Elie's First Pesach

We enjoyed a lovely seder with the Adlands last week. Elie really enjoyed the singing and meeting her cousins Ari, Jesse, and Naomi. She particularly loved loved loved Naomi's dress (you can see a bit of it in the photo). It was a fantastic seder with fun songs, discussion, food, and of course Uncle Peter's famous dessert!

Today I hosted my play group at my house since the weather is pretty icky right now. We had a lot of fun and good conversation amongst the moms. It really helps to talk to these other women and find out how great I am doing and what a truly good sleeper Elie is (getting up just twice a night now). And, also I am very blessed to have a great husband who is so involved in taking care of Elie (especially at night!), and who is supportive of me staying home. I couldn't imagine doing it all alone like some of these other women do. I am very grateful for Team Singer!!!

And, here is Elie showing off her awesome onesie! We get a lot of comments on this one! Too cute!

Life Is Good

We've been hanging out these days enjoying the warmer weather and sunshine. Elie has grown a lot and is even fitting into some of her 6 month size clothes. She continues to dazzle everyone we meet with her long luscious locks and sweet good looks. Adam and I couldn't be having more fun!

Recently we took a trip to Maple View Farms for some ice cream and took some nice photos. It's such a great feeling to eat ice cream and look out over the farm and see the cows that it's made from. We will definitely be going back for more this summer! (and beyond!)

Baby Bumbo

I went to my playdates (yes plural!) on Tuesday and had a lot of fun. First we went to meet with a "newborn" play group, although only one other mom showed up. She has a little boy just 4 days older than Elie. This is a walking play group since the babies are too young to play so I walked 3 miles with her. Then Elie and I came home for some food before heading back out to meet with the other play group which I had mentioned previously. This group had five babies and moms there, including Elie and myself. Elie is the youngest and the oldest kid there is 10 months old. It is a nice mix of ages, although they are still close enough in age to interact. The moms were all really nice and all of us are first time moms with girls so we have a lot to talk about. Since these two groups meet weekly on the same day we will only be able to continue to go to one of them. I think we are going to stick to the second play group since it seems like a better fit for us right now. We'll keep the walking one in mind though.

I already learned some valuable tips from the other moms, including finding out about the Bumbo - that's the seat in case you were wondering. It's ergonomically designed for babies who have head control to be able to sit up on their own, gain some independence, and a new view of the world. So far, Elie seems to be really enjoying it! Hopefully I will learn more tricks and tips as the weeks go on.

More talking...

We had a great weekend with mostly nice weather and lots of fun. Aunt Gale came over on Saturday to babysit Elie while Adam and I enjoyed a lunch date. We went to the Cheesecake Factory and boy was it good! We even managed to have great conversation without mentioning Eliora or Adam's job - woohoo! It wasn't even that hard to do. :-) On Sunday we had beautiful weather and we opened all the windows and enjoyed getting a few chores done around the house. I am looking forward to a playdate tomorrow afternoon with a few other moms & babies. We are also expecting warmer weather this week so hopefully I will get outside to enjoy it! Elie has been talking a lot lately and we captured this over the weekend - enjoy!

A few more pictures...

With good head control comes new carrying positions... and even a new chair.

In Mommy's sling

Daddy's turn

Elie's seat for dinner

(but no solids just yet)

Four Months Old

Well, Elie is now four months old and time has just flown by! She had her check up yesterday and she is doing great. She is now 12 pounds 1 ounce... it's the extra ounce that makes all the difference. That being said she has officially doubled her birth weight - that's a lot of eating on her part! And, we joined a Mother's group yesterday and already have a play date for next week - I just hope the weather holds up! It will be really nice for me to have other "mom" friends that I can see with some regularity.

The weather is still cold (for NC standards) and wet. Hopefully it will feel more like spring next week and we'll get to keep the warm weather. Today is pretty icky, but Elie is getting over having her shots yesterday so it's a good day for some wet weather. So, here are some pictures including Aunt Lara, Uncle Steve, and cousin Vivi!!

The Happy Harris Family

In a bonnet made by Nan

Playtime with Mommy

The toys are multiplying!!!

Welcome Vivienne Elise!

Proud Aunt, Uncle and Cousin here... Lara delivered a healthy baby girl today at about 3:45 PM. Vivi is a healthy 10 pounds 1 ounce and is 22 inches long. Oddly enough, Vivi is almost as big as Elie, and Elie will be four months next week! Mother and baby are doing well. We send *hugs* and *kisses* to Aunt Lara, Uncle Steve, and Cousin Vivi! We are hoping to see some pictures this evening. Congrats to the new family! - we look forward to many play dates etc. in the coming years.