Chatty Ellie

Sunday I woke up with swollen glands and by the evening my throat was feeling sore so I thought that I might not be feeling very good on Monday. I was very thankful when Ellie slept about 7 hours before waking up and then after I fed her slept another couple hours. I continued sleeping after Jon left for work and even after Ellie's second morning feed before 9:00. By 10:00 I was feeling a bit better so I drug myself out of bed and prepared for the day. When Ellie woke up around 11:00 I fed her and we headed off to purchased some Christmas gifts to send Corinne.
I went one exit too far when heading to the Berkshire Mall so I decided to stop for lunch first since there are a lot of restaurants at the second exit. Having just eaten lunch last week at Chickfila I passed that by (gasp!) and went to Chipotle instead. If you haven't had Chipotle you should go - it is delicious. Ellie was a bit tired and cranky so I ended up putting her in the Bjorn so that I had both my hands available to eat my huge burrito. People probably thought I was crazy, sitting alone with my baby in a Bjorn fussing while I tried to eat. Oh well. She finally settled down before it was time to head out. Now it may seem odd but I thought I'd send Corinne some underwear for Christmas. Ellie and I picked out some for Corinne and Casia before looking around at other stores at the Berkshire mall. I never spend much time there but they have pretty many stores. It seemed empty but it may have been since it was Monday afternoon. Ellie was really fussy at Victoria Secret so I asked for a dressing room and I nursed in there before making my purchases and heading out.
We made a pit stop at the Loft since they were having a 40% off everything sale. I didn't end up buying anything because Ellie really needed some sleep and I had a piano lesson coming up. I was happy with my decision when I received an email from the Loft today saying that everything is now 50% off. Now I can save 10% more.
We arrived home around 2:30 and I put Ellie down for a nap before picking up her bedroom and the living room. Abby showed up for her 3:30 lesson and Aunt Carol came in since she wanted to watch Ellie during the lesson. Ellie was asleep but woke up halfway through which was nice since last lesson she slept the whole time and Aunt Carol was a bit bummed. I don't know what I'll do when Ellie is a less appealing age to take care of!
After Abby left Ellie and I cleaned up some more and hung out until my 5:00 lesson showed up. This time Brenda Haak watched Ellie while I taught her granddaughter. See the last sentence to the prior paragraph...
Jon and I had the congregational meeting to attend at church at 7:00. We are realizing that we need to start packing up for church at 30 til so that we arrive 10 minutes early so I can put Ellie in the nursery in time. I told the nursery workers what I thought Ellie might want and that they should not hesitate to get me if they have trouble with her.
The meeting was so long. It started around 7:00 and ended close to 10:00. I checked on Ellie during Matt Carter's presentation and she was content. About 30 minutes later Mrs. Boyer came and told me Ellie needed my help. I got there and she had just calmed down but I took her and put her to sleep to help them out. She ended up sleeping the rest of the time.
The meeting was a bit exciting as controversy arrived about the building proposal. We voted and it was passed so we're going to build and make out current sanctuary twice the size.
This morning was a nice slow morning. Ellie and I hung out and did some vacuuming and dusting. She also got a bath. I dressed her in one of her new Hartstrings outfits. It's size 3-6 months but I just wanted to put it on her. Ha.
Jon came home for lunch and we had grilled cheese and tomato soup. Ellie slept the entire time he was home. After lunch I cleaned up the kitchen and prepared to make cookies. I got distracted and didn't end up making them before I needed to leave to teach Brooke Stoltzfus flute. After her lesson I dropped Ellie off with Grandma and Grandpa and went to teach the Kanes. Ellie did well with them and Grandma said she even let Grandpa hold her for a bit.  I took her home around 5:30 and made my chocolate chip cookies for tonight's women's event. Jon and I ate leftovers and he headed to his missions committee meeting while I went to hear from Melanie Musselman at church. About two dozen other women were there and Ellie was held by Mrs. Musselman, Mrs. Obenschain, and Mimi. It was a late night for us all and Jon and I both arrived home around 10:00.

