Christmas time has come and gone...

Christmas is over all ready! What a busy time it was.
We spent the time with Carl's parents. i thought we would be snowed int because The weather forecasters predicted the biggest storm in 30 years and i was pretty excited, but the weather didn't deliver. it did snow a lot but it also rained and everything iced over.
it was no big deal because we only had to travel 5 miles and we didn't have anywhere to go once we were there. We spent christmas eve, christmas day, and this morning at the Gillies house. Ella had lots of activity going on around her and Carl and I had lots of help with watching her. it was very nice. I am still having computer issues so it may be awhile before i am able ot post photos but i will try.
i have some wonderful photos of Ella celebrating her first christmas. i can't wait to show them off.

Ella is crawling in the photos below. depending on how you look at them you might see her moving forwards or backwards.

I am thankful

I had my first thanksgiving without the Medina clan yesterday. i spent it instead with my in-laws here in Minneapolis. Carl and i were in charge of the cooking, that was fun, while my mother-in-law, Mary, assisted and watched Ella.
i loved having more to do with the dinner since with my family i usually assist with opening cans and measuring flour but this year i was actually able to use my cooking skills. Carl took on the turkey and it came out great. i tried to make flan and it looked terrible but the taste was great. it was weird to not have multiple people yelling and laughing and arguing like it is with my family but i enjoyed the quiet of this year.

Ella had her first bloody accident today. she was trying to reach me on the couch and she slipped, hitting her face on the wood trim of the couch. i thought she had just bumped herself as usual but as i was patting her back, trying to comfort her, i pulled her away from me and realized her face was covered in blood. i immediately jumped up and took Ella to the sink to clean off her face and tried to find the cut, only to find that it was an itty-bitty cut on her upper lip, likely from one of her two bottom teeth. i can't believe so much blood came from that cut but Ella was fine. thankfully.

All New Ella

Ella has been busy learning many new things and dealing with many others.
a few days ago i took her to the Doctor because she had diarrhea, kept touching her ears, new teeth coming in, cough, stuffy nose, and a lot of crankiness. so the Doctor checked her over and told me that the symptoms could either be due to the teething, to a mild ear infection, rotovirus, or H1N1, but because she didn't have a fever it was likely not anything serious but in the meantime she would give me a prescription for an antibiotic (for the ear infection), advise me to get some Pedialyte, and to monitor Ella for fever. Three days later and nothing. Ella no longer has the diarrhea, her stuffiness and lessened and she is sleeping more at night.

Ella figured out earlier this week how to crawl. i wanted to post a picture but was unable to capture it. i will post some soon. She has also learned how to pull herself up to standing. i have already lowered her crib in anticipation of this. She is waving, well sort of. she raises her hand when she sees everyone else doing it. it's fun watching her learn new things. She will be having her first Thanksgiving this week. Sadly, we won't be traveling to Utah or Idaho to spend it with the Medina clan. the first time in a decade or so.

Ella and i are enjoying a nice day today. all day is play time, except when its nap time.

our first Halloween, with Ella.

i loved having a chance to dress Ella up. she spent the holiday being a penguin and a peacock. today she is dressed up for the Day of the Dead.
Ella and i went trick or treating at a nursing home where Ella got to show off for the residents there. it was fun to let her experience this tradition although it was obviously beyond her. she took some candies and sucked on them with wrappers on. afterwards, i got to enjoy the good stuff and gave away the stuff i don't like.
speaking of giving out candy, we had a huge turnout at our house last night. the neighbors/tenants decorated the house a month ago to resemble a graveyard and it definitely drew some attention. we had cars lined up down the street just to t or t at our place. carl had to run out to buy more candy because the 4 i had bought ran out around 7 p.m. last year we only had 4 treaters all together so it was a huge difference this year.
some children were too scared to walk up our sidewalk. two of the neighbors hid in the yard and jumped out at the children as they walked by. i saw several children run away and many end up in tears. the older ones were even frightened but they seemed to enjoy it more. i felt bad for the younger ones. i can imagine this will have an impact on how they feel about future Halloweens.

She's moving now!

