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/

I'm Too Sexy for My Play n Pack

Ella had her two month check up yesterday. Here is her vital stats for those keeping track at home - She is almost 10 lbs (25% for weight), 22 1/4 inches (75% for height) and her head is in the 25% percentile. As if we didn't know already, our little gal is destined for modeling or some sort of athletics with her skinny and tall bod and pinhead. She did very well getting her shots - better than Mommy did who had to close her eyes through the whole thing.

She is starting to smile alot too - especially during the four am feeding and when she sees her friend the Bug and favorite site, the ceiling fan. Ella has been on many adventures with us - dinner and lunches with friends and even to an Areas 51 baseball game (vegas' minor league team named for a secret test place where aliens landed in the 1950's and with an even scarier mascot that looks like a cross between Jar-Jar binks from Star Wars and a donkey). While Ella used to just sit in her seat and sleep, she now loves to sit on our laps and look at everything. She is turning from a newborn into a little baby girl.

Other than that, all is well. Mommy is back in classes, working and balancing it all with staying home with Ella and Daddy is working hard.

To see more photos of the newest Murdock, click here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157600333334242/

We tried to showcase her personality in this one... check out the smiles!

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! :)

The things that I have learned after a month of Ella

Since Leslie pened her thoughts on Ella at a month I figured I would do the same. It is amazing how much she has changed and grown. She is starting to become our little Chunky Monkey. We have started taking her out into the world and she will promptly fall asleep. I think that fresh air is like a baby version of Ambien. Ella has also found her voice. She squeaks (kind of like what it sounds like when you eat fresh cheese curds), she cries (mainly when she has a wet diaper) and she chatters to herself. She now really seems to be smiling, and not just because of gas.

We had a very fun first Mother's Day with Aunt Jill, Grandma Sharon, and Grandpa Steve. As we all ate, Ella slept, but looked really cute while doing it. Check out the pics by clicking the link below....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157600216506000/

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. :)

Cute as a Button?

As Ella's third week comes to an end I have learned a couple of valuable lessons. The first one is that just because we think it is time to change her diaper it is advisable to wait 15 or so minutes. The second one is that a little spit up is cute, a lot of spit up is not! I am not sure how something that weighs less than most bowling balls has the ability to spray that much liquid with such force out of her mouth. She was just head spinning short of the exorcist. If you check out the pictures on the link below please pay attention to two photos. The first where Ella is in her French outfit (courtesy of Les' super duper fun cousins from Geneva, The Cadieux Clan) was taken a mere 20 minutes, one bath and a change of clothes (for both dad and daughter) before the Cute as a Button black onesie.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7822160@N02/sets/72157600181592098/