Welcome to Elie's Blog!

It was suggested that since not all of Elison's family is on FaceBook, or has an iCloud account, that we should post a blog with photos, videos and information about what is going on with Elie, and how she grows. These early years are probably the most dynamic, after all. We've seen so many changes this past year!!

Elie one day old

Elie just a couple weeks old

About a week old

She was born (as many of you know) on December, 09, 2012, at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, PA. She was 6.6 pounds, and 19" long. She had a very distinctive cry that we could hear as the nurse on duty would wheel her down from the nursery to our hospital room. If she was hungry, you knew it. If she was wet, you knew it. From the moment of her discomfort to the moment it ended, she was shrieking like a banshee! But when she was fine, she was just happy as a little clam. The nurses used to say that she went from zero to sixty in no-time flat!

Auntie Sharlene with new born Elie

Right when she was put into my arms (after I came out of my anesthetic stupor,) I was in love. Her little round face, her perfectly formed little hands with their long fingers, her tiny, curled toes, stormy eyes, and sparse chestnut hair all wrapped around my heart and gave a big squeeze! Her hair soon fell out and was replaced with downy, blond strands that she would rub off in her crib, or pull out with her tiny fists until she was at least 9 months old. It's finally (at 14 months) growing in nicely. Her eyes have remained a blue/gray, like her Grandpa Bill. She has the long, curly eyelashes of her daddy. She has her momma's slightly contrary nature, ha ha. She loves what she shouldn't have, and has even developed a taste for spicy, tart and bitter flavors already! Just like her mom! Though, when her mom was her age, she would barely eat anything. (I was so picky it drove MY mom nuts.)

After having dragged the box over herself, she sits & reads

Eating some of my cottage cheese with cayenne pepper

She loves the cats (Jimothy Boo most especially) and calls all cats "Jeh-jeh" which also means "Big Sister" in Mandarin. It's weird, since we never called Jimothy that... Jimmy, or J Boo, but not Jay-Jay. So she came up with that moniker on her own. Then she associated ALL cats as "Jeh-jeh"s. She says, "Hop hop!" when she sees bunnies... and "oof oof" when she sees dogs. In person, however, she's a bit leery of the energetic enthusiasm of most dogs. She's only really comfortable around them after they've calmed down. She's used to cats. Strange, since I grew up only with dogs and was never a cat person as a child. My best friend still finds it odd that I have two cats! She also knows that horses make a raspberry kind of sound with their lips, and that we blow kisses and wave when people leave or we say goodbye on Skype. She's picked up a lot these past couple months!

This girl definitely loves to push boundaries... she's been learning to climb everything she can pull herself up onto. She climbs onto the end tables to get onto the sofa, and then across the sofa, back down to the floor. She tries to climb onto the ottoman in the living room, but so far hasn't been able to. She's like Curious George, her favorite monkey (which she calls, "AAH AAH!!" because that's the sound monkeys make.) She has a lot of curiosity, and gets into all kinds of trouble when you're not watching. As all parents know, it's the quiet moments you need to be wary of!

We'll save more for later.... there's ALWAYS more with Elie. I'll bid you all good day, and hope you're warm and dry, wherever you are!