like mother like daughter

Elle is definitely a mama's girl. Not that she isn't madly in love with her Dada, it's just I have been her bed and her food for so long that she really doesn't have much of a choice. I am used to her loving me, but just recently noticed her starting to imitate me (and no I'm not talking about her recent love of growling). 

Now that she has started crawling, I can't take my eyes off of her for more than a second or she will get into everything she is not supposed to. I'm told that is just a baby's way. Well, I looked away from her for a moment only to look back and see this around her little arm...

Mama's purse complete with today's mail

she grabbed a bill and started to take off with it...

purse still perfectly positioned around her arm

I think she may need a little purse of her own. I saw this book at Target last week and thought it was just the cutest...

It's a hardcover in the shape of a purse (obviously) and it was so sweet. They actually have a whole series of them. I didn't pick it up then because it's for an older little girl, but I don't think I have a choice now, she's obviously trying to tell me something. You can't spoil a seven month old right?

this lil' piggy went to school

I may complain quite a bit about California, but I do have to admit, I would miss our gorgeous winter weather if we left. For years I can remember getting my tan on by the pool in February and I'm not so sure you can do that in every state. 

In light of (no pun intended) the sun coming out to play on Thursday, baby and I decided to visit Daddy at her future school.

love this little girl

hanging with Grandma Susan

going down the slide

so serious

 

her Dada always gets her so excited

love.

oh Daddy, no more kisses please

crawling on the ABC's

And I thought this was adorable...

one of the little kiddies wrote her name on the chalkboard

She loved all of her "classmates" and they couldn't get enough of her. I also spoke with the music teacher next door and we may be enrolling in some mommy & me music classes soon! They were having a session while we were there and it looked like so much fun. We shall see!

Busy, Busy, Busy.

With school starting, baby being baby, work being work, and Kel's wedding preparations, the Girouard household has had so much going on, I barely have anytime to elaborate. This post will probably be full of grammatical errors and less than interesting facts, but hey, the whole point of starting this blog was to capture all these nothing moments and remember what life was like back then.

Here's my list of "finallys" that finally got done amidst the chaos...

I finally chose an area rug. It has been a long drawn out process. One that included numerous Google searches and hours of online department store browsing, but it has finally been chosen. Hopefully it will look just as lovely in person as it does online or, well, we'll just have to learn to love it anyway.

I finally got my hair done (by the lovely Laurlita) and I love it. It's not a huge change, but man what a difference a lil' trim and color can do.

I finally finished (I'll be honest, nearly finished) my first website, and I have to say I am quite proud of it. If I had more time, I'd be convincing everyone why they need a website in their lives and that I'm just the person to do it for them. Just another creative outlet I suppose.

I finally opened up a joint account and credit card with the Mr. I'm fully embracing the married life and have to say, it's not too terrifying shedding some of that independence.

I finally replaced my Bare Minerals blush.  I grew tired of convincing myself it will last another day, my drab colorless cheeks grew tired as well. I made the bold decision of switching from my usual peach to a more vibrant pink 'cause my new hair deserved it.

I finally switched Elle to 2nd foods. She's still not eating any meat, but, since she passed all her "allergy tests" from her first foods, she now gets to fill her tummy with fun fruit and veggie fusions. 

And finally, I put Elle in her cute jammies from her Auntie Kel.

And now I can check blog post off my list, finally.

if these walls could talk...

they'd bore you to death. One of the many downsides of renting are the humdrum, bare white walls. And in my case, no crown molding to spruce the place up a bit. Oh well, it's only temporary. I'm doing my best to zhuzh it up a bit without leaving too much "permanence" on the place.

In doing so, I decided statement curtains would help our lackluster living room. I found a pair of red jacquard drapes for less than fifty bucks that I though might do the trick. Unfortunately, while beautiful and inexpensive, they were short. There's nothing worse than "almost" curtains. 

Luckily, there was an easy sewing fix my novice self could perform. I just took about six inches of fabric folded it up and stitched! The fabric cost three dollars and made a world of difference.

curtains after I added the fabric

they would have been off the ground that much, eek

Problem number two. The curtains are a tad stiff. I'm hoping they will loosen up a bit with time, but for now, tiebacks are a necessity. Problem is, they didn't come with any, so again, I went to my trusty new sewing machine and made some myself.

I've been trying to use the scraps of fabric I have lying around for these random projects before my whole closet is consumed with them. 

least offensive fabric I had for them

cut into strips

sewed 'em wrong-side out

turned 'em right-side out & added .99 cent D-rings

They'll do the trick. 

I realized I had some ribbon that would match better so I made an extra pair...

I'll use these when I want something more matchy-matchy.

 

I'd honestly prefer some painted walls and simple drapes, but until then, I gotta get my color where I can.

I also found out today that I live in one of the top ten most expensive cities to live in, five of the ten also being in our general vicinity. Thank you California!

attack of the velcro baby

I'm guessing Elle will have the same passion for music and singing as her mama; she definitely has a set of lungs on her that's for sure. She's been testing out those babies for the last couple days now, and I wish I could say her new found noise was cute. It's not. She literally screams at the top of her lungs like a banshee until she's in my arms. Not crying. Yelling. Like a grown little woman reprimanding her hubby for leaving the toilet seat up, again.  

I honestly had no idea there was such a thing as the terrible 7 months.

Almost non-existent naps and soon-to-sprout chompers are the makings of a baby that so desperately needs to be glued to her mommy, we call her Velcro Baby. If I ever lose an arm in a tragic accident (God forbid) I'll be ready. (It's amazing what you can do with one free-hand if you put your mind to it.) As much as I love feeling needed by my little bundle of love, I miss my left arm. 

