Elora Talks

WARNING: Some viewers may find this too cute to bear.

She does the exact same excited expressions as Jonah. I didn't even know she could say "raining" and "lighting" until I came home from the museum with Jonah and Brandon showed me this video.

Elora Eats

Elora has been trying her hand at utensils lately.

Elora likes to ham it up if she's being watched. She does a lot of sound effects. Here she is saying, "Mmmm" about her banana and apricot porridge, after pouring the last of it on herself:


When there's still some food on your bib, try licking it off.


OR, if you're not quite full, you can try this:

Elora at 11 weeks

Here is Elora grabbing at her toys. She is doing this much younger than Jonah did and enjoying it immensely.

On Elora's two month birthday she weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz. That was two weeks before her check up on Thursday at which she weighed 10 lbs. 4 oz. Her weight, height, and length have skyrocketed on the charts and she is a tall gal at 23 1/2 inches now.

Jonah had his 18 month appointment last week as well. He is just under 25 lbs. (though he seems like more because he is so compact). Our pediatrician just loves him. Everybody loves him actually, you can't help but be mesmerized by the way his eyes light up with excitement and delight at every little thing. He says "wow" and "cool" a lot right now.
Jo went to nursery at church for the first time yesterday and had a blast. He was exhausted and starving when we got home though since it was past noon.

7 Weeks Old

Elora turned 7 weeks old yesterday. To celebrate she smiled a lot, cooed a little, and went to the park with her brother.






Elora just realized she's wearing the same onsie in this photo shoot as she was in her last one and she's so embarrassed.

Just Some Stuff

Elora's only outing had been a trip to Target, but on the 5th of June she began more socializing away from home. First she went to her aunt Katie's high school graduation. Then she went to see her pediatrician the next day. Last Sunday Elora and I went to sacrament meeting and then spent the day hanging out at home with Uncle Adam. On the 10th she acompanied me to book club, where she was the hot topic of conversation since the book hadn't been very popular. Friday our little family took the double stroller on it's first trip walking around our neighborhood with a stop at our lame little park, chatting with neighbors along the way. This Saturday, the 14th was a big social day for both of us. Let's begin with a little background.
Brandon and I lived in Oklahoma City for the four years that he went to dental school. His cousin, Jamon, who is more like a brother to him since they both only have sisters, went to the same school for three of those years. Jamon and his wife Alisha were our best friends there. After eight hours a day with other people, Brandon isn't especially social during the evenings and on weekends. The only other couple we went on dates with and hung out with more than a time or two were Jennifer and Andy. Strangely, I got to see both couples on Saturday.
Andy (a law student running for state representative in OK) and Jennifer are in town for a family reunion. We spent most of the day with them on Saturday. We BBQed and mostly just hung out. They don't have a car here so I drove them to a family member's house about an hour away right near Alisha's parent's house where Jamon and Alisha (and their two kids) are spending most of the summer until he begins his Orthodontic residency in Colorado. I figured out that Alisha's parents live exactly one mile from my uncle Steve and his family, who I don't think I've seen in 8 or 9 years.
So after spending the morning and early afternoon with Jen and Andy. Elora and I stopped in to see Uncle Steve and fam and then to see Jamon and family. Alisha had a baby girl five days after me, so it was really fun to compare!


Second cousins?



Scarlet's toes and feet are even longer and thinner than Elora's.


Alisha holding Scarlet and Elora.



Yesterday Elora slept thru Sunday School. She also slept in the arms of a few happy women during Relief Society while I gave the lesson. I have a friend who has called dibs on holding her next time I teach already:)
Yesterday evening I tried the sauce from this recipe to put over our grilled salmon. It was fantastic!

Sleepyhead

Elora is 17 days old now. She was sleeping so much I was wondering if she was eating enough. Friday was her two week appointment with her pediatrician. She weighs 7 lbs. 4 oz. now. That's 14 oz. more than she weighed at checkout from the hospital! Apparently she's eating just fine. She has started having a long, fussy wakeful time in the evenings now. My pediatrician reminded me that babies become fussier and fussier from birth to about 8 weeks (right around the time of their first real/social smile, which makes things more bearable) and it peaks there and then begins to decline. I'm glad he reminded me, I remember now.


Here is Elora sound asleep in the bath. She slept thru the whole thing, hair washing and everything! She didn't open her eyes til she got out. It must have been exactly body temperature or something.