MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! We stayed in Washington for my first Christmas. We went to the oldest built Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill for services last night on Christmas Eve. The church was nicely decorated, the right temperature and the choir sounded joyful. It was so nice in fact, that I decided to fall asleep immediately after arriving and waking up only shortly before the candlelit ceremony and communion. 

On Christmas morning I started my day with a nice bottle of milk followed by opening presents from Santa, my parents, my Grandparents, my Aunt and some friends of our family. It was a ton of fun! I got a lot of clothes for the upcoming spring and summer, some awesome learning toys and some books and bath toys. My favorite toys so far include the Baby Laptop by V-Tech that my Aunt Antasia gave me and my Rock 'N' Roll ball by V-Tech from my Grandma and Grandpa Talan. 

My parents, Lexie and I hung out most of the day spending time together playing with our new gadgets and toys and eating and drinking--being "Merry". After dinner, we took a quick drive to the White House to see the National Christmas Tree, all the State Trees, the Yule Tide Log and the National Menorrah. It was freezing out! But, my parents took care to bundle me up so that I was nice and toasty. Unfortunately, we didn't have any snow. Maybe next year...

Ella Meets Santa Claus

On the coldest day of the season (and of my life) so far, my parents dressed me up like an Eskimo in a faux suede and sherling fur bunting coat by Baby Gap. It was definitelly not the most comfortable coat and I felt completely restricted, especially since it's a size too big for me. But, it did keep me nice and toasty.

We were shopping in Georgetown when we stumbled upon the 1st Annual Merriment Winter Festival on Wisconsin Avenue. They were serving several types of hot cocoa and ice cream. We could hear several local choirs singing carols in concert.

We walked from the front to the back of the festival in 26 degree blustery windy weather. Thank Goodness it was only a block long. At the tail end of the block sat this ginormous and bubbly man dressed in a nice warm and padded red suit. I was introduced to him as Santa Claus. Daddy sat me upon his lap while Mommy, as well as five or six other stand-bys took my picture. Look how happy I am. Santa seemed happy too!

I am 6 Months Old

I am 6 months old today. That's half way to my first year birthday already! Wow! How time flies when you're growing and having fun! I am still 27 inches and I now weigh 17 pounds and 2 ounces. I can sit up without any support and I am beginning to scoot around now. I am even trying to squiggle out of my parents arms and onto the floor to play. I am learning to express myself better too. I am reaching for specific things (I especially like reaching for cell phones or the remote control). I also reach for my daddy when he comes home from work or my mommy when she gets home from her errands and the gym. I have been practicing using my vocal range. I grunt using my lower register and I squeal in high pitches. I hum in what I think could become my "regular voice".

My favorite toys are my cloth book, my rubber duckie, my Princess doll and my Pink Teething Ring by Loved Baby that our friend Carmen in L.A. sent me. 

My parents think that I'm left handed so far because that hand appears to be stronger and also seems to be my favorite hand to use when I grab things. Here are a few random shots of me during the first week of December after I turned 6 months old. 

Play Date with My New Friend Nora

Thanks to a smart networking tool called Facebook, my parents were reunited with their friends Pat and Jaime who now have a 2 year old daughter named Nora. We were invited to their home in Severna Park for a few hours of fun, fun, fun! Nora pulled out some of her favorite toys for me to play with and she dressed up in her "Prairy outfit". That's a cross between dressing up like a Princess and a Fairy. That's me in Nora's 2-in-1 Walker and Nora in her baby swing. Nora says she is ready for a little baby brother or sister.

My First Thanksgiving

My First Thanksgiving was spent with my Mommy, Daddy and our doggie Lexie in my hometown, Washington D.C. While my parents noshed on the traditional Thanksgiving meal, I nibbled on Organic Sweet peas and milk. After lunch, Daddy decided to start a new Thanksgiving Tradition: visiting a new exhibit at one of the Smithsonian museums. He chose the National Gallery of Art for my first museum visit. We went to see the Pompei and The Roman Villa exhibit. I could overhear my parents whispering that it wasn't very exciting. They had actually seen some of the same type of art work at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles last year. I was excited about seeing all the new people and hearing all of the different international languages. Here are a few pictures documenting my day. 

My First Solids

My pediatrician gave my parents the greenlight to start feeding me solids when I was 4 months old. However, my parents decided to wait until I was 5 months old to begin. Mommy started out with the standard rice cereal suggested. I found it very yucky and didn't enjoy it at all. After a few days of trying to get me to eat this, Mommy decided to try Earth's Best Organic Level 1 pureed baby food. I loved the Sweet Potatoes. Yum! Yum! I eat about one tablespoon of food a day now. Only about one baby spoon full is normally consumed, but I am having fun practicing.

