Girl Wrestlers

Got your attention!
No this was really funny. Little Ryann came over to play in the front yard with Ella yesterday evening. Ella was very interesting in trying to push Ryann so she'd fall backwards. She had almost accomplished her devious plan when, teetering a bit, Ryann maneuvered a very skillfull take-down. In the blink of an eye Ella was on her back looking up at the blue sky -- dazed and confused. We were laughing too hard to catch the moment but here's a nice shot of them playing nicely.

No!

"No!" Sometimes I feel like I don't say anything else all day long. She's testing her limits and equally testing my patience at times.

Yesterday -- after having pulled her out of the fake ficus at least ten times I removed it from the living room and put it on top of the washer and dryer. Later -- Ella made her way into the laundry room and managed to get hold of a branch and nearly pulled the whole thing down on her. So -- I put the stupid thing on the back patio. When daddy came home he went out back and exclaimed, "Have you had it with the ficus or what?". The wind had knocked it over making it look as though I had just opened the back door and thrown it to the four winds. Which might have crossed my mind. He returned it to the living room and said, "she has to learn what's off limits." He may be right -- but we'll see how he deals this weekend when I'm picking up an extra shift at work!

I wrote a few days (weeks?) ago that Ella had started pulling to a stand. She then decided to pull herself up at nap-time. Which created a big deal when she grew increasingly more tired but didn't yet know how to sit back down in order that she might go to sleep. My friend Rob told me she would figure it out -- it was just a phase and she'd grow out of it. Yeah! She has. But now she's started a few other things....

Yesterday -- while we were outside chatting with several neighbors -- Ella started screaming. Every few seconds her face would get red and she'd yell at the top of her lungs. I was so embarrassed. Everyone else seemed to think it was funny. Please tell me this is just another phase.

She's banging on her highchair top and it has become a real problem. We used to say "no" and she'd stop. Now she seems to be intentionally trying to defy us. Any suggestions? We tried hand squeezing.

Every time we put her down for a diaper change she rolls over and pops up into crawling position. She's fast! We flip her back which is usually met with a great tantrum. I've tried using those flimsy straps on the changing pad but they don't do anything. My sister-in-law said she had to resort to changing cousin Zach in the floor because of his rolling over antics. Anybody else have a better idea?

Okay -- enough of that.

We have been having lot of fun too. Today she's wearing her pink sparkly pants. I love them! You can sort of make out the sparkly silver stitching on the pockets -- but the camera didn't pick up the glittery effect on the pants. They remind me of B.B. Harris Elementary night at Skate-Along U.S.A. Such fond memories of disco lights and sparkly pants of my own. Oh -- and trips to the concession stand during couples skating.

This afternoon before nap time we took a stroll to the local Burger King play place. After I scarfed down some food and Ella ate a Gerber "pinwheel" we hit the play area. Ella was very interested in playing with a cute little girl -- maybe 14 months. I guess my stroller was the wrong brand because the mommies quickly packed up and left -- taking Ella's playmate. So all alone -- she and I crawled through the giant steps, bubbles and slides. It was fun until we started inching towards nap time. Now she's napping -- and hopefully she'll sleep well having played, played, played.

Things I Know So Far...

Time goes by faster once you have children -- or at least it seems to.

Children really do give you grey hair. I got my first one while I was pregnant. Years of newsroom deadlines -- and a baby gets the prestige. That first one now has a few more friends.

"Come to mommy!" still sounds funny coming out of my mouth.

Any child's laughter is precious. Your own child's laughter is the warmest and sweetest things on earth.

I love my husband more each day seeing the father he is becoming.

Mommies really do have a special "healing" touch. Sad, grumpy, in pain or tired -- she reaches for me and my hugs and kisses seem to make it better. Not yet sure about the eyes in the back of my head.

New parents develop cat-like reflexes without even trying.

Daddies can play a little rough and instead of crying -- there is great laughter.

Kids seem fatter than when I was a child. There was usually one chubby kid in any given neighborhood posse but now it seems to be the norm rather than the exception.

You can bond, if only for a brief moment, with a complete stranger while discussing your children.

Every day is a new challenge -- and every day is a blessing.

Life -- goes on.

Her First I.D. Card!

