Let It (Not) Snow!

Oh how I love living in snow country. It's beautiful, it's scenic, it makes you want to cuddle up on the couch with a nice cup or hot chocolate. I especially love when the thruways are closed and there are white-out driving blizzard conditions. So fun. Thursday I was supposed to drive from Erie to Buffalo with Lyla, drop off Lyla to stay at my parents for the night, then head to Syracuse for an interview. My dad called at 7am to say the roads were supposedly bad and maybe I shouldn't come. It was fine in Erie so I was skeptical. I called the program in Syracuse and they said their weather was fine. I looked on the weather map and it didn't look too bad. So Lyla and I bundled up and headed off. The first 1.5 hours were a bit windy but not too bad. Then we hit Angola and I was clenching the wheel for the last 25 miles. The visibility was about 50 feet and we were driving at 15 mph, just hoping that the car in front of us knew where it was going. Luckily we made it to Buffalo safely, but by then severe weather warnings were in effect and I had to cancel my interview--there was still terrible weather up through Rochester so there was no way I was going to make it. Lyla and I hung out with my parents which was nice but I still felt bad about missing my interview--I will try to go in January. Then Mike was supposed to come to Buffalo today after school and join us, but school was cancelled because of the snow. He was going to try to come early today, but then the interstate was closed!!! And it's still closed now at 8:30pm. We're hoping it will re-open by early morning and the weather will be ok for traveling so he can come join us in the morning--we're planning on having our "Riessen Christmas" tomorrow since we'll be in England on the 25th. I keep telling myself I'm just glad Lyla and I made it here safely and that Mike is safe otherwise I'd just be annoyed. Poor Mike is home by himself with the dogs--I hope he makes it here ok in the morning. So that's our excitement...hopefully it will be more mundane soon!

Holiday & Interview Updates

Sorry for not posting in a while--things have been busy with us lately. Between interviews and Thanksgiving, and now Christmas fast approaching, the days all mush together and I can't keep straight what's happening when! I've had four interviews so far and four more to go. I will be relieved when they're all over as it has become a bit draining with all the traveling, smiling, and questions. Traveling with an infant is challenging too--although Lyla is usually pretty good, it's just more time consuming to pack, travel, and get organized. So far I've been to VCU in Richmond, VA, Geisinger in Danville, PA, Children's in Buffalo and Golisano Children's at University of Rochester. So far Rochester seems to be in the lead--it seemed like a great program and Rochester looked like a really nice city and still close to family. Monday I'm in Hershey, PA, Friday in Syracuse, and then in January I'm in Cleveland and Akron, OH--and then I'm done!

We're getting excited about the holidays too even amongst the chaos. We had a great Thanksgiving in Buffalo with my parents. Lyla had her first bite of turkey (puree) which did not go down well! She pulled a terrible face when she took a bite and then refused to eat anything else the rest of the meal! I wonder where she gets that stubborness from? She has seemed to enjoy eating more in general though. At daycare she gets lunch--rice cereal and a fruit or vegetable, and then dinner of vegetables and/ or fruit. She's also getting pretty good at feeding herself the gerber puffs cereal. Yesterday we tried little pieces of diced steamed carrots and yams which she seemed to like but had more difficulty picking them up than the cereal because it was a bit more slippery.

Next weekend we are celebrating an early Christmas in Buffalo, and then in less than two weeks we head to England for Lyla's first Christmas! I know there's a bunch of people in England who can't wait to meet her and are sooooooo excited for our visit! I wonder if I'll even see Lyla the entire week--I think her nana, grandad and aunts will steal her the whole time :) It should be a lot of fun and we're all excited about our trip. We fly Erie to Philadelphia, then to Manchester. I'm hoping she sleeps on the tranatlantic flight since it will be her routine bed time, and if she doesn't sleep then we'll have even more trouble with the time change. Lyla has been resisting napping which makes for a really cranky baby sometimes. Bedtime too has been a challenge lately. She used to sleep so well--in bed by 8 then sleep soundly all night...what happened? Lately she resists going to bed--she'll fall asleep but as soon as I put her in her crib she wakes up and cries--sometimes for a while. Some nights we just let her cry it out, which sometimes works ok, but not always. Lyla, when will you start sleeping well again??? Soon, please!