Ella Takes Manhattan!

Mommy and Daddy took me to their favorite city in the whole wide world this past  Veteran's Day weekend...New York City! We had a fantastic time and I enjoyed the city very much. I could even imagine attending Columbia, NYU, Julliard or FIT. Well, at least my parents are already priming me for those considerations.

 

We stayed at the very nice Hudson Hotel, only a few blocks away from the Time Warner Center and Columbus Circle. Here is a picture of relaxing in bed and lounging on a comfy chair while my parents took pictures of me and got ready for dinner.

Manhattan isn't nearly as loud with horns and random people yelling as my parents said it was even just a few years ago. The cities are still fast paced and packed with a lot of people. And while the city never sleeps, I became the "baby that never sleeps". I woke up at 9 AM every morning, but went to sleep every night around 1:30 AM. I just could not resist the urge to stay up and hang out. This of course was to my parents dismay. 

We met up with our friend N'Djamena at Nobu  the first night we were there. The following day we enjoyed more of my parents favorite hot spots like Jean George and Sawa Sushi. We stumbled upon some new places like Swich --a "Green" restaurant where they serve all organic food and even have cups and cutlery made from corn instead of plastic. And our friend Rich introduced us to a place called Eatery. 

We also got to go into the Hearst Tower (also known as "Oprah's building").  This is the first "green building" in NYC. 

My parents bought me a really nice souvenir: A Classic Children's Book titled "I Like New York" by M. Sasek. Mommy has read it to me about twice a day every day since we got back home. 

I'm 5 Months Old Today!

I'm 5 Months Old Today! I weigh around 16 pounds and I'm exactly 27 inches tall. Some of my hobbies include: tummy time, screeching, throwing my rattles and dolls (and watching my parents pick them up for me), playing with my new Rainforest Bouncy Seat Mobile, blowing loud raspberries, watching my doggie Lexie run around me and sniff me, smiling for the camera (especially Mommy's cell phone camera), smiling at random strangers who smile at me, playing with my hair, pulling on dangly things--especially other people's hair, sitting up (with my bouncy chair or pillows to prop me up),  bending to stretch and touch my toes, standing (with my parent's assistance) and getting really excited and laughing out loud. I'm also beginning to put my rattles and organic cotton dolls in my mouth. 

Last week was the last time my parents swaddled me before bedtime and to their surprise, I still slept through the entire night for 9 hours straight! I am a good baby. (giggle) I had already taken my day naps "swaddle free" for one month now. Mommy is planning on starting me on solids this week. She bought Earth's Best Organic Rice Cereal for my first meal, but plans on pureeing organically grown vegetables and fruits for me for my First Foods. She is really doing her part to "Raise me Green" and a healthy diet is part of that plan. 

I've outgrown the use of my binky/pacifier and haven't used it since I was 4 months old. I never liked it. I  would always make a face to let my parents know that I didn't like the taste. They experimented with different brands, but nothing really stuck.  Using my Born Free Binky helped soothe me the first couple of months, I would use it only at bedtime to help me fall asleep. 

Well, that's my update. Please let us know how you're doing!

We Voted for Change Today in our Nation's Capitol!

Mommy took me to the polls with her this morning at 9:30 AM to cast her vote for Barack Obama. Daddy plans to go tonight around 5:30 PM when he gets home early from work.

Mommy and I  stood in line with about three to five hundred others including our neighbor Arvette and her 2 year old son Kadin. Arvette was very nice and arrived there ten minutes before us and saved us a space in line. The line wrapped around a city block and the weather was about 55 degrees with overcast skies. There was a Forecast of Showers, but Mommy didn't care. She threw on a hat and dressed in a white sweater with blue jeans to commemorate the occasion. She also dressed me in a "political onesie" compliments of my Aunt Antasia that read Future President. I managed to stay awake the entire 80 minutes we were outside, but fell asleep as soon as we entered the Voting Station where Mommy cast her Electronic ballot and continued to take pictures of me while I was sleeping next to these signs. 

The group of people gathered seemed to be very unified in their choice for Obama and Mommy even saw a few people with tears of joy streaming down their faces. "We are making History" seemed to be the most popular phrase proclaimed by most of the people there. I look forward to reading about Today, November 4th, 2008 one day in my History Books at school. Until then, I hope you get out there and Vote Today!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everybody! Today was my First Halloween and my parents dressed me up in my Pumpkin costume (that my Aunt Antasia bought me) and then they took me out for "Trick or Treat" around our Hillcrest neighborhood in DC. There weren't alot of houses offering up Treats and I am not the type of baby to play tricks or pranks on anyone....yet. We were only out for about one hour and I managed to get at least half of my little pumpkin bucket filled. The weather was really nice, about 60 degrees and not very windy. Mommy was happy because the houses gave out mostly lollypops and Daddy was happy with the few miniature sized chocolate candy bars. I think it's safe to say that I wasn't sure what was going on, but I really enjoyed all the decorations and seeing other babies and kids in the neighborhood.

