No holds barred...

Yes, we did successfully get Midge to the beach for the first time. It wasn't too smooth, due to my old coastal navigation habits, and I don't think Elinor liked it much, as it was cold and windy (it is the Oregon Coast, afterall). But I thought we covered some good stops! Astoria, Seaside with its famed turnaround (the end of the Lewis and Clark trail [well, kind of]) and my old standby, the Pin N Pancake! We also drove by the family's old beach house, sadly no longer ours. Tragically sadly, even. But anyway, we went to the beach at Seaside and she got sandy and everything! We also stopped by Beach Books (coastal book stores are my favorites), where she bought a wonderful book that I remember from my youth, Swimming, by Leo Lionni and got to pet the cat! And some friendly folks even took our family picture!

Her first Pig N Pancake visit!

The other big deal this week is that we have her eating peas and pears everyday! It is a lot of fun and she is taking to it pretty quick! This morning, she was barely even messy and seemed excited about the peas that she was sour on yesterday. But we got some fun shots of her eating two days ago!

all that while wearing her mukluks...

Finally...

So the little doll slept for 6 hours straight last night! That is by far the best stretch of sleep in a couple of weeks! So I think it did us all a lot of good. The last couple of week, she has generally refused to sleep more than an hour at a stretch, making for some funny nights. And, she is still talking for hours and hours a day. Which is very cute, but she does it at odd times, while eating, while we're watching movies... And I still haven't discerned a sensible word yet!

Aside from that? She got her first dolls. A couple of old hand-knit Native American ladies. She has had avocado a few more times, we still haven't moved past that. Caitlin has been baking some very nice breads, which Elinor can't have... But I've certainly been enjoying! Today, once Caitlin gets off work, we hope to take her on her first little trip to the coast, where I will need to bundle her up more than usual (since I don't tend to bundle her up much), maybe she can even wear her new jacket?

her favorite doll

distracted while reading... tsk, tsk.

ready for the family walk?

midge's secoond walk of the day

All is well...

Another week has gone by and things just get chippier. So much to report! Well, we are now 5 days into the Midge and Me Morning Show. Though this week it seems more realistic than last week (aka: frustrating and tired), I still really enjoy it. I appreciate having the time with her and seeing how hard it can be to try and take a shower or make a piece of toast three mornings in a row. Also, though I realize that I don't have her solo as much as Caitlin does and I don't have nearly the level of duties (the feeding thing makes things different in many ways), I feel more a part of the parenting thing, having to watch over her alone for some of the time. Even if it is only 5ish hours a day, three days a week. And I like for Caitlin to have some regular time, even if it is spent working, where she doesn't have to keep her ears and arms always at the ready for the little girl.

And she is such a great and happy little baby! I love picking out her outfit and, of course, the walk over to Tandem. I had to use a sling a few days, as I had left the pack in the car. I didn't really mind it, but it is too flexible. I work better with the Infantino, as it just has one way to work. And today even Frances (and Kurty) were at Tandem to meet us! And then Robin and Reese showed up? It was fun and kids all around and very nice.

Other news this week? Caitlin Gave Elinor some avocado off of her finger tip during lunch. It was really the first thing that she has ingested, aside from milk. She seemed to like it, but then, she has been quite blatant the last week or two about her eagerness to start eating food, so I think we will begin the progression towards that. Yams up next?

Also, my team at work had our picnic this week where, of course, Elinor was the life of the party. It was quite fun and Gloria and Brian were nice and sharp enough to get some pictures, she is such a sweet little angel...

excited to be at the park

showing off her new suit

fun at the luau

meeting new people

long time no see...

Yes, it's been quite the absence of Elinor updates. We've been busy with the new coffeeshop and I also seem to have lost the time... By which I mean I seem to be headed off to bed around midnight now and for months my main blogging time has been 11:30 pm until about 2:30 am... So maybe I need to start earlier? But anyway, here is a little something.

Midge is, of course, wonderful! She is healthy and happy and a great little baby: babbling all the time, rolling over, clawing at my face with her sharp little nails... There are some things that are needed, though. One, we need to find a new pediatrician, preferably a naturopath or homeopath, or someone of a less rigid ilk. Caitlin wants me to do that this week. I imagine that I could ask around work, it seems like someone there would have to know.

But she is having lots of fun, we gave her a sink bath yesterday, and it went better than any of the previous ones. She didn't get upset once, ever when we pulled her out and bundled her up. She also got to finally meet cute little Blix this week! His folks brought him down to Portland and we had a wonderful evening and morning with them! We hadn't seen them in something like a year (I know, we really should make it to Seattle more often, and Caitlin really likes it there), before any of these babies were wandering around! but it was great fun and they posed for pictures, including crazy ones on the "photobooth" in the Macbook at the Ace hotel. Too bad we can't get those out of there, but maybe wacky things like that belong where you make them...

And also, now that her mother is working early mornings on my days off, I have taken to hanging out with Elinor at home for a few hours and then strapping her into the Infantino and walking her over there to see Moppy and have some quality hanging out on the couch at Tandem. Though we're only two days into this routine, I really enjoy the walks. I like having her little arms and legs dangling in front of us as we stroll the 40 or so minutes and sing Elton John songs. She was unsure about the carrier when she was younger, but now we can go all about in it with nary a peep from her. And sometimes, she even falls asleep! It is quite nice, though the weather is still a bit too hot for my liking... But here are some pictures of her on the couch with the big blue... Um... What is that? A donkey? And then one of her locked and loaded into my carrier, all ready for a stroll...