8 Months Old and Florida!!

Elena turned 8 months old on July 30th.  She spent her eight month birthday on the beaches of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.  It was a beautiful family vacation.  Elena did AMAZING riding in the car for 14 hours...Juan and I couldn't believe it either that she was so well behaved.  The only time Elena fussed for an extended period of time was when she was tired and didn't really want to fall asleep.  Eventually she gave in on most occasions.  She even slept for a three hour stretch on the ride to Florida.  Needless to say, our little passenger was a trooper.  We have been spending our days since we got back from Florida getting back into our regular home routines and it hasn't been too bad.
While we were in Florida, Elena got to spend her days at the beach and pool.  She absolutely loved the water in both places.  Grandma bought her a mesh floatie that even had a top to it so she could have some shade while floating in the water.  Elena was in heaven!  While we were on the beach, we had a small blow up pool for Elena to sit in and play under an umbrella.  She loved that too.  Even I got in the pool with her a few times to play.  Elena was great at taking naps at the beach too.  Grandpa appeared to be the best at getting her to sleep.  She enjoyed the warm ocean breezes under our large canopy while she slept...I think grandpa snuck in some nap time too. 
Juan and I also celebrated our 8 year anniversary while in Florida.  We feel so blessed to have so many people surrounding us with unconditional love and support at all times.  We can't wait to spend many more anniversaries together.
There were many other highlights on this vacation too like eating Chick-Fil-A almost every other day, going deep sea fishing and catching 3 fish...two of them were mackerels, and having the best chicken fettucini I have ever had while watching the rest of the family chow down on buckets of seafood...Juan and I are not the biggest fans of seafood, but what an experience it was at the Old Bay Steamer...when I say buckets of seafood, I mean buckets of seafood...Juan and I were definitely entertained while I ate my pasta and he had his delicious steak.  Oh yeah...Elena slept through everything.  Ha!
All in all, it was nice to get out of town for awhile and spend some time away at the ocean.  The ocean is just so calming and makes you realize how beautiful our world truly is!  Surround that with family, food, and great drinks...you have a recipe for a great vacation.
Besides vacation, Elena has been making more and more milestones of her own this month.  She is crawling and pulling herself up on everything she possibly can.  She is addicted to Sesame Street. She has two bottom teeth that we have been trying to get a picture of, but haven't been successful yet!  Elena is drinking 8 oz bottles at most of her meals now, which should help her continue to put on the pounds...we go for a weight check this Wednesday!  We need to start working harder at using a cup to drink since that hasn't been her most favorite thing to try. Elena continues to sleep through the night...she goes to bed by 7:30 most evenings and wakes up between 6-7am. She is the most curious little thing now.  Everything is interesting to her. She gets very angry when you take something away from her that she is playing with or looking at.  If she has pulled herself up into a standing position on something dangerous, like a kitchen chair, she gets just as angry...until we distract her with something more interesting. Elena still uses her binkie to help her fall asleep at night.  She doesn't use it all night long, but it is still just as much of a soother now as it was when she was born...the only plus now is that she can put it in her mouth on her own!  I just put a few in her crib each night at bedtime and she is good to go just in case she needs it.  I know down the road it may be tricky to wean her off the binkie, but for now, it works.
Next week is the first week back to school.  This has been one of the best summers ever.  Being able to stay home and be with Elena most days has been a blessing. I can't believe it's already almost over. I know she will be happy to get back to her friends at her babysitter's house, but mom and dad are sure going to miss her everyday!  Don't get us wrong...Juan and I are both excited to see our students again and get back to our "real world" routines, but summer vacation is always a great time to just be home. Hoping to post more again soon...here are a bunch of pictures from the last few weeks.

 First day at the beach

 Getting ready to get in the ocean!

 She loves it!

 Fun times with Aunt Erin and Uncle John!

 A nap with Grandpa

 A bottle after some squash...mmmmm

 Precious girl sleeping on the beach

 Celebrating 35 years of marriage!!

 Diaz feet

Kisses from Aunt Michelle

 The ride home is boring.

