Anniversary No.7

This guy treats me so good. He is so selfless and wants to make this girl happy. I truly appreciate all he does for me, and now for Ellie as well. Thank you for loving us the way you do. You are a man after our heart and especially God's heart-makes me love you more! Happy 7th anniversary Steven! 

cousin comes to town

A couple weeks ago my cousin came to visit us! It was so great having him here and showing him Boise; he had never been here before. We wanted to show off the city and go to some staple places and do things that we all enjoy of course. Since there is so much to do around here we didn't even get to do all that we had talked about unfortunately...but that gives reason for another visit now doesn't it! ; )

We took him to our church Sunday morning, floated the river, hiked places that showed an awesome view of the city, the zoo, Roaring Springs (a waterpark), a baseball game-which had some cool fireworks at the end, walked around The Village, the guys played disc golf a couple times, we drove around downtown/the Capital-walked around a little to some places to eat down there too and ate at several other yummy local places. Time seemed to go fast, but we enjoyed ourselves. It was great watching him with Ellie as well. They had met each other before, but it was a couple months ago and a pretty short visit. So it was nice they got to have some more quality time with each other. She certainly enjoyed his fun personality. Thanks for coming Brandon!

Here are some pictures from our time together!

 

6 months

Happy half birthday baby girl! 

Size: This girl is staying tiny; still in size 2 diapers...3, 3-6, 6, and some 6-9 clothes. She is 13.25 lbs and 24.8 inches long.

Eyes: Her eyes have stayed mostly a deep blue, but now they also seem to have a gray/green/brown tint to them...not sure what color to call them yet, maybe hazel?

Hair: Golden brown still! I hope she keeps it because it looks like mine!

Sleeping: Her sleep schedule has stayed the same the last five weeks!!!!! That being: waking during the 6 o'clock hour, morning nap around 9am, afternoon around 2pm and bedtime around 7pm. And once she's down for the count at night she stays down 10+ hours straight which is heavenly! I am still so surprised she is doing so well at night and I know there are things that could arise and throw a wrench in that (i.e. teething, growth spurts, etc anything), but we are so grateful with how she's doing so far. Thank you Jesus!  I will add that there have been days where we've seen if she could be flexible with nap time, or nap place, and it has usually not gone in our favor. I don't mean to be a stickler about her nap times and place (crib), but we've tried and it is not the best for Ellie. We want a happy girl, so we try to stay as close to these times and place as possible.

Eating: Nothing has changed here; nursing and taking a bottle great! And still haven't introduced foods to her yet. Really there isn't thing stopping us, except the official go ahead by doctor (haven't talked to them yet), but we will be soon-very soon! I think Ellie is a little jealous of us eating, too so I think she will be glad to take part with us ; ) 


Milestones: 

• A kind of hop, scoot, crawl is going on! She will get up on her hands and sometimes get in a full on plank for a few seconds, or she will get up on her knees/hands at same time and other times she will do like a sideways lazy frog hop type thing-hard to explain and it happens fast, ha. All I know is she is trying and doesn't like trying for very long-she'll start whining. Every day we work on it and we praise her for all her effort! 
• Helps hold her bottle and sometimes she can do it all on her own for a moment 
• Sits on her own for a couple seconds at a time 

Likes: 

• Being sung Patty Cake, Jesus Loves Me and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. I try to do the motions with her hands and she's a fan of that! 
• Playing Peek-A-Boo  
• Plastic containers and lids-hey whatever floats her boat 
• Her exersaucer  
• Talking to her toys while she's playing/sucking/chewing on them and she can get loud with her babbling-she has some good lungs on her!  
• Being read to (I've been meaning to put this on her last couple updates, because she has liked this for awhile now. Yes she likes grabbing at the pages mostly, but she gets really intrigued by the pictures and looks up at you and smiles. It also seems like she is trying to figure out what you're talking about. Reading doesn't always last that long either, but it's a start) 
• Looking at whoever is talking in the room, voices really grab her attention. And if you're the one holding her out facing the room and you start talking, she will turn/arch around to look at you 

Dislikes: 

• Holding still, she's a mover for sure 
• Not being able to get the toy she wants or getting to you while you're sitting/lying on the floor with her. She tries crawling but she gets tired/irritated kind of fast 

 I feel like there are some things I'm forgetting to add to these lists, but these are the big things for sure! 6 months has come and gone so fast. I know her first birthday will be here before we know it. Ahhhhhh! It's still surreal sometimes that we are parents. Pretty much every day I look at her and ask, how did we get so lucky?! She is beautiful.

