Photos and Video.

Enough words!


Here we are doing some more talking and smiling.

Here she is hanging out with her Grams and her Great Lisa. They are explaining the mysteries of the universe to her.

Here she is playing So Big Baby, So Little Baby with daddy. Sometimes when she's crying, it's the only way to quiet her. It doesn't work for long though, but it's fun for both parties. Also, BONUS CAT BUTT.

This is her new playmat, which she loves. It has all sorts of hanging down things for her to play with. The other day when she was in it, fussing and farting, Tim narrated her side of what I consider to be a pretty hilarious conversation. It went "will you help me, crinkly elephant? Will you help me, Mr. Bug Man? Won't any of you help me?"

My little Cindy Lou Who.

From knitting today - she was having a very good time smiling at her Granny Jannie. Until she wasn't. Then she cried some more!

Post-Holiday.

Tim and I have spent the past two days being unbelievably lazy. After all of the hecticness of navigating the holidays with a newborn, it makes our couch feel like the place to be. On the 26th, he didn't shower until 4pm, and I didn't shower until 8. And then I just put on clean pajamas and called it a day.

Yesterday he left the house to run a few errands, but the only time I left was when we took Ellie for a walk around 4:30 (yes, I wore my pajamas out of the house. But we all know that the difference between pj pants and yoga pants is a slippery slope.)

Tim's got the whole week off, which is nice. Elizabeth has apparently gone on some strike against daytime naps. She'll be up for two hours, be obviously tired and fussy, but then will only sleep for 20-30 minutes. We've been trying to figure out what her new trick is. The bouncer is not the miracle answer we hoped it would be. I fed her and laid her down in her bassinet in her quiet room, totally asleep. I got a chance to wash my hands, and then I could hear her screaming and wide awake, so it doesn't seem like quiet, dim room is the naptime answer. The swing seems to still be our best bet - I just wish she'd sleep longer. For her sake and mine. It may also be a growth spurt, so we just have to deal. The good news is that she's sleeping 7-8 hours EVERY NIGHT, and that gives us the break we need.

Since Tim is home and we can nap during the day, we are working to transition her to being alone in her room at night, versus having one of us in there with her. It's been pretty successful the last two nights, which is a really nice change. I just keep looking forward to the day when we can lay her down in her own crib, drowsy, and have her nod off on her own. The good news is that her fuss period has gone from two hours to about a half hour, so Tim is not spending as much time trying to get her to sleep.

And I just keep reminding myself, colicky babies grow out of it. Every day is a day closer to her being not colicky anymore.

The good news is that she can be SUCH a fun baby. She's so alert and cute, and always smiles at us in the morning. Yesterday we set up her playmat because she's been enjoying laying on her blanket and being talked to. The playmat has all sorts of bright colors, and some animal friends and dangly toys. We set it up and put her in it and her eyes got SO big. We totally blew her mind. So she'll hang out there and kick and stretch and we talk to her about her toys and what she's seeing. And then I get in her face and watch her smile, and then I kiss her cheeks off!

Parenting Differences.

The scene: Ellie is laying on her playmat cooing. Tim is shaking a yarn block at her so that the rattle inside makes noise.

Me: When I show her things, I like to talk about what she's seeing.
Tim: Do you see this Ellie? It's a cube! It's a six sided polyhedral. All of the sides are of equal size. Do you know how to calculate the volume of a cube?
Me: Umm... I usually do things like tell her that it's pink, and that it's soft. And then I let her feel how soft it is, but whatever works for you.

Packer Backer

Ellie's officially outgrown her lucky Packers dress. We tried to put it on her today and if we snapped the crotch of the onesie, her collar was pulled halfway down her chest. So we had to put her in a secondary Packers outfit - one of her short sleeved onesies.

But since we didn't want her to get cold, she also wore her little sweater with hearts on it. She loves sports, but also, being a pretty little girl.

Last but not Least.

