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Don't be angry!

Don't worry, folks! Christmas details are coming soon!!  I just need to process / organize / collate all the photos from the various cameras.  We had an awesome time with the Virginia family; we even got time to video chat with Auntie Lara out in Texas! However, all this family meant more than one camera taking pictures.  I probably won't get to the official Christmas post for a few more days- Grand-Mary is visiting still.  Don't fret, I promise it will get done!

Selfies

Ella's new favorite thing to do is to take her own picture.  She can identify the camera / phone in front of her and reaches out to get it, so she taps the screen and takes her picture.  We've gotten some really silly expressions from her this way.  :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

It is Mommy's birthday weekend, so while Dad took her out, I got to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Whoa!  It was pretty awesome. First, I crawled over to the Christmas tree and unwrapped a present of mine.  I knew it was mine because I could read my name on the label.  :)

Pretty cool bouncy chair, huh?  I was getting into it so much that they had to buckle me in so I wouldn't bounce right out!  I like the dangle things all within my reach.  I would kick them and hit them and try to put them in my mouth. So much fun!

 Though all this play with Grandma and Grandpa got me really tired and I had to take a few naps.

But I slept through the night and woke up a bucket of sunshine, like I always do.  Even with my stuffy nose, I still had a great time

Mom says she had a good time with Dad, but it couldn't have been as good as my night.  Mainly because I didn't see her come home with a bouncy chair.  What kind of birthday is it if you don't get a bouncy chair?  Anyways, she kissed me big and said something about how I announced my arrival on her birthday last year.  I guess I would be a good birthday present, but I still think she could have asked for a bouncy chair of her own this year.  Sigh.  Adults are weird.

Silly Baby

Just a quick collection of Ella being silly!  As serious as she is outside of our house, she is a giggly little goofball with us at home.  People find it hard to believe us, but she really does love to laugh and wiggle.

John took this "tummy time selfie," and Ella seemed a little surprised.

  It's now John's new favorite picture of her

In my attempt to not force Ella in gender stereotypes, I bought her some "boy" pants because I wanted the neutral blue and gray colors.  Well, even in infant sizes, boy pants are much larger than girl pants! I'm pretty sure Ella will be wearing these 3-6mo pants when she is a year old!!

 Here, John is having her do a little M.C.Hammer dance in her over-sized pants.

Ooops! Wardrobe Malfunction!! Or else, Ella is just practicing her Geordi LaForge cosplay ideas.  (Yes, I'm a nerd, spawned from a long line of nerds.  Pray for Ella, there is no hope for her.)

Day Care Routine

"Let's go, Mom! I've got the bags packed and everything!"

I think Ella is getting the hang of getting ready to go to daycare in the mornings.  She even has to rush me out the door some days!  Seriously, though, she is so awesome.  I really don't want to get complacent or jinx myself, but I think we have a feasible routine worked out now.  I can shower, feed her, and pump each morning, all without waking up before 5am! ... I don't have a spare nanosecond of time in the morning, and food & clothes have to be laid out the night before or else it all falls apart, but we can do it!

She seems to be doing well at daycare.  They really like her there.  Today she got a gold star for being the sweetest baby ever (but didn't we already know that?).  Several of the other babies were having fussy days today, and one of the workers told me that she just wanted to cuddle Ella all day because she was so calm and sweet.  I know.  I get that feeling a lot, too.  She is the best baby ever, you can't really help yourself.  :)

They Grow Up so Fast

Ella has really been working on her talking. It's amazing how far she has come in just the last few weeks.

Holiday Portrait

We took Ella to get her Christmas portrait done this weekend; she is about three and a half months old now. She did so much better sitting for her portrait than she did sitting for her Santa picture! I guess that's because I was holding her rather than a strange man in a red suit, and Grandma was entertaining us rather than a pair of elves. Go figure.  :)

We went to a local portrait artist who John's mom used for her kids 30 years ago. The lady is still working at the farmer's market during the holidays, so we were sure to track her down this year.

Here is John's baby portrait (also about 3 months old) next to Ella's portrait. Ella might be just a few weeks older, but there is definitely some genetics at work here!

Feet!

Discovering and reaching for our feet. Lots of determined grunting happening....

Santa

We went and saw Santa Claus today! Ella got her picture taken with the Jolly Old Elf himself.  I had a day off from work and figured that it would be better to visit the Big Man on a random weekday rather than try to fight the weekend crowds (I was right).  Considering our realistic expectations, Ella did very well.  She was concerned about all the craziness, but there were no tears.  Seeing as how she is a very serious little baby around new people, I think we did just fine.  Sure, she's making her "I'm not sure about all this" face in the picture, but let's be honest -- there are millions of worse baby-with-Santa pictures out there.  I can accept her funny face since we weren't screaming bloody murder. (John says I can go back and try again, but I really don't want to set precedent to be THAT crazy mom that goes multiple times to get the perfect picture.)

