Little Swimmer

Elena had her very first swimming "lesson" on Saturday. We had a few close calls with Little One choking on pool water, and her feet turned purple after extended exposure to the cool water, but all-in-all it was a great 30 minutes. The instructor had us blow bubbles (Elena's a tad too little to figure out how to do this one), go underwater, float baby on her tummy and her back, and try kicking her legs while floating on her tummy. Elena was really good at the floating on her back part, and not so great at anything else. But, after much negotiating on her part - and guilt about nearly feeding my baby pool water for dinner on mine - I cut her some slack since she is only 6 months old. I was very surprised that she didn't freak out when we went underwater, though I don't think it was her most favorite thing. She was quite a trooper that day -- especially with her second tooth trying desperately to break the skin. We'll see how next Saturday goes, but I'm sure it will be just as much of a success. (And hopefully the pool will be a tad bit warmer!!)

On Sunday, we sat down and watched Baby Mozart. Apparently Elena does this during the week with Daddy, but it was my first time experiencing my Little One's delight at the characters. Let me preface the snapshots displayed below by saying that she rarely giggles -- and when she does it is extremely infectious and hugely short-lived. Also...she doesn't smile much in photos. She usually give the same somber look you see on her face in most of her full-face-frontal photos (refer to middle photo above.) She was giggling and smiling and slapping her arms up and down with glee when her favorite puppets lolled across the screen. It was truly a joy to watch my wee one delight in such merriment...at the television. She is her parents' child, indeed!

Shots? I'll take 4, Please!!

Elena had her six month well-baby check yesterday with Dr. Hess and here are her stats.
Height: 25" (25th %)
Weight: 15lb 8oz (50th %)
Head Circumference 17.5" (90th %)
She also got four more shots and hated every minute of it. The good news is that she gets to wait 3 whole months before she has to go back for more!!

And since I haven't posted many lately, here are some photos of Little One...

Drinking from her cup

Eating her first B-a-n-a-n-a-s


In her Rubber Ducky Tub


After her bath in her new Ducky Robe


Playing with Baby's First Laptop
(and sitting up all by herself!!!)

(a HUGE "thank you" to Grandpa Mac and Holly for the laptop. It's my favorite!!)

Pearly Whites

It's finally here!! Elena's lower left bottom tooth is through the skin. I don't have a photo yet becuase it's barely through the top of the gums, but it's here nonetheless. I noticed the first glimmer of white last Wednesday while we were shopping at Target, and the next few days were miserable for our Little One. Friday morning she woke up with a fever of 101.8 ( it broke about 20 minutes after the Tylenol was administered), and Friday night what little sleep she did get was tumultuous at best. Saturday found her in somewhat better spirits as she finally had a little tooth to "show" for all her hard work.

Lucky for her I think the right side is coming up now. I suppose everything needs a friend, and a Little One's first tooth is no exception. Hopefully the second will come through as rapidly as the first. And I pray that she gets a little bit of a break before the top ones start to appear.

Elena is also starting to show an interest in crawling. She lays on her tummy and tries to get her knees up underneath her. That's all the farther she's gotten so far (which is fine by me!! She'll be moving soon enough, and I'm trying to enjoy still having a "lap baby.") She also really likes to walk. If she's crabby all we have to do is let her stand up or walk her around the room and she starts squealing like a pig in slop. Literally. It's soooooo loud and high-pitched. She is definately testing out the limits of her vocal cords.

She had her first bath in her "big girl" rubber ducky tub the other night. It's a big, yellow, inflatable rubber ducky and she can sit in it quite well. She enjoyed her bath, although she didn't really know what to do being in the tub all by herself. It took about five minutes for her to realize that she could splash and play and of course by then it was time to get out. Hopefully our impending swimming lessons will help her to learn how to kick and splash and play in the water.

That's the news for now.....

After While, Crocodile

I just don't get the Crocs phenomenon. I tend to think it's strange to walk around in holey, neon colored rubber shoes that look remarkably akin to what Martha Stewart wears to tend her crops or to shower while incarcerated. I don't know that I can subscribe to this one folks. And Elena will not put her baby feet in a tiny tot-sized pair, either. Child size wedges on the other hand...

The Little Sweater That Could

After my success with Dog Sister's sweater, I decided to try my hand at one for Elena. It took me about a week, and I finally finished it last night. I put it on Elena this morning and realized that I made it the perfect size for her -- three weeks ago. So now, it is going to be gifted to Elena's dear friend Audrey. I hope she likes it as much as Elena did. I'll be making Elena another version of this one for next year, and hopefully the it'll fit for more than 38.7 seconds.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Elena loves bananas. Seriously...she LOVES bananas. And she finally got a real one on Tuesday night. She's been showing interest in 'real people food' lately, so I thought I should let her try her hand at the 'ol eating thing. I cut off the tip of a banana and handed it to my little darling. She was ecstatic. She even managed to figure out that along with putting it in her mouth, she could actually eat it, too. But...as bananas do....it kept slipping out of her slimy little palm. Luckily, my step-sister Gwen gave me this fabulous little net-like thing and I stuck that banana piece right inside. It allowed little one to grab onto the holder and shove the business end right into her pie hole. The best part about it, though, is that the net only allows small portions of the food through, so I can keep my sanity and not worry that she's going to start choking while my back is turned. It was great. I cut up the rest of the banana and put the pieces in the freezer. Now, she can have her b-a-n-a-n-a-s and teethe on them too.

And a very happy birthday to Great-Grampa Leonard!!