Elena loves popcorn just as much as her mom :)

This was taken earlier today :)

Crawling, Cruising, and Pulling Up!

Even though it has only been a few weeks since I last posted a blog, SO much has happened between now and then with Elena!  It seems like every few days she has something new to show us.    First of all, Elena is no longer scooting everywhere...she is officially crawling around anywhere she wants to get...the dog toy basket, the dog bowl, on top of our cat Mittens...you name it, she wants to get into it.  We were warned many months ago about this stage and at times how we would long for the days when we could just lay her down to play on her tummy for awhile and she would still be in that same place when we returned just a few short minutes later...those days are officially LONG gone.  We have the most curious daughter. She wants to be a part of everything going on.  If she's not, she will definitely let you know with a loud scream or whine...if she is on the floor, she will drop her head to the carpet...face down...and cry until something distracts her.  And it begins...
Elena is also pulling herself up onto anything she can.  The couch, toys, baskets she has conveniently tipped over to make it easier to climb on, and even magazine racks.  This child is going to give us a run for our money!  We are so thankful that my mom had a toy at her house that was perfect for Elena to stand up with and play...it has become a staple in our living room now.  She cannot get enough of this Leap Frog play thing...it lights up, talks to her, sings...all in English or Spanish.  Even Juan and I can tolerate the noise it makes...it's not obnoxious, so it is a perfect addition to our play time with Elena.
Elena is eating all baby foods with no problems at all.  The mixed vegetables I made were not a hit until I mixed them with carrots.  Now, they are just fine.  Juan's mom made a whole bunch of home made baby food for Elena, so that is in our freezer just waiting to be eaten.  This child will NEVER go hungry, that's for sure.  Now, if we could only get this baby to pack on just a few more lbs!!  Elena goes back to the doctor in a few weeks for a quick weight check and that's it...no well baby check ups until September.  She has been just a happy, healthy baby since she was born...we thank God every single day for this.  Elena continues to amaze Juan and I everyday...we have no idea how we got so blessed with such a beautiful baby girl...we just hope we do our best everyday to make her happy and give her the life that she so deserves.  Below are lots of pictures and a few videos from the last few weeks...she is just getting so big!!

 Getting up

 Of course this is where I found her...

 Interesting.

 Love me some measuring spoons

 I said, "NO MORE PEAS, MOM!!"

 Fell asleep at abuela's

 Good Morning!

 This is how I play now.

 Sure, I can stand by myself now.

  

Homemade Baby Food!

So, I finally made the time to make some baby food.  Yesterday afternoon turned into a cooking afternoon of steaming and pureeing.  I started with a bag of frozen peas, steamed those, pureed them, and put the puree in an ice cube tray to freeze...those were super easy...I figured I'd keep going and try carrots.  I steamed a whole bag of baby carrots and followed the same process as the peas.  They look good...Elena hasn't tried them yet...maybe for dinner tonight.  I had some apples left over in the refrigerator, so I decided to cut them up, peel them, and cook them for awhile too in order to make applesauce.  Again, it looks like it turned out OK, but Elena hasn't tried it yet.  All of my veggies and fruit are in their nice little ice cube trays ready to be put into freezer bags now...just need to get out to the store to get some.  I think this is definitely something easy that I can do all the time.  It really didn't take long at all...and now that I've done it once, I know it will just get less and less time consuming.  I will always have some jars of baby food on hand, but I would say most days Juan and I will be using the home made stuff as much as possible.  Elena can almost eat 2 cubes of food, so I know it will go fast...I'm not complaining, though!  She's always been a great eater. 
Other than making baby food, we have just been enjoying our lazy summer days at home.  Taking naps, going for walks, sitting in the pool, and just watching some Sesame Street has been the extent of most of our days. We run errands here and there, but not often.  Just being at home has been wonderful...we don't get to do that very often, so we are enjoying while we have the time.  Juan and I have been taking turns during the day to get out and exercise as well.  It has been great to get back into running again.  Should be ready for a 5K this fall. 
I spent most of this morning straightening the house up and getting one bathroom (except tub) cleaned...the tubs always take me too long and I wasn't in the mood today... ;)  I stepped into Elena's room and finally got finished with a project I've been meaning to do for a few weeks now, but have been avoiding it...putting away MORE clothes that don't fit her anymore.  While she played with all her toys and crawled all over her room, I cleaned out her drawers and closet and folded up everything that she won't be able to wear anymore once it starts getting cold out again, or just plain doesn't fit her anymore...our girl is getting too big too fast!  So many cute clothes never to be worn by her again...total bummer!! We have two tubs full of clothes, socks, hats, receiving blankets, swaddles, etc. that we won't need for Elena anymore!  Don't get me wrong, this girl has a closet FULL of beautiful clothes still waiting to be worn.  But, some of the sentimental outfits and onesies had to be put away.  Just reminds me that we are continually moving on to the next step. Below are pictures of the last few days...the video is right before Elena had dinner, so she is in a fussy mood...all the chomping you hear in the background is Homer having his dinner...Elena wanted to get in on the action, so she is army crawling towards her big brother...

