So besides the usual reasons why all babies cry (hungry, tired, overtired, dirty diaper, etc.) I've noticed a few interesting things about Ellena and her crying.
The other night while Evan was showering and Ellena was getting her bath, Evan had a meltdown and started bawling. I was watching Ellena's face and it seemed like she was trying to empathize with him and she started crying too. As if, because her brother was sad, she was sad too.
Yesterday Evan and Ellena woke up from their naps around the same time. Evan was being sensitive and wanted me to carry him downstairs. I placed Ellena in her crib and told her that I would come right back for her. She watched me pick Evan up and turn my back on her. As we walked away from her, she started crying as if her feelings were so hurt and she didn't want to be left out. Heartbreaking!
Here's Ellena with her lovey - Lambie. Aunty Susan gave this to Ellena when she was born, but I only introduced it to her yesterday. And she loves it! I place it in with her carseat and she holds on to her and snuggles with her. So cute. To help Evan feel involved, so that he doesn't just take it away from her, I let him name her. He could choose between Sheepie and Lambie. And he went with Lambie. :)
Here's Ellena giving a toothy grin.
Here's Evan showing his "BIG Belly!"
Ellena continues to grow so quickly. She's doing well with her solids and has tried rice cereal, banana and avocado. She has picked up on the mechanics of eating and thoroughly enjoys it. The last couple days she has been a grouch. I'm not sure if she's teething (I don't see anything under her gums like the last time) or if she's needing less sleep during the day, but she was fussy during her wakeful hours. I just didn't know what to do with her! Today she was back to her more pleasant self, after only a one hour nap in the morning. We'll see how she does this afternoon - both kids have been down for 2 hours so far... Don't jinx it!
The last couple weeks I feel like she has grown a ton. We weighed her and she's over 17 pounds! Holy cow! I'm having a hard time carrying her cause my arms get fatigued. :)
Hoping 2009 is filled with much joy and good fortune for everyone!
We ended 2008 with a big step for Ellena - she got to eat rice cereal! She has been eyeing out our food for a month now, so we started preparing ourselves for the big event. Then, Evan got wind of it and he would not stop asking to feed Ellena. "Momma, I think Ellena wants to eat rice cereal!" After hearing this for a few hours straight, we finally dug deep into the coat closet to pull out the old high chair. She got to have 2 "meals" of rice cereal - first at lunch and then she also joined us for dinner. I'm sure she was quite tickled to be sitting at the dinner table with everyone.
She did really well and ate much more than Evan did when he first tried it. I had some old bananas, so I mashed them up and will try them out this weekend. Fun times!
So to honor our heritages, I made almond cookies yesterday (Chinese) and Evan and Pops popped fireworks (Chinese). This morning, got up early and started cooking. We had mochi soup (ozoni) for good luck (Japanese), somen noodles, and our osechi tray purchased from Uwajimaya that comes with all the traditional good luck/good fortune/wisdom/fertility, etc, etc etc foods. (As you can see, Chinese are all about New Year's Eve and Japanese are all about New Year's day.) Pops and Evan are now at Home Depot and Freddie's for their adventure - getting parts to install a chin-up bar and last minute groceries for our prime rib dinner tonight! And I get to chill a little, clean up the house and let baby girl take a good morning nap in her crib - what a life!
