Last weekend, Elisa turned four months old! That meant another trip to the doctor for more shots and some measurements: 13 lb. 12 oz., 24 in. long, 16 in. head. That means that Elisa has more than doubled her lowest weight – and may actually outweigh our cat Ink in the next month or so!!
The yearly start of winter has allowed some wardrobe variety. With cold weather, Elisa has been wearing a variety of sweaters and coats for outer wear, but this week she got a pink snowball coat made by a friend at Houghton. The coat is guaranteed to make almost everyone who sees her croon! Despite the sweaters, Elisa has survived her first cold – which she got in Florida. Mommy and Daddy got pretty handy with the nasal bulb (and a few times Elisa even laughed as Mommy cleaned out her nose…) and then learned about a wonderful vaccuum cleaner attachment that sucks the sinuses out with much better efficiency, which results in less overall crying! (Don’t worry - Andrew tried it on himself first!)
Elisa is gaining more control of her hands. She has been grabbing things for some time, but has been better at holding on and pulling to her over the last couple weeks. She held a book while we were in Florida and has started the habit of holding onto the bar from which her toys are suspended in both the bouncy seat and swing. Most exciting, she held her own bottle for the first time tonight!
Finally, Elisa is gaining strength in her legs. She had started pushing up on her legs a little before Thanksgiving, but now is very excited about standing! When pulled to sitting she occasionally doesn’t want to stop there and straightens her legs to show she wants to stand. She can stand (though not steadily) while holding on to our fingers.
Leaving behind the snow and below-freezing temperatures of western New York, we escaped to Daytona for Thanksgiving. (Andrew’s parents chose a nice climate to live in!) Andrew’s brother (Johnmark) and family also live in the area and one of his sister’s (Faith) and her family were also down from Michigan. We greatly enjoyed the week and a half spent with family and Elisa enjoyed and was greatly admired by all.
This was Elisa’s first chance to meet her Grandpa Camenga as well as some aunts, uncles and cousins. Grandpa was kind enough to sing his Happy Hippopotamus song for Elisa. She was described as even-tempered and a pretty happy baby – and she really is!
We took trips to the Kennedy Space Center, where Andrew’s dad is working, and to Silver Springs, a natural wonder and zoo/amusement park. At the Space Center, we got own private tour and had a marvelous time learning and getting insight into Dad Camenga’s daily routine. We enjoyed alligators, tortoises, giraffes and glass-bottom boat tours at Silver Springs. In both cases we had quite the stroller brigade between Elisa and her sixteen-month triplet cousins!
Elisa also had her first experience of sun hats and sunblock since her eyes were too sensitive to light to be outside much before the weather cooled up north.
We had a nice traditional Thanksgiving, both brunch and evening meal, with almost everyone preparing a dish or two. Sabbath we were all able to attend church at Daytona together and see many other friends. We also had a meal with friends from Hungary Kristin hadn’t seen for 10 years, get family pictures taken (much easier when you don’t have to drive 45-90 min to the studio!), and go out for a date to celebrate Kristin’s birthday (and so give Grandma more time with Elisa!) Again, Elisa did a great job traveling, having no issues with changes in pressure and sleeping or being happy most of flights.
…and so does Elisa celebrate rolling over. The first rolls at 2-3 weeks might have been a bit of a fluke – and she did roll a half dozen times over the first 3 months – but today Elisa achieved repeated intentional rolling. She rolled over 8 times at three different tummy times – so predictably that we have proof on video! You could almost see her as she was put on her stomach gathering up strength to roll and then calmly and deliberately rolling over. Today all the rolls were to her left, but she has rolled to the right before.
As you can see from the video, she has been supporting herself on her arms very well and holding her head up. This morning she was even pushing up on her arms a little.
Her other new trick today was turning in her Bumbo seat. She had dropped the toy she was holding, and when I looked up a couple minutes later, she had turned and was leaning over the side of the seat. It looked like she was reaching over the seat to pick up the toy! As she got upset, I turned her back forward and again she quickly shifted to lean over the side. Hmm…another reason the Bumbo seat might not last for Elisa!
She continues as a very happy little girl and we daily thank God for a wonderful baby! She is regularly sleeping 7 or 8 hours about half the nights. And most nights she is either sleeping or eating between 7 or 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. Even better is the fact that she smiles and laughs frequently, and though she shares her smiles with most everyone, she seems to have extra smiles for mommy and daddy!
Last weekend, Elisa got to hear her first bluegrass, including a banjo (Daddy’s favorite!) and a mandolin at our church dinner concert. Andrew said that the hits of the evening were the band, the potatoes and Elisa. Elisa ate as the dinner began and then stayed awake and mostly happy for another two hours, being held by a number of different people and smiling at many more. She spent a lot of time with Pastor Jo and Martha, who loves Elisa dearly and seeks her out whenever we are in the same place. She gently pats Elisa’s head or holds her hand, and once when seeing Andrew without Elisa, Martha came up and held her arms as rocking a baby to ask for Elisa. As you can see in the pictures, Mommy also indulged in a cute hat – which Daddy thinks looks like a souffle. Even though this hat fits better than most, it did slip over her eyes on the way home and she was absolutely adorable as she woke up and realized she couldn’t see!
