Friend or Foe?

Here is our beloved pet, Dongsoon. She is beautiful, loyal, intelligent, curious, and a very faithful companion to Remco and I. She was also in the spotlight for years and we would take her everywhere. We even bought a car in Korea solely for the purpose of taking her with us on vacation, to festivals, and summer trips to the beach. Dongsoon has been well established as our number one and before Ella arrived, she was top dog.

It seemed to me Dongsoon could sense something was changing in my life and hers. She took up a habit of sitting and staring at me intently, searchingly, when my belly started to really show. As Ella grew, Dongsoon became a bit spookey with the amount of attention she demanded and the weird things she would do, like sit and put her paw over the baby in my expanding body. Remco suspected she knew there was a baby and was making a lateral move to secure her position as the most favoured one.
Naturally, Ella became our little love, taking up all our time and Dongsoon mostly existed in the background of our lives. She was supplementary to our family and she had finally become more of our pet and less of a family member. At this point, I think she began to take an interest in the tiny, wriggling human being that had usurped her power. She would sometimes approach Ella with a simple curiousity and watch her.


Other times, Dongsoon was trepidatious and sat nervously for photos, always waiting to jump up and escape flailing limbs. Dongsoon certainly was not comfortable with the new addition. Crying always upset Dongsoon, and she would hover nervously around Ella. Sometimes, she would take one sniff and walk away.

Dongsoon began to try and assert a new role in our lives. Mostly, she tolerated Ella even when Ella was smacking her face, poking her eyes or pulling on her fur. Dongsoon's expressive eyes usually looked as though she were searching for reassurance. She needed to hear, "good dog!" and, "Dongsoon, it's okay." Some days she would bring me toy after toy in an effort to entice me to play with her. She definitely needed more attention than she was getting.

One day, Ella had become a little too familiar to Dongsoon. She grabbed her toy, putting her tiny hand over Dongsoon's mouth and for a moment Dongsoon froze. Then, she growled and tried to pull it away. It was as though she were saying, "Look, tiny human. You may be in the spotlight for the rest of your life, but THIS is MINE." Sometimes I spend the day going back and forth from saying, "Dongsoon, no!" to "Ella, no!" Both of them trying to take a toy or fetch a snack. And once in a while, they play together. Dongsoon brings her a toy and prances about the livingroom, inviting Ella to join her game. One thing is for certain: they are both captivated by the camera and when I put them in a frame, they are the best of friends, looking at me with loving devotion and behaving the best they can.

Christmas Holidays, 2009

Here is Ella in front of her grandfather's Christmas tree. After flying from Edmonton to Vancouver and then to Nanaimo, we arrived on Christmas Eve and spent six days in BC. It was not a white Christmas and we enjoyed the warmer weather in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island where it was sunny for our entire stay. Being Ella's first Christmas, we were sure to bring her red fuzzy sleeper and a present for her. We were excited about spending Christmas with my dad and my brother. Ella's grandpa was especially good with teaching her to move her legs and she really enjoyed his glasses. Oh, baby! On Christmas morning, Ella surprised us with successfully crawling for the first time. We captured it on video, but unfortunately it can't be posted here. It was a joyful and proud moment to see her crawl on her knees towards one last shiny present.



Seeing Ella meet her Uncle Steve made me incredibly happy. I think my brother was still trying to wrap his head around the idea that his baby sister has a baby. They sure look cute together. I think she captured his heart.


In a previous post called Look-Alikes, I told everyone that Ella looks like her grandpa, especially when she smiles. Here is the photo that is the proof! She definitely takes after her grandpa Reiber here and they both look adorable with their heart shaped mouths and wonderful smiles.


A few days after Christmas, we had a surprise visit with Cameron and my dad's friends, Judy and Mike. Judy brought Ella a fantastic CD of children's music she recorded and Cam took out his guitar later in the evening. Ella was a huge fan and sat mesmerized by the music and Cam's singing. She wasn't the only one! Ella loves music and she has the same fascination with the sounds when her papa plays guitar or piano. She was a great audience for Cam and he was impressed with her ability to sit still for so long (unlike his own daughter).