Lyla has mastered rolling in both directions and sitting too. She still loves her jumper and the exersaucer at daycare. Next is moving from sitting to lying, and then.....crawling.....???? eeek! We have to start thinking about babyproofing soon! I guess we'll have to get a gate for in front of the stairs? Lots to plan for!

Here's photos of Lyla's latest adventures:

Relief!

At last! I passed my boards!

Lyla's First Tooth!

Lyla got her first tooth on Monday! We were all excited until we realized that teeth mean crying--lots of crying. Crying during the day, crying in the car, crying at night--inconsolable, gut wrenching, gum-splitting crying. It's only for a few minutes, except at night when it can last half an hour--poor thing. Our pediatrician recommended whisky on her gums. I thought about it and after doing a little reading and getting a second opinion decided to opt against it. I tried the oragel which she didn't seem to enjoy, and there was a little left on my finger so I tried it myself and found out why she didn't like it--it makes your mouth tingle like crazy. We've given her a bit of tylenol but I don't want to rely on that, so we may just stick to the frozen teethers. The tooth may also explain why Lyla has boycotted solid foods the past week or so. She wants nothing to do with eating at all--won't even open her mouth. She had her six-month check up on Tuesday which went well, except that her hight and weight both dropped from about the 20% to 10%. The PA we saw wasn't concerned but I am. She is ALMOST 14 pounds (13lbs 15oz), 24 1/2 inches. Lyla is also becoming the master roller, going from tummy to back, then back to tummy, over and over again. I will get some photos up eventually--it's just been a very busy couple of weeks!

The Interview Trail

We have had an exciting couple of weeks at the Ellicott household. Last weekend we all traveled to Richmond, VA for my first residency. Our good friends Shannon and Kevin live in Richmond and we were very excited to be able to visit them too. We left early Thursday and most of the drive was uneventful. Lyla was great in the car--she slept and played and hardly fussed at all. About 20 minutes outside of Richmond we ended up with a flat tire, and the drama began. I have to say, I was quite impressed with Mike's mechanical skills--he had that tire changed and ready to go in 20 minutes flat (no pun intended!)--had I been on my own I definitely would have been sitting there for two hours waiting for AAA to come. It did require completely emptying the trunk of all our luggage to get to the tire. We must have looked interesting at the gas station.

When we arrived at Shannon and Kevin's Mike had to rush off to get a new tire since the spare was a doughnut, and I had to rush to get ready for the pre-interview dinner. One resident during dinner complained a lot about how busy/ tired she was adn how stressful intern year is, and the other kept yawning the entire evening. Great. Now I really can't wait for intern year.

We went to bed and we were all tired, except for Lyla who had slept 5 hours in the car. Plus she's had a cold so she's not been feeling her best. When Lyla finally settled down, probably close to midnight, Mike woke up coughing and wheezing, having an allergic reaction/ asthma attack to Shannon and Kevin's cats, and/or down comforter!! Then Lyla was up too coughing and crying. Mike went to go sleep in the car since it was 1am and we didn't know what else to do and the room was making him cough more. Lyla would only sleep in bed with me which she isn't usually allowed to do, so I slept very lightly from 1:30-4:30 when I had to get up to get ready. The fun was just starting.

The interview itself was fine. VCU has a beautiful hospital, and it's huge and intimidating. The "Children's Hospital" is really just one floor of the main hospital. During one interview the doctor didn't ask me a single question, other than what questions I had for him. Then he talked for 20 minutes. I found that rather unsettling. There was nothing wrong with the program, and on paper it seemed quite nice, but I just didn't get a good "gut feeling" about it. I'm not sure why though.

