Behold the Power...

Yo Gabba Gabba is fascinating.

Eliza does not care to even notice the television when anything other than her favorite show is on.

The show is definitely interesting...and awesome. I watch sometimes in utter disbelief at its ridiculousness. Below are a couple of highlights:

Even Elijah Wood joins in on the fun.

Eliza Goes to the Zoo

This year, the work party for SirsiDynix was held at Hogle Zoo. A free zoo trip for the entire family?! I was excited. However, the outing wasn't too exciting for Eliza. She stared at the animals and didn't seem too impressed. The remote controller we brought along as a toy was much more entertaining than most of the animals.

Highlights:

Eliza and Nathan on the carousel (check out the matching faces):

Eliza seeing some strange desert mammal (it was the only animal she liked):

A  monkey who hated me:

A friendly giraffe:

An ornery ostrich who spat at Nathan:

 Nathan's sad face after the bird yelled at him.

 And although I hate snakes, this was the coolest picture of the evening.

As usual, spending time with Nathan and Eliza was the best part of the trip.

                                      

Finally!

We have a lawnmower! I am so happy. No longer do we live in the home with embarrassingly overgrown grass. Because our front yard is only 40 squart feet or so, the entire length of grass can be cut in about 5 minutes.

Of course, Nathan does this in style.

For Me to Chew on?!

As mentioned in previous posts, Eliza enjoys exploring her surroundings. She is particularly fascinated by taste and touch these days and the combination of those two senses. When she crawls around the room or plays with any toy, she enjoys having another toy tucked safely within her mouth. I'm not sure if she is a somewhat selfish baby, who simply wants to play with the most toys possible at once, or if she just thinks putting toys in her mouth and doing other things is normal. Mostly, I think she really enjoys the textures. Case in point:

 

However, no toy compares to this little dude. 

 Our friend Tina gave a number of toys, including an amazing collection of Flintstones characters which included the awesome guy. I definitely do not recall a black Flintstone, but here one is! Eliza just get enough.

Cheese Model

Eliza's love affair with mozzarella cheese continues. She now recognizes the blue bag the cheese comes in and insists upon holding it herself.

I think Western Family* should pay me for this picture. It'd sell some serious cheese.

* I'd also accept offers from Paul Frank or Coke.

Rice King

If you haven't been to Rice King in Provo, I suggest you go. Even if you live states away, you should come visit me (or someone here) and we'll go. When I think of Rice King, I think of great Dr. Pepper, cheap lunch meals, friendly Victor (the owner), the lumberjack server Hans, my friend Amanda getting asked out on a date with Hans, my first date with Nathan, and a million visits with Becca, Kyle and Katy.  This weekend, Eliza and I had a lunch date there with our friend Beckie and her son Henry.

(Aren't they cute?)

Eliza enjoyed sitting in her high-chair and even managed to stand up (despite being securely strapped in place) while I attempted to eat. Henry provided some entertainment as she stared at him during the meal and lunged towards him several times. Henry wasn't too afraid, it seemed.

 She also practiced her fine motor skills, pushing tiny pieces of rice around

and finally managing to eat a couple of pieces.

 The highlight of the meal was when the older lady seen in the above picture walked over to our table and expressed her love for our children. She lightly touched their heads, brushed Eliza's cheeks and gave her a little kiss on the forehead. She was so happy to be around small children. It made my day to see someone so loving and obviously excited to be around sweet,smiling babies.

Sadly though, Beckie is moving to Georgia at the end of the month. Not only am I insanely jealous she is moving to the South, but I am also incredibly sad she is leaving Utah. Thanks for the fun times, Beckie! I really am so happy for your family's new phase of life (and that you no longer have to be a full-time employee)!

Jacob FAIL

According to the local Walmart, the majority of Utah is Team Edward.

 

Even if you don't like Twilight, this was pretty amusing. My first thought: several of my friends would not be pleased.

Back in the Water

For our family night last week, Nathan, Brandon, Eliza and I went to the pool. This time, we were equipped with a baby raft. Although Eliza found her mobility was somewhat limited, she discovered the float allowed her more freedom as she kicked her arms and legs.


