Baby's First Christmas!

11 week Christmas Baby

"oooh...what is this stuff??"

I love that face!

After all the excitement of traveling and visiting with family, our first Christmas as a family of three was pretty low-key.  On Christmas Eve we went up to the Pieroways for their annual party.  I think Ellie experienced stimuli overload because she was an unhappy girl and decided she was better off by herself in a quiet room until she fell asleep.  But Dave and I had a good time.  He found a Santa suit and put it on for everyone.  It was hilarious!  People then took turns sitting on his lap and taking pictures. 

Santa Dave

Even Nana got in on the fun!

Christmas Day was very relaxing.  We opened all of Ellie's gifts....which was insane.  That little girl has so many people who love her and gets so spoiled. 

Playing on her new TummyTime mat

Our buddy George came over for dinner and we just watched movies and hung out all day.  We didn't have a white Christmas but we did have some snow flurries.  :)

Owen and Ellie share the same birthday, 1 year apart.  He's going in for a Christmas smooch!

My chubby bunny getting a quick cleaning after one of her famous blow-outs.

Baby's First Flight! (10 weeks)

Sitting pretty at 9 weeks

We just came back from a trip to Kansas City to visit my family and to introduce Ellie Reese.  We were unsure how to prepare for her first flight but luckily it went very well!  I was sure to pack extra clothes with us but our little one decided she wanted to spit up and poop through 4 outfits!  (And that was just the flight there)  Dave was such a trooper and was right there to wisk her away to the tiny airplane bathroom and do all the changing.  All the flights were full of children so we weren't too worried about her crying.  At this age she only fusses if she's hungry or sleepy so the noise from her was minimal.  =)  Mainly, she played with dad and slept.  Thank goodness!!!!

We flew Southwest and somehow got lucky with getting the whole row to ourselves to stretch out for two of our flights. It definitely helped since the seating is first come-first serve and they let family board early. All the flight attendants were so helpful warming up her bottles and helping us get settled.  They celebrated her first flight with a certificate and her first set of wings!  That will be fun to add to her babybook and show her when she gets older. 

Waiting for our flight

Sleeping in her seat

 Once we got to her Great Grandparent's house she was the center of attention.  It was so nice to see all my family.  I briefly saw some of them a couple of years ago so it was great to spend more time with them this time. 

Aunt Brenda

Uncle Chris

Ellie and her Great Grandparents

Cousin Dana

Everyone playing with Ellie

Aunt Angie

While we were there Ellie learned to scoot in her sleep.  This girl would end up all the way at the top of her travel bassinet.  I had to pull her down to give her head more room half-way during the night just so she wouldn't wake herself up! And she is a growing girl.  At her two month appt she weighed 11 lbs 10 oz.  She's definitely over 12 lbs now and much longer than before.  Her 3 month jammies are barely fitting.  And our little girl is now eating more than ever, close to 5 ounces during the day feedings and 3-4 ounces in the morning and and right before bed.  Ellie has learned to love sleep (and mom and dad love this) and sleeps through the night now!  Our sleep training techniques have definitely worked after many weeks of trying it out.  Sometimes she wakes up looking for her pacifier but other times she finds her hand.  Not just a thumb or finger, but our silly girl tries to put the back of her hand in her mouth while sleeping!  Ha ha!  She cracks me up.  Then she usually wakes up between 6-7am, eats, falls back to sleep, and eats again between 8-10.  She's getting herself into a nice routine but we aren't expecting it to stick around since all our parent friends say it changes all the time. 

Now we are home and getting ready for some Christmas fun.  I hope everyone is doing well.  Enjoy your holidays!

2 Month Update- XOXO, Ellie

Hi All!  Can you believe I am 2 months old already?!  I'm not so thrilled about all the pictures my parents take of me and of all my "milestones" but they feed me ( a lot ) and bathe me in the tub everynight so I guess I can't complain too much.  If they give me what I want, I'll give them what they want.

So now that I'm 2 months, I'm what you call a "big girl".  Last week I weighed 11 lbs 5 oz with my clothes on.  No more newborn clothes for me.  I've already passed those on to the babies.  My mom says I'm so chunka-munka (whatever that means) that I'm almost out of 0-3 months clothes and into 3-6 months.  That's cool. 

And now that I'm 2 months old I've also found my voice.  I just love to wake up in the mornings laughing and talking.  My mom makes funny faces at me and keeps saying hi so I try to say hi back.  Here's a video of my skills:

and here's another one of me being happy:

But because I've found my voice and get all excited, I sometimes take in too much air while eating.  This leads to me getting totally gassy and then I scream because I just can't get it out.  Luckily, my dad saved us all and bought me some Colic Calm to settle my tummy.  It turns everything black (gross) but it helps.  And now I can sleep for 5-6 hours without waking up from the gas during the night time.

For fun I like to lay around on my activity mat.  It's kinda hard to swat the toys that hang down but I try my best and am starting to get them more and more.  And then we do tummy time a couple times a day.  My neck is strong already so I don't know why they make me do it, but whatever.  I also enjoy sitting on the couch and watching the light show on what my dad calls the t.v.  That's pretty cool!

Anyway, here are some pictures of me.  The next time I check in I will have to tell you all about my first flight.  I'm going to hang out with my great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Kansas City.  I can't wait!  I hope everyone is staying dry and warm.  If it gets chilly have your mom put a one-piece fleece outfit on, you know, the kind with the footies...they are the best!

Heading out and up to no good.

Lunch date with my friend Jack.  He's pretty awesome.

I love snuggling into my blankets

Ellie's Newborn Photos

We had over a hundred poses taken but here are a sample of Ellie's newborn photo session.  I love them all!

 This is one of my favorites!!!

This boat cradle was handmade by one of Dave's Coastie buddies.  I love it.