Speaking of realistic expectations, I've got real-world examples of good and bad.  The lady a few people in front of us held the line up for at least twenty minutes because she wanted her young (under three years old) son to have a glamour shot with Santa.  She did all she could to get the PERFECT picture: trying to make him laugh, checking the photo, making funny faces, checking the photo, changing his shoes, checking the photo, smooshing his cheeks, checking the photo.  You get what we were trying to tell her telepathically?  There is no such thing as a perfect smiling baby with Santa! Give up! Move along! Try again tomorrow!  Sheesh.... The flip side was the couple directly in front of us.  They had a daughter a little bit older, maybe around 4-5yrs.  They waited very patiently in line behind cuckoo-pants lady before handing their girl over to Santa. They stepped back. And when they saw that baby girl was starting to tear up, they swooped in and said, "Nope, not happening, we'll try again another day."  See? Responsible parents exist out there!! I love it!  I hope they were able to come back and get good Santa-karma by getting a good picture.

Working on our Sits

Ella is getting so big!!  I know this is common theme, but it's amazing how much stronger and steadier she is when sitting up.  She still hates tummy time, but we do a lot of sitting and squats for exercise as well.  She's pretty calm, too, not flailing about when she sits up.  The first photo shows her helping me make some Christmas gifts, and she was calm and steady enough that I was able to paint without catastrophe.

She is so funny, though.  When she's with us, she's all smiles and giggles. But when strangers ask her to smile (a common thing to do when greeting a baby), she's serious and won't budge.  It's like she has to approve of the person / situation before she will crack a smile. Like, "I am not a trained monkey. I will not smile on command!"  Such a silly little goober.

It's Classified

I can't show the official picture because it will be our Christmas card photo, but here's a sneak peak. 

 Ella wears bows now.  Bows are cool.

Side note - Christmas picture has been taken and cards have been ordered on time!  Decorations are pretty much all up! Go me! I will not fall behind this December.

Thanksgiving

Ella has the crucial steps for having a great Thanksgiving holiday:

Always start out your morning with smiles and wiggles and cuddles with the family.  This sets you out on the right foot for the day.  Talk with mom and dad, laugh at their silly faces, stomp your feet.  Good times all around.

 Take a bath and put on a fresh outfit.  Look adorable.

Visit with family.  Be highly stunned by the epileptic dancing dog that sings a little too loudly.  Recover, because the crazy family will think you are cute and want to show you the dog again and again.

Pass out in a food coma after the festivities.  Thanksgiving= done!  You're welcome.

So it Begins

It's a known fact that if you sit still long enough in my family, you will get a knitted item.  Hats are usually the initial gift of choice.  It was time for Ella to get another hat (I did make the one she came home from the hospital in) ... or I just needed a reason to buy this yarn.  Not admitting anything.

Ella's Day

Well, we've made it through the first week back at work and daycare.  Ella is a superstar in the mornings, I really have no reason to complain (even if I really want more than 6hrs sleep, I know I shouldn't be greedy with a new baby. I need to be grateful for that 6hr chunk that not all mommies get!).  I have time to shower before waking her up, and then she gets breakfast.  I prop her up next to me on the bed and we talk while I finish pumping and getting ready for work.

When we pick her up in the afternoon, she is all smiles to see us.  Sometimes, though, I feel like I need to cram in a full day's worth of baby-time into the few hours we have after dinner.  I guess it will get better when she doesn't take as many naps in the afternoon/evening.  Then I will have more time to play with her.

And lastly, it's off to bed.  John is a great help getting her ready in her pajamas while I prep everything for the next morning.  (There is no way I would be on time if lunch wasn't already packed and clothes weren't laid out!)  Ella seems to enjoy time with daddy, too.

Off We Go!

Bags are all packed and we're ready to go!  We even made it out the door on time!

Side note - I didn't cry when I left her at daycare, but in the efforts of full disclosure, I did choke up a little and was forced to make a hasty retreat before I embarrassed myself.

Side note number 2 - I don't know what she did at daycare today, but little Miss Ella was exhausted when she got home!  Fell asleep between Daddy putting on her pajamas and me brushing my teeth before her bedtime feeding. Flat like an adorable, sleepy pancake.

