Happy 5 Months to Ellie! (yesterday)

Sweet baby Ellie turned 5 months old yesterday! She spent her special day with Mommy as our staycation together came to an end. Justin, Lainie and Emmie all went to visit Granna and Pops in Biloxi for a few days, so Ellie and I got to have a little peace and quiet at home. It was so nice....and SO quiet!

Miss Ellie, I can hardly believe another month has gone by already. I feel like I just updated this blog for your 4-month birthday! Time is going by so quickly. Here are a few things you are up to these days:

* You love your Exersaucer as these photos show! You will sit in there and play with the toys while your sisters play with you from the outside. It provides great entertainment for all! :)

* You are in 3-6 month clothes and size 1-2 diapers. I have size 2 diapers for you right now, and they are still a little big.

* You tried rice cereal this month as well, and can't stand it. We have tried it a few times, but you just cry and cry. These pictures are from your first attempt at eating it. I thought you would like it at first, but you decided rather quickly that it was definitely not your thing!



* You rolled over from your tummy to your back today. You have probably been able to do this for a while, but you are never on your tummy, so you really haven't had the opportunity. Despite that, you are great at holding your head up and looking all around.

* For some reason, you are regressing with your sleeping patterns. You now get up twice a night instead of once a night. What is Mommy going to do with you? You still sleep in our room (I know!) and you still sleep in the swing for naps during the day (I know again!) I really need to start putting you in your crib, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

* You still nurse about every three hours. One more month, and you will be able to start some baby food! Yummo!!

* You love to stand up! Whenever I am holding you, you want to be standing on my lap and looking around.

* You are so smiley, but it is hard to get pictures of you smiling because the camera is VERY interesting to you. As soon as you see it, you just stare at it and completely stop paying attention to me trying to make you smile!

* You love people and you love attention! You have also started talking very loudly. It is so cute!! You just talk and talk to whoever might be listening.

* You have found your feet and toes, but only play with them when your feet aren't covered with something. If you have your jammies or socks on, you aren't interested in them. However, anytime you have bare feet, your grab those toes immediately!

* You grab, grab, grab for everything. You love to grab at faces, toys, etc. Things are very interesting to you these days.

* I have no idea how much you weigh or how long you are. We actually are going for your 4-month well check-up on the 21st. Better late than never, I guess! I will be able to update that information once we see the doctor.

We love you sweet girl! You are such a precious baby girl!

Lately

So, if you can't tell, I have been terrible at updating this blog lately. Unfortunately, I have about zero time on my hands to do anything other than take care of three children and keep my house looking somewhat presentable. The laundry alone defeats me on a weekly basis. I also have been terrible at taking pictures of the girls. We have done lots of fun things, been to birthday parties, the zoo, out to eat with friends, to play dates, here, there and everywhere. Do I have any pics to show for any of our outings? Um, that would be no! I do have a few pictures of Ellie on the day we went to the zoo and I managed to snap one or two of Emmie while we were actually at the zoo, but that is as good as it gets. I have to get better at this! :)

I just love this little giraffe outfit that Gramma and Grampi gave Ellie. The bow that goes along with it is just a little over the top, but why not sport it if you have it?! It cracks me up!

Happy 4 Months to Ellie!!

Ellie celebrated her 4 month birthday today on Valentine's Day! At 4 months old, here is what Miss Ellie Belle is up to....

* I am not sure how much she weighs, but her cheeks seem to be growing by the day! We will head to the doctor soon for her well visit, so I will post those stats once I have them.

* Little Peanut is in size 1 diapers, but will probably be moving to size 1-2 soon. The size 1 diapers are starting to get a little snug.

* She wears 3-6 month clothes. She can wear 6 month one piece outfits, but the pants in a 6 month shirt/pants set are still big on her. She is really long, so she tends to need 6 month sizes in the one piece outfits.

* Ellie decided to celebrate her 4 month birthday with a milestone today! She rolled from her back to her front today. I changed her diaper and went to wash my hands. When I walked back to the den to get her, she was on her tummy. She now immediately rolls to her tummy every time I lay her down. Of course, she hates being on her tummy once she gets over, and starts crying as soon as she rolls over. Silly girl!

* She is still nursing exclusively. However, Mommy went on a girls' weekend to Dallas this past weekend and left her with Daddy, Aunt Kimie, and Aunt Ooey. She did great and took her bottles like a champ! Justin said she would take 4-5 ounce bottles every 4 hours.

* Ellie is a little chatterbox and loves to talk to people who will talk to her. She is also so smiley, and will smile at anyone who gives her attention.

