Sugar and Spice & Everything Nice

Baby No More

2006-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that over a year has passed since we last posted here. Obviously, our little girl has changed nearly as much as our lives have. Little Ella left Ohio still an infant, just learning how to eat baby food and mashed bananas. Eleven months later, she returned to Ohio a full-blown toddler.

As you can see at right, she is now simply a little girl. Ella loves to color with her crayons and Color Wonder markers, to play kitchen and pretend to cook. She's fairly adept at feeding herself with a fork, and can work a spoon surprisingly well (provided whatever she's eating is thick, like yogurt!). With both Mom and Dad back to work at the same time for the first time in her life, Ella began going to her babysitter in August. Thankfully, she transitioned to this new experience extremely well.

Recently, Ella got to go with Mommy and Daddy to a local pumpkin farm to get some pumpkins. She had a blast! There were animals to see and lots of pumpkins to try to pick up. Of course, Ella struggled to handle pumpkins larger than her. Eventually, she found a pumpkin just her size.

2nd Term for Dad Administration

2005-08-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Boy, it's been awhile since we've updated this space. Sorry to those friends and family who have been fruitlessly visiting these last two months. Obviously, a lot's happened. Who knew that when the Dad Administration left office back in early June, a second term was right around the corner?? As it stands right now, I've spent more time at home this year than working for a living. Amazing to think about.

Anyway, there's lots to update ya'll regarding our sweet Ella. She was a real trooper during our drive from Ohio to our new home. Amazingly flexible, Ella found herself eating baby food in all sorts of new and strange places -- a curb in a McDonalds' parking lot, off the back of my vehicle in a dying mall parking lot, outside a Cracker Barrell, and at a desolate gas station just 20 yards from a massive corn field.

Apart from just geography, a lot has changed about Ella as well. If you'll examine the above photo closely, you may just be able to see the two tiny teeth that have revealed themselves in the last month. Ella has progressed to stage 2 foods, and as of this past week, has started eating mashed bananas.

After looking like she'd never quite get crawling and might just skip to walking, Ella got it figured out. Just two days ago, she finally figured out that if she moved her feet and legs less and her hands and arms more, she'd actually get somewhere. Sure enough, this moment of locomotion evolution occured when neither Mom nor Dad was watching. Imagine the surprise when we turned our attention to Ella and saw her six feet away from where she had just been. After two days of practice, she's still not fluid yet, but she's definitely over the hump.

Video Archives Shut Down

2005-07-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

At first I thought the only problem storing Ella's videos was the amount of storage space needed to house them, which is why I took to deleting older ones from the server. While the storage issue can be managed by continually deleting the oldest videos when new ones are uploaded, the same can't be said for the bandwidth issues. My hosting service that I pay for allows for 2 GB of traffic in a month. I just received an email saying that I had already passed the 3 GB mark on traffic with still 11 days in my billing cycle. Increasing my bandwidth allocation is cost-prohibitive at this time, given our current situation. So, sadly, "Ella: The Video Collection" will be temporarily shut down until further notice.

Thank God for Ella

2005-07-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

With all that has been going on in the last few days, Ella has been an amazing source of constant joy. She has been even more happy and bubbly than usual (hard to believe). It's as if her spirit senses what her Daddy and Mommy are dealing with and she's doing her part to bring some relief.

Last night Ella was getting her diaper changed after something that was nothing short than breathtaking had taken place in it. Let's just say: solid foods have made diaper changing a whole new ballgame. Anyway, after cleaning her up, Mommy was playing with Ella when Ella let out the most unbelievable sound: a giggle. It completely caught Mommy off guard, making her gasp, call out my name, and then laugh uncontrollably. I got into the room and Ella did it again . . . and again . . . and again. That sound emanating from my precious daughter was, hands down, the most beautiful and rapturing sound my ears have ever heard. Of course, when I got the camera to record this melodious sound, Ella stopped. Here's the video of what that looked like.

Here also are two more videos:

Eating sour peaches - this could be the funniest thing you've ever seen. Pay attention close to the end.
Attack of the Baby

As with the other videos, these files are large, so downloading will take awhile. They will be added to Ella's video library.

New videos uploaded!

2005-06-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Ella's video library has been updated once more with 8 new videos to watch and enjoy. These include two videos of Ella eating rice cereal (she absolutely loves the stuff!), on the verge of sitting up on her own, and playing in her exer-saucer. My favorite, though, is watching her feet: Ella has this wonderfully cute subconsious habit of twirling her feet at the ankles. Wherever she is, whatever she's doing, more often than not, Ella twirls her feet like other little girls play with their hair. Now you can experience it for yourself. Enjoy!

[NOTE: due to the enormous size of these video files + limited server space on which to host them, I've had to delete the older videos. They will still be listed, but not available for download. If you'd like to view one of these deleted videos, email me and let me know.]

