Nothing to do but Wait

i am not working. nor is Carl (well, outside the home). We are just waiting for little boy to be born. Ella is home as well since we have taken her out of daycare for 2 weeks during the holidays. Little boys due date was yesterday, well sort of. that date was based off the first ultrasound i had. the second ultrasound gave me a date of 12/23. Carl wanted the boy born today because its the shortest day of the year and their was a solar eclipse last night. two events that haven't coincided in over 5000 years or something. i just don't want to be in the hospital on Christmas day. i don't want a christmas baby. A new years baby would be fine. Medical insurance would cover costs and we would have a chance of being on the news (and winning all sorts of freebies) if baby boy happened to be the first baby of the year. of course, if he isn't born until then i will be kind of bored and anxious with waiting. i have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning. perhaps there will be some progress (dilation, cervical softening) then.

Ella from 01/10 to mid 11/10

 

Halloween, a little late

 

just wanted to post this photo of Ella at Halloween. She was standing in our yard that the tenants had decorated with various halloween items. She was a doctor, kind of in honor of her great-grandfather Carl Gillies, also because i figure this may be the last year i will get to choose a costume for her and wanted to keep it gender neutral.

SSSS..no

 

We had our first snow a week ago. Ella loved it. loves it. she wants to put her coat, mittens, hat, and boots on all the time in order to be able to go outside. i don't love it but i will put up with it for her and the joy she displays. what mom/dad wouldn't.
we've been under the weather this week. we moved back home last saturday after moving from one side of the duplex to the other then staying with Bill and Mary for a week while carpet was installed. the carpet is such a treat. i have never lived in a home with new carpet. we have a lot to do to make the home organized BUT it is livable now and that is good. i am trying not to stress about it because i have a month left and don't want to stress so much that i end up having the little boy too early.
updates on Ella...she is officially sleeping in a bed on her own now, and not just a mattress on the floor of our room. she is in her own room and i found a toddler bed for $30 at Target. it was a web-return that was marked down for that reason. it is perfect for what we need right now. didn't want to invest in something more yet since we are already facing some major money issues with the newbie.

this life is draining...

i am exhausted all the time. between being 31-32 weeks pregnant with the most active fetus around, running after Ella who is up at 6 am and doesn't go to bed until 7 pm, a full time job, and being a wife i am just too busy.
We will be moving to the other side of the duplex early next month. that will be fun. no point in REALLY packing but we have to figure out some way to get things out of the way so we can clean rooms. Carl has been trying to finish off projects around the house.
Ella has been showing us some new skills. she is mimicking the sounds of almost everything we say. Her vocabulary is rapidly expanding. she can clearly say many words, and mumbles many others. my favorite is thank you. Ank-oo. Ella also loves taking her little friends with her everywhere. at this point we have Rueben Sherman, little bear, Woofington, Baby, Monkey, and Giraffe. i started placing them in a bag so i could handle them easier as we moved from house to car to daycare/grandparents.

Sleep

Ella has been throwing a curveball into our sleep schedule. Over the weekend she was up at odd hours. Last night Carl got up to use the bathroom at 5 am and when he was coming back he encountered Ella at the door. She happened to be soaking wet from her constant night-time urination so he changed her diaper with my help and i brought her into the bed to warm her up as her body was cold. She thankfully fell back to sleep until 6 when i got up for my shower.
The night before, though, was fun. Ella woke up a few times through the night. i remember Carl putting her back into her bed and telling her it wasn't time to wake-up yet. Then awhile later (hours later?) i heard her moving around the bedroom. i think she was playing with her 'babies'. Then, around 3:30 am, i heard her moving towards the door, that was open a crack, and i heard her baby doll's head hit the door. i scrambled out of bed and found her with her arms full with woofie and Rueben Sherman, likely trying to take them downstairs or to the other room. I picked her up and put her back in her bed. She started crying so i grabbed her and put her in bed with us. She sniffled a little and moved around but after awhile she finally fell asleep. i was up for an hour longer as i heard her breathing and Carl snoring and my baby inside moving around.
Yesterday, during her naptime, i fell asleep downstairs while watching TV. When i woke up i looked at the clock and noted that Ella had been up napping for about 1 and 1/2 hours and becasue i was feeling too lazy to check on her, i stayed on the sofa resting for 10 minutes or so. at that point i figured i should check on her and perhaps wake her so she would sleep at night. When i peaked in the room, i found an empty bed and room. i panicked for a moment then i thought to check the other room and i found Ella in there playing with Woofie and Rueben at teh rocking chair and smiling up at me. What a good girl. I don't know if she slept for 10 minutes or 2 hours but she was quiet the whole time and didn't get herself into any trouble. She was ready for bed at 6:30 though so perhaps she didn't sleep long.

