Christmas

This year Tyrone, Elizabeth, and I all went to Grandma Price's place for Christmas. It's a long, ten-hour drive from where we live, so we made the trip there a two day affair and stayed one night with Tyrone's family. His younger brother, Jeramy, was there for the holiday as well. Jeramy and his wife, Janice, have a new baby girl named Kimer, and Elizabeth got to meet her cousin for the first time. Needless to say, the girls were both very excited to see each other.

After our brief visit with Tyrone's family, it was on to my mother's place. By the time we were about eight miles from our final destination, however, all three of us in that car were ready to kill each other. A ten-hour trip in close quarters with three people is enough to drive anyone mad. It probably didn't help either that tensions were high between two of us due to a rigorous game of Monopoly on a cell phone.

Well, Christmas day came, and everyone was excited to witness "baby's first Christmas." Elizabeth, however, decided to kick things off with a bang by waking up early and blowing out her diaper. Merry Christmas Mom and Dad. This same gift later made its way to the Christmas tree with a bow on top for Uncle Clint and Aunt Elaine, who were unbelievably ungrateful for the present.

Elizabeth must have been a good girl this year, because Santa was very generous to her. She got stacking rings, a little piano, some beanbags, foam letters, stuffed animals, and blocks from the Claus. Grandpa and Grandma Dickerson gave her a box full of nice, warm clothes and her Dickerson Uncles gave her a couple of cute books to read. (Elizabeth loves to read books.) Grandma Price gave her some clothes too, as well as some balls and toys she can chase around the floor, a baby doll, and a new coat. Uncle Clint and Aunt Elaine gave Elizabeth back her messy diaper. Party poopers.

For their Christmas presents, Elizabeth gave all her grandparents photographs of herself in order to promote her future modeling career.

Elizabeth had a very fun and active holiday. She learned how to clap and now enjoys applauding herself over numerous things. She has also discovered Ritz crackers thanks to Grandma Price, and now follows her father in this food craze. She is also more of a show-off now and stands up using the furniture all the time. She is such a big little girl.

Unfortunately, over the Christmas holiday, Elizabeth, Grandma Price, and myself all got the same, nasty cold --complete with sore throat, cough, runny/stuffed nose, etc. All thanks to another family member who visited us while they were sick. Tyrone called the illness a "female sickness," because only the women of the family were coming down with it, it seemed. We're still working on fighting it off.

The Saturday right after Christmas, my extended family held its annual holiday party. My mother was in charge of activities, so Tyrone and I ran the fish pond for the younger kids. There was a huge breakfast for everyone, a pinata, and hula hoop races. We had a good time. Elizabeth ended up with more prizes and gifts than either of her parents, but that's what happens when you're cuter than they are.

All in all, it was a fun Christmas for all of us. Tyrone's brother, Jeramy, and his little family are moving to France in January, and they will be missed. The next time Kimber and Elizabeth see each other, they will be four- or five-years-old and will need to be reintroduced.

(If you're wondering why I'm apparently not in any of the above photos, it's because anytime I get my picture taken with my daughter, I always seem to end up being decapitated. Hopefully that's just because everyone is more interested in Elizabeth, and that it's not a foreshadow of my life to come.)

The End of School!!!

This last Friday was the last day of the Fall Semester on campus, so I am ecstatic to finally have that done with. Better yet, I am glad to be done with college. Yes, this was my final semester of school, and my degree should be coming in the mail within the next few weeks. I've graduated with a Bachelors degree in Communications for print journalism and a minor in English. Ya!

Tyrone and I went to his company's Christmas dinner this last week as well. It was really fun. The steak was great and everyone did white-elephant gift afterward. We were fortunate enough to end up with the Kung Fu Panda DVD and a stack of king-size candy bars.

Elizabeth is still crawling around everywhere and keeps trying to stand up. She also keeps trying to eat my laptop and gnaw on any cords plugged into the wall. Currently the Christmas tree stands behind a barricade of two bouncers, several blankets, and a piano bench turned on its side.

The Locomotion

It was bound to happen sooner or later, but came sooner than what we expected all the same. Elizabeth is crawling and quite well too. At first, she scooted around backwards, then crawled backwards, then crawled sideways (of all things), and finally, just a couple of days ago --she crawled forward! She hasn't really stopped crawling since. I can put her back in the middle of the floor, and minutes later she'll be off at after something else she shouldn't be getting into. Elizabeth has a facination with our entertainment center's broken door, the framed photo of herself, my laptop's cords, and the folded laundry. The Christmas tree has thus far been spared her curiousity, but I find it intersting that even with a floor covered with toys, only those items she should not be getting into are what she most desires. Elizabeth wants to eat electric cords, but won't eat her rice cereal! Confounded child.
Tyrone was actually the one who got Elizabeth to start crawling forward. Those two were meant for each other. She gives BIG smiles and LOUD laughs when he comes home, and he can't wait to play with her. Well, Tyrone was hogging our little girl during church on Sunday and only handed her over to me when a diaper needed changing and when the princess was hungry. Typical. Anyway, she was on the floor during the final hour of Sunday services while Tyrone taunted her with his shoe. He egged her on until she put one hand in front of the other with legs in sync. It was then that she crawled forward for the first time. Talk about one proud papa! Tyrone loves to watch Elizabeth slowly inch her way across the floor (and sometimes she slow, other times fast).
It is fun to watch Elizabeth crawl and see how she maneuvers and works out problems on the floor. She's a very smart girl. She just can't seem to figure out how to open her mouth when I hold a spoon. Either way, she's great fun and very active. She is so wiggly and curious!