2005-06-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Sitting pretty!

Open Wide!

2005-06-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yummy!

Ella enjoyed her first solid meal this week when she got her first taste of rice cereal. I had heard from many other moms that their babies didn't care for cereal. So I expected the typical "what is this stuff?" look on her face. I expected more of her cereal to be on her bib than in her belly. How wrong I was! She loved it! After just a few bites, she started opening her mouth wide and grunting in anticipation of the next. She tried to grab the spoon herself a few times. She ate about 1 tbs. of cereal her first day. The second day, she devoured the first helping and ate a second helping! The third day she ate about 3 tbs. of cereal! She has a hardy appetite and is enjoying this new food! More pictures of this event are on Ofoto. We'll post the video soon!

Ella's New Tricks

2005-06-16T06:03:00.000-07:00

Here's an update of all the new things that 5 month old Ella is doing.

1. She rolls all over the floor, bed, etc.
2. She can sit up with just a little support from the Boppy pillow or a lap.
3. Grab her feet and pull them to her mouth.
4. Grab anything she wants. All objects go to the mouth for a taste first.
5. Hold a cup and chomp on the spout. She's not drinking from a cup yet, she's just exploring it.
6. Giggle and laugh at Mommy and Daddy.
7. Shout or grunt when I want something.
8. Throw all the toys off of my tray and stare at them or watch Mommy pick them up.
9. Hit and pound things like buttons on toys, the phone, the remote, and Mommy.

Ella is growing so strong each day. She is very close to sitting all by herself! She's very strong and, of course, very smart! She so much fun to play with and interact with. She responds to us when we smile or talk to her. We've taken some new videos of Ella recently. So check them out!

Our First Swim

2005-06-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

I took Ella out for her first swim. Yesterday, I bought a decent sized blow-up kiddie pool and some special swim diapers (according to the commercials, they're a must have). So we got all dressed and ready to go and after a few pictures, Ella promptly puked all over herself! I took some favorite waterproof toys and a wash rag (her favorite bathtime toy) and we set out. She seemed enamored with her floating toys and loved sucking on her wash rag for about 10 minutes. Then the crankyness set in. Next time Mom needs to schedule swimming better. It turns out after all the preparation, Baby Ella was tired. Ever try to get a wet swimming suit off of a tired baby? Not fun! Next time we hope to stay out a little longer so Mommy can get a little sun!

My Last Day

2005-06-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hard as it is to believe, my 10 weeks of paternity leave have finally been reduced to a single day - today. Unlike like time off from work due to vacation or holiday, my time at home hasn't "flown by" in that time-warp, "Boy, it's already Friday? It feels like only Wednesday" sense. As I look back, it does, indeed, feel like I've been off for a long time. Nevertheless, I wish it were longer.

In the time leading up to my going on leave, I wondered how I would handle being at home. I thought that I might suffer a small identity crisis because of how so much of how I see myself revolved around my job as a prosecutor. And even though it still does, no such identity crisis ever materialized. I wondered how my brain would handle the absence of the work-related stimulus. Turned out that my brain actually worked harder during my time off than before it, largely due to doing a lot of thinking and writing on a wide variety of issues on my blog. By comparison, my job can be quite mundane when I'm not in trial. (Which is where I'll be almost immediately upon going back to work: I start back Monday, and have a jury trial beginning Tuesday. No easing back into it. Reminds me of how I started my leave: no easing into it there, either, as Day Two was Ella's first ever Shot Day.) It's not that I dread going back to work - I don't. I'm just not excited or anxious at all at the prospect, and that surprises me a great deal. I didn't think I'd feel this way about going back to work when I last was at work.

I wanted to capture Ella waking up this morning, but I can't find the camera (it's likely with Amber at school documenting her last day with her current classes). Ella awoke just like she always does - with the biggest of smiles that cause her to whole body to fold up. When I come into her room and say "Good morning, Punkin!" her face scrunches into a full-face smile, her arms come up to her head, and her legs go up in the air. She is the happiest human being I've ever seen at the prospect of waking up. How do I preserve this sunny morning disposition for later enjoyment during her teen years?

It's amazing to think about how Ella has changed during the Dad Administration. Dressing her was a real effort that was a lot like trying to properly affix clothing to a slumping, sagging, sack of water. Now, she can sit and stand as needed; she knows to push her arms through the sleeves (although she sometimes gets her hands stuck when she grabs the inside of the sleeve); and she even has figured out how to push her feet into her tiny socks, making that task much easier. She recognizes what I'm doing when I am thawing her milk and getting her bottle ready - she is now so much more able and willing to patiently wait while sucking on her hands than before, when she would just howl to world wondering why she must suffer hunger so.

