The Eila Monster

Eila has a little sis'!

2010-11-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been awhile. Updating this blog with the first post since July of '09. Ouch! With that guilt out of the way, we should announce that Eila has welcomed a new little sister into this world — say hello to Vivien Royce Gilkison. Affectionately and ironically dubbed "Bubble Popper" by the same loving big sister.

Eila and Junie

2009-07-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sleepy One

2009-07-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

My Joy

2009-07-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's Been a Long Time Comin'

2009-07-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

Like a Weed

2008-10-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Our little boo is growing like one

2008-09-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

Eila's first "up-do"

Girl.....You'll Be A Woman Soon

2008-07-10T13:16:00.001-07:00

Our baby is no longer really a baby anymore. She is walking, talking (a few words anyway), climbing and fake crying. In other words, our little girl is entering into full blown toddlerhood.

Happy 1st Birthday Eila!!

Our Retro Rocket rabble-rouser.

Loretta Lynn at an all you can eat spaghetti buffet.

An afternoon with Bodhi - or as we like to call him in drag, 'Bodhetta Lynn'

My porch monkey (is that P.C.?)

Hangin' out with June June and Mama in Freddy's Club House.

Eila wouldn't be a part of any club that would have her as a member.

Happy First Birthday Little E!!!

2008-05-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

2008-05-08T15:33:00.001-07:00

Mornings Without Dada....

2008-04-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

leave us feeling like this.......

and like this......

A New Slew of Eila Boo

2008-02-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

Trying to play catch up with a few photos. Off we go!

Naked baby jail. Apparently, it's a lot more fun than you'd think.

Now, if we could just get her to actually do the dishes.

Hair by Hershey's Kiss.

Ah, the joy of bubbles.

"Emotionally, I'm a fragile flower."

"What's that you say, my tiara is crooked? Off with your head!"

A Southern Belle Vampire: "I vant to suck your blood, y'all!"

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Double Aught Eight!!

2008-01-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas with our little Eila Clause was spent in the Piney Woods of Bastrop in rustic cabins built by the post-depression era Civilian Conservation Corp.

We had a fabulous time and it was wild to imagine that just a year ago Eila was still a little manatee in my belly and we spoke about what her first Christmas "on the outside" would be like. And now here she is...........all full of Elfin Magic!!

The New Year brought big changes in our house. After many nights of co-sleeping with Eila babbling at all hours of the night we decided it was finally time for her own room. What was formerly my yoga room is now Eila's room. Here are the highlights:

Chinese paper parasols on the ceiling.

Ethan Azarian painting from 2002.

'Little Black Children in the Sunshine ' painting from Art From the Streets which showcases homeless artists.

A clay peacock painting brought back from India by a yoga student.

The entire collection of Sweet Pickles books on the bookshelf (shelved between the venerable Buddhas of course).

Blue curtains made by Nana. And of course, the little Eila Bu herself.

Honestly, I miss having her sweet little self next to me while I sleep, but now - we're all getting much more it.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2007-12-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

Eila likes to wear her legwarmers to practice yoga in too. I can't wait 'till we can watch Flashdance together and I can reminisce about the 80's.

One little, two little, three little Indians...

2007-12-02T08:09:00.001-08:00

One little, two little, three little Nakeds...

One little, two little, three little Kimonos...

My Favorite Things

2007-11-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

Shiny Stuff

Mommy has already started adorning me with sparkly things

More Shiny Stuff

Eila and Gus met up at the Blanton Museum and worshipped in a temple of thousands of shiny pennies.

Eating Grass

Grazing in the front yard

Birthday Presents

Half year birthday scored some wooden blocks, a wind up swimmer for the bath and a sock monkey. Thanks Daddy for remembering.

And there were Three in the Family

2007-11-18T09:08:00.000-08:00

And that's a magic number!!

Love That Little Fanny Redux

2007-11-18T09:06:00.001-08:00

We're just sayin'....
Can't get enough of that little fanny.

The Great Cat Burglar of French Place

2007-11-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Eila's first Halloween as the Great Cat Burglar of French Place.

She looks like she's seen a ghost.

Ready for our first cat burglar caper. Watch your candy.

"Now that I've got the candy, where can I score some teeth?"

At the Cabin and More

2007-10-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

So, we went to a cabin in Batrop for a little R&R last weekend. Didn't quite end up the way we planned. But before Eila got sick we did somehow managed to take it pretty easy. Needless to say, like her mama, she loves the hot tub.

We love that little fanny.

I love my girls. (Or, hey wait, is that my wife with a pint-sized longshoreman?)

At home in the back yard.

On the porch.

Up from a nap and ready to go.

Eila Sky Lama says: "We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves."

Kickin' it in the Lazy Girl Chair.

Me so tough!

Well, almost everything.

Afternoons at the San Jose

2007-09-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Eila loves happy hour with her friends June and Gus at the Hotel San Jose every Thursday afternoon.

These two are quite the it girls aren't they?

Gus and lovely mama Leslie

Irie Mon

Any resemblance?

