Elle's 1st New Year's

Elle was so happy today and won't stop smiling. Of course, Mommy Jarbs busted out her camera. I am glad I FINALLY caught her smiles on camera. Today, was also the first time I heard her giggle. Soo cute!

 

We spent the New Year's eve at home. Daddy Jarbs and I watched the ball drop on tv while Elle was sleeping in Daddy Jarbs' arms. When the clock struck at 12, Daddy Jarbs and I kissed each other and gave our little darling a kiss. There was no wild NYE party for us but we would not have spent it any other way. As Daddy Jarbs said, it was the best New Year's eve ever :-).  

Elle's ready to party

1st New Year's as a family

I can't believe the year is over.  Needless to say, this year has been a great one for us! We're looking forward to what 2011 has to offer.

Trying out the Bob stroller and Elle's 1st trip to the bar!

Daddy Jarbs took off from work today so Mommy Jarbs can have a little break. I went shopping and ran errands while Daddy Jarbs and Elle stayed home. It's nice to have a mommy break once in a while :-).

When I got home, we tried out the BOB stroller to see how Elle would like it She already has good head control so technically, we can start using the BOB without any infant insert. 

Hmm..she's not quite sure if she likes it yet

Maybe not! We'll try again in a few weeks!

For dinner, we walked over to our neighborhood pizza place/bar called Rustik Tavern. It's Elle's first trip to the bar! We got her a fake ID so she was able to get in lol jk :-).

As usual, she slept the entire time so we were able to enjoy our meal

Walking home

Elle's 1st Wizards game

We took Elle to her first Wizards game. She behaved really well! Well, I guess she was not really interested in watching the game coz she fell asleep soon after I took the first photo below.

We're looking forward to bringing her to more Wizards games when she gets bigger and have her do her John Wall dance :-)!

Eleiana's 1st Christmas

This year's Christmas is extra special to us since it is our first Christmas as a family. Daddy Jarbs and I have received our early Christmas gift in November which can't compare to any material gift :-).

Eleiana woke up in a very good mood Christmas morning. Daddy Jarbs and I were excited because today she finally discovered her left hand :-). We would always see her look at and move her left hand probably trying to figure out what it is for! lol. She was playing in her activity mat this morning and happily holding the monkey on her left hand! She was so happy she wanted to eat it (see video below)! lol.

By mid-afternoon, we went to our first Christmas mass as a family to give thanks for all our blessings and then headed off to Aunt Terri's house for another family get together.

Elle playing by herself in her jungle mat

And then played some more with her Aunt Terri, Aunt Kim and Chopper!

Gift opening

Family waiting to play our annual white elephant game

Christmas eve at Grandma Jarbs

We went to Grandma Jarbs' house for Christmas eve dinner. Since it is her first Christmas eve party, Eleiana wore her party dress ;-). 

 Elle and Daddy Jarbs

Elle and Mommy Jarbs

Who needs Santa when I have Grandma! :-)

Our little family on Christmas eve

Before the night ended, Elle had to take her bubble bath...her favorite part of the day!  She LOVES taking a bath as you can tell from the video.

 Look at her big belly sticking out :-)

Video of Elle while taking her bubble bath

Mommy & Elle's first outing...success!

We had been going out a lot since Eleiana was born but I never had the chance to go out with her all by myself. I was always either with Daddy Jarbs or another family member. Today, I finally braved it out and went shopping with Eleiana all by myself! I was a tad nervous that she'd have a meltdown in the middle of the store but she didn't! We hit up three stores and she just slept while I was pushing her in the Snap N Go stroller. Yay!

Our Little Wizards fan

Here's a video of our little Washington Wizards fan doing the John Wall dance! We're getting her ready for her first Wizards game! :-).

John Wall dance

Elle's version of the John Wall dance

Elle loves her crib mobile!

Elle loves playing in her crib, most especially looking at the crib mobile. Daddy Jarbs took these videos from his cameraphone. One was taken exactly a week ago and another one today.

Mommy Jarbs and Elle

I got a lot of things done at home today. Thanks to my Moby wrap! I've been torn between putting  down Elle in her crib for her naps and "wearing" her all day. I love having her very close to me and nap on my chest. While in the Moby, she would look up to me and give me her sweet smile. So cute!

I felt like I was doing my weekly bump photo except that the baby is now outside my belly :-).

Elle slept for 6 hrs!!

For the first time since I gave birth, I was able to go out and have dinner with my girlfriends! Daddy Jarbs stayed home and watched Elle. It was nice catching up with the girls!

When I got home, Daddy Jarbs already gave Elle a bath, read her book and put her to sleep. I then took over the baby duty and let Daddy Jarbs go to bed. Much to my surprise Elle slept from 11 pm to 5 am! She slept for 6 straight hours! Holy moly! That's definitely a first. I do not know if she'll sleep that long again tonight. I am crossing my fingers and toes!

Our snow baby's first snow!

Our own snow baby experienced her first snow yesterday! We only got an inch in the city but bad enough to cause traffic around town! Daddy Jarbs took the day off work so we went grocery and holiday shopping. Our little snowbaby was all bundled up and cozy in her carseat :-).

I'm a big girl now...

At 6 weeks, Elle is starting to outgrow her newborn clothes and slowly fitting in her 3 month-sized clothes! Aww our little girl is growing! 

Thanks to Tita Sharon & Tito MJ for my cool Nike onesie and Tita Anamee for my Juice Couture socks :-)

First social smile!

According to my baby book, I should expect seeing Elle first social smile come 6 weeks. True enough, this week she has started "talking" to me and smiling!! I have not caught her smiles on camera but I swear, she's been smiling for mommy! :-). I can't wait until she starts interacting and be more fun!

