June: 4 months old! I went back to work the beginning of June. We were lucky enough to have my parents come, and got to have my mom stay with us the whole month to watch Ellie. My dad was able to stay the first and last weeks, and uncle Tom even came to visit the end of June. Ellie and uncle Tom enjoyed playing the IPad together. Ellie and grandma had a fun month together. They got up in the morning, sat on the balcony with coffee and a bottle, watched the cars, smelled the herbs and blew bubbles. They took walks, watered the flowers and napped together. Life was rough. It was actually pretty easy to get back into the swing of work, and it definitely helped knowing that Ellie was having fabulous days. Fourth of July weekend came and went, and so did grandma and g-dogg, and lots and lots of tears (mostly from grandma!). Paul and I sure did miss our tidy house and dinners each night. Ellie's milestones this month included starting cereal and fruit, which she was not really that excited about, but would eat a little with my mom each day for lunch. It did not seem to decrease her reflux discomfort as I had hoped. She also got her first real cold, which was so sad. This put an end to our streak of sleeping through the night as the poor thing could not breath. She started sitting up so well with the boppy pillow around her and really getting interested in her toys...and the cats! She gets so excited to see them, but they still don't really know what to think of her. She also has SO much to say. Paul started calling her a little raptor, as it sounds like she is calling her dinosaur herd, it's so funny. On her 5th months birthday (6/27) she grabbed her toes for the first time on her own, and rolled from her back to her belly...and then got mad because she could not roll back. My mom and I both got IPhones, and besides the fact that Ellie already has a whole folder of baby apps, we now have the ability to "face time" (like Skype) each other, and G & G can see their baby "pootsie," as they call her, anytime.
Paul's first Father's Day!
Looking cute for Stella's first birthday party
Getting spoiled by grandma :)
Ellie & her G-dogg
More grandma love!
Playing IPad with Uncle Tom
Happy hour with grandpa
Grandma has no rules!
Lookin cute!
Ready to try out the pool!
Fun in the sun
Not sure what to think about this big tub!
I think I liked it...
What is she going to do without all of this spoiling?!
July: 5 months old! Ugh, now it was the first day of daycare (Tuesday, July 5th). Paul and I went together. It was awful, as we had just been so spoiled. We chose a church Montessori just down the street from our house. I am sure every parent thinks this, but I was not sure how they would know what she needed, how to comfort her, feed her, etc. I realize they do this for a living, but was especially worried about Ellie and her eating, due to her reflux and significant aversion to food. It was a very hard day, but I arranged to be done early so I could go rescue her! She survived, imagine that! We had it worked out that Paul dropped her off 2 days and I picked her up and then the other 2 days, I dropped off and he picked her up. She was roughly there from 7:45 to 3:30-ish. Three and a half weeks into daycare, we left on our first big trip with Ellie to Pittsburgh. This was the dreaded plane trip I had been stressed about for months! Well, of course the poor baby was SICK...dang daycare! She had gone to bed the night before we left with no voice. She was so quiet, which was odd for her. She could not do her raptor call, and could not even cry or fuss...hmmmm, maybe this was not so bad for her first plan ride :) Well, it turns out she is an amazing traveler! She only slept for the first 30 minutes of a three and half hour plane ride, but just layed quietly on my lap the whole rest of the way. She fussed for a few minutes during the bumpy descent, but that is all. In fact, the man in front of us turned around and said "I did not even know there was a baby behind me!" Whew! Now, she was good at the act of traveling, but as for being adaptable in a new place...she is NOT! Her cold progressed to a stomach bug, and instantly, I had a mama's girl on my hands. She would not go to Paul or let anyone even really look at her. This was not ideal, as we were in Pittsburgh for Paul's cousin's Wedding and Ben and Danielle's baby shower so there was a lot of family to see. She did pretty well meeting new people as long as I was holding her. But she definitely was not our normal, happy, smiley, chatty baby. She had moments, but we will have to have a return trip to redeem ourselves! She refused to sleep in the pack-&-play, and was throwing up, so I was not comfortable with her in there anyway. Poor Paul got the boot to another room and Ellie slept with me for 9 LONG nights! Besides a sick, out of sorts baby, it was so nice to see the Pittsburgh family. Great grandma Mikolaj was so glad to meet her first great granddaughter, although, I wish Ellie would have let her hold her! We just wish it would have worked out that we could have met baby Norah (Ellie's first cousin) but she needed to cook a few more weeks! And that brings us to August...
Happy fourth of July!
Hooray! I survived my first day of daycare!
Some of my new tricks...I can sit!
I can grab my toes!
And I like to play in my saucer...standing is my favorite thing!
The cats are coming around ;)
Cheese!
Still love my baths!
What?!? We're going on an airplane?!?! Pittsburgh...here we come!
All smiles at the airport...even sick!