Ellieisms:
Ellie is so chatty! If you catch her at the right time you can really get her going.

Ellie loves sleeping on Grandma

Naptime

"I can't see a thing."

Big Belly

Sorry it's blurry - Mimi showing off Ellie.

Bonfires, Nursery, & Antiquing

On Saturday morning our small group had a work day scheduled. We had thought about blessing someone and somehow we came up with helping out the Carter's for a morning on their house. Jon was in charge of heading the event up so he was up and out of here before 8:00. The rest of the group (well, with a few exceptions) met at the Carter's at 8:30. One perk of having a baby is that I have an excuse for arriving late to morning events. Around 10:30 I finally rolled in and I had missed filling in pot holes and digging a trench for electrical wires. Jon and Paul were upstairs inside installing a wooden ceiling with Matt Carter while Dave, Mark, & Aaron Carter were finishing up digging the trench. Cindy Carter and Sarah were sanding window casing on the barn and they thought it could be lead paint so they didn't want Ellie anywhere near it (I had Ellie strapped in the Bjorn) so we were out of a job. Brynn Carter (who is 6) and I decided to hand out the snacks and beverages to pass the time. Brynn does not have a shortage of words to share so I did a lot of listening.
After the ladies were done sanding the windows Cindy had to leave so Ellie and I jumped in and helped prime. It was nice to actually contribute to the work day a bit. Ellie slept through the majority of the event and woke up around 12:15. We ended at 12:30 and went to the Culbert's house in Churchtown to eat lunch. We are very thankful for our new small group and enjoyed spending the time with them.

All bundled up for the work day!

We headed home around 2:15 and upon arriving home I decided that I would nap when Ellie napped. Well Ellie decided she didn't want to sleep in her crib so I brought her to bed with me. Apparently it wasn't the sleeping location but the idea of sleep because she basically just laid sucking her pacifier while I passed in and out of consciousness, waking up when she fussed to pop her paci back in. We then dressed warmly and packed up a pot of chili and went to a church bonfire.
Saturday evening was the third annual 20s and 30s church bonfire at Cliff and Julie Montgomery's house. This was the first one Jon and I were able to attend, though. There was a chili competition where you brought chili (or if you didn't want to compete a dessert) and they were marked with numbers. Everyone could go around with Dixie cups and take tastes of the various pots and then you were to vote. You also could get a full bowl, too (of course). I really didn't want to compete since I simply defrosted a container from last weekend's party so I was relieved when it was anonymous. I have no idea how many people were present (I'm so bad at estimating) but it was a fair sized group. They had two fires going which was nice since then there was more fire-front seats. They also had a wood-splitting contest which was not very successful since they had one sharp axe and one blunt one so it was uneven. There was also a hay ride for kids. Len and Ruthie Noble were there and Ruthie told me that if I wanted her to watch Ellie inside she would. After she asked a couple times I thought why not? and sent Ellie off with Ruthie. I had brought a bottle, too, so that I wouldn't have to nurse. It was really nice to have Ellie inside because then I didn't have to think about whether she was hot or cold or if the smoke from the fire was too much. About 2 hours later we went in and thanked Len and Ruthie and headed home. Oh, and no, I did not win the chilly bake-off and Jon did not win the wood chopping contest. We're a bunch of losers over here.

