West Coast

Snow here we come!!!! I'm leaving tomorrow to try to catch a flight to Seattle at 6:55am. I should arrive in Seattle about 3 or 4 local time and can't wait to see Karen and Maddison! I'll be heading over to Victoria on Friday and staying with Erin. I'm so excited to see everyone and have Ella meet all her extended Aunties.
Freakishly, the west coast has been hit with snow. What the ????? I guess Ella and I are in for a treat and shouldn't complain about the cold, it's not like we'll ever have to worry about that kind of weather for a long time!! Hee Hee.

See you west coasters soon!!!!!

Potty Training...sort of...

Out of shear boredom, I have been playing around on my blog. I took the clock idea from a friend of a friend's blog. I think it's great! We are 5 hours behind Atlanta, and two hours behind the west coast...just to insure we don't get any "early" wake up calls. There may be some kinks in the layout but I'll fix them up in the next day or so.

Ella had a long day today, she didn't nap very much and I gave her some Tylenol before she went to bed tonight. Hopefully her teeth stop bothering her soon. The past couple of days I've been putting her on her potty when she looks like she's doing her business. So far, she's used her own potty twice and tonight she went to the bathroom as soon as I put her on it. I have no idea about potty training but I figure if I can see her trying to poop, I might as well let her use her own toilet. She is so proud of herself and not at all intimidated by the potty. It's been out of the box and in the bathroom since we moved in. ("They" say you should put it out early and then the child gets used to seeing it around so it doesn't scare them when it's actually time to train them). I know, I know, it's really early for this but it's so easy with her right now.

Teething

It's official, Ella is teething and it's been rough. Her bottom two teeth gave her so little trouble, just 2 nights of waking up and going back to sleep, one of those nights after some Tylenol. These top two teeth are a different story. She's been rather grouchy and her nap schedule is interrupted. She's only napping an hour and tonight, she was up at 10:30 screaming. We changed and rocked her, laid her back down only to have her keep crying. Ron went to bed at 11, it's now 12:45am and I finally got her to sleep after some Tylenol. I had tried the teething tablets at 11, but they didn't do anything. We've been sitting up watching TV, and as long as she was distracted and had something to chew on, she was fine. You'd think I'd be exhausted, but the night owl in me is wide awake and ready to clean the house. I have no idea why I feel the need to clean in the middle of the night...always have, it's just so much harder with a baby! I must go to bed, if I don't, I'll regret it in the morning.....

Pumpkin Pie

I didn't think it was possible, ever! But alas, I think I've eaten so much pumpkin pie, I actually can't think of eating again...at least for a while :) Ella has had her first taste of it this Thanksgiving and she loves it too. While Ron and I had lasagna last night, Ella got some turkey and green beans, some sweet potatoes and some carrots. She had more of a traditional Thanksgiving than we did!

She is growing and learning so much. She has the whole "walking" concept down. She picks up her feet and knows the moves. She just isn't strong enough and doesn't have enough balance on her own. Ron will walk her around the house, holding onto her arms and she will walk like a champ! Yes, it really may be that she just skips the whole crawling thing all together. She squeals when she gets to Mommy, or her toy, or to another room...she's so proud of herself! She has also learned to give me what's in her hand if I ask for it, "Can Mommy have it?". Though once she gives it to me she immediately wants it back and tries to grab at it. I'm putting it in her other hand to teach her the idea of "share and share alike". Hopefully next time she sees Nolan, she'll be all grown up and polite about playing with his toys:)

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving, we hope everyone enjoyed their turkey and stuffing. Here, it doesn't even seem like Thanksgiving (except for the never ending football on tv). It's 84 degrees and sunny, and our family isn't here. Ron decided he wanted lasagna instead of turkey (fine by me!) so we're getting ready to sit down and have a nice, regular dinner. I did bake some pumpkin pies so that seems festive enough for us. I guess I should say goodbye health kick until they are gone :)

Ella's top two teeth are coming through and it looks like she definitely has her mama's big teeth! Thank goodness for Ron's dental coverage! Poor thing didn't have a chance between Ron and I and our messed up smiles. I think I alone made my orthodontist enough money to retire early.

Ella and I are still going to try to come out for Stephanie's baby shower next Sunday. We are just getting the final paperwork together and hopefully we'll be on a flight to Seattle by Thursday. We really have no idea how available these military flights are as it's basically like flying standby. We will call and let you all know when and if we arrive and make sure we get to see everyone. Keep your fingers crossed!

House Tour

Let me take you on a tour of our new house... As you walk through the front door, the office is on your left, the laundry closet is on your right. It's a short hallway and the kitchen is also on your left next to the office. The main living space is at the end of the entry hallway with a patio out back.

This is a view of the entry hall and front door
from the living room/dining room area:

The kitchen has an open counter to the living room/ dining room. This is a view from the living room, through the kitchen and into the office...

Here is our main living area. We decided to put the dining and living room together so we could use the room in the front of the house as an office instead of a dining area.


The right side of the house has another hallway with two large storage closets, the master bedroom on the left, the bathroom on the right and Ella's room at the end of the hall.






