Ela's Birthday Party

For Ela's birthday this year, we decided to go to the zoo. She's really into animals right now. We were lucky, and the weather held out for us. It was cloudy, but fairly warm. Also, Ela had slept well and eaten a good breakfast, so she was in a really good mood. We dressed her in her birthday finest, armed ourselves with gift bags and cupcakes, and set out.

All the way there in the car, Ela said "We see lions! We see elephants! We see monkeys!" and proceded to make all the animal noises. As soon as we got there, we met up with a few friends, and the animal viewing began. It's early in the season, so the zoo was not very crowded at all. We were able to get up close to each of the exhibits and take our time watching without feeling like we were in the way.


Ela was delighted to get to see all the animals. She ran along between exhibits saying "Running! Weeee!" as we all trailed after her, just trying to keep up. She only slowed down to look at her favorites. The pandas got a long view, and I think she would have been happy to stare at the elephants all day. She watched a monkey who was hanging out right at the edge of his enclosure for a long time before announcing, "Bye Bye, monkey! I'll miss you!"
Finally, we all got hungry, so we took a lunch break. We stopped into the Mane Restaurant and got hamburgers, nuggets, and fries for everyone. Also, we had cupcakes. Here's what they looked like before I packed them up and they got hauled along in the stroller for several hours.


I forgot to bring the number 2 candle (which we had used on her cupcake the night before), but I suspect the zoo would have frowned on it anyway. So we just sang, and Ela was happy with that.

With renewed energy from all the sugar, we set off to the petting portion of the zoo. The kids were very excited about the chance to touch the cow. The also enjoyed having a look at the donkeys and goats.

Our final stop was to see the lions. They have cubs at the zoo right now, and they were out when we arrived. Ela watched them, as well as the grown ups, with a very serious look on her face for quite some time before announcing, "Simba!" They really were quite fun to watch as they capered around.

By the time we finished looking at the lions, all that walking and the fact that it was well past nap time was catching up with the kids, so we decided to call it a day. Everyone agreed that it had been a very pleasant visit. I love having a free zoo so close by, and it worked out really well for the party. Ela was finally ready to get back into the stroller for the hike back up the hill to the car.

I think she had a good time!

Happy Birthday, Ela!

March 4, 2009


March 4, 2010


March 4, 2011

One Last Snow

We had so much fun up at Wintergreen back in January, that we decided to do it again last weekend. This time, Zack's folks joined us. We all arrived on Friday evening and had a fantastic dinner at a local restaurant. Saturday, Zack, his dad, and his sister took off for the slopes, while Ela, her Grandma, and I headed back to the kiddie play area for one last romp in the snow before spring seriously sets in.
Of course, we went back to our favorite activity from last time...

...and Ela greeted a few old friends with hugs...

We made a new friend, too: Ridgely the bear was out and tubing with the kids. Ela got to give him a hug, too.

And Grandma helped Ela make a few snow balls with the snow ball makers that were available.

Notice she still won't wear mittens, though, so holding the snowballs wasn't as fun as making them.
The nice thing about this trip was that things weren't as crowded, it being the end of the season. When we arrived at the kiddie area, there were may be five kids there, leaving plenty of room for exploration and play. By the time we left, it was getting a bit more crowded, but still not as crazy as it was the last time we went.
We spent about an hour romping in the snow before we took off for a little shopping. We ate some lunch back down off the mountain, and then wandered the small towns in the area checking out interesting stores until dinner time. We met up with the skiiers for dinner. All in all, it was a very pleasant trip, and another nice chance to hang out with family, something we really missed when we were in Japan.
Now, though, I must admit I really am about done with winter. I like the snow and cold and all, but I'm feeling ready to take more trips to the park and walks with kiddo before I get too big to move. Luckily, the weather seems to be in agreement with me. Here's hoping the temperature continues to rise for awhile!

Five Years and Counting

Last week, Zack and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. It's hard to believe that's been that long! As it happened, the DC area Supply Corps Ball was the day after our anniversary, so we celebrated by going to the ball. Finding a dress for a formal occasion when you're 28 weeks pregnant is not easy, but I think I did okay.

And of course, Zack always looks great in his uniform. When we arrived, they were serving drinks and hors d'oeuvres. One advantage of the baby bump is that servers see it and head straight for you with plates. :-) I guess they figured I'd be hungry. They weren't wrong. I enjoyed my mini quiche and bruchetta and drank an orange juice while chatting with a few of Zack's work buddies and their spouses. I also enjoyed looking at the dresses of all the other people. I'm not even remotely fashion forward, but it's always fun to see what people wear. This year, dresses that only went over one shoulder seemed to be quite popular. Everyone looked great.

Eventually, they let us into the dining area. Always on top of things, Zack had informed the officer who sold him the tickets that I was unable to drink champagne this year, and asked if there would be some sparkling something for me to put in my glass during the traditional toasting, it being our anniversary and all. As a result, they left a bottle of sparkling cider for us at our table with a very nice card. I felt special. :-) The speaker this year was much better than last year. I had my doubts when he promised to keep his remarks short, since the speaker last year said the same thing and then left me staring at my salad for entirely too long. However, this gentleman spoke very concisely and eloquently on the topic of transitioning from the Navy to civilian life. He had some good information, some entertaining stories, and he got through what he wanted to say with remarkable efficiency. Then it was time to eat.
The food was, of course, delicious. I had ceasar salad, salmon with mustard sauce, asparagus, carrots, and rice. It was lovely. For dessert, there was cheesecake, which I don't really like, but I'm told was very light and fluffy, and regular cake, cut, as the tradition goes, by the oldest and youngest servicemen at the function. The regular cake was yummy. We did all the traditional toasts (which take less time here than in Japan since we don't have to toast the Emperor or the JMSDF), and then the partying began. Zack and I were seated directly in front of a speaker, and we're not much for dancing, so we got up chatted with a few more friends before heading out. It was a very pleasant evening, and fun to get dressed up and eat a meal with grown ups. We had a great time.

