LAZY Weekend

We were VERY lazy this weekend. What did we do? NOTHING! I bought Ella Grace a plush baby doll yesterday and named it Dolly. She seems to like her and and looks so cute holding or chewing it. Below are several pics from our lazy weekend. I didn't get Ella dressed at all on Saturday - too lazy!

Going backwards - Sunday:

Watching TV in our bedroom while I laid out on the deck. I came in for a little break and took some pics:)

Giving me the look as if I was disrupting her.

Rolling around before...

She passed out! And she's still asleep as I post these pictures.

Sunday morning fort - built with a Boppy and blankets so she could sit up (as she demanded).

Saturday:

Asleep with Dolly

Giving Dolly a hug when they first met

We fell asleep on the couch together from about 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Daddy took this picture of Ella's leg hanging off the couch. Haha! Notice the 1 sock on - she came home from school with them like this and I never took the time to put the other one back on; not even when I put her PJ's on. Again, lazy!

I had to!

UT football season is officially 14 days away! To get us VOLS all in the spirit, I have added our good ole' Rocky Top fight song to my blog music player! Enjoy, and for those who hate hearing "Rocky Top You'll Always Be Home Sweet Home To Me, Good Ole' Rocky Top, WHOO!, Rocky Top Tennessee"....too bad! GO VOLS! Ella's already learning the cheer.

Halloween

What should Ella Grace be for Halloween? Vote for your favorite at the top right hand corner of our blog or e-mail me your idea. Here are some cute costumes I found.

Every child must be a pumpkin once for Halloween! Mom, do you still have the costumes Rita made us? And Rita, while you're making Caroline and Benjamin's, do you want to make Ella Grace something:)?

I liked the big mane! She's going to kill me one day!

Cute!

Doodle is her nickname and this costume happens to be called "Doodle the Golden Retriever" haha!

Her blood has run orange since birth!

Typical Friday Night

Just hanging out! Ella Grace was VERY tired!

A picture from last weekend. The only way I could get stuff done around the house w/o her fussing was to snap her on to me. Oh, for those of you out there who don't have kids yet, this is what you get to look forward to:)

Hail to the Queen

Daddy built Ella Grace a "throne" the other morning so that she could sit up while we got ready for work. The child is only happy sitting up and isn't able to do so unassisted yet. This makes things quite difficult until you build her a throne to sit in...happy as a clam for 15 minutes or so!

Happy 4 Months Ella Grace!

I still don't know the correct way to determine how many months old Ella Grace is - on the 15th of each month? By weeks? By considering most months have 30 days? - but I believe she is 4 months old this week! Below is her 4 month old pic with Mr. Giraffe.

She's kind of cute isn't she?

Fun Facts

Ella Grace:

• Drinks about 24-26 oz. of formula a day
• Is in size 1-2 diapers (Amazon sells this "in-between" size and they're awesome!)
• Sleeps from 9 p.m. - 6:30/7 a.m. on average
• Weighs about 15 lbs (our guess)
• Has a major case of the rolls; my little Chunky Monkey!
  
• Love to chew on rattles, her clothes, anything she can put in her mouth
• Has great hand-eye coordination, is very strong, and follows us with her eyes
• Rode like a big girl in her stroller for the first time last weekend
• Loves trees. Every time we go under one, she lifts that noggin up and just stares at them.
• Seems to enjoy daycare and her friends.
  

New tricks

She:

• Makes weird kissing noises; we're really not sure what to call them
• Stands up in her new play station (aka H3 Hummer); the seat rotates 360 degrees and she can turn herself in it - strong little legs!
  
• Continues to "talk" a lot; we call her our "baby pterodactyl" when she makes these odd screeching noises
• Is starting to scoot her booty up under her when she's on her tummy
• Is starting to get the hang of sitting although she has a long way to go doing this by herself

*A few more I didn't add last night...

• She is starting to put her feet in her mouth and giggle. Her giggle is awesome!
  

