5 Months Old!

Ella turned 5 months old today. It actually made me sad. :-( She is getting so big. I had to pack away most of her 3-6 month clothes and pull out the 9 month stuff ... Thank you for following our blog. We would love to here from any family and friends. I am still trying to get out Christmas cards (they have now turned into Valentines cards) and thank you notes (thank you to everyone who sent Christmas gifts). Check back soon. Love ~ Andy, Brenda and Ella

The Girls!

It is so much fun watching Alyse and Ella grow up together. They are really starting to notice one another ... they even had their first fight over a toy. Debbie and I talk almost daily, sometimes two or three times ... sharing stories about the girls, comparing their latest developments and simply just sharing in the joy (and stress) of motherhood. We laugh how the girls are already starting to show such different personalities ... I have to highlight a few of them ... It appears I have the girl with 'attitude'. Ella, has to grab and hold everything and if she doesn't get it, she lets you know. Alyse is content looking at it! I have the 'lazy' girl. Ella rolled over a month or so ago and could care less to ever do it again. Alyse, rolls forward constantly from her front to back and back to front. I have the 'naughty high maintenance' girl. Ella has to be entertained 24/7 ... or held. Alyse, enjoys hanging by herself. I have the girl who sleeps for two hours during the day if you sit and hold her and only 10 minutes if you put her down. Alyse, sleeps by herself in her crib during naptime. I guess what I am trying to say is I have the most perfect girl ... and Ella has the most perfect best friend!

Alyse to Ella 'What in the heck are you doing ... can you please just chill out'!

Ella to Alyse ... 'Look at me, I can swim ... watch out!'

Alyse to Ella 'Oh no ... here she comes again'

Ella to Alyse ... 'come here, I want to kiss you (aka ~ slobber all over your head and then pinch you because I have not learned how to let go yet! :-)'

Sitting Up!

About a week ago Ella decided she could sit up on her own ... laying down is out of the question now! She loves to sit and play with her toys. It is amazing how fast she learns new things.

Cereal!

Ella had her first taste of food about two and a half weeks ago. I knew she would be a big fan! We started with Rice cereal. It was quit the production...we invited grandma and grandpa over to watch. Grandma even recorded the whole thing ... except she forgot to hit record! It took about two two nights before she figured out how to swallow. After that it is all I can do to give it to her fast enough. After a week of cereal with no allergic reaction, we started pears. We have now moved onto squash. So far she loves anything I put in her mouth...

Oh Boy ... we got a little carried away with the squash! We really need to invest in a highchair!

Ella joined the girls for lunch. It was sad ... she now snacks her lips when she watches you eat. It is incredibly cute. I let her suck on a piece of cantaloupe. As you can see, she was a fan. She loved it!

4 Month Check Up!

Ella was four months old on December 28th. She had her well baby check up on Tuesday ... She weighed in at 15lbs 13oz and measured 26.3 inches long. She is off the charts for her height and in the 90% for her weight ... Her growth pattern has been consistent since birth and the doctor said she is a healthy little girl. We are truly blessed!

She did receive another round of shots. She seems to be tolerating them well. I took her with me to work yesterday after her appointment in case she was had a rough day. I think she liked being at work ... or at least I liked having her there. I wish she could go with me every day. I have the best picture of her sleeping under my desk.

I thought I would share a few funny Ella moments ...
1)Lets see first of all she decided to roll over about four weeks ago ... she accomplished the task three times within two days and has decided that she no longer needs to roll over and has not done it since!
2)Her new form of communicating is through grunting... Her and her grandpa communicate very well with this language ... as for mom ... I find it to be very annoying ... but incredibly cute!
3)She finds Darin and Dylan to be the most fascinating people in her life. When she sees them she now reaches for them with both arms ... with her mouth wide open for a kiss! She loves them to be silly for her ... They are the only two that can consistently get her to giggle.
4)She has decided that sleeping through the night is overrated and likes to eat again around 4:30am... She has not done this since she was 5 weeks old! Not sure we like this new habit!
5)If she could sleep holding hands with someone she would be in heaven! She gets to come to bed in the morning with me and she has to have one hand on me at all times. When you go into her crib to get her, she immediately grabs your hand as if it is hers and she wants it back.
6)Her eye and hand coordination are improving daily. Andy and I are both amazed at how she can grab objects and actually manipulate them. Very cute.
7)She enjoys being rocked to sleep at night ... she can be dead asleep and the second you lay her down her eyes pop open and she is wide awake ... therefore we are trying to teach her to go to bed while she is semi awake ... so ... last night we went through our bedtime routine which consists of a 'naked' time, bath, book and bottle. After I fed her she fell asleep on my shoulder while trying to get her to burp ... i put her down ... she was wide awake ... so I rubbed her chest for a few minutes, gave her her pacifier and left the room ... She started fussing so I waited about one minute and went back inside ... she immediately stops fussing when she can grab your hand ... so I let her have it for a few minutes and left again ... this time i let her fuss for a few more minutes ... when I went in there this time and she saw me she gave me the biggest smile and had the look on her face like 'ha, ha ... i knew that would work' ... It pretty much melted my heart ... so I picked her up and rocked her! It may take us a few more nights!

New Years 2009 - First Cabin Trip!

We took Ella to the Thompson's cabin at Odell Lake for the first time over the New Years ... We had a wonderful time, she did very well. She was slightly out of her element as her nighttime routine was interrupted by television, card playing and late nights ... which are the best part of the cabin! We enjoyed the company of our closest family friends: Jim, LeAnn, Megan, Ryan, Mark, Jeff, Dee, Josh, Jake and Grace. My mom, dad and sister joined us as well.

The weather was very enjoyable. We had a little snow, rain and sun! Ella stayed warm in her snugly snow outfit. She did not mind wearing it and actually fell asleep during our walk in. Like her mom ... she loved playing cards! She was very interested in the cards and wanting to hold them herself. I love that Ella will get to grow up visiting the cabin. A lot of my childhood (an adult) memories are of our times spent at the cabin!

Ella in the tub.... She liked sitting up! She is use to laying down at home.

Ella playing cards with Dee ... She was quite the little helper!

Ella's First Christmas

We have so much to be thankful for this year. God blessed us with an amazing little girl ... how wonderful that we get to celebrate his birth with her in our life. We spent Christmas Eve at aunt Carol's, with the entire family, plus Stacy's mom, dad and brother. Ella enjoyed all the commotion and opened her first present. She was not 100% sure what to do with it, but she liked the paper and grabbed/ripped it. We convinced my mom, dad and sister to spend the night with us so we could all be together in the morning. We enjoyed a very quiet morning, with presents from Santa and breakfast. Ella got a little hungry in the middle of presents ... so we had to come back later and finish ... Why do I think that will change in the next couple of years! We then had a nice afternoon with just the three of us and later went to my parents for dinner, with the entire family. The Sorenson's joined us later in the evening for a little game playing!

Alyse and I hanging out in the crib at my Grandma's. We are four months old (Ella will be on the 28th).

Playing with all new new toys... I was very spoiled. Especially from everyone in Spokane!