Halloween 2009

Ok I was good for about a month then I started slacking at updating Elise's follower(s). I will try to be better with holidays coming up.

Halloween was very busy. We spent a long time looking for the perfect costume and finally decided on the first one we saw. Elise was the cutest monkey ever! We started out having dinner. Stephanie made two soups, squash and vegetable. They were both very good and Elise ate a bowl of each. Elise is eating so much these days. I remember just a few months ago we could just share our food with her and now we have to make, or order, enough for her as well. Elise's Papa (Mark), Grandma (Kit) and Auntie Jessica came over for dinner and then joined us in our tour of the neighborhood.

We taught Elise to say "Trick or Treat" (kind of), it was very cute. I also gave her a banana to finish out the costume and, being the dynamic thinker that she is, she started chewing through the skin. Fortunately this just taught her that she could do the same thing with anything that comes in a skin, like candy bars.



We went to see all of the immediate neighbors and Elise was confused at first. She did not understand why she had to say "Trick or Treat" instead of "Hi". Once they started giving her candy she did not really care. She started ringing doorbells and walking up to every house, even if no one was home. Elise also started saying "thank you" once she got her candy. When the neighbors would let her take her own she was grabbing a handful and then going back for more and she was so cute people let her. I am fairly certain she gets that from me. Once we finished the immediate neighbors Elise was having so much fun we pressed on across the street.

Elise loved all of the other kids and their costumes. We let her take her car because the slippers that she got with the costume were pretty big and we were afraid of her falling. Of course she had no such issues. Getting her to bed was a bit of an issue. It was very late, but the sugar buzz was off the charts. Upon final count she had about 70 pieces of candy in under an hour and 7 of those we chewed through the wrapper. Plastic is ok, but the chocolate center is worth the effort. I think a few times during the night she was looking at me and wondering why we haven't been doing this every night, like I was holding out on her. When we finally got home Elise ran inside and closed the door on Mark and I. When we rang the doorbell Elise opened the door, but once we said "Trick or Treat" she slammed the door in our faces. She may have an issue with sharing her candy. Getting Elise to sleep that night was a challenge. Even though it was pretty late (9:30) the sugar buzz was firing on all cylinders. The good news was that she slept in on November 1st though.

The Cutest Thing Ever!

As promised I am delivering the story of the cutest thing ever. As a preface to this story I must tell you that Elise has a bedtime routine of getting her bottle in the guest bed in her room. After that she falls asleep cuddling with us. We sneak out and after she has been asleep for awhile we put her in her crib, so she doesn't roll off the bed. I'll tell you about the cabin story that is related after The Cutest Thing Ever!

A long time ago now Elise was put to bed in the guest bed in her room. Stephanie and I then went out into the living room to watch some TV. Around 11pm Stephanie went to bed and I went to play on my computer. As I am busy killing mutants or something I hear a soft thump and pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter. I figured since it was a soft thump it was a cat, but it was that super cute pixie Elise. She came running out to the living room to surprise us on the couch. When we were not there she turned and started running to our bedroom, but she saw me in the library and raised her arms in triumph with the biggest "Look what I can do!" grin. She was so proud of herself. It was The Cutest Thing Ever!

I admit it loses something in the telling, but I was so happy for her I felt bad about putting her back to bed (in her crib this time.) I only wish I had a camera handy because she was so proud of herself.

Now we know she has learned how to get off the bed or couch on her stomach. She just rolls over, droops her legs over the edge and slides off. Sometimes she ends up on her feet, sometimes she ends up on her butt, but she is down.

Elise's First Trip to Monterey

We had a great opportunity to hang out with our friends Tammy, Kira and Victor in Monterey and Elise was so excited about it. We all met up in Monterey on June 6th. Stephanie wanted to stop at Anderson's Split Pea Soup, but Elise was too tired and did not want to wake up when we got there so, we pressed on. It was too bad because Elise loves split pea soup. We arrived in Monterey around 1pm and checked into the hotel. It was really nice. Tammy found it and did a really good job on that one. Since Victor, Tammy and Kira were running late we went down to the waterfront to hang our until they arrived. Elise got her first opportunity to hang out on the beach. At first the send was a little too strange and she did not want to walk on it, but after a few minutes she was ready to start eating it. It was so gross even Elise wouldn't eat it after the first sample. Stephanie brought Elise into the water to play a little before everyone else met up with us. Elise loved the water especially the waves.

