Battling A Cold and Teeth

Ellie has had a rough week!  Last Saturday, we noticed that she had the beginning of a tooth popping through, so we prepared ourselves for a grumpy baby for a few days!  We didn't quite know what we were getting into!  She has been "off" all week, slowly getting sicker and sicker each day.  On Sunday night, she spiked a fever of 101.8-too high for my liking!  It quickly subsided, but I knew she still wasn't feeling quite right.  I suspected she may be getting an ear infection, so I left work a few minutes early on Tuesday to take her into the doctor.  Her ears looked fine, lungs were clear, and we left with nothing more than what we already knew-Ellie has a good, old fashioned cold.  The cold + teething = no fun!  Wednesday she was feeling a little worse and seemed to have a tough day at daycare.  All the kids have a little virus that is going around!  I was toying with keeping her home on Thursday, and that thought was cemented when Ellie threw up on me not once, but twice on Thursday morning.  I was up at 4:30am writing substitute plans for the day.  I feel bad leaving my class without letting them know, but my girlie needed me today.  We're keeping her home again tomorrow.  Dave gets his first full day with his girl!  He got to "practice" today and successfully put her down for a nap.  I think we made a good choice keeping her home.  This evening, she seems to feel a little better.  She's down for the night-humidifier running, Vicks on her feet for her cough, saline in her nose, and fingers crossed that she sleeps through!

Mommy, my toof hurts :(

Could she be any more pitiful?  Poor girl...

Comfy?

Daddy making a fashion statement :)

Growing Pains

So much for not getting teeth yet!  Last week, Dr. Finkelstein told me she didn't see any signs of teeth in Ellie's mouth yet.  NOT!  Yesterday morning, a little white cap appeared and the teething "fun" has begun.  The poor thing is in some serious pain, isn't sleeping well, and spiked a low fever this afternoon.  She's got all the classic signs...drooling, chewing, diaper rash, fussiness, fever...  To cap it all off, we regressed majorly in the sleep department tonight and it took her over an hour to fall asleep.  I actually had to go in and pick her up to calm her down.  I feel so bad for her!   I'm hoping this tooth works it way in quickly so my baby girl can return to normal. 

To liven the mood, here are some pictures from the weekend...

Chewin' on a "2" in the tub...

Again, Mommy, again!

Is this not the sweetest face?

Finally a good Mommy and Ellie shot :)

Takin' a bite outta crime!

Fingers crossed for a full night of sleep and a pain-free Ellie in the morning!

Girlie is Growing!

Ellie had her 6 month check-up on Monday.  I was a little nervous going in since we've had such issues with her eating.  Well, not to worry!  Ellie is now 15 pounds 8 ounces, and 26 inches long!  She's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight, which makes her perfectly average :)  Poor girl had to get 5 vaccines-4 shots and one oral one!  Luckily, that's the last time she'll need that many.  At her 9 month appointment, she only gets one.  We're lucky in the fact that Ellie doesn't seem too affected by them, other than the initial prick.  Dave was excited to be able to come to the appointment.  He hasn't been able to come to once since her 3 day appointment back in November!

I think I wrote about starting Ellie on food a few weeks ago.  She's eating oatmeal like a champ at daycare, and we just started her on some fruit.  I made homemade pears this week, which Ellie's not super fond of yet.  Hopefully, she'll find her nitch with the solids :)  It's interesting, she seems to eat it SOOO much better at daycare.  Mommy doesn't need anymore food stress.  Hah!  The bottle fiasco was almost too much for me to handle.  Anyways, I'm going to approach this with complete relaxation, and I'm sure Ellie will respond that way too! 

We got some pictures of Ellie in the Jumperoo this morning.  Man, this thing is the best $89 we've spent!  She LOVES it!  She gets her feet going now and it is so funny. 

Ohhh...toys...

Those cheeks are so squeezable!

She was mimicking me making buzzing noises with my mouth...so funny!

Mommy, you are one funny lady!

Still mimicking mommy!

By far the cheesiest grin I've ever seen her make...haha...

Jumping Bean!

Posing pretty :)

Annnddd...we're back to copying mommy...

Here's some video of Ellie going bonkers in her jumper :)

I Heart Weekends :)

I know I've said it before, but since having Ellie and returning to work, I savor the weekends so much more than I ever have in the past.  This weekend was so low-key, and I enjoyed every second of it!  To top it all off, Ellie took four naps this weekend, all of which were over two hours long!  Go Ellie!

Friday night was rather warm, so we decided it was a great time for Ellie's first dip in the pool.  Well, it was really her bathtub, outside, with cool water, but still.  You get the idea :) 

I'm not so sure about this...

