Fancy Nancy Party

Eliza's friend Greer celebrated her third birthday with a Fancy Nancy themed dress up party. The invitation asked us to wear our favorite dress up clothes. It was Eliza's first dress up party and she had a blast!

Before we headed out to the party, Eliza was admiring herself and the new tutu I made for her to wear. I thought she looked adorable and she must have agreed because as soon as she saw herself she said "WOW!"




Greer's mommy, Emily, is always such a fantastic hostess and this party was no exception. The table looked amazing. Emily was one of the first people I became friends with when I moved to this area ten years ago. Our lives have changed so much during that time, and now it so neat to see our girls becoming friends as well.

Eliza was feeling a little bit shy when we first arrived, but Greer and her sister Harper were super sweet and soon Eliza was feeling right at home.

All of the little girls looked precious in their dress up clothes and even baby Sloane joined in the fun after she woke up from her nap. Look at all of that gorgeous curly hair!

We spent some time outside playing, coloring and making star wands. Most of the adults were wishing that the weather was cooler but the girls didn't seem to mind the heat at all; they were having too fun.

After our outside time, we came back inside to enjoy some snacks and of course we all sang Happy Birthday, so Greer could blow out her candles.

Eliza enjoyed the chicken salad sandwich that was shaped like a butterfly but the yummy cupcake was by far her favorite.

All of the moms had high hopes that we might be able to get a group picture of the girls looking so fancy, but you know what they say about the best laid plans.

I never got a good group shot, but there were so many cameras going at one time, hopefully somebody got a good picture that they will share.

Eliza loved wearing the tiara, boa and pearls. She wore them the majority of time we were there. The party was a huge success and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

Happy Birthday Greer and thanks for including us in your special day!

Girly Girl

Eliza has decided that she MUST wear a bow- bow at all times - that includes when she is in her jammies and ready for bed!

Autumn Begins . . .

Even though fall doesn't officially begin until tomorrow, the weather finally cooled off here this weekend, so I couldn't resist dressing Eliza in the precious little outfit her Grandma Sue got for her.




It was so pleasant outside that we decided to have our photo shoot outside. I love that she is so active - but snapping a good picture of this very busy little girl is not as easy as it used to be.

I love her "Pebbles Flinstone" look. Her hair is finally starting to grow and it has a tendency to stick up in the back - it often reminds me of Donald Trump's comb over so I made a pony tail and added the bow. Viola . . .a band new woman!

A Visit to Grammy's House

Last weekend, our little family headed to the Hill Country to visit Grammy and Granddaddy. It was great to see them and have an opportunity to get out of town for a few days, but unfortunately we were all sick. Steve had an ear infection, Eliza had a fever and I had a terrible cough and sore throat. Even though we were all under the weather, we managed to have a great time and enjoyed our lovely brunch on Sunday morning. I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few.

At Last. . . .

Eliza FINALLY has enough hair for PONY TAILS!!!!!! I was convinced this day would never come. I thought they looked adorable but her Dad thought we should probably let her hair get a little longer. I think Eliza liked them too . . . even though she doesn't look too happy in this picture.

Video

Stephen is in love with our new Flip video camera. He spent the entire evening following Eliza around the house, so he could video her. He was able to edit his footage and create this lovely little video. Enjoy!

Jaws. . . .

Yesterday we experienced one of the firsts that you hope NEVER happens to your child. Eliza was bitten on the arm by another child in her class. Eliza was playing with the blocks and the other child wanted them. Eliza didn't want to share and turned away with the blocks, and that is when the biter made their move. Luckily the bite did not break the skin but it did leave a big mark.

There were plenty of tears, and they didn't all belong to Eliza. I was just flooded with emotions. I can't even begin to explain how I felt when the director told me that they don't call it biting, but rather "tasting our friends." (The reason I can't begin to explain how I felt is because this is a family blog and my thoughts included MANY words that are not family appropriate.)

On the whole, I have plenty of positive things to say about her day care. I am impressed with their curriculum, as well as the level of care she receives there. Realistically, I know that this is par for the course when it comes to kids but seeing those horrible marks on her arm just made me seethe with rage.

I was a little worried about how she would react this morning when I dropped her off. I just didn't want her to feel afraid to go to school. She did fine when I dropped her off and the good news is, she had a great day and no one decided to "taste" her today.

Up and Down and Side to Side

Eliza has added a new component to her bedtime routine. . . . . brushing her teeth. I have heard that most babies don't like having their teeth brushed, so the first time I brushed her teeth, I was worried that she would freak out and fight me. I could not have been more wrong. This girl loves to brush her teeth. Perhaps this is a good sign for all of those future dentist visits!

Back in Action

I know it has been quite awhile since I blogged and as you might remember from my last post, our camera never made it home from our trip to El Paso. I was heartbroken and just sick. Since I couldn't post pictures, I really started to slack on keeping up with my blog. However, my sweet sweet husband surprised me with a new PINK camera and I can't wait to put it to good use. August has been a super busy month for us, but I think things are calming down enough for me to jump back on the blogging bandwagon.

Here are a few high lights to catch you up on what you missed . . . . . . .

• Eliza started back to daycare. The first couple of mornings were a bit tough but I think she has her groove back. Yesterday she looked at me and said " Bye - bye Mommy" - as if to say "I am ready to play with my friends - so you need to leave now."

• I was finally able to get our dining room and living room (AKA Eliza's playroom) painted. Our rooms are no longer an ugly powder blue but rather a lovely calming green (creamy cilantro).

• I started my new job. I was lucky enough to be hired by a great school in a great school district and I love that I am now closer to home (no more hour and a half commute). My new coworkers have been very kind and helpful but I still miss my old school.

• Eliza and her dad have been spending a lot of time in the pool. She seems very comfortable in the water and loves hanging out in the pool almost as much as her dad does.

• Eliza's vocabulary is expanding every day. Some of her new words are blanket, shoes, house, light and MOMMY! Yes - she finally says Mommy. I was beginning to think that she was going to call me Daddy for the rest of her life.

• Eliza is now MoMo (pacifier) free. We didn't go completely cold turkey - we do still let her have it at bedtime

• I have finally decided to let Eliza sleep with a pillow. I know . . . I know . . . . it would have been fine long ago to give her a pillow but after reading every baby book known to man - I guess I just got a little paranoid. Needless to say she LOVES her pillow.

Out in the West Texas Town of El Paso . . . . .

Eliza and I had an amazing visit with family. We loved every moment we were able to spend with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and great grandparents. We also loved all of the YUMMY Mexican food. Except for the fact that my camera went MIA - this was a perfect trip.

We plan to replace our camera soon - but until then Maryellen was sweet enough to e mail me a few pictures to post. My mom and Maryellen both generously offered to send us a disk of the pictures they took with their cameras, so I will be able to post more pictures then.