5 months

She was talking to me during pictures and I was able to capture her starting to babble something : )

Size: Still in size 2 diapers. In very little 3 month clothes and then in 3-6 and 6 month. I can tell she is getting bigger, but I don't know what her weight or length is since she doesn't have a 5 month well check.

Eyes: Same; a deep blue, with some very faint brown trying to come through. I have a feeling they are going to stay this way...

Hair: Medium brown for the most part with a lighter brown at the roots. It kind of looks like she has highlights, too. In the past her doctor has said people pay for what Ellie has going on, ha ; ) And it's starting to get a little wavy as well! 

Sleeping: We finally have a schedule, Hallelujah!!!! She gets up between 6:15-6:40am, then goes down for her morning nap between 9/9:30am and an afternoon nap between 2/2:30pm! Her naps are 2/2.5 hours which is really nice. And bedtime is between 7/7:30pm. One day it all kind of clicked and it was wonderful; everyone is sooo much happier! She's thriving off of a schedule, imagine that ; ). This last week we started sleep training her too by following the Ferber method. It's been going amazing!! The first night was a bit rough (no surprise there), but by the second night she was soothing herself to sleep fast and sleeping 10+ hours straight. Wow were we shocked. And she's been doing this ever since, too...did we get lucky or what?! Soothing herself for her morning nap goes great as well, however her afternoon one is a little rocky. I have faith she'll take care of that one soon though. She had been swaddled every night since day one, so we weren't sure how she'd take without that along with getting sleep trained, but as I said, she's doing marvelous with it all! Before we started sleep training her, we were having her fall asleep in our arms, then putting her down and it was getting exhausting for us. We knew we wanted to start creating better sleep habits for her and were doing a lot of reading and asking around for advice on the subject. Praise God for helping us with all of this, as it was getting a tad bit stressful for me to say the least. I'm already missing her falling asleep in my arms...so I may go in and look at her more often to see her sleeping (enter heart eyes like no other on me and Steven's part).

Eating: Still nursing and taking a bottle like a champ! Haven't introduced any solid food yet, but she's showing a lot of signs for wanting our food-staring and grabbing whatever we have. I'll be talking to her doctor soon to see when we should start implementing things into her diet. She loves putting things into her mouth, so I won't be surprised if she's a fan of real food.

Milestones:

• Soothing herself to sleep. She does suck on her middle and ring finger at the same time to help soothe herself and I find it precious
• Grabbing our faces, which we of course love 
• Pulling her toes up to her mouth to suck on...oh her flexibility and inclination to put anything and everything in her mouth
• Kisses! She leans in sometimes with her mouth all wide. Slobber and sucking is what you get...a bit much, but oh so sweet 
• Holding on your hands to pull herself to sitting from laying down
• Pushing herself more to standing from a sitting position (all while we are holding her for support)

Likes:

• Being in water! We went swimming the other day and she enjoyed it. Plus it's been super hot, so I'm sure it feels refreshing
• Our phones...I'm trying to not be on it much in front of her anyways, but when we are, boy her eyes get locked in on it and she leans in to grab it
• Playing with her hair sometimes while she nurses and sometimes while she's in her car seat. It's so cute
• Being on her tummy. She rolls to it fast whenever we put her down and she sleeps on her tummy as well (now I have hope for her bald spot to fill in!!)
• Swinging her arms up and down
• Her new stuffed zebra, named Stacy by Steven. It...she...has several different sensory items attached to it and it goes on her car seat

Dislikes:

• Holding still for diaper and clothes changes. Thankfully she doesn't fuss for either of those anymore, but she just loves moving so much and it makes doing both of those a little tricky
• The iron/Vitamin D supplement we started giving her (liquid form). I don't blame her, it's funky smelling and tasting. (This is recommended for all exclusive breastfed infants-no special concern for her in particular just an FYI.)

Before Ellie was on a schedule life was a bit hard on me (and her...and Steven sometimes). I really like having plans and knowing how things are going to play out during the day and days to come. With Ellie's naps all over the place and it taking forever to get her down and to stay down it was taking a toll on me. Plus, all this was causing Ellie to be crabby a lot of the time, so no one was truly feeling their best. I was trying to give it all time and figure out her cues; it took a lot of trial and error figuring out what worked best for her and doing things before it was making her overly fussy, tired, clingy, etc. Thankfully God gave me the patience I needed, because it was running thin...very thin. Even though she doesn't know better and it's partially a learning experience for her, too, I was having too high of expectations I think. Parenthood is always teaching me things, and there is still oh so much to come. 

4 months

Doing her crunches!

