My Amazon.com Wish List has a Potty on it

Yes, that's correct. My Wish List that used to have things like digital cameras and books, and gifts that I was going to buy my husband or other family members, but now, it has a potty on it.

Actually, more than one potty. I have to figure out which one I like best. The one that sings a song when you do something in it, or the plain ole reliable bjorn.

Mom, you're embarrassing me!
Photo: Stephanie O'Neill Photography

Ella signed the word "bath" yesterday morning, and this morning. She typically takes her baths at night but we figured ok, she signed "bath" so let's give her a bath. Big mistake. For the first (and second) time ever, she dropped a bomb in the bath. We thought it was a one time thing yesterday morning, but nope, it happened again.

My husband has the idea that she may be ready for potty training. And maybe her sign for bath really means I have to go potty. And maybe she thinks the bath is just one really big toilet. I keep telling him that it's still about a year or more away, but maybe we'll run into some sort of dumb luck and have a baby who wants to go potty on the toilet. Who knows.

But, thank you, Ella, for changing my life and my Amazon.com wish list in ways I never thought it could be changed. Potty, here I come.

11 Months Old

Ella turned 11 months on the 27th of July...and I'm freaking out. Not only do I have to plan her first birthday party which stresses me out a bit (it has to be awesome despite the fact that she won't remember any of it), but my baby girl is turning ONE YEAR OLD.

Just this past weekend I held my newest niece who was only six days old. She was teeny, adorable, doing that whole...I don't know how to use my hands yet...and it reminded me of Ella. Was it even possible that she was that little ever in her life? Impossible, she's been 20lbs forever.

The countdown has begun to one. Until then, I will spend all of my spare time baking practice cakes for the big day and watching the RSVPs come in.

Mommy's College Reunion

Her shirt says "I Love Holy Cross"

Today I went back to Holy Cross. I had been back just three times in the past 10 years since I graduated in 2001. The first time was for homecoming in the Fall after my graduation. The second time was in 2007 when some former roommates were visiting from around the country and we made the trek to the hill to visit the campus (it had been 10 years since we met each other -- I think almost to the weekend). The third time was for my bridal shower in 2008 (a central location for family and friends).

Holy Cross holds some very special memories for me. I met some of my best friends there, the education shaped my life (and even what I do for work now) and the college experience was something that I knew I was fortunate to have while I was living it. I kept saying to myself, "Everyone says college is the best time of your life, enjoy each day of it." When I was back home during the summer all I wanted to do would be go back to school, and when I was at school all I wanted to do was take-in each class, enjoy the weekends with my friends, and spend time making relationships that would matter to me even ten years later.

Facebook really did make the reunion a bit different than I expected. I knew what everyone would look like (and I have to say, everyone looked amazing...we aged well :) I knew their spouses and children and I saw them grow over the few years that I've had my Facebook account. But, it was great to finally see them in person, and it was great to introduce them to Ella, the 9-month old they've seen grow up through my posts.

When I was showing Ella a bit of the campus I couldn't help but wonder if she'll be a Crusader one day. Regardless of where she goes, I hope she enjoys each moment of her college experience as much as I did whether she's in purple, or---maroon and gold.

9 months old

She's entering the last quarter of her first year and that scares me a bit. It scares me because I know how fast the first three went -- in a flash. And, she's 39 weeks old today and she was born at 39 weeks 5 days so essentially she's as old as I carried her. Time to take a deep breath because my baby is no longer an infant. nor a "baby," she's starting to become a little girl. Ok, well maybe she's still a baby, but you know what I mean.

In weeks 37 and 38 she checked some major items off the list including:
Saying Mama (amazing moment :)
Crawling
Pulling Up
Waving
Signing "more"
Using her sippy without any help
And other things that I can't remember right now but I'm sure I'll add as soon as I post this :)

Compared to what I did in those two weeks, she's got me beat by a long shot.

