It's been a busy week. School is coming to an end getting ready for finals and graduation on December 8. I think I'm going to try and fit in boards before Christmas so I can sit back and enjoy the holiday's. I can't wait to put the books away and spend all my time with Miss Ellie........and Jason. It's been a long 3 years of studying and missing out on things.

We found out we are having another GIRL!! We thought for sure it was a boy so we were a little surprised but not dissapointed. It's so exciting that Ellie will have a little playmate and friend. I love that I have a sister and I think many would agree that there is no better friend than a sister.

We noticed on Wednesday that Ellie has a sharp little bitty white spot on her gums. A tooth...Finally! It explains why she's been a bit fussy the last couple weeks. She has started eating more table foods. We tried some pancakes and toast this week and she loved it. She's not a fan of whole peas, she gags a bit but gotta have her veggies. The hardest part about feeding her more things is she still has her cow's milk allergy so she can't have any casseroles with cheese, or cream soups. We've tried to re-introduce milk products to her but she immediately broke out and became congested. The Dr. said to just wait until she is one year old and try again.

Last night we took her to her first indoor soccer game. The Wings haven't had a team since 2001 and recently started back up here in Wichita. There were two little boys sitting behind us that kept her entertained. Ellie sat so good, never fussed and stayed awake until 11 o'clock last night. We all had a great time.

Today we are heading down to Jason's grandparents house for their Thanksgiving. I think there might be about 40-50 people all in their little farm house. You would think we were staying the night with all the stuff we had to pack for Ellie. Toys, food, big blanket for her to play on. I had to bring the bumbo so she had a place to sit and eat.

9 months

Today Ellie turned 9 months old. We had a busy day of pictures and her doctor's appointment. She weighed 18.2lbs (50%) and 28" long (75%). The day started out a little rough with her waking up 3 times last night and crying for several hours. She would only sleep for an hour or so then up crying again. I couldn't figure out if she had a tummy ache or if it was her teeth. She still hasn't broke her first tooth so I know that's coming soon. Well this morning answered my question. The poor girl was a bit constipated. Being up all night made for a cranky girl most of the day. I'm used to having a sweet little angel that rarely cries or gets upset. So far she has been in bed for an hour so fingers crossed tonight goes better than last night.

I also want to share some news. We are expecting #2 in April. I've been waiting to share this because I have a few friends that are still trying and didn't want to upset them. Although I know they are happy for us, I've been in there shoes and it still hurts. After 6 IVF/FET's this time came the all natural way. I was lucky to find out so early so I could get on Lovenox before miscarrying. So far everything is going well and we will find out on Wed what we are having.

Happy Halloween

Ellie's first Halloween is coming to an end. It started out on Saturday night carving pumpkins with Nana and Papa. She wasn't real sure what to think about the big pumpkins but soon realized she was a bit scared of them. We cut the lids off and let her play with those and it seemed to help a bit. Still she didn't want much to do with them but she sat long enough so I could get a couple pictures.

Today she wore a "My first Halloween" bib that grandma got her, to the babysitters. She hasn't been feeling well and she spit up most of her morning bottle all over her first Halloween outfit. She put on a second outfit and this afternoon the same thing, she spit up all over that one. By 3:30 when I picked her up she was in just a diaper. Luckily it was about 75 today so she was happy to go home with no clothes on. I got most of her trick or treating costume on before Jason got home but he helped with the main part of her lady bug. She looked so cute.

We only went to Nana and Papa's house and then headed home to hand out candy. We had plans to hit a couple houses but with her not feeling well I didn't want her out much.

Oh and one thing that she started over the weekend is motioning to come here. I'm guessing that she is trying to say hi or goodbye but has it backwards. Too cute

Sick baby

Poor Miss Ellie has got some yuck that has been going around the community. She started out a couple days ago with a low grade fever and this horrendous cough or should I say bark. She seems fine playing and smiling still but when she gets real active she gets short of breath and kinda wheezy. I took her into the doctor yesterday and he gave me some oral Albuterol to help with these episodes. She seems to be better today. I'm enjoying her taking extra long naps and sleeping thru the night. I hope the night routine stays the same I think both Jason and I could get used to that. Well sounds like she is up from her 3 hr morning nap so better run.