Big Mama Mini Mama

Our Little Sack o' Taters

2007-08-27T13:02:00.001-07:00

Our little girl gets a new suit.

Teethin', Partyin' and Book Learnin'

2007-08-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

I guess we're up for a bad parent stoning. Apparently giving an infant strawberries can lead to rashes and allergic reactions. We didn't know that at the time when Eila started teething, word was we should put frozen fruit in the little teething chew to ease pain. We did, strawberries no less. Fortunately Eila suffered no harm. Perhaps that's because all she really got was juice on her face.

Now that we know straberries are a bad idea, this is the only one Eila will see until she's a year old.

Chillin' during Auntie Amy's gradiation party at Auntie Shonna's.

Not sure why, but the boys just haven't seemed to take to Eila much.

Now, I'm not saying Eila's smart, advanced beyond her 3 1/2 months, or that she'll definitely be a reader one day, but for right now, the kid certainly likes story time.

The Seven Faces of Eila Sky

2007-08-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

All these shots were taken in a span of about 2 mintues. This is a cycle which fairly closely repeats itself several times throughout the day — culminating in a face that lets us know it's just about naptime.

Bumbo, IceBat and Other Hairy Situations.

2007-08-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's been two weeks since we last posted some photos. But believe us, it's not because we haven't been taking them — we simply haven't found the time to get them up. This load of pics should get us caught up. And away we go...

I gotsa new Bumbo chair!

Eila kickin' it with her new best friend and Ugly Doll: "IceBat."

PIECE O' ME?!

Tastes like chicken!

Given Eila's love for water, this is a picture we're getting used to around here.

The tune James Brown should have done: "Mama's Got a Brand New Wrap."

Hey Eila, want to be Momo for Halloween?

Is that a "no"?

A Summer Time Nursery Rhyme

2007-07-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about how infants like the pattern, repetition and rhyme of words in music. Well, when Eila and Daddy were driving home Friday night from Momo's and Nana's house, we decided that instead of singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider," we'd write our own nursery rhyme for the summer time. Eila helped sing our spontaneous creation all the way home by chiming in with "goohs" and "gaahs."

Here's the nursery rhyme.

Little Bitty Froggy (If you sing this to the rhythm of the "Now I know my A-B-C's..." you might get it.)

Little bitty froggy lived out on the boggy
in a liquid world where it’s really foggy
she tried to jump up on a great big loggy
but she bumped her head and it left her groggy
little bitty froggy fell back in the boggy
deep into the water and now she’s soggy.

Tee-hee. Something tells me that's going to be sung a lot around here. For our own little froggy, with summer beginning to heat up, we put an inflatable pool with a canopy out back. Eila went for her first dip the other day, with mixed reviews. She loves the water, but as you can see from her reactions, this water was a bit too cold. Perhaps a few days in the sun and it'll be just right.

Eila's first 4th.

2007-07-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night, July 4th, at around 9 p.m., Eila was on the bed and just about asleep. Jenny and I were waffling about dragging her outside to see the Austin's fireworks show from our street. In the end, we got motivated, and decided to do it. We didn't know how she'd respond, but we knew we'd never get another chance to let her see fireworks when at the age of 2 months. So we picked her up, and headed outside, and were glad we did. Surprisingly, she loved it! She watched the entire show, only occasionally looking around at the people nearby. It was definitely a memorable experience. The only time Eila cried was when the fireworks stopped. Go figure.

Ready for the show!

Here's our view of the fireworks display. Much closer, and more impressive than this appears.

Daddy gets out from behind the camera to give mom's arms a break from the heavy — and getting heavier — lifting.

Our neighbor and friend, Ashley, gets in on the Eila action.

This picture has nothing to do with the 4th of July, but it makes us laugh. "Really, mom? Wow!"

Can newborns be spoiled?

2007-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

They say not. But massage twice daily sure seems indulgent.

(But wait until she sees the bill!)

Blow Out!

2007-07-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Daddy draws diaper duty.

And this one's a major blowout.

The Many Incarnations of Eila

2007-07-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

Little Hipster

Divine Goddess

Diva Baby

Tiny Elvis

Momo, Nana, and Chance, oh my!

2007-06-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

It was a big Saturday at Momo's and Nana's house. Even "The Chancenator" finally got into the action.

Note: Because Nana was busy manning the camera, this photo is from a couple weeks ago.

Mmmmm, Silky.

2007-06-30T15:49:00.001-07:00

Why do I, Eila Sky, love silk? Let me count the ways...

Because silk puts me at the height of fashion, grabbing attention when I enter a room.

Silk makes me contemplative as I prepare for life's little ups and downs.

Silk fills me with an astonishing sense of wonder and awe.

Can I speak honeslty? Nothing feels so good as silk against my skin when I'm passing gas.

Silk make me feel like I belong on the cover of Baby Vogue.

But mostly I love silk, especially green Thai silk, because it makes me scream..."Aieeeeeee!"

Soaky Soaky

2007-06-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

When Eila was still inside of me, I'd soak in the bath every morning, splash water over my giant belly and sing to her. It was hard to imagine then how much fun it would be to continue the ritual once she was out. And now here she is live and in person. Good times.

