Teeth and tears

Ellie's second bottom tooth is SO close to popping through her gums. But it's not there yet, and is making her pretty sad. Our baby girl has been quite a crab since Sunday. After she spent much of the afternoon (at day care) and evening (at home) crying, we gave her some Tylenol and it seemed to help. Hope that tooth comes in already!
While we're on the subject of tears, I'll admit to having a mini-breakdown yesterday. I blame "working mom stress." It's so hard to see Ellie in pain and struggling. And it makes it even worse to see those things and then leave her in the care of someone else. My heart was breaking yesterday when I left her wailing at day care after our lunch visit :( I know that babies are going to cry sometimes from teething pain or overtiredness, but that knowledge isn't too comforting to me when it comes to Ellie. I just wanted to take her with me or stay in the visiting room all afternoon holding her.
But, instead, I went back to work and had a super frustrating afternoon. On the days when I fill in for my boss at work, I am SO busy that I feel like I can't do any of my tasks very well. I tend to just hop around "putting fires out" — or, literally, dealing with fires that are breaking news! Instead of feeling any sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, I just felt exhausted and stressed from the weight of all the tasks I hadn't yet finished bearing down on me.
So yesterday I felt like I failed on both the work and mom fronts. Brian kept telling me last night that it wasn't true, and I love him for offering support. But it was still a bad day for me, and I'm still trying to shake it off.
I have friends, some who are new moms themselves, ask me how I fit so much in — especially keeping up with my running. Sometimes it's overwhelming to figure out how I'll squeeze in a few miles during the day. I usually run at the end of the work day because it's easier than going in the morning (largely because of the logistics of still nursing Ellie) and I like having the option of taking Ellie with to get some fresh air.
There are days when it's the last thing I feel like doing after an insane 8-10 hours at work. But once I actually get out for the run, and afterward, I'm so glad that I put the energy into making that workout happen. I know getting regular exercise helps me de-stress, puts me in a better mood and makes me a better mom (and wife!). Still, I won't pretend that it's easy fitting everything into the schedule most days.
Hope I don't sound like too much of a whiner. So much of what I put up here is happy and positive — because it's hard to be down with such a wonderful little girl in our lives. But Ellie and I both have bad days. Here's hoping Ellie conquers her tooth today and I can stop gnashing my own teeth!

Hoo-ray!

Brian posted something recently about Ellie showing a lot of favoritism for mom recently. And it continues. She loves her dad, obviously, and plays great with him. But if I come in the same room she starts to fuss and reaches out until I pick her up.
Even though Brian tries not to let it bother him, I know it does. And I totally understand. It would drive me nuts! We're just trying to focus on this being a phase — as all our parent-friends have told us it is. I'm sure it'll be the other way around at some point.
In the meantime, I was so excited to let Ellie and dad play on Sunday (while I got a few other things done). Brian continued the "clapping training" that we've been working on for a couple weeks with Ellie. And guess what? He got the big pay off! Here's the proof:

Afternoon in the park

Our friend Michelle and her sons, Matthew and Nicolas, visited Lafayette this weekend and spent a few hours with us Saturday. The Foor family is headed to Hawaii in a few weeks! (Andy is in the Navy) The temperatures weren't tropical in Indiana, but it was warm enough for us to take Ellie to the park. Ellie went on the swing for the first time. She loved it! Can't wait to take her back soon.

She's not big enough to play on the equipment yet, but Ellie thought the bench was pretty cool. And she had fun watching everything going on. I foresee a lot of time spent at the park this summer. It's so cool that we have such a good one just down the block from us. And there's a zoo and water park in it, too! Glad to be in such a kid-friendly spot right now in our lives.

Evolution

Ellie is amazing! Last night we realized just how much she can do...

Here she is enjoying tummy time. And rocking back and forth in the crawling position.

And STANDING while holding on to the couch. That's right, she stands now!

Ellie: "What? No biggie. I can do it with one hand!"

She scoots!

Ellie can scoot backwards on her belly! I put her down on the floor on her hands and knees last night, and a few minutes later she'd moved about 5 feet backwards. And then she flipped over onto her back all by herself! What a big, mobile baby :)
I think we may be doing some baby-proofing at the house this weekend...

Weekend with grandma

Phew! My most recent pictures from our camera wouldn't upload last night... I was getting worried, but after rebooting today I got them!
Good thing, too! We got some good pictures during grandma's visit last weekend. Here she is with Ellie on Sunday morning before church. And here's Ellie and Grandma Linda playing! (Note: The Leinenkugels box on the floor is not from any weekend drinking exploit. It's empty and I made it into a "drum" for Ellie last week. She's a big fan!)

And here's Ellie having Cheerios for the first time. And when I say "having" I really mean playing with them and not eating them :)

Bouncy baby

Ellie has learned how to get some air in her jump-a-roo! She's nuts for the thing. The other day Brian said she bounced in it for almost an hour and was sweaty when he took her out!