There are so many violets in our backyard in the spring that it looks almost completely purple for a couple of weeks. It’s one of the reasons Elliora’s middle name is Violet, because our backyard looked like this around the time we found out we were pregnant. It was actually even more violet-covered a week before this, believe it or not. It’s almost the end of violet season around here.

Here’s an alternate Day 7 shot. Our LED twinkle lights (they’re not Christmas lights because we keep them up year-round) cast interesting pools of light and shadow on the ceiling and walls around them. I was inspired by Bex’s shot of her grandparents’ vintage bunch-of-grapes lamp and the cool shadows it cast.

Hey, look! I am actually done blogging every single one of my 7 Days photos from the run that was only a couple of weeks ago! Not only that, but…I MADE IT THROUGH THE WHOLE WEEK WITHOUT GETTING SICK. IT WAS A 7 DAYS MIRACLE! *cue angelic choirs*

I expect to come down with the plague shortly, now that I said that. (Although I originally wrote that almost two weeks ago and I’m still not sick.) I guess there was that toothache I had that week—really that I had had on and off since around my birthday almost a month ago. It was finally resolved on Day 6 when I went to the dentist. It turned out the problem was a cavity in one of my remaining wisdom teeth. The solution was easy: pull the tooth. It was done and I was driving home less than 30 minutes later, much relieved. I don’t really count that as being sick.

While I’m blogging, a couple of quick things:

• Up until a few days ago, I was more than a month behind on uploading photos to Flickr. I’m still taking photos every day, I just don’t get around to doing anything with them. I’m starting to catch up and am hoping to be caught up before I leave for Omaha. Wish me luck.
• Instagram finally released an app for Android phones, just a few days before Facebook bought Instagram. So I’m enjoying using Instagram as a new, easy way to share photos from my phone on Twitter and Facebook. Or you can see my photos here.
• Elliora has a new favorite all-purpose word, suitable for all sentiments and occasions: MINE. Her dad’s laptop? “Mine!” Annalie’s jacket? “Mine!” My frosted mini-wheats? “Mine mine mine!” Lily the cat? “MIIIIIINE!”
• We’re heading to Omaha on Friday, just me and the girls. (Poor Troy, he has to stay here and work, and have the house to himself for a week and a half.) When we come home, my mom and my niece are coming with us. They’re going to stay and visit for three whole weeks and will be here to celebrate Annalie’s eighth birthday. We’re all pretty excited about that.
• Party plans for Annalie’s birthday were on hold for a while, because we weren’t sure if my mom was going to be able to come here, or if she’d have to stay in Omaha because of some family obligations. Now that we know, I have sorted out the party plans and I think it’s gonna be really fun. It’s a big relief to finally have a plan.
• Chris wrote something great about blogging with two small children that expressed perfectly how I feel, so I’m just going to quote her:
  

  Well, I’d still love to have an awesome, regularly-updated website. That endeavour is sitting on a back burner, as our time and energy are all earmarked for other stuff for a while.

  In my mind I have an enormous stovetop with quite a lot of burners, especially at the back.

• I started a page to keep track of all the words Elliora says. She’s adding about three or four new ones every day. There’s a button for it over on the sidebar. —>

How on earth did it get to be mid-April already!?

Last week, we made an impromptu trip down to Southern Virgina to see Karyl and her girls.

Karyl and I are both Navy wives. We’re accustomed to our husbands being gone for weeks or months at a time, and working long hours when they’re not gone. Most of the time, we deal with it just fine.

Once in a while, we struggle. It just happens that last week, we were both struggling a little bit. That made it seem like the perfect time for a 7 Days meet-up.

And you know what? It was. We arrived on Tuesday and had a great time hanging out, eating good food, playing outside, talking and laughing together. Grace and Annalie immediately jumped right back into the friendship they established when Karyl and her girls visited us last summer, when Sonja and Noah were visiting. And Mary Ellen loved Elliora. She seemed to think she was a living doll, and Elliora didn’t seem to mind that at all. Anytime we walked anywhere, Elliora walked straight to ME and grabbed her hand.

