Monday, June 20, 2011

Ode to Eleanor

Eleanor will be 6 weeks as of tomorrow and it's amazing to see how much she's developed in that short amount of time. She has started to smile at me when I talk to her, which warms my heart more than I ever thought was possible. Because of that amazing smile, she makes me want to talk in a high voice and give her kisses all day long. I am afraid if this continues, we'll never get anything done around the house.


She has also been a chatty cathy recently! While she talks, she kicks. She truly is a happy baby. People talk about having a love that is indescribable with your baby and I truly know what they talk of. She brings me such warmth and joy, even when I'm sleep deprived she'll look up to me with a toothless grin that makes me melt every time!


She has started to look around the room, moving her neck. While I know her vision is only 12 inches away from her face it's so neat to see her look around and seem so alert. And her tummy time has vastly improved, she will lay on my stomach on her tummy and look up to me with her big brown eyes. Again a heart-melting experience I didn't know existed.


While she looks just like her daddy and has his go with the flow personality, she does have ONE trait of mine that I think is the cutest. She sneezes in twos. Sometimes after she sneezes she does this high-pitched sigh that may be the cutest noise I've ever heard.


If you cannot tell I am completely smitten and in love with my daughter. We went to the Cubs game on Saturday and I just wanted to show her off to the world. Although I'm low on sleep, I'm high on love. 


We celebrated our first Fathers Day yesterday - We went to brunch in the neighborhood and then we had a lazy Sunday! It was a great day - Eleanor snuggled on her daddy's chest all afternoon. The two of them bonded together, it was so endearing! 


While Eleanor continues to develop in terms of skills and personality, my love continues to grow for her.  I gladly embrace this journey of love for my daughter as she truly is a gift to me.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Passport Photograph For Eleanor Jamaican Me Crazy!

So many of you know that the Lazar family is going on a trip to Jamaica come August that we are all looking forward to! However, has anyone ever tried to get a passport photo for a newborn baby? I didn't realize the stress it would cause our household.


A few of the photo stipulations of what is necessary to get a valid passport


- Baby must have eyes open
- Baby must not show any emotion
- Baby must in front of a white background, no other people included in picture
- Baby cannot have arms, hands, fingers next to face


Now, that's about one third of the stipulations of what is necessary for a valid passport photo. A few thoughts no one has thought about unless they've had to have their little one in a picture for the passport. First and foremost, having a babies eyes open? Forget about it. Our little E sleeps 90% of the day! The rest of the time she is crying to be fed or a diaper change. Not showing any emotion? Well the other 10% she's crying! White background with no other people included in the picture? How do I keep her head up for the picture without my hand on her face / head which is included in the photograph. No arms, hands, fingers next to the baby's face? Get real! Eleanor always has to have her hand next to her cheek esp when her eyes are open!


Kurt and I were deer in headlights getting her passport photograph taken tonight, it is comical now that we look back at it and have a couple successful photographs we can send in!  But seriously family and friends, call us if you ever have the need to take a photograph for a passport! We have a few tricks up our sleeves. After cold water sprinkled on her tummy, legs and cheeks, we tried the "take off the diaper" trick. Well that only made her cry! Finally after soothing, pacifiers, rattling rattles and more, Kurt decided to pick her up in her car seat (up and down) and her eyes FINALLY popped open and she relaxed. SUCCESS!!


I think it's only fair to say, that's been the extent of us as parents. It's been trials and tribulations. We've learned out how to cope with Eleanor's crying. What do we do to help her out of her little fit? We've learned to swaddle on the fly, we've learned to trim her nails before she scratched her skin too deeply, we've learned when to change her diapers in the middle of her feeding so she falls asleep right after her bottle in the middle of the night, and the list goes on!


It's been a "learn as you go" - But I have to say, even though I may be growing my first gray hair (sorry Kurt) I wouldn't take it any other way. This has been ideal and our common sense (yes, mom, I have a little of this) has really helped us find our way through parenthood thus far!


I look forward to the next hurdle that's put in front of us. I cannot believe I'm saying that but I've really learned that it's important to make mistakes and try to truly learn how to get through anything that requires a little bit of "air."


Hope you all have a few of those mistakes in front of you too - As aren't we all a work in progress?


Lots of love to you all!


TKE