Finally, Christmas Celebration #3-Max and Rebecca's House

We ended our WEEK of celebrating Christmas with an all-day adventure at Max, Rebecca and Millie's house.  We enjoyed another beautiful warm day with food and presents.  Elliott did a lot of screaming and yelling at her cousin and Millie did a lot of running away from the screaming baby.  But both girls enjoyed Millie's new pink kitchen, especially the faux wooden food that Uncle Pierce gave Millie.  

Elliott with her Christmas bow.  

Mommy and Elliott.

Uncle Max and Cousin Millie.  

Daddy and Elliott.

Elliott opening her gift from Cousin Millie.  She has already watched the Elmo DVD about pets!  La la la Elmo's World!  Is it sad that Mommy enjoys Sesame Street as much as her child?  I am fascinated by that show and have been since I was Elliott's age!  

Christmas celebration #2-Roanoke-Our Home

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent in the comforts of our own home in Roanoke.  We had Spencer's parents, little brother, Pierce, and Elliott's Godparents, Whit and Lauren over Christmas Eve for a huge feast.  After putting the baby to sleep we all gathered in the family room and became engrossed in TNT's 24-hours of "A Christmas Story." We proceeded to watch in from the second half to finish and then resumed it from the beginning.  The whole time I was imaging Daddy's little girl, seven years from now, wanting that Red Rider BB gun and Daddy purchasing it for her (in pink of course) without hesitation.  (That is, unless, in the future we can't purchase those types of firearms either....)

These are the matching Christmas pajama's that were a gift from Whit and Lauren.  

Here is Elliott surrounded by all her gifts.  Yes, those are all gifts for an 8-month-old baby.  She has no idea how truly spoiled she is!  She was the happiest baby I have ever seen that morning and I still tear up thinking about how wonderful her Christmas was.  Next year will be fun when we can introduce Elliott to Santa but there is only one true first Christmas.  

Yep, she got a lot of giraffe things.  I couldn't help myself.  

And yes, she helped open some of her gifts too!  She loved them all but her favorites include the activity tent from Babbie and Pop, the huge activity zebra from Ya Ya and Pooh Ba, and the Madame Alexander doll from Mom and Dad.  It was 67 degrees and gorgeous in Roanoke for our first Christmas with our darling daughter and we couldn't have asked for a better day. 

 And of course we ended our Christmas Day with the new Wiegard tradition of Chinese food that night (a la "A Christmas Story.").

Christmas celebration #1-The Franklin Family

Wiegard Team #1 began our first of three Christmas celebrations in Waynesboro with the Franklin family.  We had our early celebration the weekend before Christmas at Babbie and Pop's house.  The picture above is of G.G. opening the little book that we made for her called "What G.G. really means, as told from the perspective of Elliott Marion Wiegard." It was filled with all photos of G. G. holding Elliott with different meanings for G.G.  She loved it!

The Franklin cousins and Elliott.  It was wild with the Franklin Tornado as we like to call them.  From left to right starting in the back are Mary Quinn (Sister Bear), Brodie, Baby Thea and Baby Elliott.  Mary Quinn and Brodie affectionately refer to the babies this way which we think is super cute.  The "sister-cousins" who are a month apart may be called Baby Thea and Baby Elliott until they are in their teens!  G. G. had hoped that we would open one gift at a time so that we could all see what each person was receiving....ha!  You can imagine that it was a lot of paper and ribbons flying.  

Baby Elliott wore her first of many Christmas outfits.  This one is a top and matching pantaloons.  It was a little big on her but so cute!  

Poor Spencer lamented to the fact that Christmas really is no longer about the adults but completely about the children.  He and I received about 5 gifts between us.  We knew this was coming as we had even decided against exchanging gifts between the two of us but it really hit home on this weekend.  It was so much more fun to help Elliott open her gifts.  Of course she had no idea what was going on but this Christmas was more for us to enjoy our new baby.

Mom's turn at amateur photography!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  

Elliott's "tiger" pose! 

Whew, what a November it has been!

We apologize for the delay in updating the blog!  The Wiegards have been really busy the past two months!  The Junior League in Roanoke holds a large fundraiser called "The Stocked Market" and I organized the gala event that began all the festivities.  I then organized the Roanoke Valley Veterinary Association Christmas party in December.  Spencer has been up to his eyeballs in work (which is fantastic in this economy!) and likewise the vet hospital has been booming.  Thankfully people do not cut back on carrying for their pets!  We also attended a family wedding in Alexandria in early November.  The photo above is taken on Thanksgiving Day at "In Recess," my parents' new place in Highland County.  The food was spectacular, the setting was gorgeous, but the family gathering was priceless.  My mother has decorated their new vacation home to the nines (and then some) and we felt so blessed to be in such an amazing place for that holiday.  

This is Elliott's puffy shirt outfit that Babbie bought her.  I still put her in a lot of blue to bring out her eyes.  

Look at how amazing Arlene "G.G." looks!  She loves to hold Elliott and it is very obvious that Elliott adores her right back!  This photo truly captures the loved shared between the two.  Four generations!  

Uncle Pierce holding Elliott at Cousin Winnie's rehearsal dinner in Alexandria.  It was a late night for our darling girl but she held in there and she loved the band!  She also loved watching her older cousin Millie running around the dance floor!  She has been trying to walk ever since and my back is killing me!

Our little 8-month old has quite a personality.  She is constantly babbling and making the funniest sounds.  She rolls her "r's" and rasberries like crazy!  

This is a photo of her buddy Millie Lou about to steal a salt shaker from her.  We were attending Claire McCahill's 1st birthday party.  This was also moments before Millie Lou crawled over and vomited, exorcist-style, all over her poor mother!  That is certainly one way to clear a room and end a party!  The Wiegards were also so very fortunate to miss out on the horrendous stomach virus that got nearly everyone in Roanoke.  It sent several people we know to the hospital!

Elliott is blue again!  Yes, that is a giraffe on her shirt and yes, I'm still obsessed with giraffes.

Elliott and Mommy at the rehearsal dinner.  It is amazing how I tend to dress myself like my daughter.  I never thought I'd be one of those moms but it seems to happen subconsciously.  If I'm in black and white stripes, so is Elliott.  If I'm in green, so is she.  It is ridiculous!

Daddy's take on Elliott's fashion sense.

Courtney is correct, walking into the house on Friday I was shocked by the volume of costumed children crawling, screaming and chewing on the furniture (and each other).  I survived the party, and the 250-300 trick-or-treaters (a kid dressed as a whoopie cushion handily defeated all others) only to fall victim to political sign theft.   

Speaking of costumes, Elliott's outfits tend to range from the adorable to the comical.  The outfit above included striped stockings and cotton ball accents.  The bow in the hair is the "crowning" touch.  

What a pretty bow, Elliott loved the bow.   Courtney tells me the outfit is the product of a French designer. If there is one thing those smelly-cheese-eating-socialist-surrender monkeys do better than throw up their hands at the first hint of aggression, its fashion design for toddlers. 

I just have to post these two pictures of my lovely daughter.  She is such a big girl!

This morning I woke at first light and played dog-care roulette with Courtney, a game that involves pretending to sleep until the other person finally gets up (the loser) and cares for all five animals.  I lost this morning, and on my way down stairs with the dogs, I heard Elliott cooing in her crib.  Elliott greeted me with a smile, kicking an laughing as I lifted her from the crib.  That was about the time I noticed the smell.  Elliott's diaper was full, I mean loaded with her stinky "potty business".  As I changed her diaper, Courtney walked by and asked that I retain the diaper until she had the opportunity to inspect Elliott's performance.  I obliged Courtney's wish, but that meant she got to clean and re-diaper the child. Courtney later explained that she wanted to check if it was green, which I could have easily relayed to her by sworn statement if necessary.  Saving a "Turd Ferguson" is just gross.  Sorry, to discuss poop, but it wouldn't be a Daddy post without scatological humor.  Poop. 

First Halloween-what was I thinking?

You can see from both Elliott and Spencer's expression that Halloween was not either of their favorite days.   Elliott has been working on her first teeth for over a month to no avail and was exceptional crabby on Halloween Friday.  Spencer had had a particularly long and stressful Friday and came home hoping to relax, open a beer and prop up his feet on the new coffee table.  What he walked into, however, was much scarier.  Try 20 mommies, a few scattered daddies and about 20 or so screaming and squealing infants and toddlers running amok through his home.  What had begun as the regular play group of about 8 or so of us turned into mayhem on that fateful Halloween Friday.  And then try putting Elliott into her super enormous (we're talking will fit her for YEARS to come) super hot zebra costume with a very scary life-like zebra head.  She was none-too-thrilled.  But oh so cute!

Elliott and her friend Lucy Paige donned the same zebra gear and definitely best couple!  

Did I tell you the zebra head was scary or what?  

This is just a sampling of the many amazingly hilarious costumes that were proudly displayed.  Above are Olivia as the rooster, Peyton as the lobster (incidentally, Peyton won best costume) and Spencer (infant Spencer, not my Spencer) as the lizard.  There were identical twins as pigs, Millie Chopski as the pink poodle, a lion, a teddy bear, a pirate, a cowboy, another lobster, Millie Wiegard as a fairy, and many, many more.  My poor Mommy's helper, Elizabeth, who started this past week will probably never return.

But every child has to have their first Halloween and it wouldn't be a Wiegard Halloween without a huge party.  Don't judge me if you see the same costume appear again next year, and the next year.....

Elliott in Asheville, NC

Elliott and I had the pleasure of joining Courtney at a Veterinary continuing education seminar in Asheville, NC.  As you can see above, Elliott bundled-up for the cold October weather in the Great Smokey Mountains.  

When we went to Asheville two years ago, we took full advantage of the nightlife, the culture and the beautiful fall scenery the city had to offer.   This time, we traveled in the dark and we spent most of our stay in the hotel.  My, how life has changed.  

