11 Months Old

On Oct. 22, Eileen turned 11 months old!  We are now counting down the days until her first birthday.  Time has flown!

Aunt Patti & Mamaw trying to get Eileen to walk

Eileen rang in 11 months with a cold and an ear infection.  Poor baby!  She was 22 lb., 2 oz. when we took her to the doctor.  Eileen is still a very tall girl.  She is wearing size 18-24 month clothes (size 18 month clothes are too short; size 24 month clothes are way too big) and size 3 diapers (though we will be moving up to size 4 any day now).  She is very, very tall.  We can't wait to get an official height at her 12 month appointment on Dec. 8.

Eileen is a chatty cathy!  I'm not quite sure what she's saying, but the girl LOVES to talk.

Four Generations: My mom, me, Eileen, and Sittie (my mom's mom)

Aunt Patti and Eileen, the world's longest baby

She is eating anything and everything.  She loves to pick food up and feed herself.

My mom bought Eileen several cute outfits.  Eileen was much more interested in the tissue paper in which it was wrapped.

Eileen has been pulling things (toys, diapers, magazines) out of containers for a while now.  She's finally learned to put things back into containers.  It's become a bit of an obsession.

Eileen loved Aunt Teri's hair.

Eileen can walk.  She takes a few steps at a time.  And then she decides that it's faster to do her signature scoot.  While in Tennessee, we took Eileen to the Stride Rite store to get her fitted for some adorable white leather high top shoes.

Eileen had a special celebration for her 11 month birthday- she got to spend it with lots of family in Tennessee!  We were at my parents' house and Mamaw, Aunt Patti, Aunt Amy, Sittie, and Aunt Teri all came to visit.  Eileen LOVED the attention and she loved on everyone (even though we later found out that she likely had an ear infection all weekend).

We tried several times to take a four generation picture of my mom, me, Eileen, and my mom's mom (Sittie):

And then we took a picture of all of the women who had come to play with Eileen:

(Back Row- Aunt Patti, Aunt Teri, me, Mamaw; Front Row- My mom, Eileen, Sittie)

Update: Ear Infection

Yesterday, I said that Eileen seemed to be feeling better.  Boy, was I wrong.

After I wrote the Sick Baby post, I noticed that Eileen was tugging on her ear.  A lot.

Trying to Pattycake on her own

Playing Pattycake with Daddy

 So we went to see Dr. Powell.  She looked in Eileen's ears and quickly determined that the poor girl has an ear infection.  Eileen slept a lot yesterday and is taking the baby equivalent of a Z-Pack.  It's flavored grape and she seems to tolerate it (she did not like the bubblegum flavor she was given last ear infection).

Dr. Powell commented that Eileen was very friendly and playful for a baby with an ear infection.  She even tried to play patty cake with Dr. Powell!  Just like her last ear infection, Eileen never ran a fever, she never shrieked with pain, and she really didn't slow down much.  The only symptom was her tugging on her ear.

Let's hope she recovers quickly- we're going to have a busy, busy weekend!

Sick Baby

[Subtitle: Why Haven't I Posted Regularly?]

Last Monday, Eileen was really fussy.  Very, Very Unhappy.  I thought it was because she was cutting a new tooth (there are now FOUR teeth!).

On Monday night, neither David, nor Eileen, nor I slept a wink.  The poor baby literally cried all night.  She was sick.

We saw Dr. Williams on Tuesday and she diagnosed Eileen with an icky cold.  There was nothing we could do but wait it out.  I immediately went to WalMart and spent a fortune on any product that promised to make my sick baby a little more comfortable.

Eileen's humidifier looks like a cow.  The vapor comes out of the ears- so cute!

I recommend this for babies and adults.  It's a nightlight that emits Vick's vapors.  Very effective.

Vick's Vapor Rub for Babies.  Great Stuff.  I hate the way it smells.

By Thursday, Eileen was feeing better.  We are still battling a very stuffy nose.

Eileen woke up happy this morning, so we're hoping this nasty old cold has passed!

Weekend Fun

The weekend kicked off with a trip to Montgomery.  David and I needed to buy materials for the Great Mr. & Mrs. Monroe Sausage Makeover.  Eileen made sure to charm everyone we met- she crawled around on the floor of Jo-Ann's and did tricks for the ladies who were there, she loved on our waitress at Chili's and waved to the people at the next table, and she sang her way through the Home Depot.

When we got home, we all watched football.  Eileen dressed up to cheer for the Tennessee Volunteers!

GO VOLS!!!

That didn't go so well, so she decided to make a huge mess in the living room instead.

"Turn off this horrible game!"

On Sunday, we went to Cracker Barrel after church.  Eileen had her first taste of Cracker Barrel biscuit.

 And since it was a typical, lovely South Alabama October Day (sunny, humid, 90º), we took an afternoon walk!

It was a relaxing fall weekend- something we are able to enjoy far too rarely!

Cajun Festival on the Square

Last Thursday, the Monroe County Heritage Museum hosted a Cajun Festival on Court Square.  The whole family went and had a great time.  It was absolutely worth keeping us out past Eileen's bedtime!

Eileen loved wearing her smocked Auburn jumper!

Toddler Lesson #1

Eileen is almost officially a toddler.

And I think I've learned my first lesson as the parent of a toddler:

QUIET IS BAD

I was busy doing laundry the other day and left Eileen in the living room.  She was playing with her toys.  I thought she was quietly entertaining herself and staying out of trouble.

This is what I found when I went to look for her.  Not two minutes later:

Daddy's Girl

Eileen loves her Daddy-

She gets so excited when he comes in the door...

 and he's always ready to play with her.

 Those two are quite good friends!

Say "Cheese"

When you aim the camera at Eileen and say "CHEESE!", she will turn and grin at the camera.

Even when she's in the middle of making a mess.

This morning, Eileen dumped out and frolicked in the cloth diapers.

David says she looks like a tiny little wrestler here.
She's in the middle of dragging everything out of her toy box.

"Typing" on Mommy's computer

Eileen is such a ham!  (She gets that from her Aunt Amy.)

South Carolina

This past weekend, David and I took our first-ever trip without Eileen.

Don't worry.  She stayed with David's parents and had a blast!  Her parents were the ones who were lonely.

Eileen having a blast in her swing at Mumsie & Daddy Dave's. 

David and I went to Columbia, SC to meet up with some of my friends from Duke and to watch the Auburn-USC game.

Whitney, Rob, Starling, & Me

Though we missed Eileen, it was so much fun to see everyone.  And to have a "grown-up" weekend.

Oh, and Auburn won!

On our way home, David and I ate brunch with several of our friends from law school who now live in Atlanta.  We were incredibly lucky to see so many friends this weekend!  (And we're incredibly lucky to have friends who make time to see us!)

Even though we had a wonderful time, David and I were thrilled to see our baby when we got home on Sunday afternoon.

FIRST STEP!!!

Eileen just took her first step!

After her bath this evening, she stood up and tentatively took one step towards me.  David and I both got to see it.

Eileen is ten months, one week, and five days old.

Way to go Eileen!