2 Years and 9 Months

Delighted with Daddy's antics involving her baby doll and an airplane made out of Legos

I can barely keep up with Ella and all the new things she's doing these days. I try to jot things down as they happen so I don't forget when it comes time to sit down and blog. I have a mix of random observations to share but lack the time to organize them well, so here it goes...

Note: I am aware that I am a new parent who thinks everything her daughter does is cute. I am also aware (although being the biased mommy that I am I admit I find it hard to believe), that not everyone shares the same sentiment. So please know that I don't expect anyone other than grandparents to read every detail below. I record this stuff because I want to remember the details of these rich days. I guess that goes for pretty much all my blogging since I became a mommy! :-)

• As of this week, Ella can ride a tricycle. The only tricycle we could find that wasn't plastic is pink with a Spiderman seat. She loves the basket on the handle bars and likes to put a stuffed toy or some leaves from the plants outside in it. She can say, "Bike! Riding! Ella!"

• Her attention span has increased dramatically in the past month. 

• She really likes drawing and coloring more than before and will even do so for up to 15 minutes at a time.

• She loves being read to. Up until a month or so ago we had to keep book reading very short as she just wouldn't sit still and was all over the place and showed very little interest  but now, she just can't get enough. I read to her for at least 30 minutes every evening and sometimes before a nap she'll get about 15 minutes of books. Currently her most favorite books are Goodnight Moon, We Belong Together (about adoption and families), and Green Eggs & Ham. She has many favorites but these are the three we can not get away with skipping.

• I can now use a video to keep her attention for up to 30 minutes, as long as it's one of the few videos she loves -  currently that's Elmo's World and Baby Einstein for Toddlers DVDs. I never thought I would report my happiness at her TV watching but it's true. I have wished that a video would keep her attention for longer than five minutes, just so I could have something to keep her busy when I really need to get something done. I do limit it to an hour a day though. Some days if we're out a lot she doesn't watch any. It is just so nice now to have it as an option!

• Pretend play - Lately there is a lot of pretending to go to work (like Daddy) on her tricycle with either a tote bag or cup (of coffee) in hand. She'll bike from one end if the living room to the other, announce that she's going to work and say, "Bye guys!" only to return seconds later declaring, "Mome!... Hug?" (I'm home! Can I have a hug?) We then give her a big hug and tell how much we missed her. She loves this game. Another favorite is cutting, preparing and serving food. She loves to make us rice and eggs and always asks if we want more or if we've had enough. She loves playing baby and wants us to wrap her up and hold her like a baby and pretend to give her milk. Oh and she loves to mimic shaving like Daddy. A while back she started taking the letter T off of the refrigerator and putting it to her face and say, "Shave. E-D." This morning I walked in on this...

 I wish I got the shot while she still had shaving cream on her face. So cute.

• She's become very particular about what she wears and which cup, plate, spoon or fork she uses at meal times. She is very vocal and constantly tells us what she wants. Based on her preferences these days I'd say she has a strong affinity for pink. Blue is next on the list with brown a close third. 

• She still loves to be carried. While I find this challenging at times, I am really trying to just go with it. Andrey never minds carrying Ella. I think he is still soaking up any attention he gets from her after being shunned for so long in the beginning. While we were in the US, Ella would screech when she wanted to be carried so we encouraged her to use words to tell us what she wanted. We would often prompt her by saying, "Do you want Mommy to carry you?" Now, whenever she wants to be carried she says, "Arry you?" (carry you?) No need to learn about pronouns yet. 

• When she has a poopy diaper and I'm about to change it she'll say, "Poo poo! Yuck! Icky! Smelly! (and will wave her hand over her nose) Cleaning? Diaper?" This is when I talk about how poo poo is gross and it's much better if it goes in the toilet where it belongs. One day when she's ready, I tell her.

