happy seven months ellie!

[pics taken on 2.17]

height: 25.75″

weight: 15 lbs 7 oz.

ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! i say this every single month but wahhhhhhhh…time is flying by baby girl. i am going  to cry. why am i sooooooo sappy, sentimental, and just plain sad sometimes?! bittersweet is the perfect word. i am sad, happy, in disbelief, elated, satisfied, cheated by time…the emotions go on and on. it’s all sooooo satisfying and painful to watch you grow.

words can’t describe my deep love for my girls. i am utterly head over heels in love with them. i would give my life for them, die a painful death to protect them, you name it…i will do anything to make sure they survive. i loooooooooove being a mom.

anyhoo, let’s talk about ellie. let’s talk about how much she’s changed! she’s so vocal and cute about it! she babbles so much and the funniest thing about her right now? how she acts when she poops!!! she grunts, her face turns red, she screams, and cries! it’s kind of hilarious! i can’t even deal. she’s such a calm baby that when she starts to cry out…i know she’s going number two!

well, with that said, it’s obvious that we’ve been feeding her a ton. ellie went through a rough period from december to now. she was sick on and off and that really disrupted her sleep pattern for the worse.she was waking up non-stop at night. like 2-3x a night and waking up at 6-7am and staying up. so that meant NOOOOOOO sleep for this mama. i never learned my lesson and would go to bed too late every night {like 12 midnight or 1 am} and ellie would wake up at 2-3am, 4am, 6am, and 7am…i thought i was going die. i was a zombie and when we took ellie in to the pediatrician, she suggested that we feed ellie more food during the day to help her sleep at night. hallelujah…we would do anything to get her to sleep throughout the night. we literally shoved food down her throat through a pipe. hahaha! not really but we fed her 3x a day, as much as she wanted and a couple days later, it worked. she started sleeping through the night. i was elated!!! we’ve only hit a little over a week of solid night sleeping, so i am crossing my fingers!!

ok, that leads into the subject of her eating. so, obviously she’s rocking in rolling in that department. we started a bit late with ellie versus olive and we, obviously, weren’t feeding her enough but we got right back on track asap. she was not a fan of new foods we fed her but then she became a pro. she’s loving everything we feed her like any baby does. with each feeding, she got better and better at opening her mouth and swallowing the tasty morsels. she graduated from first foods to second foods and had become a champion eater!

she’s now sitting on her own!! we struggled a bit around six months with sitting. she wasn’t a fan and cried when we tried to sit her up but now she’s become so good at it! she is still a bit rocky at times {we like to keep the boppy around her or a pillow behind her} but she really had become strong at sitting upright!

she does dislike tummy time and i don’t foresee her crawling anytime soon. she still isn’t a super fan of sitting, let alone crawling! we’ll see…

she loves to sleep on her side. it’s really cute to see. usually after she feeds, she will pull away and roll to her side. i love it when she does this. i think it’s the cutest thing! she can roll with the best of them and loves to smile.

she’s such a sweet, calm baby. she just chills unless she’s tired and extremely hungry but the latter part rarely happens. so, when she cries, we know she needs a nap. she’s soooo easy! she can entertain herself for awhile if you put toys in front of her!

that is ellie in a nutshell. she’s so freakin’ amazing. like for reals. i love her so much and love watching her reach different milestones every month. it’s so amazing to see and i look forward to every new thing she does. it makes my heart so full to see her grow and learn!! happy seven months ellie…you are soooooooooooooo very loved.

xoxo

happy five months!

[photos taken on 12.14]

oh baby girl…you are the best. i just looked at her one month pics and there is such a difference in her appearance. she was so scrawny at one month…and now she’s chunked out quite nicely. gosh, how i love her rolls!

she gave me more serious faces this time around. she was perfecting her model stare. she was so curious/intrigued on what i was doing with this big black contraption i was constantly shoving in her face. she kept studying me and i kept trying to make her laugh and the more silly i became, the more somber she appeared {she was probably thinking, what the heck is this lady doing?!}. hahaha!

this past month, we’ve hit a few millstones. last month i stated that she discovered her toes. well, she’s totally loving her toes now! she grabs them all the time and it’s just the cutest thing to see! she is also starting to roll to her side. she hash’t fully rolled over but she is getting there. she will roll to her side and then will lay there for a few minutes before she rolls to her back again. she loves to babble! i love listening to her ‘talk’. i always wonder what she is saying or thinking because she so darn animated with her sounds! i love that she now laughs; she did before – just a little bit then but now it’s full blown giggles! i am so in love with that sound. baby laughs are contagious!

