Lovey Dovey

Elsa loves lots of things....here are her favorites:

She loves to play peek-a-boo.

She loves her new chair.

She loves her puppy.

She loves her mommy.

She loves her daddy.

5 Months!

Elsa is 5 months old today and she's really coming into her own. We "used" to think she was pretty cute when she was 4 months old, but it must have just been a teaser because she's really turning up the cuteness factor.

Over the last few days she's been chatting away. We're not really sure what the heck she's saying but she sure is excited about it. Sara thinks she sounds a lot like me because she's just babbling on and on about something and when she finishes her thought, she stops, smiles and starts laughing. Yep, she must get that from me.


Some of Elsa's favorite things to do are:
*Sticking out her tongue - we think she might be part frog.
*Blowing raspberries - she's prepping for her zerbert showdown with mommy
*Eating her toes - because even breast milk gets old after awhile
*Hanging out with daddy on Tuesdays during Daddy Day Care!

Mother's Day

Elsa really went all out for my first Mother's Day. The first gift she gave me was a passport application filled out in her name along with a Mozambique travel guide with the inscription "Mommy, please take me to Africa". This is exciting because our good friend Kristie is moving there this summer and we are planning on visiting her.

The next gifts she gave were chosen with a bit of help from her daddy and a lot of sweat from our friend Chris...we got a dishwasher and a new stove! The sweat part come from the fact that we had to tear up half of our kitchen to get both in.

Rice Cereal

We started introducing Elsa to rice cereal this past week. It was earlier than we had wanted to but she has daily hunger strikes at day care and this is a good way to get some more calories into her. This, coupled with the fact that she lunges for our food, sealed the deal. Her first faces were of complete confusion, but soon she readily opened up and began sucking on the spoon trying to get more of the yumminess. Of course, most of it still made its way to her bib, table and mommys arm...but all in all it was a good first attempt.

In other firsts, just today, she finally rolled over for the first time! Of course, neither of us were watching because she did it in her crib after we laid her down for a nap. Nevertheless we are happy for this milestone.

Feelin' Crummy

Well we knew it would happen eventually - Elsa got her first cold. She came home from day care on Wednesday not feeling the best and by Thursday she just wasn't a happy camper at all. I told her to just toughen up a little bit, it's just a cold. Not only did that not make her feel better but it earned me "a look" from Sara. After that I did my best to just try and make her smile or laugh. Again, that didn't quite work, but at least I didn't get "a look".

It's amazing how utterly useless one can feel when your child is sick. They can't blow their nose, they can't eat, they still can't wipe their behinds, and on top of all that they don't sleep very well - and that means mom and dad don't either . Needless to say she has been a trooper through it all, even the blue bulbing, you know the snot sucking apparatus.

4 Months!

Elsa turned 4 months today. We celebrated by taking a nice long walk in the woods with Dalasi and visiting the doctor for her well baby check up. She is doing great and even charms her doctor who thinks she is one of the most alert babies he has ever seen!

She weighed in at 12.4lbs (40%) and is now 24.5in long (50%). We like to call her petite and remind people that good things come in small packages!

She continues to be a little ham, laughing and giggling all the time. She is very attentive, loves people and thinks Dalasi is super funny when he tickles her feet. She still hasn't rolled over despite being super close for over a month now. She loves to suck on her hands, her thumb, my shoulder and pretty much anything that comes close to her mouth. She can grab on to objects, shake her rattle, and can now face out in her Baby Bjorn. She is growing up so fast. The doctor even said she might be teething already!

Earth Day

Our budding environmentalist spent her first earth day reading The Lorax with her daddy. Errol is trying hard to make this her favorite book, despite her pleas to read Peek-A-Boo Baby. At this stage she is really more into the books with big shapes, faces, bright colors and pages with less than 6 words on them. This does not deter Errol, he firmly believes every 4 month old should know the importance of "speaking for the trees".

Back to Work and Daddy Day Care

I went back to work on April 6th. It was not a good day. I was such a mess that Errol actually sent me flowers for the first time in 9 years! Its unjust that our society does not allow more time at home with a new baby, simply unjust. I will say, the fact that Elsa has amazing daycare providers and I have a super supportive work situation made the transition a little easier - but still no fun.

Elsa, in typical fashion, is doing great. She loves her Oma and Opa (her daycare providers are Dutch), loves watching the other kids play, takes a bottle pretty well as long as it does not come from me, and in general is adapting perfectly well to our new situation.

Another thing that has made the transition easier is that Errol does Daddy daycare on Tuesdays. He has the day off and spends the whole day with his little lady and is doing a great job. Elsa has outgrown her "daddy is not funny stage" and laughs and giggles at him all day long.

Next up for the kiddo appears to be rolling over. She has been super close for the last few weeks but can't seem to get her arm out of the way to fully make it over.

Cherry Blossoms

We took Elsa to her first Cherry Blossom Festival this past weekend. It was a great day for her first Metro trip, first view of the monuments and first taste of the best part of living in DC in the spring - the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. She is starting to put everything in her mouth, including some cherry blossoms, which didn't quite taste as yummy as they look!

Elsa Goes to Wisconsin

Elsa and I went to WI this past week. Errol had to work and was not able to make the trip with us, leaving me a little anxious travelling alone on her first plane trip. It certainly took me longer to pack than normal but I was happy with myself that I still managed with only one suitcase and my bag/diaper bag...impressive huh!

On the flight out the traveling gods were with us and we ended up in first class. I was nervous she would cry and fuss the whole time...but she didn't, she just happily watched people go back and forth for the entire flight. She was amazing.

We had a nice trip home and got to spend some time with my mom, Errol's parents, and my good friend Cari and her daughter Norah. She also met lots of people who have known me since I was Elsa's age!

The flight back was as uneventful as the one out, the only exception were the 35 8th graders headed to DC for their class trip. The flight was during the time Elsa is normally sleeping but the noise level in the plane rivaled that of an AC/DC concert, so the poor little thing stayed awake and flirted with the guy next to us.

By the time we got to baggage claim, Errol was there to meet us and Elsa was exhausted from meeting so many new people. I realized then that I had failed to get a picture of her first plane trip so the best we could do was with her daddy in baggage claim!