• She loves airports and airplanes. The morning after we arrived in the US, she kept asking to go back to the airport and get on another plane, and of course we were like, No thank you! When we are traveling and we're at the airport at the gate she get super ecstatic when she sees the airplane. She makes engine noises and says, "Up up up up up up up up up!" Then Andrey picks her up and glides her through the air like an airplane. She recently saw a photo of an airplane and said, "A-lane! A-lane! C'mon! Walk? Lap? Good boy!" while patting her lap as if she would like to cuddle with it. I believe this was inspired by our time in Alabama with my parents' dog Emmett.

• Cute things she says: "I'll back", or "I back" while holding her hand up indicating for us to wait; "Areful! Hot!" (Careful, it's hot!) or "Areful. Car." if we're near the road; "Gedder!" (Together!) when the three of us are together and we're on each side of her, like walking holding hands, or in the bed hiding under the covers or in the play room sitting down to play with blocks, or at the dinner table when she puts her arms around our necks and pulls us in. She loves doing things together with Mommy & Daddy. It's her favorite for sure. 

• She is beginning to play a little with other kids, especially if the other kids are a bit older than her. When our helper brings her daughter who is only 4 days apart in age from Ella, all they do is fight over toys. But Ella loves to play with my helper's 5 year old. She brought him to work over the summer and Ella loved having Kuya Dilbert around. In a rare moment however, I did find all three of them like this one day.

• Speaking of our helper, Ate Inday, Ella loves her and calls her Tita (auntie). A few times when I couldn't find Ella I found her in the back room with Tita and Kuya Dilbert eating their food. Ate Inday loves Ella, too and just finds everything she does cute, so she doesn't mind when Ella crashes their lunch or grabs the broom she is using so she can imitate or jumps in the shower to play with the soap and water while Inday is cleaning. I am so blessed to have this woman working in my house.

I think it goes without saying that this little Filipina has brightened and enriched our lives so much. We've been together now for nine months but it feels like we've been together much longer. I am so thankful for the opportunity to live in her home country and see her building relationships with so many Filipinos. I hope our experience here, for however long it is, will impact her life in a positive way and will foster a lasting and loving connection with the country of her birth.

First Father's Day

What a joy to celebrate Andrey's first father's day. We got a three-day weekend due to Rizal Day here in the Philippines on Monday so we got to spend lots of time together before Andrey headed to Manila this week. In the last six months or so, he had a slight change to his job that has him traveling to Manila for 2-3 days every other week. Ella and I really miss him when he's away. 

I asked him to grill on Father's Day because I was inspired by a meal in one of my favorite cookbooks Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates and because I know he loves to grill. I prepared a Caribbean Jerk Grill that included a Jerk sauce, which I enjoyed calling, I'm so glad my husband is not a jerk sauce. We enjoyed our favorite special occasion meat, steak, plus some shrimp and veggie skewers, roasted potatoes, pineapple margaritas and a fruit and nut chocolate tart.

 

 

 

Not only is he not a jerk but he's such a great husband and Dad! Like when I married Andrey, I knew he'd be a great husband but I really had no idea how great he'd be. He totally exceeded (and still does) my expectations. Now that he's a Dad, the same goes. I always knew, and for years dreamed how amazing a Dad he would be. He's even more patient and loving and kind to Ella than I imagined. When he's home, he is focused on Ella and plays with her for long hours at a time. Her time with Daddy has become her great delight. On many a morning, "E-D" is the first thing she says after she wakes, wanting to know where he is.

  

On Monday we went to a mountain resort place called Genesis Valley that we heard good things about.

It did not disappoint and we'll definitely be back. They have a series of pools of different depths and a large playground. Ella swam for over two hours (with a lunch break in between). She had so much fun with Daddy that there were times I felt a little like a third wheel - and that's a new feeling for me! I love it though. I just love it that Ella and Andrey have so much fun together, especially in the pool. They play all sorts of fun games together. They hop on one leg and fall over. Ella rides on his back. She jumps into the water to him or jumps and then swims to him. There is a lot of jumping into the water these days. In this photo Andrey is catching her but most of the time she just jumps right in like that on her own. Sometimes she floats head down for up to five seconds before swimming back up. She's amazing. Here are some shots and a short video of the pool action.