she’s still eating at the same rate and schedule. when she’s with me, she typically feeds every two to three hours and she doesn’t really throw up anymore. only once in a blue moon will she puke but it’s so tame compared to when she was born up to the three/four month mark. that was brutal the first few months…she really tapered off closer to four months and that was pretty awesome when that happened. i felt like i was washing everything the first several months {that was sooooo taxing!} and it really sucked. it was like puke factory in our house {no thank you!} but now she just eats and burps. good girl!

she’s been taking a short nap in the morning around 10am and then a longer stretch in the afternoon. it’s starting to regulate just a bit but nothing solid yet. she is still going strong at night. she goes down between 9-10pm and she will usually wake up around 4/5am for a feeding, whereas she used to wake up at 3am for a feeding. she still drifts off to sleep after she feeds in the middle of the night and will sleep until 7-8am, if i am lucky!

she’s so happy and calm. oh we are so fortunate to have such a good little lady! she giggles, smiles, and just chills all the time. she cries out if she’s tired and that’s pretty much it. i love hanging out with her! i honestly miss her when i am not with her. she is so fun!

she is starting to love bath time. she’s grasping objects with force. her grip has gotten so strong! she’s been doing a great job holding her toys and playing with them. she loves to be held but she is soooooooo good at just laying around. sometimes you almost forget she’s in the room because she’s so quiet and calm for such a long time! of course, because she’s so good at laying around, the poor babe still has her bald spot in the back of her head…it’s baaaaad. like a huge patch of no hair. i can’t wait until she starts to sit so she hair can grow back!

overall, it’s been amazing. ellie is so sweet and such a wonderful blessing. i remembered, when i was pregnant with her, i constantly wondered what she would be like. i was a bit nervous that she might come out with a personality like the crazy, tough pregnancy that she was! oh, was i wrong. she is so calm, loving, giggly, and so darn sweet!

we love you so much baby girl! we are so darn lucky to have you in our lives!

xoxo

[pics taken on 11.15.16]

height: 24.25″

weight: 13 lbs 10 oz

this babe is the best. the best! she is just sooooo darn sweet, happy, chunky and fun! i love hanging out with her and seeing her beautiful face look at me with always a big smile!

it seems like the amount of milk she consumes has decreased, sadly. she still nurses every 2-3 hours when she’s with me. she has become so distracted and more interested in the environment around her than nursing. i now find that i have to feed her in a quiet room with minimal noise and no t.v. on. if olive is around, forget it! she wants to watch olive rather than feed and try not having your toddler in your face and not excitedly jumping, screaming around you! that’s the impossible! if i go into another room, this little gremlin will come find me! well, it is what it is…ellie is still chunking up quite nicely, so no complaints on those chubby thighs of hers or fatty cheeks!

she’s super solid with her night sleeping but not so much with her naps. i really think ellie sleeps less than everyone in this house! she typically goes down around 9-10pm and will wake up once {maybe twice during a growth spurt} for a feeding. sometimes she will wake at 3am or 5am…it depends on how’s she feeling and then again around 6am or 7am. i am hoping she breaks that one nightly feeding she is so strongly clinging on to. she nurses for maybe 5-7 minutes in the middle of the night and falls back asleep…so, i am like, “girl, why do you bother to eat…you can barely keep your eyes open?!!! haha!} so, she’ll sleep for 8-9 hours at nigt and maybe, maybe nap for 2-3 hours during the day. sometimes she doesn’t nap much at all. olive did and definitely sleeps more than this babe! it’s amazing how much ellie doesn’t sleep for a little baby but i am most thankful that she is quite the solid sleeper at night. no complaints here! as long as she keeps up those long nightly stretches, we are super happy in this house!

she is completely aware of her surroundings. she will lock eyes with me from across the room. she will perk up and coo when she hears my voice. she just started to giggle in the last few weeks and it’s the most darling sound i currently hear. she recently discovered her toes! she loves to grab at them! she loves to lay around and observe, she especially loves to look at olive. she can watch her for hours. plus, the sweet smiles that ellie gives is priceless! she loves to smile, smile, smile. she’s such a happy baby! seeing her beautiful grins completely brightens my mornings, days, and nights. i love this smiley babe so much!!

she’s been pretty true to size but oh is she chunky! i love her fat little cheeks and chubby, chubby thighs. those rolls get me every time. she’s balding in the back of her head and i blame it on the fact that i have a toddler and don’t hold ellie as much, so she is always laying on her back. olive didn’t get a bald spot because we held her allllllll the time! so poor ellie…she’s has a big circle patch of hairlessness going on back there.

she is such a happy, calm baby. i am soaking in every moment, every second of this baby stage. i can’t get enough. she’s so sweet, loving, precious, and oh so squeezable! i love holding her, nursing her, playing with her, and spending all my days with this darling babe. i love you to pieces oh baby ellie…you are such a light in my life.

xoxo

happy three months!