...There is no picture of Ellie in her final Christmas dress. Because she peed on it before I could get some good pictures. That little fart. Thankfully, she did not pee all over her Grandma's carpet.

She was such a good girl over these past few days, thanks to the Baby Bjorn bouncer and lots of cuddling with all of her loved ones. It was really wonderful to spend her first Christmas with everyone - her grandparents and her aunt and uncle have spoiled her (and us) absolutely rotten. It's been an amazing couple of days.

Here we are at Christmas Eve. Please note that the dress she is wearing is her first piece of vintage clothing - the dress was originally worn by me in 1981. I wanted to get her a little white onesie with a Peter Pan collar to wear underneath but couldn't find one. In the end, I think the sparkly gold turtleneck is actually even better for the former Baby Sequins.

Ellie with some of her favorite girls, including her Auntie Sara and her "Great" Lisa.

"Hey Gramps, how's about you give me some of that wine you've got on the end table?"

Santa Baby with everyone on Christmas morning. We had delicious croque madames e messieurs and celebrated Baby's First Christmas as one big loud family.

Here we are, talking about accessories. So, Ellie's Christmas dress from her Grandma had very beautiful smocking around the collar. Unfortunately, Ellie's neck was too fat for me to button the top button at the throat. I left it open, and taught her that wearing great accessories can always make you feel better about your weight. Here she is with her charm bracelet from her friend Kathi, and her silver cuff from Grannie Jannie and Tia Tillie. I thought she looked great! And of course, because I am the mom and her boss, I let her wear some of her jewelry, but then I put on just enough to out sparkle her.

Christmas Smiles

Caught on tape!

Baby's First Christmas (party)

We went out to Yorba Linda last night to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. It was also Ellie's big debut with the Parmenters and the Smithsons, who kept asking me if she was always that fussy at night. Um... actually, she's being GOOD for her. Such is my life! Tim and I are mostly used to it by now, and it helps that she came home and slept for nine hours.

Of course, my kid, who screams basically nonstop in the evening hours, slept like an angels in Santa's arms. I had really been hoping to get a funny "screaming at Santa" picture.

Dear Santa, we would like our baby to outgrow her fussiness.

Ford, party of six!

Swaddling.

Okay cat, I get it. I'll turn up the heat.

A new holiday medley.

In the past twelve hours, my baby gave to me:
...six outfit changes
...two poopy diaper blowouts
...three big spit ups
...one barf in the bath
...one barf down my back
...two exhausted parents

AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!

Responsible Parenting.

Look, get off my back. Sure, I took my infant daughter out to run errands in a cold California monsoon, but I PUT A HAT ON HER. (a too big hat that was covering one eye when we got to Trader Joes, but that makes it all the warmer.)

I would like to also note that I tucked a blanket around those little piddies.

Now she's snoozing in her swing. I caught her with the blanket pulled partially over her face, which is a baby no-no. But it sort of made me laugh, because that's how I sleep. Like mother, like daughter.

ACTUALLY two months old!

At 10:30 tonight it'll be official - Elizabeth has been an outside baby for two whole months! We spent today with her Ford family, meeting a whole bunch of new aunts, uncles and cousins. And she still has so many new family members to meet! It's hard to be popular. Then we mooched some dinner off of Grams and Gramps and she fussed a bunch, as is her wont.

We've managed to get all of the presents bought and wrapped and now it's just about gearing up for the big holiday. I can't believe baby's first Christmas is here already!

Today's holiday outfit says "Snow Angel," which as mom pointed out, means she can wear it even after Christmas!

Just Kidding.

Hi, I am an idiot. Since today is the 18th, Ellie is not two months old. Not until tomorrow. Blogging would be easier if I knew what day it was.

Instead, here is a picture of her in yet another Christmas outfit. Note: pants on babies are impossible. Socks are also difficult. Thank goodness for slug costumes.

The shirt says "Team Santa."

Shot of the cats, working together to plot my demise. Just kidding. They are trying to figure out how to eat the baby and thereby get more pets.

Dos!

Guess who's two months old today?

