One

Our girl is one!! She turned one on July 18 and her party was so great. I wanted it to be so perfect, that I spent hours and hours planning every detail and spending way too much money. It was all so worth it. I've been excited about this day for some time. She loves music and the Bob Marley version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow is one of her favorites. We had fun with this theme with a special cake by Adrienne and Co, a yellow brick road on our sidewalk complete with music playing, lots of rainbow balloons and decorations, foods in rainbow colors (fruit, sandwiches, chip bags, juice boxes, rice krispie treats, gumballs, candy, etc). We had the Wizard of Oz movie playing and after everyone ate, we played a video of photos of Ella's first year of life.

Her 9-month clothes are about too little and its time to move up to the 12 month clothes. We have just moved up to size 3 diapers. A couple weeks ago, we noticed a top tooth coming in and just last week, we see the one next to it is also appearing.

At the beginning of July, she had her first beach trip to Florida and didn't seem to excited about the sand, but sure does love the water. I was nervous every time she was out. I keep the high SPF lotion on her, but I still was worried about her getting burned. All was good though. She also did so great on the long car rides. She's a trooper. Luckily she had her 7-year old cousin Matty to entertain her on the ride down. She enjoyed him playing with her and even offered him kisses. She's usually stingy with the kisses, they are usually just reserved for her mom and sometimes daddy.

Ella continues to say "Mom" and "Dada", but also says no, bye, and "PopPop". She loves clapping, giving 5, waving, and blowing kisses. And of course, smiling, singing, and dancing are expected around her.

Her hair is getting thicker and she is crawling around like crazy! She pulls herself up on anything she can, but gets nervous to plop down and crawl again.

She's eating more, but still isn't a huge fan of the fruits. She loves her veggies and any kind of meat, cheese, and bread. The doctor gave us the green light to go to whole milk and wants us to taper off of the bottles. We just got down to 4 about a month ago, and I think it might take us some time. But this kids surprises me, so we'll see. I feel like we're having to constantly adjust to her growing. Our schedule is ever changing and she keeps us learning!

Night time is a fun routine of playtime, bathtime, then the bottle right before she crawls up to our shoulder and falls asleep. That cuddle time is the most precious part of my day and I love it. Usually it doesn't take long for her to conk out and we can lay her down in her crib, but sometimes I just want to hold her a bit longer and savor that feeling.

What a fast and amazing year it has been getting to fall in love with this baby girl. I would do anything for her and she is our world.

One Cute Baby

Ella is now about 9.5 months. And for some crazy reason, she just keeps getting cuter. I didn't think it was possible. I grow more and more in love with her and couldn't be more blessed. Looking at her I know there is a God who loves me so much, he gave me such an amazing gift. 

She's not moving around a lot. She's a pro at getting around just by rolling, and she loves sliding backwards, but she is doing an army crawl. I wouldn't think it will be much longer when she's up on her knees and all throughout the house.

She's catching on a little better to food. She is a very independent girl and prefers to feed herself. I usually just give her some peas or blueberries or whatever soft fruit or veggies is around the house. Not a lot is eaten, but I hope she's getting the hang of big people food. She now can take a bottle herself and is such a big girl holding her bottle. In the mornings and night, I still like to hold her though. Our special time together.

The weather is getting warmer and she's fitting into her 9-month clothes. She looks so adorable in them. It's so nice not to worry about bundling her up when taking her out in the cold.

We've enjoyed going on walks and being out and about with her. In early April, we graduated her to the convertible car seat. It's so nice not having to deal with the awkwardly heavy car seat carrier. Plus I love getting to carry her around. She really is becoming a big girl.

About a week before the 9-month birthday, we discovered that she has a tooth coming in on the bottom. When we went to the doctor, she pointed out that another one is growing right next to it! So exciting! I just hope she doesn't have a lot of pain with them.

One little problem that has occurred is separation anxiety. She has it mostly for her mommy, but it also happens at day care with her teacher. She just looks so sad if I leave the room that it breaks my heart, but I want her to be a bit more self-sufficient, so I try to fight picking her up all the time.