Miss Ella is now the proud owner of her first i.d. card. Crazy huh? Last Thursday we joined the local YMCA as a family. Ella and I went on Thursday (having already gone for a tour and rundown of activities) and filled out the paperwork and paid our fee. Then on Friday daddy returned with us to take a look around and have pictures taken for our i.d. cards. And yes, Ella had to have one too. They have a great "child watch" program where you can leave the little ones in a type of daycare for up to two hours at a time while the adults work out. The i.d. cards help them make sure no crazy person comes in and takes your child. Not much else has happened. I worked as usual and she and daddy had a pretty good weekend. They strolled down to the park on Saturday where I met them after work. Ella crawled around and got nice and dirty before her bath. She's still actively teething so today was a real challenge but we got through it and she's sound asleep now, thanks in part to our friend Motrin. I'm off to try and eat something healthy and watch some Monday Night Football (isn't that kind of sacreligious...I mean shouldn't I get to eat buffalo wings?)

A jungle gym...of sorts

Why is it -- you can give a child all the latest and greatest toys and learning activity mats, books, etc. and they will find something else to play with, in or on?
For instance, she loves the cardboard boxes daddy's beer comes in. She absolutely adores the broom (and yes I know it's germy and gross) and she's drawn to that darned haylike stuff in the fake ficus!

As you can see -- our living room furniture is standing in as a jungle gym for the young adventurer. Look at that smirk! We've pretty much taken everything down, within reason, and accepted the fact she's going to try to go everywhere and touch everything.

The Next Cher...

Since my mom can't be Cher (yes, sometimes I think she's a gay man trapped inside a 54 year old grandmother's body) it appears she's going to do everything she can to influence Ella in the ways of leopard print. Although I would never have bought these for her -- Matt and I both had to admit the p.j.s are pretty cute.

At Nine Months...

Every parent says it, "I can't believe "so and so" is "however" old!" But it's true. I can't believe Ella is nine months old. It's also cliche to say how quickly time goes by when you have a child -- but perhaps it's a cliche because it's true. For nine months this little creature lived inside me and now she's been around for everyone to share for the same span of time. That's amazing to me.

What's also amazing is -- well Ella herself. I spent a lot of time just watching her today. When we were playing at the park, when we were sharing snacks or a bottle of water (because she prefers mommy's big jug over her pint-sized sippy cup) and found myself in wonderment. In just nine months she's come to learn so much and become such a little person. For instance:

At nine months she loves to walk if you hold her hands. She likes to crawl but must be motivated by something interesting -- and then she's off to the races.

At nine months she will stand in her crib at naptime until she's worn herself out. I'll go in her room to find her standing, cheek down to the crib railing, eyes shut, thumb in mouth.

At nine months she loves crawling underneath things and looking up at what's above her. This became a problem yesterday when she realized the swing actually moves when no one is in it and during her exploration she got bonked in the noggin.


She enjoys a big bath with mommy. We started this a few days ago and although I believe I may be getting a UTI we have had a blast splashing and playing in the "big tub".

At nine months she says mommy or mom mom to almost everything. Despite my efforts she does not yet associate it with me. She has not yet said daddy or da da but she's starting to learn "D" so it's coming very soon.

At nine months her first bite of food is always a small bite just in case she doesn't like it. If she does the mouth comes wide open and she emits an "mmm .... mmm". I think that's because I often make that sound when feeding her.

At nine months she will laugh almost any time she hears someone else laughing. To me -- this is a precious part of her personality.

At nine months she likes sitting up on her knees and has what I believe is tremendous balance.

At nine months she has her favorite "off limits" items. The straw in the fake ficus tree, tennis shoes, the toilet seat (the door stays shut whenever possible now), grass and any sort of plant. Today she ripped a leaf off a gorgeous and well manicured plant at the nail salon. I apologized profusely -- I think that's supposed to be very offensive to Buddhists. Suddenly there were plenty of little figurines of a happy fat man staring at me.

At nine months she LOVES it when daddy makes her fly like an airplane over Mount Mommy. She erupts with laughter.

At nine months she's fascinated with our mouths. Everything about them. She enjoys sticking her fist in our mouths -- feeling our teeth, playing with our tongues. And sometimes when I'm speaking I notice she's watching my mouth. Eveything is learning.

At nine months she hates shoes and only tolerates hats long enough for a trip to the park.

At nine months she has discovered dogs/puppies and LOVES them. The other day we were out in the front yard. All of a sudden Ella took off -- crawling as fast as her little knees would take her (it's cute she sort of swings her butt from side to side really sassy). I hadn't noticed, but our neighbor had brought their little dog out for a walk. Ella got a chance to pet the dog and she got a nice licking in return -- which ended in sweet giggles.

