Hot Tubbin'

It's nice and warm today, a great day to be in the water.  Beaches are usually a bit full during holiday weekends so we opted to stay at home.  We lack a pool but that didn't stop Elena from enjoying a hot tub in the cooler.  She enjoyed eating the bubbles!

First Signs

Friday was a great day for Elena. She had a play date without me (I had a therapy appointment) and as usual she was a great little girl. Elena even signed for the first time. I have been working on a few signs for months and she never gave any inclination of imitation. Then as she sits eating O's she signs "more please" (pretend you are holding a coin between your thumb and fingers on both hands then touch the coins together a couple of times). To top that off, she loved walking there too--12 steps at a time, then she'd fall down and get up to do it again. So cute to see her walking. She doesn't walk on command but here is my best attempt so you can see this little drunk sailor walk.

Then this evening, she gave her second sign "milk" (pretend you are milking a cow's utter). Elena, in my opinion, has always been a great communicator and being able to use a combination of sign and words is awesome. And have I mentioned yet that she understands just about everything we say to her?

On a side note, I've revamped the site. Hope you enjoy the new graphics and layout!

Start of Summer!

What a wonderful day, weather was great and Elena has slept the past 3 nights for at least a 6 hour segment. For us sleep deprived parents, 6 hours of consecutive sleep multiple nights in a row will make any day :) Today was especially great as we attended a friend's party. This is not the first time Elena has been in a pool, but the first time she could really enjoy and play in the water.

Elena was so excited by the water. She giggled, blew raspberries, and splashed with her hands!

Look at this face--this is Elena's "I'm up to no good" expression. And it's hard to tell, but she is standing on me trying to push off.

Aww, what a cute family!

Playing goggles with Daddy!

Elena was sitting on the shallow step but trying to scoot back into the water.  Look at the determination on her face!  She never made it off the step but did fall over sideways.

 

Loving the pink floaty toy!

Elena loved watching the big kids swim and play around in the pool.

All done swimming but still checking out the other kids.  She's doing really well playing with other kids and is even sharing.  Such a good little girl!

Our day has come to an end but check out what a crazy day does to Elena's hair--makes it crazy too!  :)  

Padres Game!

It's that time of year again...baseball season! This is Elena's 4th game (not that I'm counting) but the first game she didn't sleep through. She enjoyed the atmosphere--so many people to interact with her and she loved pointing at all the lights. Fortunately, the loud roars didn't frighten her too much.

Gardening with Mommy

Today we replanted the front garden bed with geraniums, which grow and flower year round in our area. The plants should grow in nicely. I have had a hard time growing much in this flower bed--it gets extremely hot as it faces receives the sun out of the south and west. Fingers crossed! Well Elena was out with me and just wanted to help. She loves getting dirty, eating bugs and flowers--you have to keep an eye on this one!!

Such pretty jasmine, and smells so nice...think I might taste it too!

The World Through Elena's Eyes

This entry is dedicated to Elena and the perspective she brings us. As she grows into a little girl, she reminds us to "ook" and enjoy every moment. We are blessed with this little angel. She may put us into a sleep deprived fatigue but the joy she has for life and learning makes this journey very special.

Today is Elena's 13 month birthday; it seems like we were celebrating her birthday just last week. She is up to 6 consecutive steps and can walk assisted holding one hand, though she prefers to hold two hands. With Daddy's help, she loves running down the hallway. Elena loves playing with other children and they are attracted to her--when we visit the playground, they circle around. She enjoys interacting with people of all ages. She smiles, points and waves to those around her. I often hear "she made my day" after Elena smiles or waves at someone. She never really went through "stranger danger" anxiety but she does keep a close tab on me.

Elena has been babbling for months. She definitely says "na-na" to nurse or eat, "da-da" for daddy among many other things, sometimes when she is all done eating she says "da" and if you listen closely "ook" when she points sometimes--telling us to look. She points at many things and despite her lack of verbal language she communicates very well and understands much of what we say. Elena is very inquisitive and tests limits almost daily though her fits when she doesn't get what she wants are minimal so far and usually include a crinkle of the nose with "eh-eh" noises and sometimes a squirm backwards.

Not only is this little girl growing fast (she can already reach door handles) she also has quite the appetite! She loves eating and doesn't really care what she eats. She prefers fruits and veggies over meat and eggs but she eats everything and a lot of it. Last night for dinner she had a handful of steamed spinach, a couple handfuls of steamed green beans, handful of O's, 2 ounces of chicken plus noodles. And when I say a handful, my handful not hers. She eats just about everything we eat (with the exception of nuts and dessert): avocado, carrot, green beans, spinach, banana, applesauce, peaches, mango, strawberries (very few due to acid rash), blueberries, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, noodles, egg yolks, peas, O's, brown rice crispies, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheeses (i.e. cheddar), turkey, chicken, and beef. I will be introducing tofu soon. I haven't introduced acidic foods yet because I know she will be sensitive to it as I still have to restrict my diet and watch that I don't eat too much acidic food (we are still nursing a few times a day). So for now no tomatoes, citrus or bell peppers. This is a lot of info but since this is essentially Elena's baby book--I wanted to make sure I have this noted so when I go back to do her book I have some info :)

We hope you have a great weekend! Off to clean some house, plant flowers and tend to the garden! :)

Running With It!

