Hatrack

Rob came home from a class today looking for a place to hang his hat. Not a perfect fit but it works.

I thought Jake was going in for a good sniff but then...

Things Ella and I learned this week

Ella
1) Gravity works... repeatedly... on the same object
2) Receipts taste good!
3) Co-sleeping with Mommy means playtime at 4am.
4) Cartoons are great!
5) Daddy's a great distraction when you're overtired and don't want to sleep.
6) Bananas are yummy!
7) Pieces of banana are fun!
8) It's fun having Daddy home.

Me
1) Gravity SUCKS!
2) A receipt is a perfect fit for a small mouth.
3) Co-sleeping may not work for us.
4) Rob and I differ in our views on TV for Ella.
5) Handing an overtired Ella off to Rob isn't a great idea.
6) You can spoon banana out of it's peel.
7) Pieces of banana are hard to remove from small ears and nostrils.
8) It's great having Rob back!

Rob's new toy.

Rob came back for Palau in search of the perfect laptop. Well, today he went shopping and came back with a MacBook Pro. We had decided on the MacBook with some basic upgrades but he went to the store without me. I should have known better than to trust him out on his own.



When we were researching yesterday my, oh so generous, husband stated "I almost don't want to get an Apple." When I asked "why" his response was "because you'll want to use it." I can't wait 'til he leaves for work tomorrow and I can get my hands on the photo and video programs (if he doesn't sneak off with it.)

My father and brother have already called to say congrats. I think they're as excited the new acquisition as they were about Ella's birth.

I think I need a new camera to go with the MacBook. Hint!! Hint!!

Too Cool!!

Ella had her first swim lesson today. It's more like a water play class. The ultimate goal is to teach small children a few things that might buy their parents some time if they fall into the pool. Simple things like how to float on your back and how to swim to the side of the pool and hold on until help comes. She and Rob participated in the class while I sat on the sidelines. One of the exercises the instructor had Rob do was called "DunkyDo." On the count of three you say "DunkyDo," blow into her face so she takes a breath and closes her eyes, then quickly dunk her under water. It was quite amusing watching my very macho husband say "one, two, three, DunkyDo." I won't share his rather colorful adjectives describing the exercise once class was over. Ella tolerated it without any tears and minimal expressions of surprise. She was pretty serious during the class but as soon as she got out of the water she was laughing and chattering away. Unfortunately I forgot the camera but I did get a picture of her in her sunglasses when we got home. Please note that they are the exact shade of pink as her dress. Too bad she'd already pulled off her matching socks. It's all about the accessories.



Here's Ella's cousin, Zadie, in sunglasses, in Vermont, in April, during a snowstorm. Don't ask!

Six month check

Yesterday Ella had her six month check and vaccines. She's still a tank at a whopping 19lbs and 28in. Apparently she's 90% for weight and 97+% for height. I have no idea where this large child came from. I'd wonder if there was some sort of mix up at the infertility clinic if she didn't make the same irritating throat scratching noise her father does.

As you can see, she's warmed up to her father quite well. I've never heard her laugh as much as she does with him. I think she has decided he's there solely for her personal amusement.

A wonderful day touched with sadness.

Today Jenny, my friend of 34 years gave birth to twins. According to their grandfather "Chance arrived first at 6 pounds, 9 ounces and healthy as a horse and “talking” up a storm. Grace arrived second at 5 pounds, 11 ounces and was “calm” as a welcome warm breeze on a cool day." They made it to 39 weeks and 1 day (a whole day longer than Ella) and were delivered by scheduled C-section between 9 and 10. Yeah Jenny and Eric!!!!!!!

When I booted up the computer to type up this blog entry I read that Kurt Vonnegut died earlier today. It saddened me to read about the loss of one of my favorite authors. To quote Newton in Cat's Cradle:
"No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's . . . No damn cat, no damn cradle."

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

We decided to pick up Rob from the airport and surprise him. He wasn't All that surprised but Ella was fascinated. On the ride home she stared at him until she dozed off. Once we were home I snuck her into her crib. When she woke from her nap Rob went into her room. She was not impressed. It wasn't until I read Ella her favorite book TWICE and then handed both her and the book off to Rob that she was even vaguely pleased. Afterwards all three of us sprawled on the futon and played "Feet in the Air." WE even got Rog to wave his feet in the air with us! Ella thought that was great fun and even laughed at her father a few times. I think the ice has been broken.

UGH!!! Still no Rob!

Yes, it is 8:00 am Monday and yes, I'm still a single mother. No, Rob didn't arrive yesterday and no, he didn't arrive at 30 minutes ago and no, he won't be arriving at 10:00 am, all scheduled arrival times. Yes, he did call me at 6:30 am to tell me they were still in Guam. Wasn't that considerate of him? He said the plane was taking off "any minute" and that they should get in some time today. He asked that I not drive over to meet them because of traffic and that he'll just hop the ferry over from base. I've given up all hope and figure that if he knocks on the door he's here and if he doesn't he's in Guam.

Did you know you can Dyson a dog?

