Laughing Baby

Last night I went to bed late and finally crawled in shortly after midnight. I would have probably made a bigger effort to go to sleep earlier had I known that Ellie was going to revert back to her newborn stage and wake up three times before 7:00. Yes, three times in less than seven hours. Therefore I definitely took advantage of having nothing on my agenda and went back to sleep after Jon left for work. Ellie began stirring around 9:15 so I woke up, ate breakfast, and did my precepts before she woke up around 10:00. Our morning was very relaxed until I tried putting her back to sleep an hour and a half later. I was wanting her to fall asleep early since Mom was coming at 1:00 for us to go out to Reading. I should know by now that Ellie does not fall asleep when she doesn't want to! So I struggled on and off with her until she finally was tired enough to sleep at noon and I hopped in the shower and prepared for Mom's arrival.
Since I had gone to the Lorah Family Meat stand at the Reading Fairground Market a few weeks back I had been telling Mom about the Market. So we went and stopped at a store for her to pick up a gift before heading to the Reading Fairground Market. Mimi led the way and we wove in and out all of the isles and I ended up spending a lot more money than I intended, but I am stocked with all the meat I will need for the next two weeks. One of the vendors asked me what baby's name was and when I said "Ellie" she said that was her name, but it was short for Elinor. Same name, different spelling. She was about 65 or so, which says something about Ellie's name...
We also made a stop at Burlington Coat and picked up a gift for Ellie and Jon for Christmas. We were gone almost 5 hours when we returned home but Mom had given me some leftovers for our dinner and she had picked up some prepared food for her dinner, so it worked out just fine. Ellie was exhausted since she had only slept briefly at the Market so I put her right in the crib. She woke up when Jon came home and watched us eat dinner before we went out to small group.
Last week Ellie had a difficult time during small group since I was trying to get her to sleep in the other room. This week I decided to hold her to sleep and see if I was more successful. Fortunately I was and she fell asleep about 15 minutes into the lesson so I could sit down for the rest. She woke up during prayer requests so I fed her and she then sat and just gabbed. She was very happy! We stayed until 9:45. I changed Ellie's diaper before bed and was saying "boo" to her and she started laughing! I think she must have been tired because shortly thereafter she seemed like she was almost crying and her eyes were all red. After putting Ellie to bed I ate a big bowl of ice cream because Mom said that might help "fatten" up my milk for Ellie. I don't know if that is supported in the medical field, but I will give it a try. Any excuse to eat more ice cream!

Ellieisms:
Ellie has her tongue out a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

Ellie moves a lot in her crib while sleeping. I probably should
start using the sleep sacks instead of her blankets...

Sticking out her tongue, as usual.

See? 

Again.

Sassy 

An Explosion

Today was the normal drill. Jon went for a run, waking me up when he was ready for breakfast and had the iced coffees ready. Ellie woke up shortly afterwards but went back to sleep after eating. I was thankful since I needed my hands free to get dinner in the crockpot. Last night the girl who babysits for Wednesday morning Bible Study told me that I could drop her off at the beginning of the study instead of waiting until she becomes noisy if I wanted. I thought that was really sweet! This morning that did not work out, though, since I had to wake her up as I was ready to leave and therefore needed to feed her during the beginning of study. A long time is spent on prayer requests so I left during a pause between requests and came back right as mom was finishing her requests about Corinne. It worked out just fine. I gave the girls a bottle just in case Ellie was fussy since she has been eating a lot lately.

