March madness

On top of having a computer that's about to crash with so many pictures and videos on it, I have been delaying my return to the blog for several weeks because of the chaos that is known as the H-1B cap in immigration-land. This month is one of the busiest times of the year for my office and it's no wonder that I was going a bit crazy trying to figure out how to manage work and Elisa around Nacho's schedule. Not helping matters is that we have been searching for a part-time babysitter for a while now without much success. I didn't think it would be so hard to find someone who wanted to pick up the odd day here and there, but I guess finding someone and finding the right someone are two different things. Luckily, we got a good referral from our friend Dan Riley, so that's helped quite a bit. And of course, grandma is always there in a pinch when you need her. My mom flew back this month for a visit just in time to experience Elisa's first cold--and what an introduction that was! Having the fitful nights with a cranky baby brought back so many bad memories of Elisa's terrible 2nd and 3rd months. It felt like post-traumatic stress, I swear! But with that now thankfully behind us, and the hope that April will bring some balmy temps, I am looking forward to what's next. We're also in the midst of an apartment search (2 bedroom, elevator building, pre-war details, if possible!) so who knows what that will bring. But I'm optimistic. Having someone who smiles at you for absolutely no reason will do that to you.

Naked time

Like all babies, Elisa loves any chance to shed some clothing. Usually if there's been a poop explosion, I need time to regroup and clean up the mess so I put her in her crib for a bit with just the new diaper on. She adores this. It helps that our apartment is 80 degrees in the winter thanks to over-active radiators we can't control. So, here she is in all her naked-baby glory. I walked back in to find her up on her knees, but as you can see she clearly lost her momentum towards crawling. Oh well. In time...in time.

Chillin' in her crib

Lucky for us, Elisa likes her crib--and not just for sleeping. Lately, she has been spending a little extra time in it in the mornings while she babbles to herself. And sometimes, I put her in it while I am running around the apartment just to give her some down time before a nap or bedtime. Here she is relaxing after a late nap.

Chewbacca

Elisa just had her 6 month check-up and all went well. She now measures 27 1/2 inches long (95th percentile) and weighs exactly 17 lbs. (50-75th percentile). The doctor felt around for some teeth, but as I suspected, there weren't any yet. Of course the signs of teething are all there. She drools incessantly, bites on everything within reach and simultaneously laughs and cries when chewing on her favorite toys. But so far, there's nothing to clank her metal spoon on.