Monday, March 31, 2014

Little Miss Tummy Sleeper

Ella has learned to roll to her tummy, finally. She mostly only does it when we aren't looking though. (Like at night, in her bed.) For a week or more when we come to get her from her crib, she is on her tummy! The only downside is that we haven't figured out how to stop tummy sleeper diaper leaks. (No huge explosions or anything, but we're working on figuring it out.)

We go to ward choir at 1:00 on Sunday afternoons. This is great for a lot of people, but this is just about Ella's naptime. If she doesn't need to nap as soon as we get home from church at 12:30, she comes to choir and sits in the baby carrier. AND if we are lucky, she falls asleep. The duck rattle/pillow is an optional accessory.

We've been working on finger foods around here as well. Ella is getting very proficient at picking up cheerios now. Sometimes they even make it in her mouth, but sometimes they just get really close!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Just Keep Swimming

This week Ella has been working on her skills. One is what I like to call "swimming" (kicking her legs and arms while she is on her tummy). The last few days she has been a little fussy the last few days so every time she manages to get from sitting to her tummy we hear an angry cry!

She has also been working on her fine motor skills by picking up food to eat. (We still have some practicing to do on that one!) We've been practicing with some NumNums we go from a lady from the ward. They probably shouldn't become her whole diet, but they are good for practicing eating. Today we used them to distract little hands while we were at the restaurant. I managed to eat my whole meal with my baby on my lap, and not make a big mess.  (A first for me since Ella was born!)

Our "Ella Monthly Update" is coming soon I'm trying to save a few of our cute pictures for that post. Make sure to keep checking back!



Tuesday, March 18, 2014

First Cake

Okay, this is not about Ella's first cake.  Nor is it about anyone's first cake (made or eaten).  This is, in fact, mostly not about cake.  However, I was in need of a title, and I did do my first cake for an online cake decorating class.  It wasn't anything fancy; the cake was just a practice of a few of the basics -- mostly the part where you actually make a cake and do the boring coat of frosting.  I decided to share it with my coworkers since neither of us were particularly craving cake.

And now for everything else...

Ella decided to veto my decision to merely shift everything we do by one hour on the clock (we wanted it to be as if daylight savings time never existed).  I hadn't realized that babies were even given the power to veto things with such authority, but hey, we all learn new things as parents.  As least she's usually happy about it.  Sometimes it's a little less clear though.

I think Elissa has figured out a little bit of a routine with Ella (but unfortunately it's 'good naps twice a day at the beginning of the week, then less sleep every day until Sunday comes' and she crashes and falls asleep early).  Oh, and I don't know if we told you about how this old root beer bottle seems to be her favorite toy right now.

We had some friends come visit us from the Dallas area.  We mostly played games, explored a local shop (where I got this new puzzle cube), and visited the Salt Lick for some good ole Texas barbecue.  Unfortunately we got distracted from making an excellent pie for pi day, so we just got to that last night instead.  I never turn down a really good excuse to make pie.

If all goes well tomorrow (keep your fingers crossed), I'll be done with everything I have to work on (until some other people get more stuff for me to work on) for my secret project that I've been working on since I got hired at National Instruments.  All you people who use test/measurement equipment should be excited for when it comes out (the rest of you probably couldn't care less).

Monday, March 10, 2014

Ella at 7 Months

Ella has been working hard to present a brand new set of skills for y'all:

Also, we've been happy and healthy as well, but we didn't take any pictures about that for you, sorry.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Milestones: Ella Teeth and Daddy's Work

The biggest news around this house is our baby and her new tooth (and another on the way!) We've been seeing a lot of this, and this lately. I tried to get a picture of the new tooth, but she likes to keep it a secret. Here is cute proof of the attempt.

Ella captured Daddy and Mommy this week. She uses cute bait for her traps!

We let Ella pick out her Sunday dress this week from the closet. (Mommy took her to where the dresses were hanging and said,"Pick one!" Then Ella reached out and grabbed one!) She does seem to have an affinity for red, so it was no surprise that she picked the big, frilly, red dress in the closet!

This week Daniel's work group met an exciting milestone as well. They call it "dev exit" (development phase exit). We still can't tell you what his secret project is, but we are this much closer to being able to tell you what it is!