Something to Blog About

It's been quite awhile since our last blog post. Since then, we've had a pretty busy few weeks! Where to start!?!?

The weekend before Thanksgiving took us to Smith Mountain Lake to meet our good friends Shea and Jim for the weekend. Not only was this Ella's first weekend trip away, but she was also introduced to Shea and Jim's little baby Brady, just 3 weeks older than Ella. Erika and Tim might have met their future son-in-law! It was neat to be back to the house since just several months before, both Shea and Erika were pregnant and they were cons babies. So much has changed! While the girls stayed at home and enjoyed a relaxing Saturday afternoon (relaxing? Hmmm, that could possibly have been one of Ella's MOST fussiest days of her short little life....how convenient!) with the babies, Tim and Jim were cheering on the Hokies to watch them beat Miami. We've decided however, that next year both Ella and Brady will be old enough to attend the game, too - the mommies won't be left out again!

The following weekend was Thanksgiving and Ella's second road trip to her grandparents house in Williamsburg. We arrived on Wednesday evening and Erika's parents and brother arrived the following morning. Plus, it was Grant's first introduction to his niece Ella! We all had a great time together - ate lots of great food, did a little shopping on dog street, walked through W&M campus, saw some beautiful sunsets from the Carlson's dock, and just relaxed! On Saturday, we drove to Suffolk to spend the day with Camille, Ryan and their two girls Peyton and Anne-Perry. Of course, the girls did some shopping (so hard to resist) while the guys stayed home with the kids (Ella included) to watch some college football.

The following week was very exciting as we welcomed Monica home from Africa on the 29th. And like Grant, it was her first chance to meet Ella! Monica snuggled up with us in our cozy abode for a couple of days until the Carlson's arrived on Sunday for the day to take her back to Williamsburg. It was also a busy but fun weekend, too - our friend Ami arrived in town from Charleston to surprise Sandra for her 30th birthday dinner which was so much fun! On Saturday, Meredith and Erika hosted Christi's baby shower at Erika's moms house - it was a wonderful celebration for the expectant arrival of little baby Claire. . .due on January 18th. Christi is getting close!

This week wraps up Erika's last week of classes from the fall semester....and so nice it is! With the last paper handed in this past Monday, the semester's work is over. She'll have about 5 weeks off to enjoy the holiday season before returning back to school in mid January.

Tomorrow, we're off to Tulsa, OK to visit Erika's relatives....this will be Ella's first airplane trip (can breastmilk be spiked??) so we're hoping all goes well. But we're looking forward to seeing the family and Ella will be meeting her GREAT-grandmother..pretty amazing!

Speaking of Ella....she is doing so well! We took her to the doctor's today for her vaccinations and like all babies, she exercised those lungs of hers during the shots (she had three of them in her little thighs!). It was tough for us to watch but it all went so quick and she stopped crying immediately after we picked her up and hugged her. And she is growing, too...right on track! Today, she weighed 11.4 pounds and measured 23 1/4 inches - our little baby is growing so fast! She's already outgrown her newborn onsies that Tim bought for her when we brought her home from the hospital! It's so hard to believe. But she's healthy and developing just perfectly - 70 percentile for height, 60 for weight, and 50 for head circumference. Her personality is really devloping, too - she has the most cutest smile and just grins ear to ear. It's pure joy to see. Plus, she's able to focus on us and direct her eye gaze at noises but has been just great to see. She's a beautiful little baby, we are just in love. Although we're still working on her day time naps, she has been sleeping 6-7 hours consistently at night for the past 3 weeks or so and pulled in a 9 hour night last weekend! Wow! Needless to say, she woke up happy but HUNGRY!

So that's about it for now! Check back soon for an updated web album revealing pictures from the last month - take a look and enjoy!