I'm 4 months!!! XOXO, Ellie

Yes sir, I'm 4 months old now ( well, 16 weeks, my birth date is the 8th). I have lots to talk about. Literally, I'm talking all the time! I wish mom and dad could understand what I'm saying but I don't think they do because they just keep smiling and laugh at all the time.

Here's a little clip of me having a conversation with mom:

Anyway, I just started school a couple weeks ago. It's been going good. I rather be chillin at home with mom but my teachers are pretty cool. I've made lots of new friends and especially like this boy named Jack. He's a cute older blond and mom even walked in on us holding hands during a play session one afternoon (seriously, this was the cutest thing in the world, wish I had a camera at that moment). And, my friend Bella comes to school with me on Tuesdays so I get to hang out with her and catch up on girl talk.

Spending some quality time with mom and dad after school

And I got my first cold, guess that comes along with the territory. My doc said I'm all good after my check-up and was surprised that I was so smiley even with a stuffy nose and upset tummy. And guess what, when I got weighed, the scale said 14 lbs! I was exactly 14 lbs....cool huh?! I'm getting so big. I'm wearing 6 month clothes and once again, my mom had to take out some of the smaller clothes from my closet.

As far as my skills, I rolled over for my mom twice last week. She was so happy. She even tried to videotape me in the act but I had had enough. I can't sit up on my own yet, but want to soooo bad. Dad set up my execsaucer for me and I love it! The lights, music, animals, colors....I just can't get enough. I'm still working out at yoga on Saturdays too. It's so fun.





smiling pretty



 

Getting ready for the Super Bowl! It's Spirit day at school on Friday so I'll wear this and a Patriots onesie that my Uncle Dave and Aunt Lisa bought me.  Although, I wish I were wearing a Seahawks bib : )   Hope you guys have a good week.   Go Pats!!!!





New Firsts in the New Year

The new year is bringing many firsts for our Ellie girl.  Here's a summary of what she has been up to:

1.First day at nursery school:

I returned to work on January 17th.  The thought of leaving her in the care of someone else after being home with her for 3.5 months made me so anxious.  But it's turned out to be great.  She is doing so well adjusting to this new schedule and routine.  Dave and I love her "teachers" and feel completely comfortable leaving her there.  I've only called once to check on her (which surprised me) and that was on the first day.  Work keeps me busy and always on the move so I don't have much time to sit and worry about her anyway.  So it's helped me with the back-to-work transition.

Where are we going mom?

Yay!  New friends!

Her "school" bag.  It's so cute seeing Dave throw this tiny backpack on himself.

2.  First time bringing a boy over for lunch:

Ellie's friend Jack was born a month after she was.  His dad worked with Dave in the Coast Guard and live close by so we are able to get together with them every once in a while.  Jack is a doll!  I love seeing little babies together. 

So cute!

Tell us how you really feel about her.  :)

3.  First time in the snow:

Finally!  We moved to New England so we could experience the true seasons.  This winter has been unseasonably warm and I was starting to think we weren't going to get any snow.  But it finally came.  And it came down all day long, a total of about 10 inches at our house.  We love driving around seeing it all so we bundled Ellie up, took a few pictures, and went for a snowy drive.

4.  First time sitting in her new toys:

Ellie has been developing on track with her age.  Lately, she's been wanting to sit up and tries so hard.  If we sit her up on the couch she will lean herself forward and then fall forward onto her stomach.  So we figured it was time to bust out the Bumbo seat and get her into an exersaucer to keep her busy. It's so fun to watch her interact with all the lights and animals on the exersaucer.  She loves it!

Trying out the exersaucer at the store.  I love how it looks like she is concentrating so hard on the toys. 



Staring at the globe again....hmm....maybe she wants to go on vacation.  That's my girl!





I'm 3 months: Happy New Year! XOXO, Ellie

I'm 3 months old !!!!

I think it's funny that I can chew on my fingers

She stared at her frilly socks forever. she loves them.  Thanks Mary Donnelly!

Hi Guys! Can you believe it's 2012 now? Crazy! I hope you all had fun ringing in the New Year. Dad and mom made me go to sleep so I didn't watch the ball drop :(.

Having fun on the New Year's Day stroll along the canal

A lot has gone on since my last post. I flew on an airplane for the first time to Kansas City, Missouri. It wasn't so bad. I got to spend some quality time with mi padre in the plane bathroom since I decided to have a couple major blow-outs. While in KCMO, I had a bunch of pictures taken of me with my great-grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and a fat man in a red suit. It was pretty tiring. All the visiting, playing, and picture taking was exhausting so I thought it was time to get some sleep, a lot of sleep, like through the night. Yep, thats right...this girl likes getting her beauty rest for 9-11 hours a night now. I had so much fun with my family. I can't wait to see them all again, hopefully when my cousin Dana gets married later this year! :)

Sitting like a big girl in my seat

But Mom's lap is way more comfy

Then it was my first Christmas. I slept most of the day so my parents opened all my presents for me. And boy did I get some stuff! Lots of clothes, books, and toys. I think my favorite gift was the sparkly boots that my dad bought me! Can't wait until I can wear those.

Here I am on Christmas trying on my new boots

My mom hasn't weighed me recently but I'm sure I'm close to 13 lbs, if not over that. I'm in the middle of a growth spurt so I'm a mean eating machine. I'm giving my mom a run for her money :). Because I'm eating 4-6 ounces every feeding I've gotten a little extra help through formula. It's not bad...as long as its warm I'll throw it back.

And the baby, size 1 nipples...nuh-uh. I hate those things. The parentals switched to size 2 and it's WAY better. That's not the only thing that's size two: my diapies! They fit so much better now. Plus, I think mom and dad were tired of my poopies creeping up and out the back of my diapers. I've officially grown into 3-6 months clothing and even some 9 month things. My mom had to go through my clothes and remove a lot of the stuff that doesn't fit anymore. Some of it will be saved for my little brother or sister but other stuff will probably be given away eventually.

So now we are looking towards starting nursery school once mom goes back to work in two weeks. She's pretty sad but I'll be in good hands. Dad will drop me off in the mornings so that will make things easier for everyone. To keep me busy this winter, my friends Bella, Blake, and I have signed up for Itsy Bitsy Yoga. Thats going to be a mommy-and-me thing. Then I get a break before I get some daddy time in the pool for water-baby lessons. I cant wait for all these fun activities they have lined up for me. If you want to hang out let me know. I'm usually free but I'll have mom check my calendar.

Hopefully by my next post at 4 months I'll have some more exciting news for you guys. I'm really trying hard to roll over but am not there yet. But my legs are super strong and I love to standup when my parents hold me up. I'll have to keep you all up to date on my other milestones as well.

Happy New Year peeps!

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!