, and they were really excited! So excited that they insisted that Steve teach next week and graciously suggested that I could be the "candy hander-outer."

Haha. Benched. Darn.

I've really enjoyed teaching this class every other week, this year. They want so much to be good, and they also say such hilarious stuff. I'm really excited Steve will be teaching with me. He has been helping me get my lessons ready all along, so now he'll just actually get credit for it!

Eliza just kinda wanders around the room, crawling under tables and trying to steal the kids' candy. She's a trooper, and the kids are really sweet to her. One of my girls always wants to help me by carrying Eliza around and feeding her snacks in her lap. It's really sweet... but I still can't wait until nursery time comes in 6 months.

Boy or Girl?

I love the NY Times Wellness Blog and have posted about some of their posts that I found interesting in the past, but I've found another couple worth sharing!!

Boy or Girl? The Answer May Depend on Mom's Eating Habits is the first article that caught my interest. Apparently how much a mother eats, or how consistently she eats, at the time of conception may influence whether she gives birth to a boy or a girl! How interesting is that? Apparently Y chromosome sperm thrive on glucose?

This kinda makes sense to me as to how we ended up with a girl b/c around the time Eliza was conceived (she was planned, so I know what I was doing that week) I was like never eating breakfast, and we were in the middle of a road trip where I was mostly living off caffeine and sugar free gum and baby carrots...

I think if I conceived this week, though, we would have a boy... (not going to happen).

However, I've read that gender is also determined by timing relevant to ovulation. If anyone has the slightest interest in learning more about their fertility, I would definitely recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I found it fascinating and helpful to know what happens to my body every day, week, month... but being raised by a nurse instilled in me (and my siblings too) a fascination for the science behind things, so I loved learning the physiology behind my fertility.

Another article that I found very interesting, but that will probably not interest many others is the Psychiatry Handbook Linked to Drug Industry. Since this is directly relevant to my career, I found it very interesting. And I think it's an OUTRAGE that "More than half of the task force members who will oversee the next edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s most important diagnostic handbook have ties to the drug industry!"

For those of you that aren't familiar with abnormal psychology, basically all doctors, social workers, therapists diagnose their clients using the DSM-IV. This is the book that in the past has had homosexuality marked as a mental illness, so obviously they're constantly updating the book. The DSM-V is scheduled to come out in 2012 and will then be the foremost text for the mental health world.

Which is why this is ridiculous and an injustice to the mentally ill in our nation!! ... It's like lobbyists being elected president... okay that's my rant... check out the article, though.

Anyone else have any thoughts on either of these articles?

p.s. A link to NY Times Wellness blog is on my sidebar

and did I trick anyone with the awesome It's a Boy! picture?

I hope so! Just like to keep everyone guessing...

Sleep like a baby...

I just had the sweetest little time with Eliza! She and I were just hanging out on my bed after reading a couple stories. She was rolling around while I tickled her, and I was loving getting to listen to her adorable giggle. Then she and I were just lying there for a minute and this happened:


I couldn't believe it! It probably has something to do with the cold she's fighting and the post-vaccination fever from yesterday's doctor's appointment. But I think I've never seen Eliza cuter than when she's sleeping!

And thanks to Aunt Joan for the adorable birthday blouse (and pants) that Eliza is wearing! So cute!

Eliza's stats from her appointment yesterday are...

Ht: 29 1/8 in
50th %tile

Wt: 21lbs 14oz
70th %tile

It was fun to talk to our awesome pediatrician about Eliza's growth and progress! Dr. Schaurr said that Eliza verbally appears to be on a 15 mnth old level! and I was saying how it seems like Eliza is not going to be an early walker, and Dr. Shaurr said that if you have to choose b/t the two, verbal ability is a much higher indicator of intelligence. So that was fun news! Our little smarty!

I've also been loving how much "imitating" Eliza has been getting into.

These days when we tell her "ahh-ah-ah!" to scold Eliza or discourage her from poking outlets or chewing on yucky/dirty things, she often replies with a rebuttal of "ahh-ahh!" and shakes her finger back at us!! Uh-oh! She also says it to the pets when we're scolding them for something too. It's really funny.

Some of her other new imitations are...

Talking on the phone...

She loves to talk on Steve's or my phone, but is not above converting a remote control or camera to her phone-imagination!

Cooking... or more specifically Stirring!
just like we stir her food and yogurt. I didn't realize she was watching the closely! She likes to stir for pretend and her real food. She loves holding her baby fork in one hand and eating her food with her fingers on her other hand!

(This picture also is an example of Eliza playing "music" on the pots a pans. We've already posted several examples of Eliza's music loving and "dancing" imitations!)

Here's Eliza cooking and stirring with her Oma!

My mom is soo good with Eliza. She can come up with the greatest games and distractions in a flash that Eliza finds fascinating! That's one of the reasons I love visiting Mom-- I always learn so many new fun ideas to use with Eliza! Yay for Omas!

Drawing!!!
with markers! Here is Eliza's first art creation ever. (Front and back)She OBVIOUSLY has inherited the artist genes from Steve and Katy! The other day I was filling out a form (at the portrait studio), and Eliza grabbed the pen and started trying to write on it like me!!

So I busted out the markers at home, and this is what we got! She loves her drawing time now! and our fridge is quickly becoming covered with similarly marked papers... and Steve is ecstatic!

Unfortunately, Eliza's artistic creativity is not limited to a paper canvas...(Bath time!)

We're so grateful that Eliza has had such a healthy first year of life!