Elisa has also continued to grab and hold things more. She sits in her bouncy seat during many meals and while Mommy practices piano. No longer content with batting toys, she pulls them toward her mouth. See the sheep? This is her second outfit with a cute sheep!!
Last Friday Elisa turned three months old! She has been showing a lot of interest in sitting up. Shortly before she turned three months, she started bracing her head while we pull her up into a sitting position. Apparently, she feels grown up when she is sitting!
Therefore, we decided to invest in a Bumbo chair which supports her so she can sit up on her own. She got it the night of her three-month birthday and enjoyed a few minutes sitting in it before going to bed. She has sat in it most days, frequently for 15 minutes at a time. She often has one of her toys in her hands as she sits (well, until she drops it!). Mostly, though, she sits and looks around, bobbing her head non-chalantly.
However, in the last day or so, she has learned a new trick. She sits in the Bumbo and arches her back until she is almost straight. She looks like if she went just a little farther, she would overbalance and fall over the back! So we have to be much more careful about using the seat – maybe when we get the tray that will keep her in her seat!
In the video below, you can see Elisa being pulled to sitting and see her in the Bumbo! Enjoy!
This video is about a minute long. All of the clips are from Elisa’s first couple of days — they were all taken while she was still at the hospital. We’ve taken additional footage and will share with you as we can.
The last week or so, Elisa has started using her legs more intentionally. She has started pulling her legs up under her during tummy time and supporting some of her weight for two to three seconds when standing. Of course, the latter turns into a fun game where mommy or daddy holds her up for a couple seconds and then she goes limp and sinks down!
As the strength in her legs has increased, no longer does mommy brag about her socks that stay on! Elisa has a nice trick of rubbing one foot against the other to get off her socks. She can get either sock off, but the left sock is her favorite to shed…one sock on and one sock off!
Both Elisa’s arms and legs continue to grow. We have started putting away some of the 0-3 month clothes as the pants start to look like highwaters and the sleeves look 3/4 length. These clothes are frequently plenty large around, but just not long enough!
This Sabbath Elisa was back in the yellow dress she wore her first Sabbath at church…and she has definitely grown! The first time, her feet were basically under the dress and now, even the panties to the dress show a bit! (The new tights are quite big, though!)
Also, Elisa has shown signs the last few days of actually supporting herself with her arms a bit. In the past, she has always held her head up almost entirely using her abdominal muscles. However, this morning she calmly supported herself and looked around (until she saw the TV and was fixated – football!) for 3-4 minutes.
Elisa continues to grasp things with both hands, including starting to grab at toys hanging above her. She has also shown signs of trying to pull these toys to her mouth, a portent of much to come!!
And more than anything else, our little girl is enjoying smiling and laughing, though the camera is too distracting to get a full-wattage smile so far. But Elisa is usually a happy baby and we will do many silly things to make her laugh – whether it is her laugh that sounds almost like a cough or the one when she almost spits in our face!
First of all, let’s be clear: there were no swords involved and neither was there any competition. However, the last week Elisa has seen Grandma Camenga and Grandpa Rood at different times in a somewhat intricate and harmonious duet that we liken to the cooperation of banjos in Duelling Banjos (and yes, banjos are one of Andrew’s favorite instruments)!
Grandma Camenga was up from Florida for five days to meet Elisa and helped Kristin immensely by babysitting while she went to multiple meetings Tuesday and Thursday. Also, Grandma’s fun playing with Elisa at home meant that Kristin was finally able to focus on starting to plan next semester’s classes. Grandma sang, played and slept with Elisa and enjoyed every minute of it!
Grandpa Rood had to make a trip to northern NY this past week and so he stopped for two nights on his way to and fro. He enjoyed seeing Elisa as she is more interactive and enjoying other people and even led her in some cheers for her mommy and daddy. He also prayed for her one night as she went to bed.
Last week, Elisa got to meet most of her maternal grandmother’s side of the family: Great-mama and Great-papa Greene, her great aunt Gerri and great uncle Paul, and many cousins. Kristin and Elisa traveled to Berlin, NY to visit for a few days while Grandma Rood was also going to be visiting on her school break.
Elisa had a great time meeting her Great-mama and Great-papa and playing on their floor. She also did a very good job sitting in her infant seat during meals (and her hand eye coordination continued to improve as she hit the dangling frog) and making it just long enough for mommy to eat – but not long enough for her to help clean up!
This opportunity also allowed us to get pictures of four generations of mothers and daughters: Irene Greene, Althea Rood, Kristin Camenga and Elisa.
Last weekend, Elisa turned four months old! That meant another trip to the doctor for more shots and some measurements: 13 lb. 12 oz., 24 in. long, 16 in. head. That means that Elisa has more than doubled her lowest weight – and may actually outweigh our cat Ink in the next month or so!!
attachment that sucks the sinuses out with much better efficiency, which results in less overall crying! (Don’t worry - Andrew tried it on himself first!)
Finally, Elisa is gaining strength in her legs. She had started pushing up on her legs a little before Thanksgiving, but now is very excited about standing! When pulled to sitting she occasionally doesn’t want to stop there and straightens her legs to show she wants to stand. She can stand (though not steadily) while holding on to our fingers.
RSS FEED
