A Girl Of Many Expressions

Just a quick entry tonight before we bed down. I thought I'd share some of the latest pictures from the camera's memory card. One of the greatest rewards God has given us, as Ellena's parents, has been her sweetness and her smiles.

Oh, the smiles. They are priceless.

Would you believe we sometimes actually race down the hall to be the first one to wake her up, I mean pick her up, from her naps. That is one of the times when her smiles are more potent. She is just so happy to see us. (Well, at least I tell myself that it is us and not just SOMEBODY, right?)

Little E is becoming very, very good at her rolling! Example and side bar: I left her on her play mat tonight for a moment (only a moment!) and when I came back - oh yeah - rolled over and watching television! Hmmm, perhaps it was the television that motivated her to roll so quickly! Perhaps not. We also put her down tonight for a 30 minute nap in her crib. When she woke up and announced to her baby monitor that we should free her from her room, we we surprised to find her on her stomach. BOTH times she was not only right side up, but in the yoga "upward dog" pose. Palms to the floor, arms extended, back arched, neck poised (She needs to work on the legs though - she's screwing the entire position up!).

At this rate, she is going to allow her upper body strength to improve (something that she's needed to work on a bit anyway - her legs have always been stronger than her arms!) We've already noted improvements.

Along with the smiles and strength, there have been improved grasping techniques for holding objects. She has actually reached out deliberately and taken things from us offered to her. I know I sound amazed, don't I? Well I guess it is because I really am! I mean, she's our first, so we have no idea when ANY of these skills are supposed to happen! It seems like every time she does something I say to myself "wow, I didn't know that would happen at THIS age!".

The expressions are creeping in there too now. Here she is below, apparently a bit concerned about what I'm doing. She really doesn't know what the camera is yet! It's quite humorous - as soon as she sees it, she freezes up. What ever she is doing is on hold, so I have to be crafty sometimes and hide it while trying to capture her.

That's How We Roll

Pop the champagne corks and cue the falling confetti! That's right LwH followers, this is the post you have been waiting for prompted by Ellena, finally able to accomplish the milestone we feel like we have been waiting countless days for, the roll over!

And in your FACE naysayers, know-it-all coworkers, strangers, other kids' parents, all the people who said it wouldn't be caught on camera and the like because here it is!

Near the end of a very long work week, S was playing with E on the mat Thursday night while I was nearby. She said "Quick come here, I think she's gonna do it!" I grabbed the video camera and sure enough, I powered it on and moments after I hit 'record' (and remembered to open the lens cover!), E did it!

It all played out in slow motion. She lifted her legs, listed to the left, let the weight rock her to the side, she lifted her shoulder while working the hips and with grace and amazement, she was over. Time. Stood. Still.

The video above was actually taken moments later with our point-and-shoot camera as I wanted to post some footage, but still do not know how to download off our video camera. Now the real amazement, for us at least as new parents, happens in the video below.

If your volume was turned up, you heard me state that shortly (and I mean SHORTLY) after she rolled over, she rolled back the other direction and ended up where she started on her back, then rolled over to the left AGAIN. Congratulations Ellena, you are now mobile! - well, somewhat. We can't wait to see what you are going to amaze us with next!

Found Friday Quote...

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.
~Joyce Maynard

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A good friend of Sheri's sent this to her after a warm-hearted lunch discussion as something to remember as we navigate our busy lives. Though everything may not always be exactly as we would have it, we continue to try to give Ellena the best examples we can to learn and grow by. Thanks to all of you for also being a part of that process.

Mid-Week Word: Flashbulb

Recently, Ellena saw many of these flashbulbs go off in her big blue eyes (yes – still blue!) as we braved the elements and took her out to a professional photographer for her first time.

She was in a very happy mood the entire time we were there and it was interesting to observe her at the beginning of the shoot because she had no idea where we were or what all the photographing equipment was for.

It has always proven to be interesting taking her to new places (and sometimes places she’s been a lot, like the grocery store - She really does love it there!).

Back to the studio - eventually a small break was required mid-shoot to feed her a bit more milk, but it was worth keeping her in good spirits!

The team at Kiddie Kandids was very polite, professional and, perhaps most important, patient with us as we were photographer newbies. Needless to say we will definitely be back soon!

Here are the results from our “evening out”:

Nice capri pants baby!

Ellena & Horton
(from the Movie Horton Hears a Who; a gift from Uncle Pickett)

The girls were absolutely adoreable together!

Love the smile she has here!

Coat & Hat Season Is Almost Here!

What is it about babies and hats! Why are they so darned adorable?

Sorry for the poor resolution here, but I took this with my cell phone camera just before leaving for day care! It was a bit chilly out and I thought it would be best to bundle E up in one of her two new coats (I know, she's soooooo spoiled!) that S bought her!

For The Cat Lovers

Check out Ninja Cat, able to sneak up on you seemingly without moving! Enjoy!



TGIF!

Keep On Truckin'

What a week!

We've been all over the map lately. In the last 7 days, we've flown in excess of 8000 miles and driven almost 700 miles in 2 different rental cars. I know that sounds terribly exciting. The problem is we've been doing this separately and, worse yet, for work purposes - ugh!

Hence the lack of an update here lately. Thanks to those loyal enough to come back every day.

I've was the one lucky enough to rent two very fine and well-used vehicles from the rental fleet. One with a rear view mirror that shook uncontrollably if I exceeded a certain speed (much lower than the speed limit, mind you) and another that smelled as though it were labeled as a "Non Smoking" car, but not until it had a good 22,000 miles on it.

Even though the last week has basically been a blur, the good news is we are still graced with plenty of God's goodness. Our Ellena is growing like a champion and is dangerously close to a new millstone in her life - rolling over. She hasn't quite done a non-assisted roll yet, but is very, very close. Laying on her back, she will bend in the middle and lift her legs up, then she'll clock to the left. But that's about it.

Up...and to the left. Up...and to the left. Sounds like the Zapruder Film, doesn't it?

She has figured out that by doing this she can see something to the left of her without moving her neck. I attribute the thinking aspect of this feat to the genes she acquired from her mother, while clearly the lazy portion comes from me (But, hey, at least I'm in there!)

Ellena's hair is also changing, again. This time it is not the color, it is the density. She loses a little bit in the bath every time we bathe her. She appears to have a little ring around her head from sleeping in the cribs at daycare and in her nursery. It remains thick and dark in the back though...at the bottom. Poor girl. I guess hat season may come early this fall!

This was also a banner week for General Motors, who turned the big 100 on Tuesday (a good day for birthday cake I may add). Congratulations to them, especially on a week when other large firms closed up their lemonade stands. The new Volt was unveiled at their big one-zero-zero birthday celebration. This is one particular vehicle I am eyeing, not only because it will be available conveniently when my current lease has expired, but also because my commute is 24 miles round trip and the Volt engineer's forecast a 40 mile range on a single charge. Can you imagine not buying gasoline for awhile? Or perhaps never again?

09/11/2001

Daddy Doody: Part II

Welcome back loyal friends & readers (& new readers, too), and no I have not forgotten about updating this site. Let's just say sometimes it is a challenge to find a usable plot of time for an update I am proud to post here. (I do not like feeling as though I'm rushing one out the door)

When we first started this site, amongst other things, the goal was to capture each and every new move, sound and facial expression that Ellena made. That proved to be easily addressed in the beginning. However, at this point, we're just trying to keep fresh food in the house and gas in the cars!

A lot has been happening in the last few weeks - more so than at any other point in Ellena's life, so far.

Some of the highlights include:

- Daycare: She started last week Tuesday and so far, from what we can tell, really likes it! We continue to struggle with who does the dropping off and/or picking up, but personally I have found both to be be enjoyable. When I drop her off we get to spend a little bit of time together as I wake and change her as well as supply bottle number 1. Then we're off. She has adjusted to the new faces at her daycare and really doesn't seem to mind being outnumbered by the boys at all (takes after he mom in this regard!)

- She grabs, kicks, tries to stand and talks, a lot: Night before last I was bathing Ellena and I note this as the first night she really played in her bath. Now, she typically enjoys it and I can tell by how she smiles and looks at us and the truth is she's probably just happy to be out of her diaper! But this was a really playful bath! She kicked up and down and splashed water about and pushed herself back into the water and I almost think I caught a giggle in there, too! Here is exhibit A: a photo showing her grabbing action.

We have witnessed her look at her hands and feet and, at times, we've even touched her hands to her feet and she's felt them up! It's a real joy to see her learning, especially about herself.

- Faith: Yes, even Ellena's faith is growing! She being dedicated at our church this Sunday and we're very excited for her, as is our church family. She will wear a beautiful outfit her Great Grandmother made by hand. More to come on the dedication after it happens.

Finally, a word on my duties as a father. Many people have commented to me, either in person or email, about my post labeled Daddy Doody. Mostly, the inquiries were in regard to the follow up to see if I survived. Some actually encouraged me to not be frightened. This was a good lesson in blogging actually as I didn't feel as though that was the message, but I can see how it might have read that way. The reality is that, similar to all other Ellena posts, I wrote about my time with her mainly to serve as a documentation practice. Simply stated, we don't ever want to forget our time with her and I especially didn't want to forget how I felt about staying home with her alone.

It actually turned out to be a very positive thing for both of us. I realized that it wasn't difficult at all to watch over her and it actually confirmed an earlier belief I had that I might want to stay home with the kid(s). I liked it and it was a blessing to be able to do so.

WebFound: Water Blog

For those of you that truly know me, you know that I am always sincere in my attempts to share new things with my friends and family. I have been known to burn CD compilations, send magazine articles through the mail, email pictures I have found on the web and, especially, send out links to websites I have stumbled upon.

That’s exactly what I intend to do with this post, and if popular, I may continue to do so on occasion.

The following links are from another blog called SeawayBlog. Here is their description, as found on the main page:

“SeawayBlog is everything about the sea and water; Photo, Video, Art, News, Humour, Sport, Travel, Web. In just three words: World Wide Water”

This is a very unique idea for a website. The following links are worth taking a peek at:

Click here for professional pictures taken from Beijing Olympic events (water events, of course!)

Here for Olympic sailing in Qingdao

Opening ceremony pics can be found here

Here for pics from the water cube, including some of Michael Phelps.

And my personal favorite:

This is what it looks like when thousands of sea rays are flying under your boat! This find was worth sharing!

Enjoy, and feel free to share your finds with me. I am always up for a new path to walk down and I might post them here.

Good On Ya, Mate!

Wow, where does an entire long weekend go? It feels like it was just Friday! For the most part, we flew under the radar this weekend. With gas prices soaring and a 12 week old to manage, it proves to be easier sometimes just to stay in!

An exception to this was our Sunday afternoon/evening visit to our favorite local Australian-flavored Pub; Coop's Bar. The event was an early Oktoberfest celebration. Now, I know what you're thinking and the answer is yes, we do celebrate a German festivity in an Australian bar and in the U.S. no doubt. But hey, this is our tradition!

The weather was perfect for a get together fueled by beer, brats and billiards. The three of us had an amazing time and we were able to catch up with several of our old friends. Now, before you report us to the officials, I have to clarify. We did not take our daughter to a real bar (not this time). But let's just say Coop's is about as close as you can get without a cover charge, coat check or any long-winded liquor license paperwork applications.

Later on in the evening "da bubs" (that's Aussie for child) decided to surprise us by exercising her legs a bit. She actually supported her weight for several seconds. It's her new thing actually. She will do squats and you can tell she really wants to stand up! Needless to say this has us a little bit concerned because she isn't even crawling yet! Since early-age walking runs in the family blood (her cousins were up and about straight away!), we are calling it right now. We think she'll be a handful before too much longer!

That was a treat, but the real surprise came later on in the night when she actually had a bit too much to drink (milk, that is) and had to call for a designated driver.

A big Aussie Thank You to the Cooper's for a hosting another great Oktoberfest celebration. Here's looking forward to next year!