Weekend with Mike Kellum

Mike Kellum, Aaron's brother, visited us from Oklahoma last weekend. Aaron and I definitely had a fun time catching up and talking politics and Elayna had a great time meeting her uncle!

Mike and Aaron went to ASU Saturday morning and spent some time on campus. As Mike is a HUGE OU fan, Aaron wanted to show him Arizona State. Aaron also gave a presentation to several MBA students on his 2-week study-abroad program to Toulouse/Barcelona last summer.

Saturday evening, we all went to a Diamondbacks game -- Elayna's first baseball outing! We honestly expected it to be too much for her but she did a great job. Although the noise was a little overwhelming at first, she soon relaxed and spent almost an hour playing with paper pamphlets. We stayed the entire game -- good thing since it was a really good game. Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 6-4!!

Thanks for a fun visit, Mike!!

Farmer’s Market and Crazy Ducks

With my new hobby of baby-food-pureer, I decided I needed to spend some time scoping out the local farmer's markets.  After all, it is fall and should be a wonderful time for fresh produce.

Unfortunately, this is Phoenix:  strip-mall capital of the world.  The only farmer's market I've seen her in 7 years is at a local park with 4 sorry little tents.  However, I am determined ... and with a hopeful heart Elayna and I drove down to Cactus and SR-51 to check it out.

To my delight and surprise, this poor little gathering was actually pretty good!  The tents had drastically multiplied, there was a variety of fresh bread, salsa, crafts, and yes -- produce!!  Elayna had a great time in her stroller while I proceeded to purchase squash, carrots, nectarines, potatoes, granola ...

So yes, I probably got a little carried away.  And Aaron did raise his eyebrows that I managed to spend $40 at a farmer's market and still wanted to buy more dog treats and zucchini (which I didn't discover until I was already out of cash). 

Before getting back in the car, Elayna and I rolled over to visit with the duck-pond geese and ducks.  While I thought these ducks would keep a safe distance from us, it wasn't long before these abnormally large creatures had circled our stroller and were investigating us.  It's hard to be enthusiastic about animals to your daughter when scared the crazy things are going to start plucking her eyes out.  But no harm, no foul (or fowl? ha ha).

My brother is spending a year in Ireland and has just started a new blog.  Check it out:  http://natecoxmt.blogspot.com

Is it Monday yet?

Poor little Elayna....  She did not have a good weekend and therefore Mom and Dad also did not have a good weekend.  It's amazing how the disposition of the entire family is dependent on one 16 pound little girl.

Elayna had a cold most of the weekend and had a really hard time shaking it.  Her nose was congested, she had a cough, and the barley we tried upset her tummy.  All in all, I think there were just too many things happening at once and we needed a day to slow down.  So Sunday the whole family slept in, and Elayna felt much better!

In other news, we are expanding our small appliance collection with the purchase of a food processor.  I've been researching home-made babyfood and am committed to giving it a try.  Yesterday we made the first batch of apple puree and Aaron even said that he would eat it!  It's fairly painless, much healthier, and much cheaper than going with the store brands.  Elayna will be the official judge later this week though....

Funny new Jibjab

We've long been fans of the JibJab website and their hilarious political spoof videos.  They have a new one for 2008 and Aaron actually stars in part of it (look for him towards the end).  It's well worth the price of admission....

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/7LTxtPwDc99gT8Do

CEREAL … such a big girl!

For the past 3 days we've fed Elayna cereal.  I really thought this would just be a trial of solid foods but she LOVES it so far.  Aaron fed her yesterday and today and she did great -- she swallows, opens her mouth for the spoon, and really seems to enjoy herself.

Here are a few pics of her first real food on Friday.

Not so sure ....  My turn with the spoon      This is GREAT!

Time spent in Billings

Finally ... more about our trip to Montana!

We flew into Billings on Monday, August 25 and were met at the airport by Aunt Margene and Aunt Allyson.  Margene and Elayna got acquainted while Allyson helped me with the bags and car.  It was so great to see them and I'm so thankful they were there -- especially without Aaron.

