Wishing You a Happy Monday!

TGIF!

We're even sillier today!

And... cut!

She's ready for her closeup

Don't try this at home

I spent so much time working yesterday that I decided to just hang out with Ella and be as silly as possible. Things got a little crazy and somehow she ended up in the sink :-)

Tuckered Out

I just took this photo... Ella fell asleep while watching me make dinner. It is so sweet! She's still sleeping... speaking of sleep - Ella has been sleeping through the night for over a week now. I didn't want to jinx it by writing about it earlier. It is so wonderful. She goes to bed between 7 and 8 and sleeps for 11 hours! Yay!

She spent the day with her nanny, Rennell, and had a good time. I was able to go to work, wash some clothes and work out at the gym. How nice! She'll be coming in Mondays and Wednesdays. It makes such a difference to have an extra hand (or two)... and I wasn't a nervous wreck today after leaving Ella. Glad that has passed :-)

Just a test...

I've been testing the video capabilities of our digital camera... here's a little clip :-)

Milestones

Last week, I turned 28... putting me one year closer to 30. That, coupled with just having a baby, is making me feel really old. On Saturday, we had some friends over to celebrate my 28th and Ella's 5 month birthdays. It was lots of fun and so many people showed up! Heidi made me a cake and it was excellent!!!! There were no leftovers. I felt like a little kid blowing out my candles and opening presents. Yay!

But even more importantly... I left Ella with her new nanny on Monday. Her name is Rennell and she is great. She's a nursing student at Howard University and will be babysitting for us on Mondays and Wednesdays. I can finally get some work done! And go to the gym! And clean out the fridge! And! And! And!

If only it were that easy. Monday was incredibly difficult for me. I didn't cry, but I felt like I was having a panic attack for the four hours I was away at work. I was an absolute wreck. I even (shamelessly) showed some clients a photo of Ella right before our meeting. Apparently I'm now that kind of mom. Oh, to be away from her just broke my heart. I could hardly sleep the night before and am getting a big knot in my stomach just thinking about it. It's better now than later, and it's much better for me than dropping little Ella off at daycare every day. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't survive that :-) At least she won't be starting school for a few more years...

Stay Warm!

It's been cold and windy here all week. It's quite the ordeal to get Ella all bundled up to go outside. Isn't she cute?

Five Months Old!!!!

Yep. Ella's 5 months old today!

Better than superglue to the eye...

This Saturday, we had our first trip to the emergency room. Yay! Ella had been spitting up more than usual for the last week. And... that afternoon, she had blood in it. She seemed to feel fine, but it was a little scary. Of course, Brady was out of town - and he had the car. Things like this just don't happen at convenient times. So, I took a bus to the nearest emergency room. By the time we got there and were seen, Ella was just tired, but otherwise normal. I had the displeasure of witnessing her first rectal exam (she HATED it!!!!!) and watched several nurses hold her down and poke her in her hands and feet, trying to get enough blood for a specimen. The poor thing. It was so sad. I cried and cried. After about 5 hours, Brady showed up. And an hour later, at 12:30 a.m., we were able to go home. They couldn't find anything wrong with her, and a follow up appointment gave us the same results. She probably just has reflux, so we will be giving her Zantac for the next few weeks.

Ella is her same chubby happy self. She's weighing in at 15 pounds, 7 oz now. And still getting cuter every minute.

P.S. The guy behind us at the emergency room was there because he accidentally put superglue in his eye, thinking it was Visine. I'm thankful Ella just had reflux :-)

New Tricks

I can't believe that Ella's almost 5 months old. She is so different from that little girl I brought home last September. Her latest thing is rolling over from her belly to her back - in both directions. She's almost got the rolling from her back to her stomach, too. She also likes to scoot around on her back, so when I come back to look at her she's almost never in the position as she was placed. Scary. Next comes crawling, I guess. I'm not ready for it! Our house will need some serious childproofing in the next few months...

Have a wonderful weekend!