A Padres Fan Already

Sunday, August 2nd, Pop (Chris) and Carl went to the Padres vs. Brewers game. We won't talk about the score, but it gave us a great opportunity to show these three generations of Padres fans. The guys went to the game while the girls (and Cooper) hung out at Pop and Lorraine's house. Below are pictures of Pop and Lorraine with Elena.

Cooper and Elena fell asleep cudding with Carl. Both were exhausted from a long day of relaxing, eating and chatting.

Daddy Time, July 30th

Here are a few pictures of Carl and Elena hanging out and playing on July 30th. Elena is just over 3 months old.

Baby "All Clean" Photo Shoot

Elena has taken to the camera. She is very interested in it and will follow it around. I had to use toys to get her to look in different directions. These pictures were taken on July 30th, Elena is just over 3 months old. So adorable!

Check out the rolls on Elena's legs! In person there are even more!!!

In addition to finding the camera, Elena likes to suck on her hands as well as the pacifier. When she sucks on her hands, she licks and slurps at it like you would with an ice cream cone. It is so cute to watch.

New Windows!

The past few weeks have been busy for us. So why not add one more thing: new windows! Our old windows were original to the house, circa 1972, single pain windows framed in aluminum. Our new windows are low E3 and will block out the sun heat and reflect the inside temperature back inside. The guys were quick to remove all the windows, so I don't have a clean before picture. If you go through the blog, I'm sure you could see this window in the background.

Viola! New window. Crisp and clean. And best of all, this south facing window no longer bakes the house!!! We are so excited!











I thought I would throw in a view of the mountain (very small mountains, more like big hills) from our dining room.

Hanging Out with Uncle Carl

Cyrus (5-3/4 years old) and Kailah (4-1/2 years old) love hanging out and playing with Uncle Carl. They rode bikes around the neighborhood, played basketball and baseball. These pictures are from the last morning we spent with them, Carl gave them trading cards.

While the big kids were having fun with Uncle Carl, Elena laughed and played with Grandma.

Good Morning Snuggles

Elena is so cute in the morning. Some days she zonks out and needs extra naps, other days she is very interactive and energetic. Here is a compilation of how Elena spent her mornings while we were in Illinois.

Kids, Kids and More Kids

Another day of our Illinois trip was spent with my college girl friends. Together we have four babies from 5 weeks to 19 months old. We had a lot of talking and checking out all the kids. The years to come are going to be so much fun!

Here we are in baby age order from the top:
Laurel & Bram (~19 months)
Adrienne & June (~5 months)
Rachel & Elena (~3 months)
Jeanine & Linaya (~5 weeks)

Here is Bram with daddy, Sam. Bram is such a cutie! I loved watching him run around the house with his lawn mower.












Here is June with Laurel, Bram's mom. June is about 7 weeks older than Elena and is the daughter of Adrienne and Gene. What a doll!

All the babies!!!

From left to right:
Linaya
Elena
June
Bram

Meeting Great Grandparents

During our trip to Illinois, an open house was held in Elena's honor. Family and friends were invited, and we had quite the turn out. I have a lot of pictures of the day, but thought I would post a some of the great grandparents admiring Elena.

Great Grandma Herr and Elena

Elena began the day in a cute dress, bloomers and matching socks. And then came a storm front. We were not rained on, but the air temperature cooled off dramatically. Elena did a wardrobe change into jammies made by Great Grandma Herr.

Great Grandma Ruth with Elena

Great Grandpa Jim opted out of photos with Elena. He was busy chatting with everyone :)

You can see Elena's new jammies in this picture.

And then the weather became even cooler. Good thing I packed her sweater for the plane ride (made by Grandma Grossi). Who would think cold weather at the end of July in Illinois? Isn't typical weather hot and muggy??

In this picture Great Grandpa Herr is holding Elena. She slept a lot this day and had a record sleep that night. I'm still not sure if she was tired or just over stimulated. But she was such a good girl for the entire trip.

Elena's 1st Flight, July 15th

Nearly 3 months old, Elena took her first airplane ride. We flew to Illinois to visit with family and friends. On our trip to Illinois, the flight was not full so even though we had not purchased a seat for Elena, we were allowed to bring on her carrier seat. The flight was smooth and quick. With bottles prepared we were able to avoid crying. The passenger behind us could not believe how quiet Elena was during the entire trip. We even had a diaper change!

