Almost February?!

What a couple of months we have had. December came and went in a hurry with Eleanor's first birthday, a trip to San Antonio for ten days over Christmas and back to Washington to ring in the New Year!

Oh yes, her hair is still wild.

We were home for a couple of weeks in January and then my mom, E and I took off for sunny Arizona to spend a week at my aunt's house. Yes, we sadly left Dad behind to work and even though it was very hard to be away and hard for him to not have his girls home, it seemed like it was for the best because was putting in some ridiculous hours. Oh, the life of a CPA.

Hopefully he is on the downswing of things and we can get back into our groove around here.

Travelling with a baby was, yes, I really am going to admit this--not as horrendous as I had anticipated. Of all the four flights there was only one that was super challenging and of course it was the longest flight that was oh, so perfectly right around her bedtime. Although there was no endless screaming, thankfully, she was just a squirmy, tired mess. Ah, well, we survived and apparently it wasn't too hard because we did it again!

This girl, I tell ya, is just amazing. I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by and how much she grows and changes everyday. She is such a toddler now and although I still see her as my baby, she proves daily that she is moving at a fast rate into toddler-hood and being such a big girl.

She is beginning to say quite a few words. She definitely mimics everything. Her words right now include:
mama {or mostly, mum}
dada
nigh nigh
mah {more}
beh {bird}
buh {book}
bah {bath}
ah-pa {Opa}
di-puh {diaper}

I know, I know, most of these just look like different sounds, but I want to remember how well she was associating her words with actual things and differentiating sounds. And, I'm her mom, right? So I speak her language fluently. Or at least I try.

On the personal front, I have really started to make an effort at working out. My brother has been sending me workouts so that if I can magically get E to stay in her crib for at least thirty minutes of her nap, I can get something accomplished. It is amazing what just a quick twenty minutes of abs and strength can do. Ben also got me ten yoga classes for Christmas of which I can use for regular or hot yoga. I always thought I was partial to hot yoga, but I have been to two regular and it turns out I love it too! I can also use the gym on days that I go in for a class so I will see about that. It is really amazing how much better I feel when I get a little alone time or do something active.

My one, main goal for the year, no I am not calling it a resolution, is to meal plan. I am usually good at stocking up on groceries and try to get good deals, but then once five o clock is all of a sudden upon us, funny how that happens everyday, I draw a blank as to what to throw together. So, we end up eating a lot of the same meals on a semi-regular rotation. Well, I have had it with that and am trying to get better. Even if it's searching through the cabinets and freezer at the beginning of the week, I want to write down each day what we will have so I don't have to think about it. I also want to go through the 14,000 3 magazine subscriptions my grandma has gotten me {well, I actually get three separate and then the same one three times. How's that math for ya?} and try some new recipes. I like simple recipes that use pretty standard ingredients so that's what I look for.

So that's what's up. Not too much detail but a little update. I need to get back here. I still love following along with all my regular reads and I do try to comment when I'm on the regular computer but unfortunately I still do a lot of blog reading on my phone. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that is to come in 2013! ;)