Ellie's First Thanksgiving

One of the great things about Ellie being born in October is that it means that I get the whole holiday season off for maternity leave! And Ellie's addition to the family brings another great "reason for the season," as they say. This year, we headed down to Visalia for a long Thanksgiving weekend with Grammy and Grandpa. It was so wonderful because everyone arranged their schedules to be home that weekend, so we had a house full of aunts and uncles to play with little Ellie. In fact, it was quite the zoo with 4 cats, 3 dogs, 9 adults and a baby!!!

Ellie wasn't sure what to think of it all. Check out this funny face!


The best part about the weekend was just all of the family time. We cooked together, played games together, went on walks/runs together, and just hung out. We went to church, went to Leah's baby shower, celebrated Grammy's birthday, met up with Rickie, Matt and Zachary, and decorated the Christmas tree. Grant and Grandpa even got to sneak in a round of golf! Thank goodness for family weekends! And thank you to Grammy and Uncle Kevin for documenting it all in amazing photos!

Best Puppies Ever!

Since we had Ellie, many people have asked us how Harry and Ginny have taken to the new baby in the house. We are happy to report that doggies seem to love our little girl. And we wouldn't have expected anything less from our sweet puppies!

Both Harry and Ginny love peering into Ellie's bassinet in the mornings and while Ellie is taking naps. Ginny loves floor time with little Ellie, and Harry has taken to resting under or around Ellie's bassinet. We love our family!

First Road Trip & First Time Playing Dress Up

On Saturday, November 6, my long-time friend Stephanie Brusuelas got married down in Pacific Grove. Attending her wedding provided us with the perfect excuse to take Ellie down to Grandma and Grandpa's for her first visit. We really could not believe how much stuff we need to bring with us now traveling with an infant. Ellie's fancy Bob stroller takes up a ridiculous amount of space, and with Harry & Ginny taking up way back of the car, we barely squeezed our luggage in! Thankfully, Ellie is a fantastic traveler. She slept the whole way!


Stephanie's wedding provided the perfect excuse to get Ellie all dressed up! Grandma dressed Ellie in her adorable sweet pea dress we got as a shower gift from Anna, and she looked absolutely adorable. It was especially fun because Ellie seemed to enjoy getting dressed up too!


Thank you to Stephanie and Michael for allowing us to share in your special day! It was so much fun to celebrate such a wonderful couple, and so great to have had the chance to introduce our newest addition to all of my PG girl friends for the first time. Ellie made everyone "ooh and aww"!

November 4, 2011: Ellie is One Month Old!

Wowie zowie! Where did the time go? Grant and I cannot believe that our little girl is already one month old. At five weeks of age, Ellie is becoming more and more interactive. It is so much fun to watch her focusing her eyes on things, working hard to raise her neck and head up to see things, and giving us more and more accidental smiles. One exciting "trick" that Ellie can do now is make eye contact with me, and follow me from side to side. It's fun to watch her learn and grow!



Ellie is becoming quite a tall girl. At birth, she was 18 inches long and, at her four week doctor's appointment, she measured 21 1/4 inches! Her little cheeks are really filling in too! At birth, Ellie weighed 7 lbs., 4 oz. She dipped down to 6 lbs., 6 oz. in her first few days at the hospital, but she has been climbing ever since. At her four week doctor's appointment, she weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs., 14 oz. Look at this sweet face!


Finally, in parenting news, Grant and I are starting to be able to distinguish Ellie's coos and cries to let us know when she is hungry, when she needs to be burped, and when she needs a diaper change. That makes things a little easier, but we are still novices to say the least!