We can't wait for her first birthday party. We've already started on the planning. So happy to celebrate the birth of this amazing child that has rocked our world!

She Keeps Growing!

Yikes, it's been awhile since I've written! Ella is changing so much, it's the coolest thing ever to watch her grow up. Everything she does is so cute. I want to cherish every smile and giggle. Right after she turned 7 months old, we had photos taken. She could almost sit up. And it was for about 15 seconds at most. Well, 2 weeks later, she could sit up for 30 minutes straight! If she tries to reach for a toy or something, she'll wobble. But for the most part, she's nailing the sitting up step!

One newer thing that I love is that she will reach for people. We've tested it at daycare when I pick her up and it just makes my day when she reaches those arms out to me. There was even a day when I wasn't even encouraging her. She knows how to melt my heart!

She's still wearing 6-month clothes and I'm guessing, should be for about another month or so. Most of her clothes in that size is for winter, so as the weather starts to warm up, she might not have a lot of options. My mom bought her several fun 9-month outfits for summer that I can't wait to see her in!

She still doesn't seem too interested in food. Twice a day though, we still try it. I want her to get use to it and I'm hopeful that she'll catch on soon. I know she's wanting more in her bottles, but I really don't want to increase them. We should be going down because of her food intake. I plan to keep trying and if we're still having issues at 9-months, we'll discuss with the doctor. She does seem to like her sippy cup and once I let her have water out of my glass, so now every time she sees us with a glass she grabs for it. I think it's so cute how she holds the glass and tilts her head back for a drink.

No teeth have popped out yet, but maybe we'll see something soon.

Now we're waiting for her to crawl. It could be soon and I know we need to work on getting our house babyproofed!

We love this girl so much and couldn't be more proud of her!

2015!

Our little Peanut continues to grow and warm our hearts. She's so much fun and getting to celebrate Christmas this year was so special for us. We decided to keep a low budget for her. We each spent $50 on her and keep it a surprise from each other, so we could see what we each got for her. Her daddy got her a rocking horse and a stuffed Dalmatian. I got her a push walker, puzzle playmat, and the Barenaked Ladies Snacktime cd. It's their kids cd and her mommy's favorite band. She loves music and I thought it would be nice to have on hand in the car when she's with me.

Her other big gifts were an exersaucer from Mike's parents and a bumbo seat from mine. Here's a picture of all the other gifts she got...boy, this girl is spoiled!

We were traveling around a lot for the holidays, but she was a trooper and loved getting all dolled up.

She got a lot of 6-month clothes for Christmas and they're close to fitting. She'll be 6 months in a couple weeks, so she right on target. She loves to smile and is laughing even more. She's also quite an independent little lady. She sometimes gets fussy when being held too long because she wants down to play. Laying down surrounded by toys is her favorite place to be.

She is rolling over a lot more and we've been encouraging her to start crawling, but she just gets impatient and gives up. I'm sure it's a little early, but we can't wait to see her grow. She loves to be on her feet and we wonder if she'll be walking before she crawls!

We started giving her rice cereal at the 5 month mark. She was going through quite a growth spell and couldn't get enough to eat. She seems rather indifferent to it, but we usually try a few bits a couple times a day. I was so excited a couple nights ago when she actually opened her mouth when the spoon came near. I was worried I was pushing her too much, but I'm glad she's starting to understand it.

She's been reaching for things now. When we're talking to her, she'll reach for her face and I know she loves her daddy's beard. She's growing faster than my emotions can prepare for. I'm just so proud of how smart and beautiful she is. I'm excited to see what 2015 will be like for her!

She keeps growing!

Ella is almost 5 months. I can't believe it. It's so amazing watching her grow and change. I love her more and more every day. She is my world and I couldn't imagine being happier. 

Since my last update, we've gotten settled into a routine at daycare. I'm proud of how well she does there and I'm glad we can be apart and still have quality time every night. She does great at the nursery at church and I'm so excited to see her grow up in our church and through Kidville and middle/high school ministries.

