Happy 10 months Eve! (like, 2 weeks ago).

Yes, I am finally getting around to posting my monthly installment of Watch Me Grow! She is getting so big and so "I can do everything on my own, mommy." With the fall comes all sorts of fun activities that we have been having way too much fun doing. From dressing her up to find that perfect costume and getting quite a good laugh doing it to throwing her into a giant pile of leaves. I especially like this because she isn't old enough yet to get all grossed out by it. For those of you that don't know, I have issues with sitting in a pile of leaves, memories of a snake still haunt me to this day. Clearly it did not affect Eve. We got over our first big cold of the season and in doing so, Eve learned to crawl and pull herself to stand. (I will download the video later, no worries.) She is talking and signing which has been so much fun! Of course, Ricky ruined my proud mommy moment when he reminded me that they teach monkeys to sign. So what if my daughter has the intelligence of a monkey right now. She is MY brilliant little monkey :) She is repeating lots and lots, maybe she doesn't know exactly what we are saying, but she can mimick the sounds which is exciting enough for me! She signs "more" and every once in awhile we will get "mama" We are working on "
more, please" right now.

She loves her books and playing in the tub and "talking" on the phone. She thinks my family is hilarious since everytime I walk up to my parents door she squeals with glee. Auntie Becca and Auntie Meri boost her self esteem with every visit as they applaud when they see her. She loves this and thinks every round of applause is for hers truly.

I am totally in love with this age since it seems everything I do is amazing and wonderful. And my jokes get a laugh everytime. She is easily entertained when I am cooking, since I turn our dinnertime routine into my own cooking show with Eve as my audience. She seems to enjoy when I toss the pizza dough the best.

As one year fast approaches, I can sit and weep about how my baby is getting so big (which I will do at one time or another) or I can experience all the wonder of each day right along with her. I prefer the latter. :)

So proud!

I was able to talk to THE "Peggy from Amherst" and hear about all the wonderful things that were happening to her since the debate.

What I was most happy about was when the 6 o'clock news came on and they played the clip (I wasn't able to stay up for the whole thing) Not knowing who this Peggy from Amherst was. I looked at Ricky and said, " that is a Peggy Silva question if I ever heard one." Sure enough, Poof! There she was!

From the BBC to the NY Daily News, I think Boston Globe captured her the best...


http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/10/09/nh_teachers_question_put_debaters_on_the_spot/

She does giggle... a lot!

Guess what we did this weekend?

Anything and everything that has to do with apples! Along with all the other wonderful things to look forward to doing with a baby, I was most excited about taking her apple picking! Instead of doing our normal monotonous chores on friday when Ricky is home, I made an executive decision to get outside and enjoy the beautiful fall day. Our little family headed to Lull Farm with Auntie Meri and Uncle Darren in tow. It's days like this that make my city dwelling days seem like forever ago, not make me miss them, not make me ever want to go back to. I am perfectly happy living in my crooked little house surrounded by the hues of red, orange and yellow. I love the fall and I love everything that comes with it. We said hi to the goats and pigs, although Eve doesn't care too much for goats. We went in search of cortlands (my favorite for baking) and we plopped Eve in the pumpkin patch for pictures. I was quite happy walking away with a wagon full of apples, cider and my guilty pleasure...cider doughnuts. Sunday was Applefest and we laid out a blanket on the common and snacked on apple pie and ice cream. Eve managed to enjoy ice cream from everyone, not only did she dine off of my plate and Grumpy's, but she used her cuteness to get Sergeant LaFlamme to spoon feed her his ice cream. She grooved to the town band and we all grooved along with her. You can't get more American Pie than this.






So happy she has an apple. It's the little things, people.



Attempting to pick.


Just wants to get down on the ground and play in the dirt.

She claimed this "Eve size" pumpkin!

