Saturday, April 12, 2008

Are you looking at me?

Ellie is mastering her face movements with many different expressions. She thinks it’s funny to stick her milk stained tongue out all the time. She can even have it out while smiling (try that if you dare). Victoria and I have recognized two 2 different sounds that she repeats from playtime to playtime. I wonder what she is trying to tell us.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Dummy or not to Dummy

We have been giving Ellie a Dummy (pacifier) when we put her down to sleep. This seems to soothe her and gets her to sleep. Up to a week ago, she would cry because it would fall out when she was almost asleep and we would have to help her put it back in. Now, she is playing us with it. If she decides it’s not time for sleep, she will suck on it until we leave the room. Then she pushes it out with her tongue and starts to cry. That will get one of us suckers to go back in her room and give it back to her. This will go on a few times until either we stop playing or she gets bored and falls asleep, usually the latter.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Aunt Dianna’s visit

Aunt Dianna flew out to New Zealand to visit us and to meet Ellie for the first time. Dianna and Ellie both were so excited to see each other, there were big smiles all around. Ellie learned very quickly that the only reason her Aunt came was to give her attention. It is a good thing that Ellie is hard to resist and Dianna being a softy caved in with little effort. Ellie received plenty of cuddles and floor time from her aunt who was surprised at her strength and concentration. Victoria, Dianna, and Ellie had a full schedule of places to go around town, coffee to order, the beach, and shopping. Ellie loves her Aunt.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Tummy Time

I placed Ellie on her tummy today and she held her head high. Photo opportunity came to mind. I quickly placed her on her back and grabbed the camera. I am set and the camera is ready. What I didn’t know was Ellie had a different idea. For the next 8 times, I placed her on the floor and grabbed the camera. During those brief seconds she rolled from tummy to back with a huge grin. Finally Victoria saved the day and put Ellie on the floor. This time she didn’t roll over right away and I was able to take the picture. It’s good to have Mum around.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

American Citizen

Ellie had a big day today. Victoria, Ellie, and I went to the US Consulate today for her Citizenship appointment. We went right up to the window and passed the paperwork in, noting that we were a few minutes early for our appointment. As the three of us waited, and waited, and waited, it dawned on both Victoria and I that this was much like the DVM but with much more security. Ellie was the smart one in the bunch, as she slept through most of the wait. Finally they called our name and after a little formality Ellie was a US citizen! She didn’t seem to care much and was happy to get her prize, milk, after another few minutes. She will have her US passport in about one week. We did find out that there is no problem with her having dual citizenship.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Growing

Ellie is going from newborn to baby much faster than I thought. She now weighs 9lbs 13oz and is 23 inches long. She grew 1 inch over the last two weeks. I would be wondering what Victoria fed her, if I didn’t see it firsthand. Milk does do the body good. She is too long but to thin for her 3 months clothes.

When changing or feeding her in the middle of the night we try not to interact with her too much. The overnight goal is to feed than back to bed with no playtime or fussing. She has learned this and will try everything to get a reaction from Victoria and I. Smiling, funny faces, kicking her legs, waving her arms, and very cute baby sounds are near impossible to resist.

Monday, March 24, 2008

What happened to my hair?

It was bath time at Ellie’s house tonight. We have been keeping this hair under wraps, but thought it was time to show the world. I think Victoria and I need to get out more.

I had a lapse of judgment when giving her the bath tonight. Baths are to calm the baby down and tonight we filled the bath up with more water so she could float. She was propelling herself backwards with her legs and I started to play “Jet Boat”. It was very quickly pointed out to me, that “Jet Boat” is not relaxing. I will have to save that for another time.