Since signing up for the gym on Tuesday I decided to make my first appearance today. Jon had a breakfast meeting at Dunkin earlier than I wanted to wake up so I set an alarm just in case Ellie didn't wake up before I had to start getting ready. Ellie miraculously slept from 9:45 until 8:15 and only woke up once. She used to do this all the time but recently hasn't - it felt so nice to sleep so much!
We made it to the gym around 9:00 but by the time I dropped Ellie off in childcare the classes had begun and the class I was going to try had the door closed and the lights off (weird) so I decided not to go in. Instead I went on the elliptical for a bit before doing some weights. I also kicked around the locker room and used their doctor-style scale. It always feels so accurate when I can move around the little weight.
Heading home I had to quickly take a shower before heading off to Iron Mountains for some testing. Although I thought Ellie might fall asleep on the way over she didn't. I warned the engineer that she may get cranky (and apologized) but she instead waved her arms wildly and smiled at him as he took pictures of her in the product. What a stinker. While I'm there they ask me questions about the products they are developing. It's fun to see what they're working on and the various stages.
I decided to head home for some lunch to give Ellie an opportunity to sleep in her crib. But she would have nothing of it! She had not slept since 8:15 and by 1:00 when she had not fallen asleep I decided to go ahead to the grocery store since the car ride might put her to sleep.
My first stop was BBs. I get my coffee, Turkey Hill iced tea, and a few other canned goods there (I always check dates). While I was going through the isles the main older lady (no idea her name) who has been there forever (possibly could be the manager??) asked my name and if I was the one who would ride my electric scooter to the Elverson location. I told her that was Corinne and a bit about what she was up to now. She even asked how old she is now. Apparently they had been talking about her just yesterday and wanted to send her their greetings. I found it hilarious that they were talking about her and her scooter. Ha!
I stopped by a fabric store in Morgantown that was having a sale and found some cute fabric for pillows for our bed for the summertime. Our comforter is more of a fall/winter look so it will be fun to have something to lighten up the look.
I needed to pick up some groceries at Walmart but it was windy and cold and Ellie had only slept briefly on our car rides so I thought it'd be best to try to get her to sleep for a real nap length. I made dinner when we arrived home and unsuccessfully tried to put her to sleep. She finally fell asleep at 5:30. Stinker.
We had to wake her up to head to small group at 6:10. She was a bit of a stinker because she was just so tired! I had a bottle, which helped. Next time we're hosting so I will be able to put her down when she's tired.
Ellieisms:
She has had a lot of stinkers lately and they are just that: stinky!
Ellie was weighed and measured (unofficially with clothes and probably not accurately with height, quite frankly) but she came out to 14lb 6 oz and 24 1/4 inches long.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Beautiful Baby
Jon once again woke up and went running. Some day I will have my exercising endeavors to comment about. Anyway, when he came home we had eggs and coffee for breakfast. I desperately need to go grocery shopping since we are out of bread, good cereal, salsa, tortillas, fruit, fresh vegetables, and the milk is too sour for me to want to touch (Jon thinks it's just fine).
Ellie woke up as I was getting out of the shower and we miraculously arrived at Precepts on time. Jon had asked me to stay in the Elverson area since Fisher (our mechanic) needed to look at my car's breaks. While I was in Precepts I really felt the desire to eat a turkey twist from the deli. I texted him after study and he agreed to split one after Fisher looked at my car. To pass the time until our appointment I dropped off some dry cleaning and deposited checks at the bank.
Fisher had good news for the breaks (apparently Jon thought ones he had fixed were messed up but apparently it's the ones that he did not fix) so he was happy. I picked up the sandwich then met up with Jon back at his office. If we would have gone home it would have been a lot of time wasted driving for Jon so Ellie and I ate with him at his work's lunch room. It was closer to 1:00 so shortly after we arrived the other men who were eating left so it was just our little family.
The turkey twist tasted so good! I thought about trying to send one with Mom and Dad for Corinne but realized it wouldn't work since you're usually not allowed to take unpackaged food outside of the country. Sorry, Corinne! It's the thought that counts, right??
Arriving home around 1:00 I wanted to get a good nap in for Ellie. It was a warm yet dreary day so I also laid down for about 10 minutes. I was all ready for my 3:00 piano lesson to arrive and they didn't show up. Noticing the time I checked my answering machine and they had left a message asking to come at a later time. I called her up and scheduled them at 4:30. Ellie woke up at 3:10 a very sad girl so I was glad they moved the lesson! Praise the Lord they weren't waiting in the living room when she woke up crying. She was worked up enough that it took a while to calm her down. I can never tell if she has a temperature or not since whenever I'm around Mom and think she feels warm Mom says she feels fine. Ellie is typically a very easy baby to keep happy so when she was still upset after thirty minutes of love and care (ha) I decided to try to give her some Tylenol. I don't know how much she actually swallowed but she cheered up for my 4:00 lesson and lasted right until 5:10 when my second student left. Being overtired Ellie did not want to take a nap. I really needed to vacuum so I laid her in her crib with her pacifier and doll and turned on the vacuum. Her crying stopped immediately. Therefore I decided to quickly clean up the bathroom and pull dinner out of the fridge. When Jon walked in I hadn't done any vacuuming but at least some things had been accomplished.
On Wednesday evenings Jon and I both have our separate groups: he hosts prayer group at our house and I go to Brittany's for a women's Bible study. For the past two weeks Ellie has remained home with Jon but has woken up during the prayer group. This week I took her with me. She did okay: good, not great. We decided to switch on and off so that we can each enjoy peaceful group times. Tara came with me this week. A few weeks ago I thought to ask her if she wanted to join the group and drive with me and she said yes. Since she lives just a mile up the road she comes here and we drive over together. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better as we carpool.
I'm sorry for the lack of pictures. I didn't take any pictures today. So perhaps I'll look back at five months ago. Here's a flash from August 26thish:
Ellie woke up as I was getting out of the shower and we miraculously arrived at Precepts on time. Jon had asked me to stay in the Elverson area since Fisher (our mechanic) needed to look at my car's breaks. While I was in Precepts I really felt the desire to eat a turkey twist from the deli. I texted him after study and he agreed to split one after Fisher looked at my car. To pass the time until our appointment I dropped off some dry cleaning and deposited checks at the bank.
Fisher had good news for the breaks (apparently Jon thought ones he had fixed were messed up but apparently it's the ones that he did not fix) so he was happy. I picked up the sandwich then met up with Jon back at his office. If we would have gone home it would have been a lot of time wasted driving for Jon so Ellie and I ate with him at his work's lunch room. It was closer to 1:00 so shortly after we arrived the other men who were eating left so it was just our little family.
The turkey twist tasted so good! I thought about trying to send one with Mom and Dad for Corinne but realized it wouldn't work since you're usually not allowed to take unpackaged food outside of the country. Sorry, Corinne! It's the thought that counts, right??
