We're 3 months old!!

Jane Ellis turned 3 months old February 22nd! She has grown up so much in the last 3 months, it's crazy! Here are some of the milestones she's hit:

◦She raises her head and chest when laying on her stomach. When she first wakes up from
her naps, you can find her raised up on her arms cooing and looking around.
◦She opens and shuts her hands. She loves to lay on her playmat, and grab the toys
hanging above her head and try to put them in her mouth. She will also pull her legs up and touch her toys with her feet.
◦She has been pushing down on her legs when her feet are placed on a firm surface
for weeks now. Sometimes she'd rather stand on you that sit on your lap.
◦She loves to brings her hands to her mouth and chew on her fists and fingers. She just recently
found her thumb and will prefers her right thumb to her left. She doesn't really suck her thumb
unless she's laid down to sleep, and she will still take her paci.
◦She recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance, and knows when I'm not holding her. She doesn't mind other people holding her, but if she's tired, she prefers me or Robert.
◦Smiles at the sound of your voice - She loves to smile, and coo and does this "gagaga" sound. And "hooo hooo" and she mimics Robert and thinks it's so funny!
◦Begins to babble
◦Begins to develop a social smile - She will smile at people that she doesn't know but sometimes it takes her a minute to feel comfortable enough to.
◦She is rolling over from her belly to her back. I haven't seen her do it, but I've walked in twice and she's been on her back.

She now weighs 14 lbs and is 24 inches long. She sleeps from 6 or 7p to about 4a then wakes to nurse then back to sleep till 8or9. Eats, then naps at 11. Eats then naps at 1, Eats then naps at 3, Eats then to sleep at 6 or so. Up around 4 to eat, then right back to sleep till about 9. Not always exactly those times, but pretty close to it. So far she sleeps and eats great!



She loves to look at books and will pay attention while I read to her. She still wears 3-6 month clothes, but with her cloth diapers will fit into some 6 month onesies. She still sleeps on her tummy - yes, I know all about the whole SIDS thing, but honestly, she won't sleep on her back longer than an hour or so and HATES to be swaddled. She hasn't been swaddled since she was 4 weeks old and has been sleeping on her tummy since 6 weeks. We co-sleep with her in her little bed wight up next to our bed. I love it and don't know how in the world I will be able to put her in her own crib in a few months. She doesn't however sleep in our bed. I've tried to just let her sleep with me in the early morning after she nurses, but like I said before she won't sleep on her back, and she's not much of a snuggler, so back in her bed she goes to sleep for a few more hours.


We still love our cloth diapers and hardely ever use disposibles. They keep her so clean and dry and she's yet to have a blowout. She has had a few leaks, but those got better after I prepped her diaper a few more times. I love all the cute prints and beautiful colors! Here she is in her night time sunbaby diaper. She is such a heavy nighttime wetter, but this keeps her dry and she doesn't leak out like her sposies.

She loves bath time and really likes to sit up in the sink rather than lay in the bathtub.

Emma Turns 1 !

My sweet niece Emma turned 1 year old February 17th! I can't believe that sweet little newborn has grown into a big, happy, beautiful 1 year old! Emma truely has a beautiful spirit. She is so kind, she loves to pet and pat Jane Ellis. She'll pat her and pat her and we'll say "gentle" so then she starts to pet her :) She is always talking to her in her little goo gah blah lalala language. She tries to give her sips of water from her sippy cup, and if her paci falls out she's always quick to try to stick it back in her mouth, even if she doesn't need it. And for some reason she likes to back up and sit on her... not quite sure where she picked that up from, needless to say, we can't leave those two alone together :) She loves her baby doll and has just recently learned how to cradle her and rocks her back and forth. And that kid loves books! She'll get one and throw it at Shannon lol She'll just sit in Shannon's lap and listen to her read one over and over again. She just went to the doctor and was 20.4 lbs. She is still using cloth diapers and they love them. She eats pretty well too. Shannon hasn't found anything that Emma doesn't like. The only problem they are having is that Emma can't tolerate cow's milk. They are alternating between almond, rice, coconut, and goat milk. She likes them all, so Shan just gives her a variety until she's able to tolerate cow's milk.

Emma just a few hours old

Here is Emma in mid-May just 3 months old

And here she is at 1 year!

Shannon threw her a wonderful birthday party complete with balloons, party favors and blueberry muffins!

Wonderfull grandparents

Emma and her baby

Shannon had to wake her up from her nap! She was very surprised :)

Party favors

Emma's Baby Dedication

Today was Emma's baby dedication at Fellowship Memphis. It snowed again about 5 days ago for the fifth time this winter. For two days we had low temps of 10 and high temps of 25 with about 4 inches of snow. But today was beautiful with a high of 62. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the Hudsons, Meadors and Hills got together to celebrate Emma! We all went to church with Shan and Chris. Even Ray and Megan came :) This was JE's first time in a nursery, she did better than I did! They said she was fine and slept most of the time. Then we went to eat at Ruby Tuesday's. It was great visiting with everyone. Here are a few pics

Jane Ellis in her handsmocked dress that Robert's mom had made for her.