My camera has been slowly and steadily going down hill as it struggles to focus anymore. So for the past few months (oh who am I kidding, it has been the better part of the past year) I have been searching for the perfect replacement (it was my Christmas gift). I know I what I want, and it doesn't exist in my price range yet. The camera needs to have very minimal shutter lag--so I was leaning toward a DSLR but held up by the size. I take a ton of pics, I try to take my camera everywhere--I love small and compact (who doesn't, less to lug around) so when I heard about the new four thirds system, I was excited. It is touted as having the quality of a DSLR in a smaller body with interchangeable lenses. What is not to love? So I bought it. I have to say, aesthetically, I was smitten with the vintage facade of a rangefinder and I really wanted to love this camera. Carl even embraced my enthusiasm and did a photo shoot that reminded me a bit of Zoolander filled with silliness. We had a great time. No doubt the camera captures amazing color compared with my point and shoot. In the end though, for the price I was disappointed with the auto focus lag when indoors so I returned it and still searching for my replacement camera. In the meantime, here are a few of the thousand pictures (not kidding) I shot this week.

Happy Birthday, Carl!

It's that time of year again, birthday, birthday, birthdays! To celebrate Carl's birthday we had dinner at Tom Ham's Lighthouse. Yes, this is the same venue we had our reception dinner. We love the location and the food. Chris and Lorraine called ahead and reserved the best seat in the house--the corner with a double window view of the harbor-just breathtaking! The food was spectacular and the new salad selection was divine! Elena was an angel; so far we are lucky parents and able to take her out in public and restaurants with good behavior. I hope that continues throughout her childhood. Elena loves people watching (which helps entertain her right now) and even flirted with our waiter who later brought her out a bowl of vanilla ice cream while we were enjoying Carl's birthday ice cream cake. Yes, Elena had her first taste of ice cream and of course she loved it, she is my child after all :) We all had a great time!!

Gimme five!!

Strawberry Picking

Ah, the sweet aroma of fresh strawberries! This morning we met some friends at a strawberry field. I was reminded of our little strawberry patch growing up. Although, these strawberries were easier to get to not only because of the raised beds but also because there was no bird netting to uncover. We picked a lot of strawberries and I ate too many! Elena also had her first strawberry today and she loves them. I took a lot of photos but here are a few of my favorites!

Yummy! More please!!

This one is for Daddy...Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Elena waving at her friends in the next row over.

She loves the strawberry flowers too!

Happy Mother's Day!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! Our day began with breakfast at the country club down the street. We sat outside and had a view of the golf course. It was a bit overcast, slightly windy with a chill in the air but enjoyable. And our day wrapped up with a yummy new recipe that Carl prepared...Hawaiian Pork. Elena was sweet and ornery. Below are a couple of clips of her being sweet. On the flip side, today she figured out how not to be picked up by squirming and throwing herself backwards....a moment I have been dreading.

Beach Time!

Well today turned out to be a spectacular day. It started out with breakfast and time on Shelter Island. The weather was so nice after Elena's afternoon nap that I just had to get to the beach. We arrived as people were leaving for dinner which means great parking and uncrowded beach. Surprisingly the sun was still pretty high in the sky. We had a great time, although Cooper was Houdini. As I shot the video below, the tide was coming in so the waves came in closer than I was expecting and Cooper does NOT like to get wet except on his terms. Well the wave came in too close and he popped right out of his harness. A harness that that straps around his neck, front legs and chest. He just got out of the way of the water...but now when you are watching the clip of Elena in the water you know why I was calling Cooper.

Crawling at Shelter Island

Elena doesn't move much on our grass....but the grass at Shelter Island is very soft. Thin blades that get quite a bit of moisture keep the grass "spring fresh". The grass looks a little brown in the video, but it was green. Plus I kept her socks on which helps tremendously since she doesn't like the feel of grass on her feet.

Breakfast & Shelter Island

This morning we met up with Chris and Lorraine for breakfast. We sat outside at the Red Sails Inn and enjoyed the beautiful morning. you can see from the window reflection that we are sitting right next to the marina. After breakfast we walked along Shelter Island. We stopped at the playground so Elena could swing and play a bit. After our walk we relaxed under a nice shade tree. Mornings like these remind us of how lucky we are to live in such a great area. We are lucky to have a "vacation day" any day.