After the interview I went back to my car and when I reached in my pocket for the car key it was gone and there was a hole in my pocket. Of course I had left my phone in the car because I didn't want to forget to turn it off. I went back to the lobby and tried to call Mike but couldn't because it was long distance. I tried to call Shannon and Kevin but didn't know their number since it was stored in my phone which was locked in the car. I looked up their number in the phone book but it was unlisted. I tried calling the program coordinator who had met us that morning, but I just got her voice mail. I couldn't go to her office since I didn't know where that was because she had met us in the lobby. That is when the panic ensued. I was stranded in the mega center hospital with no car, no phone, no way to communicate with anyone! I finally went up to the peds floor and a nice therapist had some pitty on my and gave me her password so I could make a long distance phone call. As I was waiting for Mike and Shannon and Kevin to come get me, I put my hand in my pocket, and realized that the hole opened up to the lining of my jacket and the key was way in the back on the other side of my jacket!!!! At that point I was too exhausted to know what to do, other than go back to Shannon and Kevin's house and drink a lot of wine.

The rest of the trip was nice. Saturday we went to Charlottesville with Shannon, Kevin, and our friend Carrie who also went to UVA and now lives in Richmond. We met our friends Diana and Erin and their babies Payton and Chloe and went for lunch and walked around UVA. After that we went to Carrie's house for wine and appetizers, then back to Shannon and Kevin's for dinner. That was Halloween so Lyla and Payton got dressed up in their costumes and we got some great photos!

The drive home was long but uneventful. This weekend we're doing it all again, this time to Danville, PA to visit Geisinger Medical Center which is supposed to be very nice (featured in Time Magazine a couple weeks ago). I have an interview virtually every week from now until early January, with the exceptions of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm tired just thinking about it.

The rotation I'm on now is fun but extremely tiring and the long hours combined with daylight savings are depressing me. I am in the hospital at 6 (in the dark) and get home around 5 (in the dark) but it feels like 7 to me, and I hardly get to see Lyla, and she's been crabby in the evenings and not adjusting to standard time well either, and we're all just waiting for this rotation to be over. Next one is Radiology. I'll still have to be there early, but hopefully get home earlier. I don't know how I'll stay awake sitting in a little dark room looking at X-rays and CT's all day, but I should probably learn how to read those things because right now they just look like black and white blobs on the computer screen. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to say, "Well, Ms Jones, we're not sure what's wrong with you, but it appears there might be a big white blob in your lung."

So that's that! Lots to tell. I'm looking forward to our trip to Geisinger, but would really like some time to rest and play with Lyla. Oh, you probably want to know what Lyla's been up to, huh? This is becoming a rather long post. Lyla is perfecting her rolling from tummy to back. She is very deliberate now and not just accidentally tipping over. She's still not sitting completely on her own, but will sit unsupported for 20-30 seconds. She is starting to get the hang of rolling from her back to tummy--we're all very excited when she does it and she just looks confused! She's doing great on her tummy, holding her belly off the ground, and playing. She loves to play in the exersaucer at daycare. She's very vocal and smiley in the mornings, but lately pretty grouchy in the evenings. She's boycotted "solid" foods and most of the time won't even open her mouth to get a taste--very frustrating for me. She has her six-month doctor appointment next Tuesday after our trip. I'm crossing my fingers they get a supply of H1N1 vaccines by then!

Our Little Pumpkin

Last weekend we visited Port Farms Pumpkin Patch and had a blast. We got some great photos of Lyla in the pumpkins. We did a corn maze, saw some goats, and enjoyed the sunny (but chilly 45 degree) weather. Here are some of the photos from the day:

Look What Lyla Can Do!

Lyla has been impressing us everyday! Last weekend she mastered sitting with support in her boppy pillow, and this week she is working hard on sitting all by herself! She is able to prop herself up by supporting herself sitting with one hand, and also sits all on her own for about 20-30 seconds before toppling over. By the end of the month I'm sure she'll be a pro! Check out the videos of her sitting up playing on our flickr account.

She also LOVES her doorway jumper--thanks to her buddy Caroline who let her borrow it! She has figured out how to make it bounce, and also how to get all the lights and sounds to work too! There's a video of this too at flickr. The jumper is her favorite contraption and she prefers this to the high chair and swing usually.

Speaking of high chairs, Lyla has been really funny lately about eating. Some days she's really interested, other days she'll take one bite and then pull this ridiculous face! So far she's tried sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, squash, green beans, bananas, and apples. I thought she's like the fruit more, but not really. Next on the list are peas, corn, avocados, and pears. Traditional advice is that you should wait three days before introducing a new food (in case your baby has food allergies), but I just read a study that said babies who are given new foods in rapid succession (a new one each day) are more likely to accept new foods and like them in the future. So out with the old and in with the new, and I guess if Lyla gets a rash we'll have some detective work to do to see what caused it. This article also said that babies who initially reject a particular food and seem not to like it, will eventually accept it if it is given repeatedly (up to 20 times before they "like" it!)--so guess what Lyla, there's no getting away from that squash that you pull a face at!

