Elle can now tripod sit!

I’ve been meaning to post about this but keep forgetting. Elle can now tripod sit! She actually started doing this the day we left for NYC which was about 3.5 weeks ago! I took the picture below when we were in the hotel in NYC. I know it will only take a matter of time before she can actually sit up on her own. Our baby’s growing up too fast!

Here is my little puppy showing of her tripod sitting skills! :-)

Day care webcam access!

Elle's day care has a webcam which the parents can access and view whenever they want. Each parent is given their own username and password. Today, our access to the day care's webcam finally got activated! Yay! I can stalk my baby whenever I want to :-). It made me feel a tad better knowing I can "see" her whenever I want.

Below is a snapshot of the day care webcam which is located in the infant room. You can't see clearly but Elle is sitting on the bouncy chair in the middle of the room. Thank goodness for technology! :-)

Elle's 1st day at day care

Today was Elle's first day at day care. Daddy Jarbs and I both dropped her off. There were some tears involved..not from Elle but from ME! :-(. I was sad to leave my baby :-(. When I picked her up later in the day, the teacher told me she cried a little bit but she did fine. The teacher also said that Elle did not like sitting on the bouncy chair but liked being carried :-P. It did not take them long to get to know our little princess! lol. Also, Elle had a surprise for her teachers on her 1st day at daycare. She hasn't pooped since Sunday so her teachers were in for a treat! lol. Needless to say, she was in a different outfit by the time I picked her up. The teacher told me "It was A LOT! She's only the 2nd baby who has done that!" Way to give a first impression on your teachers! lol.

Our little girl all dolled up for day care.

These were taken right before we left the house.

Another fun day at Gymboree!

Since I am now back at work, I cannot take Elle to her weekday class at Gymboree. However, we were able to switch to the weekend class! Yay! I enjoy taking her to Gymboree. Elle loves the class and it's a fun little activity that I get to enjoy with her.

Here she is doing tummy time using the tube

Elle rolled over!

Elle woke me up at 7 am this morning with her "I am already awake. Come and get me!" cry. I looked at the video monitor and thought that it was kinda weird that I could see her bald spot which is at the back of her head. I thought "Am I seeing this right? This she turn over?." I went to her room and true enough, I found her face down while swaddled! I got excited that she was able to roll over but at the same time got concerned that she was still swaddled and could have suffocated! Nevertheless, I was excited about this milestone!

I was not able to take a photo of her face down (lol) but here she is during playtime trying to turn sideways. I still have not seen her roll over while unswaddled. Hope I'll be able to catch it on video when she does.

Elle goes to a bar...again! :-)

We got invited to Daddy Jarbs' cousin's surprise 40th birthday party at the Evening Star Face/Majestic Lounge in Del Ray. Of course, we had to take Elle with us. The new environment + too many people was a bit too much for her so she was a little bit fussy. Daddy Jarbs enjoyed showing her off though in her little fashionista outfit. It was a late afternoon to early evening party so we were home in time for her bedtime.

Back to work and more video of Elle holding her bottle!

Yesterday was my first day back at work. It was kinda bittersweet. I've been looking forward to going back to work. I've been excited since I will be working with a new team and have a new boss. At the same time, I know I will miss spending the entire day with Elle. Well, the day went better than I expected. I was so busy at work that I did not have much time to dwell on being sad. Also, it made the day go by faster!

Daddy Jarbs took off from work this week to be with Elle. Daddy Jarbs sent me this photo and video of Elle holding her glass bottle! We use the Born Free glass bottle which is kinda heavy for Elle's little hands. She still hasn't fully opened her hands but she still managed to hold her bottle.

This is a long video but you can see her pull the bottle away from her mouth and put it back in. Our smart little girl! :-).

Taking instructions from Daddy Jarbs! :-)

Father's night at Gymboree (video)

Last night was Father's Night at Gymboree. The dads were invited to come to class and play with the babies while the mommies watch and take pictures. Unfortunately, because of the bad weather, there was a low turn out. Only 3 dads showed up but nevertheless, we still had fun!

We arrived at the Gymboree a tad early so we got to play during the Open Gym time. Elle loved playing on the slide!

 

She's all smiles while going down the slide

As always, she enjoyed looking at herself in the mirror

Here she is hanging out on the swing. Yeah, she's thumb sucking!

When the class started, Daddy Jarbs got to play and sing to Elle and do other fun stuff that we do in class! Elle also showed off her tummy time skills!

Elle's 1st class picture :-). A lot of her classmates were absent!

After the class and before we left Gymboree, Elle had to go down the slide one more time!

Overall, it was a fun night for the Jarbs family!

We got a thumb sucker (video)!

I almost forgot to share this video of Elle sucking her thumb! Yes, she FINALLY discovered that she has a right thumb! lol. She hasn't quite discovered her left thumb though. It's still tucked in most of the time. Here she is inconspicuously sucking her right thumb. 

Pacifier training (video) :-)

Here's another video of Elle trying to learn how to put the pacifier in her mouth. She has mastered pulling it out of her mouth but putting it back in is still a hit or miss.

