Daddy's Day!!!

Father's Day was more a Father's weekend mostly because Jonathan had a huge grant proposal due the day after Father's Day and he was working on and off all weekend.  I think he came back from work Sunday night at midnight!! But, here's the best thing about this guy- when he's at work we miss him so much, but when he's home with us he's 100% with us and savoring every moment with his dear daughter.  I'm so grateful for that.  So, Friday night we celebrated with a lovely dinner.  Vegan Caesar salad w roasted chickpeas and homemade rosemary focaccia.  Yum!!!

Eila had a nice veggie rusk that she proudly munched in without assistance :) 

Then on Sunday we celebrated with a lovely al fresco lunch of cheese, veggies, more focaccia, and blackberries while Eila celebrated with a 2 hour afternoon nap!!  Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!!  

After that, it was off to the park for a long walk, just the three of us.   It's these sweet times together that I will always cherish in my memories and hope never end :) 

I can't imagine a better person to parent with or a man who could love his daughter any better.  They are a sweet pair, and I'm so glad Jonathan has been able to make so much time for Eila the last 9 months!!  Happy First Father's Day, Jonathan.   We love you more than we can say!!!!!!!!!!

Busy Eila

Eila has certainly reached the busy stage, and I'm sure this is only going to get more pronounced and we'll reach the "watch her every minute" stage.  Yikes.  She can crawl the length of our house pretty quickly and like many babies, loves to find tight spaces to get herself stuck in or find all the outlets and cords plugged into them so she can pull on them with all her might.  She's always peeking under the couches for all the toys that roll under there.  Luckily the couches are just a bit too low for her to get under there.  When we hold her, she's either reaching out for something or somewhere, or grabbing our faces with a force that can leave marks or scratches.  The word "gentle" is used a lot in our house right now, to no avail.  

Exploring the kitchen

Planking - 10 seconds

Eila enjoys sitting in the grass and just pulling up whatever she can and examining the little blades in her fingers.  She hasn't tried to eat grass much yet, which is helpful. She still likes the baby carrier but only likes facing out so she can see the world.  Eila MUST see where she's going at all times.  She demands it!!!

She hasn't made any sounds that resemble words yet, but she can get very loud if you feed sweet potatoes too slowly.   The girl knows what she wants.   (We may be in for

some future challenges).  We love her so and often stop each other in the hall after we put her to bed at night and in amazement "She's ours!!"  I hope that never ends.  

Mothers Day

Grateful.  That is the feeling that just kept ringing out in my heart throughout that lovely day.  From the moment I went to Eila's room in the morning and saw her first smile of the day, to observing her sheer joy as she splashed in the bathtub that evening. 

Jonathan and I went to church together w eila that morning and came home to put her right to bed.  She doesn't get her usual 2-3 hour morning nap on Sunday so she's usually exhausted by noon. Eila went down easily and gave her mom and dad a perfect 90 minutes to enjoy a beautiful brunch that Jonathan had planned, shopped for and made for me.  Tofu scramble, "seeduction bread" from Whole Foods, homemade breakfast potatoes, strawberries and fresh cut pineapple with a cashew cherry fruit dip he made the day before.  Oh and fresh squeezed orange juice for champagne mimosas!!!  Yum!!!!

We FaceTimed with the grandmothers and then the three of us took a sweet walk together in the neighborhood. 

Jonathan and I decided that Father's Day and Mother's Day in our house do not need to involve presents, just experiences and set apart time together as a family, remembering how blessed we are to be parents.  Hurray for new traditions :)

Road Trip!!!

Well, Eila and more importantly her parents survived the first road trip, which is definitely a bit more challenging than short plane flights.  We were thrilled to be able to drive to Ohio and introduce Eila to her many great aunts and uncles.  Jonathan's Dad has 6 brothers and sisters and we were lucky to see 4 of them as well as Jonathan's aunt and uncle on his Mom's side who we are particularly close to.  

Day 1: we drive to Columbus Ohio in 7.5 hours.  Eila was a champion this day, taking 2 2-hour naps and staying cheerful for the rest of it.   

We had a great time at Doug and Darla's house and everyone got a chance to give Eila a cuddle and enjoy some baby love. 

We had a great stay in Air B&B.  Eila clearly enjoyed it ok since she slept right through the night in her own room.  This girl!!!!!! 

Day 2: We headed to Cleveland with a stop in Twinsburg to visit Tina and Bill at their home.  We took a long walk so Eila could catch her afternoon nap.   Jonathan and I have FitBits so we have to get in those steps.  Good thing Jonathan isn't competitive.  Right... 

Final Destination: Cleveland!!!  Andi and RuthAnne were so excited to see Eila!!!  They are like a third set of grandparents.  Andi kept saying he was a great uncle and he was determined to live up to that greatness ;)

Lunchtime!! 

We had a nice weekend taking walks, chatting and reading to Eila.   She comes from a long line of more well-read people than her parents, though we're working on it.   

The way home took almost 10 hours.  It was a longer drive so required more stops but eila took a few naps and had lots of laughs and smiles through it all.   

This is an accordion zebra that actually plays, a gift from A&R!!  It also has a mute.  Genius!! 

Oh and to end the post, a few pics of Eila resting or posing in style at the Hyatt ;)