First night in her crib!

We have transitioned Elle in her room. Since we got home from the hospital, she has been sleeping in the bassinet in our room. Elle does not sleep through the night yet so Mommy Jarbs has to wake up to feed her at the middle of the night. Her room is across the hall from ours but we can see and hear her the entire time with the help of our video monitor. 

I've been reading books recommended by our pediatrician on how to help establish a bedtime routine. We've only been following it for a few days but I have to say it works for us. It has helped us establish a routine and helped understand our baby's cues better therefore avoiding crying fits :-). Since we moved Elle in the nursery and started following a routine, the Jarbs family has been sleeping a little bit better. Yay!

Bye Lola B!

It was a sad day at the Jarbs' household as Lola B left to go back to Manila. We'll miss you and the home-cooked Filipino meals everyday :-). Elle will surely miss her Lola rocking and singing her to sleep. We'll see you again soon! We love you!

Visit to the National Harbor

It was Lola B's last day in town so we took her out. We first checked out the holiday market in Gallery Place and had lunch at Chinatown. The weather was pretty cold so we had Elle bundled up in her carseat. while we pushed her in the Snap N Go. As usual, she just slept the entire time. After that, we went to the National Harbor to check out the cool Christmas decors. Santa happened to be there so we took the opportunity to have Elle's photo taken with Santa! She didn't cry at all...well because she was sleeping :-).

Sleeping just like daddy....

One thing they have in common is they both love to sleep!

Play time!

Elle loves playing in her jungle activity mat given by Grandaunt Amy! She loves kicking the elephant rattle and looking at the animals, especially the monkey! She's slowly discovering that her kicking/motion activates the lights and music. It's so cute to watch her play!

One month check up!

Eleiana had her one month check up today. Guess what? She now weighs a whopping 9 lbs 4 ozs. No wonder it's getting harder for me to carry her in her carseat which is already 10 lbs by itself! The doctor said Elle's weight is within the average for her age. She also gained 1/2 inch so she is now 21.5 inches long. Her pediatrician said it falls right above average :-). Hopefully, she keeps up with her height growth and not end up as short as Mommy Jarbs :-). Elle also got her 2nd Hepatitis B shot. today The first time she got the Hepa shot, Daddy Jarbs was with us and held her. This time, Daddy Jarbs was not around so I had to hold her. I had the bottle of milk ready to pacify her when she starts crying. To my surprise, she only let out a cry for one second after being poked and she calmed down right away! I was so surprised. What a brave girl! Since she was a good girl, we went straight to the mall and I got her a couple of cute outfits from Baby Gap :-).

 The hepa B shot drugged her out :-).

We got our Christmas tree!

We finally got our first family Christmas tree! We did not have to go far to get it.  It was freezing cold outside so the whole Jarbs family bundled up and walked over to our neighborhood farmer's market where they were selling trees. Yes, even Elle came. I carried her in the Ergo. Well, she did not really care for the tree and just slept the entire time! lol. Once we picked out the tree, Daddy Jarbs carried it back to our house. He was glad that we did not have to worry about tying it up on the roof of the car. Now, I hope we find time to hang up all the ornaments before Christmas! lol.

Find the baby!

Elle blends in well in her vibrating seat :-). The weather has been really cold so we had her wear her fleece one piece suit. She loved it so much that she wore it at home all day!

Whoops! She woke up and was not happy we were taking pictures of her :-). 

Elle turns one month old today!

Wow, how time flies! Here's our big girl!

Click to enlarge

 Fun facts:

* Loves taking a bath. She does not cry at all

* Has the loudest farts :-)

* Loves sleeping on her side and tummy (supervised, of course)

* Stops crying once you put her bib. She knows the milk is coming!

* Grabs the milk bottle with her hand especially when she's really hungry. Smart baby!

* Falls asleep on the sound of a running faucet or hair dryer

* Still loves snuggling on Mommy & Daddy Jarbs' chest

* Her schedule is eat, change diaper, sleep, pee/poo, repeat! :-)

* Loves taking naps in her crib

* Many times has peed as soon as you take her diaper off! She does it most of the time when Daddy Jarbs changes her diapers :-). Silly girl!

Happy birthday Grandma Jarbs!

We love you!

Elle passes her hearing test

We had to go back to Sibley Hospital today for Elle's follow up hearing test. She "failed" her hearing test before we got discharged at the hospital. She had a lot of debris in her ears so the doctor was not able to do the necessary test. It did not necessarily mean that she had hearing problems. We were asked to come back after a few weeks to reschedule the test so we went back today. As expected, she passed the hearing test with flying colors She did not cry one bit on our way to the hospital which was surprising!

Elle says goodbye to her Lolo and Tita

Today is a sad day. Elle's lolo and tita left to go back to Manila :-(. We'll miss you Lolo Ed and Tita Elie. See you again soon!

Lolo's girl

Tita's favorite niece

Visitors from Canada and NC

Our relatives from Canada and North Carolina arrived today for Elle's christening tomorrow. Elle met her Lola Elma who drove to DC all the way from Toronto. Lola Elma happens to be my godmother and my offsite doula when I was in labor. My cousin Tim also drove up from Charlotte! We all had lunch at a Korean restaurant and did a little shopping at Pentagon City mall! Elle loves being out so as expected, she slept the entire time :-).

1st Thanksgiving as a family

We definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year and one of those is being blessed with our little darling, Eleiana!

With my sister

Elle with her Tita Elie

Our little family's 1st Thanksgiving

With cousin Kaitlin

Thanksgiving dinner at Daddy Jarbs' sister's house