Archive for July, 2006

Eliza is walking and talking better every day. In addition to saying thank you ("dat-duh") when we give her something, she knows the sign for "please" (rubbing your hand on your chest), and every time we walk into the kitchen she points to the counter and yells "nah-NUH!" (banana). I love to hear her say Elmo because she opens her mouth for a few seconds to get ready, and then she says "Ehh-muh". It is too cute! She still isn't convinced that Elmo and the other stuffed animals aren't bears, but she at least will try to repeat what I say when I correct her. One of her favorite words at the moment is bath ("baa?"). I put the question mark on the end because when she says it, she always makes her voice go up at the end, making it sound like a question. She was standing beside the clothes basket the other day, pointing to a dryer sheet that I had left in there, and saying, "baa?". I was really confused until I finally handed her the sheet and she started "washing" herself with it! Although she doesn't have quite the vocabulary that James did at this age, she seems to be as observant as James is, and she is good at connecting things together. For example, every time I pick up the diaper bag now she starts saying, "bye-bye!" and waving. She will also pick up the Little People cow and start mooing, and she barks when she sees a dog ("uhf, uhf!"). Eliza is a grunter—whenever she wants something she goes, "uhn, uhn" and points. I left her playing in her room for a few minutes one day and from across the house I heard her yelling, "UHHHN! UHHHN!" I went to see what was wrong and found her sitting on her little tricycle, waiting for me to come push her! She also claps everytime James goes to the potty (since I often have to take her in there with us), and she loves to climb up into little chairs and sit. She loves dancing to music, and will often try to do the motions of songs, including "Itsy-Bitsy Spider". It is so exciting to see what she will learn next!

James is very protective of Eliza, so much so that he doesn't want me to get on to her. I have started to swat her leg sometimes to reinforce a "no-no", but every time James gives me an evil look and says, "No, Mama! Don't tell her no! It makes me sad when you do that!" And here's a few funny James stories: We were driving around and saw a church that had a tower with a large steeple and a round stained glass window. "Look, Daddy!" James said, "It's a courthouse!" I wonder where he got that idea? And the other day after our bedtime prayer, we said "amen" as usual, and then James said, "No, it's 'a-God'". Well, I guess that makes more sense, doesn't it?

In other news, we have new bicycles! We also bought baby seats and helmets for the kids, and we went on our first family bike ride the other day. It was so much fun! I am looking forward to riding a lot more!

Summer is a great time to play in the water! Saturday before last we were all invited to spend the day at Lake Degray on a boat with one of Jay's co-workers, Tim, and his wife Amy. There were lots of "firsts" for us: James' and Eliza's first time in a boat, Jay's and my first time water skiing, and Jay's first time scuba diving. We had a good time and got some great pictures. We also got sunburned and sore, but I think it was worth it!

Yesterday we filled up the little pool in the backyard for Eliza, and turned on the sprinkler for James. Jay had also bought James a water gun after James found his old Super Soaker in the closet and could barely pick it up. James is not quite strong enough to pull the trigger of the new water gun, but I think he will get it after a few more tries. Jay had a lot of fun shooting me and James with it, though! Eliza loves the water, even though she cried at first because it was a little chilly. She had a great time splashing and pouring the water out of the toys. James and I ran through the sprinkler for a while, and then James slid down the slide, which was very slippery from being wet! We had lots of good family fun!

Yesterday was Eliza's birthday! It doesn't seem like a year ago that I went to the hospital and came out with a baby, but here we are! We had a little party for her at lunch on Tuesday. We ate pizza and I made her a cake that looked like a teddy bear head. She got some neat presents, like a big play kitchen from Mammaw and a little tricycle from my family. She made such a huge mess with her cake that I had to give her a bath! She is trying to walk—she can take a few steps before falling forward into my arms. She has started saying "bye-bye" while waving, and sometimes she says something that sounds like "thank you" after I give her something. She has also started holding phones to her ear and saying "aaa-yo" (her attempt at "hello"). She can be so sweet, but she also has a temper. She is still a mama's baby, and will hardly go to anyone else if I'm holding her. She loves James, and gives him big hugs and kisses. They have a lot of fun together. She's growing up so fast!

We have been on the road a few times lately! Weekend before last we took a day trip up to Mount Magazine State Park, where we played in a creek and hiked up to the highest point in Arkansas. It was fun to get out and enjoy nature for a while! James and Eliza especially enjoyed playing in the water—we have to get them to a swimming pool sometime! We got some great pictures while we were there!

This past weekend we took advantage of the holiday to go down and see Jay's mom in Brandon, Mississippi. It was a busy trip! On Saturday we went to the Museum of Natural Science in Jackson, where we saw huge aquariums and displays of animals and plants found in Mississippi. On Sunday we went to church for their patriotic music special. It was quite a production! After church we drove down to Prentiss to see Jay's grandmother, and enjoyed visiting with her. On Monday we drove over to Philadelphia, MS, to see Jay's other grandmother and enjoy some of her Southern home-cooking. Tuesday we packed the car and went to spend a few hours at the Agriculture Museum, where they were celebrating the Fourth of July with live music, free watermelon and ice cream, and train rides. Then we lesiurely drove home, stopping along the way to collect photos of county courthouses, which has become Jay's latest hobby. We managed to get a total of 17 courthouses on our trip, bringing his total to 31. It was a good weekend!