Four Months

Elly turned four months way back on Feb. 20 and, while I was able to take her photos on the right day, I'm just now getting around to posting about it.

Here are her four month photos.

Things I know about Elly:

• She is very laid-back and usually happy. She smiles and laughs at everyone and everything.
• She does great at the sitter's during the day, and even naps in her Pack n Play!
• She loves to be awake and will fight falling asleep. She's even started doing the cute, rub my eyes because I'm so tired, thing. Her naps will range in length from 15 minutes to 3 hours. And she usually wakes up perfectly rested from any of them.
• She still really loves to cuddle with Mommy.
• She now definitely knows and loves Daddy. She laughs and laughs whenever he's around.
• Every now and then, I'll get a good belly laugh out of her. Sometimes she even snorts when she's really laughing hard. It is to die for.
• She never really spent any time staring at her hands - she just started using them. She's grabbing at anything she finds interesting, as evidenced by the picture. It melts my heart when she reaches toward my face, because I'm what she wants right then.
• She's much more tolerant of time on her tummy, now. Probably since she can roll over. She's also much stronger so I'm sure she doesn't get so tired while "exercising."
• She's stopped sucking on her entire fist, and seems to prefer her thumb and index finger (at the same time). It looks like she's trying to whistle.
• She is ADORED by all who meet her, most especially by her cousin, Alivia!
• She's waking up more often during the night. I'm told if you google "4 month sleep regression," you'll find pages of info about it.
• She is starting to drool a lot. My whole family were big droolers. Lucky trait to inherit!
• She still loves bath time, but is getting a bit too big for her PUJ tub. However, she can't sit up on her own in the sink, yet, so we've tried different variations of tub and sink to find something that works.
• Her thighs are deliciously chunky.

Oh! And her stats from her 4-month appointment are: 14 lb, 10 oz and 25 3/4 inches. She's moved up to about the 75th percentile for weight and 90th for height. Look out!

Tumblr

Life keeps happening and this little blog of mine tends to land on the back burner. If you are so inclined as to want to see a new pic or video of the babe once a day, you can follow the tumblr page I set up for her at http://ellyruth.tumblr.com.

I'll be by soon to update you on her 4th month!

Happy Valentine's Day!

16 weeks already!

Elly is 16 weeks, today! I think about her weekly posts a lot, but since I'm back at work, I just haven't been able to write any.

Here is a picture, though! Heart explosions! Love her :)

Joy List

1. Elly's sweet, milky breath. It smells so yummy, and so much like my babe.

2. Owing taxes this year. This pretty much sucks but I'm attempting to look at it as a positive since it's due to us making quite a but more money last year.

3. Colorful cloth diapers. I get a kick out of get Elly's diapers ready every day because they're such pretty colors. Cloth is awesome!

4. Sunshine. It was pretty chilly today, but the bright sunshine was so pleasant!

5. Wine. It's just really nice to have a glass after work!

Sunday Sketches: Frog

I'm trying to get Elly to take a nap in her crib right now, so I thought I'd type up a quick post with my final felt animal, a frog.

See the other Sunday Sketches over here!

(And just because she's so stinkin' beautiful...)

Three Months!

Elly is already three months old! Yesterday was the big day. But with prepping (mentally and emotionally) to return to work last week and running around to different appointments, I've fallen behind in getting Elly's weekly posts up. They're coming, eventually!

In the meantime, here are her Month 3 pics:

Things I know about Elly:

• She LOVES to talk and laugh
• She recognizes both Mommy and Daddy now, by voice and by sight
• She sleeps from about 9-4 every night
• When she discovers a new sound she can make, she does it over and over again
• She has doubled her birth weight, from 7 lbs to 14 lbs
• She still gets a kick out of ceiling fans
• She really enjoys watching mobiles spin
• She will watch an ENTIRE episode of Yo Gabba Gabba without looking away, if I'm not careful!
• Her hair is growing, but she's got a bald patch on the back of her head where she rubs it against the mattress when she's sleeping
• Instead of sucking on just one or two fingers, she prefers trying to stuff her entire fist, sometimes both, into her mouth
• She loves sitting up and looking around
• Sometimes she looks very serious; I wonder if she's trying to solve the world's troubles, already!
• She is wearing almost only 3-6 month clothing
• People who know only me tell me she looks just like me... until I show them a picture of Eric
• She's better able to entertain herself, now, for a little while
• She can roll over from tummy to back, but will often just cry on her tummy until I pick her up instead of rolling over
• She can finish a nursing session in under five minutes, but often gets distracted trying to smile and talk to me
• She will sit up in her Bumbo seat for a few minutes at a time
• She has really loud toots!

