Happy Birthday, Calla!

I know I'm a few days late, but happy 5th birthday, Calla!! When Calla was born I was a sophomore at Covenant and my phone had died a day or two before - bad timing! Therefore I borrowed my friend Emilie's phone for the day and received updates and pictures that way. Although I couldn't be there when she was born, I was able to go home and meet her when she was 12 days old! 

Holding her my first day home!

At French Creek Golf Club

Photo shoot at Shirey's

After we visited the candy shop when I was out in Chicago.

At Calla's Aunt Courtney's wedding

Hanging out with Uncle Jon on vacation

Watching videos of Pops in SC

Calla holding Ellie for her first time!

Uncle Jon & Ellie with the birthday girl! 

All the cousins except Haley!

We hope your birthday was everything you dreamed, Calla!

On Monday Ellie and I spent a lot of time at home. At least, I think so. In the afternoon we had two sets of visitors, Ellen from High Point and Katie Estes and Wyeth. It was fun to catch up with Ellen and hear about the beginning of the new school year. Katie came and brought us dinner, which was so generous! It was crazy to see Wyeth, who is about 10 weeks older than Ellie, and compare his status and abilities to Ellie. He is super smiley and a chunker, too!
Jon came home around 5:45 and we headed out to Doug and Donna's for dinner. After dinner we left Ellie with Donna and stopped by Lowe's to look at toilets for the basement bathroom, which was a great. Carly called on our way home with the girls so we got to say hi and happy birthday, which was great. Thanks, Car!

On Tuesday morning Ellie slept in until almost 9:30! Ok, so her last stretch just happened to end at 9:30, but that's when we started getting ready for the day. And we had a big day ahead of us! We got ready to go and then headed over to the church to "help" Mom and the women from her committee set up for the women's fall auction social. We basically watched everyone set up since they had it under control, but it's always fun to be present! Mom and I then split a chicken salad sandwich and fries from Arby's for lunch while I heard a bit about her time in Texas. Mom also spoiled me (& Ellie) with some beautiful dresses she picked up in Texas as well as a frame for Ellie's room, booties, socks, a diaper cover for one of the dresses, and a hat. The hat, booties, diaper cover, and white dress are for her baptism, which is scheduled for October 7th. Put it on your calendar!
After lunch Ellie and I headed out to Home Depot to scout out some prices for products for the basement bathroom. We looked at the shower controls, sink faucets, and toilets (again).  I always browse the clearance row and I spotted a couple options for cabinets for the laundry room. It was exciting! Ellie behaved wonderfully, as usual.

Ellie noted that toilets are cheaper at Home Depot.

Eating dinner with Dad.

After home depot I started working on the picture slideshow for the women's auction then Jon and I ate the dinner Katie had dropped off last night. Ellie was a bit of a stinker and I actually arrived 10 minutes late to the auction - so Mom! I don't think anyone really noticed the slideshow started late because they were checking out all the goodies for sale and eating the snacks. After the auction started I fed Ellie and then handed her off to Mrs. Frey, who had requested some time with her at the start of the night. Once I let Ellie go, I did not touch her again until the end of the night - probably 2 hours later. People just love holding babies!
Mom should be very proud of the auction - I think it was very successful! Then again, Mom might have been one of the highest providers, but it's all for a good cause. Jon and I had established a budget, but he had told me that he trusted my judgment (not necessarily the best idea) and I ended up going over. However, I think it's VERY worthwhile because I will be learning how to make a quilt with Mrs. Saint. A bona fide quilt! (Don't tell Calla that her quilt isn't legit). The auction went until about 9:45 and Ellie and I were heading out of there about an hour later - and we weren't even with the last people to leave! We had a lot of fun and definitely look forward to next year's (don't tell Ellie that she won't be able to come).

At the auction. Check out those hands. 

She was sad the auction was over.

This evening Ellie started crying in her pack'n'play and Jon picked her up, swaddled her, then sat on the couch next to me. He asked me why she was so fast asleep in his arms when she was just awake crying in the pack'n'play minutes earlier. I asked if she had been swaddled and he said no. So I said that they like to feel secure. Jon asks, "Who, women?" No, Jon. Babies.

Going Cross-eyed

After I finish my posts I think of all the things I forgot to write. So here are a few things I neglected to mention in the past two posts:

When Ellie was "working" at Iron Mountains they weighed her (with clothes and diaper) and she came in at 7lb 4 oz. I had estimated on the chart I filled out before they weighed her that she was probably 6 1/2 lbs...whoops! I definitely have noticed her growth in the past few days as her newborn clothes are becoming snug.

