La Familia Vargas

Potty Training 101

2011-01-30T13:07:00.002-05:00

Elena decided last week that it was time to potty train. We sort of knew it would be on her terms. Once she had her first successful pee, there was no looking back. Anna did an awesome job with her on Thursday and Friday- only one accident Thursday and none on Friday. Mom and dad had big shoes to fill, but saw a huge success Saturday morning with a successful #2 and an accident free day.

Today she got to put pants on... so far so good. We'll see how this goes. What a big girl.

We've Got a Sitter!

2011-01-30T12:49:00.003-05:00

From nothing to mastery in 24 hours. Little man learned to sit today!

His change in perspective has made him inspect all his play mat friends in a new light.

Super 'Nena Starts School

2011-01-25T21:11:00.004-05:00

Whirlwind decision, but the stars aligned and we were able to enroll Elena in preschool this week. We toured the school on Monday morning and it became apparent that if we didn't enroll immediately she wouldn't get a spot. So she claimed the very last spot the two year old class. Today she strapped on her Elmo Pack Pack, and marched right up to the front doors.

She is going to Streetlite Christian Child Development Center right here in Federal Hill. She'll go on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30- 11:30 am.

If you ask her what she did today she'll tell you she met the kids, and they color-colored, sang songs, had circle time. I think she may be sad when she realizes she doesn't go back until Thursday.

Goodness when did she get so big!

Eat, Roll, Jump

2011-01-25T21:06:00.002-05:00

Busy week for little man. First, he had his first bites of real food. Mom's having a hard time keeping up with his demands and he was telling us it was time to add more to his diet. We tried some green beans, but decided to pull it back to oatmeal. He seems to like that a little better.

He has officially mastered rolling as well. Front to back, back to front. Rolling around the room. He just gets upset when he rolls off his play mat and onto the hard wood floor.

His new favorite place to hang out is the saucer. He'll stay in there forever. As he works on his army crawl and jumps around in the saucer he was having traction issues with his socks so we bought him his first pair of shoes. They are pretty spiffy.

The Nutcracker with Nana!

2010-12-05T13:11:00.000-05:00

Nana kicked off a new tradition with Elena this year. On December 5th, Nana, Mom and Elena rode the Charm City Circulator up to the Lyric Opera House in Mount Vernon to see the kid friendly version of the Nutcracker. One hour, with narrator. Perfect for kids. I think that Nana may have enjoyed it more than Elena did.

Daniel Meets Nonna Belardo

2010-11-27T12:57:00.003-05:00

Daniel and Elena took a trip to Pheobe Home in Allentown to visit Nonna Belardo this weekend. Nonna had been staying there for a few weeks nursing a broken pelvis. Daniel's smiles brought cheer to all the residents there!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving with the Vargases! It was a team effort to pull together a delicious feast at Felix and Cinzias house. We ate delicious food and celebrated Dad's birthday too!

Daniel's Baptism

2010-11-20T12:42:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, November 20, Daniel was Baptised at Holy Cross Church in Baltimore. Uncle Felix and Caroline served as godparents, and he wore a Nana Swaintek Original, made from Mom's wedding gown.

Elena was in full blown binky withdrawel and insisted that no one else could hold "Mommy's Daniel". The ceremony was on hold until I took him back from Caroline.

We celebrated with a feast at Amicci's in Little Italy.

Two Months Old!

2010-11-05T13:01:00.001-04:00

Time Flies! Daniel is already two months old. Check out those cheeks.

Here are the stats:
14 lbs, 95th Percentile
23 inches long, 50th Percentile

A Tribe of Monkeys

2010-10-31T12:20:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! Our two little monkeys had a blast. Mom took Elena to Boo at the Zoo. All week long, Elena was talking about the monkeys and the girraffes and the elephants and how excited she was. We got there and she kept saying, I LOVE Girraffes, Mommy! I LOVE Elephants, Mommy! I LOVE Monkeys, Mommy!

Without fail as we got close to any of the animals she covered her eyes and squealed in fear. I'm fairly certain she saw no actual animals.

We took the tribe out for some trick or treating in Federal Hill in the Monkey Mobile. Elena got lots of candy that mysteriously disappeared.

Happy Halloween!

The Vargas Kids' First Political Rally

2010-10-30T12:36:00.000-04:00

Rally to Restore Sanity happened on Saturday. We packed up the kids and took them to the national mall. We completely underestimated the number of people who would be there so it turned into more of a people watching, sign reading experience.

I've posted all the pictures here.

Little Man Smiles!

2010-10-20T09:57:00.007-04:00

Little Man started smiling this week. My heart melts every time I see it.

Every day I think, wow these two couldn't be any cuter together. Every day they prove me wrong...

Little Man Sleeps through the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-03T20:00:00.003-04:00

This weekend, we returned to Showvaker's in Manchester Maryland for what is becoming a Vargas Family Tradition. In case you weren't aware, October is hands down Mom's favorite month of the year and she forces the family to take part in all things Autumn.

Elena was slightly frightened of the animals in the petting zoo. She was ok looking, but definitely wanted nothing to do with the petting part of the zoo. After hitting up the animals, we passed a wooden train play structure. This proved to be Elena's very favorite part of the day. I believe there was bribery involved to coerce her into moving on to different activities. She particularly liked the engine car. "Choo Choo".

Next we played in the corn bin. Think sandbox, substitute corn for sand. As you can see, Daniel was captivated. From there we took a bouncy bouncy hay ride through the tree farm. Elena had a nice picnic lunch on the hayride and Mom tried to keep Daniel from bouncing around too much.

Elena and Dad hit up the apply launching station and Mom and Daniel tried to stay away from swarming bees.

All in all, we had a wonderful afternoon, and made it home in time for Sunday afternoon football.

Daniel David - The Early Days

2010-09-24T16:49:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Elena!

2010-09-23T10:22:00.001-04:00

In the midst of the hub-bub that comes with a new baby, we also got to celebrate Elena's 2nd birthday. She started the day with a big present from Mom and dad...

She celebrated the big day with a Dora themed party. Her aunts and uncles came and she even got to invite her (boy)friend Liam.

Of course with birthday's comes the check in with the doctor too... She weighed just shy of 30 pounds and was 34.5 inches tall- putting her in the 75th percentile for wieght and height.

Announcing...

2010-09-22T16:30:00.011-04:00

I promised myself I would document child #2 with the same fervor that I documented Elena's first year. Nine months later I say better late than never.

To start, we got our positive pregnancy test on January 4th. From the beginning, this pregnancy was NOTHING like my my first pregnancy. It didn't take long for the morning sickness to hit with a vengeance. I struggled to keep down any food from weeks six through about week 16 or so. Juan was amazing through the entire ordeal. He totally took the lead with Elena and the house and taking care of me. It was all I could do to make it through a full day at work and get home. Elena time consisted of a lot of cuddling on the couch because it was all I could manage.

We had a few weeks of happy second trimester fun and soon we found out we were having a little boy. Juan was like a kid on Christmas morning when the ultrasound technician gave us the news. Our family would be complete! One little girl and one little boy.

Anyone who looked at me could tell that I was carrying this baby very very high. By early June, Baby V was consistently kicking my right rib cage. Our future soccer player was kicking so hard that he actually bruised the cartilage. Nothing I did made me comfortable. It took acupuncture and a course of prednisone, and finally 8 weeks later the baby dropping for me to get any relief.

The third trimester treated me to the hottest summer on record in Baltimore. I had to stay indoors just about all summer. By mid August I was having non-productive contractions daily.

They say tough pregnancies mean easy deliveries and in my case this was 100% true. As labor day weekend approached, we headed daily to Arundel Mills Mall to walk laps. On September 4, we did two laps (two miles) with no contractions. Disappointed by the lack of progress, I treated myself to a pedicure. With no contractions coming, I went to bed.
At 1:00 am on September 5, I was awoken by a strong contraction. 15 minutes later, another. From there they picked up. At 3:00 am I woke up Juan and took a shower and we started timing the contractions. By 5:00 am they were coming every 7-8 minutes. Juan headed out to get me food as we knew as soon as we got to the hospital I wouldn't be able to eat. At 7:00 am Elena woke up. Every time I had a contraction she got worried and said "Mommy OK?" So mommy had to pretend everything was OK during each contraction. By 7:30 am, we knew it was time to wake up Anna to watch Elena and call the doctor.

We headed to the hospital a little after 8:00 am. They put me on the monitors and checked me, and sent me to walk for an hour. When we came back from walking I was dilated to 3 cm and contracting every 5 minutes. We decided to have the doctor break my water to get things going. From there things went quickly. I got my epidural about 30 minutes later and didn't feel any more contractions after that.

At 4:47, I was feeling that something was happening. They came in to check me and asked me to do some "practice pushes" so we could see what would happen. After only two practice pushes they yelled at me to stop- the baby was ready to come. The doctor rushed to get the room set up and I was asking if I could push as they were finishing. Literally 3 pushes later, Daniel David was here. He came into the world at 5:18 pm weighing 7 pounds 13 ounces. He was given apgar scores of 9 and 9. We immediately fell in love.

Happy October!

2009-10-06T13:06:00.000-04:00

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I want to ride my bicycle!

2009-09-26T15:46:00.003-04:00

Check out Elena riding in her new bike seat! Its the coolest way for a baby to get around Baltimore.

One Year Stats

2009-09-26T09:12:00.002-04:00

Elena brought in 1 with a bang. Tuesday night she was crankier than we've ever seen her, and she woke up approximately 50 million times before the night was over. She ended up spending a good part of the night in bed with Mom and Dad.

Turns out she was coming down with Roseola! Wednesday (which was her birthday) she spiked a fever of 104.6 and dad rushed her to the Doctor. Our little Laneybug spent the next three days curled up with either mom or dad on the couch, cuddling with her bunny and watching Sesame street. Poor little Laney!