Going to sleep has been the biggest change. I used to have to cradle her and rock her to sleep, and then struggle to lay her down without waking her. Now, Ella goes to sleep like a "big girl," by simply laying down on our bed (the morning light in her room is unbelievably bright due to the uncovered arch window), sucking her thumb, and heading off to Sleepy Time. I lie down next to her, but now I think that's really for my enjoyment (snuggling next to Ella is such a treat, and a mid-morning nap is a nice treat as well!) rather than out of necessity.

Though Ella will never remember these past 10 weeks, I will never forget them. The bonding that I had hoped would happen indeed has: Ella definitely knows who I am now, and reacts to me and my voice as surely as she reacts to her Mommy's. I am so very thankful to God that I was allowed to have this time. I know that most fathers do not or can not do the same. I am so very thankful to God that I was able to be paid during this time. I wouldn't trade this time with Ella for all the money in the world, but fortunately, I didn't have to prove it.

I would like to "savor" this last week, and especially this last day, but I don't really know what that means. I spent inordinate amounts of time on Tuesday just quietly looking at Ella while she did whatever she did. Don't know if that was "savoring." I think savoring the moment must mean this: enjoying the experience as it happens without anxiously focusing on what lies ahead, while focusing yourself towards a spirit of deep gratitude. Wishing for it to "last forever" I think just spoils the experience by focusing on what can't be. Imagine taking a wonderfully juicy bite of the most flavorful piece of steak. (For you vegans/vegetarians out there, imagine something else. I have no idea what that might be . . .) To "savor" it by simply holding onto the bite longer ruins the experience, as the tasty meat turns into a bland, disgusting ball o' mush in your mouth. No, time waits for no one, and trying to stay in the present just leads to a soured future.

So, with that in mind, I'm not going to wish for more time, yearn for today to never end, and dread returning to work on Monday. I must move forward, as it is fast approaching the time for me to return to my life of fighting crime (sans the cape and tights, though I do sport a cowboy hat). But I will always cherish my ten weeks home with Ella, which clearly rate as one of the highest of highpoints in my life. But, before I can get to cherishing and crime fighting, there's dishes to be done.

[cross-posted at Ragged Edges]

Revenge of the Shots

2005-05-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Two weeks left in the Dad Administration, and we've come full circle to that first week. That's right: today was Shot Day, the Sequel. Today's trip to the Doctor was, surprisingly enough, not as hard as that first one. After seeing how tough Ella was the first time, I was less apprehensive about taking her to get pin-cushioned this time around.

Of course, before we could get to the business of fighting off a gaggle of childhood diseases, there was the matter of the weigh-in. Here's Ella's 4-month Tale of the Tape:

Weight: 14 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile)
Length: 26.25 inches (97th percentile)

This confirmed what Amber and I thought: that Ella's increasing girth has started to level off, even as she continues to grow taller. She's started the process of filling out some of that excess flesh. Ella's now 6 inches longer than when she was born 4 short months ago. As I type this, Amber just got out the tape measure from her sewing kit to see what that means in real terms. Put it this way: the distance from her knees to her feet is all new.

After the weigh-in came the Long Wait for the Doc, which, in pediatrics, is surprisingly not that long a wait at all. Our Doctor has some mystical quality about him, because as soon as he comes in, Ella lights up and smiles profusely at everything her Doctor does. With Ella's eyes, ears, and other faculties checked and questions asnwered, Doc left and the Longer Wait for the Nurse Bearing Needles began. Last time, Ella slept through this part. This time, she expressed her displeasure at not being asleep (her appointment was right when she is usually enjoying her morning nap). Amazing how the sound of loud screaming reverberates and amplifies in a tiny, carpet-less examination room. I'm sure everyone outside thought the wailing was by some kid who had just gotten her shots. Little did they know . . .

As soon as Ella finally calmed down, the Nurse came in. She verified that yeah, they all had heard her. Then it was Shot Time. I've now seen this procedure done twice, and still can't quite believe how quickly it's done and over with. I think this Nurse went even faster than the first one. When the first shot went in, Ella was already crying again about being awake. Even so, there was a definite elevation in intensity in her cry. But, before Ella took that first deep breath after that initial cry, shots #2 and #3 were already over and both bandaids were already in place! Carnival magicians have nothing on this sleight of hand routine. It was like watching a surveillance camera video at work, where everything is in fast forward. Unbelievable.

Once again, Ella impressed her Dad with what a tough little girl she is. Her intense wailing was over almost as soon as it started, and she quickly settled back down into the cry that merely says "I should be asleep right now!" She clearly has her Mom's high tolerance for pain . . . and not her Dad's. And no, there were no photos this time around. I caught more than a little flak from that, from multiple sources.

2005-05-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

Ella's first trip to the park . . . and her first experience with grass.

2005-05-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ella studies her new friend.

Ch-ch-changes

2005-05-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken so long to update Ella's story; it hasn't been due to a lack of material. I've been spending my writing free-time on my blog, and Amber spends nearly every possible minute at home soaking up the Ella-goodness. The time to write about it never seems to materialize.