At nine months she loves Elmo and Cookie Monster. Nothing else really grabs her and I'm totally fine with that. We don't watch much television together. Sesame Street is about it. Although on weekend mornings we do turn on Thomas the Train -- but I find it more entertaining than she does. She does have a Pooh book that prompts you to make certain sounds with the accompanying music panel and she does like that. But it's the book and sounds not Pooh that captivate her.

At nine months she still has those beautiful blue eyes. And her hair -- which has just started to grow is blonde and fine. She has four teeth. Two little ones on bottom and two bigger ones up top -- complete with a big gap. Just like mommy and daddy.

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The other day we were down at the beach -- walking back to the car. A mommy and her little girl (maybe 3 or 4) were approaching when the mommy said, "What a cute baby!" We said our thank yous and crossed the street. Still within earshot we heard the little girl say, "Not as cute as my baby brother!"
Maybe not kid -- but at nine months, our Ella is pretty darn cute and -- oh what a joy and blessing.

Step -- 2,3,4

I shot these pictures looking out at our front walk from the living room window - unbeknownst to Ella and her daddy. She loves walking like this and gets going pretty fast when she sees something interesting in the distance. Sorry -- the pictures are fuzzy because I was shooting through the window -- and yes I know better.

Pulling to a Stand

On Saturday morning we discovered Ella standing in her crib bright and early in the morning. She had pulled to a stand (September 16th ~ Grams's birthday) and was evidently pretty pleased with herself because she laughed and smiled at us, standing in the doorway with bedhead and mouths agape.

Now -- whenever we put her down for a nap -- up she pops. Does anyone have a solution for this? She has been on a regular schedule consisting of two naps a day (with a 30 minute swing time). But now that she standing it's harder to get her to go down. She's not a cow so she can't sleep standing up. What's a mommy and daddy to do?

Yesterday we had her nine month pictures taken here at the house. I'll send the link to family and friends when we get the proofs. The photographer was great. I have known her brother since my days at KGWN in Cheyenne, WY. Now he's a freelance writer/producer for KABC just like me. It is a small, small world. Ella seemed more interested in the mechanics of how the props were put together than smiling for the camera. (Is she my child?) So she may have daddies aptitude for mechanics. I believe if she ever learns to smile for the camera she will have no choice but to be the first female leader of the free world. Of course -- I truly hope it doesn't take that long.

I've been feeling really under the weather the last few days so we did not make it to church this morning. Don't worry (Grams, Babci, Granddad, etc.) I think it's just a hormonal swing and is not the early signs of #2. We did make it to Uncle Bills for breakfast. No we're not putting food before God but I haven't eaten much in a few days and I'd rather upchuck at a noisy restaurant than in the midst of a lengthy homily.

Anyway -- daddy's gardening and Ella's finally down for her morning nap (after popping up at least three times and pooping once) and I will be getting ready for work shortly. Today looks to be a cool, sunny, southern california day. Daddy will probably venture to the park with her this afternoon while I'm in Glendale writing the news.


By the way WAR EAGLE!!
If you missed the high intensity that was LSU vs. Auburn you missed one heck of a game.

Baby Steps

Another big weekend for Miss Ella-bean.

We tried giving her "baby ravioli" the other day. She did not like it. But just like everything else new -- this will take time. Everything is "baby steps". She's doing quite well with the pureed foods (sweet potatoes, peas, bananas etc.) and cereal and oatmeal. And although she still refuses to hold her own bottle she's still downing the milk like a champ. One new ~ and adorable thing she's doing lately is smacking her lips. If she's eating something yummy she smacks after each bite! It's quite hilarious.

On Sunday we tried a new church, American Martyrs in Manhattan Beach. I got the impression from their website they are very family friendly with lots of ministries for young families. The church we currently belong to is nice and we do like it but we just haven't felt embraced by the spirit there.
There were lots of people like us at the 8 a.m. mass at American Martyrs on Sunday, but unfortunately we didn't get to meet anyone because Miss Wiggle Worms had trouble being still -- or quiet for that matter (thank God for cry rooms).
At any rate -- towards the middle of mass when Ella needed a change of scenery Daddy took her outside. He was holding her by her hands when she took the initiative to take several steps -- right in front of the statue depicting Mary and little boy Jesus. I missed it. I was inside trying to follow what was left of the homily but it's a moment I'll never forget all the same. So far, she's sharing all the major milestones with Daddy. At least she said Ma Ma first. I'll take that.
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And as I enjoy the progress our little angel is making and the laughter we share over silly things -- the events of this day five years ago weigh heavily on my mind. God Bless those souls and their families -- especially the children.

Pink Shoes!

