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!