This was after one of her first moments of rolling from back to tummy! As you can tell she's pretty happy with herself! We were on vacation, too, so I think she wanted to show off to all the family. And she's such a mover - always hard to get good quality pics with phone or camera (doesn't help those aren't superb either). 

Size: Ellie is 12.19 lbs and 24.5" long. Size 2 diapers. She's still in a couple 0-3 pieces of clothes, then 3 month, 3-6 month AND some 6 month clothes. Crazy how brands can vary in size so much! 

Eyes: They are still a deep blue, but there might be some faint brown trying to come through...she may get hazel eyes after all like her daddy. (Supposedly they can change up until 6 months, so I'll keep this in here for awhile.)

Hair: As you can see she still has a head FULL of hair and it's only getting longer! The doctor thought she might lose some these past couple months, but nope. However, her bald spot on the back is still there and seems a little emphasized since the rest of her hair is getting longer, poor girl. Wearing headbands gets looking a little crazy, so hair clips are the go to now.

Sleeping: Whatever day schedule/routine that was forming went out the window this past month. There have been a few days were she refused to go down for a nap (even though she was tired) and then other days (not many though) where she'll take three naps. One nap is the usual, maybe two. When she does go down, they last for around an hour, some days they will last a few hours. One thing that I'm very grateful for amongst all this is how she sleeps at night. She will still be down at the latest most nights by 9pm and won't officially get up till between 7-9am (she'll wake up once during the night to eat). It won't matter how she napped during the day, that's how the night will go. I'm very grateful for her night sleep since a lot of 4 month olds are waking up several times during the night. We'll see if she regresses though...I hear there's a 4 month sleep regression that tends to happen...

Eating: She is still exclusively on breast milk. And pretty much right after her 3 month birthday Ellie started wanting to eat every 2-2.5 hours (she'll go longer if she's taking a nap). The doctor said I could start feeding her every 1.5 hours if she seems like she could eat again. That's to do with her being so tiny. I already felt like I was on high demand, so here we go being more so. Oh well, I want to do what I need to do for my baby girl!

Milestones:

  New ones:

• Giggles! We were so thrilled to hear that again. She had given us a couple giggles one night a looonng time ago, and decided to hold out on more giggles till a week or so ago. 
• On her 4 month birthday (right after I took the photos above) Ellie rolled from back to tummy!!! I was shocked even though I knew she'd been trying to do it for weeks. Now she is constantly rolling from back to tummy and then tummy to back. Very proud of her!
• Grabbing her toes

  Old ones:

• Grabs and holds toys sometimes and brings them to her mouth to chomp on

• Coos, babbles and smiles often - all so cute! 
• Sits up pretty well against you when you're sitting and holding her for stability 
• Taking the bottle 
• Lasts more than 10 minutes for tummy time (she did not like it before and would barely last 5 minutes) and she has been holding her head up well and high for a couple months now. She even goes up on her hands sometimes and kind of turns herself trying to move/crawl
• Rolling over from tummy to back

Likes:

  New ones:

• Watching other little kids
• Stroller rides and just being outside in general
• Looking in the mirror. She gets pretty smiley and you can tell she's trying to figure out how I'm in the mirror and holding her at the same time
• Bath time! This was one thing she did not like before, but over the last couple months she has warmed up to it (pun intended) and is intrigued by the water 
• Grabbing hair...but of course who ever is getting their hair pulled doesn't like it! 
• Crunching up/trying to roll during diaper changes and that makes it hard for us! ha

  Old Ones:

• Her hands being clapped (mostly like a fist pound since she likes to clench her hands still). And she likes sucking on her hands as well
• Standing. She pushes up often when you're holding her in your lap
• Being held and also being held looking out; she takes everything in around her
• Seeing us dance (she probably thinks we're dork, but hey, seeing that smile spread across her face melts my heart and I will act like a fool any time to see it)
• Eating! 
• Toys that make noise
• Watching daddy use the electric shaver; she's enthralled with that
• The blow dryer - she likes watching me use it (likes watching me do my hair in general) and it can calm her down if she's fussy

Dislikes:

  New ones:

• Getting her nose wiped...she got a cold a couple weeks ago, poor girl
• Me leaving the room to grab something before I feed her
• Not being able to crawl yet. She moves her legs, feet, arms and body attempting to crawl, but gets frustrated since those limbs aren't working together and moving her completely (she kind of moves in a little circle sometimes though)

  Old ones: 

• Being put down to get her diaper and clothes changed when she's already a little fussy
• Staying in her bouncer chair for very long, especially if you stop paying attention to her
• Being tired, and she fights sleep sometimes, silly girl

I could be forgetting some things but I tried to think and keep track of her milestones and likes/dislikes! We love seeing her personality grow! Thank you Ellie for bringing us such joy!