Lessons learned during the trip: 

Lesson One: It is much easier to entertain Elliott at home with her dogs, toys and the other distractions our house has to offer.  Confined to a hotel room for two full days, we were limited to the toys we could fit in a small bag and Daddy's slapstick dance routine to break the monotony. When Elliott napped, I sat in silence, in the dark, perfectly still ... as the tag-line for the movie Alien said "in space, no one can hear you scream"... but in a hotel room with a sleeping baby, she can hear you blink.        

I mean really, how cute is this hat.  She spent most of the weekend sitting in the middle of the bed while Daddy did his best to make her laugh.  My efforts met with only marginal success. 

Lesson Two:  When we travel with Elliott, She goes to bed at 7:00 and Courtney goes to bed at 8:30, which leaves me sitting alone in the dark, again.    

Lesson Three: Carrots are messy, really freakin' messy. See what I mean? She is getting better at eating solids, but the Carrots end up on everything. 
Everyone loved watching me walk Elliott around the hotel. They particularly enjoyed watching Elliott checking my email on my Blackberry.  She is an excellent helper, I bill her time at $100.00 per hour. 

The Cat Whisperer

One of the biggest myths about cats is that they will jump in your baby's crib and suffocate them.  As a vet, I frequently get asked about this.  No, no, they won't jump in the crib, in fact, most cats are scared of the moving, breathing object inside the large, crate-resembling object.  I knew that my three dogs would instantly love her, protect her and fight to be next to her.  Little did I know that it would be one of my cats that would be the one to fall madly in love with Elliott the most.

Afton, the kitty pictured, was my first "child."  She was adopted from a "no-kill" shelter in Montgomery County when I first got into vet school.  She was there through it all: exams, new boyfriend and eventual husband, Spencer, new pets (McKinley, Milla, Jackson and finally Monti) and she has been my rock.  I should have known that she would be the one to love my first human baby the most.  

Now you can clearly see that every time the baby is awake, my dilute tortoise shell feline is right beside her.  If I'm nursing the baby in the glider, Afton is on the arm, waiting to be petted.  Elliott is often lulled to sleep by Afton's ridiculously loud purrs.  Regardless if the dogs are around, Afton will get right next to Elliott on her quilt in the middle of the sun room.  If I bring Elliott into our bedroom, Afton sprints into the room to see where she's going to be.  It is amazing and so wonderful to see this interaction between baby and cat as a mother and as a veterinarian.    

It is true that animals can sense things about babies and infants and now I am a true believer.  I always had a vision that the dogs would be sleeping on the floor beside the crib (and they do on occasion) but my cat?  It warms my heart and reaffirms why I love being a medical caregiver of such wonderful creatures.  

And don't be surprised if Elliott's first word is "kitty."  You can see why I think so.....

6 months! All the Glory!

Elliott began starting to sit up at 5 and 1/2 months.  We could sit behind her and she would attempt to balance on her bottom.  Then one evening during bath time, she sat up in her infant tub.  All by herself...It was miraculous and you'd better believe that I cried my eyes out.  Here was my big girl, sitting up, no longer in the tub hammock, no longer leaning back against the foam edge support.  She was sitting up!  And all those little bath toys that had been just floating aimlessly around her, hoping to be noticed were finally getting the attention they deserved!  Elliott finally discovered the traditional yellow rubber ducky (that incidentally has a sensor on the bottom that will tell you if the water is too hot!  How clever is that?).  Once Elliott could sit up on her own in that marvelous plastic blue tub it was like an entirely new world opened up for her.  She began splishing and splashing like crazy!  Water began flying up at me and I will tell you that it was one of the most memorable moments of my new time as a mommy.  I savored every moment while she launched water at me.  Bath time will never be the same.

Now just because they can sit up doesn't mean that you can relax....See the above photo.  Everything and I mean EVERYTHING goes in their mouths.  Including pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.  And although she has pretty good balance, she still falls backwards, forwards and even side-to-side.  

People always told me that once your baby can sit, it really does open up your world and they were right!  Elliott can now sit up and play, she can sit comfortable in her high chair, and also go from an infant seat to a convertible seat.  And ours is cow print!  How appropriate!  Now Spencer laughed his head off when he saw his daughter in the outfit above.  He began humming the theme song from "Super Mario Brothers."  "Courtney!  She is Mario!" He yelled at me.  "No she's not!  This is adorable and not PINK for once."  "Courtney, if you put her in a green shirt, she'd be Luigi!"

Here she is in the tub!  She finally has enough hair for a mo hawk!  (Or when dry, for the Donald Trump.)

Elliott in the high chair.  These bibs are great because they cover the shoulder area as well.  And when pureed carrots are involved, you need all the coverage you can get!

Elliott, Millie and Peyton.  The original three gals who once donned infant seats.  We mommies laughed at which baby would sleep through lunch and now long gone are those days.  Millie is crawling, Peyton is on her way and Elliott is rolling!  Soon we'll be chasing after them and wishing they were asleep in their infant seats.

So again, we are here at 6 months and I can't believe it.  My little darling is making new sounds, raspberrying (especially while mommy is feeding me), and rolling around on the ground like crazy.  I never thought that we'd get to this point but wow, now it seems like a flash.  Pretty soon she'll be driving!