After we had lunch our friends arrived and brought Kira's aunt (Coral) and her husband. We walked around Cannery Row for a couple of hours then brought the babies back to the hotel for naps. After naps we went back to Cannery Row to find some dinner. The first place we stopped at required reservations, but the second place had no problems seating us. They actually gave us the Chef's Dinning Room. It was like eating in a stone wine cellar. The food was good, wine was very good and the company could not be beat, unfortunately Elise and Kira could care less about any of that and they were cranky and wanted to eat. Considering the time it took Elise and Kira were really good girls. When dinner was over we went back to the hotel to hang out and put the babies to bed. It was a really fun night, but since Elise was sleeping and this is her blog, I will have to skip some great stories.

The next day Coral and her husband had to leave, so we went to the Monterey Aquarium before they had to go. It is a beautiful aquarium, but Elise was a little young for it. She enjoyed the jelly fish, sea otters, penguins, sea horses and some of the other more unusual fish, but she really enjoyed the kelp beds and the ocean from the balconies. Her favorite part was snack time. When we left it was time to eat or sleep, so we ate. Elise is almost eating as much as Stephanie now.

Sorry that there are no pictures with this Post but Denise is rushing me to find out what the Cutest Thing Ever was and we just got back from San Francisco.

Only a little behind now

I am only a little behind now and I really have to get caught up, because Elise did the cutest thing ever last night, BUT you have to wait. This is my evil teaser.

In the next couple of days I will cover development, tomboy ways, Monterey, swimming and then the cutest thing ever.

Stay tuned.

Elise introduced to baby crack by Nana

Sound like a great newspaper headline, doesn't it? Okay may a bit tabloid. Elise has had a sheltered life. Mostly organic food, lots of reading time, evening walks by the river and a loving family. That all ended when Nana and Pepe came to visit last month. Now all she wants is Abby, Murray, Chris, Cookie Monster and Elmo. Okay she still has healthy food, reading time, walks and a loving family, but it could all vanish if we don't have an intervention soon. Stephanie said to stop exaggerating, so she does not need an intervention.

My parents visit was wonderful (except for the above mentioned addiction.) We mostly hung out around the house and visited. Mom (aka Nana) played with Elise and Dad (aka Pepe) helped me build stuff. As a thank you for all their help we went up to Tahoe and had dinner at Mark and Kit's (aka Grandpa and Grandma) cabin. I love the cabin, so I was really hoping Elise would not have an issue with the elevation. She is so awesome now, she did not even notice it. After that we went gambling in Nevada. Elise was hot at the craps table. Okay so she did not really play this time, but she loved the light and sounds of the casinos. It sounds like it could be another tabloid headline later.

After my parents left Elise kept walking around the house saying "Nana". It was really cute, like she thought Nana was playing hide and seek. I guess Nana and Pepe made a real impact, because "Nana" is still one of her favorite words.

Elise's birthday party

Elise had her birthday party on May 23rd. A week before her birthday because her aunt did not look at a calendar before booking airfare. Not the aunt in the above picture but this aunt.



It was a fantastic day for a party in the park. We reserved a place next to Fairytale Town in Land Park and a lot of our friends were able to visit. Elise loved hanging out with all of the other kids in the park. Usually when she is around other children she is at school. No play dates yet unless you count when she hangs out with me.

She was a little intimidated by her birthday cake (thank you Grandpa and Grandma [thank you for the cake not the intimidation]). When Jessica and I tried to help her eat it she got stage fright and cried. She was alright after a moment and back at it with a vengeance. My shirt still bears the green stains as proof.

Elise got way too many gifts, some she has not even opened yet and some that she is sleeping with as I write this. I could take her giraffe away from her, but she would start screaming almost immediately. She loved all of the books and outfits. She has more outfits than her mother now. All in all it was a great day and a wonderful first birthday. Thank you everyone for coming and making it so special.