 Just me and my friend

 Elena loves to play with the plastic bag holder

 Milk beard

 Carrots!

 Applesauce/Apple-banana

 Peas

 On the move again...I promise mom doesn't let me get rug burn!

Apparently this is the cool way to hold a binkie now...

7 Months Old!

Elena turned 7 months old on June 30th.  She has not been interested in taking posed pictures over the last couple months, so this is the best we've got. Like I've said before and I'll say it again...how fast another month has come and gone.  Where to the days go?  I guess with routined naps, meals, and bedtimes, our hours dwindle quickly.  But, all that play time in between is the best part of all! Juan is officially finished with Summer School, so we have a whole month at home as a family. Not many people get this luxury, so we are excited to spend the time with our baby girl. Elena is changing so very much and the way she plays changes so often.  She LOVES to crawl around on both Juan and I.  She can sit by herself and play with toys for an extended period of time.  If her toy basket is close enough, she can pick out a toy from it and play.  If it's not close enough to her, she will scoot to it and pull herself up to see what she can find inside.  What a big girl! Elena also loves to just stand with help.  She enjoys cruising across our coffee table while we hold her steady.  We think she just likes to get after the remotes more than anything.  If we leave Elena for more than a few minutes alone to play, she is on the move.  She has gotten into the dog's bowl already and crawled on the mats where Homer and Mittens sleep.  Needless to say, my eyes are on her a little more carefully now!  If I have to be in another room, I tend to bring Elena's walker with me and let her roll around.  She has gotten really good at meneuvering herself around where she wants to go...she especially likes the kitchen.
As far as Elena's eating habits go, she is doing great.  She has been loving every baby food we've given her and can sometimes eat two jars full!  She especially loves orange colored vegetables and any kind of fruit we give her.  I've been grinding up bananas for her a lot lately and she loves that. Going to try to make some home made carrots this weekend to freeze and have on hand.
Below are some recent photos of Elena...so many changes!!  I will post more from our 4th of July BBQ soon.

Elena's Schedule at 7 months:
Awake at 6ish
Eat from 6:30-7ish-Nurse, Cereal, 6oz bottle
Nap 9-11ish
Lunch 11-11:30ish Veggie, Fruit, 6 oz bottle
Nap again around 1-2
Play all afternoon/Errands/4oz bottle
Dinner 5ish Veggie/Meat, Fruit, 6 oz bottle
Bath/Book/sometimes a few bites of cereal/Nurse 7ish
Bed 7:30ish

 What, I'm playing here.

 My new Tigger toothbrush from Grandma!

 Homer enjoying the early morning temps.

 Workin' on that sippy cup

 Showin' a little skin ;)

 Gosh, mom, c'mon, let's get in the pool!

 Step 1..pulling up

 Step 2..on my knees checking my progress

 Step 3..standing up

 We found a new toy while getting ready for a bath...she laughs at it every time!

 Monkey towel for our monkey!

 Picking out toys

 Mom got a little nervous about this one!!

 July 4th