3 months

She is always moving those legs of hers!

She loves sucking on her hands

Size: Size 1 diapers, but very close to size 2. She's in 0-3, 3 AND some 3-6 clothes; depending on the brand. I finally stashed away her newborn clothes and it made me sad. Ellie is still so little, but big at the same time. At her 2 month wellness check she was 10 pounds 14 ounces and 22.2" long. So she's on the petite side, growing on her own little curve and that's all that matters. 

Eyes: They were dark brown at birth and have transitioned to a deep blue. We shall see if they change in the coming months or not. Steven has hazel eyes and I have dark brown...

Hair: As you have seen she was blessed with a full head of dark brown hair at birth - that was a shocker! It's still coming in well, but she has a thin spot on the back from being on her back. She's a big time mover during the night; moving down her crib (don't know how she scoots down from one end to the other during the night) and moves her head back and fourth in her sleep lots. It is coming in a little lighter so it kind of looks ombre when you hold it out. Wonder if we'll have a blonde haired, blue eyed girl on our hands? 

Sleeping: Nothing has been set in stone yet for a schedule, but this is kind of how it's going...on average she wakes around 8am. Her morning nap is pretty predictable around 10am and ranges in length. Her afternoon nap(s) are all over the place, at an unpredictable time and length.  She usually gets tired for the night around 7:30pm and has her last feeding around then. Then when she actually goes down, and stays down, for the night varies, too...on average 9pm though. For the last month or so she stays alseep 8+ hours! Some nights she randomly wakes up and is hungry and boy does that mess me up the rest of the day-my body is not use to that anymore! I'm waiting for her to set her own schedule, as I've been told most babies do, and she is little by little. I however look forward to the day it's more set in stone! 

Eating: She has been breastfed from day one and thankfully it's still going well. Her appetite is every 2.5/3 hours. A few weeks ago we introduced the bottle (with breast milk in it) and she took it like a champ!! We were totally prepared for her to fight it, but she takes it from both of us great! Pumping is not my fav, but the bottle comes in handy sometimes and we try to keep her interested in it a few times a week. 

Milestones:

• Grabs and holds toys sometimes and brings them to her mouth to chomp on
• Still coos, babbles and smiles often - all so cute! 
• Several weeks ago she laughed! But we have not been able to make it come out again. She does let out a noise when she's smiling big and thinks something is funny. I look forward to hearing that full on giggle again and it's my goal every day to get it! 
• Sits up pretty well against you when you're sitting and holding her for stability 
• Taking the bottle 
• Lasts more than 10 minutes for tummy time (she did not like it before and would barely last 5 minutes) and she has been holding her head up well and high for a couple months now. She even goes up on her hands sometimes and kind of turns herself trying to move/crawl
• Rolling over from tummy to back! It has happened a handful of times now!

Likes:

• Her hands being clapped (mostly like a fist pound since she likes to clench her hands still). And she likes sucking on her hands as well
• Being held close and also being held looking out; she takes everything in around her
• Seeing mom dance (she probably thinks I'm a dork, but hey, seeing that smile spread across her face melts my heart and I will act like a fool any time to see it)
• Eating! She would probably eat forever if I let her
• Toys that make noise
• Watching daddy use the electric shaver; she's enthralled with that
• The blow dryer - she likes watching me use it (likes watching me do my hair in general) and it can calm her down if she's fussy

Dislikes:

• Being put down to get her diaper and clothes changed when she's already a little fussy
• Staying in her bouncer chair for very long, especially if you stop paying attention to her
• Being held by guys other than daddy, but she is getting better about this one
• Being tired, and she fights sleep sometimes, silly girl

We have been blessed with a "easy" girl so far! Sometimes my patience runs thin when something goes unexpected or seems tough, but I stop myself because it could be A LOT worse and she only acts up once in awhile. I pray for patience, gratefulness and guidance often because I want to do Ellie right, being the parent she needs me to be and I want to be. I'm so in love with her and soak in her everyday. She is growing so fast and changing on the daily. I may let her nap in my arms more again, because there will be days she won't want to cuddle. And I may sneak into her room to watch her sleep, because she looks so peaceful and precious...well precious is always. The weeks are going fast and I'm trying to savor these moments with her. God hears a thank you from me every day. 

Family photos

When Ellie was almost 6 weeks we did a lifestyle photo shoot in our home. It was wonderful having these moments captured of our family. We are a family of three and it still amazes me that we have been blessed with this little girl. She is a joy to our lives and each day we get with her is a privilege.
Thank you to Nichole Lynn Photography for these photos!

She is wrapped around his finger ; )