Monday, June 30, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Another pair of loved shoes
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
Whoa - 8 Months
Slow down...I personally dislike when we get close to the end of a year. It just feels like the proceeding months went too fast and now we only have a little bit of time left. Well that's where I'm at with Eva's first year. I can't believe we only have 4 more months to go.
But after reviewing previous blogs, I'm also grateful to be where we are. Eva's a whole little person. She's engaging and sweet and loving (she gives me lots of kisses) and sleeping and taking a bottle and an all around person. So I wouldn't trade being here for the newborn phase again.
Really the big stuff of the month happened the week leading up to the 8th month mark. Babies are really amazing when it comes to skill acquisition. We took a 5 hour flight to California and it was like some switch was flipped. On the other side of the flight, Eva was now rolling from front to back and back to front. She was actively trying to get people's attention to get a smile/reaction. It made for a super fun trip since we were out and about a ton.
She also is starting her language development. I can ask where Ellie or Daddy is and her face/eyes immediately dart for them. Yesterday, we were looking at the ceiling fan in our room and I was making the sign for fan (pointing finger going in a circle). I then asked her to show me the sign and she raised her hand and twisted her wrist. Our first sign!
Teeth are coming! The first one has broken thru and the one right next to it, isn't far behind.
With teeth comes food. We have worked up to a range of foods. She's eating mashed foods, feeding herself biscuits and cheerios. And most fortunately, taking bottles. We've been giving one 8 oz bottle just before bed and that seems to be making a difference to how much sleep we've gotten from her.
But after reviewing previous blogs, I'm also grateful to be where we are. Eva's a whole little person. She's engaging and sweet and loving (she gives me lots of kisses) and sleeping and taking a bottle and an all around person. So I wouldn't trade being here for the newborn phase again.
Really the big stuff of the month happened the week leading up to the 8th month mark. Babies are really amazing when it comes to skill acquisition. We took a 5 hour flight to California and it was like some switch was flipped. On the other side of the flight, Eva was now rolling from front to back and back to front. She was actively trying to get people's attention to get a smile/reaction. It made for a super fun trip since we were out and about a ton.
She also is starting her language development. I can ask where Ellie or Daddy is and her face/eyes immediately dart for them. Yesterday, we were looking at the ceiling fan in our room and I was making the sign for fan (pointing finger going in a circle). I then asked her to show me the sign and she raised her hand and twisted her wrist. Our first sign!
Teeth are coming! The first one has broken thru and the one right next to it, isn't far behind.
With teeth comes food. We have worked up to a range of foods. She's eating mashed foods, feeding herself biscuits and cheerios. And most fortunately, taking bottles. We've been giving one 8 oz bottle just before bed and that seems to be making a difference to how much sleep we've gotten from her.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Ellie-isms
We've been working super hard to get back on track with Ellie. It feels that we lost a little magic when Eva joined the family. Adding another person seemed to jumble up things and we were left with a little person that wasn't sleeping as well and was defiant about a lot.
With the help of her preschool teachers and a lot of one on one, we're back! We still have an almost 4 year old that challenges boundaries but she's much happier, minds directions more and is sleeping better.
With this new found "grove", we've been enjoying many funny observations that come from her little mouth.
One day we had a duck pair tootling around our yard. We were trying to describe how they were different. The "boy duck" was the pretty one with the curly tail feather. And the "girl duck" was colored so she would blend in with her surroundings to protect the eggs.
Later, Ellie saw the ducks again. She said "Hey, there's the tricky one!". We were puzzled...the tricky one? Yes she insisted, "The one that likes to hide." :)
Another interesting thing Ellie is doing, is labeling things as beautiful and not beautiful. It's normally categorized as something with lots of colors versus something that only has one color. Recently, this came up in school when her group was asked to sort a pile of rocks and gemstones. Most kids sorted by size or color but Ellie applied her "beautiful lens" to the activity. She didn't even want to show the not beautiful ones (the rocks).
Ellie's also getting into words. They have been practicing writing names all school year and she's been getting better and better at writing her letters.