The flight home was a completely different story. The flight was sold out, had to check the carrier. I strapped Elena to me in the Ergo carrier and she stayed there, on my chest, nearly the entire flight. The turbulence was horrible and made me motion sick. Carl and I have decided that even though children 2 and under don't need a ticket, we will be purchasing her a ticket from now on. I found out that most airlines will give you a reduced price for children 0-2 years old--of course seats are limited and have to be done over the phone when you purchase the adult tickets.

Overall, Carl rated Elena:
Going to Illinois on a smooth, fast flight: A+
Coming back to California on a turbulent, long flight: A- (she did good, I did not)

Giggles on the Way

Elena is on the verge of giggling. She gives huge smiles and turns her head to the side as if she is bashful. She is also now grabbing and holding onto toys all by herself. She really enjoys sitting in her rocking chair, kicking her legs so she rocks and grabbing toys we hang over her. It is fun that she is becoming more interactive. I am most excited that she is starting to sleep longer at night! I don't want to jinx this development, but for the past three nights Elena has nursed at about 8pm and then not until 1-1:30am. Now I just need to start going to bed early with her to enjoy the 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This is a big change from nursing every 3 hours from start to start (which translates to about 2 hours of sleep for me).

Check out that hairline! She looks like she may be on the verge of some bald spots.

11 Weeks

Here are a couple of pictures taken today. It is hard to believe Elena is 11 weeks old--where does the time go? I was changing her diaper, she was cooing and being so cute. She coos as she breathes in--like you would when you are startled/surprised. Elena is able to sit up without falling over when propped from behind. You can see from these photos she is following my baby hairline--peach fuzz. She has longer hair from just above her ears down to her neck--I wonder if this will start falling out soon.

Celebrating the 4th of July!

Today we started the day by joining Chris and Lorraine for the annual pancake breakfast on the beach in Encinitas. As always, the breakfast and company were great! The weather was quite sunny, surprisingly. Usually the morning marine layer provides a shady beach with a cool ocean breeze. We were lucky to snag a spot under a shade tent.

Back at home Elena and I played for a bit after her nap. She enjoys sitting up while leaning against our legs. She tries to pull herself forward to sit up, but we're still working on head control.

We have a Whopper!

So today we yet another doctor's appointment. We have been battling thrush (fungal yeast infection) in Elena's mouth and bottom (type of rash) for about 6 weeks. Last week at our check up the rash also tested positive for strep A so she has been on antibiotics too. I don't want to dwell on the rough stuff, but I am so happy that the thrush is no longer in her mouth--wahoo! I have been on a strict diet of high protein (meat, eggs, occasional nuts), low carb veggies, and soy yogurt. Let me tell you this diet gets old very fast. The diet is supposed to starve the yeast so it can't reproduce. Today the doctor said since it isn't having an impact on her butt rash I could go back to eating my regular diet....ahh to have grains, fruit, and sugar again. That is the best birthday present. However, we will be visiting a dermatologist in a few weeks to determine why her rash isn't healing.

And you are not going to believe this, but Elena gained 13 ounces in the past week! She is now 10 weeks and 13 pounds, what a whopper!! If only I was loosing the weight she is gaining ;)

Well, we had a very busy day...walked a couple of hours at the bay with a friend, the doctor's appointment, and happy hour with Carl's division...we are tired so it is off to bed for us. We hope you have a great weekend!

Comparing Photos at 2 Months of Age

I thought it would be fun to share photos from our baby books compared with photos I took of Elena at 2 months of age. Here are some traits she inherited from her parents:

• Hair (color and thinning): Rachel


• Ears (shape and lobes): Carl, thank goodness. Every girl should have ear lobes


• Skin color: Rachel


• Long fingers and toes: Both Rachel and Carl


• Eyes: only time will tell, sometimes they turn light brown, sometimes blue-gray


• Nose: only time will tell


• Sleep patterns: Movement in sleep--Carl...she is constantly moving when she is awake and sleeping. However, amount of sleep each night--neither of us. According to our baby books, we both slept at least 6 hours each night at this time.
  

Elena:

Carl:

Rachel: