Ladies Who Read

I love my book club.  It's probably the only one where we don't actually read.  Well, we read, just not all the time.  Ha!  The whole premise of our book club is that we read a book that is also a movie, and when we meet up we watch the film and have discussion.  Usually, it ends up with about 50% of us reading the book, and us catching up on our lives while squeezing in a movie together.  All around a lot of fun!

Our last one was the Twilight Saga's Breaking Dawn.  We watched it in the theaters and cringed/laughed/ogled at the bad acting/cheesiness/and unnecessary shirtless scenes.  Before we parted ways, we snapped a picture.  We're missing a couple members in the shot, but at least I remembered to take a picture this time!

Adam watched Ella while we watched the movie.  Then they joined us for lunch.  She's definitely looking forward to reading with us in the future.

pals

Mia threw her back out a few weeks ago and has been staying with Grandma Donna to recuperate, leaving Remy all by his lonesome self.  To fill the void that Mia left in his life, he's been making more attempts to befriend Ella.  He'll bring her his toys, try to snuggle with her on the couch, and sit on her blankets.  Ella loves the attention and will often try to talk to him.  She has even started to reach out to him and pull at pet his fur.  Here are some pictures I snapped over the past few weeks.  I just love their blossoming friendship!  (And am just waiting for all the trouble these two will inevitably get into.)

A Solid Start

We had planned to start Ella on solids at six months, but she had other ideas.  She's been exhibiting tell tale signs that she's ready: reaching for food, beverages and utensils while we ate, showing an increasing interest in watching us eat, being able to sit up on her own really well, and losing that tongue thrust reflex.  So during our trip to the cabin, we decided to start her on brown rice cereal to see if she would be interested.  Initially she was unsure of the stuff being put near her mouth, but a handful of spoonfuls later, she was eating like a pro.  By the second feeding, she finished the entire bowl I had prepared for her!  Needless to say, she told us she was ready.

Yesterday, was her first taste of a puree.  I made her butternut squash (seasonal and nutritious) mixed with some breast milk.  She was a bit surprised that the spoonful of food going into her mouth wasn't the rice cereal she had learned to expect, but something entirely different.  She would scrunch her face up after every bite, but she ended up eating the whole bowl anyway!

Giving Thanks

Following tradition, we went up to our cabin to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Crazy how last year, I was fighting nausea and wondering what this little thing in my belly would be like, and here we are taking her to celebrate her first Thanksgiving.  It was a small crowd, but festive nonetheless.  Here are some pictures (with more to follow).

A quick family picture before the preparations begin.

Can we eat yet?

The feasting begins!

I have to admit... the BEST turkey we've cooked EVER.  We ate this for days!

After a satisfying meal; before the tryptophan sets in.

Ella got to share in the eating, too.  I'll post soon about her starting solids!

We had to walk off the calories.

I can't believe how much Ella has grown, even just in the week we were away.  My little baby is growing into a little person!

My good friend, Grace, joined us for Thanksgiving (it just isn't the same without her, anyway) and brought macarons.  My favorites were the lavender and rose-flavored ones.

A trip to the cabin (especially in the colder weather months) usually means lots of lounging about and napping.  We all had our share of it and it was great!

The pugs especially mastered the art of being on vacation.

Catch Up

Oh my!  I can't believe how busy things have gotten and the holidays just really started!  I have much to post about, and little time to do it in (especially now that Ella is in an awkward fussy period and is being incredibly needy).  I have a feeling there will be a barrage of posts coming soon!

Four years...

... two pugs, and a Babycakes later...

... and my heart still does flips when I think of you.

Happy Anniversary, Love. 

grateful

Thanksgiving is still a week and a half away, but I'm already overflowing with the spirit of gratitude.  It's amazing how much can change in a year.  Last year, I placed my hand on my stomach and thought of all the possibilities that awaited the little life growing inside.  I was learning to submit myself to the demands of my body and the baby, and learning to submit myself to the trust that God answers prayers.

And now, here I sit, with Ella napping beside me, the sounds of pug bone chewing in the background while sipping my cup of coffee, and I am overwhelmed.  I am overwhelmed because new life breathes such hope and joy and inspiration.  I've had a couple friends welcome new babies into their lives just in the past week, and reading about them makes my heart do flips.  Just five short months ago, I felt the overwhelming emotion of holding a new person I knew so well, yet not at all, in my arms.  Before that, I could never grasp what being a parent was like.  You read all the books, practice the swaddling techniques, brace yourself for the sleepless nightsdaysweeks, but you never learn about the insurmountable joy of having your tiny child grasp your finger with her little hand.  Or maybe I was told of how amazing parenthood is, but you never really believe it until you live it.

Ella has taught us how to live in the present.  We rejoice over every single thing she learns and does.  She lifted her head.  Woot!  She rolled over.  Woot!  She laughed so hard she started to hiccup.  Woot!  Woot!  I look at her and it's love and gratitude and heart-melty-gooeyness.  I think it's the beauty of newborn babies.  They are perfect little reminders of having faith like a child, of how God looks at us with such joy and pride in His heart.  I understand perfect love now.  I understand unconditional love.  I understand a little more of God's sacrifice for us.  And I am moved and humbled and broken.  All because this little person came into our life and showed us the divine in the most human way.

And for that, I am grateful.

Five Months Old

Happy Five Months, Ella!

You are learning so many new things every single day!  (And teaching us so many new things along the way!)

Most notably, you are starting to sit on your own and you're starting to teeth.  The former is exciting, the latter, frustrating.  But both are evidence of how much you're growing (and thriving)!  You learned to roll over from your back to your stomach, though you're still getting stuck until you learn to push yourself back.  That means sometimes we have to rescue you in the middle of the night.  Otherwise, you're sleeping ten to twelve hours, which gives you plenty of time to creep and inch and turn around in your crib.  Every morning you wake up in a new position, but you always greet us with a smile.  You're learning the joys of playing with your toys.  Your favorites?  Sophie, hippo, and the rosary beads your Nino gave you.  Also, you are responding more to books and enjoy classics like, "Goodnight Seattle," "The Going to Bed Book" and Babylit's "Pride & Prejudice."  You discovered your feet and grab at them whenever you can: in your Bumbo seat, on the changing table, in the shower.  You continue to chat away at anyone who will listen, though you wonder why Remy and Mia don't respond back to your witty conversational attempts.  Still picky about nap time, you prefer to be held and cuddled.  But you make it easy for us to do that now that you're cuddling us back.  You love hanging out in your baby carrier while we go shopping, and you smile and flirt with all the sales people who find you adorable.  We're placing bets on whether or not you're going to be a singer, because, Baby, those are some pipes you have!  You are shrieking and squealing in high-pitched tones, especially when you're getting tired and need a nap.  Daddy says you swallowed a pterodactyl.  Mommy thinks you're part baby peacock.   Either way we are madly in love with you, Babycakes!

Go Fish!

Last week, Adam took the day off so we could have our first outing to the Aquarium of the Pacific as a family of three.  After a delayed start to the day (work tends to follow Adam everywhere he goes these days), and a few wrong turns, we finally made it to the aquarium.  Ella slept through lunch while we ate at Bubba Gumps.  Fortunately, she was awake the entire time we were looking at the fishes and sea life.  She loved watching the fish tanks, Adam loved having a thick wall of glass between himself and the sharks, and I loved touching the moon jellies.  All in all, it was a very successful day for us.  The best part?  Hearing Adam list the things we saw to Ella on the drive home.  She would crack up after every item, and think he was just hilarious.

The closest Adam will ever want to get with a shark.  In his words, "They will mess you up!"

Dramatizing his worse fear.  Ella wasn't so amused.

I have a friendlier relationship with the sharks.

We take a lot of elevators now that Ella is with us.

Watching the sea otters.

She loved tracking the colorful fish.

Those spider crabs were creeeepy!

Rainy Day

It's raining and cold out today, so we're all snuggling by the fire.  Just thought I'd post some mommy-baby pictures.

Chew On This

Ella is officially teething.  Which means she's been pretty cranky these past couple of days.  She makes these high-pitched squeals of frustration (cute at first, not-so-cute now).  She is also drooling a lot, tugging at her ears, and gnawing on anything she can.  Fortunately, Sophie the giraffe has offered some relief, as have her wooden rosary beads and wooden rattle.  Again, she's growing too fast; I can't handle it!  (Geez, I'm going to be a mess when she starts school, aren't I?)  I'm hoping the teething won't be too horrible an experience (for all of us involved!).  Ella rarely cries or fusses, so it's definitely challenging now that she's starting to be more irritable.  So far, she's still doing ok but we can definitely tell that something is up.  (And she can, too!)

She was really trying to get the WHOLE rattle into her mouth.
(Apparently, she's still mastering the art of finding where her mouth is.)

She eats the beads like she would eat spaghetti.  It's hilarious.

Remy thought she was offering her toy to him, so he reciprocated the gesture.