Merry Christmas!

Wow! What a fun but chaotic month! Thankfully I have the next week off so I hope to post some more pictures and videos which are more interesting than my ramblings. Ellie turned 5 months a few weeks ago (I didn't remember on the 13th.. oops!) and she is growing cuter and TALLER by the day. She's wearing some 9 month clothes already and eating all the time. I'm excited to start veggies next month and I'm hoping they will help keep her fuller longer. She's been rolling over on a consistent basis and enjoys hanging out on her tummy more than last month. She's frustrated laying down all the time, but can't sit up yet. She'll do "baby crunches" and try to sit up from a laying down position. She likes sitting in her bumbo, but sometimes gets lazy and sloops forward to play with her feet.
The last 2 or 3 months have been filled with constant razzing sounds. Not fun when feeding cereal! Before the razzing was "ahhs and oyyys" but when she discovered the raz there was no going back. I didn't think she would ever make any other sound again, but recently discovered saying "blah blah blah" was pretty cool too. Thankfully she's been very healthy with the exception of an occasional stuffy nose that comes and goes. Christmas was really fun and busy. We had 3 parties in a row the weekend before Christmas: The Mars extended side, the Mars immediate (hosted at our house), and then the Convey extended. It was the first time my mother's side got to see Ellie, so it was very fun!
Then on Christmas Eve we traveled to the Bailey extended on the very icy roads! We slide into the oncoming traffic lane once, but thankfully no one was there! On Christmas day, we traveled one whole mile to my parents house. We did it up Bailey style with meat and cheese fondue and plenty of extras. By that point, I was pretty exhausted and even took a nap while everyone else played with Ellie. I wish I would have taken more pictures. Before my family's Christmas party, I woke up early (couldn't sleep) and made breakfast. Scott, Ellie, and I opened the presents we got for each other. I made out amazingly, as usual. I got a digital frame, Bunny Tales, the Twilight series, TIM concert tickets, BRAD concert tickets and a few other items. Ellie got a few gifts she already got, re-wrapped (yes, we're THAT bad of parents). At that point, she seemed a little sick of opening gifts anyway. Ellie gave us a nice surprise gift of a diaper blowout while we were opening gifts. Overall, we could not believe how great Ellie was at all the parties. She let everyone hold her, took her naps at scheduled times, and barely fussed! We'll see how she does next year when she's mobile. Now I'm looking forward to a nice long week of NOT WORKING, visiting with friends, maybe seeing a movie with the hubby, getting over my second cold in a row, organizing all of the endless crap around the house, and sleeping!
If you've made it through this post, you've won a prize! Yes, you may babysit Ellie at anytime. You're welcome!

3-month pics

Back in October, our friend Misty took some picture of Ellie. She did a great job capturing her adorable expressions. Maybe next time there will be some more smiles! Thanks Misty!










Oh, we can't forget ODIE

He is good for something

Turn your volume up! You don't want to miss these giggles. Whenever Ellie is at her worst, Odie to the rescue! In other news, tooth #2 poked through! She's doing pretty well and distract herself by grabbing anything and everything and pulling on my hair.

Lots of updates, not-a-lotta time

Ellie had lots of excitement last week. First....
She still loves her MOM



Second...
She got her first tooth! It poked through without a whole lot of complaining. Two days into it was another story. Non stop screaming and hand biting. I feel so bad for her.



Third...
Ellie celebrated her first Thanksgiving! She was such a good girl. She let both of her parents eat dinner without making them hold her. She chilled in her bouncy and watched her cousin play in the exersaucer. Then she took a 2 hour nap!
oops, no pics. I'm a bad Mom.

Fourth...
4-Month appointment time! She is 14 lbs, 14 oz and 26 and 1/4" This puts her in the 94% for height and 68% for weight. Which leads to

Fifth...
First attempt at rice cereal! As expected, not a whole lot landed in her mouth. And guess what? I think these pictures are adorable even though I HATE pictures of babies with food on their faces. Life as I know it has changed forever!

A week of firsts

Hello Beautiful!

This week Ellie rolled over (back to front) for the first time. She actually did this awhile ago, but it seemed to be a fluke and I think she had the aid of the bars on her activity mat. This time was hopefully for real (at daycare) and she did it again at home the same evening. She's also getting her first tooth on her bottom left side. She's been VERY drooly, but not horribly fussy. She has her 4-month appointment coming up this week before Thanksgiving.

Aren't baby bodily functions cute??

Squeaky Ellie

I haven't posted a video or anything for that matter in awhile (work has been kicking my bum). Here is a short clip of her squealing at us. She's constantly doing cute things, but they are hard to catch because she stops whenever I pull the camera out and just glares at the pretty shiny silvery square.




