Elizabeth is kinda talking…. she says what sounds like “dog”, ”kiss”, “tada”, and “uh oh”.   Of course, she’s saying “dada” all the time and sometimes “mama”.  While she stands, she is starting to forget that she’s supposed to hold onto something, so she falls.  Her favorite foods this month:  peaches, peas, pasta, green beans, applesauce, graham crackers, chicken, and still cheerios.  Elizabeth LOOOOOOVES to play peek-a-boo. 

Weight:  18 lbs 11.5 oz       Length:  28″

but Elizabeth has been a super cranky child lately.  She’s hardly sleeping during the day (but still doing well at night) and has been crying a lot.  It’s been a month since tooth #1, so we thought maybe that was it, but nothing’s happening. 

After I got home yesterday, I took her on a very long trip to the grocery store and that calmed her down very nicely.  Maybe she likes shopping and was upset because she hadn’t gone in a day or two? 

We’re both suffering from headache’s lately, which isn’t helping things.  Cameron is back from his week at Fish Lake with his dad and is quite sunburned (again).  You’d think that he’d learn and put sunblock on, but he doesn’t. 

Around the house, we have the baseboards painted and 1/2 way up.  The basement has been partially painted, after a grueling decision on a paint color.  The one we picked looks kinda dark on the sample, but now that it’s up, it doesn’t look bad at all.  I’ll post pictures once it’s up.

Another chore that I got done this weekend was to build a food dehydrator.  We’ve tried it out on apples & peaches so far, and it works great! This week I’ll try it out on potatoes and then cook them to see if they taste alright. 

Elizabeth laughs & laughs when we’re on the phone.  This is what happened today when Paul was trying to talk to Nanny Doreen……

We got the new digital thermostat put in yesterday.  We were a perfect 75 degrees all night long…. nice! 

I put the first coat of paint on the skirting board (baseboards) last night.  This paint is too thin and it doesn’t even look like i put anything on.   Today after work, I’m going to get another gallon of something better/different and try again.  I was hoping to get the basement painted tonight, but that’s just going to have to wait.  Hopefully we can get the baseboards put up tomorrow & Friday, and then I can paint the basement Friday & Saturday. 

In Utah, July 24th is a holiday.  It’s the day the pioneers came into the Salt Lake Valley, so we have parades & fireworks and everything else like it was Independence Day.  My boss has decided that the office is also going to be closed on the Friday, so I’m having a nice, long 4-day weekend.

Honey-do List:  We’re painting the basement, if I can decide on a color, and we’re putting baseboards up in the living room upstairs.  There are a few other minor tasks, but these are the two major ones that we’d like to get done.  So far, we’ve cleared out the tv room in the basement and covered all furniture with plastic.  Tonight, I think I’m going to get started on painting the baseboards.

Elizabeth can now get to a standing position by herself.  She is starting to let go of the couch or leg or whatever she is braced against, and is now wanting to stand on her own. 

We’ve got her on a new sleep schedule, which is working much better for us, I think.  Paul & I wake up at the same time and Paul gets a couple of good work hours in before Elizabeth wakes up.  She wakes and is up until after lunch.  Then she goes down for a 2+ hour long nap and then is awake until bedtime.  Paul is able to get much more work done with this schedule, and it’s also helping Elizabeth sleep all night long. 

Elizabeth is trying really hard to stand.  When she’s leaning against a box or leg or something, she’ll straighten her legs out.  She has also learned how to use dada as a ladder to get up onto the couch.  Once up there, she bounces on the fluffy cushions.   Tonight we are lowering the mattress on the crib.

She wouldn’t hold still!!  She kept rolling over and over on Paul’s belly.  Elizabeth is currently 18 1/2 lbs., which is amazing that she’s gaining weight, as she’s so wiggly.

 to the right    to the left     

and this is the view of the beautiful mountains to the right 

Elizabeth can’t decide if she’s going to sleep through the night or not.   One night she’ll sleep right through.  The next night, she’ll be up every hour.  The next night she’ll sleep for a few hours, then want to play for an hour, then back to sleep for the rest of the night.  It’s exhausting for poor Paul.  And before you say anything, the answer is “yes”… we’ve tried everything.  The only thing we can think of is that tooth #2 is on it’s way. 

Current events:  we had the house sprayed for bugs.  I’m getting a haircut today (2nd time since Elizabeth was born).  Elizabeth is getting her portrait done this weekend.  Cameron went on a day-long date yesterday with Alyssa & today he’s gone 4-wheeling with his dad & grandpa. 

This weekend:  Hang a fan in Elizabeth’s room.  Dimmer switch for the office.  Move wood pile outside & finish clearing the side yard of old plants & weeds.  Replace hallway sconce.