Giggle fest (video)!

I took this video the other day when Elle was in a great mood and won't stop giggling. Well, it involved Mommy Jarbs making fun of herself which totally cracked Elle up. We'll do anything to make our babies laugh no matter how funny we sound and look, right :-). Seeing her laugh is worth making a fool out of myself lol.

Warm weather, finally!

We finally had great weather today! It's getting tiring having to bundle up and dress in layers everytime we go out. Elle and I took advantage of the 70 degree weather and hung out outside the coffee shop in our neighborhood. I carried Elle using my Moby wrap. She loved looking out and watching the people and cars that were passing by.

Elle and I outside Big Bear Cafe

For the first time since she was born, she got to wear a sleeveless shirt! It's been cold since she was born and have mostly worn long sleeved shirts. Check out her ripped biceps! lol

Look at her sitting on the floor. She can now sit upright unassisted for a few seconds! 

Yeah, she was busy surfing the net! lol

Look, I can hold my bottle! (video)

Lately, Elle had been grabbing her milk bottle everytime we are feeding her. We use the Born Free glass bottles which are a little too heavy for her little hands. However, we would help her prop up the bottle and let her control it. She would pull it out of her mouth and push it back in. Today, we used the Medela bottles which we used back when she was a newborn. They are much lighter than the glass bottles. Daddy Jarbs and I were pleasantly surprised when she held them unassisted! Good job baby!

Here's a split second video of her feeding herself.

Trial run at daycare (video)

Today, I brought Elle at her daycare to do a trial run. She officially starts going to daycare in March but they let us bring her there for a couple of hours  this week and next week to get her slowly acclimated with the new environment. When we arrived at the daycare, she was due for a nap. I hung out for a little bit, chatted with the caregivers and observed. They swaddled her, put her in the crib and rocked her to sleep. She was fighting sleep but she did fine. Well, Mommy Jarbs did not! :-(. Tears were falling down my face while watching her :-(. Ms. Ileana, the head teacher, asked me if I was okay lol. I am coming into terms with the fact that I won't be able to spend much time with her and that's making me really sad.  I am the only person who has spent the most time with her  since she was born. She may wonder why all of a sudden mommy is not with her all day anymore :-(. I know this will be good for her and everything will be fine but as expected, the transition is not easy especially for me. We like our daycare and I know she will be in good hands but nobody else will be able to love and take care of her as much as Daddy Jarbs and myself.

When she fell asleep for her nap, I left to go to the grocery store. When I came back, they were doing story time. 

They had her do tummy time which she is not a big fan of. She cried but they did not pick her up. I just watched her and amazingly, she was able to crawl (using her arms) from the center of the pillow, all the way to the right!

Here's a video I took during their music time. Sorry, you have to turn your head sideways to watch. I JUST figured out how to record the video from my phone vertically! I'll make sure I record in the right setting next time :).

Here are new photos and video from her favorite part of the day...bath time!

Visit to Mommy Jarbs' office and playdate!

Elle and I had a full day today. We visited my office so my co-workers got to meet her. Everybody who saw her said she looks like me :-). She was so talkative and kept chatting away! 

With Mommy Jarbs' co- workers Donna & Erika

After the office visit, we headed over to the Building Zone at the National Building Museum to meet her friends Sebastian and Valentina and their mommy Patty. They have an area there for kids to play. Elle is still too small to run around and play with the giant legos so she just hung out in the Kid-o Bilibo.

 Playdate with Sebastian & Valentina

When we got home, we celebrated Elle's 3rd month birthday. She was tired and fussy last night so she was not able to blow her 3-month cupcake.  We did it tonight instead. I got the red velvet cupcake from Giant and it was surprisingly good!

3 months old today!

Our little girl turned 3 months old today! Where did time go? It's amazing to see her grow before our eyes and see the new things that she learns everyday. She always melts our hearts with her smile. No matter how tired we are, she does not fail to make us laugh :-).

Fun facts:

- Elle has great head control. Friends and family are amazed how much head control she has given her age
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- Has very strong leg muscles. She can stand up (assisted)
- Loves playing peekaboo
- Loves looking at the TV (bad!)
- Loves looking at the light. She stares at the lamp in her room while eating and get distracted.
- Loves her music class at Gymboree. Her face lights up when I sing the songs she has learned from class
- Has become an expert in getting her arms out of the swaddle blanket
- Goes down for the night at 8:30-9:00 pm and wakes up for the day at 7:00 - 7:30 am. Some nights she will wake up between 4:00-5:00 am to eat. If we're lucky, she won't eat and wake up until she gets up for the day.
- Very curious with her surroundings and loves looking at people
- Pulls her pacifier out of her mouth and tries to put it back on. She has not perfected the put it back on part! lol.
- Can grab things but she still has not discovered her thumb :-/. Our pedi said she may need to go to therapy if by 4 months she has not fully opened her thumbs.
- Drools a lot. We think she has started teething. So soon?