One thing's for sure, he has no problem being nerdy in public with his daughter. What a guy!

 Happy Father's Day, Andrey. We love you!

Weekends with E-D and the Love of Water

Ella and I love having Daddy around every weekend. Saturday mornings are such a fun time. We like to have a big breakfast and then Andrey and Ella get lots of playing in together while I get a little time to myself. Yes! Last Saturday I went out for coffee with a friend and this Saturday I hung out in our room (to get away from the karaoke, mind you) and have some computer time and exercise.

Morning swim with Daddy in our ridiculously small kiddie pool

Ella just adores her Daddy and it is such a joy to see. This morning when she woke up and Andrey was out of the room, the first thing she said was "E-D" and wanted me to take her to him. That's how she pronounces Daddy. I love it so much that she wants to see him and be with him as much as possible. The other morning when we got to sleep in Ella rolled over onto E-D and cuddled with him for quite a while. And that was before she so much as needed me, mmMeee, as I'm called. (She still sleeps in her bed at night but often ends up in our bed by morning.)

  

After a walk with Daddy in the rain. He let her hold the umbrella so they both got soaked but they both loved it

Helping Daddy wash the dishes

I started exercising again. My goal is three times a week. Lately, I've been back into Jillian Michael's 25 minute videos and I feel great when I do them. I'm thinking about getting some yoga videos to do as bonus. I am quite motivated to do yoga when I body gets achey. Yoga makes my body feel great and totally eradicates the lower back pain I get from lifting Ella all the time.

Speaking of which, Ella still requires carrying most of the time although she is getting much better at walking when she's in the right mood for it. I've started encouraging her to walk more but I don't push it if she insists on being carried. As much as it annoys me at times - especially when I have lots of other stuff to carry like when we're out shopping - I am trying to remember that someday she will need me less and I do enjoy holding her close. It would be one thing if I felt she was just being lazy but I don't think that's it. I think she still has a need for closeness and the security that comes with it.

I think this because she usually needs me to carry her when she hasn't had enough one-on-one time with me that day or when she's tired, which is normal for a child to get a bit clingy when they're tired. When she's well rested and has had plenty of mommy time at home, she can walk for quite a while when we're out together. To encourage her walking I've stopped bringing the stroller out with us. (After all, she's almost 3!) She's also getting better about sitting in the cart when we're shopping. I have to pick the right times to do our grocery shopping because if I go a little too close to nap time then I end up carrying her and pushing a heavy cart of groceries around the store (and feeling bitter about it, like oh poor me this is so hard). And the carts here have four multi-directional wheels, not just two in the front like in North America and that makes them quite unwieldy. But hey, I don't go shopping with FOUR kids like my friend Mel so I feel like I have it pretty easy and shouldn't complain.

I can barely concentrate on this post because there is karaoke blaring again. I'm going to have to have a talk with them asap because I am feeling on the edge!!! While she sings, "I will survive!" I wonder if I will.

In the Philippines when it rains, small children will take off their clothes and run in the street to play in the rain all the while chanting, "Ligo uwan! Ligo uwan!" (bathe in the rain! bathe in the rain!) It's so cute to see. Now Ella does it too. The first thing she does when she sees rain is run outside and start stripping down. 

Ligo uwan with a little extra fun with the hose - notice how nearly everything this girl loves involves water!

We've taken Ella swimming the past couple Sunday afternoons and it is becoming a fun family outing for us. Ella's skill in the pool is ever-increasing and that's without any direction from us. She is such a fish. She is now diving in head first, doing flips under the water, swimming on her side, nearly floating and lots of other fun moves that are hard to describe - all in the shallow end, mind you. I'll try and take some video next time. Other people in the pool always watch her, ask how old she is, then comment how amazing and fearless she is. She is so much fun to watch. Especially the first 15 minutes in the pool when she wears a perma-smile. She comes up out of the water with eyes open and a huge smile on her face before going under again. She is just SO happy to be in the pool!