Friday was her "well check" for 12 months. They gave her a full work up, but no shots because she was too sick. We get to go back in two weeks for her shots.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 22.8 lbs (75th percentile)
Height: 30 and 3/4 inches (95th percentile)
Head: 46.5 centemeters (90th percentile)

Laneybug Turns 1!

2009-09-26T08:15:00.015-04:00

Sunday, September 20 Elena celebrated her 1st birthday with about fifty of her closest family and friends. We had a great celebration at Riverside Park (right by her house). Nana and Pop-Pop, Ita and Ito and Babi and Dzia Dzi all were huge helps as we go everything together on Saturday and Sunday. Dzia Dzi, Pop-Pop, Dad and Aunt Becca even found some time to head to Camden Yards to see their beloved Red Sox.

Sunday Morning after church, Elena was allowed to open some of her presents. Her Uncle Dave sent her hands down the cutest outfit of all:
Aunt Becca gave her a Juniata hoodie so she is all ready for family weekend at the end of next month, and Mom and Dad gave her her first American Girl Doll, Bitty Baby.
Elena went down for a nap and everyone got to work getting the food together and getting Riverside pavilion ready for her birthday Fiesta.
When Elena woke up from her nap, Nana got her dressed in her special birthday outfit (a Nana Swaintek original) and she headed up to the park to get the party started.
Elena's guests spent some time decorating bug jars and then they went on a bug hunt (more pictures coming). Elena's next door neighbor Rachel won the hunt with a grand total of 26 bugs.

Everyone gathered around and we sang Happy Birthday to Laneybug....
...then Elena enjoyed her very first cupcake.
Thank you to everyone who spent this special day with us!

One Year Photo Shoot

2009-09-06T16:30:00.003-04:00

Mom, the wannabe photographer, took Elena to Lock Ridge Park in Alburtis PA to do her one year photo session. Here are some of our best shots:

2009-08-29T17:50:00.002-04:00

The Best Birthday Present Ever

2009-08-16T14:11:00.003-04:00

Since mom's birthday falls on Wednesday this year, we decided to celebrate this weekend. Elena spent her first night with a sitter and Juan took me our for a nice dinner at one of our favorites, Ze Mean Bean Cafe in Fells Point for the restaurant week Polish Sampler.

On Sunday morning, Elena gave mom the best birthday present ever when she walked for the first time. She's been taking "steps" for a few weeks now, but this morning she walked with purpose and didn't fall over at the end of her trek. We are so proud of our little lady! Judging from her giggles she's pretty proud of herself too.

She Stands to Conquer!

2009-07-12T21:37:00.003-04:00

9 Months Old!

2009-06-23T19:50:00.000-04:00

The Stats: 20lbs. 14 oz.(90%), 27.5 inches (50%)
The Skills: Crawling, Pulling Up, Walking with help and babbling
The Sustenance: Anything she can get in her mouth.

My smart little girl is learning new things every day!

OBX '09

2009-06-21T19:09:00.008-04:00

June 13th Elena packed all her things and headed to Nags Head, Outer Banks for a week of waves, sand and sun. She weathered the (too many) hours in the car well... Cheerios came to the rescue more than a few times.

She loved the sand and the beach and hated the ocean. Once, she was sitting on mom's lap as the waves came in and was crying when MOM got wet. On the flip side she LOVED the swimming pool. She was all giggles and smiles when she was in the pool.

We went on a few adventures- Roanoke, Wright Brothers Memorial, Jockeys Ridge National park. Elena jumped right into the Bjorn and hung with the best of them! Her favorite thing was flying the kite on the sand dunes but really she just loved spending 7 days in a row with Mom and Dad. We've uploaded a ton of pictures to the Picasa site.

Hanging with the Gang

2009-06-07T19:55:00.005-04:00

Elena got to see her friends from New York this weekend who were in town for the Loyola College 5 year reunion. Although she wasn't allowed to come to the event with us, she did hang out with everyone while we barbecued at Druid Hill Park.

Congratulations Aunt Becca!

2009-06-05T19:44:00.000-04:00

This weekend Elena got to go to Pennsylvania and spend some time with her Aunt Becca, Uncle Dave, Nana and Pop-Pop while we celebrated Becca's high school graduation. Elena showed off all her new tricks to her family and even had a sleep over in Aunt Becca's room. Becca really enjoyed it when she woke up at 3:00 am. She can't WAIT to do it again :)

We've Got Us a Crawler!

2009-06-01T19:41:00.002-04:00

If you listen closely you can hear her saying Mom as well... one proud momma typing this!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T16:16:00.004-04:00

What a wonderful day today was! Elena and Dad let Mom sleep in until 8:00 am (and yes, Mom now considers 8 am "sleeping in"). They woke her up with breakfast in bed and some flowers and a card. We played all morning and went to the park where Dad took some great pictures of Elena and Mom. Mom was just complaining the other day that we have so few pictures with her in them because she's always the one behind the camera!

This afternoon, Dad treated us to brunch and Elena (as always) was the best behaved baby in the restaurant. We also learned that she loves lemon. Mangoes are too sour for her, but she loves lemon. Go figure!

