Time Goes By...

Yes it has been a while since I have updated Elizabeth's blog. I can tell you that it is not for lack of activity around these parts. And, I am often writing the blog in my head as the days go on--the problem is I keep wanting to add the photos after they have been retouched and to spend a little more time on my prose. And then, alas, life gets in the way and time runs out. I am reminded of the thought about a thousand good intentions are worth less than one small act. So, while there is lots more to say and in all likelihood I could do it more eloquently had I more time--I will do my best and at the very least, I will post something a little more often.

Also, I realized that Elizabeth has been home for about a year and a half now--so it is high time we started a new blog since we are past the Journey TO Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's new blog is:

journeywithElizabeth.blogspot.com

Just type in the above url and she should be there. See you there!


Oh, and thank you for sharing this amazing journey with us--it wouldn't be the same without you.

Elizabeth's Salon

So, Elizabeth has a new hobby--"doing hair". She is now in love with brushing and styling other people's hair. She is so cute when she does it--and she takes it VERY seriously.

Here she is with Sandra, making certain that Sandra has the perfect "do". Funny thing is that Sandra's hair always looks perfect--until Elizabeth gets her hands on it. And luckily Sandra is so patient because Elizbeth could spend an hour on your hair if you let her. She is also learning that pulling on a client's hair as part of the styling process will not increase her following.








It is also funny when Elizabeth is finished with her coiffure she usually comes around and looks at you as if she is assessing her work--and she often makes adjustments. I wasn't able to get a photo of that but it is funny when she does it.



And,here you can see just one of the reasons that Elizabeth is thrilled with Sandra. I may have mentioned this before, but pretty much the minute Sandra shows up she blows me a kiss and says, "bye bye mama"--even if I am not going anywhere. It is her polite way of saying, "get lost".

E and E

Last weekend we were lucky enough to have Erica come visit us. Just so you know, Erica and I have been friends for 38 years!!! (Yes, we met in the maternity ward on the day we were born--how did you know?)--cough cough.

Elizabeth adored Erica (how could she not?) and even managed to say her three syllable name "Ettata"--or something like that. We were sorry that Jonathan and Mark and Grandma Barbara couldn't be here. We are hoping to see them next time for sure!

Elizabeth had fun running around Fashion Island with Erica and mama. We took her to a pretty nice Italian Restaurant and she managed to behave "almost" all the way through lunch. Neiman Marcus was another story. NM store is designed so that in order to get to the restroom one must walk through the designer dress section. It was an unanticipated and unfortunate event when Elizabeth ran into a Gucci silk dress and decided it looked like a napkin. No joke.



I wish that I had gotten to take more photos when Erica was here--but the time went so fast and we were having such a good time that many photo opps got by me.



Elizabeth was so eager to hang around with Erica and she made sure to bring Erica her shoes and coat each time we went out. She has also evolved into wanting to be "helpful". Here she is "helping" Erica with her jacket.



Okay, so if you are wondering if Elizabeth took to Erica. Well, here you have it.



So did Elizabeth enjoy having Erica around? Take a look at this and tell me what you think.


And you wonder why Elizabeth woke up look for "Etata"?

Happy St. Patrick's Day-Then and Now

Here are two photos of Elizabeth on St. Patrick's Day! The first photo was taken today and the last photo was taken one year ago today. I was happy to see that I still had the same outfit she wore last year and I was actually quite surprised that it still fit her--albeit a little on the snug side. Funny how she was so chubby at 16 months old that I had to get her 24 month clothing--and now it isn't as small as I would have thought it would be on her a year later.

And--Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Toothbrushing with Bodhi

Here is a little video of Elizabeth brushing her teeth (well, sort of). You can also see her relationship with Bodhi--which one might say is "slightly strained".

Mandarin Class

On Saturdays, Elizabeth heads off to the Lango school in Irvine with her buddy Mei Mei to learn Mandarin. She has a blast with the teacher and her well devised techniques of teaching--she makes it fun.

So, has Elizabeth learned any Mandarin? Well, in four weeks so far, I don't think so. But, the important thing is that she is getting an ear for the language--as am I. I don't really plan on having her do too much studying of the language until she gets English under her belt. After that I would love it if she and I could learn at least enough to find a few restaurants and bathrooms in China. Marty hasn't expressed much interest and thinks I am a little crazy--but just wait until Elizabeth and I start becoming fluent. (and what century might that be?).






And here are a couple of photos of E posing in her glasses..

Raincoat and Moon

I really like this first photo of Elizabeth and dada. And, like a lot of things in life,it turned out pretty well--however unplanned. It was drizzling on Wed. and Elizabeth and I were suffering from cabin fever owing to our mutual colds so I dressed her in her fancy new doggy raincoat (which is actually 2 sizes too big but who is counting?) and we went out for a little stroll. Suddenly Marty appeared and when I saw that they were perfectly color coordinated I ran for the camera.