Arriving home around 1:00 I wanted to get a good nap in for Ellie. It was a warm yet dreary day so I also laid down for about 10 minutes. I was all ready for my 3:00 piano lesson to arrive and they didn't show up. Noticing the time I checked my answering machine and they had left a message asking to come at a later time. I called her up and scheduled them at 4:30. Ellie woke up at 3:10 a very sad girl so I was glad they moved the lesson! Praise the Lord they weren't waiting in the living room when she woke up crying. She was worked up enough that it took a while to calm her down. I can never tell if she has a temperature or not since whenever I'm around Mom and think she feels warm Mom says she feels fine. Ellie is typically a very easy baby to keep happy so when she was still upset after thirty minutes of love and care (ha) I decided to try to give her some Tylenol. I don't know how much she actually swallowed but she cheered up for my 4:00 lesson and lasted right until 5:10 when my second student left. Being overtired Ellie did not want to take a nap. I really needed to vacuum so I laid her in her crib with her pacifier and doll and turned on the vacuum. Her crying stopped immediately. Therefore I decided to quickly clean up the bathroom and pull dinner out of the fridge. When Jon walked in I hadn't done any vacuuming but at least some things had been accomplished.
On Wednesday evenings Jon and I both have our separate groups: he hosts prayer group at our house and I go to Brittany's for a women's Bible study. For the past two weeks Ellie has remained home with Jon but has woken up during the prayer group. This week I took her with me. She did okay: good, not great. We decided to switch on and off so that we can each enjoy peaceful group times. Tara came with me this week. A few weeks ago I thought to ask her if she wanted to join the group and drive with me and she said yes. Since she lives just a mile up the road she comes here and we drive over together. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better as we carpool.
I'm sorry for the lack of pictures. I didn't take any pictures today. So perhaps I'll look back at five months ago. Here's a flash from August 26thish:
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| after her first bath |
Ellieisms:
Ellie has gotten really close to rolling over but without success yet. I am not pressuring her to start, though.
When she was in the swing today she would arch her back when she didn't want to be in there anymore. She has also started doing that in her car seat. Driving could become bad quickly...
I have been told that I should register Ellie into the local beautiful baby contest. At least I think it's local...Anyway, that's not the point. I thought it was funny and very kind of someone to say. Apparently Jon and I are not the only one who think Ellie is cute!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Free Things Are Great
This morning I woke up and drank a cup of coffee while Jon ate his breakfast. I didn't need to eat because we had the much-loved Mom's Together event at church. Ellie woke up while I was showering and her diaper was about to explode it was so heavy. Deciding I had enough time to quickly throw her in the tub, I was in for a big surprise. Ellie took the opportunity to boo in the bath. Fortunately I had her in the little swing in her baby tub so I pulled her off, threw what I could in the trash, then put the swing in the big bath tub and gave her a bath without it. She actually sits fairly well so it wasn't too tricky.
We made it to the Mom's Together event only three minutes late and we even stopped by Mom's house to pick up the orange juice she had forgotten. Al Kimball spoke about how men think and the marriage relationship. The food was delicious and our table had some good discussion time. Ellie hung out in the nursery with eight other infants and the childcare workers said she did really well. One young girl, Emily Green, said she even fell asleep on her lap and she loved it.
Debating whether to stay in Elverson or go home to put Ellie down for a nap I decided to head home. I stopped first at Twin Valley Family Fitness to sign up for four months. After having Ellie I tried going for walks but it is just too cold now. If I would sign up for four months that would take me to late May and (hopefully) ready to feel healthy again by summer. As I was talking about trying to get a discount for being part of CEFC (you get a 15% off discount) the lady at the desk asked if I was Merle's daughter. Why yes, I am. Apparently I have a free membership even though I'm married. I double checked and then asked how much it would be to have Ellie in the childcare. Well she counts, too! So I walked in ready to drop almost $60 a month (which is way too much in my personal opinion) and left having a free membership! I was thrilled: Jon was ecstatic.
I fueled up then took Ellie home and prayed that her short nap from Joanna Store to home (about 3 miles) wouldn't mess up her real nap. She woke up when we arrived home and didn't fall asleep after I fed her so I decided to lay down with her in my bed. It became obvious that I had never slept with that baby because I didn't even know how she would want to lay. I ended up just putting her on Jon's side of the bed and laying down myself. She never fell asleep so after a while I put her down in her crib.
I never want to wake Ellie up from her naps but I needed to in order to make it to Brooke's flute lesson. She was awake so Aunt Carol took her and watched her during the lesson. Turner enjoyed spending some time with her, too. I then dropped baby off with Grandma and Grandpa and went to Kane's for their piano lessons.
Grandma and Grandpa invited us over along with the Fenton's and Mom and Dad for dinner before Mom and Dad leave for Uganda. It was a delicious meal and we enjoyed spending time with everyone. I had asked Grandma if I could find someone else to watch Ellie since she was hosting dinner but she had insisted to keep her. I love that Ellie is able to spend time with her great grandparents each week!
After dinner we came home and Jon worked on the computer while I did my Bible Study homework for tomorrow. I am now going to figure out what Ellie and I will wear tomorrow so that I won't be rushing to Precepts in the morning.
Elliesms:
Ellie has been sleeping terribly recently. I really need to write down when she wakes up but I think last night she woke up three times between midnight when I went to bed and eight o'clock when I woke up. I also ran out of her baby food so perhaps if I get on a more regular schedule with her eating that will help. It didn't seem to help when she first started eating but there's time to change!
We made it to the Mom's Together event only three minutes late and we even stopped by Mom's house to pick up the orange juice she had forgotten. Al Kimball spoke about how men think and the marriage relationship. The food was delicious and our table had some good discussion time. Ellie hung out in the nursery with eight other infants and the childcare workers said she did really well. One young girl, Emily Green, said she even fell asleep on her lap and she loved it.
Debating whether to stay in Elverson or go home to put Ellie down for a nap I decided to head home. I stopped first at Twin Valley Family Fitness to sign up for four months. After having Ellie I tried going for walks but it is just too cold now. If I would sign up for four months that would take me to late May and (hopefully) ready to feel healthy again by summer. As I was talking about trying to get a discount for being part of CEFC (you get a 15% off discount) the lady at the desk asked if I was Merle's daughter. Why yes, I am. Apparently I have a free membership even though I'm married. I double checked and then asked how much it would be to have Ellie in the childcare. Well she counts, too! So I walked in ready to drop almost $60 a month (which is way too much in my personal opinion) and left having a free membership! I was thrilled: Jon was ecstatic.