More Pics:




A little sad news to report:

Our daycare announced they're closing their doors as of 12/31. Even though we've only been there a month, I'm pretty upset about it. I just love all of the ladies there! I feel so bad for them because most have been at the YWCA 15-20+ years, built this program, and consider each other and the children their second family. They found out the same day as the parents and I think that's plain crappy. So anyway, today I took them a big box of cookies from a favorite local bakery to cheer them up!

The past 2 days I've been scrambling trying to find other options. Hopefully we'll find something sooner than later.

Other than that, all is going pretty well. Our entire family caught the nasty cold going around at daycare and each of us have had our sick days at home. We're on the mend and now want this icky rain we've had the past few days to go away! Can't wait for the weekend!

While We Were Out...

I think Ella Grace could pass as Laura's daughter

Not only did we have awesome babysitters while we went to the concert a few weekends ago, we had photographers! Above are some shots Laura and John took during their adventure of babysitting:)

Big Girl

Otis checking it all out

This afternoon, Ella Grace and I strolled to the coffee shop. She rode in the stroller "big girl" style for the first time. She seemed to enjoy seeing the world sitting forward! Such a big girl!

Look!

Look at the newest toy Ella Grace is starting to grow into! She seemed to really like it - lots of toys and noises!

Last weekend was such a busy weekend for us. Brian and I actually got out for more than an hour on Saturday! My sweet friend, Laura, and her husband kept Ella while we went to the Kenny Chesney concert at Seahawks Stadium. We ended up getting free tickets through one of the accounts at my work and met with some colleagues around 2:30 to meet Miranda Lambert. We were hoping to meet Kenny but that didn't happen. Our seats were awesome and the concert was soooo good! Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, and Sugarland opened for Kenny. They all put on amazing shows! I will say that I can't hang anymore. By 9:00, I was having to take breaks sitting down b/c my back hurt so bad. Lame! By the time the show ended (11 p.m.), I was pooped! I think we're both still recovering.

Me & Miranda Lambert

Sugarland - love them!

Kenny's entrance - middle of Seahawks Stadium

Katie and her friend

Hello Kenny! I love you! Why didn't you fit us into your Meet N Greet schedule?

On Sunday, I took Otis and Ella Grace to the Pug N Brew at a local brewery. We met my friend, Aly, and her pug there and about 30 pugs showed up. I was too tired to take pictures! That lasted about 2 hours then we headed home to rest up.

Unfortunately, this week has been a rough one for us. Doodle Bug started running a fever on Monday and it rose to about 101 that night. She continued to have one on Tuesday morning so Brian and I took turns staying home with her - he went in to work that morning and I went in the afternoon. She's better now but still not sleeping through the night. What's crazy is this child was smiling and playing with a 101 fever! She's a trooper! She has spoiled us with her 10 hour sleep periods and getting up at 1:45 and 3:30 every night this week has just about killed me. I think a lot of it has to do with that she's always cold b/c she kicks her covers off and it's about time for rice cereal and solid foods. I've noticed she's a lot hungrier these days. Her 4 month well check is on August 24th so we'll see what the Dr. says then.

Fighting sleep but I thought she was cute so I took her pic - even if it was like 10 p.m.

Her new thing...propping her leg on her bouncey seat and play gym at school

And her newest accomplishment...learning how to sit! This became a brand new thing today! I work with her when I go see her at lunch and she's starting to really find her balance. I want her to start sitting up so bad! There's so much more to see sitting up!

Oh, and did I mention we had a heat wave come through a week ago? The temperature rose to 102! Our house was about 90 degrees the entire week - miserable! We have a portable air conditioner in our room so all 4 of us crowded in there that week - Ella in Pack N Play, Otis, and all! We're glad it has now cooled off!

Last Weekend...

Still doing the side roll. We haven't mastered the full roll yet.

Saturday, we enjoyed the day at Alki Beach. Of course, my camera had to die so I was unable to capture any shots of her on the beach in her cute, new suit & floppy hat. We took some at home though.

As we say, "She's a doodle!"