Chatting with Mimi

After study Ellie was obviously tired and the girls said she only took a brief nap while sitting in the swing. I had planned to go to the grocery store but thought that I should allow Ellie a good nap in her bed since she was awake for so long. Putting her to sleep was a breeze and I then sat down to enjoy my gourmet lunch: a slice of Elios pizza and a coke. I regretted my lunch decision shortly afterwards as my waist is still quite soft and...fluffy.
Kelly had offered to watch Ellie while I taught my piano lesson this afternoon so she brought Clark over at 2:45. They hung out in the basement and Clark was walking around seeming very comfortable with his new skill. After the lesson I walked behind Clark as we went up the steps and when he arrived in the kitchen he pointed at the fan and started squawking. He didn't stop until I turned it on. Kelly put her mothering skills to use on Ellie and put her to sleep in the crib.
Since I had skipped the grocery store Kelly graciously offered to pick up a few items for me while she was at Walmart. I needed milk, chicken, and salad since I was planning on making a meal for a family in our church.  I thanked her with a bit of our dinner since I had more than enough to split between us. I made the pork and peppers crockpot meal that Carly sent around several months ago - I love it. It's easy and always seems to turn out. I even threw a tomato and baby carrots in there and it was still good. Thanks, Carly!
Jon arrived home and we ate shortly after. Someone from church emailed and asked if they could switch dates for taking a meal to this family so I'm off the hook until next week. While Jon and I were sitting at the table after dinner Ellie was obviously working on filling her diaper. I was holding her and didn't think much of it until I got up to change her diaper. Ellie had something slimy on her pants and I looked and she had leaked all over her pants onto my shirt, pants, and jacket. Oh boy! I hollered for Jon's assistance and started the bath tub. Jon held Ellie up while I stripped her down and rinsed her legs off and my hands. That was definitely the biggest mess Ellie has made to date. She prefers to store things up inside and create a scene when we least expect it. I'm just glad we were home!

Ellie came along with me to Bible Study and I put her down to sleep at 7:35 in the cradle. She went sleep and only woke up once and wanted her pacifier. Upon being woken up to come home, she tried to stay asleep and then proclaimed her dissatisfaction with me the entire way home. Pops was at our house picking up the bassinet that Mimi lent us and discussing refinancing with Jon. Now Jon and I are hanging out in the basement enjoying the fire he built in the fireplace. 

Somedays I don't know what color her eyes are.

She's wearing a track suit from Cat

She fell asleep in the car on the way to Brittany's.
Apparently she doesn't mind sleeping like an old man on the beach.