Emma just can't resist loving on JE... She can't keep her hands off of her :)

Proud parents!
Proud grandma :)

Gym shorts and tennis shoes

Ok, so JE is 11 weeks old now and I've decided it's time to start back to the gym. This is really hard for me because I'm very lazy when it comes to working out. Actually, I like to work out, I just like to work out with other people. I hate going to the gym by myself. Since we now have JE, Robert and I have been taking turns. Anyway, I've decided to blog about this whole weightloss thing to help keep me accountable. Top pregnancy weight was 185. My weight now is 150. Prepregnancy I was 140. My pre wedding weight was 120. My Goal for the summer is 130. I have 20 lbs to go but between BF and running I think I can do it. Now the stretch marks are another story lol

10 weeks

Here are some adorable pictures taken Feb 3rd. Jane Ellis is 10 weeks here. She weighs 13 lbs 8 oz and smiles all the time. One big development is that JE has discovered her hands. She loves to suck on her fists but I try not to let her. I know, I know, she's just discovering herself.... but Robert and I were such HORRIBLE thumb suckers that it makes me worry. But it is a good self-soothing method so I let her about half the time. The other half I stop her and give her her paci lol. JE is also starting to reach out and touch her toys. Especially if they dangle in front of her. She is really smiling now too. Especially when people talk to her. And she's starting to blow little pit bubbles. Oh the milestones just keep coming :) She is sleeping from 1030p to atleast 430/500a. Wakes then goes back to sleep till 8. If she is really tired she'll sleep until 630. One reason she sleeps so long at night is probably because she doesn't really nap during the day. She takes 3-4 naps during the day but they only last about 45 minutes. But for the most part she's still a very happy baby that hardley ever cries unless she needs something. She's pretty to put down for a nap still, she gets fussy, lay her in her PNP. Easy as pie :) Some days she's really clingy and I have to hold her, so to get anything done I just wear her :)

Here are Oma, Emma and Jane Ellis

Emma loves necklaces! Shannon gave her one to play with and she knew exactly what to do with it... I went and dug out some of my old ones [from high school lol] and she put them all on and wore them all afternoon. She never took them off! Such a smart girl :)

Here is Emma's new birthday diaper! And her new babylegs :) Too cute!

And ofcourse, here's beautiful Jane Ellis in her babylegs :)

A warm day in January! What?

Saturday, Jan 29th was a beautiful sunny day with temps in the 70s!!!! So we took complete advantage of it. Robert, Daisy, Jane Ellis and I met Chris, Shannon, Emma and Riley at Overton and stayed the entire afternoon. The girls (all four lol) were worn out. Then that night the Hudsons came over and grilled steaks. It was a great weekend. Then Sunday and Monday the weather stayed warm so we all took the girls and dogs for walks around the neighborhood.

Jane Ellis is 9 weeks old in these pictures and is really starting to get a personality. She loves to look around and will really stare at anything trying to figure things out. It's so fun! I can't wait for this summer... I see lots of park and zoo visits in our future!

Joseph's home!

Robert's brother Joseph wasn't able to fly home the day after Christmas due to all the snow and ice up north. However, he was able to change his flight to Jan 14 so he came home then. Here are some pics from that visit.

2 month check-up

On January 24th, JE had her 2 month check-up. The peds was very impressed with how strong she was - already standing( assisted, ofcourse, but keeps her knees locked) And when she lifts her arms to lift her from a supine position, her head stays straight, it doesn't flop back. She's also growing. Up to 12.8 lbs and 22.5 inches. 90th percentile for weight and only 50th for height. Yep, just like her mamma!

The second part of her checkup was her vaccinations that she was scheduled to have. Now, let me just say that I have never bought into the assumption that vaccinations cause autism. And I believe every child should be vaxed. However, I also believe that our infants are given way too many vaccinations at one time and at such an early age. I'm really a fan of Dr. Sears' alternative vax schedule. He's very careful to separate live vax and mercury/aluminum vax so that the child doesn't get two of each type each time they go to the doctor. I was very concerned that giving her too many at a time Could cause her immune system to weaken and she would be susceptible to viruses like the common flu or RSV. Especially with it being mid Jan. So, after talking it over with my peds, we came to a good/mutual decision. Normally, she would receive two shots with a total of 6 vax. I think that is crazy. As adults, we feel poorly after just the flu vax! (well, those I've talked to about it, I've never had the flu shot) So we decided that this visit she would get one shot - pentacell- that contains DTaP, HIB, and Polio. And bless it she screamed! lol Not a happy camper. I nursed her when we got back to the car and she fell asleep on the way home. But later that afternoon the fussiness and lowgrade fever set in. So after some tylenol and food she slept the rest of that night.

At this point, she's sleeping from about 1030p to about 430a. She wakes, eats, than back to sleep until about 8 or 9. Then awake, eats, plays, coos and smiles. Then back to sleep around 11 or 12. I pretty much just let her set her own schedule. She's pretty good at giving cues to when she's hungry, tired, bored. She doesn't cry she just fusses :)Well, I better go, she's hungry!

Snow day!!

January 10th, we all woke up to SnOw!!! What a wonderful surprise. I believe the avg snow fall was 4-5 inches. But it was great. Daisy LOVED it! She ran all day and didn't want to come inside. We bundled JE up in her little bear suit that my parents got for her. Since it wasn't windy we were pretty warm, but she still only stayed outside for a few minutes.






Yay for days when it's absolutely acceptable to stay snuggled on the couch all day long :)

Smiles!

December 27th was Jane Ellis' 4 week checkup. She weighed 10 lbs and 21 inches long. She is still a pretty easy baby. She goes so sleep after her 12am feeding, and wakes around 4am to nurse. After a little rocking, she goes back to sleep until about 8am. She then starts back to her every 3 hr feedings.

She is statring to wear 0-3 month clothes, although at this point she still just wears her footed sleepers all day. She has the loudest burps after every feeding and usually pretty big spit-ups soon after. However, they don't seem to bother her and she's still gaining weight, so other than frequent clothing changes we just roll with it!

As far as milestones go, she's pretty much hitting them. She tracks really well, and loves to watch her cousin Emma. And Emma loves to talk and pet JE! Emma always runs straight to her and pets her and babbles to her. She even tries to give her her paci. Such a smart girl.

Another fun thing: Jane Ellis is smiling! Best. Feeling. EVER! I love making her smile and coo! This is one of the first pictures of her toothless little grin.