Sleep Problems

Well, after 11 months of having a baby who sleeps like a champ, Elana now has a new evening routine. Bathtime, stories, a bottle, then WAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I was sure that we had passed any stage that this might start happening, but after many conferences with parents of babies and toddlers, I soon realized that I had been misleading myself for some time. Oh well. Among the many things I have learned, fluidity and flexibility are on the list! If Elana is going to cry every time we put her in her crib, we will work it out. As difficult as this is, I know she isn't going to suffer any long-term damage.

Anyway, we drove down to Portland for a a short getaway this past weekend, and it was more stress than was really worth it. The biggest reasons were that Elana had diarrea AND got her first cold on Sunday. We got her to sleep in her pack-n-play by 8:30, but by 11:30 she was up and screaming. The only way we could soothe her was to give her a warm bath and bring her to bed with us (in the king-size tempurpedic mattress!!!). She didn't sleep that great, so of course i didn't either, but I woke up at 2 in the morning to find her sleeping horizontally while Noah and I were pushed to the edges of this massive bed. It was so darn cute I almost grabbed my camera.

Here is a cute pic of Elana trying on some sunglasses at Hannah Anderson:

Changes

Moo-Cow's life during winter break:



Moo-Cow's life now:

Spoons Can Be Fun

Rocking Out

Back from CT

Our flight home was a smashing success. Thanks to everyone who had excellent advice. I was so full of anxiety about getting on the plane yesterday that I was barely able to sleep the night before. The trip got off to a bad start after we boarded the plane in Hartford. The pilot got on the speaker and announced that the Newark Airport was experiencing a "ground stop", which means no planes were taking off or arriving for at least an hour. After we sat in the plane for about 90 minutes, we finally took off. That was plenty of time for me to get even more anxious about our 6+ hour flight from Newark to SeaTac. I don't know if it was the baby Motrin we gave Elana BEFORE we took off, or the teething tablets, or WHAT, but she was amazing. She stayed in her car seat for majority of the flight, slept for almost half of the 6 hours, and was a smiley pants when we got to Seattle. We were both so relieved we could barely see straight. I am so glad we don't have to get on another plane for a while . . .

We really had a wonderful time at the Webbers in CT. Because of the rough trip out there, we weren't as bold with our plans. I didn't want to be stuck in the car with her super upset on a long road or train trip anywhere, so we pretty much stuck close to home. Grammy threw an open house for all of our family and friends to meet her, and Elana was a champ. Here are some of the highlights:

Elana's first trip to the Aquarium in Mystic, CT




Visiting with Erin, Luke, and Maeve Harrison



Helping Grammy in the Kitchen




Elana's first taste of pizza (which she LOVED!!!)




Hanging with Grammy, Big Poppy, Uncle Lorin, and Aunt Ali






Playing the piano for the first time - Check out this video.



This picture is of Elana in a high chair that my Grandfather (whom I never met) made for my Mom and her brothers. My cousins and I used it too, and now Elana is the third generation to use it.



A Webber/Polio family portrait: