A Bite, Bubbles, and Blue Jeans

Ellington has had a few more first in the past few days! She got her first mosquito bite Friday morning when we walked outside to throw away a diaper. I think it's a miracle that we live in Mississippi and we made it all summer without a mosquito bite! I was a fanatic about using Off Wipes when we were outside this summer and I guess it worked!



Friday evening Ellington and I went to Wal-Mart and I saw some bubble bath and thought a bubble bath would be a fun Friday night activity! It was definitely funny to me, but Ellington didn't enjoy it very much. She wasn't sure about it at all and then she tried to eat the bubbles....and then got very upset when they didn't taste very good! So, we'll have to put the bubble baths on hold for awhile!

What is this stuff?



Maybe I should taste it?



Yuck!



Another first Ellington had this weekend was wearing blue jeans. They were little cropped blue jeans and so cute! I am not a fan of jeans on little babies because I think that babies should be comfy and cuddly (and jeans just aren't) so Ellington hadn't worn any yet. She looked so much older in them! :)



I am really enjoying hearing from everyone who reads my blog on my previous post! There are several of you that I had no idea were reading! :) It's nice to have you. If you haven't commented on the post, please do and let me know you are here! Writing to someone other than myself is more fun!!

One Hundred

This is my 100th blog post! Crazy, huh? I have really enjoyed writing down our memories and being able to share them with other people. Perhaps my favorite part is that I'll now have all of these memories recorded forever! I still sometimes struggle with what I should share and what I shouldn't. Our life situation since May has been HARD...really HARD. That's one area I never know how much to write about. I want this blog to tell the true story of our family (not just the happiest, most fun adventures), but I certainly don't want to complain all the time. So, I leave out most of it and share some. I think that probably works best!

In honor of my 100th post I want to know who's reading! :) Sometimes it is hard to find the motivation to post regularly and knowing who is out there might help some! So, when you read this (even if it's way after I've posted this) comment and tell me you are here. If you are family, a friend, a blog friend, or a complete stranger...I want to hear from you! And I promise I won't think it is weird if you are a blog stalker! I can't tell you how many blogs I stalk! :)

I know several people who read don't have blogs or accounts, but you can still comment! Just click on "Comments" below this post...type your comment...then where it says "Comment As:" choose Name/URL and just type your name in. That should work!

Comment away! :)

Baby Shopping

On Friday after school, Ellington and I headed to Flowood to meet my mom, Reagan, and LeAnna to register/look at baby stuff! So fun! Ellington slept the whole 2 hour ride and we stopped at Chick-fil-A for a snack when we got there. We arrived before anyone else and it was so funny watching her realize that everyone else was showing up too! She was SO excited! After our snack break, we headed to Babies R Us so that LeAnna could register! It worked out great because Reagan entertained Ellington while I was able to give LeAnna my expert (ha!) opinion on all things baby. I hope I was able to help some. Baby stores can be soooo overwhelming!



Ellington was such a ham! She loves all attention, but especially loves attention from Reagan!!!



We spent quite awhile registering and after we were done Ellington, Reagan, and I ran into Hobby Lobby real quick so that I could look for some things I was needing for Ellington's birthday party. After that we headed to the Mellow Mushroom to eat! I hadn't ever eaten there before so it was new for me! Bryant also joined us for supper!



The only downside to supper was that we sat right in the sun and it was really hot!!! Poor mom and Reagan had it right in their faces...that's why Reagan has on Bryant's hat in this picture. (This picture makes it look like we were eating outside, but we were inside...and it was still really hot!!!)



Side note: Ellington doesn't really like people wearing hats. She always acts different around Robert when he is wearing one (he doesn't often) and while Reagan had it on, Ellington just kind of stared at her. The minute Reagan took it off she was laughing at her again! So funny.

After supper we headed to Target! Yay! I needed to buy another big stock of diapers and I always just love to look around. They always have the CUTEST little baby clothes, but it was on overload! I wanted to buy SO much for Ellington, but I tried to reign it in! Ellington was BEYOND tired at this point so after Target we had to head home. She was SO SWEET in the parking lot waving and telling everyone bye! She seemed so big...I just could have cried!

We had a GREAT time on our little afternoon adventure. I was telling Robert that it was so weird that I just had such an awesome time even though we didn't really do much...and then I realized it's because I hadn't really had fun in awhile. Robert's job is still super stressful for us. We see him 45 minutes a day and he usually works on the weekends (like this weekend he is working Saturday AND Sunday). Not only that, but that leaves me as the only one to take care of Ellington so I can't ever go to dinner with a friend or even run to the store alone. All that to say, a fun afternoon was VERY MUCH needed!!!

Ellington Overload

So...I haven't been the best blogger lately. I thought I would do a quick catch-up by posting a bunch of pictures of Ellington from the last couple of weeks!




Ellington is FINALLY showing interest in foods other than baby food and since she has been going to Parent's Morning Out she has started trying to feed herself. I guess it is peer pressure from the other babies! Ha! The pictures above and below were snack time pictures after her nap.


Ellington still gets her bath in the sink....because it's easier for me. And she still fits-for now anyway!






Ellington playing us a little music...


Waving and saying "bye".




Hopefully I can get back to blogging more regularly! I actually really miss it! We are still trying to get adjusted to our new schedule. Ellington is actually sick right now. :( She has a bad cough, runny nose, and watery eyes. She's staying home with Daddy tomorrow (and probably the rest of the week) and I will be taking her to the doctor tomorrow afternoon. I sure do hope she is feeling better soon! She doesn't like to be rocked or held close AT ALL (even when she's sick!) so it's EXTREMELY hard trying to console her. Hopefully the doctor will get us fixed up tomorrow!

We Love Visitors!

Saturday my parents came for a visit. I would say they came to see me, but we all know it was to see Ellington. :) Robert was at work so they kept us company! After Ellington woke up from her nap she was ready to play!



After we played for awhile we went to eat at Little Dooey's, which is always a yummy treat! Thanks for coming Pop and Grams!!! (that's my mom's new grandmother name...she's not GiGi anymore)

Wednesday Reagan came to visit! She brought Gus back to us and we went out to eat at The Veranda. The food was delicious, but it was a bit of an awkward experience! They sat the 3 of us (Reagan, Ellington, and me) at a round table for NINE people! A long table would have been less awkward because we could sit across from each other, but at a round table we were all lined up...it was very strange! Reagan spent the night with friends in Starkville, so we got to see her again today! Ellington LOVES LOVES LOVES Reagan! Ellington is always in the best mood when she is around. Both nights we saw her, Ellington had more trouble going to sleep because she was so wound up!





Seriously, is she not the cutest baby ever?!



If we haven't seen you in awhile, you should come visit us! We'll even let you take us out to supper! ;) Ha! Just kidding....kind of!

One Last Swing

A few days ago Ellington went on one last swing in her baby swing. As I was putting her in it I thought about the night that Robert put it together and how thrilled I was to have a baby swing in my living room. :) I can't believe it's already time to put it away.

August 2010

October 2009

Thanks baby swing for rocking my baby ever so gently. I really liked it when you were able to get her to sleep. You have no idea how much that meant to me! We're going to put you away for awhile, but you'll back back again some day...swinging more babies to sleep. Until then!

Wordless Wednesday

Lunch at the Lake

Sunday after church Robert, Ellington, and I met my Dad and Reagan in Louisville at Lake Tiak-O'khata for lunch. (I know, what a crazy name, right? I totally had to look up how to spell it. It's pronounced Te-o-khata.) Anyway, the real reason we needed to meet up with them was to hand our dog Gus over to them. He had gotten really sick towards the end of the week last week and they were going to take Gus to our vet in Philadelphia. So, since we had to meet up...why not enjoy a yummy lunch together?! Ellington was super happy to see Pop and Aunt Reagan!

This is Ellington right before she spit squash all over us both!







When we were little we went to Lake Tiak-O'khata occasionally, but I hadn't been in years. It was really fun going back. It hasn't really changed any (other than some slides) over the years. I felt like I had stepped back in time and it was 1989 all over again. Robert said he felt like we were on the movie Dirty Dancing. Ha! We enjoyed our fun, spontaneous lunch at the lake!

Practicing

Ellington has been busy practicing a couple of things lately. The first thing she has been working on is standing up. She is not able to pull up by herself, but she does really good standing once someone helps her out and gives her something to hold on to!





The other thing Ellington has been practicing is taking care of babies.



No, we're not having another baby (not yet anyway), but Ellington is going to be a big cousin in December AND January. We just found out recently that Brad and Julie will be having another baby in January and we are SO THRILLED to have these new little ones as a part of our family! :) Right now Ellington's favorite thing to do with her doll is grab it and then throw it behind her over and over. I think we should probably closely supervise the visits to see her little cousins!

P.S. I just went back and added pictures to her 10 month post!

Play All Day

Ellington spends most of her day playing! She loves taking all of her toys out of whatever they are stored in. She loves emptying, but not putting them back again. :) I guess we'll get to that one day!



My brother taught Ellington how to clap at the fair! :) Those sweet little hands clapping are, by far, the most adorable thing I've EVER seen!









Parent's Morning Out update: Ellington did much better on day 2 than day 1! The first day she would start crying if I walked just a little bit away from her, which I suppose is to be expected since we were somewhere new. However, yesterday she just played like it was no problem at all. We even had one who screamed for all 4 hours that we were there (whew!) and it surprisingly didn't seem to upset Ellington at all. Maybe we'll make it. :) Not seeing Robert much has definitely been hard though...and he had to work today (Saturday). But, we'll get through this. Just keep the prayers coming!

Parents Morning Out

Ellington started Parents Morning Out this morning. Too bad I'm not a parent going out! Ha! I started back to work this morning and I'm actually Ellington's teacher! It is such a HUGE blessing that I still get to be with Ellington while working, but it definitely is a bit of a challenge trying to take care of other babies in the same room with Ellington. Even though I get to be with her, this change is still really hard on me. Robert and I have very strong beliefs about mommies being at home with their babies, but unfortunately right now that isn't really going to work for us. Like I said, we are so blessed to be able to do it the way that we are but it didn't stop me from crying last night before bed and when we got home today! One of the hardest parts of this new arrangement is that we won't really be seeing Robert any during the day. We will be at "school" from 8:30-12:30 and Robert leaves for work at 1:30. Ellington wouldn't take a nap this morning so when she got home she was EXHUASTED and went right to bed, so she didn't really get to play with Robert at all. Please pray for our family as we adjust to these changes! And we ask that you pray specifically that Robert will eventually get put on a different shift.

*My mom is letting us use her old camera so we are back in the picture taking business! Hooray!

10 Months

Ellington is TEN MONTHS old today! Wow!!! Every month I say I can't believe it's been another month, but double digit months now??!!!

See, even Ellington can't believe she's getting so old! :)



Ellington, what are you up to at ten months old?

• You are wearing mostly 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diaper.
• You sleep 11-12 hours each night and take two naps a day.
• You usually have three bottles a day and three baby food meals. You don't want ANYTHING to do with table food yet, but your appetite is definitely increasing! You eat SO MUCH baby food!
• You do love eating Gerber yogurt melts. It's the only non baby food thing you'll eat.
  
• You still do not want to drink out of a sippy cup.
• You just started clapping your hands and saying bye.
  
• You LOVE playing patty cake!!! You light it when someone starts saying it!
• You now say: da da, uh oh, bye
• You love being out and about in your stroller or in the grocery cart.
• You love to babble and squeal!
• You love tearing apart anything you can get your hands on...paper, napkins, magazines, etc.
• You have started watching Gus more and more. One day I think you actually said "Gus" but I haven't heard you do it again.
• Cups are still among your favorite toys.
• You still LOVE fruit and tolerate your vegetables (no green ones though!!!)
• You survived your first fair and did great! :)
• You light up when you see your mommy and daddy and it MELTS our hearts!
• You have a belly laugh that I am pretty sure is my favorite thing in the whole world.
• Your tickle spots are on your side and on your neck. It gets you every time!
• You will occasionally play independently, but you prefer having a play partner.