Much has changed since my last post. You may notice that the headline graphic now sports a new photo of Ella. We thought it would be nice to have the smiling face that greets our readers be somewhat current. This new photo was taken last weekend by Granny-T during her and Grandpa Ron's visit for Ella's dedication. As time moves on, this photo, too, will be replaced with that of yet an older Ella. But, for now, we get to enjoy what I think is the most beautiful photo in the world. Mucho Kudos to Granny-T for catching that image!

Ella's definitely starting to develop her personality. She's amazingly easy-going, usually quiet and content to just take in the world around her while either chewing on a toy or sucking her thumb. Several trips out to eat, the store, and church have confirmed this as a definite trend. She laughs and smiles often; cries and screams rarely. That said, though, she has begun developing what I call the "sharp edges" of her personality: when things do run afoul of how she likes them (most often when we make her stop eating and try to burp her before she's ready), she has discovered the "angry cry." To call it a cry is actually a misnomer; it's actually just a whining scream. While newcomers to this new phenomenon (like Granny-T) are left wondering what's wrong, Mom and Dad can't help but laugh. Get used to it, Kid.

Ella's development in what educators would call "gross motor skills" has been even more amazing. Where just a short time ago, Ella's hands were simply the balled-up knobs on the end of her flailing arms used to bat at things, they are now the grasping tools God meant them to be. Anything she can get her hands on, she grabs and escorts to her gaping, drooling mouth. She loves stuffing wet washclothes in her mouth and sucking out the water. It's her new favorite bath-time activity, along with kicking her feet and splashing Mommy. Among the many things that have found their way to Ella's mouth, none is more enjoyed than her thumb; specifically, her left thumb. (A southpaw, she might be!) This has really been a great development, for it enables Ella at such a young age to "self-soothe," which is just a fancy way of saying "get herself back to sleep." Whereas before Ella might wake up early in her nap because her pacifier fell out before she was completely zonked, now her initial wimper is quickly followed by the Maggie-Simpson-esque sound of her sucking the fingerprints off of her thumb. Here, you see Ella enjoying her tasty digit while reading her favorite book, "Squishy Turtle."

It's not just her arms that are stronger and more under Ella's control. She's really close to being able to sit up by herself. She never wants to lay back or be cradled like a baby anymore. Even in her car seat or bouncy seat, she grunts with effort trying to sit up. It's like she knows it takes effort to do it, but doesn't yet know which muscles will get the job done. Give her just a little bit of support for balance, and she sits straight up. Ditto for standing, which is a huge help to Dad as he tries to get her dressed in pants. Here's a couple of examples: the first is of Ella "just chillin'," using the Boppy as a recliner while watching Veggie Tales; the second is Ella standing (mostly) in her ExerSaucer, which she has only just started to enjoy.

Of course, Ella's Granny-T and Grandpa Ron from Oklahoma and Grammy and Aunt Becca from Arkansas all know this because they got to see it for themselves firsthand over the last two weekends. For the rest of ya'll, a slew of new photos has been (and will continue to be) uploaded to our photo albums at the Kodak EasyShare Gallery. If you haven't received the emails inviting you to view them, let me know and I'll send you one.

Also, a few new videos have been added to our building video clip library. I have started to list the date I upload the new ones so that it'll be easier to figure out which ones are new for you. For those using dial-up connections, the sheer size of most of these files will probably prohibit you from accessing them, and the ones you can download will take a long time. Sorry 'bout that: nothing I can do since I don't have the video editing software to reduce the filesize.

Finally, we would love to hear from any and all who are reading and enjoying this site. For the blog novices out there, that means posting comments to particular posts. "How do I do that?" you ask? Simple - at the end of each post, you'll see the following: "Posted by [author] @ [time] 0 comments." Click on the "0 comments" link (hence the pink color), and you'll be taken to the comment form where you can post your thoughts, or simply say "Hi." Once you do, that "0 comments" will magically become a "1 comments," and we'll know that somebody was here.

Ella's Dedication

2005-05-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Just about 10 days ago now, on the weekend of Mother's Day, Amber and I took little Ella and publicly dedicated her life (while we are stewards of it) as a gift back to the Lord who gave her to us. More importantly, we dedicated ourselves to be, as her parents, the Christ-centered Guardians that God calls us to be. We pledged to raise Ella to know her Creator and Savior, so that when she is old, if she chooses to live her life without Christ, it will not be the result of ignorance as to what she is missing. Finally, we promised to model for Ella what it means to be a follower of Jesus, rather than just a believer, so that when she is old, she will have all the inertia we can give her to help her walk the same path.