I dragged everyone all the way to Virginia Beach, to my favorite Greek restaurant, Elia’s. The hummus and pita there are to die for, and the rest of the food is delicious too. We were regulars at Elia’s when we lived in Virginia Beach over a decade ago, and just like every other time we’ve been there since we moved away—even when years have gone by between visits—Elia remembered us as soon as we walked in the door.

We sat in a booth right next to a high wall. On the other side of that wall was the grill, and Annalie and Grace amused themselves by occasionally standing on the seat and peeking over to chat with Elia and the other people working that day, all of whom seemed to get a kick out of it. Everyone enjoyed the food, especially Elliora. She took bites out of a lemon, rind and all; ate the hummus by the fingerful after we ran out of pita; and gnawed a kabob full of chicken clean. Annalie even branched out from her usual chicken nuggets, and thought the chicken kabobs and rice were really tasty.

The next morning, we all walked Grace to school and got to see her classroom and meet her lovely teacher.

Walking back to Karyl’s, I spotted this heart-shaped rock in the dirt path. I love finding random hearts in the world like this.

We stopped at the playground to let the kids blow off some steam, and so we could get our 7 Days shots.

The theme for Day 5 was FRESH. Karyl’s had the idea that we could be getting some fresh air, which we certainly got playing on the swings. But even more than the air, the time spent with a friend refreshed me. Thanks again, Karyl! We went home with lighter hearts, already looking forward to the next visit.

pretty: I like playing with the shutter speed when there’s a fountain around. This one is in the main park in Erin and Rocco’s downtown.

happy: Annalie loved this ziplining thing on the playground in the same park. She went on it over and over and over again. There was a similar piece of playground equipment on the playground at our old church in Maryland, and she loved that one too. And she was pleased as punch with herself when she was able to go all the way across the rings on her own.

funny: Silly ice-cream posers. And goofball me, posing on Annalie’s scooter with Elliora on my back.

real: This is what happens when you accidentally fall asleep with wet hair when you’re putting the baby to bed for her afternoon nap.

Pretty, happy, funny, real is about capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. Via girlwithgreencard.

This little punk is in the thick of the eight-month sleep regression. Basically, her brain and body are in overdrive, learning and perfecting new skills like waving hello,

crawling,

pulling herself up,

and standing.

Not to mention all the teething that’s been going on.

Clementines make good teethers. Also limes.

With a nod to Jen.

Her two top teeth and two more on the bottom are working on poking through her gums, too. They haven’t popped through yet but we’ve been able to feel how swollen her gums have been in those spots.

And then of course there’s the fact that we just got home from three weeks in California and Oregon, which means she’s three time zones off schedule. And we’re back at home with our cats (exciting!) and all the toys that she hasn’t seen for ages (whee!) and all this familiar furniture she’s apparently been dying to pull herself up on for ages because as soon as we set her on the floor that’s what she immediately does every time (ZOMG being vertical is AWESOME!1!!).

There are many, many reasons for her to be having trouble sleeping easily and peacefully right now, is what I’m saying. But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating to live through.

Last night, after three hours of me and Troy taking turns trying to gently parent Elliora to sleep—rocking, back-patting, nursing, walking, singing, etc.—we gave up and brought her out to the living room to play happily with her toys while we watched TV, exhausted. She went to bed with us an hour later.

Tonight she took a one-hour nap at 8 o’clock, fooling us into thinking maybe she was going to sleep better. Hahahaha, what suckers we are. She woke up at 9. Around 11 we brought her out to the living room to play while we caught up on White Collar. (Do you watch? We love that show. It seems to get better every season, doesn’t it?) She managed to keep herself awake and relatively happy till 1:30am. That would be 10:30pm PDT, which would still be at least two hours later than she ever stayed up when we were on vacation.

Babies, man. They’re so unpredictable. At least my babies are when it comes to sleep. Oh well. It won’t be too much longer and she’ll be sleeping peacefully again, I’m sure. By then I’ll probably be spending my days chasing her around and cursing our lack of child-proofing, wishing she were still trying to figure out how to stand up.

And Troy’s here! Yay!

Until I get the chance to blog about them, please go look at my photos which I’ve lovingly edited and Flickred for your viewing pleasure.

1. Elliora playing on the floor of Brenda‘s living room while we worked on party prep for the Summer Fiesta on Saturday evening.

2. Annalie and Noah were playing companionably in his room. I asked them to smile for a picture. Annalie smiled; Noah adopted an expression that made him look as though he feared for his life.

3. Annalie playing in the supercool fountain in Sonja‘s backyard.

4. Brenda was happy to hold Elliora for me while I went to the bathroom after our arrival Friday night, but the poor baby was so very tired I thought she’d probably cry if I handed her off to someone she hadn’t seen since she was five days old. So we distracted her with keys.

5. Even though it had been a year since these four had all been together, they got along like they just saw each other last week. I love that.

6. Brenda’s cat Aqui had her kittens on our first full day here, the day of the fiesta! She had five total, all gray and white. Mama and babies all seem to be doing really well. We look forward to playing with them before we go home.

7. I took a bunch of photos of the girls in their matchy-matchy fiesta dresses, and they were all so hilariously adorable that I had to Flickr them all, even the ones that were nearly identical.

8. Fish and Elliora.

9. Ready, set, go!

10. Oh man. This is hilarious to me (and probably anyone who knows Madge and Fish) on so many levels.

Whack!

12. Madge brought flan. I had a bite just to try it. I thought I didn’t like flan. Turns out, good flan is delicious. Who knew!?

13. I finally met THE Yara . And she’s awesome, duh.

14. Fish, Sonja, and Madge may or may not have been laughing a little more than usual because there was alcohol being consumed. Probably not though. These three are some of the funniest people I know even stone cold sober.

15. Sunset in the Sticks.

16. A blurry but happy photo, taken by Fish. I’m pretty sure the alcohol had nothing to do with the blurriness. I know the happiness was all due to being with good friends.

More photos in the Flickr photoset goin’ back to Cali 2.

It’s 7 Days time again! So here’s the first of a week’s worth of self-portraits that you’ll see from me and Annalie—hopefully in a timely manner, unlike last time.

Yesterday we drove from DC down to Raleigh-Durham for my nephew’s birthday party. We left in the morning, right around the time Elliora usually takes a nap, and she slept for a little more than half the trip and only cried for a few minutes right at the end. We were quite relieved, since she’s held onto her dislike of being in the car much longer than Annalie did.

Today we’re driving back home. Elliora didn’t really take a morning nap, and we timed it so we’d leave right about the time she normally goes down for her afternoon nap, hoping those two things would make for a peacefully sleeping baby on the way home. So far so good!

This shot, by the way, was totally serendipitous. I was just playing around with the camera, and I really liked the framing of this one.

Annalie’s self-portrait is called “hotel mirror.” That’s all she had to say about it.

I am thinking about the six baby blankets I want to make in the next three months. Two of them are already in progress. Am I insane to think I can manage that? We shall see.

I am thankful for everything, really. I feel like I whine and complain a lot these days, but I know how blessed I am. I have the luxury of being annoyed when the signal I’m using to access the internet as we drive down I-95 blips out for a second. My problems could be so much bigger, and they’re not. #diamondshoes

I am wearing a nightgown. But that’s boring, so instead I’ll tell you about two things I wore today which you may also find boring unless you are a breastfeeding mother. Feel free to skip ahead if you’re bored already.

I’ve been searching for the perfect nursing shirt for, oh, seven years, really. I think I may have finally found it: the nursing criss-cross tee from Momzelle. My main problem with most nursing shirts is that I have broad shoulders and a wide ribcage, but I’m not, shall we say, overly endowed in the chestal area—not even when I’m nursing. So shirts that fit my shoulders and torso completely droop down my front and show my bra to the world. Shirts that are more modest fit me like cling wrap, which is neither flattering nor comfortable. So I’m fairly excited to have finally found a shirt that (a) fits my proportions, (b) is comfortable and cute, and (b) is easy to nurse in. Huzzah!