Afterward, we went to our favorite bookstore in Clarendon where my parents took turns reading me books. That's me smiling at my friend Jasmin. She works at Barnes and Noble in the Children's section. 

Ella's Christening

My parents took me on my first official road trip to their home state of Ohio to meet my Grandmother and Grandfather Talan and Granddad Huesca. My Grammy Huesca was here in DC for my birth. My Grandmother Talan arranged for me to get baptized at Grace Lutheran Church, 13030 Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio. Pastor George Hansell Jr. baptized me. This was a very special occasion because this is the exact same church where my daddy was baptized forty years ago this month. My Grandmother Talan spends a lot of her time doing volunteer work for the church. Some of her volunteer time is spent making special treats such as her famous apricot and cheese rolls and her nut rolls and kiffles. From what I hear, Grandmother Talan is a Martha Stewart type and her home-made sweets are quite tasty!

It was a private ceremony with about twenty guests (including me and my parents). Daddy's best friend from college, Rob Sievert-Wagner and his wife Amy were chosen to be my God Parents. My Grammy and Granddad Huesca came with my Great-Aunt and Great-Uncle Irene and Kenneth from Napoleon, along with my Aunt Antasia. Among other family members, my cousins Paul, Elizabetta, Elena and Carolina were also there. They were in Ohio visiting from Florence, Italy. 

The Babies Who Brunch

Mommy really loves "doing Brunch" with her gal pals. I've already been to 4 brunches. That's one a month since I was born. We especially enjoy brunch at Peacock Cafe in Georgetown because they're very "baby friendly".

One of Mommy's best friends was in town from Boston over the weekend. Her name is Hue Linh. She joked with Mommy and told her that she thought people would mistake me for her baby because I look Asian. Hue Linh is a God Mommy to two little boys, Ben and Sawyer. She is very good with babies because she has a lot of experience. I really liked her a lot. Here is a picture of me and Hue Linh and one of me, Mommy, Hue Linh and our friend Merri. 

I'm 4 Months Old!

I turned 4 months old today. Yay! Everyone keeps telling me that I'm a "Very Happy Baby". Maybe it's because I smile at literally everything--including my doggie Lexie, my dolls and at the characters I see in books. I smile at strangers on the street who greet me with kindness. For some reason, it seems like most people really like babies.

I understand that my name is Ella. After hearing it for four months now, I actually turn my head when I hear my name. My Pediatrician and other books say that most babies learn their names between five and six months of age.

I am 25 inches tall and weigh 14 pounds and 15 ounces. I am completely bottle-fed now. My favorite bottles are by Born Free. They are BPA Free and have a fantastic venting system that reduces spit-up, gas and colic better than all the other bottles we tried. I've tried Avent, Adiri Natural Nursers and Dr. Brown's. Born Free are the absolute BEST! Now, I'm looking forward to trying the Born Free Sippy Cups!

Curious LIttle Ella

Happy Autumn! I'm learning so many things right now!  I love looking at the changing leaves on all the trees outdoors. I discovered that I like ceiling fans during a visit with my friend Charlotte a couple weekends ago.  I like feeling the wind against my face while I'm out for a stroll in my Baby Bjorn. I prefer being in my baby carrier over being pushed in my infant stroller, The Snap N Go.  I don't like riding backwards and I'll throw a little tantrum until my parents face me forward.  I really like people too. I smile at everyone who smiles at me. I even smile at posters or books with smiley people. I definitely got that from my mommy. My scope of vision has developed quite nicely. I am finally noticing our little long haired chihuahua doggie named Lexie. I like to watch her run around. I'm trying to learn to crawl and have a blast during "Tummy Time". I can hold myself up for at least ten minutes before I get tired.  I'm also talking a lot more. I especially get inspired to babble after a book reading. I make all kinds of different sounds and giggle out loud now. I'm grasping onto things better. I especially enjoy playing with my rattles that my Grandmother Talan gave me. My friend Rich gave me my first dolly named Princess that he sent me from Disney World. I love her! I'm learning how to hug her with my hands and arms. Here are a few snapshots from this week!

My First "Play Date"

This is my friend Charlotte Malcomson. She just turned 6 months old on Sunday. Happy 6 month Birthday Charlotte! 

Charlotte is a really happy baby and very fun to be around. Looky, we're almost the same height and size!