She happily played until she exhausted herself of all energy.  She was so tired she literally almost fell asleep in the water. After an hour and a half, she contently laid her head on the float, smiled up at us, and yawned. I can't wait to sign her up for swimming lessons one day.

Please...No Pictures

This is the look I get when I attempt to take pictures of Eliza after her afternoon nap:

 Scathing.

Who knew a 10 month old was capable of so much facial expression?

10 Months Down!

On July 6th, Eliza turned months old. She has developed an adorable personality that is uniquely Eliza. She recently discovered the joys of feeding herself, but will only eat shredded mozzarella cheese and Cheerios.

She loves freely crawling around the house, but demands the full undivided attention of those watching her.

 

She especially enjoys staying up past her bad time, kicking the sides of her crib and crying pathetically until Nathan or I come into the room. As soon as we come to her side, she is all smiles and laughs. She is a clever girl... I fall for it every time!

Last night, after convincing Nathan it was okay for baby to stay up a little late, Eliza dazzled us by saying "dada." Nathan was positively giddy as she repeated the word several times. A few minutes after these precious words were uttered, she bit me with her four tiny teeth. Adorable.

Eliza has never been a peaceful baby, so I had fully prepared myself for a fast-moving crawler; she has certainly surpassed these expectations. Although our house has been baby-proofed, Eliza constantly finds ways to make ordinarily safe objects destructive. For instance, earlier tonight, she pulled a Bible off a small end table on top of her head and also smacked herself in the face with a sandal. Amazing. She has even managed to get her tiny feet stuck between the refrigerator and the floor several times and underneath the couch. I am somewhat afraid of what more mobility entails.

And even though she has plenty of toys, nothing is more fascinating to Eliza than lint balls, fuzz, the dirty bottoms of shoes,  and paper products.

 She promptly puts these items into her mouth.

Eliza also particularly loves licking the floor vent.

 How do I baby-proof that!?

 It is disgusting.  However, we are doing our best to teach her proper hygiene.

 There is never a dull moment in our house when Eliza is awake. I love her curiosity and feel immensely grateful for her presence in our home.

Splish Splash

Eliza loves water. Nathan and I have known this for months now, but yesterday, I really saw our little swimmer in action! After applying generous amounts of sunblock to Eliza's tiny little body (which, let me add, she is already tanner than me and has never been in direct sunlight!) and placing a sun hat on her head, we headed to Veteran's Memorial Pool.

Eliza's energy levels were off the charts, and I thought swimming might be a fun way to calm her down. She was SO happy to be around all the people and in the water.

Eliza and I headed out to deeper water, where she proceeded to kick her legs and flail her arms in an attempt to swim. To my surprise, she can nearly swim. She was desperate to float on her belly and repeatedly shoved her head underwater as she kicked. Of course, I wasn't about to loosen my grip on her, but I am sure she will be a swimmer soon.

 After a day of fun, she wasn't too happy about leaving the water.

Good thing we're going back next weekend!

A Mother's Day Out

For months after Eliza was born, I felt incapable of going anywhere alone with her. The thought of venturing out alone with Baby was anxiety-inducing, stressful, and ultimately an impossibility. This fear developed during Eliza's colicky-days, when Nathan was the only person who could calm her for any amount of time. However, my anxiety did not disappear when the colic finally subsided; I suppose I lost most of my mothering confidence.

Because of this debilitating phobia, Nathan was forced to join me when I took Eliza to any appointment or baby related outing. Due to his flexible schedule, this was never a problem. Eventually, this codependency evolved to the point where I couldn't go anywhere alone, even if I didn't have the baby; I always wanted (needed, in my mind) Nathan. So, for months, he did everything with me from grocery shopping to midnight diaper runs.

Annoying, right?

Well, two months ago, Nathan was hired full time as the Assistant Manager at Noodles & Company (yay for Nathan!). Obviously, this changed things drastically. Because we work opposite schedules and seldom see each other throughout the week, I have been forced to adapt. Sitting at home all day begins to get old after ten months. I am proud to say I went out alone this week with Eliza multiple times and managed perfectly well. It has taken some getting used to, but this past weekend, I felt completely anxiety-free. Eliza and I have had so much fun together, and I finally feel able to enjoy just being with her- my sweet little baby girl.