Jon competing in the wood chopping competition

By the time we got home and went to bed it was late - after 11:00. This morning I was surprised to see that Ellie didn't wake up until 5:30. She had gone to bed before us and basically slept 7 hours straight! A new record. I had agreed to play for worship so I was up and showering around 6:45. Jon and Ellie came with me at 8:00 (ok, so we left the house at 8:03) and Jon took Ellie on a walk in Summerfield while he waited for church to start. It was a beautiful sunny morning and he said Ellie remained content as long as he was moving. After worship practice I took Ellie and dropped her off at nursery. They have these little miniature pack'n'plays so I told Brittany Mountz (who was nursery coordinator) that she should be tired and should sleep. When I went to check on her after worship Ellie was asleep so I decided to go listen to the sermon. I have only heard one or two sermons from beginning to end so I thought I should try to hear the full sermon between the two services, as long as I get called out at different times. Well the whole service passed and I went to check on Ellie in between services and she was still sleeping. I knew she wouldn't last through the entire second service and might not even last through the worship and I had forgotten to bring a bottle so I turned off her sound machine and started rubbing her back and she woke up. I nursed Ellie than handed her Ginner Saint since I was already 5 minutes late to the service (whoops!). Fortunately the announcements were long so I was not late for the first hymn.
Jon picked seats in the second row right under Uncle Steve's nose basically so I was hoping Ellie wouldn't need me - it would have been a long walk to the back. After the sermon I heard a baby crying as I approached the nursery and was relieved to find that it was not Ellie but another little girl, Eliana. She was really crying! But Ellie was just fine and hanging out with her Aunt Brittany.
After church we went home and ate some lunch before Jon and I parted ways. Jon went to Elverson to play some soccer and Ellie and I met up with Kelly, Brittany, Sarah Rus (from my small group), and Dorothy Bradshaw (the new pastor's wife) at the TV High School for the Antique Show. I had been telling the girls about it and was pleasantly surprised when so many people were interested in going. We met there at 2:00 and spent almost 2 hours walking through and browsing. I didn't find anything but enjoyed spending time with the girls. Ellie, once again, slept the entire time in the Bjorn. By the end of the 2 hours my back was aching! Between her and her diaper bag (which I really didn't need) I felt like a pack mule.
Jon and I arrived home within 10 minutes of each other. He went down to the basement and worked on the wainscoting while I decided I wanted to take a few pictures of Ellie while it was so warm. I recruited Jon's assistance and set up a little fall setting for baby and tried to get a few cute pictures. Boy was I a failure! It's hard to get a cute picture of a baby that can't really sit up and has a double chin. After what seemed like only a few minutes Ellie's eyes became red so I took her inside for her nap.
Jon returned to his woodworking while I put Ellie down and then did the dishes. Shortly thereafter we had to pack back up and head to prayer meeting.
We arrived at church 10 minutes early so that I could try to put Ellie to sleep. I left her in the pack'n'play sucking on her pacifier and we went to prayer meeting. Apparently the nursery was too loud because the little stinker didn't sleep but fortunately remained content hanging out with Holly, Aunt Carol Hoke, and Mrs. Shirey. I'm very thankful that I have such an easy to please baby.
After church Jon and I needed to drop off a heater at Doug and Donna's so they invited us in for cabbage soup. Let's just say I was not very excited about something called cabbage soup (I was picturing green mush) but it was very good! It had tomatoes, carrots, onions, and, of course, cabbage in it. Doug said that the soup made him hopeful that if the economy completely tanks that we will at least have a few good recipes to survive off of because it is a soup involving easy to grow items. Easy to grow for someone who has actually grown something, I'd assume.
We spent about an hour and a half at Nana and Pop-pop's before heading home. I had tried to put Ellie to sleep at their house but she wouldn't comply so she was pooped! She doesn't like to miss out on anything.

This baby weighed in at 11lb 11oz 

the set-up

Um...up here!

Who, me?

Trying a different pose

Getting tired

We're done.

Ellieisms:
The above picture is an example of how easy she is to read. Are her eyes red and she looks like she's about to fall asleep? Hmmm. She must be tired. I'm going to enjoy this now because I know soon enough I'll have no idea what she's wanting.
Ellie turned 12 weeks old on Saturday.

Shout out to cousin Emily for her baptism! Congratulations! We wish we could have been there to celebrate.