Thanksgiving Break

This year we went to Tyrone's parent's house for Thanksgiving. We were only able to stay for a short two days, because Tyrone had to work the day before the holiday, and I had to work the evening after. However, Elizabeth had fun either way. Grandma and Baby became great friends, and Uncles Shelton, Mason, and Dusty enjoyed playing with and holding their niece. The only challenges faced came in the form of sleep deprevation. Elizabeth didn't want to nap because there was just too much fun stuff going on around the house.

Tyrone and I played several games with his brothers, including Killer Bunnies, Munchkin, Bang!, and Mad Gab. We had lots of fun, even though Mason managed to get me killed numerous times during certain games. Not that he did it on purpose, but I refuse to sit next to him the next time we play. Tyrone won a couple of the games through his own form of cunning and deceit.


For Thanksgiving dinner we got together pot-luck style with Tyrone's aunts and uncles who live in the same town as his parents. We met up at the school cafeteria for the meal. There were lots of people and tons of pumpkin pie.


Elizabeth has been working on crawling now for several weeks. Once she figured out how to get up on all fours, she started rocking back and forth. She already scoots around the floor quite a bit and has no problem with mobility. --That is, she does do everything backwards (literally, she goes backwards everywhere she goes).

On the Move...

This last week, Elizabeth mastered the "sitting up" idea, and can now sit on her own for several minutes before toppling over. She's enjoying this as well as her new found freedom on her belly. The more time she spends on the floor, the more she realizes that she can move around. Currently, she scootches backwards on her stomach by pushing herself with her arms. However, earlier this week she figured out how to get up on all fours. --Not only that, but she rocks back and forth when on her hands and knees. What's next for our baby girl? Crawling is the most likely option, but with her cuteness and smarts, college or a high-profile modeling career could be in the works as well.

An update on the whole solid food situation: she still doesn't like rice cereal, but will eat oatmeal (to a certain degree). She still has to learn how to keep her tongue out of the way when she opens her mouth.

Halloween Hoopla!

For Halloween, we all dressed up as an array of superheroes. Tyrone and I used scrap material for our outfits and made up our characters...Actually, I don't think we really named ourselves, but SuperMom and SuperDad ought to do just fine. Elizabeth went as our arch nemisis --the evil banana, but a sour-patch kid would have suited too due to her mood that evening. She didn't want to nap earlier that afternoon, so by the time we took pictures, she was tired and cranky. Her costume wasn't really a banana, though. She just wore some yellow pajamas and a black cape. It was the only thing we had that would fit her cape-wise, so because it was dark, we called her the super villain. Her special power was chucking stinky diapers at unsuspecting victims. For fun that night, we went to some friends' house down the street for poker and candy.

Shot to the Heart

Monday, Elizabeth had another one of those dreaded doctor appointments for a checkup and (dramatic music) immunization shots. I've decided that the reason why little kids are so terrified of the doctor when they go in for shots just before kindergarten, is that the fear is cultivated in them at a very young age. Elizabeth Hates (with a capital H) getting shots, and is always apprehensive about the day I start giving her her medicine in preparation for her immunizations. She seems to sense that something is up --because it usually is. The day I give her medicine is usually the day she goes to the doctor.
However, this Monday the trip was exceptionally long. Not that we waited forever in the waiting room, but that Elizabeth was already in a cankaterous mood to begin with. She didn't want to nap at all that morning (as is her tradition), and so, when we arrived at the doctor she was tired and cranky. She gabbled her displeasure to anyone who would listen and then chewed out the nurse and doctor conducting the checkup. Now, Elizabeth does have a temper, but of the origin of it, Tyrone and I aren't quite sure about it. Possibly, it comes from me, but I would never admit to that myself. Well, our little pop-tart gave a thorough talkin' to to the nurses that gave Elizabeth her shots --and did she scream. However, it wasn't quite like a banshee this time.
In the past, our baby girl would scream bloody murder about her shots, and I would have to console her for at least five minutes (it could be worse, I guess) before leaving the office. The first time she got shots, she scared the children in the waiting room with her hollering. This time, she didn't scream as bad. I think she was already so upset and distressed and peeved, that she didnt notice the pain and was more concerned with being angry than anything.
My mother puts it best--when those "mean" nurses give your baby a shot, you want to punch someone and protect your child. It hurts you just as much as it hurts them. Call me morbid, but because Elizabeth was so mad over the whole thing this time, I couldn't do much but laugh about it while trying to console her. As sad as it may be, sometimes an angry baby is just funny. But don't worry, Elizabeth is just fine now and as happy as ever --unless she gets stck rolling over while playing on the floor.