She's had a couple freak out moments. The first one was on November 8 at her cousins' birthday party. I think all the noise and people just upset her and she was tired. She had a couple others, but usually being held tightly by her mommy will calm her down. I don't like that she gets upset, but it warms my heart to know that she has a bond with me and trusts me. 

We attempted having her sleep in the crib that weekend, but she didn't do well, so we decided to put it off until the next weekend. But then we heard about a special baby monitor that can detect when a baby stops breathing, so Mike wanted to wait to get that before she went back in the crib. Right before Thanksgiving though, we realized that she was getting too big for her Rock and Play. So we set up the Pack and Play in our room for her to sleep in that. She has to lay flat and that would be a good transition to the crib.

She's wearing all her 3-month clothes, but just the past week, the length is getting snug. Probably in the next month, we'll be working up to a bigger size. She still doesn't have her teeth, but the drool is still very present. And her neck and back are getting so strong. She loves sitting up and holding up her head. It's so hard to believe this is the same baby from a couple months ago!

Her 4-month check-up on 11/21 went well. She's growing as she should, weighing 13lbs and 3 oz. She's still low in percentiles for height and weight, but in the 67 percentile for her head. Naturally she wasn't pleased with the shots and ended up with a high fever the next day. We called the doctor, but were told just to give her tylenol. A couple days later she came down with a cold and it just broke my heart to her her struggling with a cough and stopped up nose.

The doctor explained that it wasn't necessary for her to start on foods yet. She would be getting her nutrition from her milk only. She said the food thing was more about the parents just wanting to. So we decided to wait. We thought maybe at 5 months we would start on rice cereal and then decide on other food when we go back to the doctor at 6 months.

For the past few weeks, she's shared her laugh to us. It is the most wonderful sound on earth. It's so amazingly adorable and we get so excited to hear it. Unfortunately when we go to record it, she usually stops, but I know it will be coming more often soon. I just want to enjoy each moment as it happens. One night when Mike went to bed early, I stayed up with her and we had bath night. As I'm carrying her naked little body to the tub, I talk to her and she giggles with me. She actually gave herself hiccups with her laughing. It made my day. I can't think of a better way to end a day!

Ella had a great first Thanksgiving. It just made us think back to the previous year when we had just learned we were pregnant and how our lives started changing so much. Her day care was closed for the short Thanksgiving week. Her Grandma took care of her Monday, then I took off Tuesday to be with her, and our friend Jami had her on Wednesday. That week and leading to the holiday, we adjusted her feedings. We went up to 5 ounce bottles 6 times a day. We were nearly at 4 ounce bottles 7 times a day, but it wasn't working as well anymore.

We took another trip with Ella to Bryan, OH to visit her great grandparents. I feel so blessed to have them as grandparents and Ella is so lucky to have time to be spoiled by them. I just wish we could see them more often.

We got our Christmas tree up and we know it will be special for us this year to celebrate not only the birth of our Savior, but also the birth of our miracle baby. I know she won't understand it this year, but it makes it so special to have her with us this year. I look forward to the memories we will make!

Time for an Update

Today Ella is 3 months and 10 days. 

I'm realizing there is so much that happens with her on a daily basis and I need to keep track of it now or I'll never remember it later.

She's starting to hold her head up now and she loves to smile. Especially in the mornings. Once she has that first bottle (around 6am), she stays awake and loves to show her happiness. 

She started day care a couple weeks ago. Although her mommy is sad and misses her terrible, I know that we are in such a great place. The teacher is great and you can tell she loves the kids. She keeps them engaged and is perfect for us. Ella has 7 bottles a day (she has since about week 7) and they are about 3.5 to 4 ounces each. She has 3 of those at day care, which makes me feel better to know that I get to do the majority of the feedings. As the days of my maternity leave were ending, I got sadder and sadder, but knew it would be the best for all of us. The day before she started day care we were at church and our minister put up a great verse (I'm drawing a blank on what it was - See that's why I need to update more often!). Basically what the verse told me was that Ella won't have her mommy to watch over her all day, but her Heavenly Father will always keep an eye on her and he is her Great Protector. I found a lot of comfort in thinking of that.

