Day 179

Ellie is 25 weeks and for days old.  I am beginning to notice little reminders that there is so much more going on inside her head than I realize.  We hear genuine giggles from her now when we make silly faces -- she is developing her own sense of humor.  She is enthusiastic and vocal -- her flailing hand knocked a mug to the floor this weekend while we were eating out and the house silenced the dining room.  It occurs to me all the time how fleeting these moments are and I am shocked by our luck.  She maintains eye contact so intentionally and I sometimes feel that by holding her gaze I am signaling to her how much I love her, how important she is to me.  She has been broadening her horizons rapidly and seeing a ten month old today reminded me that we are ok the precipice of so many new milestones -- waking, waving, still more interactivity.  She has also been excited about trying a number of new foods -- pictures below.

She here is a photographic tour of the last few weeks...

Ellie is so interested in her toys these days -- she is more and more interested in independent play.  

Another recent development -- munching on her toes!

Ellie's first issue of Highlights High Give arrived.  I loved receiving Highlights in the mail as a kid, and Ellie loved chewing on and holding her tear-proof mini magazine for the 0-2 set.

The weather has been a bit unpredictable and we had a chance to dress Ellie in this fleecy top on a recent chilly May day.

Ellie has tried oatmeal, kombucha squash, spinach, and carrots so far.  Oatmeal may be her favorite food so far, and she has seemed to be game for new foods, but she did not love this squash puree!

We took Ellie on a very brief sojourn to the zoo.  Our priorities bring what they are, we popped in on the elephants quickly and saved the other animals for another day. Ellie was nonplussed.

We celebrated Mother's Day with a lunch with Nani.

Ellie often naps in her stroller!

We have been doing all kinds of reading, and I've been encouraging Ellie to explore books by turning the page and even putting the more durable ones in her mouth.  We joined a book challenge at the library to read 1,000 books to Ellie before she is five, and have been tracking out progress with a sticker chart!

Ellie is hard at work/play and somebody silly put a bib on her head...

Ellie is hanging out with Sophie, a more frequent friend now that teething is around the corner.

A nap before our trip to Shenandoah...

We absolutely loved visiting Shenandoah and have already booked a return trip.  The time away from Washington, Twitter, streaming Netflix and the relentlessness of ordinary life was so needed.  We were able to pause and clear our heads.  It reminded me of the childhood I hope we can give Ellie -- a love of nature, a foundation rooted in family traditions, a worldview that reaches beyond the beltway, an enduring sense of community -- the comforting sense of feeling she is from somewhere.  So we set off for the mountains and when we returned, I headed to church with her this morning.  I have been thrown fire a loop by the outlandish news cycles and by the fear of not being connected meaningfully to other people.  With all that is on our plates, it can be tricky to keep reaching out to connect with people, but it is more vital now than ever for all of us.  And it is such a critical livelong lesson for Ellie to get a real life, to nurture friendships, to reach out and touch other people and allow herself to be touched as well.

Ellie sat in a high chair at the lodge at Shenandoah.  Later, she threw a mug! It didn't break and I'm determined to go by one of these durable mugs from the gift shop.

Extravagantly beautiful.

And that brings up to date.  Being Ellie's mother is the best thing I've ever done.  Watching her personality emerge is such a pure joy.

Day 164

Ellie is 23 weeks and three days old today.  I worry that my reports become repetitive -- each week, she really does become more aware, seems to communicate more interentionally and shows us more of who she is.  I feel increasingly certain that she will have a "big" personality -- she is insistent and sweet and it is so charming to see that lovely smile warm her face when she makes a new discovery.

Ellie has hit some exciting milestones in the last couple of weeks and it has been exciting to see how much new developments delight her. Nitin remarked today that she always seems thrilled to become more proficient at doing "big girl" things.  Two weeks ago, Ellie was behind on rolling, but during the past week, she has been rolling over everything chance she gets and had become a tummy sleeper! (The first night, this phenomenon made me so nervous that I brought her back into the pack n play in our room, just in case, and slept six inches away from her.) She is also sitting independently now, although balance can be tricky, so we stay nearby in case she tumbles!

We took pictures of some of the sweetest and most exciting moments in the last couple of weeks...

We fit in a couple of walks during the past couple of weeks before the weather got chilly and rainy again! We are looking forward to more outdoor outings when the weather warms up again -- the zoo, hikes, perhaps some fruit picking?

One very important highlight of the last couple of weeks was our visit to Princeton last weekend! Emma and Ellie meet for the first time and it was tremendously sweet to see how gentle Emma was with Ellie and how excited she was to spend time with her.  Emma had also picked out an adorable pack of socks for Ellie with printed elephants on them!  This is the first photo of the cousins together.

The labradoodle cousins also met and needless to say, that was adorable.

Another sweet cousin photo, in which Ellie is wearing Emma's shades.

Ellie and I are still sorting out the best routine for the couple of hours we get to spend together on weeknights -- this week, we spent time on the floor so that she could practice rolling!

Ellie gets a huge kick out of her hilarious daddy, especially when he threatens to eat her fingers!

It was a shock when one day, I propped Ellie up to sit, gently let go and...she kept sitting!  Of course, that sweet fuzzy big head is hard to balance for extended periods, but sitting by herself was a pretty awesome breakthrough.

Here is one of Ellie's great big smiles -- I think, as I mentioned, she is just so excited to be able to sit on her own!  I wonder when she will start crawling...she clearly wants to, and tummy time can be so frustrating when she stays stationary despite all of her efforts!

"Who, me? I don't remember waking up at 5am on a Saturday... That was probably some other baby."

Ellie's first solid food was oatmeal this morning!  She was very excited when she tasted her first bite and then, of course, she became very serious and focused about eating more oatmeal.  Impossible to miss the Nitin microexpressions.

We had lunch downtown with Uncle Dylan today, and don't these two make a sweet pair?  

Time is still marching quickly and I cannot believe that Ellie will soon be six months old.  I am still discovering the ways in which our lives have been forever changed but the arrival of this little one.  I still spend time second guessing choices, big and small -- were we wise to choose to live here and how will my career affect Ellie, should Ellie start eating oatmeal of mashed banana first, which daycare is better, and the list goes on.  I cannot promise anything approaching perfection, but we do our best and we just adore her...