Ella showed us yesterday that she can army crawl. just like every other day, we were playing around on the living room floor when Ella spotted Carl's Mtn. Dew and decided that she wanted it, now. suddenly she started moving herself along the ground using her arms to move herself forward. until now she had been pretty good at moving by pivoting on her stomach or rolling but she is now one step away from crawling. it's so exciting and frightening. we can no longer leave her in one spot and expect her to remain there or close by. we need to childproof things and keep a better eye on her (not that we didn't already). people keep warning us of how we need to stop wishing for her to be able to crawl because of all the issues it will cause but i am so happy for Ella. of course we will take precaution but it's great that she can spot something and move towards it. i know that she is feeling pretty proud of herself.

having fun

i love my little girl. she is so playful now. lately her favorite game has been tipping her head back and having me swoop her back up or slobbering all over my chest. she will do this for a long time if i play along. carl doesn't like playing the head tipping game because he doesn't want to have her hit her head on anything. this is a concern of mine also, but it is so funny to hear her laugh when she does it. other things Ella likes doing right now is splashing in the bath. we bathe her in a infant "whale" tub that Grandma Gillies gifted to Ella. we were placing it on the counter to bathe Ella but she has started splashing so much that i am now placing it inside the big tub so she can splash to her heart's content without me having to deal with water everywhere.
Ella also loves practicing her balance. she stands with assistance and loves staring out the window while leaning on the couch. she also is practicing her crawling skills. right now she can rock back and forth on her arms and legs and sometimes moves backwards but no forward mobility has been seen so far.
Last weekend Ella, and her parents, went up North on the Lake Superior coastline for a mini-vacation. Although it was very cold (we had snow on Saturday morning) Ella did well with all of the activity. Carl bought her a hat that looks adorable on her. we kept her bundled in leg warmers, sweaters, and coats and the cold didn't bother her.
now, we are looking forward to Halloween. Ella will have two costumes this year. i can't wait to show them off.

PEAS, please!

 

We have been cautious with the foods we have given Ella. Each week she has been tasting a new food while we observe that there are no allergic reactions. So far so good. At this point Ella has had rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes (those were interesting going in and out), bananas, apples, and pears. we were busy for awhile and didn't give her any new foods until yesterday when i went shopping. i bought her all sorts of vegetables. i didn't know how she would respond after all of the sweet fruits but she was enthusiastic.

6 months old

 

Ella is six months old already. Carl took this photo a few days ago. he ran for the camera because Ella was sitting up on her own and Carl thought she was looking particularly cute at that moment. i thought it was a perfect photo to show off her personality. Ella has been a joy. she hasn't been a fussy baby, well, until recently. She has her two bottom teeth coming in and she's at an age that she starts to show more attachment issues (according to the books we read). it's funny. when we leave the room she just freaks out and if we are in the room we must stay close to her. we don't need to be playing with her but we need to be close by so she doesn't feel abandoned.

Ella

 

i am able to put photos online again. Junior was up for the weekend and he made the computer work again. i just love that brother of mine.
i will be posting more photos of Ella later but i wanted to put this photo up now because its a new favorite. This was taken on august 30th.

 

Ella is playing with her feet now! Bend that body, girl.

18 weeks old

 

Ella gets sick

 

Ella has been sick for a little over a week. It started at daycare as most of her illness' likely will. I was called at work and told that Ella's eyes were looking goopy and that I should take her to the doctor's office.
I did that night when i got off of work. I figured it was pink eye because the daycare had posted a letter to the parents of some recent cases. However, the doctor said that although her eyes were very goopy, they were not red so it was probably NOT pink eye.
Well, all that weekend we cared for her eyes by keeping them clean and goop-free. Over the following days, while she was at her grandma's she seemed to be getting better but by the end of the week she got a cold.
Ella has been having a tough time at night with breathing through her stuffy nose. She has also been coughing a lot. I am hoping she is better soon. Hoping we all get better soon since Carl and I are also exhibiting the same symptoms as Ella.
Overall, although Ella is sick she is still in a good mood most of the time. She is a trooper. She even got her 4 month shots the other day. That night she actually had a slight fever but she has been doing great since.

