Weeks 10 & 11

Some of Ellie's new favorite things:

Her rattle


She gets a great grasp on this thing! She's also transferred it between hands a few times

Her fist
How could this ever get old??

Laying on her side

Ellie loves doing this! We think she is about to roll over. We'll lay her down on a mat one way and come back to find that she's moved her 90 degrees from scrunching her body up to one side over and over again. She's never been a huge fan of tummy time, but today she was on her side grunting away and so I flopped her over to her stomach, and she was so happy. It seemed like she was trying to just flop over but couldn't by herself.

Her Bottle


We are blessed also to have a baby who takes a bottle. David and I have yet to go on a date and have some friends give her a bottle, but are looking forward to it soon.

High Chair

We busted out the high chair! She really enjoys sitting with us when we eat- she's happy just to look at us and talk and kick her legs.

Talking!



Ellie has gone in the last week from lots of cooing to squealing. She is loving looking at faces and reacting to what we say or how we play with her.

Tummy time

News from Mom & Dad

Even though this is Ellie's blog, we figured you might want to know about us, too. If you don't want to read about us, then just skip this paragraph :) David went back to school this week and it looks like he has another great group of 2nd graders.

We had fun getting his classroom ready last week. Ellie was a trooper and spent the day on her blanket (thanks, Fifi!) and in the Moby Wrap with us. We're lucky she's so portable. As for me, I've been having withdrawals from work. This September is hard for me- it's my first not teaching, or doing back to school myself or doing school-related things. I loved teaching a lot! And am looking forward to going back someday. So, to help keep me sane, I'm filling in at our church (for a woman who's on maternity leave) as an administrative assistant to out children's ministry pastor. It's been great to have some things to do outside of Ellie-world (which I love) and keeping house. We're really thankful for the support of our friends, family, and church through this transition.

And now, back to Ellie news...

At Ellie's 2 month checkup we found out her weight was 15 lbs. She is officially big, in case you didn't know. She is the same size (height/weight) as the average 6 month old. Which means, yes she's wearing 6 mo clothing at almost 3 months. We have been so blessed with lots of new and hand-me-down clothes for her, so thankfully we don't have to worry about her growing fast and going through clothing sizes quickly. In fact, I think the only clothing item we've paid for was a $2 white sweater from the consignment store next-door to us. So thank you again to all of you!! :)

Well, we've tried to keep her blog updated every 2 weeks or so... but we're realizing that with the start of the school year things are getting a little more crazy. So, we've decided to just start posting videos, pictures and stories whenever we can (versus waiting until the 2 week mark). Look forward to shorter, hopefully more frequent posts!

~Amy, David and Ellie

Photo Update!

And one last video...

squirmy legs and some talkin'

2 months...

"It's amazing how fast they grow up!" This has been the most common phrase we've heard from parents young and old. And it's so true! I get a little misty-eyed looking at Ellie's picture from when she was first born. A few weeks ago I folded up some clothes from Ellie's dresser that she doesn't fit anymore. Including the outfit she wore home from the hospital :( Invest in Kleenex stock my friends because if this is just 2 months and I'm already tearing up...

Ellie's 2 month Bio:
Weight- 13.5 lbs (as of 2 weeks ago)
Height- 26"
Current Eye Color- BLUE and holding... we'll see!
Cuteness- increasing daily :)
Hairstyle- Going for the friar-look, unintentionally of course (I've got a bald little halo from sleeping and moving my head back and forth). Also attempting to get rid of my cradle cap with the help of some Olive Oil.
Approximate number of diapers worn- 786
Clothing size- either 3-6months or 6 month Carter's.
Most consecutive hours slept- 7.5!! WOOHOO!
Hobbies- smiling, cooing, double fist-sucking, practicing my head lifting skills, and recently twisting my upper body onto my side.
Favorite way to spend hot days- sleeping in my carseat at Carkeek Park by the water while mom and dad play games or read. Coffee shops are also pretty high up on the list
Favorite food- still milk.

Thanks for reading, now the best part- pictures and videos!

Weeks 8 & 9 Photos


(There's also some new videos posted in the previous post, in case you missed them.)

Good morning, Ellie!

Ellie Tells a Sad Story




Ellie gets takes fist-eating a little too far



Double Fists



Cooing and Fist Stuffing



Tummy Time



Lots of Talking!

Week 6 & 7

Ellie is so much more focused and attentive! It's really fun to watch her change. She wakes up from her naps with a really cute stretch followed by lots of smiles. Her sleeping still doesn't have much of a pattern to it, but she does tend to sleep longer stretches at night, and after her middle of the night feeding, she goes right back to sleep. David and I are amazed at how much more we're "getting out" this summer than in years past, despite having an almost 2 month old. We went to a baseball game this last week even- the Mariner's won for the first time in forever. She fell asleep on me but kept on being startled and waking up from all the cheering during an exciting 7th inning, which included a grand slam. What a trooper! David is done with summer school now and so we have a nice 2 weeks vacation together before he goes back to work for trainings and then the start of the school year! It's great having all 3 of us home together, and I'm especially enjoying sleeping a little more while David feeds her a bottle in the morning. In a few weeks she'll have her 2 month appointment featuring immunizations and lots of tears. We're not sure how much she weighs (she hasn't been weighed since her 2 week apt when she was 9lbs 10oz) but she's measuring in at 26 inches.

