Life with Ella {40 weeks}

I can't believe my sweet girl is FORTY weeks old!!!

On Thursday, she will officially have been out in the world longer than she had been in the womb, at 40 weeks and 3 days. I might just have a mini-sob session, so please feel free to send kleenex my way!!

And also, if you've been reading these since the very beginning, congrats on reading forty weeks of our rather boring life! :)

{This is kind of a long one, so get comfortable!}

On Monday, after Ella broke into my nail polish....

{romper / bow}

...we went to get real pedicures with Auntie Kaffy!

What was Ella's favorite part? The remote for the chair.

{note: Ella did not get an actual pedi, she just sat on my lap the whole time!}

Tuesday was Ella's 9 month check up!

So much happier than the last time we were here!

We stopped at Whole Foods on our way home, since Ella's pediatrician gave us the green light to give her anything except cow's milk and raw honey!

We also stopped at Target. I had to get some things for Ella's Christmas card photo shoot (yes) and also to show her that Christmas is coming/Santa is watching so she needs to be on her best behavior and stop waking up in the middle of the night! Ha!

Wednesday, we had some exciting new foods:

yogurt....

...and a cheese quesadilla from Chipotle!!

She really, really, really liked that quesadilla! So glad she likes Chipotle as much as her mama!

Thursday was Ella's photo shoot for our Christmas card! I know everyone does family photos, but we are having some taken in January (for Ella's birthday party invitations/smash cake, etc.) so I didn't really want to force my picture-hating husband to go through that twice in 3 months. 

So here is a little sneak peek of what we came up with!

 It was quite the ordeal, and afterwards I was pretty exhausted! I did everything myself, and I'm pretty proud of how some of the pictures turned out! (Key word: some. I took 141 pictures, and there are about 10-15 that I really like!) I also got a new lens (this one!) which I highly recommend...it definitely made the pictures look more "professional." 

{similar shirt}

After that, we played the rest of the day...I just can't get over Ella's little chambray shirt. I about died. 

Friday, we had our playgroup, where Ella was fascinated with a balloon...

{similar dress}

...and then we went to Costco to meet Kathie Lee! Yes, that Kathie Lee (no Hoda, though, sadly)!

She was there promoting her new wine, and she signed a bottle for me (she even said, "Oh honey, I know you need this...its a long 9 months without it!")! She was SOOO amazingly nice! When we first got up to her, she said to Ella, "Come see Aunt Kathie," and was so sweet to her, even though Ella cried while she was holding her. Honestly, one of the most sincere and genuine celebs I've met! (And you know I've met a bunch....Bethenny, Kathy from RHONJ, Teresa from RHONJ and Adrienne from RHOBH!) 

But the exciting day didn't end there! That evening Ella had her first ride on the light rail (she liked it!)....

...and we met Travis at his office!

She was much happier this week than last!

Once Trav finished his work, we headed to the Hornets game!! 

(Side note: Ella went to a Bobcats game last season, but this was her first Hornets game!)

We only stayed for the first quarter, but the game ended up going into double overtime and the Hornets won! Pretty sure Ella contributed to that... ;)

On Saturday, Ella watched her dad do yard work...

{similar sweater}

...and then her boyfriend, Rhys, came over to play!

Check out Ella's hand on his leg! He tried to kiss her, but I didn't get a good picture of that!

Yesterday was ridiculously boring! We hung around in our pajamas until almost noon, and then watched football and played with Daddy's boot! (Trav stress fractured his ankle running and has to wear a boot for a few weeks....Ella enjoys the velcro on it!)

I'll leave you with an outtake from our mini photo shoot this morning:

Now she stands while I try to take her picture?!?! Ugh!

Have a great week!!! :)

Ella's First Halloween

Well, a week later, I'm finally writing about Ella's first Halloween! 

Better late than never, right?!

We started the day off with a little photo shoot, but Ella wasn't really into it...

After her afternoon nap, we went uptown to go trick-or-treating at Trav's office!

Ella was extremely fussy and clingy, but we just figured it was because she was in a new place, and also she hated her costume!

When we got home, we sat down to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, that I had DVred from the other night. It was then that I thought Ella felt a little warm, so I decided to take her temperature. 

It was 100*...nothing crazy, but a little high. My mom (a nurse practitioner) said we could probably take her trick-or-treating for a little bit and she would be fine. 

So, before we did that, of course we had to take a few more pictures out front by the owl pumpkin!

Then we met up with Ross, Amanda and Rhys to do a little trick-or-treating!

Ella was not having it. But she was a trooper!

Poor girl. When we got home, her fever had gone up significantly, and I ended up taking her to the pediatrician the next morning. So, not exactly an ideal first Halloween, but we still managed to have a little fun! 

Let's hope she is healthy next year! :)

Ella Grace {9 months}

{getting this girl to lie down and take a picture was ridiculously hard this month!}

Dear Ella,

I can't believe you are already 9 months old! Time really does go way too fast! The next time we go to the doctor (hopefully), you will be a whole year old! Ahh!! 

Height: 27.75 inches (55 %ile)

Weight: 17 pounds, 1 ounce (31 %ile)

Head circumference: 16.89 inches (24 %ile)

Clothes: You are still pretty much in straight 6 month outfits. Some 3-6 month stuff still fits you, while some 9 month (like Ralph Lauren brand runs small!) stuff is starting to not swallow you! Unfortunately, about 75% of your wardrobe is 6-12 month clothes from Baby Gap, which I've discovered is a brand that runs big....so you've still got some growing to do. We are making it work, though, and I love that you are still my little peanut! You are wearing size 3 diapers, and I have a feeling you will be in this size for a while. 