If Elise was a pirate she would be Green Beard - Scourge of the kiddie pool!

More catching up

May was pretty eventful. If she can keep up this learning curve, she will be in Molecular Biology by 4 years old.

Learning to walk. Falling down a lot. I found Elise has a gift for falling on her butt. She could be falling face first or backwards stiff as a board, but she never hit her head. She has my gift for graceful falls. She did discover that she was short enough to walk under the dinner table, but once she walked between the support slats that she had to duck down to walk out. A skill that she still has not mastered to this day. She has received most of her bruises from the dining room table.

Also in May Elise proved she is our daughter and decided that her favorite toys in the world are her books. She can be in the worst mood, tired, cranky etc and be giggling and totally content once some one gives her a book. She still rips out the pop-ups, but I do that too sometimes.

Elise has said her first word. This was due to brain washing by Grandma and Auntie Jessica. She was forced to say "Flower". We have it on video for all you non-believers. She even pointed to it as she said it. It was kind of ambitious so we were obviously very proud parents. She has endeavored to eat every flower in Grandma's garden since she was 5 months old, so now she can name her favorite meal.

Speaking of food she has totally given up on baby food. Since her teeth (2) first appeared she has been working toward giving up the goop.

More to follow when I can upload pictures.

Chronological Catch Up

You may have noticed that the last update was April 16th. There is a reason that I have been so busy. Elise took her first steps on April 20th and was fully walking on April 30th. We missed it, because it happened at daycare. She was grounded for two weeks. No computer and no phone because she did something so momentous at daycare instead of home. I think she learned her lesson, but that is for another blog entry.

Elise's big surgery day!

Elise had a huge day yesterday. She got up hungry at 4:30, but her vicious dad wouldn't feed her so she voiced her frustration for an hour before exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep. We woke her up at 7:00 for a quick ride to the ENT (Ear Nose and throat)doctor. Her ENT Doctor was Dr Blazen. A great doctor, but she has a super villain name. Dr Blazen just sounds like she should be fighting the X-Men.

She was great at the surgery center. Happy, smiling and winning over then entire staff. Just as the Nurse came over to take her vitals Elise started coughing. A sure sign that she was not healthy enough to get her tubes. When the Anesthesiologist came over she said the cough sounds deep, but since she was healthy otherwise we should probably proceed. We were utterly elated! Around 9:15 Elise went into surgery playing with the nurse's surgery bonnet since she had already taken hers off. Around 10:00 it was over. Dr Blazen said she actually had a double ear infection, so her ear discharge could be green mucus also. Yuck! She now had tubes and was pretty upset. I went to get the car. Stephanie went to sooth the baby. The anesthesiologist came out to stress that the raspiness in her lungs sounded deep and we should get a doctor appointment or at least a chest x-ray. We were a little more concerned when she mentioned the x-ray, so we got a 6pm appointment. Dr Ward is the best pediatrician in the world. She fit us in by extending her day.

Since we saw another doctor in the group on Monday we went to the zoo.

The Sacramento Zoo is okay. It's not big like San Diego or Miami, but it has a good range of animals. Elise likes the zoo, but not in her stroller. I would pay $1000 for a Baby Bjorn now that I know how much use it gets. Elise loved the flamingos as always. She seemed fascinated by the giraffes. I completely understand. I put her on a play Alligator for a picture. She dropped her shoe and went after it. Face first on the spongy play padding. I know I shouldn't have let her go, but it was for the art.

Elise is really starting to like most of the animals so we got her a season pass. Now we have something free to do that she enjoys.

