Florida is kewl

I had a fantastic time in Florida! And so did Dh. Baby E behaved like a dream, so we'll just assume she had a great time too. No real fights. My teenaged sisters (18 & 14) are brats, but that comes with the territory, I guess. My siblings were starting to bug me by the end of the week, so I was ready to go home. Since they're not Dh's brothers & sisters, he was fine, and would probably have loved another week of vacation! Ha ha The hotel room was huge & gorgeous (and paid for by my parents - yay!). There was a huge, nice tub in the master suite (our room). We took a couple of family baths - fun!

We went go-karting, out on boats, shopping, Ripley's Believe-It-or-Not. Us girls had a spa day while my dad & Dh went deep sea fishing. (Getting your underarms waxed KILLS, in case you were wondering.) We ate at some fantastic places - my favorite was a Japanese steakhouse. It had hibachi grills, and the chef cooked the food in front of us - it was so cool!

The weather was sorta cooperative - it was certainly warmer than Oregon! A few days were kind of chilly - but we had some gloriously warm, sunny days too. Wearing a short-sleeve shirt in the sun in December is such a nice feeling!

Baby E did such a good job on the flights we couldn't even believe it. Our return flight home was delayed 2 hours, by the time we got home it was 12:30 am - 6 hours after Baby E goes to bed. She slept really well in Dh's arms on the plane, and when she woke occasionally, she smiled at other passengers and barely fussed at all. A wonderful late Christmas present! Ha ha

On New Year's Eve, Dh & I had Second Christmas, which was so fun it makes me want to have Second Christmas every year. I got the perfume I wanted (woo-hoo!) and also got Next by Michael Crichton and a cookbook I've wanted for a while. And two movies: The Importance of Being Ernest (hilarious!!!!!) and The Man Who Knew Too Little (one of my all-time faves). We also had some presents around from Dh's brother and his wife, so we opened those too. She has great taste and is in graphic design. She made me some awesome stationary and a beautiful necklace & matching earrings. Dh really liked the clothes I got him, which is good. Especially because dang do I know how to pick jeans -- his butt looks fantastic in them, so I was really hoping he'd like them too! Ha ha

So today Baby E is 7 months old. She decided to celebrate by falling off the bed this morning for the first time. I don't really feel too bad because 1) everyone else's baby seems to have already done it, and 2) she was laughing within 15 seconds of me picking her up. I guess she rolls really quickly now, because I swear I was only on the toilet for a few seconds!!!!!!

She sits up really well. She laughs a lot more now. Though we still can't predict very well what she will find amusing. She is not that much into the baby food. She only eats it once a day (if that) and gags a LOT if I try to feed her meat. In fact, if there is a word for someone who eats only fruits and vegetables, apply it to Baby E. She doesn't go for oatmeal or rice cereal. She likes butternut squash, bananas, peaches, and applesauce. And that's about it. Well and lots and lots of breastmilk. Ha ha I have started mixing oatmeal into her faves to trick her into eating at least some grains. When I tried carrots on her, she taught me a really super neat trick: if you just never close your mouth after your mom puts the dreaded orange crap in your mouth, it falls out onto your bib.

What she is into is playing. She loves grabbing everything, banging toys, eating stuffed animals' faces, trying to eat paper (with varying amounts of success depending on how observant I am being). Dh loves to make her smile & laugh by jumping around like an ape. She also enjoys his "Human Bouncy Toy."

Dh has started something I love & appreciate: when she wakes up for the day, around 7:30-8, he hangs out with her while he eats breakfast and showers. This enables me to sleep until 8:30 when he has to leave for work. Thanks, Dh! You rock!

Baby E has also started something I love: she wakes up to nurse at 5 am now, instead of 4 am. It means I regularly get 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep and I love it!

This evening something weird happened: Baby E went down for her 3rd nap at 4. Her 3rd nap (when it happens) is usually 45-60 mins. I finished baking some apple scones and laid down for what I thought would be a power nap at 4:45 pm. I woke up to Baby E making little noises -- at 6:45!!!! I ran into her room, and she was all drowsy still, barely waking up. I don't know what was going on. I got her up, but she was rubbing her eyes like crazy, so I just changed her diaper, put on her pjs, nursed her and put her back in bed by 7:10, where she went to sleep with no crying whatsoever. That kid sleeps so much - it's fantastic.