* She loves laying on her floor mat and grabbing the toys above her. She will lay there and play longer than Lainie or Emmie ever did.

* Elles Belles thinks very highly of herself evidently. Whenever she sees herself in the mirror, her face just lights up and she starts smiling so big. She loves to see her reflection in the mirror. It is so cute.

* She is still chewing on her hands constantly. If her paci isn't in her mouth, her hands are.

* She is still sleeping in our room and usually wakes up once a night. I still feed her around 10:30 and she wakes up around 3 or 4 in the morning to eat. She usually goes back to sleep until around 7 or 7:30.

* I still swaddle her before bedtime, but she kicks herself out of those blankets during the night. She starts out lying vertically in her pack-n-play, but always wakes up lying horizontally. She is a mover and a shaker.

* She still takes all her naps in my arms or in her swing. I just can't leave her upstairs during the day by herself. I seriously am going to spoil her rotten because she is my last baby without intending to do so. She is my sweet baby girl. :)

* She absolutely loves, loves, loves her baths. She will splash and kick the whole time. If she is ever fussy, a bath will calm her down immediately.

* She constantly tries to sit up if I lay her down (unless she rolls over!). The girl seems to have abs of steel already.

* She loves to stand in my lap. She would take off walking if she could. Everyone that holds her talks about how wild she is. She is definitely going to be a go-getter and will probably always want to be doing what her sisters are doing, even when she is too young.

* She loves Lainie and Emmie and will watch them throughout the day. She can still get a little overwhelmed when they are "attacking" her, but she usually takes it all in stride. :)

Happy 4 Months, Ellie! Happy Valentine's Day too! We love you SO much!

Valentine's Day 2011

The girls had such a great Valentine's Day. They both had their Valentine's parties at school and got lots of cute Valentines from their friends. Once they got home, they had lots of goodies from us, Gramma and Grampi, and Uncle Bennie waiting on them. They also got a sweet card from Keri! Thank you all so much for sending such sweet things to them. They loved everything, as you can see from the pics below! Even Riley got a Valentine! :) Happy Valentine's Day!!

Complete Cuteness!

Interview with Lainie

Favorite color? green
Favorite Number? 4
Favorite Food? sunbutter and jelly sandwich
Favorite Dessert? cupcakes
Favorite Drink? Chocolate milk
Favorite Animal? Heffalump
Favorite Letter? L
Favorite Movie? Beauty and the Beast
Favorite TV Show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Best Friend? Graham

How much does Mommy weigh? 630 pounds
How much does Daddy weigh? 730 pounds
How does Mommy play with you? we play games
How does Daddy play with you? we play Hide and Seek
Who is Mommy's best friend? Mrs. Laurie (Graham's mommy)
Who is Daddy's best friend? Uncle Heath
What does Mommy do during the day? goes to the doctor with your baby
What does Daddy do during the day? goes to work with Uncle Heath

Who are you going to marry? Graham
How many babies do you want? 20
What do you want to do for a job? Go work with Daddy

Lainie is such a little girl these days! She is just not a baby anymore! :( I love how she can answer these questions and communicate with me during the day. I have a little person around here who lets me know her opinion very frequently. I thought it would be fun to interview her today!
As far as her answers go....wow! Justin and I might need to watch our dessert intake. :) She LOVES Graham and talks about him all the time. She looks at our wedding pictures around the house and says, "Mommy, I want to be a princess one day and marry Graham like you married Daddy." Already???? Oh boy! The "Mommy goes to the doctor" comment comes from me always going to see Dr. Crowe while she was at school. I would always schedule my OB appointments with Ellie on school days, so now she thinks all I do is go to the doctor on school days! Ha!

One funny thing Lainie says is "yestertime" for yesterday. She is always saying, "Mommy, do you remember when we "fill in the blank" yestertime?" It is so cute that I can't bring myself to correct her.

Some things she loves to do these days is play on the computer (loves PBSkids.org), watch movies, play with playdoh, color, paint, write, play "Mommy" and constantly call Emmie "Sweetheart!" Emmie will correct me now and say, "Mommy, I am not Emmie, I am Sweetheart." Poor thing....Lainie bosses that sweet baby girl around like nobody's business, but always adds "Sweetheart" on the end of her demand to lighten it up a tad. They play together and are the best of friends, but also argue throughout the day too. They love to pretend that they are going to school, cooking, play house, etc. Love these girls!

Emmie's Updated Video

I realize that Emmie has been two years old now for 7 months, but my theme for this year is "Better Late Than Never!" Here is Emmie's updated birthday video. I am going to start working on Lainie's soon.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com