On Friday after the playdate Kelly sent me home with my very own streusel cake and a bag of banana muffins! I am spoiled.

On Saturday morning I gave Ellie her first bath solo. Her umbilical chord fell off so I put her in her little bathtub. I didn't find it too super helpful, since the hardest part to wash is her back so the tub isn't helpful in that area. I'll master it all sooner or later. 

I know there was more I was missing, but I'll think of it after I post Sunday's post...

Saturday night I decided to wake up at 7:15 in order to arrive at church on time. Well, 7:30 finally rolled around and I hopped in the shower after feeding Ellie her first breakfast. Jon made coffee and pancakes and Ellie and I were ready to go by 8:55. Close, but not early enough to actually arrive at church on time. A 20s-30s Sunday School class is being taught by our new pastor Jere Scott but it's during the second hour, so we would have to attend first hour worship. Well, our running record has not been great (we have yet to be to church on time, much less seated before the service begins) so Jon and I decided it would be best to wait until we have our act together to go to this new Sunday School class. When we arrived at church Jon headed to the men's SS and I went to the women's. The little room we meet in was packed out (two people sat in the hall!) but Ellie and I got a front row seat. Over halfway through she woke up so we went out in the hall and I fed her before SS was over. 

Having a newborn you really find out who in the church are baby lovers. For instance, Matt Griffith has come over every week I have had her there (morning and evening, it seems!) and doted about how little she is, how cute, etc. It's really funny! Even Homer Shorts came over last week and peaked into her carrier. 

We sat in the back with Omar and Ellie did well until about 11:30 when she seemed to be trying to boo and I really didn't want her to be noisy in the process. The church was packed out so I decided to take her to the nursing room to change her diaper and feed her before church ended. Jaime Wallenwaber was in there with her 6 month old son, Luke, so we chatted for a bit until church ended. I had decided to hold Ellie since she wasn't really liking her car seat and when I made it to the lobby about 8 middle school girls came and stood around Ellie asking about her. One girl even asked to hold her, and I said perhaps another time. After talking to a few other people I took Ellie to Pops so he could spend some time holding her a bit before he needed to go to work (we initially wanted to have him over for lunch, but maybe another time!).

While people were holding and looking at Ellie, I noticed that she has started to go cross-eyed! I suppose that means she's developing her eyesight, but it's definitely not the most attractive look. I noticed it first when Pops was holding her and she was definitely looking towards his face with very wide, crossed eyes. She was awake after the service until we went home. It's fun when she's awake in public. 

In the afternoon we came home, ate lunch, took a nap, and figured out what's next on the bathroom project before heading to prayer meeting. Jon had a meeting at church for the missions committee at 5:00 so Ellie and I went with him early and I fed her, changed her, and read some of my book. Uncle Steve was leading prayer meeting and it was kind of a "get to know Jere-Scott and Dorothy" night. I wasn't thinking because I picked seats in the front row really close to Uncle Steve. Ellie was doing just fine until about 20 minutes in when she started crying (whoops!) so we went to the back and hung out there. She was having a hard time staying asleep and would make noise unless I was swaying/patting her bottom or something. It worked out, though, since it was mainly talking and a little bit of praying here and there. 

Ellie hanging out in church

I put her in her carrier before it started.
She's just too much fun to hold, though!

After church we came home and finished some leftovers for dinner. I wrote the last blog while watching Jon play a game of FIFA in the basement. 

Jon will spend time just laughing at little Ellie. He thinks her expressions and sounds are just too funny. Maybe you'll agree. Here are some of her many faces for your viewing pleasure:

Great story there, dad.

Momma bird, bring me a worm!

She doesn't trust us, so she sleeps with one eye open.

Mulling over the application from the sermon.

She inherited this look from her Dad. The engineer stare.

We've already taught her how to communicate with baby sign language.

"Whoops...was that me?" 

Joining in with Dad as he sings The Messiah in the shower. 

I'm not so sure about this... 

Whistling a tune.

