July wrap up

The month of July has been crazy for us, going to a Fourth of July party on the river, straight up to a family reunion in the D.C. area, having Chris travel to Chicago for a weekend and family coming down to visit to help us out, then off to California for a second family reunion. In between all of that, we've just spent our time outside relaxing, and inside trying to keep cool. I am slowly getting my pictures together from our week in California, so for now, here's what we've been up to the rest of the month:

Eleanor loves to look out the skylight in our living room. There is a tree that you can see through the window and she likes to just sit on the couch and watch it sway.

Every day, Eleanor imitates more and more of what I do. She tries to help fold laundry (essentially just pulls things out of the basket and throws them on the floor) and will stand around while I make beds or vacuum the floor. She now uses the vacuum (when I leave it out) as a walker. It is never where I left it last.

We have been sitting together in the hammock in the afternoons after her nap. She seems to like it okay as long as I'm in it with her.

The second half of this month has been dominated by teething. Poor girl finds anything she can to chew on these days, including groceries.

She loves to drink out of cups so I have to be careful that any cup sitting around the house is empty. Otherwise, it ends up all down her front in very quick fashion.

We finally decided to move a bunch of baby stuff up into the attic. We won't be using things like her swing for awhile, so we thought getting them out of the hallway would be a good idea for everyone.

Chris has started playing tennis with our neighbor! The rackets we have are ones that I remember using when I was probably not even a teenager yet, so the equipment is lacking, but they are enjoying it. And Eleanor loves to watch. She thinks it's hilarious.

We're doing our best to keep Eleanor cool these days. Because she sweats, she overheats easily. Lots of water and naps under the fan to keep her an appropriate temperature has been necessary.

I've also done a fair amount of baking, particularly with blueberries. Since they're in season and we've gone picking, I had to bake a few times to use them up ;)

We have also been eating a lot of tomatoes, mostly in the form of bruschetta. Right before we left for CA, we picked all the ripe tomatoes off my plants and ate them. We also harvested the basil so it would stay healthy another week. The tomatoes are starting to come to the end of their season I think. There are still plenty of green ones growing, but the plant is starting to wither a bit. I planted a variety called "early girl" and we had tomatoes much earlier than most people I know, but I guess we probably won't have them as late! Also, I found out that squirrels are eating my tomatoes! A bunch have been knocked off the vine and I've found them in places they shouldn't be in our yard, but just recently I actually watched a squirrel snatch one, pull it up the tree and eat it. If I plant anything more next year then I will definitely have to find a way to keep the squirrels out.