A Mile a Minute!

What a week! (Insert exhale.) This marks Elaine's first full week without her pacifier.  She really impressed us with her ability to adapt.  I won't say it was a breeze, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be!  I went to daycare one day and found her sneaking another little guy's pacifier... she's resourceful!  Watch your paci's, Elaine is shopping!  :)

 

One of the biggest developments is Elaine's crawling.  She can actually crawl for distance now!  For a while it was one or two paces, then she would roll onto her back.  Now she's on a mission!  And she certainly gets where she intends to.  So of course we have a new baby gate in the house, and the childproofing supplies have surfaced just in time.

This week marked the kickoff of all the various Farmer's Markets in town.  Thursday we went with Jay and his daughter Quinn to the local Valley Junction market, where our favorite Greek chicken pitas and sweet treats are found.  Saturday, we headed to the downtown market for our favorite breakfast burritos, some other fun treats, and vegetable plants for my garden, which I rushed home to plant.  We will have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, yellow squash, and I still have room to plant a couple more things.  We'll see what sounds good this week.  I also got our window boxes planted too!

Sunday morning, a storm rolled through, and Elaine, who loves to stand (supported), was very interested in the rain and wind blowing.

Sunday, Eric had his "guy's day out" where he and a few good friends head to Kansas City to catch a ball game and get bbq, and head home all in the same day.  SO, while daddy's away, the girls will play!  Alivia came over this morning for a playdate at the park and so Leslie and I could catch up.

Lunch included Elaine's second meal with finger food (beyond just Cheerios).  Saturday, she ate cut up banana, so Sunday we tried some whole grain pasta and cut up grapes.  She simply refuses to eat pureed food from the spoon these days.  Miss Independence!

After lunch, we went over to see our friend Ellie, who is a month older than Elaine, and walking all by herself!  She had this adorable rocking snail that Elaine couldn't wait to try out!  Here is Ellie sharing her toys with Elaine.

Elaine could not get enough and I LOVED watching her grab the little antennae!!

On my way home from LeAnn's, I got a call from Nikki that they were mixing a favorite summer drink, and getting out the kiddie pools.  So after a quick nap, Elaine and I were off for our third playdate of the day!  We joined Quinn and her friend Annabel for a little splash on what ended up being a beautiful day!

Here is Elaine being a big girl at the water table!  What a great day with friends!!