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Ellerie's first movie
March 30, 2008
It occurred to me that although there is certainly no shortage of still pictures of Ellerie, we have no video! You really haven't missed much... up to this point it was a lot of sleeping and bodily fluids coming out all ends. She still doesn't have a very extensive skill set, but here she is smiling and "talking" a bit before getting tired of being the movie star.
Posted by Kimberly at 7:19 PM | Comments (1)
Where did the baby go?
March 29, 2008
Ellerie just finished up another growth spurt and is onto 3-6 month clothing and sitting up in her bumbo. Wasn't she just born yesterday? She also had to jump up to size 2 diapers already. It's really quite frightening how fast she's growing. We went to the park today and while we watched big sister climb and swing, Ellerie spent a good half hour doing some tummy time. She usually hates it with a passion, but I think being outside is the key. She loves the park, and since the weather is so nice lately we're taking advantage of being out as often as we can.
Posted by Kimberly at 2:22 PM | Comments (3)
Hide & Seek
March 27, 2008
Mia learned how to play hide & seek tonight. We started in the living room and Robert went to hide in the tatami room closet. Mia counted to 10 then having heard some noises from the tatami room ran in there first. She stood at the doorway and said, "Nope, Daddy's not in the tommy room!" She wandered around in a circle for a few minutes asking, "Where could Daddy be?" Not opening closets or looking behind anything mind you. If he hadn't hidden in plain sight then she wasn't going to find him. I decided to give her a little help and I asked if she had looked under the table or checked the closet. She first got down on the ground and looked under the table and declared that he wasn't there. So she finally opened the closet door and was quite excited to find Daddy! Next, it was her turn to hide. While we were all still standing in the tatami room, before even starting to count Mia dove under the nearest table, about 3 inches from our feet. Robert still pretended he didn't see her and proceeded to count to 10 and go searching for her. After counting, he started his search by asking, "Hmm, where could Mia be?" Mia yells, "I'M RIGHT HERE DADDY!" Then laughs hysterically while climbing out from under the table. The next time it was her turn to search she did a little better about looking IN things although with zero spatial awareness. She opened a drawer in the kitchen, looked under the couch, peeked around behind the TV... all spaces clearly too small for a grown man to fit. The rest of her turns to hide were pretty similar in that she quickly dove under the nearest table then announced her hiding place as soon as anyone started to look for her. The last time Robert hid too well for her. She was actually getting pretty good at searching, she went looking under beds, in closets, behind curtain-- all perfectly legitimate hiding places. But she couldn't find him. She looked for a good 20 minutes before deciding that she "could never find [her] Daddy" and getting distracted by some hair barrettes. She ran off to play with them and when I asked her if she was going to finish the game she said, "No, Daddy is lost." Oh well, maybe she can find him tomorrow!
Posted by Kimberly at 9:45 PM | Comments (0)
Practice makes perfect
March 23, 2008
Sharpening the photography skills... portraits of the girls:
Posted by Kimberly at 9:40 PM | Comments (0)
Six weeks
March 20, 2008
Today she weighed in at 11 pounds 6 ounces. Looks like she's following big sister's growth curve!
Posted by Kimberly at 7:38 PM | Comments (0)
Family of Four
March 18, 2008
Next time we're hiring a photographer. Who had the bright idea that we could set up our camera on timer to take a family photo? Let me tell you that this is not the most successful plan when said photo includes a two year old and a baby. Who am I kidding? Neither of us were looking at the camera for half the shots either! So with the possible exception of Ellerie, no one is all that thrilled with how this one came out. But to appease those of you begging me for an updated family photo, here you go. Personally, I'm going to save the frame for a better one.
