Summer Summer Summertime

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!

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

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!

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

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!

Ooh... growin’ up

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!