The Cutest Lobster/Vegas Girl in the World (According to Her Parents)

Hey All,

Ok, so my grandiose plan of writing more often lasted maybe a week. Amazing how life keeps you busy. In past little while, we have enjoyed visits from our parents/Ella's grandparents. Ella had wonderful visits from both of her out-of-town grandmas and Pops. I think she got spoiled from all the attention because now she only has one face to wake her up in the morning singing the good morning song, not at least two. Also, a big thank you to both grandmas who allowed Mike and I to sleep in and take some nights on the town. Anyone without children, seriously, enjoy sleeping in as there is no break from it. You cannot put a 6 month old on snooze. :) We had fun dates going out for dinner (later than 6 pm which also is a huge treat) and drinks with friends.

Ella gets more fun by the day and is getting so old. She smiles alot especially at her daddy who she thinks is the funniest person ever. She had been eating solid foods now and seems to like veggies better than fruits, she especially peas and loves green beans and peas (which smell terrible and are really fun to clean off of her:)). She still refuses to roll over. If she wants a toy, she'll reach for it and right before she'll roll over, she decides it isn't worth and rolls back. Parks and walks seem to bore her but the petroleum jelly box we use to moisturize her face gets her extremely excited. Ella is also trying to hold her own bottle and doesn't like it when you move her arms and legs, she wants to move them herself. Finally, she had found a way to watch TV even when we face her away from it (see attached pics).

Here are the latest pics of her from the month... http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157602395568393/
Check out the lobster costume for Halloween and her styling rocker chick outfits! Gosh, we are the most nauseating parents, totally infatuated with our child...

What Stays in Vegas, Melts in Vegas

Hey All,

Last summer the weather didn't bother me but now that I have a child who will either literally melt (which I don't care to see) or become dehydrated and cry (which I also don't care to deal with), it is a bit of a pain. This is Vegas's winter. Instead of being stuck indoors because because you'll freeze, instead you'll fry. Thus, Ella and I are now staying indoors. If I didn't have classes and didn't love Daddy that much, we would skip this popstand for the summer. We'll just have to suffice for taking weekend trips to San Diego and a week or so in Seattle.

Other than having all the liquid sucked out of us, the Murdock clan is great. Ella is changing from a little baby to a girl. She still loves TV and is now talking to it. She seems to really like sports and when there is a player interview, she coos at the player. Daddy is happy for the interest in sports but when I point out she may be flirting with men already he isn't happy. He reminds Ella that she is grounded until age 18.

She is also so smiley that we cannot get through a bottle without her breaking concentration to smile at the feeder. It is really funny. Mike is trying to get her to focus but she has her own ideas. That's my independent girl! She also wakes up with a smile in the morning, it melts my heart. Every morning we have our lovefest where she smiles and I tell her she is my favorite person in the whole world (don't tell her daddy...).

Finally, Ella has decided that she would like to become a Vegas entertainer and is currently working on her opening act of putting her entire fist in her mouth (see above photo). We're working on her disappearing act... She also inherited a new toy, her Bumbo. For those without children, Bumbos are crazy seats that help kids learn to sit. My mom thinks they look a bit like toilets and I think they look like those teacup rides at Disneyland. Regardless, she looks really cute encased in her Bumbo. The crap they have for kids...

Attached are some more recent photos of Ella, Ella with and her homies and gal pal (the above photos is with her boyfriend Jonah and is definitely Anne Geddes quality), and Ella in her Bumbo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157600635099625/

Our Pop Culture Diva

Ella has asked that we post a quick shout out to Grandpa Steve and Gamma Sharon who are traveling (without her and her parents, she wanted me to say) in Europe and a welcome back to Grandfran and Pops who just got back from Europe (without her and her parents again) and whom she cannot wait to see! She requests that her grandparents no longer leave her for long periods of time and thinks that she and her parents should accompany them whenever they travel abroad. Hey, I am just the messenger...

We are posting some new photos. We actually captured her "pooping" face. We have a very polite child who informs us of her happenings by her face. While it is not the most attractive face, it serves its purpose. The peeing face is cuter, we'll try to get a photo soon. We also have photos in her ballerina outfit from Aunt Jill (Thank you Aunt Jill for keeping Ella fashionable!). Here's the link... http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157600422042557/

This week Ella has discovered her new favorite thing... TV! She cannot stop staring at it when it is on. Both Mommy and the ceiling fan are no longer intriguing. She particularly enjoys Dawson's Creek and loved Staying Alive the movie. She kept cooing at John Travolta who maybe was hot in his day but a little cheesy back then. I have deduced that she either likes retro music, is hoping for a polyester bodysuit, or wants to be a dancer. I'll have to look into tot ballet. The issue with the TV is that we had her friend Shira Polikoff over who wanted to hang with her and grab her head and but since One Tree Hill started, she didn't feel the need to entertain. This habit will have to be broken as we need to chose live people over actors and the TV screen (although Dad disagrees and plans on introducing her to his weird non-ficition shows about sea creatures and planets soon).

We also hold conversations together now which constitute her babbling and my babbling back. Often I am left holding the conversations as she gets more interested in smiling at me (see photo above for example) that talking in the middle of our chats. Luckily I have alot to say to her. She did mention the other day that she loves her new shampoo we switched her to (Noodle and Boo) and enjoys smelling so yummy.

That's about it. We have plans this weekend to see some of Ella's little friends and their parents which will make more photo ops. Have a great weekend everyone!