Oh, that's right. The same little girl who slept EIGHT HOURS last night. Tim said she fell asleep a little after 11. He and I both woke up at 6am wondering what was going on. And then we decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and went back to sleep. She kept snoozing until 7:30!

And this is why her evening fussiness doesn't make me as crazy as it once did. Because I know once she's asleep, she's asleep. It's much easier than those first few weeks when we'd fight to get her to bed and then an hour and a half later, she'd be awake and hungry. I do wish she was better at nodding off when we go over for dinner at mom and dad's. She gets so overstimulated and exhausted that by 8pm we're taking her home screaming. If only she could fall asleep for an hour, she'd be much happier. But it'll come, I'm sure. We're hoping to transition her into her crib and out of her swing in the next few weeks.

She's been very fun this past month. When she's well rested she is SO SMILEY. She also will smile and turn her head, trying to be sweet and coy. She loves being on her changing table and will happily coo and kick her legs and talk to me, even if she's hungry at the time. She hates being cradled when she's awake and much prefers to be looking over your shoulder at the world around her, holding her own head up. She does however, HATE tummy time. She gets the hiccups a couple of times a day still. We do a lot of singing (head shoulders knees and toes is still a favorite) and read together.

Here's a couple of pictures from the last few days, freshly uploaded! (note: I take a lot of pictures every day, hence all of her in the same outfit. I do change her clothes on a daily basis! DON'T JUDGE ME!)

My girls having a cute-off!

Sleeping on my chest, post-fart.

"Hey Auntie Sara, I'm real sorry about peeing on you."

"Yes, I definitely think we should change Grams' background picture to be me instead of Petunia!"

I call this her Liberace outfit. It's very ruffled. Also, velour and snuggly. This photo also highlights her giant Sputnik head.

Gassy-Goo

I never thought my life would revolve around whether or not my baby had the farts, but somehow it does. Yesterday Ellie was a regular natural gas refinery and I'd get her fed, put to sleep and then a half hour later, she'd wake up crying. I'd give her a minute to see if she was going to go back to sleep but then had to get her when she started really hollering. It seemed like within seconds of picking her up she'd either burp in my face or fart on me. And then she'd be awake for another hour or so. We never should have nicknamed her Beanie!

She was pretty tired and stressed by bedtime, the poor little tooter. Today has been much better - she took a fat nap after breakfast (I was able to shower, brush my teeth AND put on makeup in one fell swoop) and then after mommy class she ate and knocked back out. The nurse at mommy class said it's just part of growing up and growing into a regular human being, and it's very unlikely to be something in my diet. So, more beer and cheese for me. .,p[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[;;;;;;;;['

That last part is Thor, stomping the keyboard. He is such a love. The cats have figured out that if I go into the bathroom I am usually by myself and have my hands free, and they race in to get some pets while they can. They are both pretty good with the baby. Today Lu was trying to get up on the boppy again while I was nursing, and when I told her that she needed to give me a minute, she started grooming Elizabeth's hair instead. Thanks Lu, but I can bathe my own kitten (sadly, right before bath time yesterday Elizabeth peed all over Auntie Sara. It's a good thing Auntie Sara loves her!)

How could you not love this face?

Growing Up.

The past two nights Elizabeth has fallen asleep between 10 and 11 and slept until FIVE AM. Straight through, no eating, no fussing. And then she'll eat and go straight back to sleep for another hour or two. It is unbelievable. I mean, she's always been a pretty good sleeper at night (usually doing a 4-5 hour stretch, which for a baby of her age is "sleeping through the night") but this is extraordinary, and waking up at 5 is so much nicer than feeling like my day basically starts at 3am. I can only imagine that we are finishing a growth spurt, and hence she is catching up on her z's. It also makes the incredible fussiness and non-stop desire to eat of the past week or so seem more sensible. Such a tricky baby!