To end the afternoon, we took a nice walk through the harbor and enjoyed the great weather. Thank you to my family for such a nice day- and a happy mother's day to all the other mommies out there!

Summer Summer Summertime

2009-04-28T16:12:00.004-04:00

A little preview of summer hit Baltimore in the past few days. Temperatures peaked at 90 degrees so we headed out to get Elena her very first pool. Mom didn't think about the act of inflating the pool when she purchased it, so it was quite a site watching mom and dad blow it up like a balloon. Elena's reaction was worth it in the end. She had a great time splish splashing and chewing on her pool toys and she cried when it was time to get out!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T16:43:00.004-04:00

Elena was so excited for the Easter Bunny that she couldn't sleep at all last night! (Ok, maybe that was the teething, but she was up all night.) We waited for dad to get up and then explored her Easter Basket... homemade teething biscuits, gerber banana puffs, some bunny books, and Elena's favorite...BUBBLES!

She donned her Easter Sunday ensemble and we headed to St. Thomas More for Easter Mass. Elena was a very good girl through a very long mass.

Although the weather looked fantastic, this shot is a little deceptive...It was actually quite chilly outside. In true "Top Model" fashion, we staged the shot and then brought out our model. With an outfit like that we had to get the perfect shot.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

2009-04-05T21:07:00.002-04:00

Elena's first visit with the Easter Bunny was a success! She set a great example for all the other kids in line by squealing and screaming with excitement. I have a feeling that in coming years we won't be so lucky...

6 Months Old!

2009-03-25T18:54:00.002-04:00

The Skills:
Sitting, Squealing, Giggling, Gabbing and Grabbing
The Sustenance:
Rice Cereal, Sweet Potatoes and Bananas
The Stats:
17 lbs 6.5 oz - 75th Percentile
25.5 inches long - 50th Percentile
43 centimeter head - 50th Percentile

See the Picasa site for the rest of Elena's six month photo shoot.

Throwing Sheep

2009-03-22T09:02:00.002-04:00

I've mentioned in previous posts that Elena is a fairly serious little girl. You've got to work really, really hard to get a solitary chuckle out of her. Well yesterday, Elena and I took a day trip to Babi and Pop-Pop's (mom's grandparents) in PA. Cousin Stan was home from Baghdad on his R&R and some family was getting together. We were all hanging out and playing with Elena's new, stuffed sheep from her Great Aunt Lori.

I tossed it towards Elena and she giggled. So I tossed it again, this time it bopped her face. She squealed. The more times I threw this sheep at her face, the more she giggled. This game went on for nearly 5 minutes of giggles. Dad wasn't with us so we shot this video on Aunt Becca's cell phone to send to him. Hope you enjoy!

Sweet Potato!

2009-03-18T20:24:00.003-04:00

Ooh... growin’ up

2009-03-16T14:49:00.003-04:00

Life at the Vargas household is very exciting these days. Little Laney is just about 6 months old, she has 2 teeth, she can sit, and she's just itching to start crawling. She keeps throwing herself forward when she is sitting to try to get from point a to point b. She's also mastered rolling from her back to her belly. She particularly likes to do this when she is sleeping. Then she wakes up, and cries because she struggles getting rolled back over to her back. We've been working on Belly to Back rolls and last night she mastered a few on her own. Fingers crossed this new trick sticks.

She's started doing some very adorable things recently, such as reaching out for mom and dad when she wants us to pick her up. I've also taught her "high five". She's been starting to have her rice cereal almost every night now... that's dad's job since she won't let mom come near her with a spoon. After her six month check up we'll start adding some veggies to the mix.

This past weekend her Pop-Pop and Nana came to visit and she showed off all her new tricks for them. Pop-Pop's scratchy beard even elicited some giggles out of her.

We are all just trying to love every minute of it because she changes so much every day. My little lady isn't so little anymore!

El fin de semana de la familia Vargas

2009-03-08T22:11:00.004-04:00

On Thursday night, Elena met her Tia Elidani for the first time. Elidani was in town from Elche, Alicante, Spain to visit with the family and celebrate Ito's Birthday, Emma's Christening and Emma's 1st Birthday.

Saturday afternoon, Juan served as Godfather at cousin Emma's christening. On Sunday we headed back down to Montgomery County to celebrate Emma's first birthday. I can't believe how big Emma has gotten and how big Elena is getting. Elena had the opportunity to spend lots of time with her family, and meet a few second cousins and family members she hadn't met yet.

Lots of pictures have been posted to the Picasa Album

Oh, and if things weren't crazy enough she decided it was time to cut another tooth too... bringing her grand total to two.

Daddy Found Some Teeth!

2009-02-21T18:52:00.001-05:00

Here's how it went down...

Juan (sitting on the couch with Elena)- I think Elena is a little warm.
Elena (grabbing Juan's hand and putting it in her mouth)- aagghhaa
Juan- I think she has a tooth!!!

Elena cut her first tooth with a 100.2 degree fever and never made a peep! Ok maybe that's a slight exaggeration. Today's event could explain mom's sleepless nights for the past week.