I fueled up then took Ellie home and prayed that her short nap from Joanna Store to home (about 3 miles) wouldn't mess up her real nap. She woke up when we arrived home and didn't fall asleep after I fed her so I decided to lay down with her in my bed. It became obvious that I had never slept with that baby because I didn't even know how she would want to lay. I ended up just putting her on Jon's side of the bed and laying down myself. She never fell asleep so after a while I put her down in her crib.
I never want to wake Ellie up from her naps but I needed to in order to make it to Brooke's flute lesson. She was awake so Aunt Carol took her and watched her during the lesson. Turner enjoyed spending some time with her, too. I then dropped baby off with Grandma and Grandpa and went to Kane's for their piano lessons.
Grandma and Grandpa invited us over along with the Fenton's and Mom and Dad for dinner before Mom and Dad leave for Uganda. It was a delicious meal and we enjoyed spending time with everyone. I had asked Grandma if I could find someone else to watch Ellie since she was hosting dinner but she had insisted to keep her. I love that Ellie is able to spend time with her great grandparents each week!
After dinner we came home and Jon worked on the computer while I did my Bible Study homework for tomorrow. I am now going to figure out what Ellie and I will wear tomorrow so that I won't be rushing to Precepts in the morning.
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| Cousins at Grandma's |
Ellie has been sleeping terribly recently. I really need to write down when she wakes up but I think last night she woke up three times between midnight when I went to bed and eight o'clock when I woke up. I also ran out of her baby food so perhaps if I get on a more regular schedule with her eating that will help. It didn't seem to help when she first started eating but there's time to change!
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| Being silly |
Monday, January 28, 2013
Quick Weekend Wrap-up
Since Jon had Friday off, Saturday felt like our second Saturday. It was wonderful! Especially since we didn't get to really start the actual tiling. Jon worked on the tiling and I set a goal to (finally) go through my winter clothes that had been stored in the attic and either a) put them in my closet, b) throw them away, or c) donate them. The box was at the foot of our bed for months. It's wonderful to have it out of there.
Quite frankly I do not recall what else we did on Saturday. Oh! We had Clark over for a few hours. He is such a good boy and it was fun for Ellie to have someone watch. The poor child sat in Ellie's high chair for probably over an hour -- not at the same time. While I was preparing dinner at 5:30 he was starting to become clingy so I put him in and he ate. Then while we were eating dinner at 7:30 (yes, it's late, I know) he sat in the high chair for some more food. Basically he seemed hungry still so I showed him some options from the fridge. He settled on vanilla yogurt.
Omar came over to hang out and call Efra in Puebla with Jon so I decided to make ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, and a salad. I needed some ham for a soup recipe that I wanted to try so I bought a larger size for ham and pineapple sauce. I could eat that meal every day!
On Sunday we went to church in the morning and came home for lunch. I had made a full recipe of mashed potatoes which worked out for eating with our other leftovers: grilled chicken. Jon heated everything up while I took care of Ellie. Generally I spend a few hours taking a nap on Sunday afternoon if nothing is happening but I decided to finally make Kelly's Christmas present cosmetic bag. I had made her one but had made a mistake so I wanted to make the correct one. I finished everything except for the tab on the zipper. Somehow I threw away my piece of scrap fabric I usually use for it so I need to find something that will work. Who knows how I threw it away - I don't throw anything away!
Sunday evening we went to prayer meeting and afterwards everyone was invited to the Stoltzfus' to ice skate on the rink they made. It looks great! Neither Jon or I brought our skates but we really just wanted to go and hang out at the bonfire and drink the free hot chocolate. But really, we saw it as a fun way to see people way might not normally talk to. Ryan and Tara Frey were there so I sat with Tara and we planned a girls' night for when the men are away on the men's retreat on Friday.
It was twenty-five degrees outside so Ellie was wrapped up in her winter onesie suit and it was so tight she could hardly move her limbs. We also had a blanket on her and she eventually fell asleep on Jon's shoulder. We stayed out past her bedtime which perhaps threw her off because she woke up several times throughout the night. Hopefully tonight will be better!
Quite frankly I do not recall what else we did on Saturday. Oh! We had Clark over for a few hours. He is such a good boy and it was fun for Ellie to have someone watch. The poor child sat in Ellie's high chair for probably over an hour -- not at the same time. While I was preparing dinner at 5:30 he was starting to become clingy so I put him in and he ate. Then while we were eating dinner at 7:30 (yes, it's late, I know) he sat in the high chair for some more food. Basically he seemed hungry still so I showed him some options from the fridge. He settled on vanilla yogurt.
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| Dinner round one. Don't worry, I sliced the banana up. |
On Sunday we went to church in the morning and came home for lunch. I had made a full recipe of mashed potatoes which worked out for eating with our other leftovers: grilled chicken. Jon heated everything up while I took care of Ellie. Generally I spend a few hours taking a nap on Sunday afternoon if nothing is happening but I decided to finally make Kelly's Christmas present cosmetic bag. I had made her one but had made a mistake so I wanted to make the correct one. I finished everything except for the tab on the zipper. Somehow I threw away my piece of scrap fabric I usually use for it so I need to find something that will work. Who knows how I threw it away - I don't throw anything away!
Sunday evening we went to prayer meeting and afterwards everyone was invited to the Stoltzfus' to ice skate on the rink they made. It looks great! Neither Jon or I brought our skates but we really just wanted to go and hang out at the bonfire and drink the free hot chocolate. But really, we saw it as a fun way to see people way might not normally talk to. Ryan and Tara Frey were there so I sat with Tara and we planned a girls' night for when the men are away on the men's retreat on Friday.
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| All bundled up |
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| Rolls everywhere! And this is Ellie's new favorite position. Legs in the air! |
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| Exersaucering |
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| Helping Dad out. |
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| Our little gnome |
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| Supervising |
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| It's a start! |
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| The shower pattern for the top |
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| Ellie's first TV dinner |
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| Jon driving with the big mirror in the snow Friday night |
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Pictureless Post
Jon took the day off on Friday because he had an extra vacation day leftover from 2012. He started the day by running and then made us eggs for breakfast. Three of my friends from college are set to visit in March so we have a new goal for completing our shower in the basement. My task was to pick out the tile and since we had shopped around on Thursday evening Jon went out to Home Depot to compare prices. He came home a few hours later (poor guy) with the needed supplies. Ellie and I hung around home and did the laundry and cleaned up the kitchen while he was away.
To give me a vision of what the tile will look like Jon set it up by duck taping a view pieces on the wall. Apparently we had a bit of a miscommunication over the phone because I felt as though we were missing a few pieces we had discussed. After I drew a rendering of what I was envision Jon said that'd be fine but we would need to run to Home Depot again. No problem.
Although Jon did not have all the tiles he needed for the shower he worked on the other setup details: drawing lines and whatnot. I'm not entirely sure.