Hanging out at Grandma's

Before heading off to work Jon popped into Ellie's room to say goodbye. Usually this entails walking in, seeing her cute little bottom sticking in the air, and leaving. Today Jon went up to her and patted her bottom while saying good morning audibly. Oh boy. I can't say I don't blame him because she is a lot of fun to be around and he hardly sees her awake while he is home during the work week. I kindly reminded him that he will have plenty of quality time with her tonight while I am away at the women's Christmas social. Ellie graciously slept for another 30 minutes while I worked on my Precepts. After Ellie woke up she ate and we hung out before I tried to put her back to sleep. Generally she sleeps in until 9:30 or 10:00 so I thought she would go back to sleep fairly soon after waking up. I tried on and off trying to put her to sleep for an hour and a half since we had an appointment at Iron Mountains to test out a few products. I told Jon I would come between 10:00 and 11:00. That stinker did not fall asleep until 10:15! So I hopped in the shower and got ready to go, waking her up at 11:00 so she could at least get a sleep cycle in (apparently a baby's sleep cycle is 45 minutes).
At work Ellie was testing this fun basinet-style swing. It operates just like the swing we had at home for the past 3 months (Jon took it back today) but there's a basinet the baby lays in instead of a seat. Ellie seemed to be content. We stood around it and I gave my opinion (why do they need 6 speed settings? Does anyone really use numbers 1 through 3??) and Ellie flirted with the engineers by looking at them and smiling really big. Jon joined us even though he is not on the project.
Since we were in the office anyway they had us try out a napper Jon worked on in the past. It sets on a pack-n-play bassinet as well as removes and rocks on the floor. I really like the idea! Ellie was a bit large for the item but it was helpful to see where they needed improvements for larger babies. In case you care Ellie weighed in (with clothes and a wet diaper) at 12 lbs 6 oz and was 23 1/2 inches long.
Yesterday Grandma, who is recovering from pneumonia with Grandpa, asked me to come to lunch today along with Kelly. Since Ellie had woken up later than I expected from her morning nap and we arrived at Iron Mountains late we were late to Grandma's house. Kelly and Clark had just recently arrived and when I came in Grandpa told me I had just missed Clark walking in from the living room into the kitchen. Clark pretended to not know what Grandpa was talking about as he scooted around the kitchen. We ate lunch and then really got a show from Clark. That boy toddled all over the foyer and living room like a pro! It's uncanny. Ellie watched on in admiration until she became tired so I put her down to sleep on Grandma's bed.
Grandma had found out that I needed to stop by the church to prepare for the women's social so she asked me to leave Ellie at her house to nap. I put her down at 12:30 and went to church from 12:45 to 1:45. When I arrived back Ellie was still sleeping so I wrote a few thank you notes and brainstormed my grocery list. Ellie was still sleeping at 2:45 so I went out and talked to Grandma and Grandpa who had made their way to the living room. I had a piano lesson to teach at 3:30 so when she started stirring around 3:15 I got her up and fed her. Usually I take her along while I teach Brooke Stoltzfus but Grandma wanted me to leave her since I drop her off at their house for my next lesson at 4:15 anyway. I went and taught and came back and little Ellie had just started being a cranky booger so I fed her and took her home. I am so grateful to have Grandma and Grandpa so close by and always wanting to watch Ellie!
Arriving home at 5:45 I started boiling water, preheated the oven, and opened a jar of tomato sauce. Ellie was content in her carseat so I left her there while preparing our gourmet meal of ravioli with Texas Toast. Jon came home right as everything was ready so he took Ellie out of her seat and we ate dinner. Actually, Jon watched me scarf down my food before I grabbed Ellie, fed her, and put her to sleep. I was out the door by 6:15 and heading to church for the women's social. The flutes and clarinets ran though our two special numbers before I sang carols along with 7 or 8 other women at the front door to greet the women as the came in. Kathy Eberly and Sonia Barber spoke and Kelly, Elisha, and Katie sang a trio. I think the evening went rather well with over 100 women in attendance. Afterwards I texted Jon and found out that Ellie was sleeping so I stayed a bit longer to help clean up.
Jon reported that his time with Ellie went fairly well. She was a bit high maintenance but he eventually got her to sleep. At one point in the evening he changed her diaper and put her in a more comfortable outfit - a little Puma workout outfit Cat gave to her. It's hilarious! I love it. I'll take a picture of her in it tomorrow (she's sleeping now).

Ellieism:
Ellie was a little cranky when I was driving home from Grandma's and when we got inside I realized she had pulled her hat down over her eyes. No wonder!

 I quickly took this picture while Jon's working. Nate Saint is directly to my left and the other engineer was behind Jon. I think they saw what I was doing. I didn't want to admit I wanted a picture for my blog...

Spring in Fall

Today we received the weather from Chicago with the forecast calling for 63 degree weather with sunshine. As a result I texted Mom and Kelly and set up a time to walk - 10:30. In the morning Jon made us iced-caramel coffees before heading to work: a wonderful way to start the week. After completing my Precepts and Bible Study (sense a pattern here?) I did the dishes then packed Ellie up. We arrived at Mimi's house and nursed before Clark and Kelly came ready to walk.

You'd never know it was 60 degrees by Mom's outfit...

Tending to baby

Mimi led the way pushing Ellie and I pushed Clark so that Kelly wouldn't get completely wiped out. We went through Summerfield and cut past the retirement quarters and through Mrs. Wynn's old property. Clark was relaxing with his legs crossed the entire time only making a comment here and there as we traveled along. Ellie lasted until Hopewell Manor where I put her in the Bjorn while we finished up. Tallying 2.65 miles Mimi offered to make us lunch as a reward. Ham and cheese sandwiches hit the spot and I was off to take tired little Ellie home.
Ellie took a nice 2 1/2 hour nap while I finished up a Christmas gift and put the living room back into order. The kitchen table was hard to find so I also spent some time clearing that off before doing some Christmas shopping online. Ellie woke up and I fed her then tried to keep her awake as I bathed her then showered and prepared for my piano student. She fell asleep at 4:40 which worked out perfectly for my 5:00 lesson since she slept the entire time.