The other morning we passed by a schedule chart in the kitchen. She looked at it and said "There's the Quiet Time sign". I was astonished that she knew it said that. I asked her how she knew that it said Quiet Time. She looked at me like I was crazy and stated matter of frankly, "Because it says Qqquiet...Q-U-I-E-T." Got it.
With the help of her preschool teachers and a lot of one on one, we're back! We still have an almost 4 year old that challenges boundaries but she's much happier, minds directions more and is sleeping better.
With this new found "grove", we've been enjoying many funny observations that come from her little mouth.
One day we had a duck pair tootling around our yard. We were trying to describe how they were different. The "boy duck" was the pretty one with the curly tail feather. And the "girl duck" was colored so she would blend in with her surroundings to protect the eggs.
Later, Ellie saw the ducks again. She said "Hey, there's the tricky one!". We were puzzled...the tricky one? Yes she insisted, "The one that likes to hide." :)
Another interesting thing Ellie is doing, is labeling things as beautiful and not beautiful. It's normally categorized as something with lots of colors versus something that only has one color. Recently, this came up in school when her group was asked to sort a pile of rocks and gemstones. Most kids sorted by size or color but Ellie applied her "beautiful lens" to the activity. She didn't even want to show the not beautiful ones (the rocks).
Ellie's also getting into words. They have been practicing writing names all school year and she's been getting better and better at writing her letters.
The other morning we passed by a schedule chart in the kitchen. She looked at it and said "There's the Quiet Time sign". I was astonished that she knew it said that. I asked her how she knew that it said Quiet Time. She looked at me like I was crazy and stated matter of frankly, "Because it says Qqquiet...Q-U-I-E-T." Got it.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Mud bath anyone?
We did some trenching in the yard and the rain over the last couple days gave me the chance to backfill with minimal settling. Ellie decided to help out. . . Nuff said
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
One of those things I want to remember. .
Little Ellie has been tucking her hand under her face when she sleeps - too cute. They look so angelic when they sleep.
7 1/2 months
What a month-ish it's been...not our most elegant but blessed none the less.
There were some ups but many frustrating downs. Again, I believe sleep is behind much of our angst. We, inclusive of all family members, just need to get more of it. The good news is that we've been working hard on it, trying to work through each of the girls hangups and are making head way. This week, we have had successful nights which has led to happier days. So the plan is to keep the focus on and get more and more sleep.
Eva's quickly figured out rolling last month (like 2 or 3 days of practice). It was something the pediatrician encouraged last visit. He wasn't worried because she was sitting well but wanted to get the other motions going. Although I must say that hanging out on her stomach is still not preferred.
Most recently, she's been working on going from a seated position to hands and knees. She'll rock or reach on hands and knees and then go back to seated. So I'm guessing that crawling is not far off. I think once she has the muscle strength to carry her robust self, she'll be fully mobile.
We had a quick visit with the pediatrician this month for a vaccine. While there, we did a quick weigh in. She's growing at a pretty steady 1lb/month. This month she was just over 19lbs.
In other great news...Eva's closed tear duct finally opened. The week we were scheduled to meet with Dr's to consider a probing procedure to open the duct, all the eye goop we'd been living with cleared up. Funny how life works like that...even for babies :)
Playing in the rain
Got to enjoy some splashing in the puddles with grandma today. . . is there anything better than puddles???
Monday, May 26, 2014
Port Huron
We had a great long weekend at the Weitzel cottage this weekend. Highlights included watching an artist blow glass, the lighthouse boat and some time down town Lexington. Ellie and daddy took the kayak down the river. We even found time to pick "flowers " and make smores. Dandelions never looked so pretty.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Gemini Love
Ellie's preschool hosted a Gemini Concert yesterday. The group Gemini (twin brothers) started putting on concerts for kids when Braden and I were kids. So they have been doing it for a longggg time.
I've been wanting to take Ellie to see one of their performances so I was tickled when they were "coming to us".
They lived up to everything I've heard! They were excellent performers and everyone loved bopping along to their fun songs. What a special treat to have seen them in such a small venue (ohhh how my life has changed ;) )
I've been wanting to take Ellie to see one of their performances so I was tickled when they were "coming to us".
They lived up to everything I've heard! They were excellent performers and everyone loved bopping along to their fun songs. What a special treat to have seen them in such a small venue (ohhh how my life has changed ;) )
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Paci's be gone!
Ellie did it! (And so did we) It's been 3 weeks since Ellie's last pull on a pacifier. We knew that Ellie could manage without one (she did it all the time outside the home). We used the Utah trip as our week of withdrawal. We told her that pacifiers weren't allowed in Utah. The only side effect has been more than normal wakeups in the middle of the night. But it's a small price to pay to be past the pacifier usage.
We've celebrated with the purchase of a purple giraffe from the Salt Lake City zoo and providing unlimited amounts of gum to chew.
This ends our chapter with pacifiers. The last time we tried giving one to Eva, she literally spit it out and sent it flying across the room. I guess it's one of the bittersweet things of watching children grow. Pacifiers have been such a big thing for Ellie, and therefore us, and now it's just gone, over, finito.
Bye, bye pacifier.
We've celebrated with the purchase of a purple giraffe from the Salt Lake City zoo and providing unlimited amounts of gum to chew.
This ends our chapter with pacifiers. The last time we tried giving one to Eva, she literally spit it out and sent it flying across the room. I guess it's one of the bittersweet things of watching children grow. Pacifiers have been such a big thing for Ellie, and therefore us, and now it's just gone, over, finito.
Bye, bye pacifier.
Cactus Love...or not!
We're back from a week's visit to the great state of Utah. B's family has been skiing there for decades and his parents now have a home in Park City and his brother lives in Salt Lake City. So it's an amazing opportunity to spend time with family and also see a beautiful part of the country.
The week zoomed by and it was time to pack. Trying to get some wiggles out, B took Ellie behind the houses for a hike in the hills above. A game of hide and seek ensued. Ellie dashed behind some bushes and proceeded to sit down...on a cactus! Realizing the pain of the little prickers on her butt, she put her hands down to lift her body. Only to cover her hands in more prickers!!
It was a painful 2 hours for all of us. Poor Ellie cried in frustration as each little pricker had to be removed with tweezers (they were small, fiberglass like prickers that just so happened to blend with her skin hairs...super fun). She just kept saying "Bad Cactus!", "Mean Cactus!" because there was nothing else for her to do.
And we were left pinning her little body still so the prickers (trying to miss hair and skin) could be removed. I don't know who wanted to cry more.
Fortunately, we all survived and were treated to cookies and ice cream afterwards.
The best part was the picture Ellie drew that night. It depicts the hill they played on and the many cactus that live there. I bet she always looks where she sits from now on!
The week zoomed by and it was time to pack. Trying to get some wiggles out, B took Ellie behind the houses for a hike in the hills above. A game of hide and seek ensued. Ellie dashed behind some bushes and proceeded to sit down...on a cactus! Realizing the pain of the little prickers on her butt, she put her hands down to lift her body. Only to cover her hands in more prickers!!
It was a painful 2 hours for all of us. Poor Ellie cried in frustration as each little pricker had to be removed with tweezers (they were small, fiberglass like prickers that just so happened to blend with her skin hairs...super fun). She just kept saying "Bad Cactus!", "Mean Cactus!" because there was nothing else for her to do.
And we were left pinning her little body still so the prickers (trying to miss hair and skin) could be removed. I don't know who wanted to cry more.
Fortunately, we all survived and were treated to cookies and ice cream afterwards.
The best part was the picture Ellie drew that night. It depicts the hill they played on and the many cactus that live there. I bet she always looks where she sits from now on!
Eva's 6 months!
What what! We've made it to 6 months with our newest peanut. Little Eva's blossomed this month. She's sits, reaches, GRABS and has opinions about things. I love the daytime interactions now that we can "play". But nighttime is wearing me down. By this point, Ellie was weened and well into solids. With Eva, we've had to take solids slower due to an unfortunately timed stomach virus (she had the runs for weeks). So we're just gearing up to try them again. As for liquids, she's still 100% nursing. B and I talked this morning about starting sippy cups (and just skipping bottles all together). I hope the next month brings more sleep.