It started snowing in the middle of the afternoon. We had a meeting at 4:30 in Exeter to complete our refinancing adventure. The snow had laid more than predicted so we left with 45 minutes to drive the 25 minute trip. We arrived with plenty of time and signed the papers. We drove out to the Reading Home Depot to pick up our last tiling supplies and ended up picking up a few other items including a 5 1/2 foot tall mirror. I've been looking for a full length mirror since we've been married but they've always been over $50. This one was $35 so I was thrilled. Plus, Home Depot allowed us to use our Lowe's 10% off coupon so we saved quite a bit.
For dinner we headed off for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Mount Penn. Frank Grosso had taken him there a few weeks ago for lunch and he's been wanting to take me ever since. Due to the snow the restaurant was completely empty. We bought 10 tacos for $10 and also ordered chips and salsa and 2 Mexican drinks (I had a Mexican pineapple soda and Jon had a milk drink thing). It was all delicious and we had leftovers to bring home.
We came home and Jon once again taped the tiles up to confirm they are the look I am after. I took a picture of the pattern but haven't downloaded any pictures today. I'll post it next time.
Ellieisms:
Still no rolling over. Jon is on training duty.
To give me a vision of what the tile will look like Jon set it up by duck taping a view pieces on the wall. Apparently we had a bit of a miscommunication over the phone because I felt as though we were missing a few pieces we had discussed. After I drew a rendering of what I was envision Jon said that'd be fine but we would need to run to Home Depot again. No problem.
Although Jon did not have all the tiles he needed for the shower he worked on the other setup details: drawing lines and whatnot. I'm not entirely sure.
It started snowing in the middle of the afternoon. We had a meeting at 4:30 in Exeter to complete our refinancing adventure. The snow had laid more than predicted so we left with 45 minutes to drive the 25 minute trip. We arrived with plenty of time and signed the papers. We drove out to the Reading Home Depot to pick up our last tiling supplies and ended up picking up a few other items including a 5 1/2 foot tall mirror. I've been looking for a full length mirror since we've been married but they've always been over $50. This one was $35 so I was thrilled. Plus, Home Depot allowed us to use our Lowe's 10% off coupon so we saved quite a bit.
For dinner we headed off for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Mount Penn. Frank Grosso had taken him there a few weeks ago for lunch and he's been wanting to take me ever since. Due to the snow the restaurant was completely empty. We bought 10 tacos for $10 and also ordered chips and salsa and 2 Mexican drinks (I had a Mexican pineapple soda and Jon had a milk drink thing). It was all delicious and we had leftovers to bring home.
We came home and Jon once again taped the tiles up to confirm they are the look I am after. I took a picture of the pattern but haven't downloaded any pictures today. I'll post it next time.
Ellieisms:
Still no rolling over. Jon is on training duty.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Ellie's Upset Stomach
Today I did not have anything on the calendar during the day so I asked Kelly if she wanted to get together and do some crafts and ask Dorothy Bradshaw (our new pastor's wife) to join us. We went over around 10:30 and I cut out the pattern for the cosmetic bag I'm making to replace Kelly's Christmas gift one (I had made a mistake on hers). Kelly worked on a bulletin board for Clark's new room and Dorothy started cutting fabric for a purse she's making. For lunch Kelly made grilled cheese sandwiches and had cheeseburger soup. It was delicious!
Ellie was a bit cranky in the middle of the afternoon so I thought perhaps she wasn't getting enough to eat. Kelly had a banana that she mashed up for me (thanks!) so I used some formula I mixed in a bottle to thin out the banana and fed baby. She ate several bites then she relaxed and drank a few gulps of the bottle and relaxed on the bouncer for a while. Clark woke up and played with her and bounced the seat a bit.
We ended up hanging out at Kelly's until almost 5:00. Ellie and I arrived home right before Jon and I changed her diaper before we headed out to Morgantown. Dave Culbert asked Jon to do a bit of electrical work at his house (they had tried and failed) so Jon and I decided to go pick out our tile for the basement and eat dinner before heading over to Churchtown.
We went to AJ's Pizza for dinner. Ellie was starting to squirm and be discontent and Jon had forgotten to bring in Ellie's diaper bag so he ran out to get it just in case I would need to nurse. While he was outside Ellie spat up a bunch - twice both large amounts. She was still in her car seat and I tilted her forward so that she wouldn't have problems gagging on her spit-up. She spat up once or twice more but not much came out. She had it all over her clothes and in her car seat so I changed her clothes while Jon cleaned out her seat. Fortunately the pizzeria was not very full so I could use a table to change her clothes (I spread out a blanket on it).
Poor baby Ellie seemed so tired afterwards. She did not cry at all and seemed so exhausted. Falling asleep for a bit in Lowe's Ellie slept until we reached the Culbert's. The Culbert's have three kids: William (3rd grade), Alex (1st grade), and Jordan (3). Alex is a VERY talkative girl and loves to get really close to you when she's talking. I did not mind at all and Ellie must have been feeling better because she didn't, either. Alex held her for a while and then we laid the baby on her back to interact with her. Jordan is a cute little boy who would bring her toys and also "read" a few books to her. Alex told me Ellie was her favorite baby (right after she asked me "what is her name again?").
Ellie ate well and did not spit up while we were at Culbert's so I'm thinking the formula was either bad or just didn't sit well with the bananas. I've decided to throw it away either way since it has been open for a few months since we hardly ever use it. If I had been home in the afternoon I would have given her a bottle but I had neglected to bring one to the Fenton's.
Jon and I hung out and met the Culbert's foreign exchange student from Korea and headed home around 9:00. Jon worked on our printer and I paid our electric bill online. Since Jon runs early in the morning tomorrow he's already in bed and I'm about to head that way myself.
Some pictures from the past two days:
Ellie was a bit cranky in the middle of the afternoon so I thought perhaps she wasn't getting enough to eat. Kelly had a banana that she mashed up for me (thanks!) so I used some formula I mixed in a bottle to thin out the banana and fed baby. She ate several bites then she relaxed and drank a few gulps of the bottle and relaxed on the bouncer for a while. Clark woke up and played with her and bounced the seat a bit.
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| Clutching her toy as she sleeps at Aunt Kelly's |
We went to AJ's Pizza for dinner. Ellie was starting to squirm and be discontent and Jon had forgotten to bring in Ellie's diaper bag so he ran out to get it just in case I would need to nurse. While he was outside Ellie spat up a bunch - twice both large amounts. She was still in her car seat and I tilted her forward so that she wouldn't have problems gagging on her spit-up. She spat up once or twice more but not much came out. She had it all over her clothes and in her car seat so I changed her clothes while Jon cleaned out her seat. Fortunately the pizzeria was not very full so I could use a table to change her clothes (I spread out a blanket on it).
