A Bunch of Firsts

Two weeks ago, Eleanor started baby food. She took to it right away and here is a picture from her very first attempt at cereal. She ate it voraciously and now also eats carrots. My strategy for feeding our kid comes down to three things: (1) try one new thing a week, (2) stick with vegetables for now, and (3) make the stuff at home. I swear this is not any soapbox, but I have given a lot of thought to how I will combat Nora's genetic predisposition toward diabetes with good habits and intelligent choices. I have concluded that if Eleanor is going to develop healthy eating habits, she will do it by eating fresh food. This should also help Geoff and I get back on track with our own health and wellness. It's a Grove Family Affair for eating better in 2008!


Another fun thing Nora has been up to is to spend lots of time jumping in her jumpy seat. Seriously she loves this thing and jumps for what seems like an eternity before she poops out and starts eating the tag inside the seat. It's very entertaining and we have video, which we are trying to post--stay tuned!















This picture shows off my new haircut. I waited until she was 6 months old, but I finally got the Mommy haircut. I knew I was doing it and I am glad I did. I like it on me and it is a wash-n-wear cut which I need.


















Another first for our girl in the last week or so was her very FIRST Ohio State Men's Hockey game. Here she is with Daddy in her OSU mittens (it was very cold that night) and Buckeye sweater/hat. We really enjoyed the game and she fell asleep in the second period, so we left. She is a big fan of the band!


And, here is our girl smiling, probably because of a game her Daddy is playing with her. She adores several things he does, including singing, dancing, playing peek-a-boo, and tickling her. There is a lot of laughing at our house these days. She laughs, which makes us laugh, which makes her laugh even more. It is a vicious cycle, but we are all having loads of fun.

6 Months

Our little girl turned 6 months old the other day. It is really hard to believe. She continues to grow and change everyday. On Saturday she had her first real laugh. Before she would smile and squeal when she got excited, but this time she had a string of hee-hees that had Wendy and I near tears. She was sitting in her jumpy seat and watching Mookie run around and she couldn't stop laughing. She was so damn cute we decided the next day to buy a video camera, which we still haven't figured out.

Other than Eleanor keeping us on our toes not much else is new. Of I guess I do have a new favorite picture of our girl in her blue dress.

Early Riser

Eleanor Kate is an early-to-bed, early-to-rise girl. Last night, for example, she feel asleep on Mama at 7:15 pm. Now, Mama loved this as it freed her up for some quality lunch-making, coffee-prep, dish-doing time. However, at 4:30 am, this little baby of mine started singing in bed. I am not kidding, she even woke up her Daddy, who normally can sleep through her morning ramblings. Not today! Anyway, here are some pictures of our girl from this week. Her Uncle Whit was in town and visiting and he is very fun.

Christmas in Ohio

This past Sunday, Geoff's sister and brother-in-law hosted us for Christmas. We shared the day with Geoff's Dad Ron and his fiancee Charlotte, sister Pam and husband Scott, and their kids Skyler & Lindsey. It was very lovely. Eleanor made out like a bandit, receiving clothes, toys, and even some starter snacks. We caught up, hearing about Ron & Charlotte's first Christmas together spent at her house in Mt. Vernon where they saw her daughter Holly and two grandchildren Brandon and Braden. Pam, Scott & the kids had their first ever home alone Christmas, which they enjoyed very much. Skyler received a video camera that allows him to use his Wii to create slideshows. He took shots of us all and we ended the day watching the result. It was very good!

Additionally, both Skyler and Lindsey read aloud from the Ripley's Believe It or Not book Geoff bought for Skyler. It was interesting, weird, and disgusting and needless to say, a big hit with an eleven year old kid.

Eleanor visited with her grandpa whom she hadn't seen in a while, enjoyed time in the exersaucer and with her Aunt Pam & Uncle Scott. We received some very nice gifts. Thanks to the family for making the day extra special!

Christmas in Oregon--Days 6-9

Day 6 in Oregon was Christmas Day! Eleanor was up at 5:50 am, so we all got up!

Eleanor was excited by the wrapping paper and kept trying to eat it. We are all convinced that she is starting to get a tooth, although none have surfaced yet; but everything goes to the mouth, she is drooling like a champ, and just this week, a runny nose started. Aunt Pam gave Nora her "Baby's First Christmas" pajamas, which she wore that morning. Here are some pictures:


This last one is of Nora opening her first baby doll, which was from Uncle Anthony.



After our own Christmas, we headed to Wendy's Aunt Mary & Uncle Charlie's house to see the Wehage side of the family. You may have heard me describe them (My dad was 7th in a family of 15 kids and we grew up with huge gatherings at Christmas, with a visit from Santa Claus and a gift exchange that lasted for hours). Even with two of the 15 deceased (My dad & Uncle Jim) and four others not there, Eleanor still got to meet lots of her family---great uncles & aunts, cousins, second cousins, and even great grandma Elsa. It was a lovely afternoon filled with catching up, hugs, and lots of smiles between Eleanor and her family. The end of the day found Geoff & Wendy having drinks at a local watering hole winning at the video lottery--just how we prefer our holidays to come to an end!

On Day 7, Geoff and I did a little shopping while Grandma had some quality time with Nora. That evening, after some quality time of our own with Nora, friends from grade school, high school, and college amassed at The Lutz. This is a place only 3 blocks from Mom's house that we all adore. It has $1 Pabst, good microbrews, and a decent jukebox. People came from far and wide, including Melanie (from Spokane, WA), Sonja (from Lakewood, WA), & Jeff (Little Rock, AR). Others came out despite long work days and little ones at home, including Molly, Robert, & Ruth. We started at 7 and ended around 1:30 am talking and laughing and making plans for my Za Za Sisters (Molly, Ruth, Mel, and Sonja) to come to Ohio this summer for our annual weekend.

On our last day in town, Geoff and I took the evening to visit the new McMenamins--the Chapel. These restaurants/microbrew pubs are all around Oregon. They take existing old structures and make them into restaurants. A fire station, grade school, farm, lodge, and now a chapel. They are wonderfully historic and fun, plus they brew a really good set of beers. For lunch, dad watched Eleanor while Mom went with Grandma, Melanie and Ruth to lunch. It was a really nice time out.


Day 9 had us returning the rental car and flying home. It took literally all day (left house at 7:50 am and got home in Ohio at 10:50 pm), but again Eleanor did wonderfully on the planes.


We had a terrific time at home in Portland for the holidays. Thank you to everyone who made the time to see us. Thank you especially to Grandma for watching Nora so much, we know she loved it.