Two Weeks and Growing!

Elise will be passing her two-week benchmark later today. She's been quite a vibrant character, letting us know she is there with her little lioness growls which we get to hear on regular basis. She's also been grinning, getting to know her hands and feet, and enjoys studying the tapestries, fish and foliage around her home. Her sleeping/feeding/waking schedule seems like it is gaining some regularity, which is nice - we generally get to sleep for some solid 1 or 2 hour stretches, which make the parental duties bearable.

This past Wednesday we took Elise out on her first walk around the block in her stroller , though she kind of missed out on that adventure (as she was quite sleepy when finally strapped in and settled). On Thursday her new "little" sun hat arrived (its pretty much umbrella sized relative to her), so when she was finally in her wide awake state, we covered up her little dome and brought her out to the garden for a little outdoor exloration. I'm not sure if she noticed the hummingbirds at the feeder, daffodils or spring seedlings, but she was certainly intrigued by the change in atmosphere and looked like she enjoyed herself.

Lots of our UCSB friends have been asking about Elise and giving us compliments on her cuteness. Unfortunately, because we are a bit secluded from the campus community --living out here in the valley-- hardly anyone has gotten the oppotunity to meet and greet her yet. Next weekend her daddy is going to be busy with a two day Hokkaido/UCSB conference, so we are planning on trying to find some time to socialize our little babe the following weekend - when she will be 1 month old. It should be interesting to see how she reacts to the different psychologist and anthropologist characters that make up our academic community of friends...