Thankfully, she is inhaling less water and gagging these days. Did I tell you she barfed in the pool at the Sheraton when we were in DC? Yeah, no shallow end with Ella jumping in to me over and over and over again and not wanting me to hold her meant she drank and inhaled quite a bit. Now I know to get out ASAP when she starts to cough and gag. They had to tell all the guests to get out of the pool for cleaning and closed it for 20 minutes. I felt so bad for the other swimmers (and a little embarrassed). The same thing has happened in the shallow area at a pool in Cebu twice before but that was when she was just getting used to holding her breath under the water.

She swam for record duration last weekend - over two hours and was asking for more! It tires her out so much that her sleep has been great after her swimming sessions. I'm gonna try to get her out once during the week as well as I think she may not be getting enough exercise lately. It's been taking her quite a while to fall asleep at night these days. I think I'm gonna buy her a tricycle to try to get some more daily activity in and see if that helps. 

Blogger Abyss or Abysmal Blogging?

Okay, I really don't want to do this but...

Is anyone out there reading? 

I know I didn't blog for a really long time while we were away so I get it, you probably stopped checking this blog and I don't blame you... but I'm back! And I just posted about a gazillion photos from our trip.

Photo Recap Part 8

Atlanta, Georgia
May 16, 2011

Oh my, I had a lot of catching up to do. I'm glad I'm nearly done as this is the last post from our America trip. Now I can start blogging about current happenings!

Let me just say again how much I am enjoying life in Cebu. Loving our routine, our friends, our community, play dates, mango season, the sunshine, the swimming, the help around the house!, getting caught up on reading and blogging, the quiet nights and quality time with Andrey, cooking and hosting, and a refreshing in my spirit from the Lord. What he is doing in me lately brings me once again to a place of hope and anticipation for what's the come. I wonder what the next chapter will hold.

During our last week in the States we took a(nother) day trip to Atlanta - this time to pick up Ella's passport - the final accomplishment of this particular journey. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a super fun day at the Georgia Aquarium.

It was crazy busy with tons of kids on end-of-the-school-year field trips but oh my goodness this was SUCH a cool place! I think the adults enjoyed it more than Ella, who seemed to be a bit tired and out of sorts the whole day. I think she was finally getting tired of all the travel, car trips, naps at odd times, unfamiliar food. The crowds really seemed to get to her that day. It's a good thing we brought the stroller. She was able to hide under the sunshade a few times to withdraw into her own space.

The absolute best part of the aquarium was this massive tank with three or four whale sharks, huge manta rays (that's redundant right?), sting rays, swordfish, giant grouper, reef sharks, tiger sharks and a ton of smaller fish. It had the adults oohing and aahing for quite awhile - especially when the manta ray got really close to us and flipped over round and round. The graceful movement of this gigantic ocean creature brought me to an awe and reverence of God's amazing creativity. There was something worshipful about these powerful creatures being and doing what they were created for. It was like that feeling you get when you are in a breathtakingly beautiful place in nature and you feel the presence of God. These photos do not come close to doing the experience justice.

 

Another terrible photo but I want to remember that we saw penquins - one of Ella's favorite animals, thanks to an Elmo's World video we own.

 

The other really cool thing was seeing seahorses up close. I've never seen live ones before.

 Checking out the beluga whales. They are such fun and sociable animals, so I learned.

There was an exhibit with SE Asian fish. I recognized many of them... from when I pick them out at the seafood counter at the grocery store! yum! Either Ella was super tired this day, or she prefers the experience at the grocery store of seeing all the dead, whole fish before I buy and bring some home to fry for her! We are eating more fish than ever these days and I love it. I really missed fish when we were in the States. Once a week is not nearly enough!It is so nice to live in a place with so much affordable, local, fresh fish available year-round.

We also stopped at the Civil Rights Memorial site in the neighborhood where Martin Luther King, Jr. was born and raised, Sweet Auburn. Unfortunately we didn't have much time and there is much to see. I would love to go back and spend a day touring his birth home and experiencing the Civil Rights museum in it's entirety. 