It was so wondeful to have some family here to celebrate Ella's dedication with us, as Granny-T and Grandpa Ron drove up from Oklahoma for the weekend. Unfortunately, we were unable to get any pictures really showing off Ella in her dedication dress because soon after the ceremony, she . . . well, let's just say she had to go to her backup sleeper for the rest of the service. Luckily, though, it wasn't during the ceremony.

New Video Posted

2005-04-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

A new video of Ella has been added to the video collection page. I also listed the dates that all the videos were made for comparison's sake. Enjoy!

Ella: The Video Collection

2005-04-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

NOTICE: Due to bandwidth limitations, "Ella: The Video Collection" has been shut down until we can afford to pay for more. The links below are no longer any good. If and when we are able to upgrade our server hosting account to accomodate these videos, the collection will be restored. Sorry.

Over the last 3 months, we have taken several short videos of Ella using our digital camera. They are now available for your enjoyment: just click on a title to download it for viewing. You will need a video player on your system for this. You can download free versions of the following popular players: QuickTime, Windows Media Player, or RealPlayer.

And now, the videos (date made) [file size] (date uploaded):

Dad cutting the cord (1/17/05) [1.5 MB]
Ella's first sponge bath at home (1/20/05) [29.7 MB]
Ella's first real bath (2/6/05) [22.7 MB]
Smiles and hiccups (3/3/05) [10.4 MB]
More hiccups (3/4/05) [10.9 MB]
Testing out her voice (3/8/05) [21.4 MB]
Hanging out with her snake (3/15/05) [31.8 MB]
Smiling and cooing (3/19/05) [31.8 MB]
Holding her rattle (3/23/05) [18.5 MB]
Playing her quiet piano (3/24/05) [3.5 MB]
Playing her noisy piano (3/27/05) [31.8 MB]
Ella loves her Bug! (4/2/05) [28 MB]
"PHLBBBTTT!" (4/25/05) [19.5 MB]
Squeals (5/5/05) [31.8 MB] (5/12/05)
Grunts & Smiles (5/10/05) [28.6 MB] (5/12/05)
Pig at the trough (5/11/05) [28.1 MB] (5/12/05)
Head down . . . (5/13/05) [11.4 MB] (5/14/05)
. . . Eyes closed. (5/13/05) [8.1 MB] (5/14/05)
Singing in shadow (5/15/05) [18.9 MB] (5/16/05) - NOTE: low-light; mostly audio
Towel chomping (5/17/05) [27.1 MB] (6/20/05)
"Pitch the toys off the tray" (6/9/05) [27.7 MB] (6/20/05)
Watching Veggie-Tales (6/13/05) [15.1 MB] (6/20/05)
First solid meal (6/13/05) [31.8 MB] (6/20/05)
In her exer-saucer (6/14/05) [24.9 MB] (6/20/05)
Stage-fright (6/17/05) [18.6 MB] (6/20/05)
Feet in focus (6/17/05) [5.8 MB] (6/20/05)
Rice cereal: "I'm lovin' it!" (6/18/05) [31.8 MB] (6/20/05)
Sour Peaches (6/24/05) [21.3 MB] (7/3/05)
Getting changed (7/2/05) [27.6 MB] (7/3/05)
Attack of the Baby (7/3/05) [21.7 MB] (7/3/05)

This list will be updated as we make and upload more movies, so check back. To prevent this from getting lost in the archives, a permanent link will be featured on the right side column under the "Links" heading. If you have problems downloading or viewing, please email me. Enjoy!

[NOTE: due to the enormous size of these video files + limited server space on which to host them, I've had to delete the older videos. They will still be listed, but not available for download. If you'd like to view one of these deleted videos, email me and let me know.]

2005-04-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Just in case ya'll didn't believe me . . .

Progress Primavera

2005-04-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung here, as the garden has exploded with the color of yellow and white buttercups, red/yellow/pink tulips, and lavender flox. And just as the yard and garden come alive, Ella, too, is doing the same. A sampling of some of the new things Ella can do:

Control her arms enough to reliably get her fist in her mouth in order to suck on it;
Manipulate her hands in order to separate her thumb from the rest of her fist and plug it into her mouth;
Hold her head up steady enough for Mom and Dad to no longer have to be constantly holding it (she still looks like a bobble-head doll, though);
Move her head up and to each side while laying on her stomach;
Grab things and stuff them in her mouth (towels are her favorite, but as you can see below, even her Bug isn't safe).

The biggest development happened just today, for the first time: Ella held her own bottle! Now, I don't mean the bottle was balanced atop her hands for a few seconds like my every effort to spin a basketball on my finger. Once I saw she had it her in hands, I pulled my hand away and watched the clock: at the 5 minute mark I shut down the experiment for no other reason than I had to burp her or risk the consequences. Had I not intervened, there's no telling how long she would've gone, because that bottle was steady as a rock.