And Ella's beautiful room...you will notice there is plenty of room for a spare bed. Reservations are on a first come first serve basis...management cannot guarantee that during your visit you will be given a bed, and making reservations for more than two parties, may constitute some in sleeping on the floor. :)



It's really small but we've made room for all our things and still managed to make it look cute. I am loving the whole single floor thing and can put Ella down for a nap and hear her from everywhere. Plus the laminate floors make it look more spacious.

Golf

Today, Ella and I saw the new Bond flick with Miranda and Matthew. The local movie theatre has Mommy matinées on Monday at 11. There were a handful of other moms and even a dad, all with babies and strollers. It was wonderful to take Ella to a movie and not worry about disturbing others. Ella was great! She loved the big screen and watched most of the movie just leaning back against me. I fed her a bottle and eventually she fell asleep just before it ended. She was watching Matthew and Miranda watch the movie and was fascinated with her movie date with Mommy. Next week it's "Deja Vu" with Denzel, we can't wait to see that. Ella is so wonderfully behaved she's allowed me so much freedom to go when and where I want with her.

I have found a new interest. It was inevitable really, living on an island....golf. Ron and I both have our own clubs and I have wanted to start learning so in retirement Ron actually wants to play with me! So many women I know start learning when their husbands have retired and never get to play with them anyway because there's such a gap in skill level. We went to the driving range and golf has to be one of the most intimidating sports. Everyone out there looks like they know what they're doing and they look good doing it. After a few tips from Ron I hit a couple of balls...in a straight line, almost 150 yards! I was so proud of myself...especially since I was told I probably wouldn't make contact or hit very well at first. So much fun! I watched Ella as Ron finished the bucket and we're going to try to go again tonight. Look out Dad, one day you may have to take me golfing!!! Who would have thought!

Ella's top two teeth have popped through this weekend!

Dear Daddy

Come On Ella!!!

Ella is soooo ready to crawl, she just needs to be more motivated to do it! She is so laid back and relaxed, not a very high maintenance baby at all, which is why I think crawling has taken a while for her. We try to encourage her by helping her or placing her toys out of reach, but she's so content with herself she usually finds something else to occupy her.

Yesterday, Miranda and Matthew were over and Ella watched and giggled while Matthew crawled circles around her. A few times she looked like she might just try to catch him, but no, she just thought he was a new toy and was just as happy to observe. Maybe she's just doing her research before she stuns us with walking...maybe??
Everyone tells me once she starts crawling it's all over. No more sitting her in the living room to finish dinner or to play on the computer.

Here is an outfit from Maddison. It's so cute but I misjudged how it would fit and now it's almost too small. I need to go through her clothes and see what else we might be missing.

Dear Nolan,

Thank you so much for my "surfer chick". Everyone here thinks it's the cutest and I love it!

Love,
Ella

The Evening Progresses....

7:30 pm

8:00 pm
I love quiet Friday nights. We went for a walk around the neighborhood with Miranda and Matthew, had a nice dinner and got Ella ready for bed. Ella loves her new bathing freedom! Now that she can sit up by herself, she gets the whole bath tub to herself and her rubber duckies. Of course, she just rotates which one she has in her mouth but with the three of them floating around she's occupied for a long time. She loves bath time so much, she's started throwing little tantrums when we put up her toys and drain the tub. She hollers and shrieks at us while we pull her out and dry her off. By the time she gets a bath, it's almost bedtime so she is quick to calm down and is out like a light before I finish feeding her.

8:15 pm

House Guest

Now that we've finally settled in and unpacked, I've been spending my time catching up on paperwork, doctor appoints, phone calls to immigration and all that fun stuff. We went to the beach for the first time today, though it was only to do our Christmas photos. We dressed up and put Ella in her pretty Christmas dress and headed down to Ko Olina, a resort area not far from us. We managed to get some pictures but it was hard to get Ella to look at the camera when there was no one to distract her. She spent most of the pictures trying to look at us and playing with my necklace. I won't post the one I'm sending out until Christmas day, but here are some of the others from today.

When we got home, we found our first house guest hanging out in the kitchen. I'm sure it was a Gecko (aren't they green though?) but he was a light brown/gray color. Totally harmless so I managed to catch him on the counter when he leaped from the wall. I caught him under our pasta strainer and used our cutting board to transfer him outside and to freedom. He was only about 4 inches long but still made me jumpy. Ron passed me a cup and said to put him there and cover it with my hand...is he crazy!! There was no way I was getting any closer than I had to! My motivation and quick action was from pure fear that he may want to stay overnight and I was not about to spend the entire night looking for the sucker!

Happy 8 Months, Ella!!!!

Ella waving to Daddy and the camera...

Ella is 8 months old today! I can't believe how the time has flown by! So many joys and milestones. She is the love of our life and we are so proud of her!

We moved into our house last Wednesday and have finally finished unpacking and setting up house. I've tried to blog a few times but my computer is still on the fritz. I will try to post some pictures of the past week.

Ella is doing wonderful and is loving her new home. It took a couple of nights to get used to her crib again but now she loves it and will put herself to sleep. We have also gotten her a high chair and it is so easy to feed her. Ella began waving 'hi' and 'bye' as we were leaving Atlanta, but now she waves to everyone, including people on the TV. So cute!

