Running About Town

Tuesday, we went to visit the crew at my old workplace. As usual, it seemed strangely deserted for the middle of the day, but then a lot of people go to meetings and spend time in the Chicago office. The worker bees who are left tend to put their headphones on and crank out the work.

So Ellie really stood out with her squeals. She has become more vocal lately, especially in public. She squeals and grunts. Sometimes, it's very definitely in response to heavy flirting from friends and passersby. In the car, I think she does it to get me to switch from monotone talking on NPR to some music. But other times... I have no idea what she's trying to communicate.

I think she's starting to teeth. She's started to suck on her gums a little. She bit me a few times Tuesday. The first one surprised me and hurt, so I gasped and yanked her away. That upset her, but I calmed her down and she latched back on. Then she did it a few more times, but generally a little more gently. And, after the first one, they weren't as surprising, so I controlled my reaction better. I think towards the end she only did it to get my attention when I started to drift off. It was very effective. And, this morning, Ellie started with a new cry. This one sounds a lot like her pissed off cry when she doesn't want to nap (which so far today, she doesn't), but it's tinged with a little hysteria. So, given my other clues and existing suspicions, I pried her mouth open and took a look. It looks like there is a little tooth bud on her lower center left jaw. So, I applied a dab of Orajel that I picked up at the store yesterday, and she seemed to calm down. She is also in a 6 month growth spurt. Today is day 3 or 4 of heavy nursing. Some of our sessions last for almost 30 minutes. And, she hasn't done that in a couple months. I'm positive that she knows she has a doctor appointment next week, so she's "cramming" to get the extra weight on so she can rise in the weight percentiles ;)

On a more sober note, Daddy (P) had a plane accident a week ago. It was scary to get a phone call starting with, "First, I'm okay and everyone else on the flight is okay, but..." The investigation is ongoing, although we hope to see the NTSB report soon. However, it has the added effect of throwing our summer travel plans up in the air (so to speak). We were supposed to take that plane down to Florida for a wedding and later in the summer to Nevada. And, frankly we don't know if a) P wants to fly again or b) his license will be suspended for any amount of time. I've looked into commercial airline rules and I think we can handle it if that's how we have to travel. Amtrak and road trips were also discussed briefly. However both methods take a very long time and Amtrak is ridiculously expensive. High speed rail, please!

P and Ellie schmoozing at the Taste. Ellie LOVED it and was admired by many for her stylish robot leggings and her comfy method of travel (as well as her smile and dimples).