We'll try to get a picture but she's not a big fan of us poking around in her mouth to see her new tooth.

A Message from Elena

2009-02-14T07:53:00.001-05:00

70 Degrees in February?

2009-02-08T13:29:00.006-05:00

Must take advantage of weather like this when it comes! The happy family took a walk up to Riverside park and introduced Elena to the swings for the first time. She loved it until the wind started blowing!

Bindy also enjoyed the extra time out at the park. She hasn't seen walks like that since Mom was trying to walk to induce labor and we walked laps for two days straight.

Elena the Big Girl!

2009-02-07T22:00:00.002-05:00

Saturday, February 7th was a very big day for little Elena Grace. She had her first taste of organic rice cereal mixed with breast milk. Ok so maybe it was more like breast milk mixed with a little organic rice cereal. It took her a few bites to decide if she liked this concept but we think she decided she did. In the end she ate about a half a tablespoon of cereal.

We think it made her very happy because our super serious baby treated us to quite the giggle fest as well. We had to work very hard for the giggles and I'm sure that if any one walked in they would have thought we were insane.

Finally, this whole "sitting" thing finally clicked with her. As of Friday, she couldn't balance herself to save her life. As of Saturday, she's sitting on her own for minutes at a time.

New York, New York!

2009-02-02T17:48:00.004-05:00

Four months old and already a NYC Veteran! Friday night we drove into the city and stayed at Hotel Caroline (thanks to C for giving us a place to stay!). Although it was way past her bedtime Elena woke up to play with Caroline for a bit before going to bed.

It's a little frightening how dead NYC is at 7 am on a Saturday morning. We took the opportunity to take Juan to Times Square (he had never been), and Elena up to FAO Schwartz and were back on the Lower East side before noon.

In case you've never had the opportunity to see it... you should hit up FAO Schwartz as it opens. All of the employees line the entrance way and clap and cheer as you walk in. I have to say even as an adult it was pretty cool... I can only imagine what it would be like for a kid.

Juan hit up the Big piano and we checked out all the toys. Elena was enthralled by all the colors and shapes.

We are excited to go back to visit in the spring and try to find Suri in Central Park.

Four Months Old!

2009-01-23T12:24:00.002-05:00

Elena had her four month check in with Doctor Fitch today. She got rave reviews from the doctor and was a brave little girl while she got her shots. Dr. Fitch was impressed with her strength and said it was due to all the good breast milk she gets. She reacted much better this time, she took a little nap and then was all smiles all night long. Mom and Dad even let her stay up past her bed time since she was in such a good mood...after all it was her birthday.

4 Month Stats:
15 pounds 3 ounces. 75th percentile.
25 1/4 inches. 75th percentile.
Head- 41.1 centimeters. 50th percentile.

Since Elena is growing so nicely and sleeping so well we are holding off on introducing solids until closer to 6 months. Although dad is bummed he still doesn't get to feed Elena, mom is secretly (ok so maybe not so secretly) happy that she gets to keep the job all to herself a little while longer.

GOBAMA!

2009-01-20T10:09:00.002-05:00

What a historic day for everyone! For the record, Elena isn't one of those "jump on the Obama bandwagon" babies. Oh no, she has been campaigning for our man since she was only a few hours old.

When I was getting her ready for day care today she expressed anger at the fact that we couldn't stay home as a family to watch the big day. I told her maybe when she is four we can take a trip to DC for that inauguration.

Exersaucing!

2009-01-11T09:38:00.002-05:00

Thank you cousin Emma!
I love my new toy.

Keep 'em coming!

Dad Teaches Laney to Code

2009-01-10T09:27:00.000-05:00

This is hard work!

What do you want I'm busy mom!!

This is starting to make sense now.

Merry Christmas to All!

2008-12-25T09:13:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning was incredibly relaxing. We woke up, opened presents and went to church. Elena got to enjoy some quite time with Grandma and Pop-Pop and Mom and Dad played hours and hours of board games with Aunt Becca and Uncle Dave.

Elena loved her new things... she conveniently "opened" her Bumbo chair first so she had a place to sit while we opened her other gifts. She got some classic Christmas books- The Grinch and 'Twas the night before Christmas. She also got her new favorite stuffed animal- Bunny Foo Foo. Her favorite gift of all though is the new play mat that Aunt Becca gave her.

A Polish Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T09:02:00.000-05:00

On Christmas Eve, Elena celebrated her first Christmas Eve in keeping with Swaintek traditions. We traveled to Wilkes Barre PA to Babi and Dzai Dzi's house. Dad and Pop-Pop and Uncle Dave left immediately to go fishing (thats code for head to the same Polish dive bar that the adults have snuck off to every year for as long as we can remember).

Babi waited patiently for Elena to wake up before everyone came home from the bar. About five minutes after she got to hold her, everyone came home and then pass the sack of potatoes began! She managed to fall asleep for nap time just in time for Christmas dinner and wake up just in time for presents! Elena got some great gifts and got to meet some cousins and great aunts and uncles she hadn't seen yet.

