Ellie's Sip and See

My mom hosted a Sip and See in honor of Ellie last Saturday.  Being that we live in Greenville, we wanted our friends from Lexington have an opportunity to meet Ellie and this was the perfect solution!  It was actually my 28th birthday as well--I couldn't think of any other way I would like to spend my birthday then with special friends meeting Ellie.  I thought I took more pictures than I actually did--and I missed taking Ellie's picture with many visitors.  I also didn't take a picture of the beautiful food table--we had Diprato's pimento cheese, Farmer's Shed chicken salad, fresh fruit, blondies, spinach dip, and Ellie the Elephant cupcakes!  

Above is a great friend of mine from graduate school, Erin.  She is expecting her 2nd baby girl, Sadie in two weeks!  

 Kayla's baby boy, Cam came!  He was the only male in the house--isn't he adorable?

 and Nan (below) and her baby girl, Mary Hayes (above)

 Amy (below) drove all the way from Florence!  Amy actually came to visit me in Greenville the week before Ellie's debut.  She was hesitant on coming then because it was close to my due date, but I assured her we were weeks away from delivery.  Needless to say, we were a whopping 6 days away!  Spending my last weekend without a baby with Josh and Amy was a great treat!

 So glad Stephanie was in town this weekend to drop by!!

 One of mom's oldest and dearest friends, Mrs. Beth

 and here's Miss Ellie--she wore a beautiful gown that Maggie sent her.  Looked just precious!

 and Ellie with her Grammy

 Another one of mom's great friends--Mrs. Smith.  She was a bit hesitant on holding Ellie at first, but once she had her in her arms, she was a natural--even feeding her a bottle!  Mrs. Smith has spent many months praying for us and our Ellie and it was so special for me to introduce her to Ellie today.  Mrs Judy--missed my photo op with you--but we will get one next time I come to Lexington :)

Thank you to everyone who was able to come and meet our Ellie Bug!

Ellie's First Smocked Bishop

 This was a huge day for me--seeing my baby girl in a bishop!  She, apparently, didn't see the excitement in the occasion as I did as she screamed bloody murder throughout my photo shoot with her.  Oh well--I documented the monumentous day!

 I was thinking that it would be a while before Ellie was able to wear a bishop due to them being too big--but mom found this sweet teeny tiny one the day after Ellie was born in a preemie size!  

 The above picture cracks me up--this is exactly how she looks when she is completely pissed off!  I know she is DONE when she pulls this face!

 No worries--I just keep on snapping pictures even after "the face"!

 Here's Ellie Bug smiling as she gets ready for her Sip and See!

Coming up--pictures from the Sip and See and her report from the 1 month check up!

Ellie Meets Drew

 Last Monday we met one of my good friends Erica at Panera with her baby, Drew!  Erica and Drew were actually our first non-family visitors at our house, but I forgot to take a picture when they were here. We met for lunch and I made it a point to get out my camera this time!  

 Erica and I met through email and blogs actually--and soon realized we had much in common.  Since then, she has become a dear friend to me who constantly supported and lifted me up through pregnancy. It was priceless to be pregnant alongside with her--she offered me so much knowledge and wisdom that I otherwise wouldn't  have had a clue about.  Drew and Ellie are our little miracle babies for sure!

 Ellie having some stretchy time on her daddy one night in a sleeper Grandma and Grandpa gave her

Three Weeks Old on June 18th!

Look how I've grown!  Such a little peanut--I know she has only gained a pound since we brought her home, but she looks like she has grown so much in the month that we've had her.  

I have already given up on writing out the weeks and posting a picture from her nursery glider--I am aiming to do that monthly.  I take pictures of her everyday, so I will just electronically write in the weeks and the date--seems less of a hassle to me.  Anyway, at 3 weeks:

• Ellie eats consistently 60 mL's a feeding--I feed her on demand now, which is about every 2-3 hours.
• We feed her at 10pm before we go to bed and she will wake up around 2/2:30 and then again at 6/6:30.  I don't consider this horrible--as I typically would be up around 7 anyway.  However, I will rejoice when she does sleep through the night!
• Ellie gets hiccups like crazy!  I discovered (from a friend) "Gripe Water"--it is amazing.  A couple of drops on her tongue and the hiccups are gone!
• We took Ellie out for her first lunch outing to Panera on her 3 week birthday
• This week Grammy came up on Tuesday to spend the day with us and Grandma came on Thursday to watch Ellie for a couple of hours while I ran some errands--mainly to shop for Father's Day!  Dad and Kim came on Saturday to visit--Dad helped Josh with some yardwork and Kim watched Ellie while I took a fantastic nap!
• This week was the first week since I was 22 weeks pregnant that I didn't have an appointment--for either myself or Ellie.  I would say I barely knew what to do with the extra time, but that would be a lie as Ellie keeps me fairly consumed at all times.
• We go through gobs and gobs of diapers around here--fairly unbelievable how many a newborn requires.
• Ellie makes the funniest faces and is becoming more noisy with grunts and groans and moaning when she stretches.
• She is officially out of Carter's Preemie clothes--still in Preemie in every other brand, and in Carter's Newborn size.
• She continues to sleep at all times in her Nap Nanny.  Best money we've spent on any baby item yet.