We started dinner and ran off to see Dr Ward. Dr Ward was a little late, but we were making turkey thighs (about 3 hours to cook.) Dr Ward heard a little rasp but not too much. Just to be on the safe side she ordered the chest film (I watch too many doctor shows.) She figured that the anesthesiologist could hear deeper breaths and focus better with Elise asleep. We went to get Elise x-rays and then headed home expecting to hear from the Doctor today. We got home just as the turkey thighs finished. Like I said best doctor ever. Just as we sat down to eat the phone rang and it was Dr Ward! Elise has pneumonia. It is a very slight case, but she is on antibiotics again. She has been in a great mood since she got her ear inserts, so she is at daycare today. She slept great lasts night. Hopefully Typhoid Elise (grandma's nickname) will be plague free once she kicks this pneumonia.

HUGE Oversite!

Elise has teeth! She got two of them in at the same time. She has had them for a few weeks now and she eats almost everything now. She still does not like meat, but she loves her veggies and desserts. That's my girl. Here is a picture of her eating black bean soup.

Please note the new haircut. Jessica calls it a mullet, but it's not, it is more like a helmet. Long all over but not in her eyes anymore. Stephanie tried to cut it a couple of times, but Elise would not hold still. This haircut was brought to you by the talented people at Supercuts. We are not considering her first haircut since it was just a trim of her bangs.

Tubes for Elise

Elise went to get tubes on March 25th. I did not blog it then because she did not get her tubes. She was very cute in her surgery cap and gown. Unfortunately she had a cough and the anesthesiologist did not want to risk gassing such a young sick baby. We have rescheduled for April 15th. I will keep you posted.

Bronchitis

Bronchitis?! Are you kidding me. I am trying not to let this blog deteriorate into a report of Elise's latest illness, but she does seem susceptible to everything. The good news is that now that she has the inhaler she is sleeping much better. It seems to be the vicious running joke that the nights I stay up with Elise are really bad. I took a series of 30 minute naps Wednesday night. Elise went to the Doctor again Thursday at 9:30. She got an inhaler and now she seems much better already. She is very clingy, but just wants to sleep.
Stephanie stayed home with her today. She woke up once last night. This cosmic joke is getting old.

Latest Dr Appointment

I took Elise to the Doctor Tuesday for a follow up on her ear infection and the antibiotics shots worked! Elise is illness free for the first time in... I can't remember when.

Somehow she has turned in to the perfect baby again. She is still dentally challenged and climbing on everything, but perfect. She has the standing thing down cold and she is starting the stepping thing. She is going to be walking before she is chewing.

We have one more piece of news... Elise is NOT lactose intolerant. I guess her stomach is more European than Asian. I was worried that she would never know the joy of ice cream, cheese, chocolate milk and yogurt.

I'll try to get a video of her standing up soon.

They grow up so fast

Okay they do grow up fast, but no that fast.

Elise was getting her first tooth Tuesday night. Stephanie and I decided to take shifts since we both had to be at work on Wednesday and I took the first shift. The first shift had a whiny, crying, pained baby. She would sleep for 15-20 minutes then start screaming until 2:30 in the morning. Poor baby, we gave her Orajel, teething tablets and finally infant Tylenol. She was having such a rough time with her tooth. She would bite down on her binky and it would hurt so she couldn't sooth herself, so I had to hold her for 4 hours. - Side note: 17.4 lb is heavy after an hour. - She finally fell asleep enough for me to put her down at 2:30 and I was ready for the shift change. I was so tired I could feel my skin weighing me down.

Stephanie had the second shift and I felt bad for her, but not so bad that I stayed up. I was asleep in 20 seconds; if it took that long. The next morning Stephanie made me get up and in the shower first because she was so tired. When I got out of the shower she was already making bottles for daycare, such a trooper. I asked Stephanie how many times she had to get up during her night of horror. She looked so tired as she said "Once at 4am for 15-20 minutes for a feeding".

I am still stunned at the unfairness of life two days later. I would cry, but I still don't have the energy.

It seems that Elise's tooth was actually an ear infection and she was fine once the eardrum burst and the pressure was gone. I swear I felt a tooth, but I was REALLY tired. Elise is back on the drops, getting antibiotics shots and is getting a ENT referral for tubes.

She is back at daycare and still dentally challenged.

I'll post another video or pictures soon.

Crawling Video

I promised a video and here it is.

Elise is crawling

Can't write the blog today. I have to catch Elise before she reaches the cat food.