It's great to go home and see those people we miss and to take account of all the little things that make us into the adults we become. The lovely thing about growing up and leaving home is that I can return with a fresh perspective on my life. I can take into account those people who mean so much to me and who helped me along in my youth. As a mother, I can guide Ella through life and give her opportunities to have positive experiences. Our bi-annual trip to Golden to see our friends and their young babies is the kind of gathering I hope Ella grows to remember fondly.


We travel to Golden in the summer and for New Year's Eve. It's always busy and is a remarkably good time with friends. Now some of us have babies and when we get together there is always time to make some photos and see how they are all growing. Ella is sitting with her boyfriends and at the moment she is the only little girl in the mix of friends. It's my hope she will grow up with very healthy relationships with these boys and remain friends with them.


Ella and her little friend made a short trip around the side of the house in a retro wooden tobaggan. This is only a little bit of the fun we get up to at the beginning of the year. And what's in store next? We'll just have to wait and see.

Naps

Auntie Yvonne really does have the most comfortable lap. Ella can fall asleep in it anytime, even sitting up. It's a magic trick she must pass on to me.

Discovering Ella needs to chew on something to soothe herself to sleep was a major breakthrough with napping. Here you can see she has fallen asleep with her favourite, though unconventional, pacifiers. We tried to have Ella suck on a pacifier, but she spat it out and mostly throws it when it comes near her mouth.

This was another maiden voyage in Ella's crib. For the first few times she slept here, she did not end up in such a predicament. However, the day I tried to let her cry for a few minutes without rushing in to calm her down, I came in to find her firmly wedged between rails and fast asleep. I'm not sure how Ella could sleep in this position, but she fell asleep and I had to wake her in order to push her thighs through the rails. We bought bumpers after this incident.

It's fortunate that Ella can sleep almost anywhere. As parents believing in routine, we try to always put her in her crib when she's tired. On this day, she was laying in our warmed living room after an afternoon of Fall sun shining in our front window.
Here Ella is pictured with her Papa. She is only this big once and we always enjoy holding her, cuddling, hugging, and sleeping with our little girl. Sometimes we even take family naps.

It was much easier to put on Ella's snowsuit once she was asleep. Not only did she stay calm, she didn't wake up when I stuffed her into her suit.


Ella took a nap at Auntie Yvonne's house. I think the aroma of baking put her into a sugarplum dream. She sleeps well on her shag rug around all her cousins and the family dogs.

Baby Gathering

We try to get out at least two or three times a week and last week took us to another successful baby gathering. Since going to the New Mom's Network, we have continued to gather and discuss our babies, lives as moms, and generally have a good time together.


We were early to arrive and take a comfy seat on the play mats. It was so comfortable there and you had a great time rolling around and practicing your army crawl. You are getting good at doing an army crawl around the room, however more often than not, you move backwards. You are not the only one. Once your playmates arrived, you happily grabbed arms, shirts, ears, and played with toys



Here is Ella riding the LRT (light rail transit). This newest acquisition is a red stroller from your Aunt. It is great to take this on public transit around Edmonton because it is small, light, and folds into a small bundle. There isn't much storage, but we are happy to stroll with a small diaper bag. There are many more options than there ever has been for baby products and it could cost a small fortune. I'm lucky to have a generous sister-in-law who passes down her used items. A stroller makes it incredibly easy to get about and have adventures.

Well, it is always a joy to see babies interact. Sure, sometimes they do things that are not so gentle and sometimes they hurt each other. On the other hand, they do things like kiss each other, hug, smile at their easy games, and show us all how much fun the simple things can be.

