Recent Accomplishments

It's been a while since I posted and several exciting things have happened. Ella had her shots last Thursday, which was not fun, but she was a very brave girl and only cried for about 1 minute. Then she smiled at everyone and was fine. Later that day she rolled over from her belly to her back. She is SO close to rolling over from her back to her belly. She just can't get that one arm out of her way. The doctor gave us the go ahead to start veggies. Ella is now loving her sweet potatoes with her cereal at night. She also loves to blow raspberries, preferably when she has a mouth full of sweet potatoes and can get them all over mommy. She is teething like crazy. I bet we'll have a tooth in a couple more weeks. Last night she started sticking her tongue out and putting it behind her bottom lip. Jon says she looks like a little old man with his dentures out. She also loves to hold onto your fingers and stand up.

Here are her stats from the last doctor's visit:

Weight: a little over 15 lbs. --- 60th percentile

Length: 26.5 inches --- 95th percentile (she's very tall for her age)

We went to Birmingham on Saturday to see Mimi and Granddaddy and to get some Christmas shopping done. Ella loved seeing them both. She had a great time. Only 2 weeks until Christmas!!!!

Here are a few cute pictures of the monkey!

Happy Birthday Hannah!!

Hannah turned 1 year old on Friday, November 30th! I can't believe it's been a whole year. She is such a joy and a blessing. I don't remember what our lives were like before Miss Hannah Grace made her appearance. I can't wait for her and Ella to be the best of friends. I have a feeling that Amy and I are going to have our hands full.

Happy Birthday sweet Hannah. Auntie Rae loves you very very much!!

Stuff I’m Thankful For:

As the holiday season approaches we all become a little more sentimental and think of the things that we are most thankful for. I decided to make a list of the people and things I’m most thankful for and why. Sometimes I think it’s good to sit down and think of all the wonderful things and people you have in your life and stop thinking about all the negative things. We all have our problems, but if you’re one of the lucky people who woke up this morning, had food to eat for breakfast, a roof over your head, and someone to tell you they love you…..you’re luckier than most. Here’s my list of what and whom I’m most thankful for.

After the first 6 they are in no particular order. This is not a ranking list.

1.) Jesus Christ because he was born and died for my sins so that one day I can live with him for eternity in Heaven.
2.) Jon – You are my soul mate and the love of my life. I love the fact that I will wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life
3.) Ella – You are my sunshine. I never knew how much my heart could hold until you were born.
4.) My Parents – You loved me unconditionally and always taught me to remember WHO I am and WHO’S I am.
5.) My Sister - You are my best friend and I look up to you more than you will ever know. I hope that I can be half as good of a mother as you are.
6.) My In-Laws – Thanks for being so great and not being crazy. Some people have horror stories about their in-laws being nuts, but mine happen to be pretty great.
7.) Leslie – You are my partner in crime and the costar in all my best stories. My life would be boring with out you in it.
8.) Amy – We are so different in so many ways, but alike in the ways that count. Thanks for always being there for me.
9.) Wendy – I’m so glad that you and Andy moved down here. You are a great friend and a wonderful mom. I look forward to many play dates with our kiddos.
10.) Charlie – You crack me up. Thank you for being such a good friend to Jon and to me.
11.) Andy – You are a great friend and so thoughtful.
12.) Jason – I’m so glad that you live so close. Even though are initially meeting was painfully quiet because you wouldn’t hardly talk to me, now you are one of my best friends. Actually, you’re the brother I never had. Don’t leave for that long again!!
13.) Tom, Regina, & Amber – I could never have picked a better place in a million years to work. You have been so good to me and my family. You are such wonderful friends and I could never say thank you enough for all you do for us.
14.) Lori – You are so precious. I pray for you continuously. You and Drew deserve good things. I know it’s just around the corner!!
15.) The Johnson Family – You are family and I love you. Thank you for always looking out for me when I did stupid stuff.
16.) I’m thankful that I have a roof over my head, food to eat, clothes to wear, and a car to drive.
17.) I’m thankful that Jon and I prepared the way so that I could stay home with my Ella.
18.) Dave Ramsey – Sometimes I would like to kill you, but most of the time I’m thankful for your wisdom. Your plan has made a world of difference in our lives and in our marriage. We no longer fight about money.
19.) I’m thankful that Jon has a job that has good health insurance or we’d be in the poor house.
20.) I’m thankful that, while I’m not in the best health, I can get up in the morning and do what I need to do and that I lead a normal life (whatever normal is)
21.) I’m thankful that I was able to go to a reproductive endocrinologist to help us have Ella.
22.) I’m thankful for all the family and friends that I didn’t mention here. Our lives are enhanced by the different people that are in it.

Thanksgiving in TN

It's been a while since I posted. We had such a wonderful time in TN. We always enjoy going up there for Thanksgiving. It was smaller this year with everyone scattered around. Cathy was in Florida with Leslie, Phil, and little miss Ady and they were greatly missed. We did get to see Rick, Lindsey, Jakey, and Jason. Lindsey is pregnant and is due close to Ella's first birthday. Poor Zack has mono so he was banished to his room almost the whole time. He did spend some time with us, but mostly he felt really icky.

Ella had a great Thanksgiving. She got to see Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bob. She had a great time with her Mamaw, Papaw, and Auntie Brenda. She also ate rice cereal for the first time. She is sort of getting the hang of it. She's does pretty well...she's just not used to the whole spoon thing yet. I'm including some pics of her first time eating it.

Me and Leslie got to see each other. Emme is getting so big. We got more of our Christmas shopping done. I have one more thing to get Ella and then I will be finished with her stuff.

I'm working on a Thanksgiving themed post that I started on a few weeks ago and I never finished. Check back later and maybe I'll have time to get it done.

Here's some pics of the monkey.

One Year Ago Today......

....I got the news I had been waiting my whole life to hear. I took the test that told me I was pregnant with my sweet Ella. That was probably the most amazing day of my life. I was so scared to take the test. I didn't think that I could handle another negative test. Too many tears had been shed and I didn't want to go through that again. But, I decided to go ahead and test. When that second line popped up I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. It's really weird when you're so used to seeing that one line and finally the second one appears. I carried that test around for about 3 hours....I was so sure that line was going to go away. My hands were shaking and I ran through the house screaming for Jon. Then I proceeded to call everyone that I could think of.

Never did I think that being a mom could be this good. I knew that I would love her, but I had know idea the extent to which your heart could grow and love. Sometimes I love her so much it hurts. I also didn't think that I could love Jon anymore than I already did, but I do. Seeing him with her makes me love him in a way that I didn't know could happen. He really is the most amazing father. Ella is so lucky to have him....and so am I. I am so thankful for her and the light that she has brought to all of our lives.

God is SO GOOD!!!

Uncle Jason is HOME!!!

HOOORAYYYY!!! Uncle Jason is finally home. We had a party for him on Saturday night to welcome him back and we had a really good time. His mom and dad were here and they got to see Ella for the first time. I also put Ella's hair in pigtails for the first time. She barely had enough hair, but it worked. I'm including some super cute pics of her first pigtails.

Trip to the Zoo

We went to the Memphis Zoo while we were on vacation and had a great time. Ella slept through a big part of it, but she did like the panda's and the monkeys. She smiled and laughed at them. Memphis was a lot of fun. Mostly is was fun to get away with just the 3 of us....our first little family vacation. While we were gone we celebrated the anniversary of our IUI that resulted in Ella. I got Jon this sweet Willowtree "New Dad" statue and he got me some fabric at Ladida in Memphis so I can make Ella a couple of pretty dresses. I'm including a couple of pictures of Ella at the Zoo and a picture of the fabric that I got.

One Year Ago Today.........

One year ago today we had the IUI that resulted in our precious Ella. I can't believe that she's finally here and that she's almost 4 months old. She is such a blessing. Everyday I just love her even more. She has the most precious and sweet personality. She's always so happy and smiley. I could just squeeze her. So..I guess you could say that Ella is one year old today!

Here's a picture of our little IUI miracle....

Put Some South in Yo Mouth

We went to the Blues City Cafe for lunch today to get their ribs. We had them last time we were here in January and we HAD to have them again. They were just as delicious as we remembered them being. Ella did really well at the game last night. It was a little loud at times so I took her out in the lobby for the opening of the game until about the 2nd quarter, She slept throught the whole thing. Here's some pictures for you to enjoy.

Pumpkin Carving

Ella got to carve her first pumpkin on Tuesday with Regina, Tom, Amber, Candice, and Marcus. Well, her daddy carved it since she's still a little too young. She pretty much slept through the whole thing, but we had fun anyway. Here's a few pictures to enjoy.

Ella had a great time at the Halloween party on Friday and so did the rest of us. We all danced (well, most of us did. The guys didn’t). There was tons of food, drink, and good fellowship. We didn’t win the costume contest, but we had a great time anyway. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Ella's First Halloween Costume

Auntie Amber wanted to get Ella her first Halloween costume so we all (me, Ella, Amber, and Regina) went to Halloween Express and got her costume today after work. There's a costume party tomorrow night at one of the lawyers offices here in town that Regina works with a lot. We won the costume contest last year and I'm hoping that Ella can pull out a win this year. The 1st place prize is a portable DVD player. That would be so great to have so she could watch movies in the car. Here are a couple of pictures of our cute little "Wiggle Worm".

Ella's Hard Day at Work

Ella is the official office mascot now. She has been so good at the office. Everyone takes turns holding and loving on her. Amber is her new snuggle buddy. I think that she would sleep on Amber all day long if she could. Uncle Tom and Auntie Lo took her to the bathroom for her first "flushing" yesterday. Tom doesn't like to throw food that smells in the trash can so he flushes it down the toilet. This was Ella's first time to get to flush some food with her peeps. Everyone pitches in helps take care of her and she LOVES all the attention. She's a monkey!! Here's a few pics for your enjoyment!