Elayna and I spent 3 days in Billings at Margene's.  We had a great opportunity to meet the family (Uncle Gordon, Uncle/Cousin Jay) and many friends!  Thanks to everyone for such a fun time!!

In particular, Elayna AMAZED me with her flexibility.  She was a great sport, especially on Tuesday when we packed in visiting with people as much as possible inbetween naps.  She was full of smiles, ate great, took naps on time, and in general was an angelic baby.  What a relief!!

A few fun pictures:

How to become a cowgirl:

Elayna spent 4 days in Winston last week with her Grandma Missy and Grandpa Cliff.  She had an AMAZING time and seemed to know immediately that Montana was a great place to be. 

First on the agenda:  meeting Great-Grandma Rubie -- Elayna's namesake.  Elayna and Grandma Rubie had a great time together.  They picked flowers, raspberries, and beans.  Grandma fed Elayna and took her to church to meet her friends.  And Grandma gave Elayna the Cookie-Monster sweater -- a special sweater made for me when I was little (its pretty big right now but will fit someday)

Elayna spent most of her time in Winston learning how to be a cowgirl.  Uncle Nathan and Elayna were good friends and Nate showed her many, many things:

1)  Learn to drive a tractor.  First sit on an old tractor that hasn't ran in a while so mom can take a ridiculous amount of pictures.  [Uncle Nate is adamant that the tractor DOES run.]  Elayna also has developed a unique talent to steer with her feet.

By-the-way, my dad (Elayna's Grandpa Cliff) was the state 4-H tractor driving champion in 1965.  He has a very nice trophy and won a trip to Chicago ... we take our tractor driving very seriously.

2)  Meet Gonzo the horse.  Yes, Gonzo is probably more interested in Elayna than Elayna is in him.  It will still be several more years before Elayna understands that this is not just a big dog. 

Unfortunately, Elayna didn't get to ride Gonzo the horse this trip.  But she did get to .....

3)  Sit on a saddle!!  It is never too early to develop your seat and learn to wear a hat.  Of course, both the saddle and the hat have seen better days.

4)  Learn about balers with Grandpa Cliff.  Elayna and I rested in the middle of one of our morning walks and Elayna was able to talk with Grandpa.  Look at her strong legs!!!

Aaron loves this picture ... he thinks its the snapshot of the trip and I think I agree.

5)  And stop for some necessary caffeine at Copy Cup (Grandma Missy's shop in Townsend).  Grandma also teaches Elayna about the value of a dollar.  What fun!!

So we obviously had a fun trip!  Thanks to all our family and friends - we miss you all and enjoyed seeing and meeting everyone!

Several ‘flighty’ moments

Elayna and I are safely back from our trip to Montana and had a fabulous time!!  I'll post more of the details of our trip in additional entries.

However, I feel it necessary to pause in regards to her less than perfect attitude towards flying.  Needless-to-say, Elayna is not a great flyer.  I'm not sure why I'm surprised since I also don't like flying but I was so hopeful that she would be an angelic baby on the plane.

My little daydream:

• Elayna and I would board, she would finish her bottle and then settle in for a peaceful nap.  Shortly before landing, she would flutter her eyes awake, smile at all the nice passengers around her, and quiet play with a few toys before disembarking.

Our little reality:

• Elayna was an angel on the ground, peacefully took her bottle, and even drifted off to sleep towards the beginning of the flight.
• Shortly into the flight, Elayna's awoken by the blasted airplane intercom, sits quietly for a few minutes giving mom hopes that she'll drift back off before deciding to stay awake for good.
• Mom has to entertain Elayna for the next hour and a half, exhausting all cool toys in the first 10 minutes.
• Elayna squawks at unexpected times, kicks the seat ahead of her, and in general does not practice good manners.
• Landing in Montana, she peacefully sat for the decent.  Landing in Arizona, she SCREAMED for the last 5 minutes while we taxied into the gate.  That's right ... SCREAMED.  Mom is desperate to get off the plane as are all the neighbors around her.
• Upon seeing family and/or Aaron off the plane, mom hurls Elayna into their arms and seeks a drink and/or nap.

So ... we are happy to be home.  And are planning to stock up on Benadryl before the next flight.  I have learned my lesson well.