I've been off work three days this week because the doctor I'm working with is out of town. Lyla and I have been enjoying our time together, but I definitely realized that this "stay-at-home-mom" is not for me. As much as I love being with Lyla, by the end of the day I'm a bit bored and miss having adults to talk to. I think half days would be ideal, but I don't know if that's realistic.

I'll post some new photos soon, but there's a bunch of videos at www.flickr.com/photos/lylaellicott

Too Darn Cute!

Here's a few photos of Lyla at her cutest this weekend. She got to try out her new high chair which she seems to like so far. She also got to sit in her great-grandpa's chair for the first time. Here she is looking cuter than ever:

Five Months Old!

Lyla is five months old today! Can you beieve it? I know I can't! Somehow five months seems significantly older than four months--I have no idea why. I have a feeling Lyla is really going to start sprouting this month (I know, she's not a plant!). Her newest and most adorable trick these days is blowing raspberries. It took her about two days to master the skill and now she won't stop. She was just getting so much better at the drooling to the point that I didn't have to put a bib on her 24/7, and now since she has improved oral motor control to control her spit, she's decided to start fliging it at people! (it's a lot cuter than it sounds!). She really seems fascinated that she can control this fun new game.

The sweet potatoes were a success, and yesterday we tried carrots which she also seemed to enjoy--we will slowly try some more veggies as well as oatmeal over the next couple weeks. She still only eats "solid" food once a day, usually around dinner time. She seems to enjoy the experience but it is certainly not a meal--more like a "flavor exploration." I ordered her a high chair that I hope she likes. I think she will enjoy sitting with us at our level during dinner time, and being able to watch me in the kitchen while I'm cooking, and not being below me in her swing or bouncy seat.

Her fine motor skills are improving too. She's much better at handling toys--she's reaching for them when they're out of her grasp, and using both hands to manipulate them. Sometimes I'll even catch her trasferring objects from one hand to the other.

One of the cutest things is that she seems to have learned the concept of a game. Yesterday she was getting a kick out of putting her fingers in my mouth, and when I would nibble on them she woukd squeal with delight, then take her hand out of my mouth and watch me with anticipation that I was going to do it again. Then she'd put her fingers back in. It went back and forth for a while. You could definitely see all the wheels turning from the expressions on her face. She's one smart cookie. At day care the caregivers have told me that when she's ready to eat she knows exactly which bottle is hers (there's twelve babies in the room) and she'll stare it down while it's warming up in the warmer. Then when they take it out she starts flapping her arms even if she's on the other side of the room. She also knows how to hold her own bottle.

I thought she'd be rolling more by now, but she hasn't quite figured out how to move that darn arm out of the way. It really is quite tricky! She uses her legs to push herself all the way over to her side but cannot seem to figure out that she has to tuck her arm in. I'm sure she'll get it eventually. She is sitting with assistance--she likes to sit up in the bathtub as opposed to being reclined, and often when I dress her she'll sit up as long as I'm holding on to her--she's by no means ready to do it on her own, but with a little support she's getting there. She's also sitting in her boppy pillow.

It's officially fall now which means Lyla has to get all bundled up when we go outside. This is probalby the only thing I like about the cooler weather because she's so darn cute in her adorable hooded jackets (see what I mean below!)

Here's some photos:

Homemade baby food

When making your own baby food, I've learned that it first helps if you actually know your vegetables. This sounds simple enough, right? Aha! I bet you would be as surprised to learn as I was (or maybe not, maybe you're well cultured in horticulture) that a sweet potato is in fact, not a sweet potato--it is a yam!!! Yes, those yummy orange potatoes that we use to make "sweet potato" caserole, mashed "sweet potatoes," "sweet potato" fries, and the "sweet potatoes" that are in those baby food jars, are really YAMS. A sweet potato is really a paler imposter, that when peeled is yellow, and not nearly as "sweet" as a yam. Who knew?! Obviously I didn't. And since the grocery store didn't have any yams that I was used to buying, I bought a "sweet potato." It's all mashed up and ready for Lyla to taste tonight...we'll see if she actually likes it. My guess is she probably would have prefered the yam, but it might be a nice change from rice cereal.

