No more swaddle, thumb sucking, and more!

Last week Ella was becoming more and more interested in her hands. She would stare at them and then suck on all different combinations of fingers...until she found her thumb!

Now there is no mistaking her thumb and when her hands go into her mouth, she immediately finds her thumb. She really doesn't even need her pacifier anymore, but we still use it so that she doesn't become an addicted thumb sucker. I will admit, however, its so cute, and its nice that she can soothe herself.

Once she started sucking her thumb, I realized that she seems to be growing out of the need to be swaddled. Lately the way she wiggles around in her swaddle has made me think that she'd be happier and more comfortable if she weren't so confined. In addition, now that she's sucking her thumb, it doesn't matter when she knocks the pacifier out of her mouth. So last night was our first night to try it out with no swaddle....cold turkey. Once she started getting tired, I put her to bed with no blanket and literally in 5 minutes, she was fast asleep. I was so proud of her. She didn't fuss at all and slept through the whole night. She woke herself up at 2am, but I just had to give her a pacifier, and roll her back on her side and she went right back to sleep. Today she is napping in her crib with no swaddle, and again, she was able to put herself to sleep without fussing. I'm so proud and am hopeful that night time and nap time will continue to be as easy as it always has been. She's very adaptable which makes it easy for mommy and daddy!
Here she is last night sleeping in her crib. She likes to turn sidways...

She also gets to wear her cute feety-pajamas now that she's not wrapped up in a blanket.

Changes.

This picture was taken 5/25/08 when Ella was just 11 days old.

And this one on 8/25/08 when she was 3 months and 11 days old.

So many changes in just 3 short months. I love how she is holding her hands in the first picture. You can tell everything was so awkward and she didn't know what to do with them, much less did she know that they belonged to her. So cute!

Sick baby.

You can tell by my lack of posts that I am 100% a working mom! The first couple of weeks I was able to ease into my schedule, but now I am busy as ever. It doesn't help that there is a big tax deadline coming up! Soon, I will get to rest and be back to my regular 7-4 schedule (for my regular job).

My other job...which is much more fun...never stops and I wouldn't ask for it any other way! That's the one that you all want to hear about, so let me fill you in. Last weekend Ella was sick for the first time ever! It was so sad for all of us. She had a slight cough Friday night, but woke up Saturday with red, watery eyes, coughing, sneezing, fussy, tired, etc. Luckily there was no fever, but she obviously felt terrible, thus we felt terrible. There wasn't much we could do but to love and kiss on her as much as possible and help her get her rest. Unfortunately we saw this face quite often...

By Sunday she felt much better, and on Monday we went to the doctor "just in case". With her being so tiny, I simply needed the peace of mind to hear the doctor say that she was okay. Luckily I heard those words, and that evening all was well. Now Michael and I aren't feeling great, but hopefully it will pass soon.

I gotta go...will post more updates later!

3 month photo shoot!!

On Thursday Ella turned 3 months old, so this weekend we did a little home "photo shoot". We got some great pics! Here are a few of the best....

This weekend has been full of laughs after we found a couple of Ella's tickle spots! She has been laughing out loud so much and hasn't stopped talking! She is so much fun to play with! ;)

Our weekend in pictures!

We had a great family weekend and soaked up every minute together since I will be back at work full time next week. Here is our weekend in pictures...narrated by Ella.


Thursday after daycare, I spent some time in my "pommel horse" while mommy worked in the kitchen. (A Pommel horse is what mommy and daddy call my bumbo chair...because they found out that the thing in the middle is called a Pommel, and it just so happens to be during the Olympics!)

I slept in my bassinet for the very last time. :( It was so sad...but fun to think about putting it away for a future little brother or sister one day! Hopefully it will be a little while though because right now I LOVE having ALL of mommy and daddy's attention!!! I always sleep so soundly right next to mommy.




My tired eyes after the Rackspace party on Friday night...

Mommy read "Goodnight Moon" to me before putting me to bed for the first time in my "big girl bed".

My first time to sleep in my crib at night. I was a little nervous when mommy first laid me here and then left me all alone in the dark, with just a small nightlight, but once I got used to it, I sort of liked being in my own room. I slept great too....8 hours both nights!

I LOVE watching TV, but for some reason, mommy never lets me. She always turns my head so that I can't stare at it. But this weekend was special because I got to watch the Olympics with daddy! so fun! And even though I no longer sleep in their room, they let me hang out in their bed in the mornings! Its the best family time!!

I taught Daddy that even though I love sitting on his shoulders, he probably shouldn't put me there right after I eat (notice the spitup dripping into his ear and down his shirt). For some reason mommy thought this was funny and had to get a picture before she would clean us up!

I also worked on my muscles this weekend. I LOVE standing up because I have a much better view this way. Tummy time is fun too. Everyone is amazed that I can lift my head so high, but I don't see what the big deal is! It seems pretty easy to me.

Watching more Olympics with daddy...chilled out and relaxed.

I finished the weekend by getting to visit my best friend Addie! Mommy and Daddy had dinner while I played. Don't we look like 2 easter eggs in our bright colored outfits?!? This week Addie starts daycare and I'm so happy that we'll get to spend our days together. Our cribs are right next to each other, so we can have lots of good conversations.

Headed home after a long weekend. I've had fun but I'm tired and I'm serious about my pacifier!!! There is no way I'm letting it out of my mouth!

Goodnight friends and family! We love you all. Thanks for reading our blog and sharing in the life of little Ella Pearl. She is growing fast and is such a miracle. We are amazed by her every minute of every day!!! This is just the beginning.

Hey daddy, look at my muscles!!!

Swimming!

At 2 1/2 months, Ella went swimming for the first time! The water was warm and we were able to find some shade and she loved it!

All dressed up and ready to go! I think she's wondering what we're getting her into...