Clean baby

I ended up waking Ellie up while I transfered her to the car seat. Kelly had invited Jon and I over for dinner since she had a lot of ham balls that she made. Josh had to work late, which worked out perfectly since Jon was also caught up in finishing up a task at work until close to 6:30. Ellie and I drove separately from Jon and had some free time before the men came from work so we hung out with Kelly and Clark. Clark gave Ellie a high five but only when her fingers were extended. When she had her hand in a fist he just looked at it. Uh, that's not how you high five, Ellie.

Clark teaching Ellie the necessary skills for life.

Clark went down for bed right as we started eating. Ellie had spent some time laying down in the loft but she didn't fall asleep so I brought her down and she sat in the bouncer seat while we ate.
After dinner Clark was upstairs talking and Josh wanted to see him so he brought him back down to join us. He was such a happy camper! I drank his milk and laughed a lot before heading back to bed right before Jon and I left to put Ellie to sleep. She was getting cranky, which was understandable since she had been awake over 2 hours.
Jon and I watched the Amazing Race episode for this week (go James & Jaymes!) and now Jon is apparently Christmas shopping on his cell phone. Whatever it takes.

Ellieisms:
I weighed Ellie after her bath and she was right around 12 pounds.

Happy baby!

She's looks so long in her stripes!

The First Weekend in December

Saturday morning Jon was out of the house before I woke up. He had signed up for the last roofing day at church to finish up the shingles. Since he was due to be gone all day Mimi and I planned to go to an open house in Geigertown and a Christmas tree tour at Poole's Forge around noon. During the morning Ellie and I did some work for the women's Christmas social and got ready for the day. Mimi arrived around noon and I fed Ellie before we headed to the open house.
Last Christmas I had missed the open house so I had no idea what to expect. Basically someone just opened their house and asked people who sold goods (Pampered Chef, Silpada, homemade stuffed owls, etc) to have their stuff out for people to see and buy. Quite frankly I thought it was going to be more of a meet and greet type event but oh well. Andi Colmery was selling Pampered Chef so we ate some of her food she had out and purchased a thing or two. We then headed out to Poole's Forge.
I have never been to Poole's Forge so I didn't know what this event was, either. Basically there is an old farm house and few other buildings at the park and in the farm house they had Christmas trees decorated extravagantly throughout the rooms. They also had music and informational sheets to enjoy as you looked at all the trees and picked your favorite. Then we went into one of the other old buildings and enjoyed apple cider and cookies while we cast our vote. Mom and I both voted for the Nicholas Stoltzfus tree since we're related. We think we were probably the only two to vote for his since it wasn't very exciting. The event was to raise money to put towards renovating the house someday and was put on by the Poole's Forge Historical Committee.
On our way home we stopped by a new consignment shop and Lowe's. The consignment shop was full of outdated clothes and fairly expensive (in my opinion) furniture and home decor. Mom bought salad tongs. At Lowe's mom gave me her input on what tile to purchase for the basement bathroom. It didn't help my decision much because she pointed out two totally different ideas from the two I was considering and both of hers are good ideas. Oh boy it might take me until Christmas to make the decision!
Ellie was tired by the time we arrived home so I fed her and put her to bed. I spent some time Christmas shopping online before getting ready for the Christmas party we had at Dan and Amanda's house in the evening. Although Jon was supposed to come home at dark, the roofing took longer than he expected so he asked me to bring his clothes to Mom and Dad's house when I dropped off Ellie. He took a shower at his parent's house and we met up in Elverson.
Dan and Amanda were hosting a Christmas Bunco party. Bunco is a game that involves zero skill - even less skill than Yatzee. You sit at a table with two sets of partners and you roll three die until (in the first round) you do not roll a one. For every one you roll you receive a point. If all three die are ones you get "Bunco" and receive 21 points and the round is over. Then you move on to twos and so forth up to six. Between every round, though, you switch tables and partners. It was a bit confusing when they first began explaining it but we soon caught on.