She's up to 18lbs, 27.25ins with a head circumference of 17.25ins. She's catching up to Ellie in size comparatively. Her height broke the 90th percentile this month. Weight and head are in the 80th percentiles.
Thanks to a very talented Aunt Amber Schiavone, we have amazing pictures to celebrate our milestone. It was special getting to see Uncle Cortny, Aunt Amber and especially cousin Sophia. There was instant love between the two of them!
She's up to 18lbs, 27.25ins with a head circumference of 17.25ins. She's catching up to Ellie in size comparatively. Her height broke the 90th percentile this month. Weight and head are in the 80th percentiles.
Thanks to a very talented Aunt Amber Schiavone, we have amazing pictures to celebrate our milestone. It was special getting to see Uncle Cortny, Aunt Amber and especially cousin Sophia. There was instant love between the two of them!
Cousin Sophia makes an appearance!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Friday, April 25, 2014
Exec Management Training
Sometimes we feel Ellie is figuring out the world far faster than we can keep pace with. This morning B and her were talking and he offered a solution to a problem. Her response "That's a good idea. But I'm looking for a better one."
Seriously...is that preschool teaching reading, writing, and executive management skills or what?
Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G
Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
5 Months Down, 7 Months to Go
Little Eva turns 5 months this week. Last week was the week the switch flipped and she started interacting with the world. She started smiling to solicit connection and reaction from people. She started to grab for all and anything new and interesting. She started grabbing her little feet and toes and rocking back and forth in the happy baby yoga pose. We started rice cereal. She started laughing and being ticklish. It was a big week.
With all this new awareness, comes great parenting rewards. I love going to get her from a nap or in the morning because her whole little body shivers with excitement. When I talk to her, she really focuses and I feel like we're starting to connect in more than just a baby and nursing mother kind of way. I see her starting to reach out to connect with others (literally...she'll swing her little arm towards someones face to touch their cheek or grab their nose).
On the down side, sleep has been challenging recently. She continues to wake and immediately fall back asleep once fed or comforted so that's not the problem. It's the frequency of times she's waking at night. We were down to twice a night but the number started to creep back up to 4-ish times. And unlike my sleeping baby, it takes me longer to turn my adult brain off and head back to sleep.
This stage is so frustrating for these issues. Is it the lack of schedule we just haven't been able to keep recently? Is it that she's ready for more food and that she's just not getting enough from nursing? Is it teething pains? Is it all these new skills and awareness of the world? Sigh. I'll just never know and just have to find a way to get thru the phase. (While remembering to "enjoy" it because it goes fast...as I'm frequently reminded)
As for Ellie, she's 3 1/2 this month. Half way thru the "crazy" year. We feel like we live with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Her emotional roller coasters were really tough at first. But with much counseling and coaching from family, friends and teachers, we've learned to embrace the craziness and just to have fun. Because when Ellie is happy, there is nothing better.
With all this new awareness, comes great parenting rewards. I love going to get her from a nap or in the morning because her whole little body shivers with excitement. When I talk to her, she really focuses and I feel like we're starting to connect in more than just a baby and nursing mother kind of way. I see her starting to reach out to connect with others (literally...she'll swing her little arm towards someones face to touch their cheek or grab their nose).
On the down side, sleep has been challenging recently. She continues to wake and immediately fall back asleep once fed or comforted so that's not the problem. It's the frequency of times she's waking at night. We were down to twice a night but the number started to creep back up to 4-ish times. And unlike my sleeping baby, it takes me longer to turn my adult brain off and head back to sleep.
This stage is so frustrating for these issues. Is it the lack of schedule we just haven't been able to keep recently? Is it that she's ready for more food and that she's just not getting enough from nursing? Is it teething pains? Is it all these new skills and awareness of the world? Sigh. I'll just never know and just have to find a way to get thru the phase. (While remembering to "enjoy" it because it goes fast...as I'm frequently reminded)
As for Ellie, she's 3 1/2 this month. Half way thru the "crazy" year. We feel like we live with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Her emotional roller coasters were really tough at first. But with much counseling and coaching from family, friends and teachers, we've learned to embrace the craziness and just to have fun. Because when Ellie is happy, there is nothing better.
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