I know... I know it's been forever and I believe I said that on my last post 2 months ago. I have been just so busy with school and now Ellie is crawling and pulling up on everything which is needing a lot of my attention so we don't end up with too many bruises.

I look at her and can hardly believe she is 8 months old already. She is babbling all the time but no actual first word yet. Although Grandma and Grandpa thought she said da da but Jason won't believe it until she says it at him. She's getting faster at crawling but I think she would really like to just forget about that and go right to walking. She's getting brave pulling herself up on things and starting to let go. We've had a couple spills but nothing that a little smooch from mom wont fix.

We headed up to Omaha last weekend for my birthday and to watch some Husker football. To bad they lost but it was still fun hanging out with family. My sister was able to come in town with her little guy Alex. He is 2 months old and such a little cutie. My cousin brought her baby who is only 5 weeks older than Ellie. They played so well together, standing up and banging there hands on chairs to make noise. They were both up until midnight and with little to no napping that evening. Let's just say Ellie was a little cranky on the way home.

Ellie and 2nd cousin Madelyn

Ellie and Alex

Although I went to Aldi's today and bought 3 pumpkins for $2.49 each. This weekend I think we may take Ellie to a pumpkin patch to pick out her first pumpkin. There is a pumpkin patch not far from our house and I think I need some pics of her in a field of pumpkins.

I know it's been awhile and I'm trying to think even where to start. Ellie turned 6 months on Aug 4th. She weighed 17lbs (75%) and was 27" long (90%). She isn't crawling yet but getting very close. She's very good at scooting to where she wants to go. She is starting to get a little more balance. The other day she sat up by herself for about 10 min playing with her hair brush.

We had our first family photos with Ellie taken on Aug 6th. We should be getting those back any day now. I've seen a few teaser photos and they're all really good. The photographer said to meet her downtown. The address sounded familiar but I was unsure exactly where it was at. When I turned onto the street where we were meeting I realized it was where we had our wedding reception 5 years ago.

August 11th we started our trip to Chicago to surprise my sister for her 30th birthday. We left Thursday night and headed up to Omaha, stayed the night at my parents house and then Friday morning. Jason, Ellie, Me, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa all piled into Grandpa's Suburban and drove to Chicago. It took about 8.5 hours to get there but with that many people all riding together potty breaks take a little longer than normal. We had a great time. Finally got to meet my nephew Alex. What a little cutie he is. It's crazy how little he is up next to Ellie. We got lots of pictures of the cousins together. It was a fun weekend and Katie was so surprised to see us all.

My mom came down last weekend and scrapbooked from 5-midnight with a friend of mine. We were feeling so creative I think we could have kept cropping for another 4-5 more hours. I'm really trying to get Ellie's book caught up. I'm only up to March at this point. I guess I shouldn't have taken a billion photos the first couple months of her life. Once I get caught up to this summer it shouldn't be as bad. I've already slowed down on the picture taking.

School started back up this last Monday. So ready for this semester to be over with. I'm ready to get back to just going to work and not having to spend my evening studying. Our pinning ceremony will be December 8th so really only months and I will be done. If I ever say I want to go back to school please don't let me.

6 months

Thought we would share a couple of new things Ellie has been doing. She will be 6 months old tomorrow so this week we started her on some green beans and rice for dinner and did one night of banana. Surprisingly she loved the green beans but gagged with the banana. If it were me it would be the opposite. I think the food in the evening is helping her sleep a little better. The last 3 nights she has gone back to sleeping 8 hours. I could really get used to that again. I want to make some baby food for her and thought I would be using fresh veggies from my parents garden but with the heat they don't have much. For now I'm going to have to buy from the farmers market or grocery store.

A couple months ago we bought her this walker. It's amazing to watch her progression from week to week. When we first bought it just one of her big toes touched the ground and she would move just a few inches. With in a couple weeks she was flat footed and moving a bit more. Now she is cruising all over the place and is able to back her self up out of a corner.