life according to the diaz's: No Babysitter Week!

Well, Juan and I officially made it through the first part of the week without our baby girl. Elena was gone to St. Louis with her grandma and grandpa from Sunday through Wednesday afternoon. From all the pictures and videos, she appeared to have a great time and did not care one bit that she was away from home. She got to spend some time with her aunts and read lots of books. She even learned a new word: "book", which usually comes out as "gook". Elena went on walks to the park and just enjoyed her mornings in bed with grandma. All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful time for her. I know my mom and dad missed her when it was time for her to come back home. I ended up staying home on Thursday with Elena and took her back to the doctor to have her roseola rash checked by the nurse and get Elena her first dose of the flu shot. We were only at the doctor's office for about 5 whole minutes...record time! Elena's rash will continue to come and go, but there are no worries anymore about the roseola. Elena cried for a bit when she got her shot, but then by the time we walked out of the examining room, she was happy and smiling again. We will go again during the first week of November for her second booster of the flu shot. It was really wonderful to spend the day with Elena on Thursday. I know Juan would love to have a day like that too with her during the week, but it is very difficult to plan for a substitute (and, boy do I know that), but now with the job I have as a Reading Specialist, I don't have to plan for substitutes. If I can't make it to school, I just call and tell them I can't be there. It makes things so much easier for me to stay home if needed. Just another one of those little reasons why I LOVE the job I have. To end up our week of no babysitter, Elena's Tia Oly came out from Kansas City to spend the day with her at our house. We were so thankful that Oly agreed to come out and stay with Elena for the day. They have never been able to spend a whole day together just the two of them, so it was a memorable day. All in all, it ended up being a great week. Elena got to spend some quality time with some very special people.
Yesterday, I took Elena up to St. Louis again for the day to visit my grandparents. We had a great time catching up and playing. Grandma made an awesome pepperoni pizza for lunch and my uncle Bob made a pasta casserole that I really enjoyed. Of course, it wouldn't be lunch at grandma's without some strawberries and a Drumstick for dessert. I love my visits to grandma and pa's house. It's always so relaxing and with Elena on the move all the time, it was great to just sit, laugh, and talk while we watched Elena play.
So, here we are again to another Sunday...ready for a day full of football on TV and fantasy football on the computer :) This makes me love Sundays. I don't have anything in the Crockpot today, but hopefully later this week I'll have something good to cook...maybe a new recipe??!! Elena will be back to the babysitter's for a normal week and grandma Keeven will be back here on Friday. It will be nice to have a regular week ahead of us.
Juan and I just marvel at Elena everyday because it seems like she gets bigger and smarter with each day that passes by. She is getting better at her wobbly walk...she is starting to talk a lot and "sing" lots of noises. Elena loves to make a mess of my dish towel drawer in the kitchen. You always know when Elena was around when the kitchen floor is covered with pot holders and kitchen towels. Anytime we open the refrigerator door, Elena likes to play with the beverages we have on the lowest shelf of the door (wine bottle, lemon juice, and a two liter of soda). She likes to "taste" everything...hahaha Elena also likes to play with the things on the floor of the pantry if I happen to leave that door open as well. My lunchbox seems to be her favorite item to play with for now...the strap especially! Sometimes, Elena just likes to open and close the door. She is just so funny. She is curious about everything and Juan and I just let her explore as much as we can. She has a very serious face when she is concentrating on something. She is quite the thinker.
We are moving on towards Elena's 11 month mark at the end of October...seriously? Are we almost 1 year old already?!