Elena's Primera Navidad

2008-12-21T08:53:00.000-05:00

The weekend before Christmas we celebrated the holiday (as well as a few family birthday's) with the Vargas clan at Uncle Jose and Aunt Ruth's house. Elena didn't really know what all the commotion was about and was more upset that she couldn't take a nap. She was a trooper. She got some great gifts... a baby laptop toy so she could be just like her daddy and the best gift of all- DIAPERS from Ito and Ita!

Gonna find out who's naughty and nice.

2008-12-13T17:19:00.000-05:00

This morning we got up nice and early to go visit Santa at the Towson mall. It scared me to face the mall this close to Christmas and didn't seem quite fair seeing as my shopping has been done for over a week now. Anything for our little lady.

Elena LOVED Santa. I think it was something about his fuzzy soft clothes. Juan asked Santa how long it took him to grow his beard. He told us it takes one year. Yes, that's right... Santa shaves right after Christmas and starts all over again. According to him, the growing isn't the hard part. It's the bleaching to a nice white that is really uncomfortable.

Oh, and in case you were concerned, Elena is on the nice list.

'Tis the Season!

2008-12-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

After last weekend's jam packed schedule and visitors, we were looking forward to kicking of our first Christmas as a family with an outing to a tree farm. Juan had never chopped his own tree and Elena, well Elena has never even seen a Christmas tree! Little Elena was a trooper and let us bundle her up to brave the cold temperatures. She was just like Ralphie in a Christmas story.

We headed out to Freezer's Organic Tree farm in Marriottsville MD and were so excited to get started. We quickly learned that we picked the wrong tree farm. There were literally no acceptable trees on the field. They did however have great Fraiser Firs that were cut in from PA yesterday. We decided to go with one of the pre-cut trees.

Once we got back home and started decorating for Christmas, it started snowing-- the first flakes in Baltimore this season. I'm very happy with the outcome of our adventure and Elena is fascinated by the lights and shiny ornaments.

Every perfect gift is from above...

2008-11-29T21:27:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Elena was joined by 50 members of her family as she was baptized at Holy Cross Church in Federal Hill. Her Aunt Becca and Uncle Jose were her godparents. Little Elena wore her mom's christening gown and her grandmother's christening shoes.

The event was very well documented... between Great Aunt Beth and Uncle Felix we walked away with 273 pictures of the event. The best 65 have been posted to Picasa. Thank you to everyone who traveled from out of town to be with us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

Elena doesn't have to wait long to celebrate her first holidays! On Thursday, we traveled to Tio Alex's house in Silver Spring, Maryland to celebrate the big day with Juan's family. Elena decided to sleep through 90% of the day. Here is a shot from the small amount of time he was actually awake.

Two Months Old!

2008-11-26T21:51:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe that Elena is already two months old! She and Juan celebrated birthdays together this Sunday with some of Juan's family. She has definitely mastered the smiling thing and is working on new tricks daily.

Today she had her two month check up with her pediatrician. Elena was all smiles as she showed off for Dr. Fitch. When the doctor put her on her tummy, she held her head up high (without arm support) and impressed everyone. We then moved her hands to her front to help hold herself up, and she proceeded to be a big show off in front of Dr. Fitch. For the very first time ever, Elena ROLLED OVER from front to back. The doctor (as well as mom and dad) were amazed. As for her stats... she weighed in at 11 pounds, 11.5 ounces (75th Percentile). She's still a tall little girl, 23.5 inches long and in the 90th percentile. Her brain has been growing too. her head has increased from the 25% percentile to the 50th percentile.

She also had to get two shots today. She was a trooper. Although she was clearly not feeling well today, she was such a good girl. She was content with some cuddles and infant Tylenol.

Mom and dad are also hoping for a third night of her sleeping through the night. Fingers crossed!

Real Smiles!

2008-11-07T09:58:00.001-05:00

Today is mom's last day of maternity leave. I can't believe how fast the past 7 weeks have gone. On Wednesday, Elena and I visited the office and got caught up on all the happenings since I've been out. It will be nice to be around grownups again, but is going to be impossible to leave Elena all day. Grandma Swaintek is coming down for two weeks to stay with her so she won't head to Tide Point until Dec. 1.

To reward mom and dad for all their hard work over the past 7 weeks, little Elena decided to treat mom and dad to her first real smiles. Sure she's smiled while passing gas, but these were Mom and Dad I'm so happy to see you smiles. She even let me take pictures of the smiles. I posted them on Picasa for all to see!

Red Hot Chili Pepper

2008-11-02T11:50:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween! Here's a picture of Elena celebrating her first Halloween dressed as a Chili pepper.

She enjoyed the evening in her toasty costume helping mom and dad hand out candy to our trick or treaters... sleeping through the entire event.

1 Month Old!

2008-10-24T12:45:00.000-04:00

Today is Elena's one month Birthday! I can't believe it has been so long since she was born. She's been sleeping very well for mom (I say mom because dad has as pass on the nighttime feedings until mom goes back to work). The other night she actually strung 6 hours of sleep together. Unfortunately for mom those 6 hours started at 8 PM so mom didn't get 6 straight hours of sleep.