Week Four of the Dad Administration has clearly started off with a bang, which is a good thing: Week Three was tough. Ella has moved into an expected fussy phase, according to a book Amber checked out at the library; knowing the phase was an expected and normal one didn't make it much easier to endure. But, here we are, and there Ella goes, growing more and more capable with each day.

2005-04-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Tastes like chicken . . .

A Day in the Sun

2005-04-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

A day in the sun While Lance and I were taking advantange of a beautiful spring day to garden, Ella enjoyed her first day outside. We put her hat on her and sat her in the shade. At first she didn't know what to think. She's not a fan of wind! She would gulp in air like she didn't know how to breathe when the breeze hits your face. After a few minutes, she decided it wasn't so bad. She waved her arms, cooed, and enjoyed a new perspective!

Thumb, Sweet Thumb!

2005-04-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

"I did it!" Well folks, she did it. After weeks of trying to control flailing arms enough to get only her fist in her mouth, she found her thumb. I layed her on her tummy for some play time but she had other ideas. With her arms still she sucked on her whole fist for about 10 minutes until the thumb finally made it into her mouth. She was asleep within minutes. (With me next to her for those worried about safety:) I didn't realize that babies would already have personality traits so prevelant. Ella is a person who likes to figure things out for herself. She is not easily upset by problems or frustrations, like her pacifier falling out of her mouth. Instead of whailing for Mommy or Daddy to fix it, she always tries to solve the problem alone. If she can't, she'll go for Plan "B", the thumb!

A Fine Mess

2005-04-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Ella had a diaper blowout of catastrophic proportions. Soon after Mom got home from work, Ella was in her bouncy seat waiting to eat. Those dinner plans had to be put on hold, though, as an emergency bath (Ella's 2nd in 4 hours) had to be ordered up. Caught in the wake of this blowout was not only every thread of Ella's clothes, but also the bouncy seat itself as well as the kitchen floor (yes, it did . . .). The diaper itself caused Amber to experience the trainwreck mentality: not only could she not believe her eyes at the carnage in front of her, but she summoned me into Ella's room to share in the experience as well. Upon investigation, it was determined that operator error, rather than a faulty diaper, was likely to blame.

Yesterday's story wasn't going to be a story until today happened; now, it provides context. Once again, soon after Mom got home, Ella had to go. The difference, though, is that this time, she was sitting on Dad's lap instead of the now-washed bouncy seat. Sparing you the gory imagery of the crime scene itself, I give you a pictoral essay of the aftermath:

Ella's 3rd bath in 30 hours

Ella's and Dad's clothes soaking in OxiClean

Ready for more . . .
Once again, the wreckage seems to indicate operator error, but given the sequence of events, I suspect user sabatoge.

Springtime Issues

2005-04-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of the Dad Administration started off with a phenomenon that is quite routine to us but I'm sure quite bizarre to Ella: the changing of the clocks for Daylight Savings. I think Ella would've just preferred to not have to "spring forward." Normally, Ella gets up around 7-7:30 am and after breakfast and some playtime, is back down for a 3-4 hour nap by 9:30. After the weekend's clock rearrangment, Ella's schedule is all thrown off. Both yesterday and today I ended up waking Ella up around 8:30. Yesterday, she finally made it to sleep for her morning nap at 11:15, forcing me to abandon my plans of taking her in with me to work so I could be present for the sentencing of a defendant I convicted in trial last month. Today, the schedule was even more fouled up, with her not getting to sleep until nearly 12:30. I think tomorrow I may try waking her up at her normal hour and seeing if that recalibrates her internal clock.

Springtime, though beautiful, hasn't been terribly kind to me, either. It took 5 years, but apparently my body has finally succumbed to the Miami Valley effect, as it appears I have developed the common springtime allergies that plague so many. With our first batches of flowers beginning to bloom in the garden, my nose has turned into a drippy faucet and sneezing has become common.

Today was the first day Ella got to watch her Baby Einstein DVD that my secretary gave to us when Ella was born. The above picture is Ella doing just that. Cara, if you're reading: I think she likes it.

Being a Working Mom

2005-04-03T09:16:00.001-07:00

I've been a working mom for a whole week now. It stinks! I never thought I would utter the words, "I envy stay-at-home moms" but I do. After spending 10 weeks at home with Ella and having her living in me for the 10 months preceding that, I'm having a harder time than I imagined being away from her. As you can see, both of us are unhappy about this! My first day back at work was the worst. I cried from the moment I leaned over her crib to kiss her on the cheek until I pulled into the parking lot of my school. There were a few times during the day when I lost it for a minute. But I held it together while I was working for the most part. I left at exactly 2:55, the first moment when teachers are allowed to leave. Hopefully this will get easier!