Ellie's First Warehouse Sale

Yesterday Kelly texted and asked if Ellie and I wanted to go to a Hartstrings Warehouse sale going on at the Rockvale Outlets with her and Clark this morning. We could not turn down an opportunity to pick up some new clothes so we were all in. Kelly thought it would be best if we tried to arrive in Lancaster right when they opened at 9:30. This would require Ellie and I to leave at 8:30.
We tried our best to get out of the door. I checked my email after Ellie's morning feeding and saw Corinne's email about little Richard. I sent some emails around to my women's Bible study girls and small group. We finally arrived in Morgantown shortly after 9:00 - only thirty minutes late!
The drive out to the outlets was beautiful. It was a sunny morning and farmers were out in their fields and we could see pretty far. We arrived at the outlets around 10:00 and unpacked the car. When we arrived at Hartstrings I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't too busy.

Ellie loves outlet shopping!

While I was tripping over several women in the girls' section Kelly had complete domain over the boys' section. Nobody was over there! We both picked out a few outfits for our little stinkers. Ellie didn't last in her stroller so she was soon in the Bjorn. She really doesn't like to fall asleep on her back unless we're driving in the car. Fortunately she gets all cosy in the Bjorn and was soon sleeping.
After Hartstrings we walked around to Noritake. The Noritake outlet is going out of business so the already reduced prices (50% off retail) were an additional 40% off. When I spoke with Mom she encouraged me to pick up some items that I might not have on hand. I priced out some items then we all headed to lunch since I wanted to run it past Jon first. We packed back into the car and went across the street to Chickfila. It works out that Clark doesn't walk yet because he had no desire to play in the playland. He did, however, find enjoyment in watching the other kids run and climb. We arrived right in time to miss the lunch crowd because we hardly had to wait and ten minutes later the line almost wrapped all the way to the back door.

Eating lunch at Chickfila

We stopped by the Lenox outlet but didn't make any purchases. Clark was at his wits end so Kelly packed him into the car and drove around to see what other shops were in the center while Ellie and I went to Noritake. We decided to purchase the covered vegetable dish and the coffee server. I think I may have purchased my own birthday and anniversary gifts for 2013...
It was past Clark's nap time but Kelly really didn't want him to fall asleep in the car and then have a short nap. So Ellie and I tried our best to keep him awake on the way home. At first we entertained him with Ellie's stuffed bumblebee from Mrs. Hornberger until he became annoyed with our antics. We moved on to the iPhone and began showing him videos of himself. That worked for a good twenty minutes and we successfully kept him awake the entire trip.
Ellie and I headed home and I put her to sleep in her bed. I did my Bible Study and precepts homework before doing another load of laundry (I really shouldn't drag it over three days...it just makes laundry more painful). Jon called and told me that his office was basically empty. He then called at 4:30 saying he was leaving a bit early (he had gone in early so it was an 8 hour day) and was going to pick up some work supplies at Lowe's. I started up dinner and was so happy when Jon walked in the door before 5:00. What a nice way to start our weekend! We ate dinner, watched The Amazing Race, I finished up the laundry while Jon finished the electrical in the bathroom, and now we're hanging out in the basement on our new furniture. Ellie has been sleeping since 6:00...it might be an early morning for me tomorrow.

We are keeping on praying for Corinne, Elijah, and Richard. I just found out that Corinne's phone battery died. I hope she is able to charge it soon so we can get an update. Fortunately the Lord knows what is going on even though I am in the dark.

