Welcome to the Spring Edition of our blog. We have been keeping busy with our 2 foot wonder and have frankly become a little lazy about updating the blog.

We've had the final derby bout for NRG's regular season, Easter, Grandma/Grandpa visit, transition to rice cereal and her 4-month doctor visit.

Elise donned her "bout-fit" for the NRG bout vs Ohio Roller Girls. She had a red onesie supplied by "Joanie Gouge", socks donated by "Valerie Hurtinelli" and the knitted pivot panty and skull bandana dress provided by "Racer Xtasy". It was good luck because NRG triumphed over OHRG.

Cuteness provided by Elise, photo courtesy of Marc Lebryk

Easter took us to Ft. Wayne to visit Jeana's immediate family. It consisted of a bit of driving and Elise was quite a trooper (as per usual during car rides) and an easter-egg hunt for Elise's cousins. However, she got to dress up a little and she wasn't in much of a bad mood at all.

Cheeeeeeese!

The Starlets

Grandpa Dressler and a content granddaughter

Yay, it's Easter...I guess...whatever that means. It has something to do with bunnies I take it.

My mother flew in from Nevada in early May to get some time with her granddaughter. She has grown an allergy to cold weather and snow so May seemed about right for her.

She didn't mind sleeping on my old sectional couch that was on it's last leg. She wanted to maximize her time with Elise. It also provided Jeana with another set of hands when Elise was fussing or just needed to be entertained.....not to mention the opportunity to talk to someone during the day that wasn't all baby-talk while I was gone at work.

It was good to see her as it had been a spell since I had spent time with my parents as well. So for Mother's Day, my mother was here and it was Jeana's first time to celebrate Mother's Day as a mother. Quite a special occasion. Both ladies got a card from Elise and myself...and Jeana received a UK mug I had tucked away for awhile.

As previously mentioned, the sectional/couch was where my mother was sleeping and I had ordered another and was awaiting it's arrival. It hit a snag somehow as the model/color combo was discontinued by the manufacturer. However, it'd been 4 weeks and I hadn't been notified. Apparently the store who placed the order wasn't notified either. It was a jumbled mess. As soon as I found out, I started the search all over again. When I went to the store, it turns out they had the family room outfit I was looking at to replace the other evasive set. It was a "scratch and dent" set but they were very minor and the price was halved. Best part was that it was very much along the lines of what I had originally ordered but just not in the exact configuration or color but it was a good compromise.

My father was spending some time with his mother near Elkhart, IN but came down for a day/night to spend some time with Elise as well. It also gave Jeana and myself a rare opportunity to go out for a night out as adults. No diaper bags in tow. So we had some cheese and chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot at Jeana's request. We then proceeded to see Clash of the Titans 3D. The movie was pretty well done and it'd been awhile since I've seen anything in 3D (still wanting to see Alice In Wonderland 3D). My only real disappointment was the lack of Bubo in the new version.

"Grandma....can I suck on your fingers?...I can suck on mine any time."

After my parents left, it was time for Elise's 4-month check-up. She currently measures 25 1/4" tall and 14.5 lbs. She's in the 90th percentile of height and 51st percentile of weight and 49th percentile of her head circumference. So all in all she's shooting average except in her height...but we knew she'd be leggy.

The good news was that we can start transitioning Elise to food other than breast milk. It's a gradual process. She's currently starting with rice cereal mixed with breast milk. It's primarily to get her to get her off the bottle/boob eventually and accept food from the spoon. Of course, it's a messy process.

"I got a soft spoon cuz I like to nibble my noms"

"You, with the camera, I'm TRYING to eat"

"Here Mama, let me help"

All in all, a pretty good spring so far. Papa Lightnin' is trying to sell assorted stuff on eBay to fund his everlasting motorcycle transformation and Mama Beatin' is continually working on trying to help NRG.

Family Portrait (sans moustaches)

She's Got Personality

While Elise discovers more and more things in the world around her it is incredible to watch her little personality take form. It's a daily puzzle trying to figure out why she's making a noise or if she's really coughing or just realizing that she can cough. Since I have the privilege of seeing all this stuff first hand I thought I'd share some of what makes her tick for those of you who don't get to be around her all the time.