[pic taken on 10.15]

height: n/a

weight: n/a

oh ellie. she’s the sweetest little baby. we are seriously so blessed with this happy little babe. i will say it over and over again…i can’t believe it’s been three months already. they aren’t kidding when others tell you time with the second baby flies by!

she’s such a fabulous sleeper. now she is such a light sleeper…who does she gets it from? hmmmmm, my dad? hc’s mom? ’cause the both of us are NOT light sleepers. ok, well before the babies, i wasn’t but now i wake up at a sigh coming out of theses kid’s mouths! ellie will wake up at a creak in our floors and that is no bueno because our floors are so darn creaky! she’s solid at night though. she still wakes up at 5am for a quick feeding…and i mean quick. she might eat for 5 minutes and fall back asleep and sleep for another 2-3 hours. she sleeps for about 8-9 hours a night but her naps are sporadic. she might hit a four hour nap during the day or not nap much at all. it just depends on her mood, growth, and day.

she’s an eater still. she’s getting quite chunky for a skinny baby. she will still feed every two to three hours. i still try to pump every two hours to store away milk but she’s doing very well every few hours and she’s has gotten better with her regurgitation. she always lets out a juicy burp and then i expect her to puke right after. every time. her trend of late is to throw up about a half hour before she has to eat again. it’s like clockwork but now she doesn’t spew vomit like she did the first few months…she is a little more routine and regimented so i know when she’s about to puke. hahaha!

she is so active! she is a wiggle worm and can hold her head up like a champ. she can see further now and notices her mama, dada, olive, grandparents, etc. she is so sweet and smiley! when she wakes up in the morning or after her nap, she gives me the biggest smiles. it totally makes my day! she loves to coo, squeal, and shriek! it’s too cute to see her want to communicate and ‘talk’ back to me. i am waiting for her to roll and giggle but that hasn’t happen yet. i love watching her grow!

her hair is falling out a bit but her chunkiness is getting better. i love her leg rolls and chubby, chubby cheeks but her belly takes the cake. her double chin is the best and i love her cute, little pointy nose. she has the biggest belly! it’s ginormous! it’s like she has her head,legs, and arms attached to a watermelon tummy. hahaha!

she loves to watch olive and olive is so darn sweet to her. she is such a great big sister and is so gentle and thoughtful towards her. she always has to see her in the morning and say good morning. she will always let me know baby ellie is crying…even though i can hear her. ha! olive loves to show her her toys, she loves to help me change her diaper, and when olive is in the mood, she will totally entertain ellie by dancing, singing, or just being goofy to her.

i am still so amazed by her. i can’t believe we made such a sweet little baby girl. it blows my mind i have two darling little ladies. they are so sweet, cute, amazing, and precious! ellie is such a blessing…i can’t get over how much she is like hc. she looks like him, acts like him, and is chill like him. we lucked out to get such a calm loving little lady!

ellie, we love watching you grow and you are an amazing little baby. we love you sooooo much and can’t wait to see what milestones you will hit next month!

xoxo

happy two months!

[photos taken on 9.15]

height: 22.75″

weight: 10lbs 14oz

oh girl! you’re two months already?! where is the time going? you are growing up so fast! i can’t believe how different you are, already. be still my heart.

you’re sleep digressed a bit after one month but picked back up to a regular routine in the last two weeks. thank the Lord because we are so spoiled and i don’t think i could handle all those sleepless nights like other parents {olive was terrible the first four weeks and got into her routine after that!}. gah! you are solid throughout the night. you will pull in a good 6-8 hours straight! woo hoo! we try to keep you awake from 6 pm and on. we try really, really hard to get you to sleep by 10-11pm and you will be sound for the rest of the night. sometimes you will wake around 4, feed, and sleep until 7-8 o’clock. let’s pray that you continue to be so consistent every night until you’re an adult!

one thing i forgot to mention last month was the fact that you don’t like to be swaddled. probably from the second week here and on. you slept just fine & have ever since you were home, not being wrapped up all tight! i think we swaddled olive every night up to 4 months, hoping she’d stay fast asleep but you’re a rock star sleeper with not being wrapped up like a cocoon .

