Dear Lord, Ella is 4!!!

Yes, it has been forever since I posted anything...sue me! So, I thought this would be the perfect time to update our family blog to update you on Ella and the fact that she is turning 4 today!! I cannot believe how fast time has flown by and all the different places Ella has lived and all the different things she has experienced in four years. Ella is blessed with lots and lots of friends from FL, Boston and MI all while making lots of new friends this past year with it being her first year of preschool. She attends Sunshine Studio in Ann Arbor and LOVES her teachers and friends and does Spanish every Mon., art on Wednesdays and Kindermusik on Fridays. Even though we are on summer break right now she will be attending summer camp the last week in July that she and I are already looking forward to!! :)

Ella is also participating in gymnastics and taking swimming lessons this summer (I finally don't have to be in the water with her)! Hopefully in the Fall she will play soccer, too. She is still in love with her dogs, well....any dog, really and loves the movie Bolt right now. She loves playing 'superhero' and got a cape for her birthday that our friend Alexis sowed by hand.

I am very curious to see how much Ella has changed in the past year. Her 4-year check up in on the 15th (she has to get 4 shots) and I'm betting that she's at least 38 inches and weighs about 40 lb. But, I'll update you next week on that.

I will try my best to post pictures ASAP of our big girl.

...okay, here's the update after the pediatrician visit:

Ella is 39" tall - taller than expected, yet she only weighs 33 lb ...w-a-y less than expected. I guess I really need to start working out again because she definitely feels heavier than 33 lb! Anyway, she was a trooper and got four shots and we're all glad that she's doesn't need anymore until she is 11 (except for flu shots, of course)!

Ella's 15 Month Update

Wow, this last month has flown by! I feel like I open every update with that, but time seriously seems to be flying by, I guess because once again we're in a chaotic time in our lives where there are tons of things going on and some major decisions being made that will affect our lives for years to come. Stephen is currently in the middle of his first away rotation at the University of Florida where he's working on a surgical oncology rotation. Shockingly, Stephen has come to find out that surgery is not for him. Not because he doesn't love being in the OR or that he wouldn't be a great surgeon, because that is far from the truth. But after the first week of working nonstop, getting only 3-4 hours of sleep a night and not seeing his wife or daughter (and he's not even a resident yet), he truly feels that life is too short and to be honest, his passion for the uninsured (especially children) and his MPH from Harvard just doesn't fit with the surgical lifestyle. He feels bad that he didn't realize this 6 months ago because he feels like it's so obvious now. I am obviously supportive of whatever he does and I'm just happy that he's happy now that he's going back to his first love in medicine - Pediatrics. Now, if you know Stephen, you'll know that he's not the one to 'just be a Pediatrician', so after his three year residency in Peds, he'll be doing some type of fellowship. Now, what exactly the fellowship will be, he doesn't know. It could be anything from Peds ER, to Critical Care, to Neonatology, etc. So, he will reapply to residencies as he has to cancel his previous application tha the sent in on the 1st. The number of schools that he applies to will decrease dramamtically. He applied to 39 school for surgery, but it'll be closer to 20, possibly less, for Peds. I will definitely keep you informed as he hears back for interviews.

Now, for my usual mothly udpate, Ella is....well, I don't know how to describe her anymore. She is the light of our lives and keeps us going even when we want to slow down, which is a good thing and a bad thing. She's talking more and more and even if she can't pronounce a word right you know she's trying to have a conversation with you and wants you to understand what she's saying. I don't even know if I can remember all the new words she says, but some that she says all the time are ball, balloon, blue...I guess she's working on her b's, now that's she's conquered her d's. Ella's 15 month checkup is Fri. and I don't remember how many shot she has to get this time, but it'll be the first time I'll take her to a checkup by myself, so I'll get to hold her down this time!

Ella is still eating great, too. There's not one thing that I put on her plate that she won't eat (I wish her father was that easy to please)! Her swimming improves every time we get in the water. She's jumping off the edge into our arms now, and she thinks she can swim all by herself and gets pissed when we don't let her! She also loves running. I think in my last update I said she had started to run, but she runs a marathon every day now it seems. She could run back in forth all day long if she wanted to. Her favorite cartoon is still The Backyardigans and she also likes Veggie Tales. Every time the theme songs come on to those shows she squeals with excitement and starts to dance. Ella also loves being outside. She loves the way the grass feels on her feet and she loves picking flowers for her mommy. She's already gotten her first scrapes on her knees and I'm already worrying about her having scars!

