What We're Reading

All of the sudden, Ellie loves to sit and listen to stories, all the way through, over and over again. She lets me know she wants to listen to stories by handing me a book and crawling into my lap. Here's what we're reading these days:

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Good Dog, Carl! by Alexandra Day
The Reagan Diaries by Ronald Reagan... okay, that last part is what I'm reading in the few minutes between opening the book and falling asleep. So far it's very worth reading. Maybe I'll blog a book report when I'm done.

Feeling Domestic

I haven't actually been a stay-at-home-mom in my own home yet, but here at my parents' house, I've found some extra time. It helps that my mom is always willing to read a story, change a diaper, or play "walk to me" with Ellie. Scrapbooking hasn't interested me lately, maybe because there's so much cleanup involved and I don't really have a place here to leave things out overnight. So instead, I've been rediscovering crochet and experimenting with baking.
My sister is a freshman at Grove City College this year, and hints heavily in every correspondance that she loves zucchini bread-- with cinnamon, she's always quick to add. So I made apple cinnamon zucchini bread in mini loaves this week, and sent some to her and to Luke. The recipe I used turned out pretty well, except that I wasn't sure how to long to bake the mini loaves, and I ended up letting a few of them cool before I realized they were still gooey. I put them back in the oven, and they seemed all right, but they may sit a little heavy in the tummy. At least I used the flat rate boxes to send them, so I didn't pay any extra in postage!
Crochet is a great hobby because, unlike scrapbooking, I can take it with me when I'm the passenger in the car, or while we're watching a movie after Ellie goes to sleep. And I've found lots of great patterns online and a few excellent ebay deals in the past few weeks. My deal with myself is that I have to finish what I start and not buy yarn until I have a purpose for it. I'm also experimenting with recycled yarn, unraveled from two sweaters I got at the Salvation Army. So far, I successfully unravelled one and washed it. It's taking a long time to dry, which is one of the perils of the Northeast that I had forgotten. Oh, the humidity!
Anyway, all of this makes me look forward to being a mommy and homemaker in my own home. It will be even better when my husband is there with me! We don't count the days, but we're roughly halfway through now, so at least the end is closer than the beginning.

I Tri'd-- And Finished!

I completed a sprint triathlon this weekend! It was a 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run in Hopkington, MA. I was really nervous, but the people there were all very friendly and I started out with a group of women who were all either older or also brand-new to triathlons. I felt really strong on the swim, got passed by many people during the bike (as expected), and ran at about a ten minute mile pace, which was pretty good for me. Most importantly, I crossed the finish line! My mom came with Ellie to cheer me on. The race sponsors gave out cowbells, which Ellie (and all of the other kids there) enjoyed ringing for us. It was a great experience, and really satisfying to achieve a goal I set for myself while Luke was away. I think I might do another one... after the soreness goes away.

Words, words, words

Words are important to Ellie. She's consistently saying "dog" and "thank you." All of her words start with the "d" sound, ("mommy" usually sounds suspiciously like "daddy", unless she's really concentrating), but she's worked hard on the "g" and "k" type sounds, and makes a big production of saying "thank you! thank you! thank you!" when I present her with meals. It's very sweet.

She's been sitting still for books lately, too. For awhile, she was more interested in turning the pages as fast as she could, but now she points to the pictures and waits for me to finish reading the page before she turns it. Her Grandpa L gave her a board book called "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," about a family who travels through all of these different obstacles to try to catch a big bear, and the family has a dog. While I read each page, she points to the dog in the picture and yells out "dog!" It's great to see her developing preferences for different books and animals. It can be frustrating when she has a preference but I can't figure out what she wants. More and more, though, she's making herself known.