Today, in celebration of Rob's impending return, I bought a Dyson . Quite the celebration wouldn't you say? Our last vacuum was almost five years old and not working so well. It did a whole lot of moving hair and dirt around the room and not much picking it up. Ella's about to start crawling and I was getting a bit freaked out about the amount of hair on the floor. I did a bit of research on line, about three hours worth, and settled on either the Dyson or the Kenmore Direct Drive. Since we had a Kenmore I decided to try the Dyson. Those of you who know me well know how much I hate to clean!!! I brought the Dyson home and tackled our 12x12 piece of carpet, I had the canister almost 2/3 full by the time I was finished. I've never had so much fun doing housework. I decided to try to Dyson the dogs. Bailey was having none of it. Jake was a bit reluctant but with some coaxing (my grabbing his collar and holding him still) he tolerated the experience. Talk about dog hair! One of my friends talks about vacuuming her stove on her blog but she never talks about vacuuming the dogs. What a novel experience.

Where are middle name suggestions? Jenny's having those babies any day now.

YEAH!!! ROB'S IN GUAM!!

Yep, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train. Maybe we'll get him back this month after all.

I'm looking for middle name suggestions. My oldest friend (we met at the age of two) and her husband are due with twins and have a rather long German last name that starts with a B. They've choosen Chance and Grace for the first names but need middle names. I, of course, am voting for Grace Elizabeth. Jenny's voting for Chance Leo (after her grandfather). Any other suggestions?

Multitasking

How many of you can suck on the tentacles of an octopus and type at the same time? And...

Would you want to?

Another rough day

Ella's feeling pretty bad, as evidenced by her many mood swings throughout the day. I was on the phone with Jenny, now 38 weeks and two days preggers with Chance and Grace Elizabeth (kidding about the Elizabeth but I'm a bit partial,) and Ella finally got quiet in her crib. I snuck in to see if she was breathing. I'm a bit OCD that way. This is how I found her. Her diaper had just been changed and I hadn't fastened her onesie. It was warm so her pants were off. She had removed her sock a few minutes before with her mouth. She's started chewing on her toes and if they're clad in socks that doesn't seem to be a problem. She usually just pulls them off with her gums and two teeth (the socks not the toes.)

Saline nose irrigation and aspiration

I tried it!! Ella and I aren't big fans. I need at least four hands, two adults, and one cooperative baby for it to be effective. Alas, of the afore mentioned, I only have two hands and one adult. Effective irrigation that does not make. The end result was streams of snot down the face (Ella's, not mine) and 30 minutes of tears (again, Ella's). I resorted to putting her in the Ergo because she wouldn't let me put her down afterwards and she's too heavy for extended hip balancing. Ah, the joys of single parenthood!

UGH!!!

Rob still isn't home yet. So what, right? I don't know if you remember, but he was late departing. When the crew got to Guam they had to unload their C17 because it was too heavy for the new runway in Palau. Apparently Plau had yet to certify the new runway. They spent almost a week in Guam while they divided up the crew and cargo and flew them into Palau on C17s. Well it's been almost three months and the runway still hasn't been certified. That means three trips to get all the gear and crew to Guam. The first portion of the crew was supposed to fly out on Monday but, because of a little typhoon, the plane was unable to get to Palau from Japan. After a few days the weather god smiled and yesterday the first plane was set to leave. One of the engines went out on the way over but they got it working and off to Guam they went. It seems that, even though the weather god was smiling, the plane god was not. The plane was unable to return to Palau and is sitting in Guam waiting for engine parts from Japan. After they get the parts, and after they fix the plane, and after they get the plane to Palau, TWICE, and after they get the plane back to Guam, TWICE, then, and only then, I may get my husband back. I'll believe it when I see the whites of his eyes.

I guess the advantage is that Rob gets to miss out on the sick baby and I have a couple of extra days to clean.

Better night last night

Two nights ago it was COLD. Yes, I can can see all of you rolling your eyes. Fine, it was cold for Hawaii. It was probably in the low 60s in Ella's room and she seems to be brewing a cold. During one of her wakings I noticed that her hands were like Popsicles. So, yesterday I went shopping for winter PJs. Yes, yes, more eye rolling. Have any of you ever shopped for winter PJs, in Hawaii, in April? I thought not! It was a near impossible task. After three stores I found ONE pair in her size at Old Navy. Last night I bundled her up; socks, hat, onesie, PJs, and blanket. I pulled out the futon in her room. When she woke at 3:00 with her Popsicles, we cuddled on the futon. It took her only a few minutes to settle down and fall back asleep all nice and toasty warm. I woke up this morning to a grinning face and small fingers exploring my nose.

It's..... PLAYTIME..... at 4am?

Yes, we're up. What else is there to do at oh four hundred? Ella's playing with her mobile and HOPEFULLY will go back to sleep so I can go back to sleep.

Yesterday I left Ella with Amy for a few hours. It's the first time I've been apart from her in a couple of months and the first time I've left her with non family. It was definitely harder for me than it was for her. She spent about fifteen minutes on my lap and then became more interested in Amy's Pufferfish than in her mother. I handed her off to Amy and it took EFFORT to get her to smile at me as I said goodbye. I feed, clothe, bathe, change and comfort her and it's all she can do to even notice I'm leaving. Payback's hell! When I returned a couple of hours later she was asleep propped up on the couch with Amy and Cooper keeping watch. When she woke up she grinned at me like I'd never left.

Here are some photos Amy snapped of Ella being MISERABLE without me.

It's now 4:28 and all is quiet so I'm off to bed.