Packing

Eliza loves getting ready to go on "trips" by completely unpacking her bottom dresser drawer. You can imagine how much fun this is on laundry days...

FB friends, there's a video at housechapin.blogspot.com.

Car Talk

Eliza seems right at home in her new car seat and new car. She has quite a bit to say on the matter. But before we get to her brief diatribe, let's rewind to about 5 minutes before loading up into the car. After a quick walk up to the peak of New Haven that is the East Rock monument Eliza realized she had the luxury of nodding off for the last mile or so. So she did:




You'd think this kid would load up into the car and return to sweet sleep. Nope. Instead she had an in-depth conversation with her mom. I'm not sure what about. I'm sure Todd and I are having a deep talk in the front seat about the relative merits of taking Cleveland's #3 WR as a sleeper.




I don't think I've mentioned that we are preparing Eliza for a position with the Spanish embassy so she has to practice early! FB folks - vids at housechapin.blogspot.com.

Eliza's First Swing

It has come to our attention that the bulk of our updates of Eliza are related to her eating. While Eliza does spend a good part of her waking hours filled with the anticipation of eating, actually eating, or upset that she is no longer eating, we do other things with her, too. We've been hitting the Madison beaches pretty hard these last couple of weeks: playing in the sand or splashing around in the water during the day, firing up one of the beachside grills for dinner. The Surf Club has a little playground that we noticed had some swings that may or may not be appropriate for an 8+ month old. But we thought that Eliza would enjoy the ride and risk, so away she went on her first swing. Here is the video evidence - housechapin.blogspot.com if you're reading this on Facebook.

Also if a member of the Madison Public Works reads this blog - and I'm pretty confident at least 3 of them do - if you could shoot some WD-40 on the swings at The Surf Club that'd be swell.

We Never Did Get The Picture

I didn't get the exchange between Michael and I where we agreed that this photo op would never happen, so you'll just have to take my word for it. But no one listens to ol' Deacon and Michael. Personally, I think the attempt of getting 3 kids under 2 years old to remain still for the 1/30th of a second it takes to snap a photo is asking a lot. Now, the ultimate result - that is, the attempt of getting these three bundles of unbridled kinetic energy to remain still for a moment while singing "Tomorrow" - was a noble attempt, to be sure. I'm just glad I got it on film.

Video @ housechapin.blogspot.com.

John Stewart Says, "Eat Quinoa"

Up until the day before we shot this video (6/24) Eliza had eaten puree of a variety of fruits and vegetables. They all shared one commonality: the consistency of, well, baby food. Making her food amounted to (sometimes) peeling, chopping, steaming and using the handy dandy immersion blender that The Other Chapins gave us for Christmas last year. As I used the blender I might hear in the background the suggestion that Eliza "could use a little more texture."

This video is Eliza's first foray into the world of textured food. Quinoa. Delicious, nutritious quinoa. Doesn't every family feed their child a South American pseudocereal (thanks, Wikipedia!) as one of her first foods? We thought so!

Dining al fresco

We doubt that Eliza really has a preference as to where she takes her meals. Who knows, though, maybe she appreciates the view while she eats her puree of cauliflower. Either way, here's a short video of Eliza noshing on some of that aforementioned cauliflower. Or was it parsnips? It really doesn't matter; she's eaten everything we've put in front of her, including some bits of paper plate when we weren't paying close enough attention.

Mornings

Don't call her a cat person, but Eliza loves Bella.

For the FB viewers, check out a new video at housechapin.blogspot.com.