Big Girl Bed

okay, Ella hasn't quite made it to a big bed, only because we haven't invested in one yet, but she is out of her crib and has been for about 2 weeks. We took her mattress out of the crib and set it on the floor for her to start "transistioning". She has done suprisingly well. The first night she did get out of bed in the middle of the night but when i heard her and got out of bed she immediately jumped back on her mattress. Later that same night she was upset (bad dream?) and started crawling out of her bed towards nothing in particular. I picked her up and took her back to her bed and she was fine the rest of the night. In fact, she has been fine since.
i noticed this morning that she stayed on her mattress after she woke up until i approached her and said good morning. She is such a good kid.
Going to bed has been just as easy. If i go through the whole routine (diaper change, brush teeth, pajamas, grab woofie) then Ella seems to know what the last expectation is and lets me cover her with her blanket and leave the room without any battles.

wow, where is the time?

i have been busy and need to post more. i want to write lots right now but i am at work so a promise is all i can get out.
Briefly, i had a 22 week ultrasound last Saturday. there was some concern with a Quad test that pointed to some possible genetic issues but that was all clarified with this exam because the correct due date matched one that was determined at the last ultrasound about 3 weeks ago and based on those numbers, and the actual images of the baby, everything looks as good as it can for now.
the world knows this already, but it's a boy. i have been buying lots of clothes, including the outfit i would like him to wear home from the hospital. i am also already buying diapers when on sale, and am prepping Ella by encouraging her new liking of taking care of her "baby", a stuffed dog Carl bought her months ago.
on her own, she started putting him to "night, night", then i bought her a stroller to push him around in, and then i showed her how he fit in her highchair so she could feed him, and last night i put him in a diaper and gave him a pacifier so he could go to bed with her. she didn't like the diaper part but this morning she was keen on giving him a pacifier. very cute.
i have lots of photos of all of these things and i PROMISE to put them on here soon.

happy Fourth!

3 days weekend. what a nice thing it is to have a holiday. Yesterday we spent the day with Beth at Bill and Mary's house (they are out of town). Between the three of us we watched Ella while managing time to read and relax.
Ella was in a good mood for most of the day. She is very active and wants us to be a part of her endless activity. i just can't handle it. i am more of a nap and read person but i somehow manage to make it through each day and to feel some pride about not being an awful parent.
Today started out gray and rainy and because it was my day to sleep in while Carl attended to Ella i didn't think twice about it until i finally did wander downstairs at 8 am and found Carl frustrated with Ella. She loves to go outside but for obvious (to us) reasons she couldn't today and this put her in crying/whining mode. Carl put up with it as long as he could but as soon as i came down he went back to bed. i understand. Ella does that to me too. Right now they are out at the gym where Carl has been taking Ella on Sundays to swim so i can have some quiet.
i don't know what we will be doing the rest of the weekend but it is nice to not have any plans since every weekend for the rest of the month is already packed with plans.

Visiting La Abuelita en Logan, day 1

Ella and i just returned from a week-long vacation in Logan. Carl was unable to go with us because it's his busiest time of the year.
i planned the trip to surprise my mom for mother's day and i think i pulled it off. I had Daph and Esau agree to pick me up at the airport on Saturday, May 8. what a fun plane ride that was. To get the best deal i had to carry Ella on my lap and to make a change in planes in Denver. Ella was a super good traveler for her first time. SEcurity sucked. the gentleman manning the station was just rude to me. i did what i knew was standard but all the extras with having ella and her stroller along were hectic. (ma'am, you need to take off her jacket,and her shoes. take her out of the stroller, fold down the stroller and put it up here. pick up your child...) Thankfully, the gentleman behind me was kind and patient.
we were on a packed plane from Minneapolis to Denver AND we had a middle seat. it was not optimal for travel but i managed to keep Ella on my lap for the hour and 1/2 ride. In Denver i bought myself a sandwich and i started to eat it as soon as we boarded our second plane. i dripped some Ranch on my pants and as i went to clean it up, Ella swooped in and wiped it with her finger and put it in her mouth. Well, she apparently didn't like it because she immediately started to gag and then she threw up on herself and me. that was all before the plane took off. thankfully this plane was only half full and no one was sitting next to me when this happened. i wiped up Ella and myself as best i could and gave her water to get the taste out of her mouth. she fell asleep not long after that and slept all the way to SLC. she must have still been feeling alittle sick when she woke up because she was cranky. Esau picked us up and we went to Costco before we headed home. Ella threw up again there but then seemed to do better until we started for home. she screamed most of the way and slept when she wasn't screaming. she did come down with a fever the day before so perhaps that was playing into how she was feeling. i felt so bad that all of this travel wasn't going well for her and that it had just begun. however, when we made it to Esau's house, she seemed to perk up at being able to walk around with the other kids.
it was wonderful seeing Esau's family, Noe and his girlfriend, my uncle and his family, and my mom! she was surprised and i was happy.
oh, and Rita (yes, from SD) was in town with her fiance because they are moving to SLC later this year so they also stopped by. crazy.