Maternity Leave

As my maternity leave draws to a close, I feel the need to pause and just soak in how far we have come in the past 12 weeks.  Part of me wishes I could go back to the beginning knowing what I know now.  I don't call myself an experienced parent by any stretch of the imagination, but those first few weeks would have been a lot smoother with just the little bit of knowledge I now have.  But I guess that's part of the adventure, right? Flailing about in sleep-deprived insanity, crippled with anxiety that you have already screwed up the baby's life. So much fun!  Haha  But I digress.

I have to express huge amounts of gratitude to the family - both John's and mine.  My mom was able to come for the first week and was basically taking care of me while I took care of Ella.  John's mom and family have been indispensable in the day-to-day helping when I needed a hand at the house.  They say it takes a village to raise a child, and boy! are they right!  I cannot say enough how much I appreciate the support given to me, even if it's "just" coming to babysit for an hour so I could sleep!  (Which is a big deal for those who remember their time as young parents)

I have loved watching Ella grow and learn about her world.  From a tiny baby that cried even though she didn't know what was wrong, to a strong little girl who loves watching everybody around her -- she's come so far in such a short amount of time.  I'm really excited to see her investigate and grow. Not to toot my own horn (our own horn?), but she is the smartest baby ever.  :)  All mommies brag about their babies, but this time it's true.  Ella is just the sweetest thing, and everyone loves her when we go out and about.

Well, Ella goes off to daycare tomorrow, and I have to  be at work on time.  That means an end to the lazy mornings and lunches with the family.  I know I'm going to miss it!!  Here's hoping that we can get a morning routine that does not involve me waking up at 4am! (and that I don't cry too much when I drop her off!)

No Swaddle for Us!

Well, we may still hate tummy time, but at least we are on track with nighttime sleeping! Dr. Cold Hands wanted Ella sleeping flat on her back and not in a swaddle before she was four months, and we are definitely ahead of schedule for both items.  She's been on her back in the pack-n-play for a while now (I'd have to look it up on the calendar, but it's been several weeks) and now she's conquered the free and breezy sleep without a swaddle blanket.  Ella needs a little more work and TLC to put her into bed without the swaddle because she has room to fidget and wiggle, but she's not startling herself awake all the time.  She doesn't want the pacifier to sleep with, either.  She has found her own hand to suck on, which leads to some crazy grunty and slurpy noises in the night, for sure!  She is working on sucking that thumb, but it's still so little and hard to find! 

Needless to say, when a baby has free range to flop around in, them seem to take up as much room in the bed as they can.  And Ella's not even mobile yet!  How wiggly is she going to be when she's rolling over and more active?

Throwing Momma a Bone

Even though my girl is growing up so big, she still likes to cuddle every now and then. I think it's part of the infant survival reflexes: "be nice to mom once in a while to balance out all she does for you." (Also known by the variant, "...and she won't sell you to the gypsies.")

We went to the Mommy Cafe on Tuesday after I had been sick all weekend, and Ella decided to toss me a little tidbit of affection. We don't really cuddle tree-frog style anymore; she's too curious about the world and wants to look out at everything. But today we weren't in a rush at the Cafe and had a little time to cuddle after she ate. It's amazing how much better you feel after some baby cuddles!

And yes, Ella's hair looks a greasy, hot mess.  She's got some dry skin patches on her head that we are trying to moisturize.  Coconut oil is great for her skin, but is a little too heavy for her baby hair.

She even snuggled me while awake for a little while!

Outings to Appomattox

Today we got all dressed up to visit Mommy's coworkers at the school. A whole matching outfit with accessories!  Goodness gracious, we are getting fancy.

Mom seemed a little frantic getting us out the door.  She said it would be a long trip and that we wanted to be there on time.  It was the longest car ride I've been on to date, but that part wasn't so bad (I like to nap in the car, so it went by quickly).  And then I think Mom bribed me with an extra-large lunch once we got to the school.  I don't know her motives, but she is a tricksy one, that momma of mine.  It's entirely possible that she pulled a fast one.

I feel like I met a thousand people!  Mom carried me around for hours! It was very tiring.  I actually fell asleep in her arms for a little bit.  But everyone loved me, as they usually do.  They all seemed very nice, very eager to see me. Mom tells me that her coworkers at the school were all very friendly while she was pregnant and that they were just excited to finally meet me.  I even got a few presents!  Two nice and fluffy fleece jumpsuits that will be great if the winter is as bad as they say it's going to be.  I haven't seen snow yet, but Mom says I'll really appreciate fleece when it comes.