Twenty-two people were at the party and Jon and I had a wonderful time. Having Ellie stay with Mimi and Pop's was wonderful because I knew I did not have to worry about her and I could focus on getting to know people and playing the game. I did not win and Jon most likely lost (he was having a tough game - no luck). We stayed there until almost 11:00 before heading out to pick up Ellie. She was sleeping in the basement while Mom and Dad watched TV. We packed her up and transfered her right into her crib when we arrived at home.
I was very surprised when Ellie did not wake up until 6:00 this morning for her first feeding. I think that is a record! She was sleeping at least 8 hours since Mom said she had been sleeping over an hour when we picked her up. Although she woke up a bit when we transfered her I did not feed her, so that's the longest she's lasted without eating. Let's she how she does tonight!
After Jon's long day on the roof and our late night at the party Jon slept in past his alarm and we woke up too late to attend Sunday School (whoops!). We arrived at church and I put Ellie in the nursery with the instructions for them to page me as soon as she gets fussy since I knew she'd be hungry. No use having her cry if I know the solution! She lasted the entire worship service and woke up right as Uncle Steve was introducing the sermon. When I arrived in the nursery Ellie had stopped crying but three or four other babies were crying. It was chaos! I fed Ellie and decided to put her to sleep myself since the nursery workers were having such a hard morning. By the time I left two other babies had fallen asleep so it was a lot more peaceful.
After the service the Hanna's asked us over for lunch. Ellie was still sleeping which worked out since I needed to run over the song for the Christmas social with the other flute players. We arrived at the Hanna's and Shaun was grilling some chicken for a salad. It was a very good lunch and it was nice to be invited over to someone's home after church. I need to remember to try to do that. They have an almost 3 month old son, Adam (the one born on the side of the road), and a 2 year old daughter, Gwen. We couldn't stay long because I had a Pampered Chef party to attend at 2:00.
We left around 2:00 and when we stopped at home I called the girl hosting the party to say I was on my way. Melissa Patton attends our church and had invited me almost a month ago via facebook and I had finally RSVPed yesterday saying I would go. I was very glad I went since not many were in attendance and the Pampered Chef consultant lives down the street from me. I had never met her prior but she works with Tara Frey. We baked cookies and browsed the catalog for a couple hours and I was once again baby-free.
While I was out shopping Jon held down the fort with Ellie. She was due for a nap and although I fed her before I left she was wound up from her long morning. Jon said she fussed for a while before he decided to just feed her the bottle I had left behind. After she ate she settled and finally fell asleep. I arrived home after she had been sleeping for almost an hour and Jon was listening to a CD on financial planning on the couch. I gave Jon some of the cookies we had made then we once again packed up and headed out the door to choir practice.
Since Ellie had been sleeping and I hadn't fed her I left her with me for choir practice. She really enjoyed watching Mimi swing her arms around! When she became discontent I tried to discreetly feed her (Jon didn't notice - success). Afterwards she was happy and smiley. I tried to put her to sleep before heading up to prayer but she was still awake but lying down. I wrote directions on her back "Should be tired but has a bottle in her bag if needed." None of the workers were there, only someone filling in until they arrived, so I thought it'd be best to write down what she might need. It worked out because although she didn't sleep in the pack-n-play she was fed and snoozing in Dawn Kimball's arms when I came to pick her up. She took a long time to unwind and finally fall asleep - she took almost an hour once we came home. Hopefully she sleeps for a long time tonight!

Ellieisms:
She is really grabbing things now. It started last week with my hair but now she'll clench on to anything she reaches: my necklace, her toys, or her car seat straps.
Ellie can stay entertained indefinitely if something is moving around in front of her. Like Mimi's flailing arms at choir...

