Sunday

Playing at Grandma and Grandpa Hodgkinson's.

Grandma was the lucky one Eliza snuggled with tonight.

ariZona

Every once in awhile Ben has to travel for work. I have never been with him until this time. And Eliza got to come too. It was crazy flying and traveling with a baby. It was a good learning experience for future traveling. Eliza had a lot of firsts on this trip. We had lots of fun!

Eliza's first trip to the airport was exciting. She looked around at everything. She is so curious. She did great on the flight down. She only cried for a few minutes then fell asleep for part of it. The rest of the time she was just jabbering away. Myself on the other hand didn't do too great on the plane. I started feeling sick before we even boarded. The poor guy next to me had to deal with a crying baby and a throwing up adult. He was so nice about all of it. I even heard him after the flight telling another passenger that Eliza was such a good baby and that she only cried for a few minutes. That made me happy.

Our hotel was amazing. We stayed at the JW Marriott in Phoenix. The hotel itself was beautiful. The pools and land surrounding it was even more amazing. Eliza and I spent our time taking walks and playing in the sun.

It was so fun seeing Eliza take in all of the new things. The waterfalls and pools were one some of her favorites.

There was a big area of grass with chairs to hang out on. Eliza and I sat on the grass and watched the ducks. She loved it. I think it was the longest tummy time she had ever had.

Tummy time ended though when this duck kept getting closer and closer to us. It ended up about two feet from us. I snatched Eliza up and we relocated. I don't think duck germs is a good idea for a baby....

I have never had such spring fever in my life as I have had since having Eliza. I can't wait to be able to be outside and play on the grass all the time! Look at those toes...can you blame me?!

Swimming for the first time was hilarious. Eliza loves her baths so I thought she would love the water. She didn't not love the water necessarily. She really didn't show any emotion either way. Eliza in a swimsuit makes me excited for summer too. I wish my chubby legs looked as cute as hers did in a swimsuit!

Our hotel was so accommodating. They brought us in a fridge for Eliza's food and a lovely crib for her to sleep in. I felt like I was putting her in a jailhouse every time I put her down for a nap or to bed. She would hold on to both sides and look around like what is going on! It was really nice though to have somewhere for her to sleep. The funny thing is not only was she in the jailhouse crib, but she slept in the bathroom. She sleeps much better when it is quiet so we put her in the bathroom so we could shut the door. I kind of felt bad about that too but when she slept through the night both nights, I didn't feel so bad.

If you know Eliza you know she doesn't take a binky. We have tried, trust me. We decided to bring one just in case. Crazy girl was crying so I thought I'd try it. She put that thing in her mouth and sucked away until she was asleep. I thought oh great now she takes a binky when I would have tried to start weening her from it. I told Ben it's only for emergencies. On the flight home she started getting fussy so I gave her the binky. And like she usually is with a binky, she played with it for a minute then spit it out. I guess I won't have to ween her off of it after all.

Eating sweet potatoes in the hotel. She's a messy eater.

If you know me, you know I love cupcakes. I love to make them and eat them. When I found out there was a Sprinkles in the area I made it very clear I wanted to go there. Which we did. And I loved every second of it.

The sign says Beverly Hills because the Sprinkles in Beverly Hills was the first cupcake shop of its kind to open anywhere. Oh how I would love to have a cupcake shop someday...

And our last stop before we head home was to visit Great Grandma Hodgkinson. Ben's grandma lives in Mesa in a cute little condo. Not only does she have a hot tub and a sports court right in her backyard, she has THE MOST AMAZING FRUIT TREES EVER!!! We had fresh squeezed orange juice that you can't even imagine. We got to take home a few lemons, grapefruits, and oranges. Had we thought about it we would have brought an extra suitcase to fill with fruit. We would have gladly paid extra for an extra bag. It was so fun to see Grandma Hodgkinson again. We were able to spend a little bit of time with her at her home then we took her to lunch. Eliza sure loved her. We sure love her too!

On the way home Eliza loved looking out the window. She was happy the whole flight home until she poked herself with an airline brochure. As soon as we hit land she stared out the window the rest of the time. It was adorable.

We had such a fun time. I am so glad we were able to join Ben. As much fun as we had, it was so nice to get home. Eliza was so happy to be in her own crib in her own room. There is no place like home.

Her daddy's daughter

I have read a ton about avocados being the best baby food. Eliza didn't love them plain so much. Ben added a little fresh salsa and she LOVES it. She gets her love for guacamole from her dad.

Swimsuit Model

Getting ready for Arizona.

Best of Me

Happy Valentines Day.
Give the one you love the best of you.

5 Months

Eliza at 5 months...
has found her toes
uses different voices
loves her saucer
rolls over from tummy to back
hates the sun in her eyes in the car
loves peas and pears and blueberries
says mmmm when eating
scoots in circles
has naturally crazy hair
blows bubbles with her lips
eye lashes getting longer and darker
blue eyes still blue
pulls glasses of your face
puts anything she can in her mouth
pulls long hair, and short hair, and necklaces...
laughs out loud when you try really, really hard
Makes our day everyday

She really does cry sometimes...

But I'm ok with it.

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”

-Anna Quindlen (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11)

Our Valentines Celebration

Our first Valentines day when we were dating Ben took me to the Melting Pot. I hadn't been there before so it was extra fun and special. I thought it would make a fun tradition to go every year until I found out that on Valentines day they double their prices! And last year on Valentines I was pregnant and didn't want to take any chances with the raw meat. This year we decided to celebrate on another day. It was nice because it wasn't crowded so we could enjoy it and actually hear each other talking. Ben also got me beautiful roses. It was such a fun night. The best part was being able to be with my love.

Fishing

Ben's parents called Ben and asked if he could bring up a fishing up and help "catch" something that was stuck in their central vacuum. Not only did Ben bring the fishing pole but his vest too. I couldn't help but take a picture. He's the best.

Yummy Sucker