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| Little baby |
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| Sad after spitting up |
Ellie ate well and did not spit up while we were at Culbert's so I'm thinking the formula was either bad or just didn't sit well with the bananas. I've decided to throw it away either way since it has been open for a few months since we hardly ever use it. If I had been home in the afternoon I would have given her a bottle but I had neglected to bring one to the Fenton's.
Jon and I hung out and met the Culbert's foreign exchange student from Korea and headed home around 9:00. Jon worked on our printer and I paid our electric bill online. Since Jon runs early in the morning tomorrow he's already in bed and I'm about to head that way myself.
Some pictures from the past two days:
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| Snoozing on Mimi's lap Tuesday night |
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| Cuddling with great grandma |
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| Ellie's new best friend: her reflection |
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Birthday Weekend
Saturday morning Jon wrote a list of things he needs to do in the house. He knew he would not come close to finishing the list so I told him to pick one or two things and write a shorter list he could finish. He didn't take my advice or even finish anything. Instead we went shopping.
Jon has my "big" birthday present figured out but he wanted me to pick up a few other items. Since this is a holiday weekend I knew the Premium Outlets would be having good sales so we went there for our shopping excursion. Jon likes to shop with a plan so we parked strategically and did not diverge from the plan. Ellie was not very compliant in her stroller but enjoyed when Jon held her while I shopped around. We came home after picking up some items and eating a quick lunch at the food court.
Upon arriving home Jon spent time fitting a wooden door for one of our upstairs closets. We are slowly replacing the hollow doors with solid ones in the house. Ellie took a nice nap and woke up just in time to head to Mimi and Pops' house at 5:00.
Grandma, Grandpa, Linda, and the Fentons joined us and Mimi and Pops for my birthday dinner. Mom made a delicious spread of roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, salad and rolls. Linda brought a spoon-bread corn bread dish and Mom topped off the night with two desserts -- apple pie and a grand chocolate cake. I ate so much! It was all very delicious. Then I opened gifts. Grandma and Grandpa gave me a silver bracelet, Linda gave me a glass pitcher, the Fentons gave me a Thirty-One planner/organizer, and Dad and Mom gave me the sugar and creamer that go with my china set. I really enjoyed our evening and felt very blessed (Yes, Dad did have everyone "bless" me :).
Sunday continued my birthday festivities after church since Donna had Jon, Ellie, me, Ben, and Jess over for lunch to celebrate Ben and my birthdays. They ordered two dishes from Giovanni's and Donna made a salad and Italian Wedding Soup. Ellie went down for a nap after lunch and since she had not slept at all during church (not one bit!) I did not want to wake her up. Jon took a nap on the couch while Donna and I talked. The little girl slept very well and we remained in Elverson until prayer meeting at 6:00.
Following prayer meeting Brittany, Peter, and Omar came over to hang out. We had some chocolate cake, raspberry sauce, chips and salsa, and crackers and cheese. The boys played FIFA while Brittany and I caught up. Jon had the fire going so it was nice and cosy in the basement. We really enjoy our family room in our basement.
Being a holiday weekend Cat Baskin had Monday off so she came home for the weekend. On Sunday she texted and asked if we wanted to do breakfast together. I invited her over for baked oatmeal and we also asked Charlotte and her kiddos to come. She has two children: Cameron and Hannah. Cameron is over 2 1/2 months -- he turns 3 in March. Hannah is six weeks younger than Ellie. It was fun to spend some time together. I had told Cat they could come over anytime after 8:30 and she contacted Charlotte. I wasn't sure when they'd arrive but that was wonderful incentive to clean up while I waited. Charlotte and her kids came at 9:00 and left around 10:30 and Cat hung out until noon.
After Cat left I marinaded the chicken and cleaned up the house a bit more. Around 1:30 Ellie started really crying -- hard without breaks. I would bicycle her legs, I walked around the house, I couldn't figure it out. She did start crying harder when we reached her bedroom so I avoided that at all costs. Ha! Eventually she calmed down while we hung out in the sunporch. Then she didn't like that room anymore so she cried until I reached the bathroom, where she would stop crying. It was the weirdest thing! She eventually calmed down enough to nurse and fell asleep. Crying must have tired out the babe because she slept over two hours.
While Ellie slept my new student, a fourth grader from church, came. She has been learning from strange books so I was at a loss of what to do so we are going to finish up the book and hopefully move to a set of books I have taught from already.
Before my second lesson I prepared the baked potatoes and we finished getting ready for our company when Jon came back from work. Our guests arrived at 6:00 and we enjoyed our evening with everyone. Ryan brought his good storytelling skills and Clark was as adorable as ever. We enjoyed ourselves and we hope the others did, too!
Tuesday was my 25th birthday! Ellie gave me my first present for the day by sleeping in until 9:00. I was already awake since I ate breakfast with Jon before he left for work at 8:15. Having time to myself is always enjoyable - thanks, Ellie!
Grandma had lined up for us to have a birthday lunch for me at her house. Jon decided to join us so it was Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Kelly, Clark, Jon, Ellie, and me. Grandma made barbeque along with pasta salad, jello salad, and applesauce. She put a candle in a slice of cake for me, too.
Before lunch I put Ellie in the highchair and we called Clark into the kitchen. He seemed confused as he pointed to the highchair. "Wait, that's my seat!" We let him have it since Ellie is happy in her carseat. After lunch Ellie fell asleep on their bed so we hung around until I had to leave for teaching Brooke. I brought Ellie along and Aunt Carol watched her since Grandma had a piano lesson to teach. When I went back to drop Ellie off at Grandma and Grandpa's while I went to teach the Kanes the Brusts called and sang happy birthday on Skype. Grandma was excited to see everyone on my phone. Thanks for calling! I tried to put Ellie to sleep but left before she was sleeping. Grandma said she slept some but was sad for the last thirty minutes since she seemed constipated.
I took Ellie from Grandma's to Mom's house since Dad and Mom were watching Ellie while Jon and I went out for my birthday dinner. I had a bottle so it was an easy drop off. When I arrived home Jon had me open my presents. He gave me jeans, workout clothes, and network storage device. It's like a huge external hard drive (it's 2 terabytes) that I can access on my phone and computer network. I asked him if part of the present is setting it up...time will tell.
Dinner was at Mom Chaffe's Cellarette in Reading. It's an Italian restaurant I actually knew about for two years but Caleb just went to over Christmas break. Jon had fedelini and hot sausage and I had crab cakes. Dessert was delicious - tuxedo cake. We didn't stay out too long because we wanted to watch the most recent episode of Downton Abbey after picking up Ellie. Mom and Ellie were watching Ben Brust's basketball game (Ellie was sleeping). Thank you Mom and Dad for watching her while we were gone!
Ellieisms:
When laying on the floor Ellie does not seem interested in rolling over. She pulls at her pant legs and plays with her toys but even after we've tried to help her roll over she's just content to lay there on her back.