Sorry it's upside-down. Ellie helping with the laundry

Ellie Sleeps Through the Week of Prayer

This morning I woke up with a headache. I told Jon that I was just going to stay in bed instead of joining him for lunch because of my headache. He told me he had a headache too. Unfortunately he didn't have the option of staying in bed. Sorry, Jon.
Ellie slept in until after 9:00 but I got up to shower and get a start on things before she woke. My primary goal for the day was to figure out the week's menu and go grocery shopping. Kelly texted mid morning saying that Grandma and Grandpa had decided not to go up to New Hampshire and were wanting a grandchild to watch. I called Grandma up and she said that if I dropped Ellie off around lunch time that she would make me a sandwich. Babysitting and lunch? Yes please!
I made up the grocery list and did some precepts homework before heading off to Elverson. Grandma and Grandpa were going to go up to visit Grandpa's younger brother Thursday through Saturday but had decided to wait since it snowed. Yesterday the forecast predicted 1-3 inches in our area. Well, we didn't get anything! I think I may have seen a snowflake when I was leaving Bible Study last night...maybe. Apparently snow fell somewhere else but we are in the clear!
I left Ellie with them and headed to Walmart. I'm going to try to go to a real grocery store every other week and Walmart in between. Well at least that's my goal. Grocery shopping took longer than I anticipated partially because my list was not organized (I usually have it written out by isle, starting in the back and moving towards the front). That will be the hardest part of actually going to a real grocery store - I know Walmart so well. Learning the layout of a new store is never enjoyable. However Walmart frequently is lacking an item. Today I could not find vegetable broth. I know they have had it because I bought it just last month. Oh well.
Ellie slept in Grandma's arms while I was gone. I think Grandma and Grandpa may have been napping in their chairs when I arrived. Everyone looked comfortable, at least. We headed home and I fed Ellie and put her down to sleep before emptying the groceries. The carved pumpkins from Friday night's party are still in my sun porch so I took one out and threw it behind the garage each trip out for more groceries. Half are out of the house! I really need to dispose of the others before they start rotting.
The rest of the afternoon was not very productive. I took a brief nap, made dinner, folded a load of laundry, and switched out my summer bedspread for the winter blanket and comforter. I thought it was finally time since I've now been wearing socks, pants, and a sweater to bed with my PJs. Jon, on the other hand, is his own personal heater and barely uses the blankets much less bundles up. More blankets for me!
Jon came home around 5:30 and we ate dinner and hung out with Ellie. She has been waking up right after dinner the past few nights which works out wonderfully. At 6:30 we packed up and headed over to Peter and Brittany's house since they hosted a week of prayer event. Cliff Montgomery led. We arrived early enough so that I could put Ellie down to sleep. Brittany has a wooden cradle that I put her in upstairs in the nursery. It took her a little bit to fall asleep (ok, probably 3 minutes) but she was sound asleep by the time the rest of the people arrived. She lasted until right before the song was to be sung, which worked out perfectly since Cliff had looked to me to start the song. Ellie had just started crying so I said that Jon wanted to start the singing and I left to pop Ellie's pacifier in. She went right back to sleep and I was downstairs again before the first verse was over. It seemed like John Barber picked the song because it was "Sweet Hour of Prayer" - an oldie yet appropriate for the evening's events.
Ellie didn't wake up again until we were done praying and eating the snacks. I had brought a bottle for her and she gladly gulped it down once she recognized that I was trying to feed her not just stick a pacifier in. She generally doesn't like her bottles until she realizes there's milk involved, then she's fine with it. I'm taking my sisters' advice and trying to use a bottle at least once a week so that she won't forget it.

Ellieisms:
Grandpa was laughing at how much she was messing around with her tongue this afternoon. If she's not blowing bubbles she's sticking out her tongue. She rarely has it in her mouth!
Ellie is getting on a better schedule. She is also still fairly easy to read when she's hungry or tired. Actually, if she's fussy and isn't too interested in eating she's just tired. This baby doesn't often cry without a clear motive!

