Christmas Card Outtakes

Why oh why did I think that a 'homemade picture' would be better than a professional one?

Owen's hand has never looked better!

The shoot was a real nail-biter.

Oooooh...stop taking my picture!

You'll have to wait and see which one we finally went with. In the meantime here's a picture to melt your heart this cold November day.

More Adventures in Sleeping Starring Eilish Connell

Replace the baby bottle with a beer bottle, and the soother with a vendor dog and you pretty much have me after a night at Sammy's back in the day.

The Late Show With Eilish Connell

Sometimes when we put Eilish down for a nap or a night's sleep, she will sit up at the end of her crib and giggle and 'talk' for a few minutes before she falls asleep. I like to think of it as her own little talk show where the guests are her mobile friends and her 2 soothers, (one for sucking and one for tapping against the one in her mouth - where did we get this kid?) and at the end of the show she bids them good night and settles in for a little snoozy.

Today when Owen put her down for her afternoon nap he heard the usual talky/giggly sounds over the monitor and when he finally heard silence he went upstairs to check on her. This is what he found:

Must of been one hell of a show!

Tuesday November 6, 2007 - 7:45pm

Jen - You know what would be good for dessert? Those 2 Bite Brownies warmed up with ice cream on top.

Owen - Why? Did we just break up with our boyfriend?

I swear, one of these days my eyes are going to roll right out of my head.

Clothes Horse

Eilish now wears size 12-18 month pants which boggles the mind seeing as she's 2 weeks short of 8 months old. Girlfriend has long legs no doubt inherited from some long lost Connell relative who worked in fields of Galway in her Tall Girl britches.

Every month or so I go through her clothing to pack away what no longer fits and truth be told I find it a little sad to pack away all her threads because they are proof our little baby is growing up.

There's her 'Spring Chicken' shirt given to her by Owen's co-workers, her 'I Won't Remember Any of This' shirt which was Owen's favorite, her Rolling Stones & Ramones shirts because that's the way she rolls and my personal favorite, her Roots track suit. I bought it at the Roots Outlet on Orfus Road for her to wear in Buchans for Come Home Year. Turns out she had to wear it a couple weeks earlier in Newfoundland and I remember her rolling around Nanny Lane's living room floor. There wasn't a lot of joy in that July visit but Eilish, in that track suit in her grandparents hometown made me smile.

Clothes may not make the girl and Lord knows Eilish would be content to roll around the floor naked as a jay bird but damn do I love dressing her! Speaking of birds, here's some pics of our little chicken on her first Halloween.

Her Boyfriend's Back and There's Gonna Be Trouble

Judes asked why I don't blog anymore and I guess I just don't have much to say these days other than: Eilish, Eilish, Eilish, Owen, Eilish, Eilish, Eilish.


At her doctor's appointment last week E weighed 19 pounds and measured in at an astonishing 28 1/2 inches.


Here are some shots of her and her BF Michael who was trying to get fresh.

Time to Baby Proof

Pictures

I've added a password to my flickr pictures. To see them:

- click on Photos
- select 'Sign In'
- User Name: eilish.connell@yahoo.com Password: roselane
- Select 'Photos from your Contacts'

Scenes from a Mall

To Lori - sorry I sounded so crazed when I called you, but it was a really good sale. Almost makes a girl forget she's on the pogey! Almost.

To Emma - sorry that I bought your birthday present (see above) instead of taking you shopping as promised but man are you going to love what I bought you.

To the Coach store - Would it kill you to put the prices on things? I know I can't afford it, you know I can't afford it, but how about showing me how much I can't afford it?

To the lady getting on the elevator - I know our stroller is blue and Eilish doesn't have a lot of hair but do you really think I'd dress a boy in a pink and grey striped shirt? And the stripes were thick! And her socks were pink! And she looks like a girl!

To the woman getting off the elevator - sorry I stared and continued to stare as you walked away with your stroller with one, two...TRIPLET boys. Holy shit lady. My heart, mind and uterus go out to you.

To the Asian man Eilish smiled at - she loves Asians. She's your biggest fan!

To Patty the Platypus - sorry we lost you. I didn't notice until we got to the car that you were no longer in Eilish's lap. Enjoy your new life.

To Eilish - don't throw things out of your stroller without telling Mommy first. Also? Kisses!

To Barley Cereal, Carrots & Apple sauce- sorry that Eilish hates you with a passion that burns like the sun.

To Rice Cereal & Pears - thank you for being a food Eilish likes.

Dear Eilish

I had fully intended to write you a letter celebrating every month of your life so far but someday when you have a 6 month old baby you'll understand how time can get away from you. I've been thinking a lot about what the past 6 months have been like for your Dad and I fear that I can't adequately describe what a difference you've made in our life but I'll try:

Eating - Last week we introduced cereal into your diet. First week rice cereal (tasted like paste to me), this week barley cereal (again - paste) and you love, love, love it. At first you just kinda chewed on the spoon but this week you make little 'mmm' noises when you eat. You now have 5 bottles of formula and two meals of cereal a day. Next week you start on veggies, and we'll be sure to document it although I don't know how I'm going to hide my dislike for peas on Monday!

Sleeping - You've been sleeping through the night for the past few months and believe me when I tell you that I fully appreciate how lucky we are that you are such a good sleeper. A typical day (sleep-wise) goes like this:
- 8am - awake and hungry
- 9am - 11am - snoozin' on the couch with Mama.
- Between 1pm & 3pm you usually nap for about 20-40 minutes
- Bath and bedtime between 7pm & 8pm
You've taken to sleeping on your stomach these days and I've stopped fighting you on that....until we walk in your room and find you face down in the mattress. I apologize for waking you up sometimes when I move your head but holy cow, you are freaking Mommy & Daddy out!!