Shots and Signatures

2005-03-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of the Dad Administration brought with it a couple of major policy issues that needed addressing: health care and the budget. Both would be major items to be dealt with at Ella's 2-month doctor's appointment today. With no honeymoon period after the inauguration to ease into the job, I had the most unfortunate duty of taking Ella to a place where I knew ahead of time that she would be treated like a pin-cushion. That's right: today was the first of many future Shot Days. Clearly, as you can see here, Ella had no idea what lay in store for her as we got ready to leave the house. That wasn't the only thing making me a bit nervous about this little trip. Not only did I have to bring in my daughter like a lamb to the slaughter, but I also had to address the issue of asking the Doc to sign a form so that my paternity leave would be a paid leave (thanks to the large sum of unused paid sick leave I've accumulated over the past few years). Oddly enough, I was much more nervous about the latter than the former.

Normally, Ella spends the bulk of her mornings fast asleep. Not today. Because her appointment was for 10:45 - smack dab in the middle of what should be a peaceful, 3-hour nap - Ella was already quite tired when we got to the doctor's office. While waiting in the nearly empty waiting area, Ella tried to doze while I looked for something to read. It didn't take long while reading Parenting magazine to realize just how rare the whole "Mr. Mom" still is. I figured that 20 years after Keaton and Garr's gender-role swap, it would be a lot more common place. Apparently not so much. The title of Parenting is a bit misleading, as it really should be called Mommying. I think I saw a father in the magazine just once, and that was in an ad for some easy dinner option for mommies on the go.

Finally, Ella's name was called. (I really think it's cute the way they call the patient, even when she's too young to do anything about it.) First order of business was the weigh-in. Here's Ella's Tale of the Tape:

Weight: 13 lbs, 7 oz (up from 9 lbs, 2.5 oz just 8 weeks ago) - 90th percentile
Length: 24.25 inches (up from 22.25) - 90th percentile
Head Circumference: 15.75 inches (up from 14.5) - 75th percentile

The Doc then showed up quite promptly and began mowing through his standard spiel: playing with the patient, feeding issues, sleeping habits, safety lecture ("always in a car seat," "never leave unattended on changing tabe," etc.), "any questions"?

"Well, yes, just a couple." For some strange reason I felt that I had to preface my "Will you sign this form?" question with something medical that a truly involved parent would ask. The best I could come up with was about the rare black stringy things that occasionally show up in Ella's diaper. Once the Doc had addressed that, I had nowhere else to go. Time to pop the question.

In my moments of self-introspection ("self-introspection" - is that redundant?), I'm rather mystified as to why I get so worked up and nervous about simple things like this. I haven't yet been able to put my finger on it. Yet, even without understanding this phenomenon, it's something to behold. There I sat, a trial lawyer who can deliver a forceful closing argument to an audience of strangers completely impromptu, nearly tripping over my own tongue trying to get a coherent request out of my mouth. My performance was a mere step above babbling. My heart racing, I spit out something (I really can't remember what it was I actually said) and shoved this form in front of him. Initially, he looked at me, then the form, then me . . . and my blood pressure skyrocketed as I felt like I'd been caught turning in a parental notice form of getting in trouble at school with my Mom's forged signature on it. (Yes, I did that. Mom knows of the one time . . . but I had actually gotten away with it once before!) Fortunately, my anxiety was quickly calmed: once the Doc began reading the form, he saw the acronym "FMLA" on it. A half-breath later, his signature was on my form and the Salyers Family Budget was back on course for the next two months.

Now there was only one thing left to do. Actually, it was three: Ella's little body had a date with not one, but three hyperdermic needles! Fortunately for her, the Doc uses a particular immunization shot that combines three into one, else it would've been five shots! At that point, the Doc smiled and said "I'll see ya in two months." That's right: while some of us (me) have to do the no-fun stuff (take Ella to get shish-kabobed), others get to leave (Doc) and let the underlings (Nurse) do the dirty work. As I sat there alone with Ella waiting for the Nurse, I thought, "Man, I need an underling."

By the time the Nurse arrived, Ella was passed out despite the blinding white lights right above her. Her condition brought a dilemma: do we wake her from her peaceful slumber to try to reduce how startled she's likely to be by the needle, or do we let her sleep and hope that she sleeps through it (the principle works in surgery). On the Nurse's suggestion, I woke her up, but just barely. With eyes still rolling around on the brink of consciousness, in went the first needle into her left thigh. Immediately Ella's eyes flared open for a quick millisecond before they were snapped shut as part of the loudest and most intense cry I've ever heard issue forth from my sweet little daughter's cherubic face. Witness the contrast:

Amazingly, however, Ella didn't cry all that long at all. After the initial burst, she only cried for what felt like a total of 20-30 seconds, and that included Shots #2 and #3 (also in the thighs). In fact, she probably would've stopped crying sooner had I picked her up right away, but I wanted to document the event in pictures first. Nevertheless, she quickly calmed down and resumed sucking on her pacifier and trying to find sleep again. I was so proud of her.