Even better than that is the fact that she has been a more sociable little human being during her evening hours the past few nights. We've had friends and family over for dinner and unlike normal, when she basically screams from 5-10pm (unless she is actively eating, or by some miracle has fallen asleep for a few minutes) she's been mostly happy and content to be in people's arms. I mean, you have to keep walking with her and bouncing her, but at least she's not screaming at the top of her lungs as though she's been murdered. It's such a relief, and she's so much more fun to be around. As Tim said last night, we're actually getting to see her smile at night. And oh, those smiles are so cute. This morning, in between meals, she smiled at me and cooed for a solid 45 minutes. I thought my heart was going to explode. She's 8 weeks old now, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that she's growing up and pulling out of her fussiness, as her little digestive and nervous systems start getting used to being out in the big bad world. I know it's probably only temporary, and within days she'll hit another growth spurt and be back to acting like a miserable little cuss, but until then, I will just soak up all of the smiles and of course, the sleep.

Today is Auntie Becca's last day. We are spending it watching musicals! Yesterday she made a ton of easy to freeze entrees for Tim and I to use in the weeks to come. Yes, she is an absolutely amazing friend. I am going to be bereft when I have to drop her at the airport tonight. She also made a baked ziti and so mom, dad and Sara came over after horseback riding to join us. Ellie actually sat on Grams' knee for most of dinner, just staring at us and longingly wishing that she could eat solid food.

Here are my three favorite girls in the kitchen. Ellie was giving us QUITE the spiel, waving her little hands around and chatting. I think she was trying to sell us some real estate.

She is also working on focusing her little eyeballs and making eye contact. Which sometimes leads to cross eyes. It's sort of hilarious looking (Becca said she looks like a cartoon character trying to focus on a fly that landed on the end of her nose) but also weirds me out. She's a funny little one.

Sibling Rivalry.

Quite the Spread.

I don't think I will be letting Becca go back to Chicago. No indeed. She has been such a great help around here - between the baby holding, the dinner making and the dirty joke telling. We are having a blast. She made a great spread for Tim's birthday. OBSERVE!


Here is my single contribution to the meal - I baked Tim a pie.


Eileen brought poppers, so we were all beautifully adored with our paper crowns, playing with the toys included. Tim and Jake got matching hats. They love matching!


So, I guess Tim had a happy birthday.

Yesterday us girls watched movies all day, enjoying Cabaret and Steel Magnolias. Today, more relaxing and cooking. This is the life!

Happy Birthday, and Outfit #3!

You may have noticed Christmas outfit #2 yesterday, which read "who needs Santa when I have Grandma?" It was well loved. Until Ellie peed all over it. She was then changed into holiday outfit #3 - her Santa Baby onesie.

She has enjoyed wearing it today while being cute and also, while getting some decent sleep. Good girl, Elizabeth.

Today is also her daddy's 31st birthday. Funny to think that last year our house was packed with people for our housewarming. Today, all of the grandparents have come by, and Auntie Becca has been rocking out in the kitchen, preparing tapas for dinner. I also made a pecan pie for dessert.

Happy Birthday, Ellie's daddy. Your girls love you so, so much.

Decking the Halls.

We successfully picked Auntie Becca up at the airport yesterday, and then did lunch and some shopping at the Spectrum. Ellie made it until almost the end of our trip through Target. She had an unusually fussy day yesterday, but there were a lot of extra hands around so it made me a little less nutty. If only eating wasn't her favorite consolation (and I still lack the time or energy to pump, so it's not like anyone else can feed her.)

We had dinner at Grams and Gramps and she actually was smiling and friendly for awhile, but by 8:30 it was back to the couch. Tim went to the Blizzard Christmas party for a couple of hours but was home in time to help tuck in his little girl (ie lay with her as she sucks on his finger and fusses herself to sleep.)

