Ups and Downs of Life

Yesterday was not a good day. Elinor was unusually fussy. She was so tired but refused to take a nap. I finally got her to fall asleep in her swing at about 5:00 pm. She slept just long enough for me to take a much needed shower--much needed both for cleanliness and sanity. As soon as I was out of the shower, Elinor was screaming bloody murder. Finally Brad came home when I was at about at the end of my rope. And then it happened. Something that made my awful day worth it--Elinor laughed! She laughed! Brad was playing with her and she let out the cutest giggle. I kept missing it, but the third time, I caught it. She has a very cute laugh. She had been trying to laugh for a few weeks now, but had only been able to let out a squeal here or a squawk there. Of course I whipped out the video camera faster than you can say "action" and of course as soon as I pointed that interesting looking silver thing at her she was much too interested in it to keep laughing with Daddy. Of course. But today--success! We caught some of her hidden giggles on the camera! Check out her blog for the video. In the last week she has really started interacting with the world and with us. She smiles all the time. She reaches for toys. She plays with her new toys (that I have named Ellie and Peabody, but Brad says that it was not democratic, so we may be having a re-naming party). It is so fun to watch how different Elinor is day to day. It is amazing how whenever I am having a hard day, Elinor will do something cute and wonderful that makes everything worth it. I love being a mom!