If you're in town or nearby, and haven't met Ellie give us a call, we'd love to introduce you!

Here's some photos from the last few weeks!

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyelowe/EllieWeek6

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyelowe/EllieWeek7

Videos...

Good Morning, Ellie!


Ellie's wakeup stretches


Mmmmm.... fist-sicle


Ellie's new past-time.


Morning Chat with Ellie




Track 'N Smile




Ellie's First Wedding

Ellie did so great at the Ko's wedding! She not only slept through the ceremony, and let mom eat a yummy dinner-- she also slept during the dance party, as seen. When she was awake she was really calm and looked pretty cute in her dress! The only mishap we encountered was her going through 3 of the 5 diapers we had packed within the first hour... oops! Thankfully Isaiah Sim had an extra for us to use by the end of the night. Also after one of her meals in the ladies room, mom got up only to see a puddle on the ground and feel some wet socks... Ellie had a little accident out the side of her diaper :) but thankfully didn't ruin her dress or mom's.

Week 5

Here are week 4 and week 5 picture links.

Ellie is smiling up a storm! It is really fun. When we talk with her now she gets really excited and has started to vocalize (ooo's and aaaahh's). She likes looking at faces and is focusing on them more and for longer amounts of time. Ellie got to meet Grandma Jan & Grandpa Randy this week! It was great for us to have some extra hands :)

Ellie got to meet her Great Grandma Dorothy too. Here are 4 generations together! Crazy!

We made the switch this week to cloth diapers, which was suprisingly easy. Ellie was unfazed by them, but because of her now extra bulky bottom some of her onesies have been relegated to the "doesn't fit anymore" pile.

And now, the long awaited videos from the last few weeks:
Smiling!

Watching the Mobile



Waking up from a nap..



Up a little too early


Ellie has been a pretty good sleeper and has thankfully gotten the fact that dark=night and night=sleep longer and don't play. Sometimes there's a glitch though in terms of the start and end time. Her record night sleep time was 4.5 hrs! It was wonderful.

Week 4... Let the Smiles Begin!

Here's some Week 4 hi-lights:

July 9- David & Amy's 3rd Anniversary... with Ellie :)

We took Ellie with us on her first of many sushi outings. And she decided of course during the meal that she wanted to eat too. After, we took some family photos:

Dad, Ellie, & Mom



Ellie & Mom


Dad & Ellie

(Ellie's practicing her upper cut)


July 12- Ellie is 1 month today!
We met our friends, Ella, Jen & Young. Ellie spent the whole time sleeping. Maybe we'll play next time... We also met Miyuki & Brian, but forgot to get some pics :(




July 13... Ellie's starting to smile!







More to come... Grandma & Grandpa Mote are in town! And Great Grandma Dorothy comes to visit next week, along with Great Aunt Jennie & Uncle Art.

Week 3

We spent the long weekend down in Yelm, which was WONDERFUL. Ellie had her first fourth of July, which she spent sleeping and eating and being held by grandma, grandpa, aunties and uncle. She also attended her first movie, which she slept through, hooray! She let us see Wall-E (which is almost as cute as Ellie) by eating right before the movie started and then sleeping in the Moby Wrap the whole time :) It's hard to believe she'll be a month this Thursday!

Here's some photos from Week 3:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amyelowe/EllieWeek3

Playing with a new toy

Snoring Ellie




Tummy Time




Sleeping Ellie




Cute Bath Time




Bath Time "Reality"
Turn down the sound for this one! Now you can all hear what her cry sounds like :)

Week 2

Amy has now survived 4 days being solo with Ellie in the morning (David is teaching summer school). We had a few rough days were Ellie decided to stay up all morning, but by day 2 Amy was able to actually get dressed, put in contacts, and eat 2 meals (and partially load a dishwasher).

This week's pictures have a few hi-lights:
1) RICHARD:

I (Amy) like to dress Ellie up in clothes that aren't pink just for variety. David has decided that when Ellie is dressed up in her boy clothes her name is Richard. It doesn't help when we give her comb-over either.




2) Fashion Show:


Ellie has so many cute little outfits that I've been dying to see her in, but Ellie doesn't really like having her clothes changed. So, we decided to take her clothes off and just lay the clothes on top of her. SO CUTE! :)




Tomorrow will be our first trip away from home to visit Grandma and Grandpa Lowe in Yelm. Happy 4th! Amy is looking forward to sitting on the deck with Ellie and eating fresh strawberries :) Grandma and Grandpa Mote are coming to visit in a few weeks after we get back, hooray!

Here's the pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amyelowe/EllieWeek2