We strapped on our pink sneakers yesterday and walked to the North Redondo Beach Branch Library. It was Ella's first library adventure. We were supposed to go for our first storytime session at the main library on Tuesday but Daddy had to use the Escape -- the Bronco is in timeout for pooping out on the freeway. Anyway -- we enjoyed our walk. Once at the library a nice man complimented our matching sneakers and a very nice homeless man suggested a mystery author to me. It is nice that Ella is getting a nice well rounded look at society here in So Cal. I took his suggestion because I was looking for a diversion from baby instructional type reading (ugh!). So we cruised around looking at the shelves of books and even strolling through the children's section -- of which I was quite impressed for a branch library. But -- it was all for naught because Mommy's drivers license still has the Wilshire address so we couldn't check out any books. We're headed back today with a recent utility bill in hand.

Later Ella took a short nap and then had independent playtime in the pack-n-play. Daddy read something about this approach to teaching independence so we're giving it a go. She was in there for about 30-40 minutes before she started whining. Not bad for a start. The book said we should have started this at three months -- oops!

After the pack-n-play it was time for diversion -- killing time before her nighttime routine -- so we headed for the front yard. A little girl, Samantha (16 mo) was out for a walk with her daddy and stopped to smile at Ella. The sweet child seemed more interested in Ella than Ella did with her. But it was nearing bath time and that's usually when she reminds me of some grumpy bears I know in the family.

When Daddy came home we went out to visit one of the neighbors. A nice single mother with a pre-teen daughter. Ella went right to her -- our peanut is friendly and not afraid of strangers. I have to say she gets that from her father. But the big news -- when Karen handed her back and waved bye-bye I think Ella waved for the first time. It was primitive and may not have been deliberate but I have been practicing with her so maybe something in that little brain was recalling the motion and sound of bye-bye. Either way -- it's going in her baby book as a good first effort.

Like Mommy Like Daughter

Won't this be cute? More pictures to come!!

Caught in the act!

Little Miss Mischief was caught crawling around the laundry room today. The incident occurred around 6 p.m. on Wednesday night just shortly before bath time. A young woman, described by witnesses as Mommy, found L.M. wandering in an off limits area of their home. This -- just a few short days after serious measures had been taken to prevent spontaneous whaling as a result of falling fire extinguishers or hidden dryer sheets. Officer Daddy is asking for the public's help. If you see this offender in any off limits areas -- please contact local authorities immediately. She is armed (with pooh) and dangerous.

New Jammies

Since Miss Ella's growing like a weed (especially those long gams and lengthy toes) we have had to up the stock of pajamas. Here she is wearing her new "Bambi" jammies after a bath during quiet playtime in her room. By the way ~ I'm told Bambi's mom doesn't die anymore. What? Does Old Yeller get a stay of execution too? Next you're going to tell me Dumbo is now called Smarto and is the story of a baby elephant who creates his own flying machine.
~Anyway~
She's crawling everywhere and is very interested in the things she's not supposed to touch. Today when I put her down in the middle of the floor surrounded by interesting toys she headed straight for the basket of magazines and tried to have the latest Williams Sonoma for a snack.

Chilly Wet Water

Congratulations to those of you who got the WSP reference!

Today (Friday) was family day. After Ella's morning nap we doused on the 50 spf and headed for the seaside lagoon at Redondo Beach Marina. It was a little foggy but the temperature was comfortable. However -- the water was chilly! Miss Ella did not seem to mind. She went right in -- crawling into deeper water -- pushing her limits -- testing her boundaries. She enjoyed eating sand but it did not sit well with her tummy (see picture at right). She loves, presumably like all children, splashing in the water. She also loves watching other children. This is one of the few things that confirms to me that she is my child -- she loves to sit back and observe.

After her afternoon nap (2 1/2 hours!) we took a stroll down to the drugstore where Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some yummy ice cream and then we ventured back home. Ella had a bath and played for a while and now she's gone to the land of nod! It was a beautiful family day.

Water Park

On Thursday, when all the chores were done, Ella and I went for a bike ride to the local park. There's a water fountain there for the kids to play in. It's much like the Olympic Park/Duluth town green fountains only on a much smaller scale. At any rate -- over the summer Ella has grown more and more enthralled with the giant fountain of water. On our last visit she sat at the edge and splashed. But on this day -- I sat her down at the edge and she splashed for a little while and then she took off headed for the water. A little girl jumped in next to her and splashed her in the face and she was not bothered in the least. She crawled and splashed until her knees were red. Then we went on the swing for a while to dry off and had a fun bike ride back home. It was a great late afternoon treat!!