Incidentally, there's a story behind the dresses the girls are wearing. Shortly after Ellerie was born I ran across a dress in Mia's size that came with a matching doll dress. It looked like it would fit Ellerie perfectly and I thought it would be cute to dress them alike for Easter. However, as the child seemed to double her size daily and with Easter still over a week away, we thought it was a now or never situation to get Ellerie in her dress. As it turns out, we were right. It was barely long enough to cover her diaper and completely unfastened in the back. She looked like she was about to burst out at the seams. I thought I was going to have to get the scissors out to get her out of the thing! So as of now, Mia has a brand new doll dress.
Posted by Kimberly at 9:57 AM | Comments (1)
We CAN be taught
March 16, 2008
...by a 5 week old. Slowly but surely we're getting clued in. This week we learned that she loves her blanket and can't sleep without it. After watching her toss and turn for an hour trying to settle and stay asleep, I got the bright idea to go get her blanket. It was a warm night so I had thought she didn't need it. I don't think she did need it for the warmth, but maybe there's a security factor involved as well. I have been alternating between two heavier weight receiving blankets her whole life and she doesn't seem to have a preference between them. But more than once she has fallen asleep quickly as soon as she had her blanket!
The other lesson involves bath time. I mentioned before that Ellerie is NOT a fan of the bath. It seems to be so torturous for her that I avoid them until she starts smelling like rotting milk... Not a pretty sight. Finally, I got out the water sling and took her into the shower with me. The child DID NOT MAKE A PEEP! In fact, during a hair rinsing I could swear I detected a smile! It's a little cumbersome trying to get her dried off and wrapped up so that she doesn't start shivering AND into a diaper as quickly as possible while I'm also trying to keep a towel around myself. But the difference in her reaction makes it well worth the hassle. We may just be able to have a clean child AND our eardrums still intact.
Posted by Kimberly at 9:23 AM | Comments (0)
Hunting Easter Eggs
March 15, 2008
We went to an easter egg hunt this morning and this year Mia is old enough to really enjoy it. She sort of half-heartedly picked some up last year, but she definitely found her groove this year! She even managed to make her way through the swarm of older kids and apparently pretty competitive parents to collect some treat filled eggs. Unfortunately, she's still easter bunny phobic and after waiting in line for a picture with him she ran the other direction. Maybe next year...
Posted by Kimberly at 4:49 PM | Comments (0)
She can play!
March 14, 2008
I have a couple soft toys hanging from Ellerie's car seat to keep her occupied if she happens to be awake in the car. Yes, I know the perils of these toys and I'm OK with the risk! They attach via magnet and don't take a whole lot of effort to pull them off. For the last couple days, when I went to get Ellerie out, I've found one of them pulled off the handle and clutched in her tiny hand. The first time I thought it was just an accident, but after a few more times I realized she was purposely grabbing at things so I figured it was time to dust off the play gym. Lots of colorful hanging things to bat at and grab. She's having a great time with her new activity!
Posted by Kimberly at 8:58 AM | Comments (1)
Our Easter House
March 12, 2008
We decorated a cookie house for Easter this year. Mia didn't know you could have so much fun playing with your food! Surprisingly, she only snuck a few bites of candies in... but quite a bit of frosting! Once she learned that frosting was sticky, she started gluing the jelly beans onto the house. Except they kept falling off so she decided to just glue them to the paper on the table. They stay MUCH better that way. I'm not sure she understands that you can eat it yet. Maybe we'll make that discovery after dinner...
Posted by Kimberly at 5:46 PM | Comments (0)
Little Mommy
March 9, 2008
Mia loves to help take care of Ellerie. She wants to cover her up, help change her diaper, and is quick to suggest ways to calm her if she cries. "Maybe Baby Ellerie has a tummy ache. Maybe she has to burp!"
I always grab the boppy pillow when it's time for a feeding and Mia just happens to have a pillow that looks like a miniature version. "Mommy, you use your big boppy to feed Ellerie and Mia will use her little boppy to feed dolly!" Good idea, Mia!
Posted by Kimberly at 2:48 PM | Comments (0)
Austina Powers?