The Right Stuff :)

Sooooo my wonderful and ever so thoughtful husband bought me two tickets to see the NKOTB reunion tour for Mother's Day. TWO tickets, one for me and one for him, right? So wrong...apparently Ricky didn't want to come along for the serenade of My Favorite Girl. I have no idea why! Anyways...I wasn't sure who else would share in my squeals and sure enough Bernice (my sister in law) also had a slight obsession with the boys from Boston. Perfect! The two of us mustered up the energy to get out of our homes on the rainy day and head out into in the city. We were in a sea of women just like us. 30 to 40 year old women, some moms, some moms to be, wives, you name it, adorned with buttons, hats, posters from back in the day....ahhhh, memories. Ricky knew just where to put me to...up close and personal. So close that we could see the gray hairs on their heads and traces of wrinkles. I'll admit, I was giddy. Let me tell you, these guys did not skip a beat. It was fun and their new songs were just as catchy as the old ones. Although I am a sucker for Popsicle (which they did not perform....booooooo!) They were touched by all the love in the garden and it made getting out of the house with a sick baby at home (yes, I felt extreme guilt for leaving my runny nose baby girl at home to see my old flames) totally worth it. I had a blast, catching up with B and feeling like I was 12 again. NKOTB, you still got the right stuff and thank you for the memories!

A day in the life....

With all that hair, I had to.



A visit with Auntie Alyss and Mihran



Eve showing the dog (bottom left corner) how to fetch. Anytime she does this, I reply "Good doggie." She thinks this is funny.



No I am not going to cut bangs on her.



Enjoying her swing in Grammy and Grampy's yard.

ooooo....celebrity status!

I had been searching for the right baby carrier for Eve and I. I love to "wear" her and I dread the day when she just gets too darn heavy for it. Already at 22 and half pounds, that doesn't seem too far away. I love the whole philosophy behind wearing you infant/child and it was necessary to find something that was comfy for me and her and quick. She outgrew her bjorn before I knew it and where I thought the bjorn was great... I wish I had known about the Ergo before. I would have definitely asked for it! Side note - they have newborn inserts for it!

I came very close to buying the kelty pack but through my research, I saw way too many red flags with it. Like if you are short (eh, hem 5'3, thank you) this would be killer on your back. After watching mom after mom pour into our ma's group meeting with their 7month and up babes snug inside the Ergo...it was like a sign! MUST BUY THIS. So expensive though (especially the organic one) thanks to a fellow mom who was selling hers for a fantastic deal. I jumped at the opportunity and snagged hers. Eve loves it, you can wear it on your back or hip and it's super comfy! I highly recommend to all new mommies! And to my surprise as I was reading one of my favorite baby blogs, I find Julia Roberts sporting one of her kiddies in it! Green and organic!

An organization near and dear to me...

It's National Alopecia Awareness Month!

As all of you know, I was diagnosed with Alopecia Universalis in January 2006. I had Alopecia Areata since age 4 and never knew just what kind of an impact it would have on my life. I won't go into my journey of losing my hair, because it is still quite emotional for me. I often get comments about how strong I am to be dealing with it, but I truly believe you are only as strong as the people around you. My family and friends have been a constant source of strength for me and Ricky has been my rock through it all.

I thought I would share NAAF website and bring attention to a very sad story (since it is very rare you hear about Alopecia patients in the media, people do not die from Alopecia, it is not lifethreatening). Let me preface this by saying that I am thankful every day that I have my health and that every time someone mistakes me for a cancer patient, that I thank God I did not have to endure the pain of going through treatment. However, losing my hair a little bit at a time, first my head, then my body hair, my eyebrows and then my eyelashes have brought on a different kind of pain.

I am happy to say that I have met an amazing friend who will be a friend for life because of Alopecia, that I have given myself a voice when it comes to my health care and through the help of one of my very best friends, that we have helped other women in the state of NH afford quality hair prosthetics.

Please check out this story and check out the website, they are doing amazing things for young children enduring this challenge.

http://www.naaf.org/ryanMcDonald.html