You also see her enjoying her little cart from Aunt Holly--oh she loves that little cart and it manages to keep her on the straight and narrow when we take our walks.















Here she is looking up and pointing at the moon, exclaiming in excitement--"moon".




A view of the back of Elizabeth's doggy raincoat

Uma and Umpa

These photos are from last month when Elizabeth took grandpa (umpa as she calls him) out to lunch for his birthday. We were lucky enough to have Sandra and Auntie LaLa join us and we had a really nice time. Of course Elizabeth always has fun with Uma and Umpa--whom she gets to see all the time-as I mentioned before they are part of the mutual admiration society.





If you are wondering if Elizabeth loves Grandma...all I will say is that a picture is worth a thousand words in this case..




here she is giving Grandpa his birthday card.

Hi-tech Baby

Here is Elizabeth working on the laptop. She is VERY interested in computers as you may gather from the photos. We are not allowed to work on our computer while Elizabeth in the vicinity--unless of course we are willing to let her take control of the computer.





Here she is at the Apple store, trying out a few Macs.



And the nintendo addiction is the funniest thing. One day she made this motion as if she was writing with a pen--and then we realized she was mimicking the nintendo pointer action --she then headed over to the kitchen and pulled the nintendo out of the drawer and wouldn't you know it--she can play the darn thing!

Glasses

On Monday we took Elizabeth back up to L.A. for her follow up visit with Dr. R who did her surgery in December. As it turns out she may have to wear glasses for a little while.

Elizabeth's case is what he calls "borderline" in terms of needing another surgery. Her correction needs were not that significant to begin with--which made the surgery that much more tricky. Dr. R did not want to adjust the muscle too much and over correct the problem. Therefore, he was conservative with the initial surgery--as he explained to us from the beginning. As it turns out Elizabeth's eyes are still a tiny bit "off" in terms of working together.

The doctor is recommending a conservative course for now--which includes having Elizabeth wear glasses. We also still need to patch her eye for a few hours a day. We will do this for two months and see if it makes the correction she needs.

In the meantime, she looks pretty darn cute in her Cinderella frame glasses. I will have to snag a picture of her when the glasses go into their "sunglass" mode--she looks very Hollywood when they turn dark in the sun.

She wore them all day on Tuesday but we have to take the glasses in today for some adjusting. Hopefully she will continue to be as happy to wear them as she was on Tuesday.

And, the good news is that her vision has vastly improved from the surgery and we are going to do as much as possible to make sure she qualifies for a pilot's license when time time comes.

Elizabeth and her Dog Friend

I may or may not have mentioned that Elizabeth is quite fond of doggies. In fact "dog" was one of her first words. She would scream out "dawwwww" everytime a dog would pass us by. Of course early on she thought every animal including chickens were dogs but I am happy to say she has learned to differentiate.

This dog was outside the Mexican restaurant in San Clemente...and as you may have guessed he is 100% not real. I think she understands that--but who knows.

Elizabeth and La La

Last weekend cousin Laura (Aunt LaLa to Elizabeth) came to visit and as you might imagine--Elizabeth was thrilled. We managed to tour a lot of Newport Beach and found ourselves at a few of Elizabeth's favorite eateries--and a new one or two.

We took a nice drive down to San Clemente and Elizabeth was such a good girl. We were sorry that Aunt Re couldn't be here--last year when Ann Marie was here, Elizabeth learned her classic "Ann Marie face"--which is her wide eyed open mouth exclamation look.







Here she is at the Cannery-- a nice restaurant in Newport Beach. She is pretty darn good in restaurants (knock on wood). Heck, she should be--she has been eating a good percentage of her meals at them since she was 10 months old. Our first two weeks with her in China we were eating in restaurants for all of her meals.



We visited Avila el Ranchito's down in San Clemente and Elizabeth had just a good a time there as she did at the fancier Cannery restaurant--as you can see here.


Yeah, Elizabeth likes to eat, and she likes the good stuff. Laura was amazed when Elizabeth turned down the french fries and chicken nuggets kids meal and went right for the guacamole and Mexican rice. She's not big on french fries anymore--I guess that was a phase. Her new phase is buttered noodles. She will eat them anytime, day or night--the more butter the better.





Here she is with mama.




Elizabeth makes this face fairly often to express displeasure. I think she gets her point across pretty well.




Here she is with the car keys. She has learned that if you point and click the key at the car you can open it up. She hasn't quite figured out yet that it doesn't work on every car. Although the other day she did actually help me by pressing the key and locking our car while my hands were full.

I think about all the technologies that have come about just since I was a kid and I wonder how that affects how kids see the world. Things like pointing at things and they magically open, and then there is the whole DVR "Tivo" effect--you can fast forward, rewind and pause things at will. The other day on the playground I noticed a kid yelling at another kid, "pause!!!". I think in my day we would have screamed "stop!".


Here is Elizabeth standing outside the house. She looks like such a "big girl" to me now.