Ellie v. Pets

When we decided to have a child, we knew that our cat, Callie, would be totally confused with the addition to the family. Callie has actually been protective of her and likes to be able to be close enough to watch, but once the crying begins, she is outta there! Callie sleeps with us every night now, so she gets to have "her" time with us. The other funny thing Callie has done is sleep in all the soft places that we have set up for Ellie (i.e. changing table, crib, bassinet, pack n' play, etc.) We have found her in each of these on several occasions. Here are some pictures of us finding her in Ellie's beds.

Another pet that has spent some time with Ellie is Jesse's parent's dog, Jake, who is basically Jesse's brother. He gets upset when Ellie cries, but the most amusing thing he does is demand loving from Jesse's mom when she is holding Ellie. He doesn't want to be left out! Here is some pictures of Jake with Ellie.

Progress Report

2 Month Check-Up Measurements:
10lbs 5oz
22.5 inches

Today, I was able to catch some video of Ellie during tummy time getting up on her knees - PROGRESS!! She is getting stronger as the weeks go by (9 to be exact already) so I wanted to share this video with everyone to show off my baby girl!

Ellie also has become more alert as well as more talkative and I was able to capture that with a video today as well. It's getting to be so much more fun to interact with her and see her smile.

Our First Place

We bought a house! Long story short, Jesse and I found a house back in November and put a contract on it to close this past weekend. Unfortunately, it ended up falling through due to structural issues that were found in the inspection. It's really crazy how God works things out - we found another house the same weekend we decided to back out of the other contract! It is an even better floor plan and exactly what we were looking for - AND it's in the same neighborhood as my best friend, Becca!! Normally, this house would be priced a lot higher, but the owners were relocating for their jobs and sold it for a STEAL! We put in an offer the day before I was induced and found out our offer was accepted during labor - HA! What's even better is that the owner used to be stationed at Ft. Campbell in the 101st Airborne and it was one of the reasons our offer was taken over others. It's a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath + bonus room house and is such a reward of our hard work over the course of our marriage - what a blessing!

Yesterday, we closed on the house and finally finished this long process towards home ownership. We are so excited about it and can't wait to move back to Knoxville! Oh and of course the low interest rates and tax credit are an added bonus. Now if only we could have been on "My First Place" with HGTV and gotten a room done in our house for us...

My Special Valentine

Jesse, Ellie and I spent part of our Valentines weekend in Knoxville and little did I know what my hubby had in store for me! Jesse will be gone to JRTC (pre-deployment training) for the month of March, which happens to fall on my 30th Birthday this year. Because he will be gone, he surprised me with an early birthday party with his family and some of our friends! It was super sweet of him and I was totally surprised. His mom even got me a Publix cake! Sadly, a lot of our friends were out of town or couldn't make it, but I did appreciate the ones that came by and the effort my hubby put in to the party! It was such a thoughtful gesture of him. Enjoy our Valentines pictures! :)

Daddy Time with Ellie

Whenever we give Ellie a bath, this is a fun time for her and Jesse. He gets in the tub with her and comforts her during the entire process, while Mommy is the bad guy and scrubs her up. (Whenever we get a video of her getting her hair washed, I'll be sure to post it because it is hilarious)! After we finish, Jesse puts her in a towel and warms her up while I clean up everything and get the lotion. Then, I come and put baby lotion all over her while Jesse continues talking to her. When we put her on her belly so I can get her backside, Jesse always gets down on the bed and Ellie just stares at him. Recently, she has been "talking" with him so I had to video it tonight and share! Listen closely and you will hear her talk back with him a few times!

First Attempt - A Success!

Ellie usually sleeps two shifts at night - the first for usually around 6 hours and the second for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Last night, we tried the second shift in the crib for the first time and she slept for 2 hours!! So, our first attempt at shifting her from her car seat to her crib was a success and we are so proud of our baby girl! I even documented it to brag on her! This might be silly to some of you when you read this, but this is a big transition for her from just daytime naps in it. Yea for Ellie Belly!

Ellie's Crib Time

One of my next challenges is getting Ellie to sleep in her crib. To get her used to it, I put her in it for at least an hour every day. Yesterday, she looked adorable in it as she kicked and talked so I took a little video to share:

Any good suggestions on how to get her used to her crib for night time sleeping? She hates to be swaddled and would rather sleep on her tummy, but I want her sleeping on her back. At the moment, she is sleeping 6+ hours straight in her carseat at night so it's hard to give up that stretch for our sanity. I'll take any advice I can get!