I Love Fall

Colorful foliage, crisp weather, hot apple cider, pumpkins, festivals, hayrides, football... but none of this compares to an adorable baby wearing a pumpkin hat.

Visiting the Taylors

Ellie and I were able to visit one of my friends from college while we were in North Carolina last week.  We had so much fun!  Jessica is one of my very good friends that I met during my freshman year at Samford.  We have shared lots of fun memories together.  Jessica and her husband Russ have two children, Caleb and Kathryn.  They are so precious!  They also keep Jessica busy.  We tried to get a picture of the three of them, but it just wasn't working.  We couldn't get all three of them to be still at once.  Oh well, they are still cute as can be!

Our Little Climber

The other day I was trying to get dressed to go out, so I put Ellie on the floor next to her bouncy seat like I always do.  She likes to sit and play with her toys, and lately, has been pulling up to stand.  I was putting on my makeup when I turned around and saw this...

She had climbed into her bouncy seat and then stood up in it all by herself!  She wanted to play with daddy's pants that were hanging on the doorknob.  Isn't she mischievous?  She is becoming so skilled at doing things like this, and she is keeping me busy!  I am chasing her everywhere.  It is so much fun (most of the time!).

Trip to Highlands, NC

We recently enjoyed a trip to Highlands, NC with Justin's parents for Labor Day weekend.  The weather was nice, the food tasty, and the time relaxing.  We didn't take many pictures, but here is a shot of the three of us.  Justin's parents pretty well took care of the photography aspect of the trip.  I will have to get some photos from them soon to post.

Ellie at the Lake

One of the benefits of living in Tuscaloosa is having friends with lake houses :)  From time to time we will get invited for an afternoon of boating and what-not on Lake Tuscaloosa.  Recently we took Ellie to our friends Daniel and Caryn Pruet's lake house for some R & R.It was so hot outside!  You can tell from Ellie's red cheeks.  I just had to post some pictures 

of her with her hat.

Amelia Island, FL

Some people say we are crazy.  They might be right.  We decided to take Ellie to Justin's Continuing Legal Education seminar in Florida this summer.  I refused to take her on an airplane because I did not want to be one of "those" people who have a screaming baby the whole flight.  So we drove.  It was a ten hour drive.  We got up at 2:00 in the morning and were on the road by 3:30 am.  Our plan worked marvelously, as she slept almost the whole way.  The only problem was that we were completely exhausted.  You might be thinking, "yeah, but you were at the beach."  Hardly.  I spent the majority of the time in the hotel room feeding Ellie and hanging out while she took her naps.  We ventured out mainly during mealtime for mommy.  We went to the pool one day when it was cloudy and cool, but the water was too cold.  Our lovely dinners were spent as usual, taking turns holding Ellie while the other got to eat. For me it was not a vacation, but it was nice to be somewhere different for awhile.  My pictures didn't even turn out very well, but here are a few snapshots.  I don't know why the video is pink, but I thought it was cute anyway.

Some Cute Pictures

Here are some cute recent pictures of Ellie.  She is growing so fast, and getting cuter every day :)

Peas, Please!

There is nothing more adorable than watching an infant eat her first foods. It brings us such joy to see the colorful purees surround a 2-inch radius of her mouth. It is so cute when she smiles that lovely green smile after eating her meal of peas and rice cereal.  It isn't so lovely, however, when it comes out the other end.  We have just left the world of the small, frequent, odorless stools of a breastmilk-only baby and entered a new world of large, stinky, and less frequent bowel movements.  Ah, yes.  Poop.  I have found it to be a much-too-common topic of conversation these days among my young mother friends.  I guess it is because we see a lot of it every day.  It is also not uncommon for the topic to be discussed with my husband at the dinner table.  This is just one of the indications of how much our life has changed since December 30, 2007.  All for the better, of course. We are loving every minute.

Baby Talk

Here is some footage of Ellie talking.  It is too funny.  She sounds like she is getting upset, but she is not.  She found her voice several weeks ago, and has been using it ever since!

You Might Be a Redneck If...

Your crib is on blocks...or paint cans.  You got it, folks.  This was Ellie's crib last weekend after she got her very first cold.  I asked my father-in-law to find a way to elevate Ellie's bed to ease her chest congestion while she slept, and this was his solution.  Simple, right?  I really couldn't contain my laughter when I saw it at first.  But, it worked, and I am happy to say that Ellie is feeling much better.  Note the humidifier over to the right of the crib.  I am not sure which was the most help, but nonetheless, we are hopefully finished waking up in the middle of the night to a coughing baby.  I just had to share.

The Lip

Ok, I know this is a little mean, but I really think this is one of the cutest things that Ellie does.  We call it "the lip."  When she starts to get upset, she frowns and sticks that bottom lip out...

It cracks us up every time.  It is just too adorable.  I know it may seem a little strange that we get such a kick out of our child getting upset, but you just have to see it.  Here is a picture my mom took with her cell phone.  It isn't very clear, but you get the idea.

We are doing pretty well right now.  Ellie is four months old and it growing fast.  I am still trying to get her on a regular napping schedule during the day.  This has been extremely frustrating.  She is way too attached to her mama.  If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open.  Please call me!  I am just trying to piece together all the bits of information I can get.  Trying to figure out this parenting thing...  Ok, got to go.  Someone just woke up. :)

Ellie at Play

Here is a two minute video of Ellie having "tummy time."  The music you hear is her little octopus toy that she loves.  She always tries to climb over her boppy pillow, but as you can see, it doesn't quite work out.  Enjoy!

Ellie's First Easter

Here are some photos of Ellie at Nana and Pop's house during Easter weekend.  Unfortunately, we don't have any digital photos of her in her Easter dress.  Those are on Pop's camera.  But we did enjoy dressing her up with some lamb ears.  She had a great time, and slept for 8 hours for the first time.  Yeah!!!!

Ellie's First Beach Trip

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to go to the beach for a quick getaway.  It was so nice to have a change of scenery for a little while!  We still can't really take Ellie anywhere because of flu season, but we were able to breathe some fresh ocean air with the screen doors on the balcony.  The weather was beautiful!  We ordered take-out and Justin cooked for me one night.  It was wonderful.  I feel a bit rejuvenated.  It was hilarious to see all of the snowbirds at the beach.  They were everywhere!  We were by far the youngest couple there.  It was so nice and quiet.  I hope we get to go again soon.  Thanks to the Reynolds' for letting us use their condo for the weekend. 

ELLIE IS HERE!!!

After 18 hours of labor, Eleanor Ashley made her appearance on December 30 at 9:42 pm.  She is so cute -- we just can't stop staring at her!  She weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  We are so proud of our little girl.  Right now I am doing well, but it has been a rough recovery process -- not to mention the overwhelming feeling of being a new parent.  I will update with more pictures when I have more time in between her frequent feedings.  Justin and I can't wait to introduce her to all of our friends!