Some other random pictures from the weekend:
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| Ordering lunch |
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| Hanging out with Dad while we shop |
Upon arriving home Jon spent time fitting a wooden door for one of our upstairs closets. We are slowly replacing the hollow doors with solid ones in the house. Ellie took a nice nap and woke up just in time to head to Mimi and Pops' house at 5:00.
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| Watching Daddy work |
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| Grandpa and Clark |
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| Grandma and Ellie |
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| Pals |
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| Dressed in her Sunday best! |
Being a holiday weekend Cat Baskin had Monday off so she came home for the weekend. On Sunday she texted and asked if we wanted to do breakfast together. I invited her over for baked oatmeal and we also asked Charlotte and her kiddos to come. She has two children: Cameron and Hannah. Cameron is over 2 1/2 months -- he turns 3 in March. Hannah is six weeks younger than Ellie. It was fun to spend some time together. I had told Cat they could come over anytime after 8:30 and she contacted Charlotte. I wasn't sure when they'd arrive but that was wonderful incentive to clean up while I waited. Charlotte and her kids came at 9:00 and left around 10:30 and Cat hung out until noon.
After Cat left I marinaded the chicken and cleaned up the house a bit more. Around 1:30 Ellie started really crying -- hard without breaks. I would bicycle her legs, I walked around the house, I couldn't figure it out. She did start crying harder when we reached her bedroom so I avoided that at all costs. Ha! Eventually she calmed down while we hung out in the sunporch. Then she didn't like that room anymore so she cried until I reached the bathroom, where she would stop crying. It was the weirdest thing! She eventually calmed down enough to nurse and fell asleep. Crying must have tired out the babe because she slept over two hours.
While Ellie slept my new student, a fourth grader from church, came. She has been learning from strange books so I was at a loss of what to do so we are going to finish up the book and hopefully move to a set of books I have taught from already.
Before my second lesson I prepared the baked potatoes and we finished getting ready for our company when Jon came back from work. Our guests arrived at 6:00 and we enjoyed our evening with everyone. Ryan brought his good storytelling skills and Clark was as adorable as ever. We enjoyed ourselves and we hope the others did, too!
Tuesday was my 25th birthday! Ellie gave me my first present for the day by sleeping in until 9:00. I was already awake since I ate breakfast with Jon before he left for work at 8:15. Having time to myself is always enjoyable - thanks, Ellie!
Grandma had lined up for us to have a birthday lunch for me at her house. Jon decided to join us so it was Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Kelly, Clark, Jon, Ellie, and me. Grandma made barbeque along with pasta salad, jello salad, and applesauce. She put a candle in a slice of cake for me, too.
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| Hanging out at Grandma's |
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| Her spot during lunch |
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| Posing for pictures with my cake |
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| Serious faces. |
I took Ellie from Grandma's to Mom's house since Dad and Mom were watching Ellie while Jon and I went out for my birthday dinner. I had a bottle so it was an easy drop off. When I arrived home Jon had me open my presents. He gave me jeans, workout clothes, and network storage device. It's like a huge external hard drive (it's 2 terabytes) that I can access on my phone and computer network. I asked him if part of the present is setting it up...time will tell.
Dinner was at Mom Chaffe's Cellarette in Reading. It's an Italian restaurant I actually knew about for two years but Caleb just went to over Christmas break. Jon had fedelini and hot sausage and I had crab cakes. Dessert was delicious - tuxedo cake. We didn't stay out too long because we wanted to watch the most recent episode of Downton Abbey after picking up Ellie. Mom and Ellie were watching Ben Brust's basketball game (Ellie was sleeping). Thank you Mom and Dad for watching her while we were gone!
Ellieisms:
When laying on the floor Ellie does not seem interested in rolling over. She pulls at her pant legs and plays with her toys but even after we've tried to help her roll over she's just content to lay there on her back.
Some other random pictures from the weekend:
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| The cake I made for Friday night |
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| Jon feeding Ellie avacado |
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| Jon says she was trying to get him to stop feeding her |
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| This is how we sleep in Geigertown |
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Five Months Old!
Friday morning Ellie and I had a play date at the Fenton's along with two other moms and their kids from her small group. Ellie decided to sleep in until after 9:30 so we were almost 45 minutes late to the play date but were fortunately not the last ones there. Kelly made muffins and had hot tea for us to enjoy. Ellie was a doll and we stayed until 12:15 since she was getting tired.
Although I would love to go grocery shopping at an actual grocery store I have still been going to Walmart more often than not. We were in and out in less than an hour and then we went back to Kelly's since she had some boxes she wanted help moving after the other people left her play date. Together we moved some boxes from the loft and Clark's future "big boy room."
I took the groceries home as well as Ellie then made a dessert for dinner. Charlotte and Frank Grosso had invited us over and I decided to bring a chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce. I couldn't really find a recipe I liked so I combined a few and it turned out pretty well.
Since Ellie hit her five month "birthday" on Friday I decided to take a few pictures of her sitting on the rocking chair. I have done this before when she was younger so it'll be fun to compare them! She definitely was easier to photograph since she can hold herself up fairly well.
When Jon came home from work he helped me finish up the dessert by hanging out with Ellie and then he packed up the car. We had a really enjoyable meal with Charlotte and Frank and their two kids. Cameron is 2 years old, I believe, and Hannah is six weeks younger than Ellie. Their due dates were just one week apart but Ellie was three weeks early and Hannah was two weeks late. But they are the only girls born this past summer and fall so hopefully they will be pals! Cameron took a liking to "Miss Ellie," as he calls her, and said that she was his friend. I'm glad it's official. Also, we were the first company other than family for the Grosso's since Hannah was born. We felt honored to be invited!
Ellieisms:
Ellie does not like avacado. I will keep on feeding it to her, though, until the avacado either is gone or goes bad. It took a few days for her to warm up to bananas so perhaps she'll end up liking it in the end.
Although I would love to go grocery shopping at an actual grocery store I have still been going to Walmart more often than not. We were in and out in less than an hour and then we went back to Kelly's since she had some boxes she wanted help moving after the other people left her play date. Together we moved some boxes from the loft and Clark's future "big boy room."
I took the groceries home as well as Ellie then made a dessert for dinner. Charlotte and Frank Grosso had invited us over and I decided to bring a chocolate cake with a raspberry sauce. I couldn't really find a recipe I liked so I combined a few and it turned out pretty well.
Since Ellie hit her five month "birthday" on Friday I decided to take a few pictures of her sitting on the rocking chair. I have done this before when she was younger so it'll be fun to compare them! She definitely was easier to photograph since she can hold herself up fairly well.