The other thing I was wearing today that might interest you if you’re a nursing mother or plan on spending a lot of time holding a baby is this turquoise nursing necklace from the Etsy shop My Lil Market. I had a couple of nursing necklaces when Annalie was a baby, but they were more of the bright-tacky-plastic variety. This one is so pretty, I will probably be wearing it long after Elliora has stopped nursing. But I’ll definitely keep wearing it now because Elliora loved it. She spent several hours today playing with the beads and shoving different parts of it in her mouth. Not surprising, really; I’m sure this string of beads and stones is far more enticing than the specifically-designed-to-interest-a-baby necklaces I used to have, because babies always reject their fun toys in favor of the forbidden grown-up things, don’t they?

I am remembering that tomorrow, in addition to being my nephew Brett’s birthday, is also my other sister-in-law’s wedding anniversary and the anniversary of the day my mom, my brother and I were all baptized.

I am going to brush my teeth. Be right back.

I am currently reading I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty Years Away, by Bill Bryson. This is another one I’m re-reading. Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors—partly because he’s hilarious in a nerdy, befuddled, self-deprecating way that just rings my bell; and partly because he once sent me a letter in reply to one I’d written him—and reading his books is kind of like eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes or homemade macaroni and cheese. It’s comfort food for my brain and soul.

I am hoping that our drive home tomorrow goes as well as the 4.5-hour drive down did. Elliora slept for a total of three hours and change, played with a toy or looked out the window for another hour, and only cried for a few minutes right after lunch and about 15 minutes at the tail end of the trip. Fingers crossed.

On my mind: Samantha and her parents.

Noticing that Annalie is almost as tall as I am. I picked her up today for the first time in a while and was kind of shocked how big she seemed. I’m sure part of that is because these days I’m usually carrying Elliora, but still.

Around the house we have way too much stuff. Troy and I were just talking yesterday about how we’re overdue for a good clearing-out and getting-rid-of. Usually we do that as we unpack after a move, but maybe we’ll do it before we move this time.

In the kitchen, I am spending a lot more time lately. (Yoda, I sound like.) Elliora loves to eat. Like, she LOVES to eat. I am happy to make most of her food but it means I’m spending quite a bit more time in the kitchen lately, feeding her as well as cooking for her. I don’t really mind a bit, though. It’s so fun to feed a baby who likes everything we’ve offered her.
Applesauce (with and without cinnamon), mashed bananas, oatmeal, mixed-grain cereal, carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, peas, green beans, spinach, pears, peaches, mango, avocado, refried beans, broccoli, rice, beef, turkey, ham, blueberries, pumpkin, watermelon, chicken, black olive, bacon, cheddar cheese, goat cheese, plain yogurt, mashed potatoes with garlic, Cheerios, asparagus…I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Seriously, she likes everything.)

One of my favorite things is finding awesome new TV shows to watch, and then geeking out over them with friends.

From my photo archive: Speaking of Elliora eating, here is a picture of her (on the right) eating carrots at 5 months old. Annalie (on the left) was about a year old when this picture was taken in June 2005, and was eating Spaghetti-Os.

Sarah just happened to be visiting New York with Suzy* during Sonja‘s visit to us in DC. So we went up for the day last Wednesday and hung out in Central Park. And now I’ve met both the 7 Days gods!

Thanks to Sonja for letting me steal this photo, which I think Troy took. I had to steal her photo instead of using one of my own. We’ve been busy running around and showing Sonja and Noah the sights—not to mention going to New York and Southern Maryland, and doing the everyday care and feeding that three small children require—and I have not managed to edit or Flickr any photos taken while Sonja has been here. She’s been pretty good about Flickring her photos, though. Head over to her photostream to see them!

*I’m not sure why Suzy absented herself from this photo, since she’s a 7 Dayer too! Silly Suzy.