abe gets married

Abe got married June 27, 2009 to Catherine Basila just south of Denver. Carl, Ella, and I had to take a long 12 hour drive out to be with the family for the weekend. It was busy as all Medina gatherings are. We got rained out on the first night when we were going to gather at the park for a picnic/bbq but Catherine's brother opened his home to everyone and we partied in his basement. The day before the wedding most of us went to the zoo to entertain the kids. Ella wasn't too impressed but we learned that Elephants can't jump. The night before the wedding we all had dinner at Buca De Beppo. What a good dinner that was. On the wedding day we didn't have much to do until we were supposed to meet for photos. The wedding was held in a garden. It was beautiful. Abe and catherine exchanged vows before the family with a pond in the background. Catherine's brother actually did the wedding. Cocktail hour followed the ceremony and then dinner. there was a photo booth and a candy bar that gave the wedding a festive/young feel. Because of Ella, Carl and i couldn't stay as late as we would have in the past and we didn't get too rowdy but the wedding weekend was a great chance to show-off Ella to the boys and their families and to my dad.

June 27

 
 
 
 

Abe and CAtherine's wedding

 
 
 
 

 

 

Father's Day

Carl’s first Father’s Day came and went and we had lots of fun. I started the day by making Carl a cake, wrapping his presents, getting Ella fed and dressed, and allowing Carl the opportunity to sleep while I did all of this. When Carl finally came down the stairs he was greeted by Ella and his presents. The gifts weren’t much since Ella doesn’t have any income yet. Ella got Carl a frame with a poem about fatherhood around the edges and her footprints inside. She had made this at daycare. Ella also got Carl an electric griddle for making memories over Sunday breakfasts. There was also a photo book and a card.
We got immediate use out of the griddle then Carl was encouraged to just sit and read his paper and do nothing.
In the afternoon we went to the parents house for a bbq and to relax over there. The whole day was full of relaxing and I hope Carl enjoyed that, although Ella won't remember much.

Growing...

At her doctor's visit Ella was weighed and measured.
Her brain is getting huge because her head grew quite a bit.
She is now 22 3/4" tall and weighs 10.8 pounds (with a wet diaper).

Just in case you are wondering, she started out at 19" and 6.13 pounds two months ago.

Ella got shot

She got her shots. A few days ago we went in for her two month appointment and Ella had to get three shots in her chubby thighs. Everyone who knew about the appointment seemed concerned for Ella and for me, worried about how we would deal. I say "we" because everyone assumed I was scared to see my baby go through the pain of the shots. I wasn't worried though. Not to say that I am cold-hearted, because I truly love my Ella, but she needs those shots and sometimes you just have to deal with tough things.
Ella screamed when she got her first shot. She gave that big cry that breaks my heart when i hear it from her. Her face turned red and she screamed through the next two shots also but once that was over I held her tight to me and rocked her and within a minute she had stopped crying although she let out some whimpers for a little while more.
I had failed to bring anything to help soothe her, such as a bottle, so as soon as she had stopped crying I put her in her carseat and we ran out of there.
My girl is a tough one. She was sleeping before I even got her to the car and she slept much of the rest of the day. She was not fussy or anything. I think she was experiencing some pain but I bought her some children's tylenol and after that she seemed fine.
We get to do this all over again in another couple of months and again a few months after that but if she deals with it the same way she did this time I shouldn't have any worries.

Yeah! Mother's Day for Me.

I have been celebrating my first Mother's Day today and I have been having a very enjoyable time. I am all about having an additional holiday devoted to me. I know that sounds selfish but who wouldn't be?
My gift from Ella/Carl was a flower bed in front of the house. We had this half-circle patch of grass with some dying bushes in front of the house and Carl decided to change it into something more enjoyable to look at, for me.
He worked on it all day yesterday, getting up the sod, pulling out the dead bushes, and planting various plants including hostas and lilies from his mom's garden.
I helped him out for awhile as Ella looked on from her chair that we set up on the stairs. I think she had a good time outside because she stayed awake the whole time.
This morning Carl was tired from losing sleep all week long so he slept in but once he woke up he made me some pancakes and eggs for breakfast. After that we went to Costco!
Well, we didn't have anything planned for the day so we ended up there buying paper goods for the house. Afterwards, we went to a new eatery named SmashBurger. If you enjoy greasy food you would like this place. I got a SmashBrat and the bun looked like it had been soaked in butter. I can't deny that it wasn't good but I am sure that if i had a heart condition that this Brat would had done me in.
It's only 2:30 pm now. Much of the day is still left and i am planning on going over the Carl's mom's house so that Ella can say Happy mother's day to her.
that will likely be it for the day.