Today Tim went and purchased us a Christmas tree. I had mixed feelings about putting one up - a week ago I felt totally overwhelmed by the idea of decorating for Christmas, but I knew I wanted to do something because after all, it is Baby's First Christmas. But this morning when I went to the garage and found my neatly organized holiday boxes, I knew we definitely needed a tree. With Becca's help (and with the baby napping) we were able to get it all up and lit and decorated, and I am happy we did so. I also found Tim and I's Christmas stockings without too much trouble, so all of our handmade stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Please to observe:
Here's Ellie, sleeping during decorating time. So, we made her a safety hazard.

Then she woke up, so we decided it was time to torture her. I found this hat in the dollar bin at Target. SCORE. It also means she doesn't have to wear the hat/beard combo that was used last year by the cats.

So, once she was awake, we decided to hang her by the chimney with care. She fits quite well into her daddy's enormous stocking.

Lastly, her baby's first Christmas ornament today. I purchased it because it looks a lot like mine (the one above.) I look forward to not letting her touch it for the next 10-20 years.

Numbah Two.

That's how many outfits Ellie has pooped through today. I need to get more Shout.

My best friend and Ellie's Auntie Becca arrives tomorrow from Chicago, for five days of baby loving and movie musical viewing. HOORAY! I can't wait to see her, and I know she can't wait to meet Elizabeth.

Other than that, just hanging out today, waiting on the installation of our new hot water heater. BOO broken things!

Christmas Outfit #1

Elizabeth has, at last count, six different Christmas outfits. Yes, six. None of them purchased by me, for reference (okay, I did buy her a little turtleneck thing to wear underneath my first Christmas dress, which I am lending her.) She can't help being the most fabulous little lady!

She wore her first holiday-themed outfit today to mom's Gardening Angels holiday party. And after two days of being a miserable little fuss, she was a complete darling at the party. One might even say that she was an angel! She was bright eyed and bushy tailed when we arrived, saying hi to all of the ladies, and then she fell asleep for Janet and woke up to smile at Tia Tillie when she got hungry. Then she napped on Jill for awhile as the party was winding down, and now she's sleeping in her swing while Tim and I have dinner. It's so nice to have her nap a little in the evenings. For the first time in probably two weeks we have time at night where neither of us are holding a screaming or nursing child.

Here she is in her fancy footies! The outfit did come with a matching hat, but I thought the headband was a fun choice, to show off how great her hair is.

She Shan't Be Tipping her Hairdresser

Little Fuss almost slept through the night. But Tim woke us all up at 4am so she could eat. He was worried about her, you see. Even though she eats every hour or so during the day lately (and by day, I mean from 5am to 9pm.) Perhaps tonight will be the night though? The thing is, even if she sleeps until 4, it takes until 7 to get her fully fed, burped, de-hiccuped, changed, fed again, re-wrapped and snuggled in for a real sleep. Sure, she might nod off for a little while in there, but by the time I get back in bed, relax and fall asleep, I've got about 30 minutes before she cries again. Thankfully this morning we took a living room nap from 7-9:30. It was my saving grace.

We also walked a couple of miles tonight after coming back from a visit to mom and dad's to drop Sara off. I must admit, pushing the stroller very fast helped me blow off some steam. I love Ellie to death, but I wish she would cut me a little slack and work on being a less difficult baby. I am just hoping for her to grow out of her gassiness and fussiness as soon as possible. And in the meanwhile, I will cherish every moment when she's awake and NOT crying. She does have the cutest little smile!

Kick 'em in the right knee!

Kick 'em in the left knee...

Okay, maybe I won't finish that chant.

Check out Green Bay's little good luck charm. They win every time she's wearing her Packers dress (they lost last weekend because I didn't change her into it in time. Sorry!) I guess we can only hope that she can fit in it through to the Superbowl. But judging by those hunkachunk thighs, it does not look promising.

She had a very busy (read: totally overstimulating) afternoon yesterday with lots of fun company. Then a rough night (despite Tim and I's hopes that she would snooze it up big time.) This morning she actually had bags under her eyes - she's my daughter I guess. But she's napping in her swing right now, and I'm hoping that she'll sleep well during Love and Other Drugs, which I am off to see at the Mommy Movie (even though it's not really just for mommies. But I care not!)

