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!