We are off to see Santa today with our neighbor, Miranda and her son Matthew, who is about 5 weeks younger than Ella. Hopefully we can get a picture, I'm not sure how Ella will be when I drop her in his lap...she may just try to pull off his beard!

Ella's new high chair...

Our House

We drove through the neighborhood today after running some errands and took these pics of our new house. We get the keys on Wednesday and have our stuff arriving Wednesday and Thursday.

Two more nights in a hotel and we'll finally be in our own place. It's a duplex so it's really small but I'll send pictures when we get settled and I've got everything looking cute again.

We're in the newer part of the neighborhood, the part they've refurbished. To get to our area you have to drive through the "hood". The houses are old, rundown and junky. Our house looks gorgeous compared to the old part!

Sunday Football

Today was another do nothing day. We really don't have anything to do. We slept in, watched some tv, went to the pool and then spent the entire afternoon watching football. Well, Ron watched football and I am stuck on those Sudoku puzzles. Ella loves to watch the game with her Daddy, but I'm sure she'll grow out of it...football is so loooong and boring! With the time difference, Ron gets 2 or 3 games on Sunday starting in the morning and going all afternoon. Yawn! Tomorrow is another day of running around getting things done.

Video Test - Ella Laughing

I'm hoping this video works....

Einstein

We relaxed all day today and lounged by the pool a bit too. I have a tan! Though I've been using lots of sunscreen, it's impossible to stay out of the sun. Ron was able to get the tires for the car and the Honda passed it's safety inspection. Monday it's down to the DMV to register the car. Here is Ella this afternoon in the hotel. Her hair is getting long but it's so wonderfully curly I get to make her look like a mad scientist...we think she's smart too!
Tonight we went for a walk through the base housing behind the hotel. It was like walking back into the 1950's. The sun sets around 6:00 but kids are still playing in the street, people have their windows open and toys and bikes are left in the yard. I'm so glad we chose base housing because it's so safe. Ella and I can walk in the evening with no problems.
It's been gorgeous today, I am definately deserving of these island breezes after living in the heat and humidity in Atlanta (like an armpit...yuck).

Vehicles

Today we spent most of the day out, and really didn't accomplish anything. We have to register our car with the state of Hawaii but first we need a safety inspection. We finally found a place without a long wait and we were told we can't have black-tinted windows. Goodbye "Darkness". We went to the store, bought some razor blades and took off all the tint. Then back to the inspection place, where we were told we needed a back left tire and a brake light. Back out to replace those only the tire won't be in until tomorrow. We went out and got groceries for the weekend and Ron will go back in the morning to get the tire. Here are Ron and Ella at the end of the day. They are exhausted! I think once the safety inspection is done tomorrow we'll be lounging by the pool the rest of the weekend. It's been hectic running around changing addresses, registering, checking into the military system. So much to do. We move into our house on Wedneday then I'll be busy unpacking. We chose the house on the base, no bills except our cable/internet and the house is completely taken care of, totally secure and actually cute...just about as small as our apartment. Lots of storage though and Ron gets to downsize. We found a futon we like and will most likely replace the couches with it. I'm so excited about setting up a house again!

Spoiled

Okay, first let me apologise! I know I live in Hawaii and should have no complaints. I'm really spoiled. The military gives you 48 hours to make a housing decision and once it's made, the only way to get out of it is to have another baby! The pressure! Especially when we aren't familiar with the areas and don't really know where we want to live. We decided to live on base near Kunia, where Ron works. It's close to his job and we will save so much $$$. Ron always wanted to downsize our furniture and I can easily part with our 1980's couches in exchange for a futon (guest bed/ couch). We do have lots of storage so it's all good. We call and accept tomorrow and should be able to move in next week. Really, our own place again! We're excited.

These pics are from the other night. It's been raining the last two days and parts of the island are prone to flooding (one of the areas is where we were considering renting). This rain had been a blessing and added another reason we don't need to waste money on a rental. Australia here we come!!!! (And I get to go shopping for a futon!)

I have stopped nursing Ella. Since we've been here I've only been nursing her when she wakes up in the morning and before she goes to bed. Today was the first day I've stopped completely. I tried to nurse her before bed but her teeth are getting too sharp and if she's at all distracted, I'm in a lot of pain. Steph, you were so right...teeth are god's way of saying it's time to stop nursing! I'm a little uncomfortable and probably will be until my milk dries up but I'm sure I'll be back to normal in a day or two. I'm sad that this part of Ella's babyness is gone. She's getting so big, talking up a storm and her latest thing, waving! She sees herself in the full-length mirror when she wakes up and waves to herself. Too cute!!! I love watching her grow and process new things!

Happy Halloween

Okay, I totally forgot until I read Amy's blog...sorry, absorbed in housing issues.
We took some pictures of Ella dressed up as a pumpkin before we left ATL. Most costumes were made for cold weather so we bought this, dressed Ella up, hid the tags, took some pictures and returned it to the store. Oh well, it's not like we can use it here!