1 month

I can't believe that Ella is already 1 month old! Time flies way too fast. Life is definitely different with two, but I can't image it any other way! Ella is growing and doing so well. Last Friday she weighed in at 9 lbs. 2 oz. She loves to eat and be held :) We are suckers and hold her all of the time. She will only be so little for a short time and we are taking full advantage of it! She is starting to look around and is becoming interested in the fan. Jackson is still loving her and calls her "little princess" when he talks to her. It is very sweet! One day she was crying and I heard him say to her, "It's ok little princess, I'm here. Bubba is here." Melted my heart! I am so thankful that he loves her so much. I look forward to seeing them grow up together!

Corr Images

Most of you know how much Jason and I love our photographer, Corri. She and her husband, Kevin, are so wonderful and we have developed a great relationship with them. We love going to see them, and Corri takes amazing pictures. (www.corrimages.com) I just checked her website, as I frequently do to see her new work, and the first picture that came up was of Miss Ella! She is laying on the bench in our entryway. Corri came to our house to take E's pictures, rather than doing them in the studio for something different. What a fun surprise to see her on the website!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are a few pictures of my little valentines. Hope you all had a day filled with love!



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Having a moment...

Ok, I am having a moment and wanted to post. I have several things on my mind. First of all, my best friend Carlien had her baby boy, Liam Ryan, on the 27th. He was born at 32 weeks and I am so thankful to report that he is doing AWESOME!! He weighed 4 lbs. 1 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long! He came out needing zero oxygen help and continues to breathe on his own! He is feeding great - already nursing. Carlien and Ryan are doing well, and little Micah got to see his baby brother for the first time on Saturday. I am so thankful for this little guy and can't wait for him to get home so we can introduce him to his girlfriend,
Ella :)
I have also been following this blog of this baby named Coy who was born at 23 weeks. http://prayforcoy.blogspot.com It is a friend of a friend and this little boy, just like Liam, is amazing...such a fighter. I check the blog every morning to read the latest post from his mom. This morning she was talking about how she feels a little bit cheated bc she did not get to experience a "normal" pregnancy and that she did not get to feel big pregnant and enjoy being that cute pregnant woman. I sat here and looked over at Ella and just thanked God for allowing me to experience this amazing thing called pregnancy, not once, but twice. As I was reading her blog, tired and feeling drained from having a 2 week old, I suddenly felt like God was shaking me saying, "Are you kidding me? This mother would do absolutely anything to be up in the middle of the night with her baby! Be grateful!" SO...enough feeling sorry for me and my lack of sleep. Please keep these two babies in your prayers - that they will continue to do well, and be home from the NICU as soon as possible. All of this, in my sappy moment, makes me come back to the fact that life is so precious and that it can all change in a split second. Be thankful for your family and friends, love each other and don't take the time we have for granted. Thanks for letting me share my moment. Love to you all.

Clean Babies

Well, Ella finally lost her cord so we were able to give her a real bath tonight in her bathtub. She clearly was not pleased with this, as you can see in the pictures. Notice that when she is getting her hair washed, she is more content. From the first day she was born, she has loved to have her hair washed. When she got her first bath in the hospital, she screamed the whole time, until they started washing her hair and then she calmed down and LOVED it. What a girlie girl! I love the last picture of my clean, yummy smelling babies!

She has a belly button :)

Not a happy girl

Happy girl!

Clean Babies!



I also have a funny story from this afternoon. We were on our way home from YaYa's house and Ella started crying in the car. She does not usually cry in the car so I asked Jackson if she was ok, and if her eyes were open, or closed (she had stopped at this point). He said, "I can't see her eyes Mommy." I assumed that this meant that they were closed, because he could not see her eyeballs. When we got home, J came out to the car to get her out and said, "Carrie, come and look at your daughter!" Her headband bow had come off of her head and was covering her eyes like a mask. Jackson meant what he said, he could not see her eyes! I thought it was funny. Poor baby.

Growing girl

Here are a few pics from this week. Ella went for a check up and she is doing great and gaining weight like a champ! She left the hospital at 7 lbs. 1 oz. and as of yesterday, she weighs 7 lbs. 12.5 oz. She already looks bigger to me :( We have had our first outing as a family, as well as me by myself with the kids. It only took us 2 hours to get out of the house! I've got to get better at that. Jason has been laughing at me b/c I have so much fun playing dress up with Ella. She is my real life baby doll :)
(I am holding her right now and she keeps lifting her head up and putting her lips to my cheek...I think she is giving Mommy a kiss...or maybe she is just hungry??) SWEETNESS!!

BABY GIRL

BIG BROTHER - SO OVER MY PICTURE TAKING!

PLAYING DRESS UP

DADDY'S GIRL


AN ATTEMPT AT A PIC WITH BOTH

Beautiful Baby Girl

Can I say how sweet and absolutely adorable Ella Grace is?? Sorry to brag, but she is so cute! I thank God so much for my sweet family. He is so good! We are having so much fun with Ella and loving this newborn phase. It is amazing how different and more relaxed it is with the second. The stressful part is adjusting with a toddler. Jackson is doing very well, so sweet to Ella, just testing me a little bit. We are very proud of him though, he is being a trooper. Overall our first week has been wonderful, and so far Ella is eating and sleeping great...hopefully this will continue :)Here are a few pics of her and Jackson. Thanks for all of your calls, emails and visits, it means a lot to us!