Nap buddies

Lunch at Grandma's & Buying Our Christmas Tree

Yesterday was a fairly uneventful day. Grandma had invited us over for lunch so in the morning I did my Precepts and Bible Study work after breakfast while I waited for Ellie to wake up. We worked on her smiling and tummy time before I hopped in the shower and we readied for lunch.
Grandma surprised us when she called Wednesday afternoon and set up our lunch date since she had spent the last two days at Paoli Hospital with Grandpa and was recovering from pneumonia. Grandpa had been diagnosed with pneumonia so he remained in the basement for the majority of the time since he didn't want to get the kids sick. He emerged to eat lunch and say hi, though.

Cousins

Kelly, Clark, and Mimi joined us for lunch and Grandma made delicious sandwiches, jello salad, pasta salad, apple sauce, and (of course) cookies. Clark loves eating at Grandma's and lets the world know. Ellie spent some time hanging out on the floor while we ate but was soon swooped up by Grandma. We hung around until around 2:00 before heading home.
Running a few errands I went home as soon as possible since I thought it best for Ellie to have some time in her crib after our busy Wednesday. She portrayed her gratitude by taking a nice long nap and allowing me to research some Christmas presents and finish her cousin's gift. Jon came home at 5:15 and we ate dinner before heading to Small Group.
I had been conversing with Cindy Speicher about a Mary Kay order so I decided to send it through after we came home from Bible Study at 10:00. Cindy lives in a very small town in Ohio and Mary Kay kept saying that they couldn't send the package to her house because it wasn't a confirmed address. What? So I finally figured it out after over an hour of struggling and had to send it as though I was ordering it (no free samples or pretty presentation). The shipping is also more expensive, which doesn't make sense to me, so I ate the extra $3.50 since I felt responsible for not figuring it out. Anyway, $28 towards the $200 has been contributed! We can still keep this business alive!

Jon and I had discussed the possibility of him taking a half day of work today (Friday) if he was able to complete the project he was working on by lunch time. We planned to get our Christmas tree and do a bit of Christmas shopping. Since we didn't know if he would be able to leave early I decided to continue on my day and wait to hear from him while I did other things. I went over to AmyBeth Hanna's house for a playdate (Kelly & Clark were there, too!). She was the person who gave birth to her son on the side of the road. We arrived late and left only an hour later because I wanted to run to the Flower and Craft Warehouse since they were having a 30% off sale and I needed a few gifts. Mimi met us there but we hardly saw each other since we both needed to hurry and head to our next event.
Jon called when he was on his way home at 12:15 and I told him I would be home in an hour. When I walked in the door he had grilled cheese and tomato soup on the stove all ready to eat. I was so thankful because I was hungry! He had also borrowed his Dad's truck so we drove up the street to a place 3 miles away to pick out a tree. We decided not to cut down our own tree since we didn't really feel like lugging baby when she won't even remember the event. Plus I took forever to pick out our tree last year because there were so many to choose from! Brittany and Peter had purchased their tree at the place we went to this year and it was only $25. He has a small sampling of trees (today there were probably 9) so I didn't have too many to be picky about. The man was older and he would go from tree to tree and turn them around for me. One of the trees had a bare spot at the bottom and he said he would give it to us for $20. He said you wouldn't even notice it if the tree was going into a corner. Well we like our tree right in front of the bay window and the bare spot would allow us to push the tree closer to the window because of the wall in the way so we took the cheap tree. I will admit it is a bit ragged looking (it almost looks like it was run over by a mini-van, but not quite).

Jon was talking to the man at the tree stand,
hence his open mouth.

When we brought it home we set it up in the tree stand and I put the lights on while Jon returned his Dad's truck. Ellie sat in her car seat and watched. If that stinker has something to watch she is content anywhere.

Our tree. I can see from this picture where I need
to fix the lights. Tomorrow or Sunday we'll decorate.