you pretty much eat every 2-3 hours still. i think i said this before but nursing the second time around is so different. you know so much more, you are more comfortable, you understand your body better, and i am so much more relaxed. i wish i could say that you stopped upchucking your milk but alas, that is still your thing. oh em gee. after you eat, it’s like…wait, wait, wait for it…puuuuuuuuke. there are days i hope i can catch it with the burp cloth and there are days where you are so stinkin’ sneaky and it throw it at me when i am not looking. i have never done so much laundry in my life. i change my clothes constantly, i change you constantly, and i always think i never have enough burp cloths. they are always drenched in milk and other fabulous body fluids. yuck.

you are starting to ‘talk’ back. it’s the cuuuuuutest thing! you recognize people, you perk up when you hear familiar voices, you smile at your mama alllllllll the time! i am so in love. i can’t even take it when you coo back and respond to me! it’s the best feeling in the world, it makes me so happy to see you growing! your smiles and facial expressions are so fun to watch and i can just stare at you for hours…well, actually i do. hahaha!

it means so much to her to have us around. if we leave her in her swing or dock a tot and walk away, it makes her very upset. she loves it when we are sitting right next to her, she loves it even more when she is by her sister. she loves looking and listening to olive. it makes you happy. ditto for olive…she is so in love, overprotective, and oh so sweet towards you. you love to be held, you love to be touched, and you love having your sweet little family right by your side. it’s so apparent in your reactions…i hope that is how you will always feel.

you have kept your hair, your double chin is out of this world, your cheeks have grown exponentially but it’s all not as big as your belly. your belly is so beyond ginormous! it’s sooooo stinkin’ cute! i love your little thigh rolls, your pointy little nose, and your sweet. sweet eyes. i try my best to soak in all your features, reactions, & sweetness because i don’t want to forget, take for granted, and miss out on all your baby goodness.

those moments are so so precious and that is truly what life is about right now. my family, the moments together, my girls, my husband, and life in the moment because you can’t take back that time and should savor every moment God has given to us. life is too beautiful to waste it.

happy two months my baby girl. it’s been the most fabulous two months since your debut and we are so blessed to have you here.

xoxo

happy one month ellie!

[photos taken on 8.15]

height: 21.5″

weight: 9lbs 7 oz

oh my goodness! i can’t believe ellie is one month old. whaaaaaa! it’s already flying by too fast! i am so sad…really i am. i want to savor every single moment with this precious babe. i love looking at her, smelling her, holding her, and thinking about her future. it’s all so overwhelming for me because she is our last babe and so i am highly emotional over everything.

well, she’s an eater! i am doing much better this time around with nursing and producing milk. i know so much more and i am more comfortable…so it is more relaxing for me! i loooooove her chubby cheeks…they have gotten chubbier by the week so she is gaining weight quite nicely. ellie eats every 2-3 hours but unlike olive, ellie is a spit-er! she has reflux and vomits everywhere, all day long. this girl is very gassy! she toots and spits like it’s her full time job. olive rarely spit up or vomited {therefore we didn’t do a ton of laundry with olive like we do loads with ellie!}, ellie acts like linda blair from the exorcist! hahaha! i pretty much do laundry every other day.

ellie is a great sleeper. she is pretty solid. she’s pretty calm and docile until she needs a diaper change, a feeding, or is struggling to fall asleep {since babies can’t fall asleep on their own…it’s a learned behavior!}. otherwise, she will sit around and look cute! she is still waking up one or twice in a night for a feeding…it depends on last feeding and her sleep pattern before we hit the sack. when she wakes up to feed, she usually will go back to sleep. there are certain nights where i have to rock her back to sleep but that is usually an hour or less…although i absolutely dread it when i am beyond exhausted. overall, this babe will sleep for 2-4 hours, be awake for an hour or two, then fall back asleep. that is pretty much her routine…eat, sleep, poop, throw up and repeat.

let me also say that she is such a noisy sleeper! holy cow! it’s like a noisy train laying by our side. she loves to grunt, holler, cry, snore, you name it…ellie does it! it’s soooo funny to listen and watch her. she is so stinkin’ loud.

just in the last week, ellie has become very alert. you can see it in her eyes. instead of a glazed over look, you can tell that she notices you and becomes attentive to what she is looking at. she is starting to mimic my facial expressions and is slightly, just slightly cooing. so that is a great sign that she is wanting to ‘talk’!

you can already tell that she is becoming mesmerized by her big sister. whenever olive is around, ellie is fixated on her and loves to watch her big sister, olive, do the crazy things she loves to do! it’s so sweet to watch! i can’t wait until they can really interact!

happy one month baby girl! we are so excited to see you grow and can’t wait to see what millstones you will hit next month!

xoxo