My Lil' Pumpkin

Ella is so cute. I mean...she's really, really cute. Sometimes I really wonder how Jon and I could have possibly made a child this cute. Anyway..enough of my bragging. Auntie Leslie gave her this really cute outfit and she wore it for the first time today. I am so excited that it's started getting cooler so I can pull out all of her cute fall clothes. Here are a couple of pictures

On another note, I went to the doctor today about my neck. I was having a lot of pain that would turn to numbness and it seems that I have something called Torticollis. Instead of having the normal curve at my neck mine is stick straight. He gave me a shot and some meds and hopefully it will resolve itself soon. I'm going to my orthopedic doctor on the 31st. I just went to a walk-in clinic today.

Enjoy the pics

Trip to Meme and Granddaddy's

We got home today from our trip to Childersburg for Meme's birthday. We had so much fun and Ella really enjoyed getting to spend time with Mom and Dad. She's so rotten! Aunt Gip had mom a little birthday luncheon on Thursday and it was really nice. We had a good time just sitting around and talking. Here are some pictures from the trip. I'm also including some pictures of the "Baby Faux-hawk" that Jon likes to give Ella. He thinks she looks really cute when we do her hair like that. I think she's pretty cute no matter how she wears her hair.

Poor Ella

So....evidently it is simply torturous for my child to be in a picture with me. We don't have any pictures of me and Ella together since the professional ones that we had made so I decided to get Jon to take a few candids of us together. She looks terrified or simply ticked off in all of them. See for yourself.....

Doesn't she look thrilled to be in the picture with me. She always smiles when she's in pictures with her daddy.....(bitter, party of one.....)

Kids.....

Uncle Jason, COME HOME!!!!!

Dear Uncle Jason,
Please come home. Mommy and Daddy are so boring. We went to eat tonight and you didn't get to go with us. It was yucky. I'm 13 weeks old today and I haven't seen you in a week. That's like 5 years in baby time...so come home already.

Love and best wishes,
Ella

Ella's First Day at Work

Ella had her first day at work today!! Regina asked me to help out a little at the office while her assistant was out of town and Ella went along with me. She did so well. I was very proud of her. It was so nice to be back at the office. It was great to see everyone and be able to help out some. It was really nice to be able to take Ella Boo with me too. She got lots of attention so of course she enjoyed it. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone at the office and how good it felt to do some work with grownups. Not that being a mom isn't work, cause it definitely is, but it's nice to do some other things too. I missed all my peeps!!

Here are a few pictures that I've taken in the past couple of days. I was trying to take a picture of her the other day and every time the flash went off she made her eyes SUPER big. The first picture is one of about 5 that I took and in all of them she made her eyes huge The other ones are of my little angel when she fell asleep on the couch tonight. She was very tired from her first day of work.

12 Weeks Old Today

Miss Ella is 12 weeks old today. I can't believe it. It has flown by so fast. She is such a good baby. I could just squeeze her to death!! She had her checkup today and had to get her shots....3 to be exact. It was horrible. She cried like I have never heard her cry before.....and I cried with her. The doctor said that she was looking great. She's 23.5 inches long (19.5 at birth) and she now weighs 12 lbs 4 oz (7 lbs 6 oz at birth). He checked her eyes and said that she's tracking with them really well. He said that was great because you usually don't see that in babies until they are about 5 months old. Our baby is a GENIUS!!! When you walk by her she will turn her head to follow you. She's so smart!! (she must get that from her daddy).

I can't believe how much our lives have changed in 12 weeks and how normal this new life seems now. She's sleeping through the night now and she's smiling and laughing. I tell ya, her laugh is one thing that I could hear over and over again and never get tired of. It's the cutest little belly laugh. I can't imagine our life without her. My favorite thing about this whole adventure has been watching Jon with her. I swear I fall more in love with him everyday. She adores him and smiles so big when he talks to her. He is the most wonderful father and husband. He surprises me a little more everyday. I feel very blessed. Here are few pictures of Ella from

today.

Ella's bandaid's after her shots.

Here she is in her Bumbo seat. She's still a little bit of a bobble head, but she's getting better.

Emme and Ella

Leslie and Emme just left a little while ago. We miss them already. Emme was quite the little helper when it came to putting Ella's pacifer back in her mouth..although sometimes it hit the eye instead, she was trying. Me and Les had a fabulous time together, as always. We shopped and made hairbows and did all kinds of other girly things with the babies. We found some great deals at an AWESOME children's consignment store her in Huntsville. It's called Twice Upon a Time and I LOVE it.

Jason is leaving tomorrow to go to Orlando for work for 3-5 weeks. I don't know what we're going to do without him being here. Yuck! I told him that we would update the blog everyday and put new pictures up of Ella Boo. She'll be about 16 weeks old the next time we see him.

Here are some pictures of the girls together.