Elena had her one month check up at the doctor today. She was weighed and measured and got one shot. She passed her first test with flying colors. She now weighs 9 pounds 3 ounces, and is 22 inches long. That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height. After getting checked out she had her hepatitis shot... she did not like it very much at all.

Ater dad gets home from work we will head to Grandma and Pop-Pop's house in Pennsylvania for the weekend to celebrate Aunt Becca's 18th birthday. I can't believe Rebecca is turning 18... I remember changing HER diapers!

City Baby in the Country

2008-10-12T18:15:00.000-04:00

This weekend Elena took her first trip out of Baltimore. Juan and I had to go up to Pennsylvania to House/Dogsit for my parents. Elena was awesome in the car. She fell asleep as soon as we pulled away from our house and didn't wake up until we pulled in the driveway at my parents 2.5 hours later.

We took advantage of the good weather on Saturday and took our little pumpkin to the pumpkin patch. We were able to take some great pictures of her a la Anne Geddes. We also picked a 48 pound pumpkin to bring back to Baltimore for carving. In case anyone is doing the math... 48 pounds is roughly 7 Elenas. The pumpkins she is laying on are about half the size of the pumpkin we brought home.

Flying Solo

2008-10-06T17:57:00.001-04:00

Today Juan had to go back to work so mom and Elena were on our own for the very first time. I totally underestimated how much work this would be! Juan had spoiled us with all of his midnight feeding/ diaper changing help in the past two weeks so when I had to tackle the whole night on my own I was struggling. Luckily, Elena did sleep from 10:30-2:30 and 3:30-6:30 so I shouldn't be complaining at all.

I was brave today and took Elena AND Bindy on a walk at the park. It took us a while but eventually Bindy figured out how to walk with the stroller. It definitely cramped her squirrel chasing style though. If she pulled her leash to chase something she inevitably had a paw run over by the stroller.

No new pictures from today's activities... handling the baby and the stroller and the dog all at once was challenge enough :)

Meet the Great Grandparents

2008-10-01T17:17:00.001-04:00

Today Elena was very lucky to meet three of her four great grandparents. Grandma drove Lauren's two grandmothers and her grandfather to Baltimore to meet their first great grandchild. Everyone agreed that she is beautiful.

Elena stayed awake extra long this morning to make sure she was awake when they arrived. She kept her eyes open for her photo op and then promptly slept for the rest of her visit.

Grandma tried her best to wake her up before everyone had to leave, but she was not interested in the whole "awake" thing.

One Week Old!

2008-09-30T17:05:00.000-04:00

Amazing that a whole week has gone by! Mom, dad and Elena are all coping well and settling into a routine. (Just in time for dad to go back to work next week.)

Elena's first week was a busy one...
Saturday saw her first sponge bath at home. Boy did she hate it. Well, everything except for pouring the warm water on her head to rinse out her hair. She really liked that part. But the whole being cold and wet thing was not so fun.

She was a little spoiled on Sunday and Monday when she was able to take her afternoon nap cuddled up on a grandmother's shoulder both days. Mom's parents came to visit Sunday and Dad's parents came to visit on Monday. She is one lucky little girl.

On Monday, mom was going a little stir crazy so we took Elena out on her first shopping trip. Without even blinking an eye we ended up spending the rest of our Babies R Us gift card (I insisted on buying her some smaller clothes... she was DROWNING in most of her hand me downs). She loves being in the car and her stroller. She slept through the entire trip.

Bringing Home Baby

2008-09-25T17:57:00.000-04:00

What a long 48 hours at the hospital! Grandma Elaine and Aunt Becca came back to spend the morning with Elena and Lauren while Juan went home to deal with the other baby... Bindy. He brought home the blanket, hat, and outfit Elena wore on Tuesday to introduce the smell. He got creative and dressed up a teddy bear in the getup and put it in Elena's swing. Bindy was then treated to an extra special long walk in the park.

Today was the day we had really been waiting for. As nice as it was to have all the support at the hospital, all we really wanted to do was bring the baby home and have her in our own house. This morning she was taken to the nursery and given one more bath. Mom and dad attempted to dress her in the beautiful dress we bought her. Unfortunately, it was HUGE. The tights were literally the length of her entire body and the bloomers could have fit three of her in them. She still looked beautiful... although she was not happy to be wearing a dress. We put some pictures up on the picasa site.

Bindy has taken quite nicely to the baby. She is treating her like a puppy-- she keeps licking her and stands guard next to her. We all took a nap this afternoon and with every peep out of Elena, Bindy was at the bassinette checking on her, and then nudging me to wake up.

We are so happy to be home and looking forward to our first night with her!

Announcing Elena Grace!

2008-09-23T22:19:00.000-04:00

I can honestly say giving birth was the most amazing experience ever. The past three days of laboring have been miserable, but the pushing-- the actual birth... incredible. When I got to 10 cm and it was time to push, they actually turned my epidural off, which surprised me a bit but in the end feeling everything was incredible. After the last push I was able to catch Elena myself and pull her up onto my chest. The doctor and nurse were shocked how quickly I was able to push her out... it was under 1 hour. I was up, eating breakfast and showering less than 2 hours after delivery.