I feel like every three months Ella becomes a new person. She's reborn. She is an amazing human being with so much concentration and so much determination it's refreshing to witness. It's absolutely beautiful; I can't recall any other time in my life where I was witness to such transformation. I can't wait to see what the next quarter has in store for her, and what she has in store for me.

Here, There, and Everywhere. Babyproofing has Begun.

Ella is on the go. Rolling around, scooting about, pulling up, and touching everything. And yes, she started to open cabinet doors. Gone are the days of stillness -- she is a little lady on a misson. Touch this, move that, grab here, travel to there. Whether by roll or by Army crawl (yes, a capital A because her Uncle is a Major), Ella is a new baby.

We ordered over $100 worth of baby proofing supplies and I'm sure we're going to have to spend $100 more before we're completely done. Thank you, Amazon.com for having Amazon.com/mom because it is priceless. The amount of money I've saved on shipping is enormous. Even more enormous is the amount of money I'd spent on Amazon.

But, there are some things that Amazon cannot help with. What do I do with my dog's food? It's going to be in her little hands soon. One friend came to visit and her one-year old already ate some so I'm sure Ella is going to as well. What about the stools and bar-height chairs I have? Are they going to come crashing down on her? Is there anything I can do about it? She'll get bumps and bruises and eh, it happens, but I'm looking around my house and realizing there's a lot to do and very little time to get it done. I better get cracking.

I Know, I Know, She Looks Like Him.

My daughter looks unmistakably like my husband. A pretty version of him. Don't you find it's always a bit weird to say that a baby girl looks like their dad or a baby boy like their mom? I find it a bit weird, but it's entirely true. The baby girl could look like a pretty version of her dad and the boy a handsome version of their mom.  Anyway, just thought I'd put that out there. More meaningful posts to come.

8 Freaking Months Old

That's what I have to say about Ella turning 8 months on the 27th. 8 Freaking MONTHS!!! I think you need to be a parent to understand how quickly they turn from 8 minutes to 8 months. Sorry, no offense to non-parents, but it's a million times quicker than anything you've ever experienced. Quicker than an engagement, quicker than a countdown to a vacation, quicker than that vacation, and quicker than a pregnancy (but some might think that pregnancy goes by very slowly...and those someones might be moms).

Feeling the Grass for the First Time

Today she played with her cousins Ava and Billy who are visiting from Kentucky. She was playing with the big kids -- 3 1/2 years old, twins, and full of energy. They love Ella and Ella loves them. You can tell. They asked me questions like, "Auntie can baby Ella eat potato chips?" and, "Can I give baby Ella a kiss?"  "No hunny, she can't eat potato chips just yet." And, "yes, of course you can give her a kiss (on the cheeky please)."

Ella likes to make funny noises and Ava and Billy would make noises to her and she would mimic them back. It went back and forth for quiet some time and Ava and Billy were laughing hysterically. Ella would smile and laugh too -- a child language just for them.

She just looks at them and you can see wonder in her eyes. Billy asked me if Ella was going to dream about him tonight, and I'm pretty sure the answer is a yes...and Ava too.

She's getting ready to crawl, scooting all about, she's pulling herself up, she's finding toys herself, when I say, "where's Sophie?" she finds her and smiles and then picks her up (even if Sophie is nowhere in site...she'll find her). She's feeding herself, exploring her sippy cup. She felt grass for the first time today and was tentative about it, then kept running her hands through it laughing. She laughs all of the time, and smiles, and just lights up when she see us. She uses her walker and comes to us when we say, "Ella come to mommy (or daddy)!" She'll go around obstacles (none that would hurt her, of course) to get to us.

She's going to be crawling soon, walking soon, talking soon and getting so much older so very soon. I'm afraid I won't remember these moments as much as I want to. I wish I could freeze time but I can't. Instead I try to write her and write notes of what she's doing each week, I take photos and videos and hope that it will be good enough to remember how quickly the time is passing. 8 Freaking Months Old...I cannot believe it.