{ Frustrations }

I'm fairly certain that picture gets the award for best picture of Eisley ever taken. We got that hat at the mall the other day, at the most adorable kids store, Janie & Jack. It was on clearance for $5 and Eisley and I decided we had to have it.

Today that photo is cheering me up. I'm frustrated. Lots of little things.

I'm frustrated that Eisley has inherited her daddy's eye problems, because we were so hoping she'd get my genes on this area. We took her to the eye doctor yesterday morning. He confirmed our suspicions. Eisley has accommodative esotropia. Basically, she's farsighted to such an extent that her eyes "over focus", causing them to cross sometimes. It annoys me, even though I know it's not that big of a deal, glasses will eradicate the problem when she starts wearing them just like it has for Justin. But as a mom, I just don't want my baby to have to deal with anything like this. The logical mom in me knows it's impossible to provide this for our children and that no one is perfect, but you can't help but want the best for your child. It's a mom thing, I'm sure you understand if you are one...

I'm also a little frustrated because my oatmeal decided to try and escape from the bowl while it was being microwaved this morning. Grr...

And I'm frustrated because I've been sleep deprived lately. That never makes for a happy Heather. But this is my own fault because I stay up late trying to get things done.

Eisley gets frustrated sometimes too:

Eisley Frustrated



If you're having a bad day, just scroll back up to that adorable photo of my girl. It's quite cheery.

{ Things We Did This Week }

See, the problem here is that I can never pick just one thing to blog about. Thus, the photo montage. Here are some of the past week's 'appenings (that's my Cockney accent).

{ Blue toe nail pedicures on little feet }

{Learning to fly with daddy. }

{Big Love came back to us! And what a great season premier it was. Or "twas"... }

{ Eisley's dollhouse - more to come on this topic soon - was officially started with the finishing of Eisley's first China hutch. }

{ Okay, don't laugh. I'm the creative sort and one of my favorite mediums is makeup. So one day last week during a particularly long nap Eisley was taking I got bored and with the house clean and errands all done I played with my makeup. Yes, I play with makeup. Ever since I was a little girl, and I love stage makeup. This week I channeled Marie Antoinette. Powdered hair, Cupid's bow lips, two birthmarks: the works. T'was fun. And yes, I'm a nerd. }

{ Hand crafted 38 baby shower invitations and got those sent. }

{ Eisley and I got a last minute photo shoot from dad/Justin. }
Other events for which there are not pictures include today's free day at the zoo. It was so crowded I wish we'd gone on a non-free day and paid for a less crowded zoo.

My friend from waaay back in the high school days, Cyndi, came to visit us. It was fun, but I accidentally spit on her, and I'm sad to say it wasn't the first time in the last month I've accidentally spit my drink on her... apparently Cyndi makes it hard for me to keep my mouth shut when drinking.

And finally, there was a night of Rock Band 2 at Eisley's godparents house. She loves to hear me sing "Eye of the Tiger"...

{Dear Eisley} - Vol. 1

{Dear Eisley}

Mommy loves you so much, but can you please start eating during the day as good as you do during the night? Formula is expensive and all these spoiled unfinished bottles going down the drain is like pouring dollars into the trash.

And by the way, why is it that lately the only time you efficiently down a bottle is when you're sleeping? It's the teething isn't it?

{Love, Mommy}

PS - Your new trick of sitting up all by yourself is really great! Keep up the good work, Strong Girl!

{ The Pacifier Clip Story }

Today I met my mom at Costco, where formula is MUCHO CHEAPO. Yes :-( I'm doing formula now, and I hate it but that's another post, not the story...

Since I was near my mom's house, which is near a great little used-children-stuff shop called Once Upon a Child that I've heard so much about, I decided to stop in to see if they had any highchairs or pack-n-plays for sale (they did), but again, not the story...

While I was browsing the great little store I spied something I wanted. A pacifier clip! One that would work with a Soothie! Soothies are Eisley's favorite pacifiers, but the hardest ones to keep. They're made of rubber, without hooks or latches or handles, and when the baby drops them they bounce away under furniture where they hide and probably start little Soothie colonies. Babies love them; parents hate that their babies love them.

So I spent the few bucks for this little treasure, a pacifier clip that would keep it attached to our baby, instead of bouncing every which way when dropped from her mouth. I even made sure to check that the ribbon was 6" or less - which they recommend for all strings your baby comes in contact with to avoid strangulation.

All day, I've been loving the pacifier clip. It's been great! That is, until about an hour ago. About an hour ago I wandered into Eisley's room during her nap to check on her, and as I looked over her, once again admiring my new purchase and how great it is, that's when I realized just what I'd done. It hit me like a projectiled vomit straight to the head. Oh. My. Gosh.

"I've ATTACHED a CHOKING HAZARD TO MY BABY."

I handed it to her, a friggin choking hazard. See, the clip is embellished with a cute, but deadly, button thing about an inch in diameter and is merely glued on. It could easily pop off. Eisley is in that stage where her hands search for something - anything - and once she finds that anything it goes straight to her mouth. How did I not catch that?! As I was mentally berrating myself for making such a stupid mistake I snatched up my camera (to take the above picture, just so I could prove my great folly to you) and went to find another pacifier.
Once Eisley was safe and sound and choking-hazard-free I shot off an email to the owner of that store. I don't think that they should be selling these. If they're going to sell these, they need to attach it to something that could not fit down a child's throat, and I saw recently on TV that they recommend your child not play with any toys or parts that can fit through a toilet paper tube, as a general rule of thumb.

But all is okay, Eisley is not choked but instead chatting happily on her daddy's lap as I type this. Maybe nothing would ever go wrong with the pacifier clip. Maybe I could get away using it and avoiding any issues. But I'm just not that type of mom. Maybe isn't good enough for me. Call me overprotective, I don't care. As a mother, I consider one of my duties to be minimizing all risks. I know I can't make her live in a bubble, that she's going to get hurt, but I can't take risks like this. This mommy is NO risk taker. Not with her Eisley.

Crisis has been averted.

This morning I cleaned out our closet and dresser. While I did that, Eisley was sleeping soundly in the bassinet nearby.

When I was nearly finished with the mess of clothes, I headed downstairs with trash bags and made myself a cup of coffee (darn you International Delights Creamer and darn you King Sooper's for having it on sale every week) and headed back upstairs.

Eisley was not still sleeping anymore but gazing around the room in silence, pacifier in her mouth.

She beckoned me to take a picture of her, and I gave in like I always do when she nags me to take her picture {not with words, mind you, but with her cuteness}. Then she told me to email it to daddy, which I did {see above}. I was baby-talking to her, she reached up and tried to pull my lips off with her baby claws. She did her double-eyebrow-raise, looking very much like Groucho Marx.

Then I burped. Loudly. Apparently I'd gulped down coffee too fast. I giggled and excused myself, but Eisley stared up at me with wide eyes, seeming uncertain about the strange noise I'd just made and not quite sure how to respond.

Then a smile slowly crept onto her face and -

"PPPPPPFFFFFFFFTTTTTTT!"

- from underneath the covers came.

She turned the tables on me. Now it was I who stared wide-eyed at her. She is, truly, her mother's daughter.