Ella 2010

 

carl 2007

 

Ella with a Build-A-Bear animal (not her's) and Ella with her Abuelito Juan.

just a few more photos...from this weekend

 

didn't forget...

i have been busy since Ella's first birthday so i didn't have a chance to post anything until today.

Her birthday was wonderful. we were granted a sunny, warm March day after a series of gloomy ones. Family and Friends met us at Sunsets (in Woodbury) for brunch. This was the same place Jessica had given me a baby shower a little over a year before.

Ella was looking and acting wonderful. She is a social butterfly and always at her best when around others. we had brunch then spent some time opening Ella's gifts. Ella has had a lot of fun with those gifts. Clothes, toys, and a lovely little stuffed lamb. I think Ella's favorite item has been a bucket that she can carry around and fill or empty as she pleases.

After Brunch we came back home so Ella could wind down and nap. She was a bit under the weather and needed to rest. We didn't have her cake until after dinner. by that point Ella was running a slight fever and was fussing. She had some cake, and seemed to like it, but one could tell she was not up to it. Well, perhaps next year she won't be sick. she won't remember anyway.

Ella walks

Ella has finally found the confidence to walk. well, sort of. she is taking a couple of steps here and there on her own but she always ends by diving into us. i posted a short (i mean real short) video of her first steps (well, maybe the 4th or 5th try) on my web album titled All About Ella Aviv. check it out.

 

Good Values

 

this photo is totally set up for those of you who might wonder. the gun is a pellet gun for scaring off squirrels and the beer is beer, yum. Beth was in town for a week in between visits to Miami and since she was to miss Ella's birthday we captured this quality moment of the two of them together.

 
 
 


I have been wanting to dress Ella up in her penguin outfit all winter long to do this photo shoot and i finally got around to actually doing it today. She was confused as to why i set her down and started snapping photos but i was surprised that she didn't try to take her cap off the whole time. she normally hates wearing any type of hat. Perhaps the snow just mesmerized her. this was perhaps the second time that she has just sat in it and had an opportunity to touch it.

chocolate fix

i love chocolate. Not as much as i love Carl and Ella but i really love chocolate. Unfortunately, that means that i eat chocolate frequently, and being the mess that i am i sometimes drop pieces of my chocolate snacks into the deep abyss of the sofa cushions. on the rare occasions, such as this morning, that i decide to clean between the sofa cushions i am surprised at what i find. Well, this morning it wasn't me who found lost pieces of chocolate, it was Ella.
i had stripped the cushions off the sofa and was taking my time at cleaning while i let Ella climb around the cushions onto the bare sofa. my attention was diverted to some coupons i wanted to clip and Ella was being so self-sufficient at entertaining herself that i lost focus of her as i clipped. when i finally did turn towards her to see how/what she was doing i found her face covered in something. At first i thought that she was bleeding but that didn't seem right as i went closer to her and noticed that the stuff on her face was thicker and darker than blood. it was then that i smelled chocolate. Chocolate? i was confused. where did she find chocolate? the only answer to this mystery was that she found it in the mess beneath the cushions.
i must say that Ella was not only happy but she seemed downright proud of her find. Well, she won this time as it was too late to do anything about the chocolate expect for wiping the remainder off of her face and brushing her teeth.
i have been so careful about keeping junk food away from her since there is no need for her to have such things at this age. makes me laugh though. i must always be one step ahead of her or things like this will happen. actually this wasn't all that bad...expect i wonder how long that chocolate had sat in between the cushions?

Ella: 10 months gone by

 

 

 

 

my girl is 10 months old! only two months until her first birthday. i am terribly excited. hopefully her Grandparents Medina will be able to come out and visit and to see all the wonderful things that Ella is doing. She just figured out clapping today. i have been manuervering her hands for months, trying to teach her because she would become so excited whenever i clapped. Today, however, she put her hands together and clapped once and i made a big deal of it so she did it again and again. Yay, Ella.

Ella has also found the courage to let go when she is standing and maintaining her balance for moments. i haven't seen her do this much but we will work on it over the weekend. Maybe her first step alone will happen real soon.

Today we went for a sled ride. the weather outside is delightful for January so we took her out to enjoy it. i couldn't tell if she loved the adventure but it was something different. i hope the weather remains this way so we can go out more.