Lyla News

Not a whole lot is new since the beginning of the month. Lyla continues to be adorable as always but the motor milestones are slowing down. She's rolling from tummy to back but not the other way around yet (although she often gets to her side from her back, then loses energy). She's more content on her belly and will play for longer (especially if the dogs are nearby and she can watch them--I think she particularly enjoys this because they are at her level). She's started grabbing the dog's fur which concerns me a bit. Oakley and Milo have been great with her, but if I were them I'd be annoyed if a little person started grabbing me and wouldn't let go! So we have to watch them extra closely now.

Lyla's verbal skills are developing. She's learned how to shriek--really! It's pretty cute, probably because she's four months old. Probably won't be so cute if she continues until she's four YEARS old! She's started saying some consanant sounds like "d" and "h." I thought she said "hi" the other day, but it was probably my wishful thinking.

She wakes up happy most mornings and she babbles to herself in her crib for a while which is also pretty cute. Something not so cute though is that she's decided that sleeping through the night is way over-rated. For the past couple weeks she's woken up EVERY night at 4:30. Occasionally at 1:00 or 2:00 as well. Great. Nothing lasts forever I suppose.

She got her first cold a couple weeks ago and I was sick too (not sure who gave it to who--with her being in daycare and me working with sick kidos, it's really a toss-up). She only had a stuffy nose but it broke my heart listening to her sniffle and snort. I see sick kids all the time, most a lot sicker than this, but it's different with your own kids.

I finally finished my residency applications and got four interviews within the first week! The first one is halloween weekend in Richmond, Virigina so we're all (well, not the dogs!) taking a road trip and we'll stay with my friends Shannon and Kevin for a few days while we're down there. It should be lots of fun! This fall and winter we're going to be doing a lot of traveling with my interviews, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We're going to England for Christmas so that should be an interesting flight!

Photos are coming soon! We stopped taking them daily like we were the first couple months! Lyla pretty much looks the same as she did a few weeks ago, although more photos are a good excuse to show off her adorable and extensive wardrobe!

Four Months Old!

Lyla is four months old today! I can't believe it. For some reason four months seems like a big milestone for me. She's getting so big so fast. When I see the newborns at work I think how scrawny and boring they are--Lyla can do so much more cute stuff than she could four months ago! As a special four month birthday treat we decided to try giving her a bit of cereal. The official recommendation for starting "solids" is 4-6 months, but I always thought four months seemed too young, and that I'd wait until five or six. Well, as we all know, Lyla has always been very advanced (I'm sure every mom thinks this, but I'm actually right :) She is constantly watching us eat, since she was two months old. She studies the food on the plate, then watches as we bring it to our mouth, then watches the fork go back to the plate, all the while smacking her lips. She also DEVOURS her vitamins in the morning. She gets so excited when she sees the bottle, then grabs my arm with both her hands and pulls the dropper to her mouth--so cute! She definitely seemed very ready to eat and I had a feeling she would be good at it, and of course I was right! We got her first meal on video and I'll try to upload it to flickr soon. It is adorable. She ate more than an ounce and made very little mess. She was using more of a sucking motion, but hey, that's all she knows. She even got upset when I had to stop for a minute to thicken it up. She really seemed to like it so I think we'll continue with once a day meals for a little while.

The other newest trick is that she can now get her feet in her mouth, and she has them there constantly! If she's wearing socks they get soaked. Tomorrow is her four-month check up (and shots :( I'll update with her weight and length tomorrow.

Lyla had her doctor's appointment and she was pleased with Lyla's progress. she weighs 12lbs 4oz (20%), is 24 inches long (40%) and her head is 16 1/4 inches (60%)--so she'll be tall and thin with a big brain!