Likes:

-mommy and daddy (of course)
-kicking her legs as fast as she can
-water
-the toys that make the noise
-when Naptown wins a bout
-listening to people sing
-that other baby in the mirror
-Mr. Quackers and Mr. Mooyagi
-fake sneezes
-screeching and practicing her vowel sounds


Dislikes:

-tummy time
-bubbleguts -catching a case of "the grumps"
-being put down for a nap when she's really really tired
-barking dogs


Likes:

-naked time or as we call it "nekkies"
-cereal
-airplane with Daddy
-standing up like a big girl
-bouncing/jumping
-peekaboo
-blowing raspberries
-sucking on her fingers or her cinnamon sticks as Grandma calls them
-funny faces
-watching the horse (Drake) walk around


Dislikes:

-having her nose/face wiped
-bad calls made by refs
-getting strapped into her car seat
-Alex Trebek (possibly all Canadians)
-sun in her eyes

Video Smiles

Videography credit goes to Jeana and Mike gets editing/computer hacking skills credit.

The video was taken using Jeana's phone on video-mode, not our camcorder (this time). Sorry if the quality or size doesn't accommodate your monitor (or your eyesight).

Sometimes it's nice to see her smiles in action instead of a single shot at a hundredth of a second.

2 Months

Weight: 10lbs 15oz

Length: 24in

In the doctor's own words "you're going to have a long skinny girl on your hands". Right she is. Mama's little stringbean is long enough to be wearing 3month clothes but too skinny to wear them right so everything is just a little baggy on her. She's really started to return smiles now and I look forward to that first smile in the morning when I get her out of her crib. Yes, she's in her crib now! Technically she's sleeping 'through the night'. What that means is that she goes down between 10 and 11 and doesn't wake up to feed until 4 or 5. A Milestone for sure but 4 or 5am is not what I consider the end of my night. I can't help but hold my breath each night we get her down, waiting for that 2-3 hour sleep pattern to come back. I'm sure after some time I'll relax and get used to having our nights back.

Bathtime is getting easier now that we've figured out some tricks to keep her from fussing. She turns into 'Captain Buttcheeks' with her little hooded towels once the bath is over (see photo below of her showing off her flying form). Of course she's succommed to that common infant malady known as 'cradle cap'. Basically it's dandruff for babies and there's nothing you can do about it.

She still hasn't rolled over yet but she's getting closer. She does what I call the turtle move. She'll just be lying on her back and then thrust her legs straight up into the air followed by her arms. Then she topples over like a turtle trying to get off it's back. Her head control is getting so good so I'm sure she'll be able to roll over soon enough. She can even keep her head upright all by herself if you sit her up.

She's getting really interested in what's going on around her now too. When I'm making my oatmeal in the morning she'll watch my hand stir the water and will track it's movements as I reach for things. It's so amazing to watch her discover her world. The monkey mobile hanging over her bed has turned into a source of amusement for her when she's lying in her crib. Cooing and gurggling when she's happy are possibly the cutest noises I've ever heard.

On the flip-side, the crying meltdowns like the one she had getting her shots are so hard to go through. They really need to get a better system than the parent holding the kid down for shots because that's just plain mean. Her face turns bright red, little tears forming at the corner of her eyes, tongue almost vibrating in her mouth as she screams. Aaahhhh-enough to break a mommy's heart but a cheesy smile sure does mend it quick.

Going for a walk

The weather finally turned warm enough that we could take Elise outside for a walk! Hooray for springtime! We took the fleece off the carseat and strapped her in. Put the dog on the leash and headed out into the warm 65 degree weather we were having that day. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first...

It was kind of bright and warm and had new smells for her...

She was grateful for the cover when we turned so the sun was shining right in her face. Then we tried Daddy's sunglasses but they're just a little too big so we'll have to get her a pair of her own.

Hopefully this weather will stick around and we'll be able to retire her cute little Bear Suit she had to wear in the cold!

Hookers, Derby and Me

So this past weekend marked a new occasion in Elise's life, her first road trip. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of landmarks/monuments that I'd consider noteworthy to have her picture taken with.....unless you consider the largest Bass Pro Shop or plethora of "gentleman club" billboards.

We were all greeted at the Days Inn in Grandville, MI by a 40-something woman on the curb who eventually followed us into the hotel. While we were attempting to check-in (which was entirely too complicated for the staff), the woman proceeded to ask us about Elise and all the details. I believe she asked how old she was four or five times....in a row. She also stated that we were "old" to be having our first child since one of her daughters (age 19 and 21) have a child. Of course, we chose not to listen to much parenting advice from the noticeably-drunk woman who was hanging out casually at a Days Inn.

