Mami and me

As most of you know, I hate to be in pictures... But Luke's g-dmother in Austin captured some great shots that may shock you all!

A month of smiles, new firsts and travels!

We apologize sincerely for our tardiness in putting up new pictures and information about Eléa.  Things have been busy for us and for Eléa.  She has started to laugh (which is amazing to hear!) and is so close to being able to roll.  She gets three-fourths of the way over, but her pesky right arm is in the way.  Eléa also went on her first plane trip and handled it like a pro.  We dressed her in her finest clothes so maybe people on the plane would be distracted by her cuteness and not so mad about the crying, but there was no real crying..... Fingers crossed for Christmas travel.

She has visited her homeland of Texas and it appears that her extreme hatred for the car seat has somewhat diminished.  Eléa had a great time visiting Luke's parents (aka: grandma and grandpa) in Austin and displayed her stellar taste as she tried to lick Kaanchan's Amy's icecream cone.  She also had some quality time with my parents (aka: abuelo and abuela) in Houston and participated in her first Thanksgiving meal.

Here are pictures from the month.... Sorry for the overwhelming number!

Eléa's Venezuelan Dress!

The monster ate our daughter!

The nuclear family

These are overalls that Luke were when he was a baby!  You can't tell so clearly from the picture, but they are covered with owls and are super cute.

She's getting stronger everyday...

Luke practicing his lecture in front of a 'captive' audience...

Eléa has perfected this old man face (she looks like she's missing her dentures).  We know it is really because she is teething, but we can't help but laugh everytime she does it.

So cute!

Quality time with abuela!

Our friend Al with his daughter, Helena.  Eléa made many new friends in Texas!

Eléa's favorite chew toy (my hand)!

First hike....

Kaanchan and Eléa reunion 2010...

just cute....

Eléa's first taste of American suburbia...

Thanksgiving something, or is it a reindeer?

Tia and Eléa's matching outfits!

In her own way....

Eléa loves to read, in her own way of course.  Check out these videos of us reading some of Eléa's favorite books.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsapmrkXvkM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRTpRLK1zck

Laughing and growing...

Eléa is becoming so big and is now able to sit up on her own (aka: propped against cushions on the couch).

She also has been laughing and smiling so much more.  She absolutely loves to stand on your stomach (when you're lying down) as she loves being taller than you.  Here's some video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljO04CWWksg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj99X2bwjF0

Halloween 2010

Eléa was a red chili pepper for her first halloween and we must say she was adorable!  She got to hang out with her friend Charlie, the lion, and his parents (see the awesome pic below).  She got offered her first candy bars (score for us as she has no teeth!) and bravely walked through the haunted forest (in the daylight).

Eléa, the traveler

Eléa recently got a chance to go on a second trip, she really is quite the traveler, with her abuelitos and tia.  We drove up the Berkshires and spent the nice in a relative's beautiful home (thanks so much Clem and Lisa!).  We saw some lovely trees, mountains and lakes, ate some yummy food, and had some fun play/bath time.  Eléa did great, if we leave out the car trip.  Did I mention that Eléa despises being in the car seat in the car?  Anyways, she slept well in her new crib and abuela and abuelo were nice enough to share a room with Eléa and let tia sleep in a bit.  

Abuelitos in general were amazing and eagerly returned to NYC to help out while Luke was struggling to get some applications in.  They took care of Eléa during my first week back at work, shopped, did laundry and abuela once again proved her superstar status by sleeping over the entire week to let Luke get some work done and some sleep.  Muchisimas gracias

First Trip!

Eléa and I took a trip to Fire Island with tia Ariane and friends to celebrate her birthday on Columbus Day weekend.  My friend Holly was super nice and agreed to come along to help me since papi had to stay home and study.  Eléa was a super trooper and managed a 6 hour trip that consisted of a 45 minute subway ride, a 2 1/2 hour wait at Penn Station (a missed train), a 1 1/2 hour train ride that included a transfer, a 5 minute car ride and a 20 minute ferry ride.  It was tiring for me, but she did great.

After arriving in Fire Island we went to dinner and Eléa went to sleep in her very own bed at around 9pm and didn't wake up until 6:30am (bravo!!!).  That day we really missed our swing as napping was a bit challenging, but she did great and luckily there was a magic fountain in the yard of one of the nearby houses that would instantly mesmerize her and calm her down if she was upset.  The next night she also slept well (8 hours the first stretch followed by a 1 hour stretch) and at 5am while I was walking her near the fountain to get her back to sleep we had a close encounter with a wild buck!

                                                     Holly and Elea on the ferry

                                                     Pretty!

                                                     The power of the magic fountain......

                                                    Bundled up at the beach.

                                          The crew

We made it back to NYC no problems and Eléa was very happy to see papi and be back in her own crib (though she demonstrated this happiness with a good thirty minutes of crying).  We had a great time in Fire Island (thanks Tia)! And special thanks to fantastic, incredible Holly!

Videos Galore!!!

We apologize for the onslaught of videos (though they are all pretty dang cute!), but they take so long to load up so it is easier to do it all at once.

Here is Eléa's first time in the bumbo chair... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFmt-yAaNe4 .  This is a few weeks old so she is not quite bobbly-heady right now.

The swing has proven invaluable. This morning Eléa slept in it for almost three hours!  You can already tell she loves adventure because she likes it best at the highest setting.  Next thing we know she'll be jumping out of airplanes.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykau7XkvlW0

Eléa has started making lots of new sounds.  They are pretty awesome and she is a great conversationist.  Check it out for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVtpaC9E8os

Eléa has started grabbing at things, including her clothes.  Check out her showing off her yummy belly:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31ZDfokkVoM

Some more love for the legwarmers:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao7xd8FgWBU

We have been swaddling Eléa at night because of the cold, but also we think it helps her get some longer stretches of sleep (she slept 9 hours last night!!!! but then of course was up and wanting to play at 4:30am).  It is so cute to watch Eléa wake up and get unwrapped from the swaddle.  Watch her appreciate her freedom:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvvv4smHbnc

What?

Huh?

I Love My LEGWARMERS

Eléa's tia Ariane bought her the best legwarmers ever and now that the weather has cooled down, we can not stop putting them on.  They are pretty darn awesome!!!! Thanks Tia!!!

Abuela, Abuelo and Bisabuela Visit

Eléa was popular this month.  Two days after Luke's parents left, my parents and grandmother came for a short visit.  My parents were super psyched to see how much Eléa has grown since her first two weeks and my grandmother got to meet her great granddaughter for the first time.  It was a great visit, and in the Eigler tradition, involved many delicious meals out.  Eléa behaved so well on her many subway trips and meals (though she demonstrated a clear hatred for car travel).

Abuela deserves superstar status for staying over TWICE and pulling night duty, letting mom sleep a few more hours and dad sleep through the night!  She was amazing and has an open invitation to return anytime.

During the visit, Eléa turned two months (9 weeks) and had her first round of vaccinations which she handled like a trooper.  She is approved for all NYC subways and buses now!  Bisabuela also bought Eléa a new swing, which proved useful as she fell asleep in it on her first try... Not so much luck on future attempts yet, but we are persistent.

Eléa is becoming much more social and wants to look at everything around her.  She is full of smiles and loves (seriously loves) to stand as much as she can.  You may think we are holding her up, but it is all her....she uses my hands to lift herself up and I only keep her from falling over, not staying up.  We have trouble getting her into the sling/wrap because she won't sit down in it.   She even had her first go in the bumbo chair (she's growing up so fast)!