Firsts for Ellie

Friday morning Ellie experienced her first play date. Kelly was thoughtful enough to include me on the email list and actually hosted the event. She had some delicious streusel cakes and banana muffins - she always has good food! Ellie was passed around from Holly to AmyBeth to Elisha. We had to be home at noon so we left after an hour and half. The Wilsons dropped off our dinner after we had eaten lunch then Ellie and I spent some time making lavender sachets for the women's auction at church. Mom had some lavender sitting around her house and she wanted it used to benefit the auction, so somehow I was agreeing to sew sachets. Fortunately it was simple and Ellie was cooperative and we made six for the cause. After dinner we hung out in the basement and watched "Amazing Grace," which Jon had not watched before. Jon says he thought it was good except for the fact that he was supposed to be a good singer, and he wasn't that good. Which reminds me - Jon was singing The Messiah in the shower this morning and he said he wants to sing it as a special number for Christmas Eve. Well, that the church should ask him to sing it. Got that, Mimi?

The lavender sachets

That afternoon the delivery man dropped off a box from Indiana, and inside was this basket full of personalized diapers for Ellie! There was also a stuffed animal and a pacifier clip. But how much fun are these??

Saturday was Ellie's due date! It's hard to believe that technically she shouldn't have been here the past three weeks! Jon and I agree that we would much rather the element of surprise than to be waiting around for her to come late. It's been a fun three weeks! In the morning Doug called and asked if Jon wanted to join him and Omar for breakfast at the Windmill. Well, Jon is not one to refuse food (even from the Windmill) so he headed out to meet them at 8. Ellie and I pretended we were college students and stayed in bed until after Jon and Omar returned from breakfast. Omar had offered to help Jon on the basement and we never refuse free help! So the two of them wired the electrical in the bathroom as well as installed the insulation. Progress is exciting! While they worked in the basement, I tended to Ellie and also cleaned the bathroom, dusted the first floor, and vacuumed the first floor. I feel as though things are slowly getting back into working order. Having the dishwasher has definitely helped!
Since it was Ellie's due date, I had thrown out the idea that Jon and I should go out to dinner to celebrate. Ok, so I had told Jon that we should go out to dinner on my due date before she was even born, so it was different than I had expected since she is here! Kelly most generously offered to watch her while we went out, so we dropped her off at six and went to Bistro on 10. We had a wonderful time (well, besides our inattentive waitress/slow service) and even stopped by Lowe's to check out sink and shower controls for the basement. We picked Ellie up around eight and Kelly said she behaved, so we were pleased. So Ellie experienced her first babysitter and first time away from her parents!
On Saturday night she continued her usual sleep habits - waking up about every two hours. Well, after the 4:00 feeding I wasn't thinking straight because I was just letting her fuss in her basinet and was just trying to put her pacifier in over and over, so Jon got up and took her into the nursery to put her to sleep. Well the next thing I know I'm hearing her cry over the monitor - Jon had decided to just try out the crib and see how she liked it. Well, she must have had a good first crib experience because she woke up at 7:00. I'll have to let you know how the crib goes tonight!

she likes her carrier!

Ellie pretending to be a college student sleeping in.

A Hard Day's Work

I think Ellie has heard me bragging about how she's such a good baby so she's making up for it by waking up every 2 hours at night. She wakes up hungry, eats, goes to the bathroom, then sleeps for an hour or so. Repeat. Last night Jon helped out quite a bit when I wasn't thinking straight and consequently didn't respond to her cries...whoops! Let's just say I made sure I took a nap this afternoon so that I'm more aware tonight. 

Ellie and I started our day before Jon left for work so that I could shower and get a jump start since Ellie and I had to be at Iron Mountains at 10:00. 

Ellie jumping for joy at another day's work

First off two of the engineers checked our car seat. The engineers who work on the car seats are required to maintain their car seat installation certification by checking out car seats that are installed and giving a review and feedback. Jon and I passed but they recommended that I keep Ellie tighter when she's strapped in (I didn't know they'd be checking out the car seat or I would have been more meticulous in strapping her in!). After we were okayed in the car, Jon took Ellie inside to test out some cutting edge products. There were six engineers present and a video camera.

Here is the project that Jon is working on. It has a gear and moves from side to side. 

I was trying to discreetly take pictures...

Jon sent me this one. They took it on the work camera.

The second object was some sort of miniature swing. Ellie seemed to like both items, so if anyone from IM is reading this, we'd be more than happy to do in-home testing...

On our way home we drove through Morgantown and saw that there is a whole carnival at the Morgantown Community Church. Random!

Hanging out in the pack 'n play

This afternoon Ellie and I took a nap. That is basically all we did since she took a while to fall asleep. 

