SO Big!

Now I can actually spill the beans....

Always trying to out-do Nate, I helped to organize a surprise "birthday" visit by Nate's parents to Stuttgart. The Friday before his birthday they flew into Stuttgart while he was at work. When he came home that afternoon he was utterly surprised to find that his dear parents were sleeping in just the next room. I still can't believe that we fooled him!

We had the most wonderful ten or so days together. It was so nice having family here over Easter... and in addition to that, we took a three day trip to Switzerland. I have posted the pictures on My Photo Gallery. Go ahead and take a look if you'd like to see what we were up to.

So now things are back to normal around our house. Elena is just growing like a weed. She is saying more and more things, and really seems to be learning at lightning speed. One of my current faves is her ability to saw "owl" and hoot like one. She still can't meow like a cat, but she can certainly imitate an owl!

Most of my days are spent trying to keep up with my little monster. She is very head strong, strong willed, whatever you want to call it. A few days ago she got mad at me and scratched my face hard enough to draw blood. I suppose that was partly our fault for not keeping her nails short enough, but I am wondering if any of the Moms out there reading my blog have advice for babies with a temper! I can only imagine when she gets older!!! I'm also afraid that if she gets mad at another child she will take to biting and pinching/scratching like she does to me.

So far I've just been telling her a very firm "NO" and holding back her arms/mouth. She usually starts crying, but I hold her until she settles down. Or, I'll put her in the crib for a time-out. She'll usually lay down quietly for about 15 minutes and then "wakeup" a totally different child.

Anyhow, just venting a bit.... normally my baby is so sweet and cute. I just want her to stay that way!!!