I will fill you in on her stats when we get back from the doctor's on Fri. and maybe I'll remember some more of the many different things she's doing and getting into these days!

It's In The Way She Walks

(Sorry this took me so long to post over here. I didn't realize I hadn't copied it from my other blog!)

Go figure...the day after I blogged Ella's 13 month update she started walking. I know I said in the update that she would take a few steps and then fall down and go back to crawling...well, she's taking more than a couple steps now and is definitely on her way to the next level - running. It's so funny osee her walk because her upper half wants to go faster than her legs can take her...

Ella's favorite place to walk is in front of our house on the sidewalk. I think she knows that other people can see her from their porches and she loves to show-off! A couple nights ago she had 3 houses of people outside watching her. She's definitely a ham.

As it is for all toddlers, this is a new adventure for Ella AND Stephen and I. We are very excited about all the new things that Ella can experience and also nervous about all the new things Ella can get into!

The picture I posted is of Ella right after a walk around the living room and into the hallway. She wouldn't let me take a picture of her actually walking, so I'll work on that post some later.

Ella's 9 month Update

Ella has changed so much this past month...

The biggest thing to me is that Ella is always standing in her crib when I come in to get her in the morning or when she wakes up from a nap. This is also a problem when we put her down to sleep because she knows she can get back up, so she just stands up in the corner of her crib an cries for us. I would have to say that her ability to do this and the freedom that she gets from crawling around is really making her happy and and turning her into 'Curious Ella'. Her favorite things now is to be on the floor and crawl and pull herself up on things. And once she pulls up on the couch or the playpen, she likes to walk herself from end to end. She also likes crawilng after a toy and picking it up and throwing it a little farther out of her reach and going after it again and again. This new level of freedom that Ella has has also diminished my level of freedom. Besides the fact that I have to watch her at all times now, she has also developed separation anxiety and does not like me to leave her alone at all. She really doesn't ever want Stephen to hold her either. But, we don't always give her her way. We can pretty much tell the difference when she's really upset about it or if she's just trying to get attention. But, it is difficult to get anything done and it's hard to get to do little things like check my e-mail or go to the bathroom without her having to sit in her exersaucer or playpen and just cry for a couple minutes; although half the time she'll settle down quickly and just start playing by herself.

As for food, she loves to feed herself. Whenever we got out to eat, her favorite thing is the bread! She's also a huge fan of Cheerios, but what baby isn't?!?! I can definitely use Cheerios as a distraction tool if I want/need to get something done. The dogs also like it when I feed her Cheerios because she usually gives them some, too. As for her main meals, she has moved into the Level 3 area and is enjoying more varieties, buther favorite food is still sweet potatoes. She is not a fan of anything green (she must get that from her father!) and she won't eat meat by itself. She likes it better when it's mixed with something. Her three and a half teeth help her chew on everything, not just her food! She loves playing with and gnawing on drawstrings that are either on our waistbands or on our sweatshirts and she still has a fascination with keys; unfortunately not hers, but mine!

Ella's hair is getting very long and I'm excited about bein able to put barretts and bows in it, but what's weird is that even though it's gotten longer and it totally looks like I could do that, I really can't yet. But, I also need to go get some more hair accesories. She won't keep the headbands on and the clips I have now just don't stay in her hair. We got her 9 month pictures taken last night and I wish there was something that I could've put in her hair...it would've looked better I think.

As far as speaking, Ella hasn't learned any new words. She's still just saying "mama" and "dada", but at least I think she's knows what's she's saying now. Stephen was holding her the other night and she looked overat me and said "mama" and then reached for me. So, either that was a major coincidence or she's actually understanding who's who and what's she's saying. I'm definitely ready for her to start talking. I can't wait to have coversations with her!
Ella's favorite pasttime is still taking a bath! She loves the water and I can't wait to get back to FL and start her in swimming lessons! We have a lot of bath toys that she and I play with every other night and she's started crawling in the bath now...so, I don't put as much water in it and I need to get little sticky things for the bottom of the tub...I suppose I should just not let her do that, but since I'm in there with her it doesn't seem like a big deal.

I'll be back later to post her stat's from the doctor's appt.