Elena had a busy day today. Ita and Ito (Dad's parents) arrived at the hospital right after she was born so they were the first to meet her. Grammy (Mom's mom) arrived at about 10:00 am. Uncle Jose stopped by after work, and Pop (Mom's Dad) and Aunt Becca came after Aunt Becca finished her Physics test (oh the joy's of high school :) . So she has officially met all her grandparents and her god parents.

Mom and Dad are going to try to get some sleep while she is sleeping... but paparazzi dad updated the photos on the link... so check them out.

At the hospital for good!

2008-09-23T04:00:00.000-04:00

So we are at the hospital finally! We got here around 10:30 PM. When we got here Lauren was having intense contractions every 5 minutes or so. As soon as they put us in her room they checked her and she was 5 cm! So immediately they started the process to admit her.

After being admitted, the first step was to get an IV bag in her. After which, it was the moment she had been waiting for, the EPIDURAL! When they gave her the epidural she was all smiles, no pain. With the ambien still in her system Lauren quickly fell asleep.

48 hours of labor and counting...

2008-09-22T19:08:00.000-04:00

Contractions started Saturday night after I went to sleep, and by Sunday morning had picked up to about every ten minutes. The Redskins played at 1:00, so I knew nothing could happen until like 4:00 pm regardless... Juan would have none of that (It was worth it, they won 24-17!)

By 8:00 pm the contractions were super painful and coming every 7 minutes or so, so we called the doctor and she had us go over to labor and delivery. They hooked me up to the monitor, contractions showed strong. They then checked me for dilation and I was only 1.5cm. 18 hours of contractions and no dilation. Makes a woman in labor happy. I was sent to walk the halls for nearly two hours to see if we could get anything going before they would admit me. 2 more hours, contractions at 5 minutes... checked me again... about 1.5 cm.

I'm not talking braxton hicks contractions. I'm talking stop you in your tracks can't talk through need special breathing contractions. Every 5-7 minutes.

Nurse comes back in, and sends me home. "Get some rest," she says.

We head home to "rest". Needless to say I got no sleep, contracting every 7 minutes all night long. We got up this morning at about 5:45 am and as soon as I was out of bed they dropped closer to 3-4 minutes apart and were much more painful. I held out until 8:00 am and then we called the doctor again. She said to go over to the hospital to get checked out.

36 hours of contractions. 1.5 cm dilated. Sent to walk the halls again. You don't move very quickly when you have to stop for a 1.5 minute contraction every 3-4 minutes.

We finally ran into the doctor in the hallway and she could tell by the look on my face I was not a happy camper. She asked if I was ready to throw in the towel and get the induction started. I briefly saw a choir of angels over her head singing Hallelujah. Little did I know....

So we went back to the room to be checked again... still no dilation. 40 hours of consistent contractions... and no dilation.

My doctor comes back into the room with bad news. The L&D Floor of the hospital is undergoing renovations. They aren't doing any "elective" inductions today or tomorrow because the nurses station is being moved and they need all hands on deck. The earliest they can start the induction is my scheduled time of WEDNESDAY at 8:00 am. So I will just have to go home and wait it out, unless my body progresses on its own, or my water breaks.

"Do you want a shot of Morphine before you leave?"
"Is it safe for the baby?"
"Yes."
"Hell yes."

An hour later the nurse arrived and shot my thigh with 15 mg of morphine and i headed home for an hour and a half of uninterrupted sleep (contracting, but able to ignore them). And then relaxed in bed with only the mild pain of morphine masked contractions for the next 4 hours.

The Morphine has worn off. The Contractions are still at 5 minutes. 36 hours until induction. Not a happy camper.

Send the fairy dust my way please

Someone missed the memo

2008-09-20T13:52:00.000-04:00

Dear Elena,

In case this hasn't been communicated to you clearly. Today is your due date. However nothing seems different. You seem to still be very content hanging out in my belly.

The weather is beautiful. Our favorite doctor is on call. Today would be a good day.

Love,
Mom and Dad.

You've been served...

2008-09-19T12:26:00.000-04:00

This week at the doctor, they did an ultrasound and the doctor reaffirmed what I already knew... Elena is very comfortable on the inside. She still has plenty of fluid, her heartbeat is perfect, and she is floating high in my belly. (DROP BABY DROP!)

Our practice doesn't like to let the pregnancy go past 41 weeks so an eviction notice (induction) was served to little Elena for Sept. 24th. Both mom and dad are hoping she decides to come on her own prior to then, but it is nice to have an end date in site.

If she waits until induction day... my sister wins the baby pool. She's been saying Sept. 24 for weeks and weeks now. With a Sept. 24 birthday in the mix, our family would celebrate birthdays on the 24th 4 months in a row (Grandma Swaintek Aug. 24, Little Elena Sept. 24, Aunt Becca Oct. 24th, and Dad Nov. 24th.)