A day in the life of a baby

Elaina is ready for solids. On September 15th she'll be 6 months and I had hoped that we would be able to wait that long. It's bittersweet, yet another milestone that appeared to be lightyears away seems to have snuck up on me. The doctor gave us the green light when she was 4 months, but she wasn't ready. Maybe it was me who wasn't ready and still isn't now.

I often think of how it would feel to be so new. Elaina is experiencing newness and the world around her is wonderful and untarnished. What does it feel like to touch skin for the first time? To taste a spoonful of bananas bursting on your tongue? The sound of a dog barking? The sight of a butterfly fluttering by? It's the purity of babies and the vibrancy of this new existance. Everytime I touch her soft new skin I get a glimpse into her world. Babies really are a great way to start people.

Touch

Ten tiny little fingers that always want to play,

That never stop exploring the wonder of today.

Ten tiny little fingers that from the very start,

Will reach out for tomorrow yet always hold your heart.

Creativity

Sometimes I get into the Martha Stewart mood and want to do something creative. Thank goodness it only lasts a few days or Garth may start to wonder. I love all of those funny onesies that are available, but to me they just aren't funny enough. I've decided to make a few. Today Elaina wore the one that said, "My finger may be small, but I can still wrap daddy around it." I'm off to bake bread or something...

Adventures

We took a family trip to the newly rebuilt park. Eleighsa loves the tire swing and Garth can really get it going. She's yelling, "Faster! Higher! Make it spin more!" while I'm sitting there about to lose my lunch. I have no idea how she can handle spinning like that let alone at that speed. A 12 year old boy even stopped to watch and said that she was braver than he was.


















The next adventure was to Delaware for the Wilmington & Western Railroad. We took a two hour train ride and Eleighsa could barely sit still. Everyone there was incredibly accomodating and friendly. The best part about it is that the railroad is that it is only run by volunteers. Would you be out riding the rails in nearly 100 degree heat? Me either. They have a heart for the railroad and the history and that is what truly made it enjoyable. Unfortunately, I had left my camera at home. We did some school shopping and made it just in time to visit the train station and board. No time to even purchase a disposable camera. I guess those memories were meant to be stored elsewhere. http://www.wwrr.com/

Happy 5 Months!

It's been 5 months already and this is when I wish life came with a remote control. Staples has become famous for their easy button and I could only hope for a pause button. It would be wonderful to just be still and be left in the moment. I pray that these precious moments are etched into my memory forever, tucked away safely to always remember.

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten
...and the future worth living for

It has been an honor and a privilege to have her in our lives. There's nothing better than waking up every morning and knowing that this indescribable baby is waiting for me. Happy Five Months Lainey Girl!

Yes!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

Elaina has discovered that there are other forms of life out there.
Yes...please contact the media.

U.F.O. sighting - unexplained flying objects CAPTURED!

She's found her feet and she's never letting go! She tries to put them in her mouth, but her belly gets in the way. Lucky for her, she's found two new best friends.

New Toy

Elaina has a new toy...another to add to the 150 others that she's hoarding. Garth picked it out for her and brought it home. I just knew it would collect dust and that she'd have no interest in it whatsoever. It is a teether/rattle. She has 10 teethers and at least 20 rattles. No way will she even bat an eye at this one. Nope. No way. Turns out I was absolutely wrong. She loves it. She'll sit for an hour just chewing (mauling) it and shaking the rattle on the other end. Why is it that I go out and buy the hottest and newest toy to hit retail, only to get a ho-hum reaction from her? Daddy goes out and buys her a clearance toy at Wal-mart and you would've thought he went to F.A.O. Schwarz. It's a conspiracy I tell you!

Bathtime and Bird Nests

What on earth do these two things have in common? A lot around here! Yesterday Eleighsa decided that she wanted to make a craft. She wanted to make a bird nest. Hmmm... Below is a picture of her happy little nest. She put a smiley face on the egg and inside of the egg is a small teddy bear. She said that she has 27 eggs to hatch. Just wonderful, I can barely keep up with the egg that she does have. She's taking this quite seriously.

As for bathtime that came later in the day. Garth bathed Elaina in the sink and I captured the photo of that...

There's nothing quite like seeing him stoop down almost a foot to bathe an 18 pound, wet, wiggly baby in a bathroom sink. It really is the small things in life...never knew bathtimes and birdnests could be so entertaining and so wonderful all at the same time. I have to run, I have 27 more "bird babies" to care for.