Josh's First Father's Day

We celebrated Josh's first father's day by starting off with Ellie's first trip to church.  We only went to Sunday School so that it wouldn't matter if she cried and we aren't quite ready for her to go the nursery!  She wore a sweet top and bloomer set that Miss Erica gave her--she looked adorable!

 After church, Josh chose our lunch destination of Mary's downtown.  We decided to take Ellie on her first walk across the suspended bridge downtown in Falls Park!

Josh is a fantastic daddy and Ellie is already wrapped around his finger--nothing like seeing a daddy with his baby girl!

STRECH! and first trip to a restaurant

 Ellie is a stretcher--she loves to stretch out, specifically with her hands straight up!  Above you can see her milk mouth--I have to wash her mouth off every feeding, otherwise this is what she looks like.

 Thanks Katie and Mrs. Rogers for Ellie's precious gown--she loves it!

 Where's Ellie?  She looks a bit swallowed up in her carseat and the big blanket!  Here she is in Panera though--where we ate lunch Saturday afternoon!

This "preemie" sleeper swallowed her when we brought her home--I cannot believe that it nearly fits now!  Of course, we want her to grow and gain weight as she is doing so well with--but packing up the first clothes she wore ALREADY is tough!  I have tried to continue to squeeze her in them because I wasn't ready to let go of them yet--but sadly, I have had to face the facts and move on!

First Walk and First "Smile"

 We took our first walk around the block this week!  Ellie thought so much of it that she slept through the entire stroll!  She seemed to like her new "ride" though :)

 Just noticed she looks like she's fussing here--I'm thinking I caught her mid-sneeze

 I tried to flip these in iPhoto and its not showing up on blogger--so just tilt your head to see her sweet smile

A Special Blanket and Special Friends

 We received a package in the mail last week and opened it up to discover our church's knitting club (the John Knox Knitters) made and sent Ellie this beautiful blanket.  It is so soft and it truly is beautifully made.  She has already gotten much use out of it in the two weeks since we've had it.

 I bought this little white two piece Kissy Kissy outfit the Wednesday prior to Ellie's arrival into the world.  When I bought it, I thought to myself that I hoped she would fit in it because it sure did look tiny.  Needless to say, it fits perfectly and its become one of my favorite outfits on her for everyday use.

 Proving to sleep like her Grammy here--with the mouth open and deep breathing.

 Jessica and Liz, dear friends from the school where I work, came to visit Ellie last week.  She loved meeting y'all, and I loved the adult interaction!  These two girls have been so supportive and concerned and loving throughout my pregnancy and I used them to complain, gripe, and groan endlessly.  

 Both girls are pregnant with sweet baby boys--Jessica (above) is due in November and Liz (below) is due in September.  We can't wait to meet Ellie's new friends--and possible boyfriends! :)

Two Weeks Old!

I am clearly quite behind on blog posts...as Ellie turned 3 weeks old today.  Such is life with a newborn, I am afraid!

 Time is flying by and I can hardly believe how much Ellie is growing and changing daily.

 Ellie loves to yawn and make the funniest facial expressions when she is awake.  Her alert time has increased to a couple of hours a day so she's not spending all of her time sleeping.

 I caught a smile on camera!  

Ellie is now eating 45-60 oz a feeding and feeding 7-8 times/day.

At her doctor's appointments this week, she weighed 4 lbs, 9.5 oz on Wednesday and 4 lbs. 12.5 oz on Friday.  Dr Dobson wants her gaining about an oz a day--so we are constantly shoving a bottle in her mouth!  She handles the amount of milk very well though--very rarely spits up, which is surprising, seeing as how her stomach is only the size of her fist (which is tiny!)

 At 2 weeks, she is still wearing her Carter's Preemie clothes--however they are getting a little more snug!  She looks a bit like a stuffed sausage :)

She is sleeping very well throughout the day.  At night, she wakes up twice for feedings and a diaper change.

We are continuing to swaddle her at night however during the day, we let her have stretchy time several times and she loves it!

Daddy went back to work this week and so Grammy came and stayed with us Monday through Friday.  She was a huge help--cooking and cleaning and holding, feeding, changing, and loving on Ellie when I needed to take care of things around the house or just take a shower.  This week was the first week that I was running the show "solo" during the day, and holy cow--it was HARD!  We missed Josh and my mom terribly helping us out, however we survived! Thanks also to Josh's mom for coming up and helping when we needed her too as well!