Back to Work I Go

I can not believe how fast time has been going. Elena and I have been quite busy the past few months while Carl was working. We had play dates, went swimming, took a few walks along the bay, did some shopping, travelled to Illinois and hosted family on several occasions. Now it is time to put our summer fun behind us and start a new chapter: going back to work and day care. Today was Elena's first day with Linda. You can see she handled it well, I did okay too. This week and next week I will be working half days; I begin full time on September 14th. Hopefully this will give us (me) an easy transition into day care.

First Cold

It was inevitable, Elena was bound to get sick. I was sick Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Elena wasn't eating or sleeping well either. And on Friday, she woke up with the fever. My poor baby was so uncomfortable, all she wanted to do was cuddle and snack. We did this all day Friday
The Tylenol helped bring down her fever and let her get some much needed sleep. She woke up feeling much better on Saturday. Whew!

My smiley little girl was all frowns and upset when she wasn't feeling good. :(

I Found my Toes

Elena finally found her toes when I was changing her diaper. I was so excited, I snapped this picture really quick.

Another thing Elena has just learned to do is give kisses back. When I kiss her cheek, she gets excited, opens her mouth and turns her head toward me. I let her kiss my cheek. She basically gums at it and sometimes licks me, and although I become covered in slobber, it is just adorable.

Playtime with Grandparents

Elena was intrigued by Grandpa's new beard. She studied his face several times with intensity. She seemed to like feeling Grandpa's beard too. Since then, she has begun putting her hands on our faces too.

Grandma and Elena are playing patty-cake-patty-cake with her feet. She loves songs and being sung to.

Good Morning San Diego

Elena is definitely a morning baby. She is all smiles and snuggles in the morning. Here are some cute pictures of Elena with her Uncle Jason, cousin Henry, and Grandma.

Pool Time at Santee Lakes

After spending time at the beach, the boys and Donna went swimming at the Santee Lakes Campground pool. Donna and Pat stayed at the campground. It is about a mile away from our house. Pat, the dogs, Elena and I stayed at the house and relaxed. Here are a few pictures that were snapped. Looks like everyone had a good time.

Dog Beach

After a relaxing morning at the house, we loaded up the cars and took off to Ocean Beach so the dogs could run and play. The crew consisted of Donna, Pat, Christian, Jason, Henry, Carl, Rachel and Elena. And of course the dogs: Cassie, Cory and Cooper.

To the left is Donna and her boys (plus Cassie). Pat, Elena and I are snapping pictures :)

Here are the boys from left to right:
Carl
Christian
Jason
and Henry down in front

Elena and I traveled together in the Ergo pack. I love how comfortable this pack is. And best of all, Elena will be able to use it until she is 4o pounds. We can wear her like shown to the left, on our back or on the side.

Elena still doesn't like the bright sun, but she was alert and interested in all the activity at the beach.

Henry loved playing in the ocean. Funny how he is wet from the waist down, he only went into the ocean up to his knees.

One last walk along the beach.

Just Hanging Out at Home

Here are a few pictures of us hanging out at the house. Donna and Pat drove over from Arizona to see Christian, Jason and Henry while they were in town. You can see Elena really enjoys hanging out with everyone.

Another Padres Game

A visit to San Diego is never complete without a Padres game. We all joined Chris and Lorraine in the shadey seats for an afternoon game against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Padres lost, but we all had a great time. This was Elena's second Padre's game and she was decked out in her Padres onesie. The pictures don't show how cute the outfit is, there is a baseball on her bottom. Henry sported Red Sox gear supporting his local Boston team, of course.

Meeting the Uncles

Carl's brothers flew into town to meet Elena. Christian (in the grey t-shirt) came in from San Francisco. Jason (in navy Red Sox shirt) and his son, Henry, flew in from Boston. We had a nice time visiting and Elena loved all the extra attention.

In this last photo, the boys are playing with i-phones. The i-phones were all the rage; it is unbelievable what these devices can do. You can talk on the phone, take pictures, surf the web, play games, download and read books, and even play the recorder by blowing into the mic or listen to other i-phone musicians playing around the world.

4 Months and Growing

Elena has reached her 4 month birthday today. It is so hard to believe she is already 4 months. She is growing by leaps and bounds. Today she weighs 16 pounds, 13 ounces and is 26 inches in length. She in the 95th percentile for both height and weight, oh my! When she was born everyone talked about how big her feet were, but now everyone comments on how expressive her eye brows are. And her pout lip is so adorable but hard to capture on camera. Elena didn't stay in photo shoot mode very long, but here are a few pictures of our smiley little girl.

Story Time with Daddy

Today, Elena decided she would read us a book. Look at that concentration. And she is even a natural holding the book. She took the book all on her own, these are not posed pictures. One day shy of 4 months, I am impressed. Now if we can get through tummy time and start rolling over!

Round in Circles She Goes

Elena has learned to use her legs and hips to scoot herself around in a circle. She finally made it all the way around this morning, then she crashed. I thought she was too cute, I had to share. She was playing without clothes or a diaper, so as she started crashing I cuddled her up in a blanket. You can tell in the last picture Elena is out cold because she took out the pacifier. Look closely, the purple pacifier is still in her hand. She generally only likes the pacifier when she is falling asleep. She also gnaws and licks her fists, and occasionally sucks on fingers and thumbs.