It's Been A While

This month has been busy and I haven't had much time to update on all of Lyla's new adventures! At the end of July I started an elective rotation in genetics in Buffalo so things have been very different! I stayed with my parents for four weeks and Lyla came too for most of the time (except for a couple days when she went back home with Mike). My parents seemed to really enjoy having Lyla around (I'm sure it was a big change for them to have so much commotion in the house--especially when my two crazy dogs were there too!)

Lyla is constantly changing and learning how to do new things. She's smiling a ton and clearly recognizes people. It's so cute to see how happy she gets when she sees you. She's laughing more but you still have to work hard to get giggles out of her. She's "talking" a lot too. Drooling has gotten a bit out of control and most days her shirts just get soaked!

Her motor skills are definitely picking up. She's rolling a lot more frequently from her tummy to her back. She enjoys tummy time a lot more than before and can go 10-20 minutes on her belly and be perfectly happy. She is constantly playing with toys and putting them in her mouth. The two newest skills she's learned are how to take her pacifier out of her mouth and put it back in, and she's also discovered her feet! She loves lifting her legs up in the air and then grabbing onto her toes--too cute!

Her hair is growing quite a bit--she definitely has Mike's hair which is great news for her.

Another adventure Lyla had was going swimming for the first time! She didn't seem to love it but she didn't hate it either. It was really hot for a couple weeks so it was nice to get wet. She was just quiet and observant (probably wondering why all these people were in the bathtub with her, and why it wasn't as warm as the bath!) I bet she'll really enjoy it next summer.

My brother got to meet Lyla for the first time a few weeks ago--Lyla seemed to like him a lot. We also had a nice visit from my uncle Georges, Aunt Diane, Aunt Johanne, and cousins Laurence, Julianne, and Marc-Antoine all the way from Montreal. The kids have gotten so big! They're not little kids anymore--they're 16, 14, and 12!!! They were too cute with the baby and Marc-Antoine said he wanted two of Lyla to take home with him!

Daycare starts on Monday for Lyla--eeek! I'm a little nervous but I know it will be fine. I'm going to go an hour early the first day just to give myself time to get to meet the teachers and see how things run. I'm sure Lyla will be fine--it's just nerve wracking to have a total stranger watch my baby. I keep telling myself she'll make lots of friends with the other babies :)

Here's some photos of how much Lyla has changed in the past month!

New Tricks

Lyla is 11 weeks old now and her new trick for the week is laughing! She's only done it a couple times (mostly with Mike--apparently he's more funny than I am!) but they were definitely real laughs! It was way too cute! I can't wait until she does it on a regular basis and I can video-tape it!

She has also really started discovering her hands. She reaches for toys and touches them (especialy the crinkly stuffed toys which she likes a lot), and also bats at the toys on the toy bar of her bouncer (see the video of her doing this on flickr!).

Lastly, drooling. This is not really a trick, more of an annoyance, but my kid has suddenly turned into a water fountain. Sometimes she's just drenched in her own spit (and sometimes I'm the one drenched in it!). I definitely found a use for all those little cotton bibs I thought I'd never need!

Next weekend Lyla and I head to Buffalo where I start a new rotation. My mom will watch Lyla the first week while Mike is away at a conference. It should be interesting! I know my parents will have a ball with her. It will also be nice to spend some time with my friends up there--Rachael and her baby Sophie, and Kathleen will be visiting Buffalo sometime in the next month with her brand new baby Jack who was born July 10th! We can't wait to meet the little guy!

I went to visit Lyla's daycare which she will start in five weeks and it was heartbreking. The center is very nice--tp of the line security with password to get in, video cameras in the room which you can watch on your computer. It's very clean and seems well organized. The problem is that I don't know these people. I'm going to be handing over my baby to complete strangers! it was quite upsetting to say the least. I haven't had any trouble adjusting going back to rotations, I think because Mike has been with her so I feel very comfortable leaving her. Next month I'm sure will be the same with my parents. But daycare---I foresee this being a bigger transition for me than for Lyla! I think we have a meeting with the staff before she starts just to ask questions and so they get to know her (and we get to know them)....hopefully this will aleviate some of my anxiety!

Here's what little Lyla has been up to this week:

Here's the drool that I mentioned--this is only a little though!

Lyla playing with her toys

All ready for bath

Look at all those rolls!

So cute!

Happy as a clam after her bath