It's been a while

So where did the month of January go?!? Wow. Things have been going well & we're having fun watching Ella play with new toys & explore (a/k/a shove in her mouth) everything in sight. No teeth yet, but maybe soon?!!? It's hard to say. She's been teething for about 2 months now I think. Gotta get some teeth sooner or later. Her first word is officially momma. :) She still blabbles quite a bit, but that's the only word so far! So much to look forward to in the next few months with her! She'll be 8 months on Tuesday!

Hair

Isn't this hilarious? Ella's hair is OUT OF CONTROL! We had some serious static issues today. Notice it appears Ella is flipping us off. That's how I feel on a bad hair day too.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Time Management

So, the holidays are over (sad!). Merry Christmas to all our friends we didn't see over the past few weeks. Weather & crazy schedules kept us from seeing many of you. But, all is well. Happy New Year! Resolutions? Are you kidding me! I FORGOT to make a resolution. That happens I guess. But, now that we're 9 days into 2010 (Are you supposed to say Two Thousand Ten or Twenty Ten? Both ways are currently driving me crazy). Anyway, now that we're 9 days into 2010, I've had a few seconds to think about it. And my resolution is time management. I consider myself a very disciplined & organized person. Until June 2, 2009. I just spent hours this past week working on my filing. I'm usually anal about the filing, and still am, however, finding time to get to the filing has been an issue for me. There's always something more pertinent to do or I feel I should be teaching & engaging Ella more. Anyway, it's sad that I'm writing this, but this past week I worked on filing of stuff from August 2009 through year-end. Wow. It's almost like, why waste the time at this point? But, I need those meticulous records! I'm just about done (hurray!). From this point on, I resolve to keep on top of the filing & (try to)manage my time. Good luck.

Next on my "to do" list - start writing in Ella's baby book. Unreal that I haven't written a single word! I thought I'd be all about that book - keeping up with it from day 1 so I wouldn't be overwhelmed. Yeah. Good luck.

Ella is now starting to do something new all the time! She's 7 months old as of the 2nd. She has finally got the hang of sitting by herself (just the other day!) and it's so cute to watch her play with toys - like really starting to understand "play" as opposed to "shake the rattle."

Here's a few pictures we've been taking and not sharing with everyone b/c I haven't found the time to sit down and update this damn blog!

Post-Thanksgiving 2009

Christmas Eve 2009

Ella's First Christmas - 2009. [Christmas Day Morning]

Abbas Christmas 2009. (Ella - are you afraid of the monkey?!)

Christmas in Worthington - part 1 (celebrated New Years Eve 2009)

Christmas in Worthington part 2 (celebrated New Years Day 2010)

The rush of the Holiday Season!

Hi! Well, it's that time of year for the rushing around & anticipation of Christmas. Rush is the key word for me this year. I can't believe Christmas Eve is 2 days away! I lost track of time after my back injury & now that I'm (knock on wood) starting to feel better, I realize how much needs to be done during the Holidays. I have stacks of gifts to be wrapped & cookies to be baked (maybe!). Sadly, I haven't done any holiday baking this year, which is my favorite thing to do during the Christmas season. I'm excited for Ella's first Christmas - even though the excitement of Santa & thrill of opening gifts won't phase her one bit this year, it will be fun to watch her with family & friends relaxing and spending time together!

Merry Christmas & safe travels!

Six Months Photos

We had Ella's six months pictures on Sunday. She was a trooper & didn't get crabby until towards the end of the session. You can check out a sampling of the pictures at the following link: http://www.nicolereyesphotography.com/

Click on Albums and you will find her album labeled El.a

SIX MONTHS - Half a Year!

We have achieved a big milestone. Ella turned 6 months old on December 2nd. I can't believe she's been a part of our lives for half of a year already. It's been so fun to watch her develop & grow. She's our little miracle & surprises us every day. Her 6 month well check went well. She's going to be tall (not a big surprise) and is steadily gaining weight, a good sign considering her acid reflux & gas issues. We're trying baby oatmeal now instead of rice cereal b/c the rice cereal is too harsh for her gassy tummy. She's also getting a daily dose of prunes to help with her digestive issues. We're also going to start therapy for Ella's neck - she has a minor case of torticollis, which is a crink in her neck and makes it hard for her to hold her head up straight. I'm hoping the therapy will help sooner rather than later.

It's been a pretty crazy few weeks here. Thanksgiving weekend I had a pretty serious back injury and couldn't really walk or do much of anything without severe pain. I've been seeing a chiropractor who found that I have/had something called Sacroiliitis (sp), caused from my pregnancy. Basically the weight of the baby & the way I was carrying the baby during pregnancy caused the pelvic region to adjust in a weird way and then my left hip got all weird and rotated so the joint wasn't allowed to move anymore. Yuck. It was the most painful thing I've ever had happen. I'm finally on the recovery road and can't wait until I'm pain free!

We've got tons to do to get ready for the holidays, but we're excited! After a carpet cleaning appointment today (fingers crossed that they arrive on time!) we will be able to put up the tree & decorate the house for Christmas (finally!)