Nicknames: Elle Belle, Peanut, Shim/Shim Shim/Baby Shim (as opposed to Kathryn's dog, who is Puppy Shim)

Milestones: Well, I thought last month was crazy in regards to hitting milestones...but that was apparently just a warmup for this past month! You are now clapping your hands (especially after a diaper change...it's like you are saying "yay for my clean diaper!"), waving at everyone, and crawling across rooms like it's your job (which, I guess it is?). You can almost stand totally unassisted, and are really good at pulling up on anything (i.e. the toilet, my leg, your activity table....) and holding onto it with just one hand. You haven't said any real words yet, but you are a very vocal lady and lately, your babbling has been sounding more like actual words. We've tried to get you to say "mama" and "dada" but so far you just like to make a "ggggg" sound. You also respond to us when we say your name or tell you "no" (although you don't always follow directions...but as a kindergarten teacher, I am used to that!). 

You do not want sit still for more than a second!! Such an active girl you are!

Sleep: Sleep at this point is touch-and-go. A few weeks ago, you started waking up in the middle of the night and the only way I could get you back to sleep was if I fed you. You finally stopped doing that, and then you got sick and we had the dreaded time change. So now, you are waking up a few times per night. Your pediatrician told us (at your appointment today) to stop going in and feeding you at night (and just let you cry it out)....so we'll see how this goes. Your napping has also been a little inconsistent because of the swim lessons we had this past month (they were right smack in the middle of your morning nap time!). You are not the biggest fan of the morning nap, and sometimes will skip it altogether, but you always take a solid afternoon nap of at least 90 minutes, if not 2+ hours....so thank you for that! 

Best moment: Watching you wave, clap and crawl for the first time. And our trip to the pumpkin patch was so fun! 

Worst moment: Definitely when you were sick this past weekend. I would not wish a sick baby on my worst enemy. Thanks to everyone for your positive thoughts!! 

Likes: SHOPPING (no one should be surprised here), especially at TARGET (again, no surprise) when you are riding on top of the shopping cart, clapping/waving, watching football with Daddy, us blowing on your face, making farting noises, remotes/cell phones/iPads, putting things in your mouth, grabbing people's faces (especially noses), and Puffs (aka baby crack).

Dislikes: Homemade purees, when you can hear me but not see me, taking naps (sometimes), sitting still.

Health: Like I mentioned yesterday, you had an ugly little virus over the weekend that caused your temperature to hit over 103*. Thankfully, you never developed any other major symptoms (other than a slightly red, sore throat), so we are thinking it was just a random virus and not hand, foot and mouth disease. I hope you will stay healthy this winter!!

Eating: We have continued with solid fruits and vegetables this month, but you are starting to get picky (like your mom)! You really only like the store-bought purees, and even some of those gross you out. If it were up to you, I think you would eat straight Puffs...probably a whole container a day. Too bad you can't make the rules yet. We have also started "baby led weaning," where we give you the actual food, instead of purees. You like bananas, but everything else we've tried, you don't really know what to do with! Today, we were given the green light by your pediatrician to give you pretty much anything (except cow's milk and honey), so I am excited to introduce you to yogurt, meat, and my personal favorite...pasta! You are still breastfeeding every 3-4 hours!

Elle Belle, just when I thought you couldn't get any cuter or funnier, you certainly did this past month!! I am never bored around you! Your little personality is shining through more and more each day, and while you are an extremely strong-willed child, I just love your determination and strength! You are a fierce little peanut! At the same time, though, you are still always up for a quick snuggle (key word: quick). You love people, and anytime someone gives you a hint of attention, you turn up the charm and are such a ham! The cashier at Trader Joe's told you last week that you light up the room....I couldn't agree with him more! 

Life with Ella {week 39}

Not only is my favorite girl 39 weeks old today, it's also her 9 month birthday! Where has the time gone?!

{striped coverall}

I'll be posting her 9 month update tomorrow, but in the meantime, here's a look at our past week!

On Monday, we hit up Trader Joe's and went out to dinner with Trav's family for Auntie Caitlin's birthday!

Tuesday was more swimming lessons!

This was actually after the 1/2 hour lesson. Poor girl gets so cold...look at those blue lips! Brrr!

Then we went to Target to get Halloween candy!

And took some pictures with it!

Wednesday was the Charlotte HORNETS home opener, so we had to support!

{Hornets onesie from the team store in Charlotte}

And also, Ella discovered how to do gymnastics on the chair.

Thursday was our very last swim lesson!

{swimsuit}

Friday was Halloween!!! I'm going to do a separate post about Halloween, but here is Ella trick-or-treating at Daddy's office.

After we got home from Trav's office, Ella and I sat down to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! I noticed she felt a little warm, so I took her temperature...it was 101.6*! Later that night, it went up to 103.4*! So I called our doctor's office and spoke with the on-call nurse for almost 40 minutes. She told me to go ahead and bring Ella into the office the next day (Saturday). So we went in on Saturday, thinking poor girl may have an ear infection. 

Thankfully, her ears looked great! The only problem (besides the fever that had gone down a little bit by this point) was that her throat looked a little red. The pediatrician told me to be on the lookout for small bumps in her mouth, or on her hands and feet, as it might be hand, foot and mouth disease. 

{owl outfit}

Luckily, once we got Ella home and gave her some Pedialyte, she was feeling much better! 

We spent the remainder of the weekend laying low. So far, I haven't seen any bumps (hope I'm not jinxing myself!) so I am hoping she doesn't have hand, foot and mouth. We go to the doctor tomorrow for her 9 month check up, so if Ella is still not feeling great, hopefully we can get clarification about what else this little bug might be! 

Having a sick baby is the worst!! Hopefully Ella starts feeling better soon!