Cuddling with Grandma

Bonding with Grandpa

Hanging out

Ellie Must Be Growing

This morning was a tough morning for us. Ellie woke up and ate but didn't go back to sleep after her morning feeding. On any other morning this wouldn't pose a problem but this morning we had precepts. Ellie got to the point that she was just crying when I was trying to put her to sleep, which is not typical. Jon graciously stayed home later than usual so that I could shower and prepare for the day. Jon also had made us breakfast: omelets and toast. He's a keeper.
Ellie fortunately calmed down and fell asleep right before it was time to head to church. I packed her in the car and we were only about 5 minutes late, arriving right as the study was beginning. Ellie fell asleep about fifteen minutes into the study and slept the entire time. She really missed out on a good lesson, though!
Ellie remained asleep as I packed her into her car seat, which never happens. I took full advantage of her sleeping and hung around talking with my friend from small group, Sarah. We talked about Monday night and how we should come up with something to do for the guys sometime. Any ideas?
We headed home afterwards and whipped up some grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. Jon came home at 12:30 to eat with us. I put Ellie down for a nap then did the dishes. After starting a load of laundry I decided to take a nap while Ellie slept. Sleep while the baby sleeps, right? She slept for 40 more minutes before waking up. I popped her pacifier back in and she slept another hour. I ended up waking her up to feed her before my piano student came at 3:30.
During the first half of the lesson Ellie hung out in her swing. When she was sick of the swing I held her before laying her on the ground once she became too loud. That girl likes to squawk! My student was a good sport about it but it makes me wonder if I should figure out something else for baby. It's hard because right now sometimes she's sleeping when they come and sometimes she's not. After she gets a better schedule I'll re-evaluate. She really wasn't too loud, in my opinion. I just don't want my student and her mom to get sick of it.
After the lesson ended I fed Ellie and changed her diaper. I wanted her to stay up to see Jon when he came home but she was really ready for sleep by 5:15. I had her in the high chair while I prepared dinner but gave up and put her to bed. Jon came home and we ate. Ellie woke up shortly thereafter and Jon hung out with Ellie until I had to leave for Bible Study. During Bible Study she slept and sat around trying to boo. She had a huge boo at Bible Study - I'm surprised it stayed contained in the diaper. Bible Study ended around 9:30 and we came home to Jon installing the wainscoting in the bathroom. It looks great! I'll post a picture after he primes it.
Ellie has been sleeping now for over an hour so I better head to bed. I think she must be growing because she's been sleeping a lot and eating as though her life depended upon it. Which it does.

Ellie with her gift from Elizabeth Dyer

We Vote for Romney and Ellie Gets More Gifts

This morning Jon was up at a good time and made us coffee. We had some apple pie left over from Friday night (shout out to Brittany - it was delicious!) so we finished that up for breakfast. When it was only 7:30 by the time we finished out pie Jon and I realized that we kind of missed hanging out with Ellie since we hadn't spent time with her last night. We walked in her room to see if she was awake and she was starting to stir. Since Jon wanted to hang out with her before heading off to work we helped expedite her wake-up time and Jon got some quality one-on-one time in with his daughter. She was all smiles for him.
We said bye and see you soon to Jon because he was going to come home to vote mid-morning. Ellie and I hung out and did some dishes, made the beds, and switched out the towels before doing some research for Christmas gifts online. I was going to do some laundry but I thought Boyd was coming to clean the furnace and I didn't want to be in his way (the furnace is right at the bottom of the steps). Convenient excuse, huh?
Jon came home around 10:00 after stopping by the Geigertown Grange (or the Grungy Grange, as we call it) to watch Ellie while I ran to vote. Before coming into the house he pulled my car out of the garage so that it would be a bit warmed up - it was chilly! When I voted I did have to wait for a parking spot but didn't have to wait to vote. I was the only voter in the room. When I walked around to the post office I actually had to wait in line to pick up some packages. Basically it was busier at the post office.
I had two package that came in the mail today - both from college friends. Elizabeth (Lindsay) Dyer sent her a fabric stuffed giraffe and Rachel Verville sent her two burp clothes and two bibs that are all personalized in a addition to an outfit! I will take some pictures and post them tomorrow. I can't believe these girls sent Ellie gifts! How thoughtful.
I sent Jon's lunch with him back to work and I fed Ellie before heading off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for lunch. Kelly and Clark were also there and we spent a little over an hour eating and catching up with everyone. Kelly had a dentist appointment so Ellie and I followed the Fenton's home so we could babysit Clark while she was gone. Kelly put Clark down for his nap and Ellie and I cuddled on the couch. Clark didn't wake up, which is not a surprise. He's such a good sleeper!