I love Christmas shopping. Jon, not so much. He allowed me to dictate where we went so we stopped at T.J. Maxx and picked  up a few items before going to Boscov's where we found a couple gifts for me (yay!). After a disappointing run to the LOFT Peter and Brittany texted to say they were close to Jo-Ann's. Once again Brittany and I had planned a craft night but we both needed supplies for our Christmas gifts we were hoping to make. Peter and Jon waited patiently as we slowly gathered our things and checked out. Peter had a gift card from his birthday to Applebees so we went there for dinner. Following dinner we came back to our house for crafts and FIFA. Ellie spent some time on her father's lap while they played and she watched the game intently. She was such a good girl all evening but she has to be tired since, once again, she didn't get to nap in her own crib at all today. Hopefully she sleeps well tonight!

Ellie kept kicking the controller and messing up
Jon's game.

Ellieisms:
She is starting to pop out of some of her 0-3 month clothes!
Jon was surprised how many people feel the need to talk to us since we have a baby. People in public feel much more comfortable approaching you when you have a baby. I won't complain because it's always fun to hear how cute people think your baby is....ha
Ellie had an explosion diaper. Fortunately Jon was home so he graciously rinsed out her pants.

Snow Days

When we went to bed Monday evening we knew there would be a chance of snow on Tuesday morning. The forecast has become more of a possibility than a prediction in my opinion so I was surprised when I woke up and saw an inch of snow with more coming. Ellie slept in until after 9:00 so I stayed in bed late, too. Before my design engineer left for work he told me that he had started a fire in the basement for us. I love our wood fireplace so after I fed Ellie and snagged breakfast we took down my Bible Study homework and Ellie's pacifier and camped out in front of the flames. Ellie enjoyed watching the fire while I struggled to identify my colored pencils in the low light. A small pile of wood is stored in our unfinished part so I took from that supply to keep the fire going.
After lunch I tried to determine if I wanted to drive. After texting Dad I decided to postpone my easy to move lesson that was scheduled for 3:30 to Wednesday and brave the weather for my 4:30 lesson. It probably snowed close to 3 inches, making the prediction of 1-3 inches fairly accurate. I had lined up Mimi to watch Ellie since Grandma and Grandpa were just coming home from Paoli so I fed Ellie before putting her up in the crib. She was fussing a bit so I gave mom the noise machine and said that I hoped she'd fall asleep soon. I went to grab my things and walked out the door. Before I was sitting in my car Mom popped her head out the door to say that Ellie was already asleep. She's a good girl!
Following my piano lesson Ellie and I went home and I put that little girl to sleep in her crib before Jon arrived home. In the mid-afternoon Jon asked if I wanted him to bring home a pizza for dinner so he came in the door with a large pizza: half supreme and half buffalo chicken. After dinner we asked Peter and Brittany over for FIFA and sewing.
Brittany brought her crocheting (she is making a blanket for a Christmas present) and I worked on another doll quilt for Ellie's cousin. Jon proved victorious in FIFA and Peter went home with a new desire to win next time. Although our evening ended by 10:30 I decided to go to bed after Ellie woke up and ate so that I could optimize my sleep time.
Today proved to be a busy day. Waking up at 8:00 I hopped in the shower after Jon while baby was snoozing. I had planned a crockpot dinner so I threw an onion, chicken, salsa verde, and various seasonings into the pot before getting ready for Bible Study. Jon hadn't seen his little peanut of a daughter all day yesterday so he asked to wake her up before leaving for work. He went into her room and started talking to her and she opened one eye, saw him talking to her, closed it with furrowed brow and turned her head to the wall. She's already acting like a teenager!
Jon waited until I was finished preparing dinner before leaving for work and I quickly got ready for study and fed Ellie. We miraculously left the house by 9:05 and arrived at study on time. About 15 minutes into our time I took Ellie into the nursery telling the girls that they should come get me if she gets fussy and that she should be tired. Following study I nursed her before heading out the door.
Our home desperately needed a few staple grocery items so I went and picked up a cart load of groceries at Walmart. The Lord was merciful and Ellie remained content in her car seat the entire shopping trip. Previously I had planned to pick up something for lunch before heading to my 1:30 meeting but we zipped through shopping faster than I anticipated so we had enough time to head home beforehand. The car had been on empty since I left for Bible Study and Ellie fell asleep on our way out of Walmart so I stopped to fuel up before dropping the groceries at home. Since little stinker was sleeping I left her in the car and heated up my last slice of pizza from dinner for lunch. I checked on her and she was starting to open her eyes so I took my lunch and drove to Elverson. Parking at Grandma and Grandpa's house I ate my lunch while baby slept. I surprised myself when I arrived to the meeting 10 minutes early.
Determining the details for the Women's Christmas Social took the entire time between 1:30 and my 3:00 lesson. I excused myself at 2:55 and headed over to Brooke Stoltzfus' house to teach her flute. Ellie watched us the first half of the lesson until Aunt Carol came and took her for the second. Ellie was tired because she once again fell asleep while I was driving home so I once again left her in the car while I packed up half of my dinner for Kelly and Josh and headed to Morgantown.
My lesson where I usually have Ellie with me (where she has been noisy the past few weeks) was moved to a later time today so I asked Kelly to watch Ellie. Since I was making a meal that makes enough to feed a tribe I offered half to her and Josh. I nursed Ellie and told Kelly the last minute preparations for the dinner before running home to teach Kaitlyn piano lessons.
Jon agreed to pick up Ellie on his way home from work so following my piano lesson I had a few minutes to myself. I read Haley & Emily's blog in the first free five minutes before preparing the fresh vegetables for dinner. Jon and Ellie arrived and I put dinner on the table. Ellie obviously wanted her own dinner so I fed her and laid her down before eating. After the dishes were cleaned up Ellie and I left for Bible Study at Brittany's house. It became apparent that she was feeling the effect of being away all day so I took her upstairs after several minutes and tried to put her to sleep. Throughout the first 30 minutes of the study I had to run up and pop her pacifier back into her mouth but she finally fell asleep. We headed home around 10:00 but she was not happy when I woke her up. She cried whenever I wasn't swinging the carseat back and forth and wailed almost the entire trip home, stopping only briefly every few minutes to give her pacifier a few sucks. When I got her out of the carseat at home her eyes were all red and her face was blotchy! She might be like her cousin, Calla! After eating as though she was famished she fell asleep easily and is in a quiet slumber. I am starting to feel the effects of our day, too, and am ready for my bed.

