So in LOVE....

What an absolute joy being a momma has been so far.  Dave and I were talking about how fast you get to learn your newborn once you are home with her.  It's been so much fun!  Not only am I in love with our Ellie but with the daddy Dave has become.  It's so amazing watching him with her.  He took on the role without any qualms and has been an incredible help around the house and with her while he's been on paternity leave the last 17 days.

Today is his first day back to work so now it's just the little nugget and I for the next 3 months.  I'm so grateful that she is a good eater and sleeper throughout the day.  She's starting to get a little feisty if she goes too long without eating....but so do I!  And she's so alert.  She just stares around her surroundings with those big dark eyes.  I just stare at her doing this and forget that I can put her down in her travel bassinet or in the swing.  The car seat = LOVE!  Once she's in that thing she's out.  We've already ventured out quite a bit doing some shopping and going out to eat.  Luckily, she's never fussed while in the car seat while we've been out in public. 

I know you other moms are thinking, "oh, just you wait...".  And I'm sure that I will get my share of all-out tantrums and screaming fits as she gets older.  But for now, I'll take my angel baby and relish in it.  =)

We also had our newborn photo session.  There was lots of pee and poop on me, the photographer, and the props but it was so fun to watch all the fun pictures being captured during our 2.5 hour session at home.  I can't say more great things about our photographer.  For all you MASS folks, if you are looking for a photographer for family, baby, birthday, etc occasions please consider Ashleigh-Faye Photography.  She is amazing and so, so easy to work with.  I will post those pictures once they are all edited.

Here are some pictures of Ellie over the last week or so.

watch out world!

Ellie hanging out with her girlfriend Bella

daddy daughter time at the pediatricians office

She loves baths

Dave being silly with his girl

trying out her boat cradle

love this face!!!!!





 There are so many more babies about to make their debut!  Good luck to Beth, Tamika, Monica, and Bobbie!  Can't wait to see all your beauties.  Have a great week everyone!

Introducing: Miss Ellie Reese Edelson!

Our baby girl has finally arrived and we couldn't be happier! We welcomed our sweet baby girl into the world on October 8, 2011, 5 days before her due date. She made her grand entrance at 8:12am weighing 6 lb 13.4 oz and was 19.5 inches long. She has the most beautiful head full of dark hair and my toes :).

The whole experience was surreal and emotional for the both of us. We had an incredible team of doctors and nurses that made everything go smoothly and were a huge source of information for us newbie parents. Dave was a terrific coach, or "drill seargent" as he was teasingly called. I'm so thankful to have him as my husband and Ellie's daddy.



Waiting for her arrival...wishing I could walk around.



The first moment we laid eyes on her we were absolutely in love. I've always heard moms talking about this level of love they never knew existed. And now I'm a part of that club! She's perfect in every way.

Proud Dad

Proud Mom

First visit with Dr. Cayton

First bath

Visiting with Dave and Lisa

I love cuddling with this little Elle-bug

Getting ready to go home

Car ride home!  Yay!!

Now we are at home and enjoying our Elle-bug. We find ourselves just staring at her and getting a kick out of her sweet sounds and funny faces that she makes. She has taken to breast feeding very well. After a big feeding she takes long naps which is a saving grace to mom :). We hope you enjoy these pictures of our girl. Beware: there will be a lot of these coming....we just can't stop taking pictures of her!

Heading out to run an errand.  She loves the car seat!

First bath at home

 First family pic at home

Momma Pieroway and Jess come to visit!

Bundled up in the car seat



Going for a walk

39 Weeks- It's Go Time!

Getting ready for Halloween  : )    39 Weeks!!!

We thought we'd have a little fun with this belly while we still have it around so Dave and I decided to paint my belly for Halloween.  These are the only bare belly shots we have, and I'm alright with that!  And since the Ellie belly is in costume, we thought we'd put Niko in his too!

Our little pirate

He doesn't look too amused with the cap on his head  :)

This will be the last blog before our little Ellie Reese arrives! It's so exciting but is a little scary at the same time.

The last few days have been kinda crazy. I had a routine appt on Tuesday that revealed my blood pressure was a bit elevated. So they asked me to return today. The good news was that I was already 3 cm dilated and 80 percent effaced. I guess all my activity at work and home were helping to move things along! Anyway, I went in today and my bp was still borderline high and was 4 cm dilated so they decided to send me over to Maternity for monitoring. All the labs and u/s were fine, just that darn bp! Our MD gave us the option of staying and being induced (holy moly!). But luckily she allowed us to come home on strict bed rest orders for Friday and return Saturday morning. Since Ellie is very healthy and there were no other concerns except for my bp she let us make the decision. So Saturday will be the big day! I can't believe the time has finally come!

So now we are just squaring our things away for the hospital and enjoying our last couple evenings together as a couple. In addition to all the baby madness, we had a house showing this afternoon and have another one tomorrow afternoon. As if we really needed that last minute stress! Now I'm wishing I scheduled Merry Maids- ha ha! Oh well.

Well, I can't wait to post again with pictures of the sweet baby girl!

38 Weeks- Happy Fall!

38 weeks

Baby stats at 38 weeks:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb (babycenter.com)

However...at my 37 week appt the ultrasound estimated Ellie to be nearly 7 lbs already.  So that would put her up at 7.5 lbs by now.  I'm still hoping that was a over-estimate.  =) But overall, I've been feeling good.  Surprisingly, I'm still sleeping well (on the couch) and haven't been too uncomfortable.  I'm just completely ready to have this baby!!!  Dave said that she was coming this week.  He usually has a good sense about things too, so we'll see what happens!

Tonight we were able to visit with our friends the Ryans.  They had their baby girl Bella last week.  Let me tell you, she is one cute, little baby!!!!  We couldn't stop staring at her.  She was born at 4 lbs 15 oz a couple weeks early.  As of today she's just over 5 lbs. 





Mom Aline and her sweet baby Bella, 9 days old



I think Dave is officially in love with this little girl...how could you not be??

Here she is sleeping in her little cradle.  Isn't she just so precious?!





We also spent the weekend doing one of my favorite fall activities:  Apple Picking.   This year we ventured to Stow, MA to the Honey Pot Hill Orchards.  This place was huge!  We were able to pick Macoun, Cortland, Empire, McIntosh, Red and Golden Delicious apples, and also picked a few Bosc pears.  This orchard also had a bakery, store, farm animals, hayrides, and a hedge maze.  It was a great place for families and I enjoyed watching all the little kids run around with their apple cider donuts.  Yum!

Multi-tasking at its finest.

'Three little pigs' at the Apple Orchard.  How cute are these little fellas?  And I love the stick, hay, and brick houses.

Our loot

We picked so many apples that I spent the majority of the day in the kitchen making apple crisp, apple sauce, and ended up canning a dozen jars of apple sauce.   I even made some small jars of pureed apples for Ellie to enjoy one day.  It was a lot of work but I loved the way it made the whole house smell so good.  Next up, apple butter, cinnamon apple slices, and apple cake! 

Well, that's it for this week.  Maybe the next blog will have some exciting updates and pictures of our little girl!!  Hope everyone is enjoying the fall so far.  Have a great week!!!