Doggy

Elsa has been licked and barked at by the dogs. She was aware of them, but she did not pay much attention to them until today!  I was playing fetch with Keegan while she was jumping in her jumperoo. Every time he came back to give me the toy, she laughed.  I love it!

Pretty Ears

When I was five years old I got my ears pierced. I love wearing earrings. I do not know any one female who doesn't have earrings. So when we found out Elsa was going to be a girl, I knew I wanted her ears pierced, but I had to think about when she would get them pierced. Would she get them as a baby? At some birthday milestone? Would I let her make that decision or would I make it for her?

To make this decision I only had to look back at my own experience to answer it. My holes were made by using spring/tension rings. I tried to find a picture of one on the internet and couldn't. Guns were available back then (insert old joke here), but why pay when you can push a hole in your ear over a two week span? I don't remember the pain, but I do remember the emotion of it. It was how it was done  and I lived.

In the end I decided I would rather get her ears done now and save her the memory. She will always have had earrings.  Yes, I have heard the argument about letting her choose it IF she wants it someday. But again I do not know any girls without them that I can think of. She will eventually want them. And she won't mess with them now or get them infected by touching or playing with them.

Yesterday was the big day, and she is dang cute!

There was some emotion with it. My baby is no longer how she came out of the womb. She has holes in her ears. Daddy had a very hard time as well.  He didn't want to see it happen, but wanted to be there. But it had to be a team effort to get it done, so he had to stay and help.  She cried a little bit, but she had already been pretty grumpy that day. Today, she has no idea it even happened.

Pool Time

I would like to say that these photos are from the first time that Elsa has been in a pool, but I know that she has dangled her little feet in her sitter's pool.  I choose to believe this is the first time she has been in a pool, because it was the first time she was in a pool with us.

We got her a little bathing suit and slathered her up with sunscreen, even though the sun barely touched her skin. We also got her a little floaty thing, that she seemed to enjoy. She didn't like sitting as much as standing on the steps of the pool. It was so much fun to watch her.

 

 

Sleep Tight

Well it finally happened. We moved Elsa to her own room, to her own crib. I was sad. She wasn't right there for me to soothe her if she fussed, or to just touch her while she slept. What was even more sad, she was just fine. She didn't need me to be there. She slept so well, and only once this week has she woken up in the middle of the night.  So starts a new era in our household.

More

Everyone these days seems to want more. Upsize that value meal, BOGO, plates the size of a watermelon. I do enjoy a great deal, but the thing I find wanting more of these days is far more precious.

I want more TIME with my daughter. She is growing so fast and changing so much. I envy countries where a parent can stay home for a whole year on paid maternity leave. How wonderful to be able to see all the firsts, then head back to work?
For us to be able to accomplish this particular more, we would need more MONEY. Which in turn means one of us has to WORK more. Thus diminishing one person's time with our daughter. And that is sad.

So for now I will take more photos, more videos, and hug and kiss her as much as possible when I am with her.

Routine is Gold

I have learned there is something to say about routine. Routine makes sure everything gets done, nothing gets forgotten, and sanity is maintained. Thus having said that, routine got screwed up this morning and I forgot my cooler. Ugh!

How are we doing? Month 4

Again, I have decided to see where Elsa is on the developmental scale. I'm more worried about her getting "behind" than staying ahead. I'm not sure if checking these things is warranted, or even productive. I feel better knowing that we are doing ok though.

The Fourth Month:

• Drooling begins: Started at 3 months
• Good head control: Achieved at 1-2 months
• Sits with support: Can do, but very wobbly. Constantly tries to sit up.
• Bears some weight on legs when held upright: Another 1-2 months. She has wanted to stand since I can remember.
• Raises head and chest off surface to a 90 degree angle: She hasn't quite done a full push up, more like a push up from the elbows.
• Rolls from back to side: She is rolling over from back to tummy and back again.
• Explores and plays with hands: This is becoming more pronounced.
• Tries to reach for objects but overshoots: She is reaching and grabbing.
• Grasps objects with both hands: Check
• Eye-hand coordination begins: She grasps her pacifier, removes it from her mouth then puts it back in. Looks at and grasps her feet, even put them in her mouth today.
• Makes consonant sounds: This one makes no sense to me. She has made the hard "g" for awhile. "A-Gooo"
• Laughs: Finally she started this a couple of weeks ago. But she is very judicious as to how she doles it out. We did get it on video, yay! 
• Enjoys being rocked, bounced or swung: Another one I don't understand. She has enjoyed that since birth. 

I looked ahead at month five and she has completed 10 of the 13 milestones. Well, at least we aren't messing anything up right?

Moving Up

Discussions have begun on moving Elsa to her own room. I say begun because anytime before now that Steve brought it up I pretty much didn't listen. I am listening. I have crazy paranoid thoughts about her being away from us if an intruder comes into our house. How would we get to her? How would we get out? I know crazy, but they are legitimate fears in my mind.  And it's not so much that it is convenient to have her in our room, because she sleeps through the night.
She is getting bigger and more mobile. She has started putting her feet up on the side of the co-sleeper. She is constantly trying to sit up, and she must have 6 pack abs by now. It is just a matter of time before she escapes. So for safety's sake we are really really close to having to move her whether I like it or not.

                         

My Little Singer

Every morning on my way to Elsa's sitter I play music. I have learned that talk radio just makes Elsa angry.  She loves to hear the music and singing. Lately she has started doing this hum grunt thing all the way to the sitter's. I think she is trying to sing. It's so cute and if I didn't think I would kill us both I would video tape it. So instead you get a photo of her when we arrived at our destination this morning.

Hate

Hate is just that...hate. You can try to disguise it as "belief" but it's still hate.

I feel like we a regressing into the dark ages. Enlightenment and tolerance are being snuffed out before our eyes. And on so many topics, not just on whom can marry whom, but what a woman can do with her body and so much more.

I'm saddened by all this.

P.S. not looking for a debate. Just wanted to throw my two cents in and be done with it. Moving on now....