We are about done with a big box of size 1 diapers and instead of buying more, we decided to go to 2s when they are up. They may be a little big, but the 1s are getting snug. 

All of her newborn clothing no longer fit. Most people told me not to buy a lot of newborn clothing because she would outgrown them in a couple weeks, but for us it was more like a couple months. She fits comfortably in 3 months now. I'm realizing that the fall clothing for babies isn't as cute and is harder to come by. But I don't know how soon she'll be moving up to the next size, so I don't want to buy too much. 

She has been drooling a bit in the past week, which makes us wonder if she's starting the process of teething.

At about 2 weeks, she was rolling over to her side when she's not on a super flat surface. When she went to the doctor on her 2 month appointment, the doctor put her on her tummy to check how she's pulling up and she rolled all the way over to her back. The doctor tried again and she did the same thing. We tried it again at home and she did it, but doesn't seem as interested now.

She's still sleeping in her rock n play next to our bed. She's definitely getting long for it and we know it's time for the crib soon. We'll likely start testing it on the weekends, but it breaks my heart. I like having her close and I'll worry about her down the hall away from us.

We have been sleep training her and it's gone great. At bedtime, we just put her down and she falls asleep on her own. During the day isn't too bad, but she may need help with a pacifier or some cuddling. I absolutely love cuddling with her. It's the best. She loves when her head is resting on my arm and she's on her side facing me. We both tend to take naps that way. :)

She had her first Halloween experience on Saturday. Our church does Kidabalou and as a family we dressed up. Mike as Popeye, me as Olive Oyl, Ella as Swee' Pea, and Jeter as a can of spinach. 

We dedicated her at our church on Oct 18 (her 3-month birthday). It was a special day for us and we had family and friends join us in committing to guide her in her faith. I had been fighting allergies for a week and on that day, I completely lost my voice. I didn't feel great, but the day was about her and I had to pull through. 

Ella means the world to us and I never want to go back to life without her. Yes, things are harder now and we live on her schedule and her demands, but I wouldn't trade it at all. I get excited thinking about all the different stages and changes she will go through and I love seeing each moment of her growth. 

She's Here!!

What a crazy couple weeks it has been! 

To back up in time a bit, it continued to be a not so fun pregnancy, but with every week closer to the due date, the more excited we became. As long as I could make out the movements of the baby inside of me, I could tell that she was breech. This was something the doctors monitored, but there's was always a chance she'd flip. Once we got to 34 weeks though, the chances were slim. At our 36 week appointment, we talked with our doctor about doing a cesarean section at 39 weeks, which would be July 31. Unfortunately though, she was on vacation, and we'd have to do it with the doctor on call; otherwise wait until August 4 when our doctor was back in town. We decided to take a week to decide and schedule our next appointment with the doctor for the 31st. I felt very connected with our doctor and really wanted her to be there, but a few days longer of being pregnant and waiting on our precious baby wasn't thrilling. So we went in on July 18, my 37 week (and one day) appointment with the on-call doctor for the 31st. We had met her briefly before and after a chat decided we wanted to book the 31st. So we scheduled a c section at noon for July 31. Later day I started making plans with family and my maternity leave from work.

I noticed that afternoon our little Peanut was a bit more active in the womb. I was guessing she was excited about making her appearance in less than 2 weeks away. Boy was I wrong!

At the end of the work day, I headed to the bathroom to empty my bladder before the car ride home. In the bathroom, I noticed I couldn't stop peeing. It was so weird. Until I realized something wasn't normal. It really wouldn't stop!!...was this my water breaking?? Was something wrong with the baby? I gave up on trying to make it stop and just pulled up my pants and took off. I hurried to my office and grabbed my stuff and called for a co-worker to come to my office. I told her what was going on and asked her to walk me to my car. I immediately called Mike without trying to panic. He was at work and would call the doctor and meet me at home. I also called my mom to tell her that I could be in labor.