I napped on the drive home (I love car rides), but all the excitement did get me off my usual afternoon schedule.  No naps for this baby!  Got to keep mom and dad guessing.  Can't let them get complacent, you know.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween, everyone!  We didn't make it a full family costume set this year, but I think Ella's costume turned out exceptionally well.  She was the only two-month-old that I know of that had an outfit, accessories, and a vehicle! Can we present to you.... Bat-baby! With her very own Batmobile!

With all the Batman onesies she has received from the baby showers, it seemed a little silly to dress Ella up as anything else.  We even got a tiny Batman mask from one of the great-aunties!  I was really surprised that she tolerated the mask, but after a little time adjusting, she wore it for most of the night without complaint.  John had the great idea of tricking out her stroller to be the Batmobile, which looked awesome when we were done with it.  Extra awesomeness was propelling her up the street through the jet-pack rocket boosters.  Vroom vroom!!

We took a walk around the neighborhood, obviously we didn't collect any candy from neighbors.  That would have been a little weird -- "Hey, here's an infant who can't say "trick or treat" or even eat the candy yet... but give us candy!" Also, it was a nice walk through the neighborhood.  It was a little chilly, but we weren't out after dark when it got colder.  The neighbors seemed to like our stroller, and we even impressed one of the little kids we passed! It takes serious talent to impress the young'uns, I'm just saying.

The family came by to man our house and candy bowl while we were out walking with Ella.  I have to say, though, that I'm really disappointed in my street.  There were large packs of kids one block up from us (where we were walking), but they didn't come down our street because only a few other houses had their lights on. Booo!  Halloween Scrooges!  Needless to say, I have a metric TON of candy leftover because hardly any kids came to our door. Next year we are going to rethink our trick-or-treating plans to factor in our stingy neighbors.

Overall, Ella seemed to enjoy Halloween.  She wasn't forced into any extremely uncomfortable outfits, she got to take a walk / nap in her stroller, and she got grandma cuddles.  What more could a baby want? Below are pictures of Bat-baby before her night out, and then after.  Bat-baby needs her rest after fighting crime, you know.

....Also, if we shortened the rocket boosters, do you think I could keep them on the stroller all the time?  It's a good accessory. (Credit goes to Aunt Jess for the flames.  I tried to quickly cut out flames, but my first one looked more like a deformed dinosaur footprint.  John was nice and said it looked like a maple leaf.  Either way, it was definitely not flame-like. Jess's were much better.)

Hiatus

Sorry about lack of reports from this week, friends.  I've been recovering from mastitis, which is totally not fun, by the way. Don't think to yourself, "I'm bored this weekend, let's get a good, rousing case of mastitis!"  The infection apparently can pop up quite suddenly.  The fever was low-grade for the first day, but peaked around 103 that first night! I originally thought I had the flu because I felt so poorly. Ugh.

Needless to say, the family has been great while I've been wallowing in fever-sweats and body-chills.  Ella spent a lot of time with John and his mom while I was trying to catch up on sleep.  But, good news now! I went to the doctor (gasp!) and got some antibiotics, so I should be bouncing back in a few days.  We are finishing up Ella's Halloween costume and accessories, so there should be good pictures of all that ready to be posted this weekend.  Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween, too!

Pre-bedtime nap

I guess this is what they mean when they say, "sleeping like a baby." Zonked out!

Ella's first pumpkins

The artists are hard at work

John and I take our Halloween pumpkins very seriously, trying to increase difficulty with each pattern we do every year.  However, I think last year we reached our pinnacle on finely detailed patterns.  I'm pretty sure that we would have needed to take artistic sculpting classes in order to continue with the extra-hard patterns!  This year, we took a break and didn't follow traditional patterns for carving -- John picked out a gourd, but changed his mind on his original idea.  He was going to carve it, but once he cut the end off, we all decided that it was clearly a carnivorous gourd eating the tiny pumpkin.  From there, it was a group effort to make his angler fish.  I think it turned out wonderfully!

Ella's and Dad's pumpkins together. Cute side by side with scary

I painted Ella's pumpkin for her, but she did sign her work when it was all done.  We were going for a handprint or two, but she was not cooperating with that idea, so I stuck out a foot for stamping.  Ella looks so confused at what we had done to her, but she really needs to understand that as my daughter, this will not be the last time she is involved in a messy craft project!

I also went with a new design this year.  After everyone had finished their pumpkins, I just didn't have the energy to start hollowing out my own pumpkin.  I picked a simple painted pattern that wouldn't stress out my tired mom-brain, but I think I might tinker with it over the week.  Maybe add a little to it.  Not sure yet. You know me, rarely satisfied with a craft project.