I decided to paste the recipe for our dinner. It's a very easy and tasty meal. Jon and I prefer tomatoes, peppers (I like yellow ones best), sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice with it. So I make rice and we wrap it up burrito style with the chicken shredded. The most important additives are the cilantro and lime juice. This recipe, especially if you eat it shredded and with rice, makes a lot of food. We usually eat it for several days if we have to eat it all.

Green Tomatillo Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts


1 medium onion sliced


2 cloves garlic, minced


1 tsp cumin


1 tsp oregano


1 tsp salt


1 tsp pepper


1 Tbs lime juice


1 jar tomatillo salsa (a green salsa - I just use what I've found at Walmart)


1 1/2 low fat or fat free sour cream ( you can also sub in plain fat free yogurt)

Place chicken in crock (frozen or thawed, doesn’t matter).
Mix all other ingredients, except sour cream, and pour over chicken.
Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Remove chicken and add sour cream into sauce. Stir well.
You can either pour sauce over whole chicken pieces or shred it and serve over brown rice. Sometimes I add a can of beans (whatever kind you like, rinsed to get rid of some of the sodium) to amp up the fiber.

Ellieisms: 

Her cry has escalated from loud to LOUD.

I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures today. Here are two from yesterday: 

Watching the flames

Checking out the snow