When Jon came home from work he helped me finish up the dessert by hanging out with Ellie and then he packed up the car. We had a really enjoyable meal with Charlotte and Frank and their two kids. Cameron is 2 years old, I believe, and Hannah is six weeks younger than Ellie. Their due dates were just one week apart but Ellie was three weeks early and Hannah was two weeks late. But they are the only girls born this past summer and fall so hopefully they will be pals! Cameron took a liking to "Miss Ellie," as he calls her, and said that she was his friend. I'm glad it's official. Also, we were the first company other than family for the Grosso's since Hannah was born. We felt honored to be invited!
Ellieisms:
Ellie does not like avacado. I will keep on feeding it to her, though, until the avacado either is gone or goes bad. It took a few days for her to warm up to bananas so perhaps she'll end up liking it in the end.
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| Ellie, Clark, Gwen, & Hunter |
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| Eating second lunch |
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| Five months old! |
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Ellie Decides to Like Bananas
I enjoy Thursdays and Fridays because we do not have any standard schedules during the day. Today I had a few things I wanted to accomplish, out of which I started two. It's a start, I suppose.
Jon went running and Ellie woke up shortly before he came home at 7:30. We had some breakfast together before Jon went off to work. I also had to go to Iron Mountains but not until 10:00. Laundry was high on my to-do list since it was starting to pile up in the chute. So after I was ready to go I started Ellie's laundry.
Kelly graciously agreed to watch Ellie while I went into Iron Mountains for a car seat install session. It took about an hour and when I came back to Fenton's Ellie was sleeping. Aunt Kelly has the touch! We hung around for a while and decided to meet up again after Clark's nap.
Having decided to see how Ellie takes to eating solids, we spent some time trying out more bananas this afternoon. I'm not sure how many fractions of an ounce she actually swallowed but she seemed to become more familiar with how a spoon works. She then took a nap while I switched the laundry a couple times and made some phone calls. When Kelly texted saying that Clark was awake we swung by their house before all four of us left for Reading.
I have been trying to think ahead and purchase most of my meat at the Reading Fairground Market as well as the fresh vegetables and fruit I may need. However, since I only go every couple weeks it's not very realistic. I made up a list and promptly forgot it at home so I did my best to remember some of the items. We also walked up and down a few of the rows to see what other goods were offered. Kelly has been in the market for a bed rail for Clark's new bed and the Market is right next to Burlington Coat Factory so a stop was made. Although a bed rail was not found, we definitely found enough to keep us happy for a while. Ellie picked out new spoons, a carseat toy (about time), and a summer outfit. Exciting!
It was 5:30 when we arrived home and Jon pulled in shortly after us. I fed Ellie some more bananas which I think she actually enjoyed eating. Taking a few minutes to warm up she was soon was fussing until she was smacking her lips on some banana. I think she liked them!
Our small group begins at 6:30 and the Estes' were hosting all the way in New Holland. We were a bit late but it did not seem to matter. Fortunately Ellie behaved although she was very tired by the end and almost fell asleep on Jon's lap. She does not like to miss any action, though. We left around 9:30 and she was asleep as soon as the car was moving. Time will tell if the late bedtime impacts her nighttime sleep pattern.
Jon went running and Ellie woke up shortly before he came home at 7:30. We had some breakfast together before Jon went off to work. I also had to go to Iron Mountains but not until 10:00. Laundry was high on my to-do list since it was starting to pile up in the chute. So after I was ready to go I started Ellie's laundry.
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| Waiting for breakfast with Dad |
Having decided to see how Ellie takes to eating solids, we spent some time trying out more bananas this afternoon. I'm not sure how many fractions of an ounce she actually swallowed but she seemed to become more familiar with how a spoon works. She then took a nap while I switched the laundry a couple times and made some phone calls. When Kelly texted saying that Clark was awake we swung by their house before all four of us left for Reading.
I have been trying to think ahead and purchase most of my meat at the Reading Fairground Market as well as the fresh vegetables and fruit I may need. However, since I only go every couple weeks it's not very realistic. I made up a list and promptly forgot it at home so I did my best to remember some of the items. We also walked up and down a few of the rows to see what other goods were offered. Kelly has been in the market for a bed rail for Clark's new bed and the Market is right next to Burlington Coat Factory so a stop was made. Although a bed rail was not found, we definitely found enough to keep us happy for a while. Ellie picked out new spoons, a carseat toy (about time), and a summer outfit. Exciting!
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| Taking it all in at the Market |
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| Clark acting all chill. |
Our small group begins at 6:30 and the Estes' were hosting all the way in New Holland. We were a bit late but it did not seem to matter. Fortunately Ellie behaved although she was very tired by the end and almost fell asleep on Jon's lap. She does not like to miss any action, though. We left around 9:30 and she was asleep as soon as the car was moving. Time will tell if the late bedtime impacts her nighttime sleep pattern.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Sleeping & Eating: It's What Ellie Does(n't) Do
Yesterday I thought I was having a tough day with Ellie until I heard about Carly's day with little Jay. Therefore I decided to withhold any grumbling and skip my blog post. So I will summarize yesterday and today here.
I began my Tuesday with the intention of figuring out a good sleep schedule for Ellie. I would remain home all morning and into the afternoon with the goal of having her nap two hours after she wakes up from her prior nap and keep her in her room for a decent nap time. I did not think this plan through entirely because she may have laid in her room for an hour and a half during her "first nap" time slot, but I do not believe she fell asleep. If she did it was only thirty minutes since I was checking on her every so often.
Jon came home for lunch and I still didn't think Ellie had really slept for any substantial amount of time. But at least she had rested - that counts, right? After lunch she took a brief nap during which I showered. Mom recommended that I try laying down with her so since I was done showering when she woke up I tried to have her fall back asleep with me. Nope. Soon it was time to head to teach.
I never though I'd be thankful for teaching lessons in order to have some baby-free time. Don't get me wrong, the extra income is wonderful - but so is the time where Ellie is in good hands and I can pretend I'm an average person. The Kanes had cancelled their lessons so I dropped Ellie off at Grandma and Grandpa's during Abby Hoke's and Brooke Stoltzfus' lessons. Usually I take her along to theirs but Grandma wanted to have Ellie sometime and that's when it worked out.
Grandma said that Ellie drank her entire bottle and took a nap in her arms. She didn't put her down at all. I hope that was due to wanting to hold Ellie and not that Ellie was being a stinker. Grandpa helped bring Ellie in and out of the house.
We headed home and we had leftovers for dinner then Jon left for the missions committee meeting at church. Due to her lack of naps Ellie was tired by dinner but stayed awake until 6:45. She was sleeping soundly in her crib around 7:00 so I spent some time on the computer and doing Bible Study homework. I decided to head to bed early just in case Ellie had another bad night of sleep or woke up super early. By 9:00 I was in bed and Jon came home around 10:30.
Ellie woke up three times in the night and I nursed her two of those times (2:00 and 6:00). I would have tried the pacifier more if I wouldn't always convince myself that she's probably going through a growth spurt.
