Monday, May 24, 2010

The latest house updates

So this weekend we got our new couches, a new dining room set and a rug for the Family Room. I am loving how the house is coming together! It looks so different with furniture in it. We also painted the last room - Jesse's office and finally picked out what furniture he wants for it. That will be purchased at a later date. It seems crazy to be spending so much money right now, but we worked so hard to save it and we are finally being able to see the rewards of our hard work. Now if we could just get some jobs and actually move there...
New Couches & Rug for Family Room
Jesse's Office
New Dining Room Rug & Chair from New Dining Set (the rest is at our Ft. Campbell house)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

5 Months Old

Today, Ellie is 5 months old. I can't believe it! So, I wanted to brag on some of the things she can do now:
  1. She can roll from her tummy to her back, and her back to her tummy.
  2. She smiles a lot!
  3. She's teething....man, is she ever!
  4. She weighs over 14lbs now.
  5. She is starting to wear size 2 diapers as of TODAY!
  6. She is wearing 3-6 month clothing now.
  7. She takes a short morning nap and a longer afternoon nap for my sanity.
  8. She can sit up assisted.
  9. She can play in a jumper.
  10. She's eating rice cereal.
  11. She can scooch on her tummy to get to places.
  12. She knows what her tongue is and can play games with her daddy.
  13. She squeals, makes bubbles, and makes pooting sounds with her lips.
  14. She reaches for items in front of her, especially her parent's faces and her mommy's hair.
  15. She raises herself up on her tummy with her arms.
  16. She LOVES to look at herself in the mirror and smile.
  17. She splashes in the bathtub and picks up toys with her legs.
  18. She now plays a game of "Where's Ellie?" with her burp cloth (see video below)

Round 2 - Success!

So after talking to other mom's, I decided to wait a few days to try rice cereal again after feeding her a smaller bottle and it worked! She ate it so much easier and sat still for me. So, we will now work on eating it in a thicker consistancy gradually so I can start giving her veggies and fruits soon. Here is her eating in her high chair that is supposed to be stapped on a chair but since we sold our dining set a few weekends ago, it's on the floor! :)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Ellie v. Rice Cereal - Round 1

Today, my 20 week old daughter tried rice cereal for the first time. I was expecting the worst! I prepared by putting a bib on her because I have been told it is extremely messy - and it was - but I'm used to the mess with a spit-up baby. She actually ate off the spoon pretty well, even though it was pretty much liquid. But, about 5 minutes into it, the fussiness began. I don't think she likes the rice in her tummy. She broke down and we had to stop and comfort her. She was happy to get a bottle for the remainder of her feeding. So, Round 1 a sort-of success. Round 2 tomorrow!

My 1st Mother's Day

On my first Mother's Day, we were able to have Ellie dedicated at our home church in Knoxville (Providence Church). It was a special ceremony where we as parents pledge to raise our child in a Christian home and the church vows to help us in whatever way they can. Ellie received her first Bible (a pink one of course) and was introduced to the congregation. We were able to do this with 3 other families (McNair's, Brown's and Bodenheimer's) who all have babies as well. Reagan McNair was born 2 days after Ellie (Erika and I had the same due date) so we were excited to have them dedicated together since they are future BFF's! This ceremony was a big deal to us to pledge that we would disciple our baby girl and teach her about God's love. My parents were able to drive up to be there and that made it even more special to share it with my Mom (Grammie now) on Mother's Day. Jesse's family was able to be there as well so it was a special day for all of us. So to you, my readers, and Providence Church, we vow to teach our child about God's love and raise her in a Christian home. I can't think of a better way to have spent my 1st Mother's Day. I am blessed to be a mom to a baby girl that brings joy to me each and every day - I love you Ellie! I have a wonderful example of a Mom in my own - I'm so happy I was able to spend it with her, too!

Playing Catch Up

As a new mom, I have no clue when it comes to toys for a baby - when she should be playing on them, what kinds of stimulation she needs, and how long each day she should use them. Thankfully, I have friends and family that know these things. Ellie is now to the point that she can get bored pretty easily if she is not entertained. They should make a book that is a checklist of what kind of toys babies need at each stage or age to help ignorant moms like me! This has been my biggest frustration so far. I am trying to play catch up to make sure she is doing what she needs to grow and develop. Ellie is rolling from her tummy to her back and her back to her tummy so I have to watch her a lot closer now. I know, I know...it only gets worse on her amount of mobility. Any tips from other moms will be appreciated on toys for her! :)

Sunday, May 2, 2010

End in Sight

2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division will be deploying next month, and until then, the unit will be on block leave and doing preparations to leave. They have a standing tradition that every officer and upper non-commissioned officer gets "hailed and farewelled" when they come in and leave the unit with a nice dinner and presentations. Jesse was "hailed" over in Iraq so I didn't get to be there for that. This past week, they went ahead and "farewelled" Jesse from the unit since he is not deploying. The new Squadron Commander, LTC McFadyen, talked about how much of an asset Jesse has been for them and he didn't even realize that Jesse was an Ordnance Officer doing a job that is normally done by an Armor officer. He tried talking Jesse out of getting out the Army, but he knows that Jesse has a plan and somewhere to go. Jesse got his colors which is a framed flag of the unit he was in and it is super nice - a great memory to put on his office wall at our new house! He got to encourage all the guys that are going on the deployment and thank the people that had taught him a lot over the last 3 1/2 years. It's weird that he doesn't get out of the Army for another 4 months, but it was a nice tribute to him with the end of his time in the Army in sight - kind of bittersweet!

Ellie

Lilypie Third Birthday tickers