The moment I put her down, the tears start flowing. I thought maybe a change of scenery might do us both a bit of good, and since the weather has been lovely, I thought a trip to the park would be just what we needed. 

And it seemed to work, until I tried to give ole' lefty a little break...

 But wait! There's more!

 

Hurry up and break through tiny teeth! My little angel needs you! Her daddy misses their cuddles, her camera misses her smile, and my right arm misses it's partner in crime.

life at six months

Baby Elle,

Life is flying by and my attempts to stop time are obviously not working. Every minute you grow into an older little baby. A baby more aware of the world around you and you adjust your mood accordingly. I cannot believe every day brings you closer to being my little girl and less my wittle beebsies. At least you've yet to sprout tiny teeth, it keeps you looking "fresh from the womb" and makes Mama less sad about this rapid aging process. Here's how your turning into our little lady...

You call Dada by his name. We're not entirely sure you are addressing him every time, but it feels special nonetheless.

You reach your skinny little baby arms (you make up for them with the munchiest chunk thighs) every time you want me to hold you.

You've developed a food preference. Peaches make you grimace, but everything else I can't shovel in fast enough. 

You have started to crawl. You haven't taken off just yet, but only crawl to what is just beyond your reach. I know we'll be chasing after you in no time.

You have an utter fascination for remotes and cell phones.  I am a firm believer that if we show just as much interest in your teething keys or crinkle book, you will fall in love with them once again.

Stranger Danger may not have to be taught. If you haven't seen someone in awhile, you let them know if they're giving you the creeps.

It has become easier to take you out than stay at home. You love to shop (a girl after my own heart).

You play peek-a-boo by yourself. That crazy lil' game where the blanket covers your face has now turned into pants, cloth diaper or blanket on the face, only this time you pull it off yourself and laugh hysterically.

Snapping you also find hilarious.

Mariah puts you to sleep. "Music Box" era only, nothing post "Glitter"

You can officially join the stinky diaper club and quite possibly run for president.

And...

 You are our perfect lil' six-month-old.

manic monday

It all started on Sunday. Poor Shawnee was suffering from yet another kidney stone so the three of us took a little drive to the local emergency room. Seemingly unproductive hours later they released him; painful little stone still trucking along his urinary tract. Funny how a minuscule piece of calcium can ruin your day. Since the hubby was off duty (with good reason) I was single-parenting it and more exhausted than normal. 

Pick out curtain fabric and exchange table lamp were not getting crossed off the to-do list anytime soon. Instead, I fought baby girl as she fought sleep, all the while wishing I could just rest my eyes for ten minutes. Finally she succumbed to exhaustion and slept long enough for me to realize the neighbor with the horribly loud car was up to his old tricks again. (Please God let someone take that unnaturally loud thing off his hands; my sanity, and eardrums, would be forever grateful.) 

Night came and none of my Sunday to-dos were did, it's the Lord's day anyway though right? I did do quite a bit of praying (...that car Lord please...) and I do enjoy my talks with the man up above. Even in the worst of times I think He gets my lovingly sarcastic sense of humor and I believe we share a little laugh over the unflattering events I do so love to vent to Him about.

That being said, although productive, today wasn't a whole lot more fun than the day before it. For the month of January my planner reads a lot like it did when I was working a forty-hour week coupled with two full-time school schedules. (Yes I attended two schools at the same time, sadly more than once. Thank goodness for online classes since I haven't quite figured out the whole cloning thing yet.) Ahh the ole' pre-baby days, what a simpler time it was.

Simple? Yes. Full of adorable baby-in-a-basket times while Mama manically cleans? No.

 

 I'll take my (sometimes) crazy-exhausting-married-mommy life over simple any day.

one week down

  2011 has been off to a good start. I suppose I should do a quick recap of the final moments of 2010 before getting into the new year (quick being the operative word). 

New Years has never really been my favorite holiday, as a matter of fact, I think I have slept through at least half of the ones I've been around for. I can't really say I'm glad I stayed awake this year when sleep is still such a commodity around here. Those two extra hours could be the difference between Shawnee seeing the woman he fell in love with or...let's just say someone not quite as lovely.  Okay, sorry I know I said quick. Here goes...

We ordered a pizza. Put on one of the countdown shows. Baby girl wore this...

She fell asleep. Shawn poured two glasses of champagne. (For looks of course). I took one sip. Baby girl woke up. The clock struck twelve. We shared a smooch. And went to bed.

Since that vastly exciting night...

My little Fern turned twenty.

I met adorable Baby William.

Elle received five more books to add to her collection.

I purchased some onederful finds.

Shawn went back to school.

Our resolutions stayed in tact.

I organized 5 years worth of paperwork into one Pendaflex sorter. Thank you Pendaflex.

Elle fell in love with prunes 

Our old mailman is back (this means timely Netflix).

And we got some use out of her snuggle bug jammies...

(Thank you Rooms. They make her extra snuggly)

I hope week two is just as kind.

unbirthday shopping

It definitely wasn't my intention to start shopping for Elle's Onederland party six months in advance, but I would have been mad (no pun intended) not to take advantage of these amazing finds; each with a price tag seldom over a buck! I went in the store trying to find some material for my rosette project and saw half off everywhere.

I racked up a bill of sixty bucks (the cost of us eating out once) and now have the peace of mind that if  we go completely broke tomorrow, I could pull off a pretty snazzy shindig for our little one using this loot alone. Frugal Eclecticism. Yet another reason why I am absolutely obsessed with this theme.

beautiful color.

I can't  wait to see all my ideas come to fruition over these next few months. Only 164 unbirthdays to go!