Daycare Update

Elizabeth has been at daycare for three days, and she is loving the new environment. This year we switched daycares, which has been hard for us because we love Carolyn. Josh's wrestling schedule just made it too difficult to maneuver the drive.

Jackie, our new provider, is great, and Elizabeth is thriving in an atmosphere of total exploration. I went to pick her up yesterday, and she screamed and cried when I tried to take her home...definitely a testament to the great care that she's getting, but it made her mommy feel like crap. Needless to say, Josh is on pick-up duty for the rest of the week!

Father and Daughter: Our Last Day of Summer '08

Today, Elizabeth and I are spending our last day of the summer together. Tomorrow, official teach workshops begin and Elizabeth will attend her first day with her new daycare. We've had a wonderful summer and I look forward to many more.

So what have we done? It's mostly been a catch-me-if-you-can relationship...

Getting caught hanging out with dad after mom went to bed! (Dad! I told you to turn it down during the 200m butterfly!)

The good news is mom let me stay up to finish watching Michael Phelps. I can't take the suspense! (I dare say, a 'blankie biter!')
Exploring new things...

Reading...
Playing outside...

Playing inside...
And after all this fun...

Thank you for a wonderful summer Elizabeth! After the school year, you started crawling. And now, just two months later, you're already standing on your own. Your first steps are just around the corner. So here's one more look at how far you've come.

Greek Fest

For our Saturday evening, we attended the local Rochester Greek Orthodox "Greek Fest." We had gyros and Greek fries, and Sam loved her baklava! They also had live music and traditional dancers. After a walk on the Douglas Trail, we called it a night.

We hope you're proud Grandma Kotonias! Enjoy your upcoming trip to Greece with Uncle Bill!

Best Visitor

Grandma Kathy came to visit for four days this week, so Josh could get back to the classroom. We were very sad to put her on the plane tonight. The Chinese definitely have it right with generations living together! With one extra person, we were able to keep the house clean and enjoy a meal without having to get up every second. It definitely takes a village to raise a child, so we are mourning the return of just the two of us.

Big Girl!

Today Elizabeth went for her 9 month check-up (along with mom, dad, and Grandma Kathy.) She weighed in at 19lbs 14oz. Her mother was very happy because at 22 lbs, we have to switch car seat, so it looks like we can keep it for now.

The funny thing is that she is in the 67% for weight (which is slowly decreasing...maybe because she doesn't sit still) and 34% for height. So the little one is short and fat (but oh so cute!)

Dad v. Mom

Thanks to the invention of the camera, I am able to check in on what Josh and Elizabeth do during the day. Today I came home from work to find that Elizabeth apparently chews on banana peels while I'm away. (Josh claims that the banana was the only thing that would pacify the crabby, sick baby). Now, look at what a sweetie she is while I'm at home...

9 Months!

Elizabeth is 9 months old today! She is a little bit off her game with a summer cold right now, but she is still cute as ever. At 9 months, Elizabeth is busy moving around and getting into things. She loves to pull up on everything and work her way into the cupboards. She hasn't decided if walking is for her because crawling is so quick! She also is in LOVE with Skippyjon Jones and would recommend his books to everyone.

Best Dressed

I am totally in love with this dress that my mom bought for Elizabeth. She wore it to my work picnic and was a big hit. Getting a picture of her sitting still was quite the task! Elizabeth has perfected cruising and is standing for 5-10 seconds at a time. I'm still in denial that she will walk- here's hoping that we have a couple more months!

More like Daddy

I have often chronicled our battles with sleep in the Grant household. Elizabeth has now decided to follow in the footsteps of the wise Gandhi and practice passive resistance. When I lay her in her crib for a nap or bedtime, she will hardly fuss. After ten minutes of feeling victorious as a mother, I peek into her room to check on my snoozing baby only to find her wide awake, sitting up, sucking on her Nuk and cuddling her blanket! This strategy is also the most effective one that she has tried, as I have trouble keeping a wide awake child in her crib...so it looks like Elizabeth and Gandhi had it right.

As a note, this is definitely a trait that comes from her father, as her mother would scream and yell until someone came to get her. Ha ha, Josh, looks like she got some of your traits after all!

The Big Date

Tonight, Samantha and I had our second big date since Elizabeth was born. We had a nice meal and dessert in downtown Rochester. It was great to enjoy a meal without having to argue over who was going to "refresh" the graham cracker on Elizabeth's tray.

Question: What did people do before the graham was invented?

Elizabeth's Baptism

On Saturday, August 2nd, Elizabeth was baptized at Henrytown Lutheran Church. Her sponsors were Pat and Joyce Schmidt. Sam and Josh now understand why parents choose to do this earlier in life, as Elizabeth tried to pull the bible out of Pat's hand and pull Joyce's earrings out while waiting to be baptized!