Playing - You can sit up on your own basically unassisted and with that you've started playing with your toys in a whole other way. While everything you pick up still goes straight into your mouth, there are a few toys that you actually play with. You love your office and have lost interest in your gym. Anytime on the floor is spent rolling over trying to eat the floor of your gym. Time to baby proof!

Clothing - When you look back over your baby pictures I want you to know why I dress you like I do. I've decided that if it would look silly on me than it would look silly on you that's why you cruise around town in camouflage pants and pink Cons. See also the chicken costume Nanny bought you - I would totally wear that!

Personality - You are the funniest person your Daddy and I have ever met. You are not quick to laugh but when you do it comes out like laugh bullets: 'ha, hahahaha'. You save your biggest and brightest smiles for us. There are times when your Daddy walks into the room and I think you are going to explode with happiness. You will not smile at strangers unless they are Asian and I hope one day you can explain that to me.

I do not remember life without you Eilish. As a wise woman once said, 'you are the tomatoes on my rice'.

Love The Mama

Eilish Eats Cereal!

Check out the photographic evidence.

Mr. & Mrs. Connell

Happy Anniversary to my darling husband who summed up the day like this:



'Wow, 2 years.....and they said it wouldn't last.'



Yeah, we've been married 3 years.



Happy Anniversary.

And now for a non-baby post...

This past week Owen was working like a mofo as one of his co-workers was on vacation. Eilish and I killed a lot of time in several malls across the GTA and I made a few observations I'd like to share with you all:

- There are a lot of strollers at a mall on a Wednesday afternoon.

- I am no longer American Eagle's target demographic. The large is SO NOT large and while in the change room I heard a bunch of girls talk about what they were going to wear on the first Friday of school - it being casual and all that. So yeah, me in the wheelchair change room with the babes and three 16 year olds sharing one change room picking out what to wear on dress down day. Au revior American Eagle!

- There is a difference between $50 jeans and $200 jeans. I was killing time while Eilish was sleeping and wandered into one of those stores that carry high end cloths. I couldn't resist trying on a pair of jeans. They were like butter. The softest denim you could find. The perfect rise, the perfect seat, the perfect everything. I however am on the pogey and did not buy them. But I wanted to - I really, really did. Sigh. I shall dream of them tonight.

- If it's shit, it's shit - even if it is 50% off with a Polo horse on it.

- Your toddler wouldn't scream so much if you didn't have him ON A LEASH!

- H&M sells the cutest baby clothes. For all you who think I don't dress Eilish 'girlie' enough, I can't wait until you see the skull and crossbones shirt I have my eye on!

- Nine West remains the happiest place on earth

New pics of the puddin' swimming at the Dawson's under 'Photos'.

Brute

Pronunciation: 'brüt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French brut rough, from Latin brutus brutish, literally, heavy; akin to Latin gravis heavy
1 : of or relating to beasts
2 : INANIMATE
3 : characteristic of an animal in quality, action, or instinct: as a : CRUEL, SAVAGE b : not working by reason
4 : purely physical
5 : unrelievedly harsh

OK - so this definition of 'brute' doesn't really do what I want it to do which is describe to you how giant Eilish is. Perhaps measurements from today's doctor's appointment will be more helpful:

Weight - 17 pounds (up from 15.05 last month)
Length - 27.5 inches (up from 26.5 last month)

All the kid eats is formula but she is growing like a weed. Dr. Star says that it will all even out and her growth won't continue in this manner. Good thing too, I was beginning to picture having to shop at the Big & Tall store for clothes for my 7 foot 1 year old!

New pictures (of Eilish looking very serious - the kid won't smile when I put the camera in her face!) under 'Photos'.

Eilish Found Her Toes

Photographic evidence under 'Photos'. This kid will kill at parties!

Eilish's Nicknames

Puddin'
Puddin' Face
Dollie
Angel
Angel Face
Beauty
Peanut
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Peanut Buster Parfait
Peanut Brittle
Boobs
Boobies
Boobs O'Shea
Boobs McGillicuddy
Pepsi Cola
Savage
Savage Beast
Diva
Dictator
Love O' My Life
Judy Blue Eyes
Baldy McBalderson

...believe it or not, Owen calls her Eilish...amateur!

Big Girls Don't Cry

Eilish had her 4 month doctor's appointment this morning complete with 2 needles and a weigh in. She is currently 15.05 pounds and measures in at an astonishing 26+ inches. Our girlie, she is a brute.

Needle number went in with nary a flinch while the second one caused her to cry out in a 'why are you letting her do this to me?!' kinda way. As soon as Owen scooped her up, the tears stopped and she cuddled right into him. That kid knows how to work a room.

Her appetite was a bit off today probably because of the inoculations but other than that, Eilish is a trooper...a trooper with some new toys, check out the pics.

New Pictures

From Eilish's Baptism and our trip to Buchans.

Ran out of space on Flickr for the month...

...no new photos will be added until July!

Like it's 1999

Eilish has decided that at 3 months she would prefer to be sound asleep before I put her in her crib. No more of this sleeping from 7:30pm to 7am for her...oh no, she'd like to kick it old school and party until 9pm and cry out every hour after only to smile up at me when I check on her like, 'come on Ma, don't be so square, let's par-tay!'.

Tomorrow Judes & Donnie K. are taking Eilish for her first ever sleep over. Details to follow unless I've been hospitalized for the crying jags.

Check out the new (non-baptism - anyone wanna send me any?) pictures!