Once I got home, I just started gathering all of our stuff for our 'overnight bag' that was in our guest room. There were last minute items that needed to be added. In the midst of getting everything together, I had to stop for more bathroom breaks to let more water gush out. Besides just being freaked out, I didn't have any other symptoms. I just wanted my husband there. Not easy to do during rush hour on a Friday night!

I got all the bags in the car and sat down for a minute before he arrived. He changed super quick and we took off to the hospital. As we're driving, I start to feel contractions begin and I'm thinking this really could be it. 

When we get there, I just tell him to park that I felt ok to walk to where we needed to go. The staff was great. They were very nice and calming and it didn't take long to confirm that I was in labor and that our planned c section was happening very soon, not in a couple weeks!

I felt extremely nervous, but I just focused on the task at hand. I've been to the doctor a lot over the years and I just wanted to think of one step at a time and let the medical professionals do their jobs. We were maybe in the triage room an hour before they were wheeling me to the operating room. I couldn't believe how quickly it was all happening, but I just wanted to get it over with.

Once we got there, the CRNA and nurse told Mike to stay outside the room for about 10 minutes while they gave me the spinal and got me prepped. As the spinal began, it did hurt a lot, but only for about 5 seconds. That was really the only pain I felt in the OR. More and more people started coming in...all had a different role in making this a successful surgery. Once Mike was in the room and the doctor, it quickly got down to business and it felt like only minutes before they were telling my baby was out and then I heard the most wonderful sound in my entire life.

It was the cry of the most blessed baby in the world. We immediately began to cry and thinking back on it now, I'll forever cherish that moment and will never forget how that sound touched my heart so deeply.

Throughout my single life, our infertility, and even the pregnancy, I never fully let my heart believe that I would have a baby because I was worried something would go wrong or it was all a dream. In that one moment, my dreams came true in the most amazing way. I praise God for giving me this wonderful gift and I'll cherish her always because God trusted me to be her mommy.

Every minute past then felt so surreal. They got the baby cleaned up and checked out with her daddy by her side while the doctors stitched me up. We were whisked away to a recovery room for about an hour where our family of 3 got a few minutes together and then we brought in my mom and sister, Mike's parents, and Mike's brother and sister-in-law. From there we went to our postpartum room where we would be imprisoned staying for the next 3 nights. It was definitely not the most enjoyable days although all the meds they had me on gave me little memory of every detail. I do know that we were very blessed by all the friends and family that were there visiting or calling/texting their congratulations to us.

I did get to see what an amazing daddy our Little Peanut has. Being so out of it, I just didn't feel like I got to be her mommy, but Mike was all the parent she needed. He was there by her side and watching over her every minute. He really is the rock that will always hold our family together and I don't know what I would have done without him by my side during this event or anything ever again. I love him so much and as much as God blessed me with an adorable baby, he went above and beyond on giving me the best husband and soul mate I could ever imagine. Ella Grace is so lucky to have him for her dad and by her second day on Earth, I can tell she will be a daddy's girl.

I also want to share how we decided on the name Ella Grace. Honestly, it was a name I have wanted for years and lucky Mike liked it too. My dad's mom Ella Pearl Johnson passed away from pancreatic cancer before I was born. She didn't even get to meet my mom before this disease took her. My dad was the youngest of eight and it was known that he was a mommy's boy being the baby of the family. From pictures and stories, I always wondered what it would be like to have her as a grandmother. I know I would have loved her and the moment I get to Heaven, I want to meet her. Plus it helps that it's such a beautiful name and it warms my heart every time I hear it.

The past couple weeks seem so incredibly wonderful. So far Ella has been an easy baby. Yes, she gets us up at night and keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn't want it any other way. I'm so glad that we trusted God, because he gave us the most wonderful miracle baby! Love her, love her, LOVE HER!!