Valentine's Day Tradition

Zack and I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day since we've got an anniversary four days later. However, Ela's grandparents have been vigilantly making sure that the holiday is not completely forgotten in our house. This year, the Ortman grandparents got her an adorable stuffed tiger, which she was allowed to open early so they could see her do it, and some wonderful Swedish cookies, which she's been requesting for dessert every night (she calls them "green cookie" because they have green sprinkles on the top). And every year, I look forward to my Valentine's Day present from my dad: candy from Lagomarcino's. We've been friends with the Lagomarcino family since I was little, and their candy is excellent. Last year and this year, Ela got a little gift from Grandpa and the Lagomarcino's as well. When the box came this year, it was all I could do to not open it immediately, so I was proud that we managed to get dressed today before I pulled out the presents to open. :-)

Ela, to my great surprise, suddenly took an interest in opening presents, so we had a lot of fun finding out what Grandpa got her this year:

She needed some help getting the paper open, but then...

I think she would have been delighted just to get the box!

So we opened that up...

...and found...

...an even prettier box! Yay!

The packaging material was a fun toy, too.

Then we opened the pretty box (she hasn't figured out how to work the latch by herself yet).

And found candy! The smell of it got Dory's attention. I let Ela have a piece before we put it away. She would have liked to have a bit more. Now she's enjoying putting the wrapping material in and out of her new box. Thanks very much, Grandpa!

May be next year I'll really get moving and remember to do some Valentines for the family in return.

I'm a Knitter

I learned to crochet when I was younger, and while I was in Japan, a friend taught me the basics of knitting, but I hadn't really done anything with it until now.

In an effort to find new ways to get rid of my super large stash of yarn, I thought I'd pick it back up and see what I remembered. With the help of the handouts my friend had made, I got the basics back, and I've now started on a scarf. It'll take me the next 15 years to finish, but at least I know I can do it!

The Battle of the Bed

This month, I'm declaring war on our sleeping situation... again. Pretty much all her life, Ela has been convinced that she should be allowed to sleep with Mommy and Daddy (primarily Mommy, since for the first year or so, Daddy was only around about half the time). When I was getting very little sleep and caring for an infant partially alone, I allowed this to preserve my own sanity. When we moved back to the US, we thought we'd try to get Ela into her own room. That's when the war broke out. She hated the crib, which lead us to using a toddler bed. That worked a little better, but she'd still prefer sleeping in a place with a warm body. We've had limited and occasional success getting her to sleep in there all night, but she goes through occasional clingy phases in which she manages to sneak back into our room more or less permanently at night.
This fall was one of those phases. The pattern became that she would go to bed in her own room between 8:00 and 9:00, then wake up in the middle of the night and want some company. She got to the point where she didn't even cry, she'd just crawl out of her bed, open her door (which is old and won't latch properly) and wander down the hall to our room. There, she'd climb into our bed and I, being half asleep, pregnant and exhausted, would just haul her in and let her sleep. Zack can sleep through anything, thanks to his navy training, so he generally wasn't aware of what was happening until later in the night.
The problem is that Ela likes to sleep horizontally on the bed, most of her body on or near our pillows, leaving very little room for Mommy's big belly or Daddy at all. Also, she kicks, and Daddy would like to keep all his teeth. So now I'm getting less sleep by letting her stay than if I'd make her sleep in her own bed. So we've moved her into her new room (making room for a crib in the nursery), and the new door actually stays shut, so the war is back on.
Of course, Ela takes it very personally that we insist she lay in her own bed. We traveled so much in January that she doesn't even like me sitting in a chair watching her fall asleep anymore, she wants me in the bed with her. She's starting to accept that bit, but Monday night she put up a really good fight about the middle of the night transfer. She woke up and began screaming at 2:00 am. I don't handle listening to her cry very well. My thought is, if I'm not going to be able to sleep, I should at least not be tortured by screaming child. So I called to her first, telling her it's still sleepy time and to go back to bed. This never works. I waited a little longer, then I wandered into her room, where I gave her a hug, and put her back in bed. This caused a temper tantrum. That bit doesn't last long, though. I sat down on the bed for a few minutes before moving to a chair where she can see me, and she settled down. Her goal is always to keep me in the room. She's learned to sleep so lightly that when I stand up, she hears me and begins the crying again. I sit, she gets quiet. I sat with her Monday until 3:15, at which point I kissed her head, closed the door, and went to bed to have my own temper tantrum. Zack took over getting Ela to sleep, and she did sleep for awhile, but by 4:00, she was in my bed.
Tuesday was not a fun day for me. I don't handle lack of sleep well, and I didn't have time for a nap.
But then last night, Ela was tired from keeping me up all night Monday. She passed out the first time around 9:30. At 12:40, I heard the crying. Same routine: tell her to go to bed, go in. This time, though, she was too tired for light sleep. She woke up a little when I stood up, but closed her eyes again immediately, and by 12:50 I was back in bed. I expected to hear from her again in the night, but she didn't come to see me until Zack was out of bed for the morning. It was beautiful!
So the score stands at Ela: 1 Mommy: 1. I'm bracing for another hard night tonight, but at least we made a little progress!