Obsessed Parents

Hey All,

Ok, so it seems we are obsessed with our child based on the blog so far. Yes, its true but in our defense we also have obsessive grandparents who look for photos all the time and this is our means of showing them Ella as she grows and develops before our eyes. She is like a new toy. Now that she is over 2 months, she smiles alot especially when I greet her in the morning and when she does her baby exercises with me. Mike recently discovered she loves her head massaged. One things she seems not to like is Neiman Marcus'. Everytime we go for lunch and meet folks she cries. Silly girl needs to be taught the joys of Neimans. She also has a new routine - smiling, eating a bit, passing out in the middle of feeding for a nap (takes after dad who loves to sleep), crying when waking up and then smiling. Sometimes she cries for quite a while but then smiles again and my heart melts. I have become the biggest sucker.

I am also trying to get into more of a routine myself. We are lucky - Ella sleeps around 6-8 hours a night but sometimes we go back to bed. When I do this, we don't get moving until 11ish which is late. I am now trying to go for a walk with her in the mornings when she first wakes up. That way she gets fresh air before it gets too hot (did I mention we live in an oven?) and I get exercise. Oh, and conveniently we walk right by a Starbucks. Daily coffee makes mommy very happy. Routines seems to be really important for getting things done when a little one comes around.

Other than that, all is good. I am taking Professional Responsibilities in law school which teaches us how to be ethical while yielding our legal power (oxymoron?, you decide!). In case anyone needs legal advice, I can now give it and know my boundaries. It is interesting how professional conduct fluctuates between elliciting info for the sake as ethics and confidentiality that protects clients and allows them to the space to disclose everything for proper legal representation.

Happy Fathers Day to all our favorite family and friend dads. Here are the latest photos of Smushie.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157600366145267/

Life According to Ella

Hey All,

Our little darling (nicknamed "Smushie" due to her favorite curled up position or "Little Stinker" as we have recently been calling her when she is crying) is now 6 weeks and we continue to see amazing amounts of personality in a tiny ten pound body. While squeaking, cooing, and crying are her main means of communication, if Ella could talk, here is what we guess that she would like to tell the world.

1. High end stores are overrated. To get out of spending time in places like Neiman Marcus and high end baby stores, cry so that someone will take you out of them and your parents won't waste money by buying you expensive things that don't fit right and you will ultimately spit up on.

2. To make the most of burping, make a face that looks like your eyes shoot out of your face and turn bright red. It'll freak your parents out.

3. Don't be fans of the French. Everytime Mommy puts me into my French onesie and sings to me in French, I either spit up or cry to show my dislike.

4. If you want to stop crying, have someone bounce you to the point of abuse. I promise it won't make you nauseous, it will make you laugh and smile.

5. You eat better when making a clicking noise.

6. To go to sleep, get a sound machine to listen to and watch an aquarium. Don't forget to put your hands above your head, it helps the circulation.

7. Hands belong on faces all the time, especially when someone is trying to feed you. What else should you do with them when you are my age?

8. If around lots of people, fall asleep and then they won't bother you. Make them wonder if you truly have eyeballs.

9. Dream of good things. It will keep you smiling when you are asleep.

10. If you look cute, your parents won't get mad at you... check me out... (see above for examples of cuteness and below for new photos).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157600285617810

11. Life with me is unexpected. Get ready for a bumpy but fun ride ahead! :)

Life at One Month

The above is a pciture documentary of our lives thus far. We are all either trying to sleep or making faces at each other to keep our crazy lives fun. :)

Ella is about to turn one month and has already changed quite a bit. She now has fun little things she does. It took me a while to figure out what were "Ella faces" versus what faces babies made (thanks to spending lots of time with other friends' babies, particularly Ella's new friends Kylie Polis and Jonah Stone) but no matter what faces she makes, she still looks darn cute to me. :)

New "Ella-isms" include sleeping with arms up in the air in a surrender mode, not liking to be peed-on diapers (one of the only time she cries), her famous burp face that looks like her eyeballs are going to shoot out of her head, sucking on the side her hand, and smiling alot when she is dreaming (which I like to think is her thinking of what fabulous parents she has!). We'll update with photos of these soon.

Stay turned for pics of our first Mother's Day together as well as her baby naming coming up. She has very girl-y outfits picked out. :)

It is truly amazing how life can change in less that 2 weeks. We've lived most of our lives without Ella and now cannot imagine life before her. We are already raising a genius as in the past 2 days she has found her hands and legs and even tried to put her favorite toy bee's leg in her mouth. She is also a pretty good sleeper so Mom gets a stretch of 3 hours at a time (for anyone without a child, enjoy your sleep - you don't realize how great it is until you lose it). Ella also loves going with Mommy to Starbucks for a morning coffee and to get some exercise. Here's one of my favorite pics... forget pacifiers, fingers rule!

Funny Faced Ella

Its been 3 days and she is already looking older and more alert. As most babies do, she looked like a typical newborn (with lots of hair). Now she has expressions we are starting to read and understand. We love this picture of her. This is the cross eyed look she gives us in her few hours of waking time. She definitely resembles her dad, he often gives me the confused look! :)

Final Countdown

Hey All,

Trying my first post... finally up with the 21st Century.

As Mike stated, just waiting the arrival of our little one who will be making her way into the world in a week or two. We are just excited to meet her and get the anticipation of the birth (yikes!) over with.

We already found out that Helga Lou (our affectionate nickname for her that my dad came up when he had a bad dream that was what we named her) has lots of hair (dad is already jealous) so we bought a brush to make sure she doesn't look like Don King on arrival! We are also curious to see if she recognized our voices as I have been reading to her in utero and Mike has already been giving her life lesson such as "get a job" and "no dating until 18."