Sleeping briefly after dinner.

While Jon was mowing the lawn our neighbor, Annamae McGowen, stopped by to introduce herself and meet us. She had seen the balloons and new that we had a baby girl, so she gave us a card and some money! It was very generous and it was nice to get to know another neighbor. 

WELCOME EMILY KATELYN!!

Grandma, or Great-Grandma to Ellie, knows how to spoil someone. She not only asks us over to her house for lunch, but she makes fresh applesauce, sandwiches to order, gourmet soups, and delicious desserts. So when Grandma calls and asks us over for lunch, I look forward to the day with excitement. Generally lunch dates are Grandma, Grandpa, Kelly, Clark, Ellie, and me. I always enjoy going over and spending time with them all, and in exchange for the delicious meal Ellie and I stick around so Grandma can hold the baby. Kelly and I were lucky enough to not only be invited on Tuesday but also Wednesday, which worked out beautifully because we could all be together when we found out about Emily!

We were so excited each time a text came in about Katelyn's progress and were so thankful to hear of Emily's healthy and quick arrival. After she came, Grandma joked that she was glad she could be there! We cannot wait to meet Emily in the future and really wish we could have been there for her birth!!!

Hanging out with Great Grandma 

Ellie picked up the mail yesterday.

Clark suddenly realized someone else had Grandma's attention...

Clark checking Ellie out while we waited for Emily's arrival

Labor Day

On labor day Ellie and I woke up relatively early to meet Cat Baskin and her friend from MD for breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. "Momma Dunkin" was excited to see the baby and offered her advice - to make sure her head didn't sit funny in the car seat. She says it's not good for her neck. Thanks, Momma D. Our Dunkin date ended up lasting over an hour. Afterwards we stopped by Walmart to pick up ingredients for our dessert we needed to take to the Mountz get together. We went home, put together the apple & blueberry crisp, then prepared to head to Parkersburg. While we were out and baking, Jon was installing the vent for the basement bathroom's fan. This was a big pain, since he had to run a pipe from the basement up through the house to the roof. He ran it through Ellie's closet, and it worked out great. 

Our labor day festivities began at 1:00 and we had appetizers before having a late lunch. I basically only held Ellie when I was feeding her - it was a lot of fun to pass her around. Owen and Layla both spent quite a bit of time holding her, which was cute. They both obviously know how to handle babies!

Owen watching on as Layla has her turn.

Owen's turn!

Napping cousins

CeCe really wanted to grab Ellie whenever she was close by. I like this picture below because Amanda and Owen are blocking CeCe's path.

People started heading home around 6 but Jon and I stuck around a bit longer and headed home around 8:30. We really enjoyed our time at Ben and Jess's and Ellie showed off and made motherhood look easy!

Sleeping Beauty

Happy Labor Day!

Ellie Settles Catan

On Sunday morning Jon, Ellie and I woke up and went to second service. Sunday School is taking a break for whatever reason so we were able to sleep in. We can't get used to this, though, since Sunday School starts back up next week. We are looking to go to first service and attend Jere Scott's new Sunday School second hour, which hopefully will be good. 

Last week they neglected to put Ellie's information in the bulletin so I called the church office on Wednesday and asked that they announce her birth like they usually do. Jon had sent in the information, they had just forgotten. Well this week we show up and they didn't put her full name in or any of her information and they put a horrible "joke" in that nobody got. Let's just say Jon got some weird questions from people. Whoever writes the bulletin should reserve any jokes for their private lives. You can see for yourself: 

 After church we came home and ate leftovers for lunch before taking a nice, long nap. It was a rainy day and perfect for sleeping! After Ellie woke us up for a snack, we spent some time introducing her to her toys. Here she is bonding with her first doll from Mimi:

Jon asked what I wanted to do that evening since we didn't have evening church and we contemplated asking people over. Dad must have known our thoughts because we soon received a text asking if we were up for playing games: his place or ours. Well, we were out of food so Jon said yes as long as we share a pizza. Well don't you know, Dad not only comes to our house but he insists on getting us a pizza from Giovanni's. After eating, we played two rounds of Settlers. Ellie was not very impressed and ended up sleeping the entire first game and waking up only long enough to eat at the beginning of the second. Oh, and for those who care, I won the first game and Jon won the second. They were both really close and Dad somehow had the worst luck at the end of both games. The dice were not rolling in his favor! 

Settlers is a snooze for Ellie