Happy Birthday to Me!

We had our first overnight trip away from home with Elena Rose. Since she's been home from the hospital until this weekend, she's spent every night at home. On Saturday, my birthday, we stayed at a hotel in Pismo Beach. When we got to the hotel we took a dip in the pool. It was a little cold for our taste so we ended up in the hot tub.After that we went to Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo. At first Elena Rose didn't like the way the wet sand felt on her feet, but it didn't take long for her to start loving the ocean. She kept wanting to walk straight into the waves. Every time we left the water, she walked us all the way back to it.
That evening we celebrated Dora's 50th birthday at the beach with a bonfire and BBQ. And we got to visit with her daughter Amanda. The last time Amanda saw her Elena Rose was just over a week old. As soon as Elena saw Amanda she reached for her, hugged her, and leaned forward and gave her two kisses. That's the first time she's ever done that!

Amanda and Elena RoseDora, Elena Rose, me, and JorgeThe bonfireWe had such a blast! We were all pooped after, but it was well worth it. Today we visited my family in Santa Maria. We had a really good visit with the kids, they're always so goofy. And I have to say, Mercedes and Savanna look so much alike now! I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture, but I'm going to capture it next time.

Catching up

It feels like we've been super busy, so here are some snippets to catch up.

This is what Elena Rose looks like when Daddy dries her hair after the bath. Poor thing.
Her hair is growing quickly. I don't want to cut it, so usually I'll wet my fingers and wipe it away from her face. We use clips and bows, but lately she's started pulling them out. I hope that doesn't last.
She loves to spit. You can see her tongue sticking out here. And the spray can go pretty far!
My friend Danielle made bibs for her when I was pregnant. This bib is the Bambi one she made. Elena Rose kept wanting to kiss Bambi before she started eating.
She's getting better at getting the bottle to her baby doll's mouth.
She got her first helmet. We had to order it online, since the toddler helmets we found in stores were for 3 years and older. She absolutely loves books. At night I read her at least two, but one night I read seven because she kept asking for another one, and another one.

Summertime

It was so hot today! I took Elena Rose for a walk around 6:15 and it was still burning up. When we got home the sprinklers were on because Jorge was fixing them, so I walked by them to cool off. The baby liked it and wanted to play more in the water, but I didn't want to walk through the middle, so Jorge took Elena "flying" through them. She loved it. Once they were off she enjoyed playing on the wet lawn and in the puddles. We felt pretty cool afterward! And Jorge was soaked.She plays in her tunnel now!And she claps!

First Boo-Boo and First Bike Ride

Every parent dreads seeing their child in pain. Yesterday Elena Rose was walking and she fell and hit her face on the floor. She hit her top lip and it actually wasn't as bad as it could've been. She cried for a while, but after she woke up from her nap most people wouldn't have even noticed that her lip was swollen. She was fine, though.

This morning Elena Rose and I went to church and watched the service from the Cry Room. I love the Cry Room. The sanctuary is a huge auditorium, and the Cry Room is off to the side on the second floor, with a big glass window for you to watch, and also a screen to see the pastors close up. It's nice because I don't have to worry about her getting fussy, wanting to nurse or eat, stand, etc. And today we had a really good time and both enjoyed the service. She sat in my lap, ate her little cookies and puffs, and loved the music.

This is my latest Craigslist purchase. I've bought so much on Craigslist, including Elena's two birthday presents, her wagon and bouncy horse. Now we have a bike trailer so Jorge and I can actually ride our bikes at the same time! We bought our bikes a long time ago, but then I got a big pregnancy belly and couldn't ride. Then we had the baby, so we couldn't go riding at the same time. Now all 3 of use can go out on the paseos and get some fresh air and sun. We took her out for a short ride to see if she liked it, and she did. We have to get a helmet small enough to fit her little head now.

Just One Day

I have one of the most loveable babies in the whole world. I was so happy to see her when I got home from work today. She gave me a kiss every time I asked her, and she let me give her big hugs. She wanted to go outside so we went for a walk. It was around 5:30 and still pretty hot outside, but we enjoyed it. She loves being in her wagon. She's so quiet when we go on walks, just looking around at all the squirrels and dogs that go by. Then when we got home we played in the playroom. She really enjoys being in there. Now she dances standing up; it's amazing how that just happens naturally. She really loves the puppets, too. Here she's sifting through them deciding which one she wants me to play with. She seems ambivalent about the alligator and lion because they look scary, but she's always handing them to me to play with. She kept crawling in my lap to play with a syringe that came in a doctor's kit we got for her. She gives me the stethoscope and I'll put it on her chest and pretend to listen to her lungs and heart. She likes to pull the two parts of the syringe apart, then hand them to me to put back together. She could do that about 20 times and be amused. Jorge got to spend the whole day with her, then he had to leave for some time this evening. When he got home he took her "flying." She really likes that. Overall she had a pretty good day, and so did we!

Perseverance

Ah, we are always on our toes! All week I've been unpacking boxes for the garage sale, and we finally had it today. It was a success! The weather was perfect, our driveway was shaded the entire time, and we sold stuff we haven't used in two years. The other plus is that now we'll actually have room to store stuff in our garage! It was tiring since I couldn't go through all the boxes until Elena Rose was asleep, but it was worth it. She got up early with us this morning; people were at our house buying stuff at 6:30! And she was a really good sport through most of it. Everyone always tells us we have such a calm, mellow baby . . . we are really lucky. I'm just glad I can focus on other things now.

RestingElena Rose wants to walk constantly now! Or at least she tries. She takes a few steps then falls forward on her hands, then tries again, and again. She has a lot of determination. She's still getting the hang of it, but pretty soon she's going to be running all over the place!She's so sweet, she was kissing her stuffed dog and then resting her cheek on him.This is after I asked her where her bellybutton is. She has been playing peek-a-boo by putting her arm over her eyes. She now has 4 teeth on top and 4 on the bottom. She is eating a lot more solids now. Today she had several grapes, cherries, watermelon, bread, string cheese, cheddar cheese, pizza crust, chicken tenders, yogurt, milk, and juice. Quite an improvement!

I wanted to put both of these videos to show how fun she is. The first one is of Jorge playing peek-a-boo (a rather aggressive form of the game, she likes to be startled!), and the second is of her practicing her walking skills.