It is a great comfort to know other moms are there for each other. In the times we spend together, alone, with each other at home, we can find things to do and Ella, always talks to me. There's value in those times. It lets me see you grow and we bond and generally have a lot of fun. It is also a comfort to know I can call another mom and tell her I'd like to go for a coffee or see a movie and have some adult conversation. The group we meet up with happens to like one another and we always have a good time. I think we all hope all our babies can grow up together and know each other well into their lives.

Look-Alike

The first comments about a baby are always about who's features can be discerned in their wrinkled, old man faces. Immediately, Ella was deemed her daddy's little girl because she looked like him. His eyes, his face; these features were so prominent that not one person could leave without commenting on their similarities. People searched for these look-alike characteristics and seemed happy to find them.

As a young girl, I would trace the veins on my mother's hard-working hands and think about how knobby her knuckles seemed on her long fingers. One day, in my late twenties, I looked down to notice my own hands were shaped just like my mother's yet age had not caused the bulging veins and my knuckles were large though not knobby. It was at this moment I realized I was happy to have her hands. She had died many years ago and as memories fade, her image faded, too. These hands were her hands, a physical trait that would be a reminder of her.



When Ella was born, first remarks were made about her long fingers and long feet. Ella will have my hands, I'm sure, and it made me glad. This is a way she can remember me and know something about her grandmother. There are other noteworthy features, too.

Ella has a brilliant smile. She smiles and all activity could stop because I am focused on her in those moments. Her smile looks like her grandfather, my dad. She has a beautiful heart-shaped mouth and it is widened and accentuated when she smiles. It is a pleasure to know she has a bit of my father's looks in her. It is a kind of legacy, a passing down to your children of their history.


As always, Remco and I are fascinated with our daughter. Most people will say Ella looks like Remco because the shape of her eyes is very obviously the same shape as her dad's eyes. Both of us are waiting to discover other features we can identify as ours in her.

It is becoming more and more clear that Ella has her own unique traits and her personality is starting to show. She is doing things with more purpose and demonstrating her own needs. No matter how much she may be a look-alike to her parents, she is going to be her own individual.

We had a house party last night. There were many people in our living room and Ella was passed from lap to lap. She handled the night really well and we were impressed with her charm. She did not cry for either one of us and mostly seemed at ease.

Ella was like a hot commodity. She couldn't stay off the laps of our friends and her smiles had many cooing and talking to her. She was remarkably chatty for the evening. She usually tires easily and does not talk as much, but she was in a good mood. Maybe she likes a good party as much as her mother.

It did occur to me she might not sleep as well since it was loud and she seemed to fight going to sleep. Our night ended up being very tolerable and both of us slept well. She really was a little trooper and didn't mind staying up a little later than her early 8pm bed time.

Sadly, we didn't take any photos of the night. We learned having a baby is fun and it is joyful. It brings smiles to the room and makes for easy conversation. Never once did we have to rescue her from someone because she was crying and it was delightful to have so many willing people ready to take her on their lap.

All in all it was a success and little Ella soaked up the attention.

Vaccinations

We decided to have Ella vaccinated against H1N1 virus. Ella is just six months old and she will be given the vaccine in two doses. Her first shot was easy and she barely cried. It was a tough decision to come to because there are small risks in vaccinating. Ultimately, the risks to not vaccinating outweighed the risks to getting the shot. Ella's safety is our priority.

The line-ups were not bad. We waited for 20 minutes and we were in the clinic quickly. The man administering the shot must have been a student because he was being instructed on how to put the needle in Ella's leg. I nearly said, "Don't hurt my baby." Ella took it like a champ and cried for a few seconds then recovered and was a cool as usual.

There was a moment when I was in the clinic wondering about the safety of being in an environment in which sick people pass through daily. It could have been more dangerous to be out in public where the virus can be transmitted easily. In any case, we are healthy and happy and we thank all those nurses for their extra work.

Both of us are relieved to know Ella will not be sick with this virus and she will be safe.