This morning was our first day back at Precepts. We are continuing to study Ezekiel and Ellie has been signed up to be in the childcare the entire time. After Ellie woke up at 6:00 I was worried that she wouldn't go back to sleep. After several paci-pops she continued to snooze. Jon and I had breakfast and I prepared for the day and ended up having to wake baby up to leave (it was not hard since she was starting to wake up on her own anyway). We arrived on time and Ellie was the first kid in childcare. I had a bottle for her and told the girls a few directions and then enjoyed the study sitting next to Mimi.
Jon had a long meeting yesterday evening and had not slept well last night due to drinking coffee (bad idea) so I called him up and asked if he wanted to go out for lunch. Excited to get out of the office on this dreary day, we met up at AJ's. Ellie fell asleep for her first nap in the car (she woke up at 9:00 and finally fell asleep at 12:00, if you care). Waking up after we ate, Ellie stayed in her car seat the entire time. I am so thankful she likes that seat!
We dropped Jon back off at work and picked up our mail on the way home. In the afternoon I brought out Ellie's magic bullet baby edition and used it to macerate some bananas. Ellie wasn't very thrilled with them but I thought that we might as well give them a shot. She then took a nap from 2:15 until 3:05. I had my piano student come at 3:00 and Ellie woke up before the girl was finished her first line of music. Fortunately Ellie was content sitting on my lap or laying on her playmat.
We put dinner together before Jon came home and I worked on my Bible Study more. Ellie went down for another nap right before Jon arrived so we ate dinner and cleaned up together while she slept. Since Ellie had gone to bed so early last night I wanted to try to leave her home while I went to my evening Bible Study at Brittany's. Her late nap threw me off but I still made it work. Jon had her down with him while he vacuumed the basement for the prayer group guys and then she watched me wash the kitchen floor. At 6:45 I texted Brittany saying I would be late and I nursed Ellie and put her down to sleep. I was surprised with how easily she went down so I told Jon she was in her room, a bottle was in the fridge, and to text with problems.
I was impressed that I did not receive a text during the study. However, after the prayer time I realized that I had missed a call and two texts. Sorry, Jon! The first text said "help" then the second one said "she calmed down." I felt bad since I did not see the texts until twenty minutes after they were sent because of the prayer time. Oops. Fortunately Jon handled the situation well and actually had her back in bed sleeping when I arrived home. I think Jon has now signed up to take care of Ellie every Wednesday night :)
Ellieisms:
Ellie cries when we walk into her bedroom and the lights are off.
I began my Tuesday with the intention of figuring out a good sleep schedule for Ellie. I would remain home all morning and into the afternoon with the goal of having her nap two hours after she wakes up from her prior nap and keep her in her room for a decent nap time. I did not think this plan through entirely because she may have laid in her room for an hour and a half during her "first nap" time slot, but I do not believe she fell asleep. If she did it was only thirty minutes since I was checking on her every so often.
Jon came home for lunch and I still didn't think Ellie had really slept for any substantial amount of time. But at least she had rested - that counts, right? After lunch she took a brief nap during which I showered. Mom recommended that I try laying down with her so since I was done showering when she woke up I tried to have her fall back asleep with me. Nope. Soon it was time to head to teach.
I never though I'd be thankful for teaching lessons in order to have some baby-free time. Don't get me wrong, the extra income is wonderful - but so is the time where Ellie is in good hands and I can pretend I'm an average person. The Kanes had cancelled their lessons so I dropped Ellie off at Grandma and Grandpa's during Abby Hoke's and Brooke Stoltzfus' lessons. Usually I take her along to theirs but Grandma wanted to have Ellie sometime and that's when it worked out.
Grandma said that Ellie drank her entire bottle and took a nap in her arms. She didn't put her down at all. I hope that was due to wanting to hold Ellie and not that Ellie was being a stinker. Grandpa helped bring Ellie in and out of the house.
We headed home and we had leftovers for dinner then Jon left for the missions committee meeting at church. Due to her lack of naps Ellie was tired by dinner but stayed awake until 6:45. She was sleeping soundly in her crib around 7:00 so I spent some time on the computer and doing Bible Study homework. I decided to head to bed early just in case Ellie had another bad night of sleep or woke up super early. By 9:00 I was in bed and Jon came home around 10:30.
Ellie woke up three times in the night and I nursed her two of those times (2:00 and 6:00). I would have tried the pacifier more if I wouldn't always convince myself that she's probably going through a growth spurt.
This morning was our first day back at Precepts. We are continuing to study Ezekiel and Ellie has been signed up to be in the childcare the entire time. After Ellie woke up at 6:00 I was worried that she wouldn't go back to sleep. After several paci-pops she continued to snooze. Jon and I had breakfast and I prepared for the day and ended up having to wake baby up to leave (it was not hard since she was starting to wake up on her own anyway). We arrived on time and Ellie was the first kid in childcare. I had a bottle for her and told the girls a few directions and then enjoyed the study sitting next to Mimi.
Jon had a long meeting yesterday evening and had not slept well last night due to drinking coffee (bad idea) so I called him up and asked if he wanted to go out for lunch. Excited to get out of the office on this dreary day, we met up at AJ's. Ellie fell asleep for her first nap in the car (she woke up at 9:00 and finally fell asleep at 12:00, if you care). Waking up after we ate, Ellie stayed in her car seat the entire time. I am so thankful she likes that seat!
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| Nap #1: in carseat |
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| Father & daughter |
We put dinner together before Jon came home and I worked on my Bible Study more. Ellie went down for another nap right before Jon arrived so we ate dinner and cleaned up together while she slept. Since Ellie had gone to bed so early last night I wanted to try to leave her home while I went to my evening Bible Study at Brittany's. Her late nap threw me off but I still made it work. Jon had her down with him while he vacuumed the basement for the prayer group guys and then she watched me wash the kitchen floor. At 6:45 I texted Brittany saying I would be late and I nursed Ellie and put her down to sleep. I was surprised with how easily she went down so I told Jon she was in her room, a bottle was in the fridge, and to text with problems.
I was impressed that I did not receive a text during the study. However, after the prayer time I realized that I had missed a call and two texts. Sorry, Jon! The first text said "help" then the second one said "she calmed down." I felt bad since I did not see the texts until twenty minutes after they were sent because of the prayer time. Oops. Fortunately Jon handled the situation well and actually had her back in bed sleeping when I arrived home. I think Jon has now signed up to take care of Ellie every Wednesday night :)
Ellieisms:
Ellie cries when we walk into her bedroom and the lights are off.
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| Not too thrilled about eating things from a spoon. |
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| Silly smile |
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| holding her bottle |
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| Going in for a chomp |
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| She throws her toys on the ground then bites her tray |
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