Sometimes I sing to her my own version of "You Are My Sunshine:"

You are my Elly, my only Elly

You make me happy everyday

You'll never know dear, how much I love you

But I'll tell you everyday 

Joy List

Anne over at My Giant Strawberry has two greyhounds! Also, she has a great idea to start writing out Joy Lists every Monday. I thought I'd join her.

1. Elly. Everything about her brings me joy. When she smiles at me, when she laughs, when she snuggles up against me and falls asleep... I'm everything she needs right now, and it's a wonderful thing.
2. The Wendy Williams Show. I never watched it before my maternity leave, even on my summers off. I love to watch Live with Kelly (oh, how I miss Regis!) and The View, which come on at 9a and 11a on ABC, but Rachael Ray (on at 10a) grates my last nerves. I found Wendy Williams over on Fox at 10a and she just tickles my fancy.
3. Henry. My good friends have been working on getting a kid for a number of years, and they finally have a picture of little Henry, who will be theirs next year. It makes my heart burst with joy for them.
4. Snow. We had our first real snow today, and while I don't normally love snow, it was nice to watch it from inside my nice, warm house. Plus, it was in the 60s over the weekend, so it didn't stick to anything but the grass. That's always nice.
5. Cuddling in bed late into the morning. Okay, so this one is Elly again, but man, it is so sweet to pull her into bed with me after her 7a feeding and sleep together until 10. That doesn't happen every morning (then I'd never see Kelly!), but when it does... what joy!

Surprise Ending!

Week 11: Thoughts from Elly

This past Thursday marked 11 weeks for me! I'm getting so much stronger and smarter about the world around me!

The previous week also marked the beginning of 2012. On New Year's Eve, Mommy and Daddy took me out to one of their favorite bars so I could meet Heather, who was working that night. She has been friends with Daddy for about 10 years, and friends with Mommy ever since she started hanging out with Daddy, about 7 years ago. Heather was so excited to meet me! She had been having a bad week and said that holding me made her forget about all the bad things for a little while. I tend to have that effect on people!!

We went back home around 8pm and Mommy got me ready for bed. I think she and Daddy stayed up for a little while to watch the ball drop in Times Square on the TV, but I slept right though it! The next morning, though, Mommy made sure to tell me that the new year really did begin!

Also, I learned this week that one of Mommy's coworkers had a baby boy on New Year's Eve. I hope I get to be friends with him!

Over the weekend, we got to take care of another greyhound whose mommy was going out of town. Her name was Stella. I was so curious about her! I looked and looked at her. Mommy explained to me that she's a greyhound, just like Ramona. I was a little confused, though, because they look similar, but they were different colors! I'm sure it will make more sense to me, someday! She was just like Ramona,  though! They both loved just laying around being lazy! Silly doggies!

This week, Mommy and Daddy had to find child care for me since Mommy is going back to work in 2 weeks. They interviewed a few people and found a great place just a few minutes from Mommy's school. In fact, it turns out that it's actually the mommy of one my Mommy's students! What a lucky coincidence! The woman's name that will be taking care of me is Stephanie, and she seems really nice. She told me that as long as Mommy's not nearby listening, she'll sing to me all day long. Hooray! I love it when people sing to me! Mommy said she's sure going to miss me, though!

A few days this week were really hard for me because my reflux was acting up. When my tummy starts really hurting me, I cry and squirm. Those are the times when I really just want Mommy to hold me and make me feel better. 

Daddy's garage build is coming along. They've built the foundation and dug out the driveway, and now both are just waiting for the concrete to be poured. There have been a couple of snafus that have slowed down the process, but it's all getting worked out. Mommy and Daddy are both really excited for the project to be complete! Mommy is going to have a great time creating a new landscaping design this spring and summer, especially since she didn't get to do anything out there last year since she was pregnant with me!

On Wednesday, Mommy and I went to the breast feeding group (the one where I met Evelyn a few weeks ago) where she was able to weigh me. I'm already up to 12 lbs, and that was before I ate anything! Mommy had to put away a few of my 0-3 month clothes this week since I'm growing so much! There are some brands that still fit me, but not all! This is a 3-6 month outfit Mommy gave me for Solstice/Christmas. It's a little bit big, but I'm growing into it really quickly!

Thursday night, I got to go to dinner with Mommy, Daddy, Ronda, and Travis. They had steaks and I had a nice, long nap! I always like to take naps whenever we're out. All that noise puts me right to sleep! Ronda and Travis are really nice. They're going to be adopting a baby from South Korea sometime soon, and I think they're going to be great parents! I can't wait to be best friends with their baby, too! Ronda gave me a new outfit while we were visiting. Check out how cute I look!

Well, that about covers this week. Thanks for stopping by!

Love,

Elly