Busy Girls!

Sorry to deprive you of your daily baby pictures - we've been busy! Elizabeth's best nap of the day seems to be from about 1-5ish, and I've been taking that as my opportunity to get the hell out of Dodge and explore the larger world, rather than hanging out on my couch (or even going to take a nap. Plus we all know that if I said I was going to stay home for an afternoon and nap, she'd wake up and fuss for three hours.)

Thursday Mom and I took her to the Rack, where she was exclaimed over by a half dozen women, and where we bought her yet another Christmas outfit (in a size that will FIT her, unlike the 6 month outfit that mom originally picked up. Funny - the second she put it down, another grandma SNATCHED it up.) Friday we went to the mall so I could buy some non-maternity jeans. And yesterday we had quite the adventures! First we went out to Yorba Linda for a Grandma shower hosted by Eileen's lovely friends. Elizabeth enjoyed getting shown off and cuddled by all of the ladies. Then Pari and James were hosting their housewarming party/UCLA-USC game party at their new house in Redlands, which is quite the drive. I worried that we were being idiots for even risking it, especially considering that by 6pm, Ellie has begun her cluster feeding fuss hour, but you know, I want to introduce her to my friends and we've got to do it sometime, so packed up and headed out.

Ellie was surprisingly good! She very much enjoyed seeing everyone, she let both Tim and I get a chance to eat, and then at 7ish she hit the wall and we headed home. But it was GREAT to introduce her to Pari and James - Pari and I were marveling at the fact that we met at 18, and now here I am with a tiny baby. She's not that tiny anymore though! We put her in her coming home outfit yesterday (because Pari picked it out for her) and she probably only has one more wear before she's too big for it. And that's only if I make her wear it again in the next few days (which, considering the whole new wardrobe she got from the Grandma shower does not seem likely.)

Thankfully, Ellie slept the whole way home, which amazed me. I'd brought a bottle of milk, expecting that she was going to wail for 90 solid minutes, but she was asleep once we hit the freeway, and didn't wake up until we brought her into the house at 8pm. That was a relief.

Sadly though, the Bruins lost. Perhaps even sadder - Tim and I were both asleep by the time the game was over. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Enough yakking, here is my cutie friend.
No, let me tell YOU about quantum physics.

Eyelashes McGee, napping at the mall.

Smiling at her daddy during a rousing version of Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, which she consistently enjoys. It's so interesting to see her growing a little personality and responding to things other than eating.

Here she is, outgrowing her clothes!

For reference, it used to fit like this:

Six Week Checkup

In my insanity, I booked both Ellie and I's checkups for the same day. With mine at 8am. Obviously, six weeks ago I did not understand how hard it was going to be for me to get out of the house, showered and clean with the baby fed, clean and happy. Of course, Ellie helped me a lot. I set my alarm for 6am, and he made sure that I didn't over sleep by waking up at 5 with a big poopy diaper and a lot of farting. Always keeping me on my toes!

My appointment took exactly 3 minutes. The doctor complimented me on my baby, asked how I was doing, looked at my incision and sent me on my way. I spent way more time showing my darling daughter off to Freddie the nurse and Carrie the ultrasound tech, who I got more face time with during my pregnancy anyways! Then Ellie was a good, quiet and sleepy baby when I went down to the lab to get blood drawn for my endocrinologist (I told her not to look when they stuck me. I never look!)

Her pediatrician appointment went great. At six weeks, she weighs 10 pounds, 11.5 ounces and is 22 inches long, with a head 38 centimeters in diameter. She's in the 75% percentile for everything and totally healthy and darling. I talked to the doctor about her gassiness (normal!) and her fuss hour (normal, colic) and about the fact that sometimes she shots milk out her nose (normal - not going to damage her ability to breathe in the long run.) Then she got a shot, poor darling.

But I made it up to her by taking her to knitting, where she was adored by all of the ladies, and taking her by her gramps' house, where she was adored by gramps.