Ohhh...grass...

I think I'll climb out!

I'd better not!

Kirby!  That tickles!

I LOVE my bath toys! (Oh sorry, my POOL toys :)

This is the life!

Saturday was really nice.  We decided to go to the park to have a picnic.  It was a little breezy, but relaxing nonetheless.  After our lunch, we took a walk on the trail, and then took Ellie to the playground for the first time.  She had a blast on the swings!  Girlfriend is going to be FEARLESS! 

The perfect picnic spot...

Ellie and Daddy on the picnic blanket...

One of my favorites :)

And another...

Kirby is thinking "if only they would look the other way..."

Now onto the swing!  Apparently, we are pretty funny.  I'll remind her of that when she's 15 :)

Pudge-kin face :)

What a big girl!

Playing BOO with Daddy!

Sneaky little face...

She's still such a peanut!

Anyone that knows me well know that I'm a pretty low-maintenance lady :)  I love family and friends, and being with the ones that I love.  Uneventful weekends full of walks, picnics at the parks, holding hands with my hubby, and snuggles from my girl are all that I need!

This last picture has no real significance to my weekend really, but is too cute not to post :)

My angel sleeping with her lovey :)

Reflections...

I'm feeling the urge to write a sappy Mother's Day post, so here goes nothing...  Almost two years ago, while lying on the beach in White Lake, NC, Dave and I decided that we wanted to be parents more than anything in the world.  We got home from vacation, excited to embark on this new adventure towards parenthood, and three weeks later, I found out I was pregnant.  We were absolutely shocked and couldn't wait to tell anyone who would listen that we were going to be parents.  Ten weeks after I found out that I was pregnant, our world was shattered when we found out that Baby "Bean" didn't make it.  The months following my miscarriage were filled with uncertainty and doubt, medical tests, anxiety, and anticipation.  I thought I was fine, but looking back, I realize that I went through a major bout of depression.  Three months later, we were cleared by the doctor to start trying again, and to our absolute shock, three weeks later, I found out I was pregnant once again.  I about fell on the floor.  I had all these plans to tell Dave in some creative way, but I couldn't contain myself, so I just ran out and showed him the test.  I had no idea what I was in for.  The next nine months were surprisingly devoid of worry.  I thought I was going to be a wreck given what we had gone through just a few short months before, but I was ok.  What did take me by surprise was how sick I became.  I'm not even sure I can describe in words how sick I was with Ellie.  I threw up just about everyday from the time I was 6 weeks pregnant to the day Ellie was born.  Heck, throwing up is what progressed my labor so fast!  Go figure!  On the morning of November 13th, 2009, I woke up feeling kind of funny and mentioned to Dave that I "might" be going into labor.  He went into work, thinking that it would be awhile.  About an hour later, my mom called him, and said that he'd better get to the hospital since my contractions were 3 minutes apart!  I went from "feeling kind of funny" to being in the hospital dilated 4 centimeters within about an hour and a half.  Two hours later, I got my epidural, and 2 hours after that, Ellie was born.  It was quite the whirlwind experience.  I'm not sure there's a baby in the world who was wanted more than Ellie.  I've got tears in my eyes just thinking about how loved she is and is going to be as she grows up.  My brother called me today and put it so well-"Nik, I wanted to call and say Happy Mother's Day.  I know it's been a long journey getting here, but I know you'd do it all over again to get your little girl."  How true is that?  I would go through that pain a thousand times over to get my little angel.  It's surreal to me that I am celebrating Mother's Day for myself this year.  It's an emotional thing, you know.  I feel like the luckiest woman alive.  I've got an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, and family and friends that would do anything for us.  Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there.  You've got quite the little blessings in your lives :)

Our journey towards parenthood...

Our "Bean"

   

Remembering our little one...

Ellie @  7 weeks :)

10 weeks and looking more like a wee one :)

18 weeks...boy or girl?

Holy moly!  It's a girl! 

37 weeks cooked and more than ready to go!

Best Halloween costume ever!  39 weeks DONE! 

November 13, 2009...Elizabeth Grace Welch...8 pounds 1 ounce...21.5 inches long...

We waited so long for her...

Newborn...

1 month old...

2 months...look at that grin!

3 months and beautiful...

4 months old!

5 months! 

Here we are, 6 months later, loving our new life more than ever.  I've had a great couple of days with my loves, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend Mother's Day weekend. 

Some pictures from the weekend...

Look Mommy, I can read...oh wait, no...I just like eating the book :)

Sitting in the shopping cart like a big girl! 

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!!!!!

Oh...and what would one of my posts be without a new video of Miss Cuteness.  She's learned to give kisses :)