~ Jenn

Eila Sky Lullaby

2007-06-27T12:44:00.001-07:00

The first week we were home with Eila, there was plenty of crying and rocking to get her to sleep. So, in hopes of helping her sleep — and since I don't know many traditional lullabies — I wrote a lullaby that I sang to her. She's a bit over 7 weeks old now, the crying has calmed and is predictable based on her immediate needs and the time of day. But there's still quite a bit of rocking happening. When I'm alone, I still sing the lullaby to her hoping she'll remember it one day, when she's much older, and know that her daddy sang to her as he stared at her with love in his heart and rocked her to sleep.

Like to hear it? Here it goes...

Flip-flops and raindrops
Raw sugar in my coffee

Snowcones, no telephones
Summer time and ice cream

These are the things I love
But none more than my
Little girl

Eila Sky
Eila Sky
Oh what a sweetie pie
Eila Sky
Eila Sky
My what a beauty my
Eila Sky
Eila Sky
Let your tiny spirit
Fly high

Rocking chairs and county fairs
The way your mama loves and cares

Slow meals and baseball fields
The cool air that fall yields

These are the things I love
But none more than my
Little girl

Eila Sky
Eila Sky
Oh what a sweetie pie
Eila Sky
Eila Sky
My what a beauty my
Eila Sky
Eila Sky
Let your tiny spirit
Fly high

Ode to Eila.

2007-06-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

There was little girl

she had a little curl

right in the middle of her forehead

when she was good

she was very very good

and when she was bad she was horrid.

Superbaby Meets KryptoPaci.

2007-06-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

Mild-mannered Eila Sky takes her first crime-fighting spin as Superbaby!

Superbaby's sidekick, Wondermommy, enters the picture providing heroic support.

After leaping fluffy goosedown pillows in a single bound, Superbaby engages in direct combat with her greatest nemesis: Kryptonite Pacifier.

KryptoPaci begins to take his toll on Superbaby.

POW! BOOM! SPLAT!

ZZZzzzzzz. Rest assured, KryptoPaci, you haven't seen the last of Superbaby.

The magic of three.

2007-06-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.

The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number.

A man and a woman had a little baby,
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family,
And that's a magic number.

Family in da house.

2007-06-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

The grandmothers (Momo and Nana) and Auntie Amy get a little Eila time...

Competition eating.

2007-06-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

Want to see what a little baby's belly looks like when it's full with milk? Looks like she was in a hotdog eating contest...and won.

Six weeks old.

2007-06-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

6 weeks old today and 11 lbs. Our little chunk of love.

Summer is a comer.

2007-06-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Eila and I are both getting ourselves bikini ready to spend the dog days of summer at the pool.

Father's Day 2007

2007-06-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

Dan, here, papa to the new little Eila smurf. I woke this morning to the sounds of Eila smacking her lips as though there was a blob of peanut butter stuck to the roof of her mouth. I realized then it is indeed daddy day. This following picture was part of my Father's Day surprise that Jenny and Eila put together.

So what's my favorite thing so far about being a daddy? Probably her "new baby" smell, her gas-induced smiles, and these little piggys that somehow went to market...

One thing I've quickly learned to relinquish is the concept of control. How's the saying go: "If you want to make God laugh, make a plan." It certainly holds true in the case of first-time parents of a new munchkin. Control is a concept better left to my relationship with air conditioning thermostats and the cruise feature on my Volvo. Still, there is a relationship here, and quite often, in between the unknowable reasons for short-lived temper tantrums, our relationship is a magical one.

Another incredibly valuable lesson is this: The simplest things about your own baby can make you laugh to the point of tears — and those times make even the small, previously challenging moments worthwhile. Sweet, sweet dreams.

The First Post

2007-06-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here it is...the first installment of The Eila Monster blog. When Dan and I decided to name our little bambina Eila, we, as most parents will, went through every possible schoolyard permutation of the name to try and eliminate the potential for childhood taunting. The Eila Monster, as in Gila Monster, the gaint lizard native to the Southwestern United States, was the only thing we could come up with. And so it stuck. Our hope is "Eila Monster" will be a playful name and not a reflection of her personality!

Now our little Eila Monster is almost six weeks old and she is a handful. Four handfuls really. Being mommy and daddy to this little one is like spinning plates -- as all parents surely discover with their own progeny. Dan and I have been reduced to mush by a lovely little 10 lb girl. She has a fiery spirit, a strong will and cries like a bobcat when she wants, or doesn't want something. But then, that's how she came out. Screaming.

Here she is at 10 minutes old. Mad as hell, and not gonna take it anymore.

She loves bath time, coconut oil massage and rubber ducks.

Her favorite food is breastmilk. No, that's not a "lazy eye," she's just drunk on milk.

And her favorite pastime is sucking on Daddy's pinky. At this point we've gone from wanting to avoid a pacifier altogether to now trying to train her to suck on a pacifier lest we both become crippled with carpal tunnel syndrome.

It's amazing watching her change everyday. 6 weeks ago she looked like this:

And now, here she is today.