(Update: It's been a week now, and Elizabeth still doesn't like her cereal. Go figure--who wants cereal when Mom and Dad have enchilladas?)

Include the Solid Food!

So, my daughter just started eating solid foods this morning --kind of. Actually, it was more of a "mom-tries-to-push-spoon-o-rice-cereal-into-baby's-mouth" kind of thing. Elizabeth wasn't exactly cooperative with the whole let's-try-a-new-food-and-not-make-a-huge-mess thing. She was okay with the first couple of spoonfuls of cereal at first, but then decided that enough was enough. Maybe it was because I grabbed our camera to take pictures of her messy-self, but obviously Elizabeth hasn't quite mastered the skill of multi-task and can't eat and be a supermodel at the same time. Oh well. It was a start, though. It might have helped if I had a

high-chair, but we'll work on that later. Tonight, we move on to round two with the cereal, and this time, her daddy will be there. After she does get used to her cereal, we'll move onto vegetables and later, fruit. I think she'll appreciate the fruit more than anything. However, right now, we'll just take things slow. Her father is allergic to poultry, seafood, and beans --so, I don't want to rush solid food too much. If Elizabeth turns out to be allergic to beef and pork, Tyrone will have to quit his automotive career and take up buffet restaurant management or something. There's no way I'm cooking three different meals every night. Then again, Elizabeth may never have allergies, and I'd have someone to make runs to KFC with. That's in the future, though. Right now, we'll stick to rice cereal and a lot of paper towels.

Woo Hoo! Our Day at the Zoo!

Saturday, September 27, was free admission day at the local zoo, so Tyrone, Elizabeth, and I loaded up into the car and headed over for a day of animal site-seeing. It was Elizabeth's first time to a zoo, my second ever, and Tyrone's umpteenth time. It was great --Elizabeth rode in her stroller, Tyrone pushed the stroller, and I took pictures. There was lots of wildlife to observe: lions, penguins, black swans, zebras, ducks, and many other animals. Even though Elizabeth probably had no clue (and probably couldn't see much either), Tyrone and I were still all over ourselves taking pictures of her next to cages and waterfalls that she didn't even know existed. Most likely, Elizabeth thought we were on a glorified and stinky walk in the park.....That is, until she noticed a large, rather fluffy, brown alpaca gazing down on her from its long neck. We were in the kiddy section of the zoo, a place where smaller children can chase ducks wandering around, pet penned up goats, and feed pop-belly pigs. While standing next to the alpaca fence and taking pictures yet again, Elizabeth saw the tall creature over the brim of her stroller. When they're eyes met, her face scrunched up, she shut her eyes, and slowly, a wimpering wail poured from her mouth. She'd seen other animals before the zoo, dogs mostly, so we didn't know why she'd be scared of the alpaca. Perhaps because it was tall, weird looking, and it actually looked at her. Well, we tried consoling our baby girl, but eventually had to leave the alpaca behind and move on to something more suitable to Elizabeth's taste: bunnies. Not just any bunnies, but sleeping bunnies. No threat whatsoever, and because she'd seen these animals in her books before, they were less threatening.....apparently. Tyrone and I could only laugh, though, at Elizabeth's newly found phobia of llama looking animals. The rest of our trip to the zoo was mostly uneventful. We had a great time and look forward to the day Elizabeth can interact more the next time we go.

Life with Laura

So... I've never actually blogged before, but I figured that it might be a good way to pass any free time I get. I'm a new mother, you see, but don't get the impression that I just sit around all day eating chocolates and watching soap operas because I have nothing better to do. Quite the opposite, actually; I don't really care all that much for chocolate, and soap operas aren't my thing. My baby keeps me on my more than just my toes, and currently, I am finishing up my college education.I used to think that newborns slept all the time, that is, until I met my daughter. She was alert from before day one, which I now believe explains the karate she performed in my belly while I was pregnant. You never realize how incredible the human body is and what it is capable of until you are expecting your child. One minute, you're in the best physical shape of your life, then animal control is knocking on your door wondering about the call they got about a beached whale living in your home. "No sir," you say, "no sea creatures here--just one, fat pregnant woman with a bad hair day looking for a burrito." Now, I have nothing against being pregnant itself--I like kids and would never trade in my own. But, I must say that I would rather go through labor and delivery than morning sickness. After about five months with your head in the bowl, you get pretty tired of your relationship with the toilet.Things get better, though, once the baby arrives...but your definately don't sleep. My baby is so awake all the time, it seems. My husband has been really good though and helps out when he can. However, he is outnumbered in our house now, as he is the only man. But, life is good. At times things get difficult with school, work, juggling schedules and raising a family, but we take things one day at a time here at the Dickerson home.