Napping at Grandma & Grandpa's

Since our furnace hasn't been running due to the lack of oil I asked Kelly if I could use her shower this afternoon since I had to teach a lesson at the Kane's. I really didn't think the Kanes would appreciate a greasy-haired piano teacher! After Kelly arrived home she kept an eye on Ellie while I showered. I proceeded to impose on Kelly's privacy by hanging around until 4:00 when I went back to Grandma and Grandpa's.

Napping after babysitting Clark

The imprint left on her face from the blanket

Grandma and Grandpa had agreed at lunch to watch Ellie while I went to teach my piano lesson. This was the first time I have taught the Kanes and they gave me a gift for Ellie! In it was a book, a beautiful dress, and a headband and sock set where the socks have these flowers on them. They're adorable!
I picked up Ellie and headed back to Geigertown where we waited for Jon to get home from work. Mark DiAddezio had sent home leftovers with us last night so we heated those up for dinner. Jon is getting close to tiling the basement bathroom so we went to Lowe's to scout out tile choices and then headed over to Doug and Donna's to watch some election coverage. After about an hour and a half of listening to random predictions we decided we had had enough and came on home. Now I'm just hoping Ellie sleeps well! She was a bit off tonight - fussing and a bit discontent. I'm hoping she was just grumpy and needed sleep :)

Warming up by the fire at Nana & Poppop's

Ellieisms:
Ellie does a lot with her tongue. You can see a small sampling in the video below.

Ellie only woke up once last night.

A Small Group Surprise

This morning it wasn't very cold in the house due to the space heater from Peter and Brittany. It actually is more like a portable electric radiator and Jon ran the furnace a bit through the night using up the last bit of oil. He was off to work early since he had to leave early for a small group event. Ellie and I slept in since it was a bit chilly yet and we did not have any plans. I set up the basement for Boyd to come work on the furnace at 9:45 but he didn't actually show up until closer to 11:00. I put together a crock pot meal in the morning to give Ellie's babysitters - Peter and Brittany. I also did the dishes, picked up the living room, and hung out with Ellie. She slept a LOT today - a lot more than usual. When she was awake she was usually eating or getting tired and wanting to go back to sleep.
 In the afternoon I finished dinner preparations and gathered up Ellie's things. I had to teach Brooke from 5:00-5:30 and was being picked up for our small group event at 5:30. Jon came home from work a bit early, packed up Ellie's things and dinner then dropped everything off at Peter and Brittany's. Brittany was out but heading home soon so Jon left Ellie with Peter. I hope she behaved until Brittany arrived!
The reason we needed her to be watched was because the men in our small group were surprising the women in our small group. We all got dressed up and arrived at DiAddezio's at 6:00. There was a candlelight dinner all ready for us! Mark was the chef and made two types of lasagna: vegetarian and meat. He also made roasted potatoes with Rosemary and a chicken dish with a fancy name. It was basically chicken wrapped in spinach and bread crumbs. It was all so delicious! The men served us and then went around the table after dinner saying what they appreciated most about their wives. After dinner Jon had set up a projector screen and we watched the first episode of Downton Abbey. It was a really enjoyable evening! The boys really went all out.

Ellieisms:
Ellie was sucking on her fist some this morning! She just might end up being a thumb-sucker.

Finding her fist!

Gabbing away

Brittany sent me a few pictures of their evening with Ellie:

Hanging out with Aunt Brittany

Pete showing off his skills 

Getting cultured.