In other news, for the past week, Ellie has been making lots of razzing/buzzing noises. We'll even hear her make them in the middle of the night over her monitor. Soo cute, but soo drool producing. She's been very occupied by touching everything. Her favorite is her foot which she likes to hold with one hand and stroke with the other. She's making friends with Odie and laughs at him when he runs crazily all over the house. I love love love her laugh which is making more and more appearances. She's also getting ticklish, especially around her feet and neck. Sometimes I clean her neck just to hear her laugh. Here are some of our recent favorite pictures:

Happy Halloween

For her first Halloween, Ellie decided to be a giraffe! She was so cute! Last minute, Scott picked up a little devil costume for Odie. For the last 3 years, he has been a sheriff, but this year's costume is much more fitting. Every time someone came to the door, he freaked out and did his awful doggie scream which made Ellie cry for awhile. After she calmed down, someone was at the door again. It was a vicious cycle, so he ended up hanging out in his kennel until the trick or treat rush was over.

We can't believe it is already November. Ellie has been doing great at daycare. Her routine is settling down and she's been sleeping a little bit better. Now she holds her head up really well and can push up and look around while laying on her stomach. She's sooooo close to rolling over from back to front, but can't get her arm out of the way. She did it once a week ago, but it seems like it was a fluke. She's talking so much more and making buzzing sounds. She thinks it is hysterical to have her feet tickled and is especially fond of the sound "ka."

This time next year

On October 31, 2008 we thought "This time next year we'll have a 3 month old baby (God willing)." What a difference a year makes!

One year ago, I never changed a diaper. I maybe held 2 newborns for a combined time of 5 minutes. I had no idea babies need to sleep on their backs. Drool seriously grossed me out. I HATED pictures of babies with food on their face. I wondered if my baby would be scared that I don't know how to take care of him/her? What on earth do they even wear? The first trimester felt like a test I had to pass, then came the thrill of finding out the gender and then countdown to labor.

Now this is our lives! Drool is my new moisturizer and diapers are "no problem, mon." She's developing more every day. In a few months we'll see if i think pictures of Ellie with food on her face are cute. Then we'll KNOW I've completely changed.

3 months

Ellie turned 3 months old this week! She is getting to be such a big girl. She's traded in her love for the ceiling fan with her love of peek-a-boo. She smiles and laughs out loud when we make funny faces and sounds at her. Sadly, I haven't been taking too many pictures because 1. I'm too busy 2. Now she stops whatever cute she's doing to scowl at the camera. My 2nd week (but first FULL week) back to work was ok, but I'm soooo exhausted! The highlight was seeing JASON CASTRO perform in our cafe at work. Last night was my first night alone with Ellie. Scott had a sleep study at the hospital so I was on all night baby duty and she made me work for my pay. I was up with her until 1 AM and she only slept until 5 am. Tonight I'm also home alone as there was a boys poker night on the calender. I think I'm getting sick too. Booo. I am quite the disgruntled saint!

Goodbye good life

12 weeks ago, I thought my maternity leave would last forever. I clearly remember driving home on that last day of work ecstatic to meet my first born and excited for the time off. I mean, it was a whole quarter of a year! I would for sure have time to sort through drawers, organize closets, lose 40 lbs, and finally sort through those pictures from the last 10 years. Instead, I thought staring in awe at this was more worth my time!

Ellie now reaches out and looks at her own hand in awe. She's starting to put things in her mouth and interact more day by day. Sadly, she got her first cold 2 days into daycare and also stopped sleeping through the night just in time for me to really need her to sleep through the night. I am busier than ever trying to manage everything while being out of the house 50 hours per week. I have a whole new respect and heartache for working mothers! In the words of my compassionate husband "You're not the first woman to ever have to go back to work."
Peace out!

Free bad dog to good or average home

Loves diapers in the nurseryAnd bringing them out to the living room too!!!

If you're looking for a new addition to the family, search no further than Mr. Odie. He does worthless tricks including rolling over and "bang bang you're dead." He's been attempting to master worthwhile obedience for the last 3 years with minimal progress. Got bras and underwear you love? He will love them too and put them in his mouth, chewing holes with tender love and care. He enjoys hot showers, thunder storms, whining uncontrollably at other dogs, play biting people, walks, and jumping on victims no matter how old or frail. You want more? He will embarrass your pants off at the dog park as he violates any willing canine. What else could you ask for? Interested parties message me!

Welcome to Autumn in Michigan

High winds caused warnings along the lake shore in addition to these gorgeous 18 ft waves. Apparently we weren't the only people to have the idea to head to the beach. It took almost an hour to get through the line for Holland State Park, but it was worth it. Cold, dark, eerie, awesome.

ArtPrize

Sunday was a fabulous day for ArtPrize, the largest art competion in the world, held in our very back yard. The weather was perfect - mid 70s and partly sunny. I've never seen such a large crowd gathered in Grand Rapids making stroller manuvering quite the challenge. Hopefully Ellie will thank us some day for exposing her to such rich culture!