Red, White & Blue

Happy 4th of July!

Ella just turned 5 months old!

We were all wearing red, white, & blue to celebrate

Looking cute @ 19 Weeks

Memorial Day-17 Weeks

Ella officially turned 4 months old on Memorial Day! A post is coming soon about her 4 month wellness check, but here are some pictures of her at 17 weeks over the Memorial Day weekend :)

Ella & Papa Ken

Trying out the swimming pool for the first time. She enjoyed it :)

17 Weeks

She's getting so big!!!

Not too excited about sitting with the bunny this time

17 Weeks and hanging off the chair

4 Months and Growing...

Wow! Time sure flies by. I'm watching Ella grow right before my very eyes. She's getting bigger, finally growing some hair (well, more like dark peach fuzz), getting more coordinated and interested in things, and letting her personality shine through. It's crazy that's she already almost through her 4th month of life. She's growing so fast and each day is even more fun than the last! She had her 4 month wellness visit with Dr. Hamilton a few weeks ago and here's how she's growing...

Stats:

Weight: 11 pounds 13.5 ounces-10th percentile

Height: 23.5 inches-25th percentile

Head Circumference: 39-10th percentile

Overall, she's still a tiny girl, but is growing correctly on her own growth curve, so nothing to worry about.

Here's what she can do at 4 months:

can grasp almost any object (including my hair)

sucking on her hands all the time-has just recently mastered getting her thumb in her mouth when she wants to instead of her whole hand :) so cute!!!

can fully hold her head up, so she can play in the jumper and the exersaucer with blankets supporting her torso

focuses on her toys in her exersaucer

loves to jump

smiles for me all the time

loves to play with toys and can get them to her mouth now

"got it Mom"

she loves to put everything into her mouth :)

can grab her toes and get them into her mouth

loves to play with her feet

smiling, cooing, and giggling

tolerates tummy time more now-can push up on her arms and rolls from back to tummy

prefers to sleep on her side or tummy and gets herself there at some point during her naps and at night (this scares me, but she loves it and sleeps so good)

sleeps in her crib instead of the bassinet (this was a hard adjustment for me, not her) and now she sleeps 11-12 hours at night with only 1 feeding and entertains herself when she wakes up :)

can roll over when trying to get her glow worm-rolls from her back to her tummy in bed all the time, but still not mastered tummy to back yet

hates lying down; wants to sit up all the time

loves to stand up on her legs-she's so strong!

sits up so big and tall when she's in her Bumbo

Pure JOY

Some of our dearest friends, the Guinn's, had their little bundle of "joy" last week. It was fun going through part of my pregnancy with Julee and exciting to have a girlfriend to talk baby stuff with. Trey & Julee welcomed Joy Avery into the world this past Wednesday. We went up to the hospital to see this precious little family and to introduce Ella and Joy (since they are required by their mammas to like each other and be best friends). Joy is absolutely adorable and Julee looked amazing! Here's a couple pics of our visit to meet baby Joy...

So tiny!!!!

Best friends meeting for the first time :)

Ella looks so big next to Joy

Us at the same hospital almost 4 months after Ella's birth

It was funny to see Joy and think how tiny she was, but not be able to remember Ella being that small (even though they were about the same size at birth). It's crazy how fast they grow up and how easily we forget. As I reflected upon my own experience with those first few weeks and life over these last 3 1/2 months, I thought about things I miss about Ella being a newborn, things I'm glad we don't have to deal with anymore, and things that I love about the place she is in now.

Things I miss about Ella being a newborn...

~her being so tiny (even though I can't remember how small she actually was)

~her ability to sleep anywhere at any time

~the smile that came across her face while falling asleep (still happens sometimes)

~just having a newborn baby girl

~the sounds she would make while nursing (they were hilarious and so loud)

~rocking her

~just holding her for hours and watching her

~cuddling with such a tiny baby

~her newborn smell

~the way she fit in the sling; so tiny and curled up

~the sounds she made while sleeping (overwhelming at the time & caused me to miss out on sleep, but I miss them now)

~trying out all the firsts with her (bouncer, swing, stroller, tummy time, sling, etc.)

~how easy it was to swaddle her so snugly and how that soothed her

Things I'm glad we are done with...

~dealing with jaundice

~the constant fear of SIDS or her not breathing at night (this hasn't completely gone away, but has lessened)

~waking up to feed every 2 hours

~the uncontrollable crying and emotional roller coaster I was on (due to hormones or baby blues or whatever caused me to be an emotional wreck for many weeks)

~the sleep deprivation

~the feelings of not knowing what to do as a mother (still feel this at times though)

~the first few weeks of breastfeeding (they were so hard)

~recovery from childbirth

~the consuming worry, fear, & guilt

~meconium

Things I love now about the stage Ella is in...

~cooing & babbling

~smiling

~laughing & giggling

~how observant and alert she is

~experiencing all the new things with her

~reaching and grabbing for things

~cuddling with her (it's different than it was when she was a newborn, but it's still my favorite thing to do)

~rocking her (she fights it now, but I manage to rock her every now and then)

~how she turns to look at me when she hears my voice

~the smile that comes across her face when I come to get her out of bed

~how excited she gets

~her holding her head up on her own

~being able to go places with her

~a more scheduled life (naps, feeding times, bedtime are all somewhat consistent)

~being able to read her more and know what she wants or needs (at least most of the time)

~watching the excitement on her face

~watching her discover new things on her own (so much more of this to come)

~bath time and playtime are so much fun!

~how she starts to "talk" when I sing to her like she's singing along with me

~knowing that each day will bring even more changes in our little girl

~that my milk has been sufficient for her and helped her continue to grow and be strong

~that she doesn't want to lay down; she wants to sit up at all times and be a part of things

It's so fun to watch Ella grow and change and mature and learn new things :) Each day is better than the one before, but all of them have been special and true blessings. I can't get enough of her! I want to hold her and kiss her and love on her all day long!!! Joy is such a perfect word to describe what Ella is in my life.

15 weeks old

Just The Beginning

Ella is growing so fast each week! Within about a week, she started cooing, giggling, and grabbing for things. It's so much fun to watch her change. We know it's just the beginning of all the fun times to come as Ella's personality continues to grow and she learns more new things.

She loves her bumbo! The only problem with the bumbo is that every time she's in it, she violently spits up a ton!!! She just loves sitting up like a big girl and smiles and giggles for us the whole time she's in it.

Trying out her sunhat to block the dreaded sun! She's not too big of a fan.

Had to capture one of the many feeding blisters she's had on her top lip. This girl loves to eat!

We got to have a date night a couple weeks ago. Thanks Mom & Dad for babysitting Ella so we could have a night out.

She has started to notice and reach out for the toys in her activity mat.

...but let's me know when she's had enough by turning her head and staring off.

14 weeks old

14 weeks old-all stretched out

not too happy about another picture

Ella, Macie, & Myles

Macie loves Ella's toes