The hotel room was somewhat as expected. Busy carpet and comforter patterns to hide the multitude of various stains throughout the years as well as the Thomas Kincade-esque hallway art with Bible quotes underneath. We were positioned at the end of the hall as we'd only have one neighbor to bother with a crying baby. The room was frigid but we took care of that as quickly as possible.

The days of just taking a backpack for a weekend trip were over. We had a diaper bag, stroller, car seat, bouncer, pack-n-play, ice cooler (for milk), and a misc. bag for ...well... miscellaneous ....oh...and our backpacks.

I was on baby-duty since Jeana was going to be busy the next day with her coaching duties, so I slept next to the baby's crib to soothe her when she cries and change her when needed. Jeana only had to feed Elise when the time came. The morning brought the usual feeding and changing before we headed down to the lobby for the "Continental Breakfast". Luckily, other derby girls wanted to coo over Elise so we got to eat with both hands for a change.

After a short preparation for the bout (and more diaper changes and feeding) we headed down to the lobby ...where the front desk was occupied with the pending hooker/john transaction. So not all who wear short skirts and fishnets are derby girls...some are hookers.....and vice-versa. We went to Panera Bread for lunch prior to the bout which was chaos. It was packed and there were some who were just camping on their laptops in the middle of the rush taking up valuable real estate. We managed to get lunch down without incident and Elise slept the whole time.

We were reminded how some people still lack common courtesy as I held the door open for Jeana with Elise in the carrier and a younger guy kind of cuts her off and I mistakenly assume he'll hold the door as I get the next set...but it was not the case. Had I seen him eye-to-eye do this, we probably would have had words.

Bout-time for derby was upon us and the good thing about our hotel was that it was less than a mile away from the derby venue. I can't say it was a well-plotted venue but I suppose it was adequate for the crowd that they draw (which was probably 200-ish). Nothing glorious but I'm sure the skaters of NRG had to suffer through worse venues.

Elise was awesome throughout the Warning Belles bout. She went around 5 hours sleeping through the whistles, music and cheers. When the bout was over, the Belles had a victory and Elises was coming out of her deep sleep in time to be changed and fed. There was a break between the two bouts so it was the perfect amount of time to get her taken care of and re-situated. Unfortunately, NRG's Tornado Sirens didn't have the success that the Warning Belles did. There was some bad calls and bad plays but it was a hard-fought bout. After the bouts, we promptly returned to the hotel room, ordered a pizza and lulled Elise to sleep.

The return to Indy was uneventful although Elise didn't sleep quite as peaceful as on the way up. Drake was happy to see us as usual and things quickly fell back to "normal."

All in all, Elise finally got to go out of state for her first time...even if it is Michigan.

Who left a baby rink-side?

Smiling from joy or from gas? We may never know.

Stats, staches and a shot.

Elise had her 1 month checkup yesterday with Dr. Powell and we braved the elements to get there on time. Thankfully the doctor's office is just around the corner so we didn't have to drive too far on the slip and slide where the road used to be. Her new stats are officially:

Weight: 9lbs 5oz

Height: 23in

Her weight is average for her age but her height (length?) is at the top of the chart. Our little girl will not be little much longer at this rate. Given that both Mike and I are pretty tall I guess it's not a surprise that Elise will be a tower too.

After she was all measured she got the once over by the doctor to make sure her throat, ears, belly button, etc were all normal. Then came the dreaded shot. Now I'm sure that babies don't remember getting these vaccinations but when the nurse came in with that big needle I knew this wouldn't end well. I had just calmed her down from her examination and now she was about to get jabbed in the thigh by a sharp needle. Doing my best soothing voice (while holding her down) I hoped she might not notice the shot. At first I thought we were in the clear since she didn't scream right away. Then that little face...the upside down lip, the squinted eyes, and that mournful cry. I scooped her up once she got her bandage on and managed to make the tears stop. Whew, I think that was harder on me than it was on her!

Later that day we had to do something fun to make up for the drama of the morning. Mike said he wanted to draw a little mustache on her but we both knew we couldn't really do that. At the same time it dawned on us that we had a set of fake mustaches we could use! So Monday turned into Mustache Monday. Elise was a good sport, she was really curious about the appearance of a furry thing above our lips and didn't really seem to notice hers. So here are our new 'family pictures'. Enjoy!