On a side note, we attended the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama a few weeks ago - the church where MLK pastored from 1954-1960. It was also the location at which the Montgomery bus boycott was organized. The church stands only a block away from the former, original capitol of the confederacy during the start of the Civil war.

The mural outside the Civil Rights Memorial in Atlanta

Oh happy day! Ella has proof of citizenship and can now travel anywhere her parents can!

We were pretty giddy about having accomplished all we came to do. Thank you, Lord for miraculously arranging, guiding and timing everything for us and for making the impossible possible! Thank you Jesus for our treasure, Michella, our 'Gift from God.'

 

Photo Recap Part 7

Asheville, North Carolina

In early May we spent a week in a beautiful place with Andrey's parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece. We get about a week with these guys every year and it is a real highlight for us. A's sister and hubby are some of our closest friends. We're all fairly new parents of cute little girls only a year apart. We treasure our time together so much!

Ella and her little cousin A had seen each other on skype many times and this was their first time to meet in person. A has changed so much since Andrey and I saw her last when she was just five months old. Ella and A seemed to know each other well and love spending time together. It was very cute to hear one of them asking about the other as soon as they woke up each day.

This was taken by M on one of our many nature walks. Ella grew a special affection for Uncle M during our time together. It was very sweet.

Grandma and Grandpa bought a couple of chairs for the girls, which they enjoyed very much, especially the little cup holder where drinks and snacks were often stored.

Yay for sisters, daughters, n and cousins!

Sweet little A

At the Nature Center

Ella handed snacks to A one by one through the hole

Such cuteness! (Okay I am totally partial)

 

We stayed in a beautiful cabin just outside of the city. The cabin was on a small farm. There were horses, chickens, baby chicks and fish. The perfect place for a couple of curious little animal-lovers. Each day we got to take the girls to feed carrots to the horses, give pellets to the fish, play with and chase the baby chicks and collect fresh eggs. What fun!

Sweet times with Grandma

So nice to be out in nature every day...

It made for a great setting for a photo shoot.

It was a week for hair cuts

Time for a little bargaining - "I promise I'm almost done! I'll give you chocolate if you just let me finish!"

L and I had impromptu hair cuts at the Asheville Lovefest. We even made the local newspaper the next day.

L, you're next...

 

 

Hot tubbing! The girls LOVED swimming in the hot tub but had to keep the swim sessions short due to the overheating and lethargy that set in - especially for Ella who loves to keep her head under water for several seconds at a time.

We just missed the sunset off the Blue Ridge Parkway but got a cute pic of this precious little girl.

Grandma and Grandpa loved being with both their grandgirls.

Father-daughter

I had to include this one because Ella started doing this with her tongue and we soon learned that Andrey is not able to do it. So Ella will do it and look at me to do it and then say to Andrey, "Do it!" and he can't. Makes him feel a little left out every time.

These girls did a fair bit of rolling around on the ground together in random places.

At the Asheville Arboretum

I love this photo so much. You can see Ella's love for her Daddy - a picture of how far they have come.

Classic nerd shot

As I said, this is where things normally progress. Don't worry Daddy, you and me can squat with our heels on the ground like true Asians, Mommy can't.

Pure cuteness in curiosity

 

We just love A's beautiful and wild hair

Family time, what a blessing to be together. Wish it were longer!

The week did inevitably come to an end and the two cousins had to say goodbye at the airport. Thanks to some difficulty getting checked in, they had some bonus time together. Here, Ella is pointing to herself and saying, "Ella!" meaning this is MY space.

But A didn't pay any attention to that. She has her own little will to assert.

Some screeching to show her displeasure...

... but things turned around in the end when Ella realized this is pretty fun!

Just look at that smile!

Peek-a-boo!

We stayed in Asheville for a few extra days with Grandma and Grandpa and some friends. 

We enjoyed a sunny day trip to Chimney Rock...

And spent our last two nights connecting with old friends and their cutie little 2-year-old girl, Zoe.

We love Asheville and hope to be back again!