March 7, 2008
Because of the unfreezing process, Mia has no inner monologue. She will say whatever comes into her head the second she thinks it.
Oh no, looks like a puzzle piece is missing!
We have to find it!
Where could it be?
I know, maybe it's under the couch?
Let me look under it.
Nope, not there.
Hmm, maybe it's lost.
Oh I see it, it's on the table!
Mia can go over and get it!
Here, I found my puzzle piece!
Yay I got it. Now my puzzle can be fixed!
This is not usually a problem and can be rather endearing at times. However, it seems that this stream of consciousness can be a little embarrassing when we're out in public.
First, an African American mom and son (about Mia's age) sat down at the table next to us at lunch yesterday. They politely acknowledged us and Mia announced as usual, "Hey, it's a friend eating with us!" Then she continued, "My friend's mom has a brown face! And her baby has a brown face too!" Yes they do... moving right along. Not 5 minutes later, a woman wearing a neck brace walks in. Mia yells, "That woman has a BIIIIIIGGGG necklace!" We walk across the street to the store and there is another little girl talking up a storm and among other things, letting everyone know, "That's my mom right there!" Mia joins in the fun, "Your mom is BIG!"
We can't take her anywhere!
Posted by Kimberly at 7:55 AM | Comments (0)
Happy Birthday
March 5, 2008
It's Ellerie's first month birthday today. She's growing like a weed and is starting to settle into a loose schedule. She generally wakes up and has two long quiet and alert periods a day. She'll just sit there quietly and study whatever is in her view at the time. I had forgotten about the look of amazement babies have as they make such monumental discoveries as the wall or a table. She is a pretty happy baby with the exception of clothes changes and baths. I have never seen anyone get as worked up as she does over a little water. But luckily, as soon as it's over and she's in the towel she immediately stops the shrieking and life can go on. We're enjoying her gurgles and coos as the queen of baby grunts is starting to find her voice. She's quite the smiler, but we're still waiting for actual giggles. It's hard to believe it's been a whole month already. Happy Birthday, Ellerie!
Posted by Kimberly at 4:42 PM | Comments (1)
Preschool
March 4, 2008
I found a nice preschool that I think I'd like Mia to attend this fall. It's only two days a week for 2 1/2 hours in the morning which will be good to ease into the transition. I'm not sure I need to worry too much about an adjustment period, though. Mia has been bugging me to go to school for months now. When we stopped by to take a look today, she tried to run in and join one of the classes!
I like the fact that it is an American school with Japanese teaching assistants and a culture class that teaches them some of the basics in Japanese. Counting, colors, food... that sort of thing.
The only catch is that on registration day it is first come, first serve and the class I would prefer is one of the first to go. Apparently people start lining up at midnight the night before for the 8 am opening! Remember when fans started lining up for the new Star Wars movie weeks in advance? I wonder if I could pay one of those people to hold my place in line here.
Posted by Kimberly at 3:29 PM | Comments (2)
Can you help me with my homework?
March 2, 2008
I figured my answer to this question would be yes for at least a few years. Now I'm wondering if she's going to surpass me in Preschool.
Mia loves puzzles. We had been looking for progressively harder and harder puzzles as she got better at them. There seems to be a big gap between 30 piece puzzles and 100 pieces. We found this map of the US and assumed it would be too hard for her, but why not give her a challenge? Within a few days she was doing the whole thing herself. What I wasn't counting on was her learning the states themselves.
Posted by Kimberly at 7:57 PM | Comments (1)
Sleeping Beauties
March 1, 2008
Mia slept with us every night for over two years. I think she just likes the company. I was wondering recently if we could entice Ellerie to move out of our bed sooner by promising her she could go sleep with Mia. I haven't planned out the exact details of their future sleeping arrangements, but as long as we're living here, they will be sharing a room. Sometimes I picture bunkbeds, but now I'm wondering if we should just get a big bed and let them snuggle together.
Posted by Kimberly at 8:12 PM | Comments (0)