Our trip to the mountains!!

This is our internet and cell phone signal free REMOTE cabin!  Our Corolla almost didn't make it, but I'm glad it did!

The view from the front porch to the trout pond

The front porch!

Trying out our new Beco Butterfly baby carrier...I love it!

Looking Glass Rock (from the Blue Ridge Parkway)

Looking Glass Falls - It may not look like it in this picture, but Eleanor LOVED the waterfalls!

Checking out the trout at the fish hatchery

Eleanor's first fire!

Hooker Falls, just a few minutes from our cabin

(I have no idea how it got its name.)

Hiking up to Triple Falls

She loved riding on Daddy's back!

Triple Falls - much more impressive in person!

The river

Hanging out on the front porch

9 month pictures

Please forgive the poor quality - I don't have a scanner so these are pictures of pictures.

Reading with Eleanor

Reading is by far Eleanor's favorite activity. She loves it when one of us sits there with her and she hands us books out of the basket. With each book she'll turn the pages and listen either for the whole book, or just for a page or two before going back to the basket. When we finish a book she'll either turn back to the basket or tap the book, meaning she wants to read it again. Today I read one book to her 7 times in a row until I just couldn't take it anymore! I love watching her turn pages and occasionally smile at the pictures.

For some reason this little Winnie the Pooh book fascinates her. I think it's just the size of the book because she doesn't really let me read it to her - she just wants to hold it.

After over 30 minutes of reading, here's where the books stand: books we read (some over and OVER again) on the left, reject books on the right.

She loves it when I buzz like the bees in Winnie the Pooh! Oh, and there is a budding little tooth under that finger!

9 month checkup

Eleanor had her 9 month appointment yesterday and she's doing great!  She weighs 17.3 pounds which puts her in the 25th percentile where she has consistently been since she was born.  I'm kind of surprised she didn't move up the scale because she eats like CRAZY and I think she's starting to get a little chunky.  Anyway, she is 28" long, but Eleanor moved while the nurse was doing the measurement and I'm pretty sure she's taller than that.  That puts her somewhere in the 60-75th percentile, but she's consistently been in the 90th since she was born.  Oh yeah, and her head is in the 90th percentile but no surprise there since her parents both have giant heads and can't wear the hats the sell in stores.  :)  (I special ordered the hat that Hunter always wears when he's in the sun!)

The pediatrician didn't seem concerned that she's not crawling or pulling up yet because she's doing so many other things well.  (Standing for long periods with something to balance on, using the pincer grasp, etc.)  She seemed impressed that Eleanor is already saying "kitty."  The appointment went well and she said Eleanor is in perfect health.

For the past two days or so, Eleanor has been waking up at 5:45, not napping well, and she has been super fussy.  Last night I followed the advice given in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (love that book!) and we put her down at 6:00 instead of 7:00.  It worked like a charm.  Something else woke her up at 4:00 so I nursed her, but then she went right back to sleep until 7:15!  She woke up happy and has been so sweet all morning!  This early bedtime is just a temporary thing, by the way, until she seems to be back to normal.

Some favorite books

Eleanor loves to read.  Well, okay, she loves to turn pages, look at pictures, and listen to us read to her.  We probably have upwards of 50 board books, but there are a few that are definitely her favorites.  These books pretty much always keep her attention and she's happy to read them over and over again until Mama or Daddy get tired of them!  Here are some of Eleanor's picks:

I read this one to her today at least 4 times in a row.
She still wasn't done, but I had to read something different!

This was Ada's "Father's Day gift" to Hunter when I was 4 1/2 months pregnant with her.

This one truly seems to be her favorite, which makes us happy.  It's a very special book to us because it's the first thing we ever bought for Ada together.  Eleanor loves turning the pages and reading it over and over.  And over.  And over...

My new toy!

Yesterday Hunter came home from work with a small box wrapped in blue copy paper.  (Yes, he had it delivered to work and made an extra effort to wrap it in blue paper, not white.)  He said that he wanted to give me my Mother's Day present early because it was "time sensitive".  I knew that he was planning to get me something, but I was thinking small and the time sensitive comment threw me off.  Anyway, I was completely shocked when I opened this!

It's an iPod touch, which I have been wanting for a while, but of course it's the kind of thing I would never just go buy.  It's basically everything that an iPhone is without the phone (and the additional $30/month that will cost you).  It plays music, of course, but it also has wifi so it's like a little mini computer I can take with me anywhere.  I love it!!!  If you have a an iPhone or an iPod touch, please leave me a comment to let me know what your favorite app is.  So far my favorites are Facebook, Pandora Radio, and NPR.

Oh, and it was "time sensitive" because we're going out of town next weekend and he knew I would want to get everything set up on it before the trip.  Smart guy.

Wow, what a Mother's Day gift, and what a surprise.  I told Hunter he has now set the bar high for Mother's Day!  ;)

Some new pictures

Reading with Daddy

Hanging out with her buddy Elijah

Eleanor's first Peruvian food!  (That's pollo saltado)

Plotting her escape