Nothing better than a good book

Books are one of Adriana's favorite things.  She loves to be read to, loves to apparently read them and chewing on them is not so bad either.  It is definitely a good thing for her to love.    The other day I sat her on the bed and gave her a couple books so I could put away the laundry and when I came out of the closet this is what she was doing.  She was taking her book and meticulously opening each page.  Once she turned the page she sat and studied it for a while, as if she  was reading the book.  It was very cute.  The pictures don't quite do it justice.  I always suspected she might be a genius, this just proves me right.  Reading at 9 months, impressive.

Adriana laughing-For Rob

So I have a new little camcorder Rob got me for our anniversary and I am checking out posting videos.  So Rob, this is your video of the week.  For the rest of you, you can look but my movie making is very bad.  I am trying to make Adriana laugh and she is looking at me off to the side and I kept moving at the same time thus making the camera move...I have a long way to go..... ah who cares, she is still cute in it. :)

Trip to Louisville

So this past week Adriana and I set out to Louisville, KY to visit Rachael and Nathan.  We had a really great time.  It was nice to get to hang out with Rachael and I haven't seen Nathan since he was 3 months old...and he is now 2.  (I am a horrible friend)  Nathan is such a sweet boy and he was so nice to Adriana the entire time we were there.  He shared his toys and was great at letting me know if she was doing okay or asleep when we were in the car.  Each morning he would come looking for "baby ona".   We had a lot of fun and it made me wish even more so that Rachael and I lived in the same place.  We just have to get one of our husbands to agree to move. :)  (For those of you who may not know, Rachael and I have grown up together and been the best of friends since 5th grade.  We even have pictures of us in preschool playing together.  We were definitely meant to be lifelong best friends.  We haven't lived in the same place for a lot of that time but have always found ways to visit each other and talk in some way daily)

It was my first trip on a plane with just Adriana and I.  No Rob to help or hold her when I got nervous on the flight.  I have to say Adriana did beautifully.  She was happy and only threw a minor fit during our 9 hour travel days and 2 flights a day to get there and home.  I got more comments on what a happy and active baby she was.   She and I met a lot of great and helpful people during our trip.  

Adriana tried a lot of new things when we were there.  Lots of new food (it is a benefit of having a friend with a 2 year old to tell you what they tried and worked well, it was great!  We discovered a lot of things I was nervous to give her but finally did with Rachael's encouragement)   Adriana also tried a swing for the first time.  She loved it.   The above pictures of are of her swinging and then we had a pool party in Rachael's backyard (diapers required, clothes optional).  

All and all it was a great trip.  Many thanks to Rachael and Nathan for letting us crash their house for a week.  

Are you ready for some football?

So the first Sunday of regular season football is a big deal in the Etchepare house.  Rob waits all year long for football to start.  Needless to say Football season is his favorite season of the year.  Watching all the games on Direct TV Sunday Ticket, checking our fantasy stats every 5 minutes on the laptop and staying in our pj's all day has become a tradition.  We are very excited for Adriana to join in.  

Above daddy and baby are ready for the first Raiders game on Monday night football....can you tell they are related?  (The pink shirt is from Sunday, black outfit Monday, it is a two day Raider event....)

For the love of Elmo

So for a while now, we have known that Adriana is a fan of Elmo.  She loves her stuffed Elmo and her Elmo phone.  She even stops what she is doing if he is on the TV.  But this last weekend it all the sudden turned into Elmo-mania at the Etchepare's.   For some reason, her love of Elmo went to all new levels.   She literally screams in delight when she sees Elmo or hears him.  Now, I thought kids didn't start liking Elmo until they were a little older, but I guess I was wrong.

This weekend we went to Cheyenne and visited Uncle John and Aunt Corrina.  We talked about her love and they pulled out Chicken Dance Elmo and Elmo TMZ.  Adriana went nuts.  She loved it so much they sent them home with us.  She goes absolutely crazy when TMZ Elmo starts laughing.  I don't think I quite captured the excitement in the pictures but some are above.  I have to hide Elmo in the back of the toy bin because if she sees him, we have to get him out.  Mommy sometimes needs a little Elmo break...