The doctor's visit is now behind us. No more shots for two months, and Dad will be on the hook for that one, too. But, praise the Lord, my 10-weeks with Ella will now be paid, and that is no small blessing. This last picture illustrates a good lesson learned: crayon band-aids are fun, but they do not make shots hurt any less!

Transfer of Power

2005-03-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

Today's the first day under the Dad Administration. I originally was going to title this post "Regime Change," but clearly Little Ella never sought to overthrow the prior Mom Administration. Rather, this is like the governor who's term limit has expired and somebody new has to step in. Enter me, Ella's Dad.

So far, this morning has been both eventful and uneventful all at the same time. I felt like today was the first day of a new job: with my alarm set for 6:00 a.m., my eyes were wide open at 5:54 a.m. It was really tough watching Amber getting ready to leave for work, a task she had no desire to undertake. I can't imagine what that drive was like for her. She didn't utter any words when she walked out into the garage - only a forced half-smile. It was clear the thought: if I open my mouth to even say "good bye," the crying will start and I won't be able to stop it.

Tough as it was, the garage door shut and the new administration had begun. Like clockwork, Ella awoke around 7:30. Mom already had put her breakfast in her bottle, so all I had to do was change the diaper and get to feeding. Breakfast went off without a hitch; many solid burps rang forth. After downing the entire bottle, it was time for a little mirror magic to document the event in pictures. Here's the best of an admittedly motley bunch of photos. (Call me many things, but photogenic will never be one of them.)

The first breakfast behind us . . .
After breakfast, the agenda called for 45 minutes or so of playtime on the floor with Ella's favorite toy, her Fisher Price 3-way piano thingy. Then it was off to the changing table to completely change Ella's clothes, as they were soaked with the morning's breakfast review. Gone, too, was the orange shirt Dad had on. It now lays on the floor, awaiting a date with the washing machine to remove Ella's contribution from the shoulder. I think I shall follow Michael Keaton's lead and be wearing more button-up shirts in the future. Such shirts are much easier to remove when laden with vomit than the over-the-head variety.

Ella's now asleep, as is her custom in the mornings. Time for Dad to now take a breath and get some things done.

Doin' the Michael Keaton thing

2005-03-28T08:43:00.000-08:00

And no, I'm not talking about Batman. My days of fighting crime are over for the time being, as today is my first official day being at home and starring in the role of "Mr. Mom." Where I used to be known simply as "Lance," I'm now "Ella's Dad." For the next 10 weeks, I will be fighting dirty diapers, mountains of laundry, and the hunger pangs of my little Ella. But for a few sentencing hearings for trials I just had and a hearing for a defendant to withdraw his guilty plea in which I'm a witness, I won't have any need to wear a suit, tie, or dress shoes until June. All I need now is a collection of flannel shirts and other moms for playing poker for coupons.

For the most part, I'm very excited about this. I've been looking forward to this ever since Ella was born on 1/17/05. When I was 14, I spent my summer taking care of my then 6-month-old sister, Sarah. Here's hoping I didn't lose the memories of how I did that amidst the experiences of high school, college, law school, marriage, etc. I'm anxious to begin really connecting with Ella in the way that her Mom has been able to these past 10 weeks.

Another, though much smaller, part of me is a bit nervous as well. This past week made me think for the first time: "What in the world am I getting myself into?" Ella's going through a stage in which she would only be content when her Mom was holding her. A couple of times I came home from work after a tough day in trial, and found Ella at peace (either awake or asleep) in Amber's arms. As I tried to hold Ella while Amber made dinner, Ella would start to whimper, than cry, than scream, than really get angry. Nothing I tried would calm her down except one thing: returning her to her Mom. Now, starting tomorrow (Amber returns to work on Tuesday), I'm the only one here for Ella. Here's hoping that phase was a quick one.

I have in my mind expectations on how I think this is all going to work. I have plans for things I'd like to get done while I'm home for the next 10 weeks (like writing, both here and at Ragged Edges). However, I'm keenly aware that all those plans are subject to the whims of my darling daughter. It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

Fussy Phase

2005-03-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

An unhappy morning.

The Beginning

2005-03-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

My purpose in beginning this blog is simply to journal the growth and development of my daughter, Ella Jewel, and to journal my thoughts and feelings throughout this new experience of motherhood. I'm not a scrapbooker or a diary-keeper so this avenue seems to be the most appropriate. I invite my friends and family, especially those whom are far away, to read and enjoy our experiences. I have friends with older babies and children who look at Ella and tell me, "I don't remember my child being that little." I know that I will some day experience that memory lapse as well, when there are so many memories to hold on to that the old ones start to fade away. But I hope that this journal will help me remember the early events in Ella's life. I also hope that it helps my family to feel a little closer to us.

2005-03-26T09:34:00.000-08:00

Ella and her Mommy