Ila gets happy

Little by little this little gal is growing into her skin. She's almost 8 weeks old! She now loves her swing. Just smiles so adorably once she knows she's going for a ride, it melts the old heart, you know? And sitting up in the boppy is a new adventure, too. Enjoy!

More Firsts and a visit from 3 special friends

Ila passed her 6 week birthday last weekend. 6 weeks! That's her entire life outside the womb --- and the length of an elective class in middle school. (Don't get me started on plaster statues of Trojan mascots from my Swope Middle School elective "art" class...)Anyway back to the most important person in the world, not me, but ILA.

Ila had a visit from my women's group and got to meet some of her Aunties. Judy, Ginni, Gabrielle and I had delicious chocolate birthday cake, the kind Ila doesn't even know exists. What fun. The ladies came up from SF and farther south; Ginni acutally flew up with her partner and landed in the tiny Davis Airport! It was a very nice visit, including a walk to the garden and a discussion of birth and death.

Ok, on to Ila's firsts. Ila reached 9 lbs 4 oz for the first time in her life. More significantly, Ila got into her carseat today without crying for the first time today and spent a happy morning at a baby group, entertaining all the babies with her charm and wit (ok, maybe that will happen in a few years). And she also let her mom go out to eat while she was awake and socialize without a meltdown. Yay! She seems like she is growing up.

Another first: Joel watched Ila during the daytime instead of the evening when he usually does it. And I got to drive the car down to Ace Hardware and buy a hose and some compost for the garden (we'll be putting in cucumbers, tomatoes and squash soon). Feeedom!

And another first: Ila took her first nap by herself.

And of course. The bottle. She sort of looks like a little animal being fed. I hope to add a snap of her drinking out of a bottle, but for now Joel needs to feed her on her favorite spot: the changing table. She is sitting up when she drinks, but the hairdryer for white noise is blowing away. Anyway, I daren't sneak in and take a picture cos I don't want to put her off -- its sort of a new and scary event for her, so she needs to be in a comfy zone. Not that she's not used to camera flashes by now, but I don't want to distract her from the safety of the changing table and hairdryer.

Fancy Pants

A few days ago, Ila and I met with her new buddy Joaquin and Joaquin's mom Jennifer for lunch. Joaquin was born a week before Ila and is a content little guy. Jennifer and her husband Carlos were in our baby class -- and Carlos plays guitar just like Joel! Jennifer and I had strangely similar birth experiences, at least in the pushing phase. Jennifer had an even longer time pushing her little guy out -- 3 1/2 hours. Ouch. During lunch, Jennifer and I traded baby tricks and birth stories. What a godsend to have someone else you like, learning to be a mom at the same time!

Here's a snap of Ila in her new pants. Sassy! She's just about to doze off in her swing. I bought her pants at Target yesterday. Just as we were leaving the house, we rounded the corner and the air was filled with a buzzing sound, was greyish and filled with...........bees! Or wasps! I was stunned and yelled for Joel (Ila was oblivious), he shocked me back into action and urged me to get out of there! It was just like a scene in a horror film, I've never seen anything like it. After I left, Joel called the building management and apparently they came and sprayed the swarm. I can see a dead bee or wasp out the window on my back porch! Thank god we were spared being stung. This was truly a SHOCKING and HORRIBLE sight!!

Tummy and finger time