Barb, Jan & Danielle (baby Norah, too)
Family Time, of course!
Camo for Pap!
Ellie's first Wedding - Congrats Chris & Christy Mikolaj!
With dad...poor girl ended up sick with a stomach bug :(
Four Mikolaj Generations...with Pap and great grandma Jackie
Hanging out with Pap
Singing with nana :)
That's a lot of Mikolaj's!
Nana bought Ellie some yummy dinners!
Chillin with Pap!
Playing with Aunt Danielle
She is only allowed to wear this bib in Pittsburgh!
August: 6 months old! We got home from Pittsburgh on August 7th, and 5 days later, I had to leave for Burn camp in Estes Park for 10 days. I had tried to not think about having to leave my sweet baby, who remember now is HUGE mama's girl! But, nana Mikolaj was coming out to stay with her and help Paul. I was relieved that we had just been there for a week, so Ellie would recognize her right away. I posted about burn camp a year ago in this blog, and was 15 weeks pregnant...now it was time to go again already! Leaving was hard. I did not cry, but was nauseous and felt so guilty the whole drive. When I got to camp, however, the craziness of 84 kids took over, and it was over in a flash. Paul and Ginny did great (tho, sadly, I don't have many pictures of their time together), despite the stress of Ellie deciding to roll over and sleep on her tummy! The last day of camp is always family/play day. Paul and nana Ginny brought Ellie up, and she gave me the serious cold shoulder, but I couldn't blame her. She was all smiles when I got home the next day, though! It was about this time that I was getting really tired of daycare. Ellie was not eating well, and Paul and I were getting tired of the blah attitude of the ladies there when we dropped her off and picked her up. I want someone to be so happy (or at least appear so) to see my baby in the morning and then fill me with exciting things that she did all day when I go to pick her up. We were not getting this, and it did not sit well with us. Enter FACEBOOK! I had been posting pictures of Ellie, and Diana Weigum, who has worked at Children's Hospital for something like 27 years, was always posting nice things on Ellie's pictures. She worked in the front office of my clinic for several years, and two years ago transferred to a different satellite clinic. I had not seen her since she left, just kept in touch on Facebook. I asked her one day (probably the day another baby scratched up Ellie's forehead) if she was going to quit her job and babysit my baby for me. Her reply..."how about the beginning of September?!" What?!? It turns out to be true! Diana planned to start after Labor day, and will come to our house 4 days a week. I am still in utter awe that this situation has worked out. Diana loves Ellie (and visa versa)which makes leaving for work SOOOO much easier. More on this later :) The last weekend of August, back up to Estes Park we went, this time for Nickie and Dave's wedding. We stayed in a cute little cabin with Beth, Ross and Abby. Ellie did pretty well during the wedding, which was a relief. After being gone 5 weekends in a row, why not throw in a 6th...so for Labor day, Ellie and I planned to fly to Billing to see my family as Paul had his all important weekend of fantasy football events. Can you see how time has flown for me?? It seems we would leave, come back for a few days of work and leave again...throw a baby in that mix and presto, no down time to update the blog! Good thing I am currently stuck in the car, on a road trip through Wyoming with a sleeping baby and time on my hands for once!
Momma's off to the mountains!
Beautiful Estes Park!
What?!?! I leave her alone with a few Steeler fans...
I think Ellie & Nana got by okay! :)
Good thing mom came home and dressed me in my Bronco gear!
Ellie's second wedding - Congrats Nickie & Dave Harris :)
Smile!
Dancing with dad...so sweet!
Since she outgrew the swing, this is her new place to play!
September: 7 months old! Well, Ellie and I survived our plane trip alone to Billings. Shocking, she was sick again! Poor thing. Yet, she was amazing on the plane. Thanks goodness it was only an hour flight. Grandma and G-dogg were so excited to see us. I was worried that Ellie would be attached to me, being sick and all, but she did great. She instantly recognized them, and by the second day, was fine to be separated from my hip....finally! My parents recently got 2 new kittens, and Ellie could hardly contain herself. It was so cute watching her with the kittens. They were also surprisingly tolerant of her...just wait until she is moving...may be a different story! I was convinced that she was teething while we were there, but no, false alarm for like the 4th time. Still no teeth! Uncle Tom flew in for the weekend(and his birthday), as well, and brought aunt Christa's IPad for Ellie to play with. She loves that thing, and thinks it is WAY more fun than my IPhone! Rough life, eh?! We also had a photo shoot set up while we were there. My mom has a friend that is a photographer, and she was nice enough to come over on Sunday to take pictures of Ellie and our family. It was too bad Paul and Christa were not there. The pictures came out amazing, and you can see some of them if you go the link in the last post. I can't wait to see more!!! Monday (Labor day) came way to quickly, and Ellie and I were on the plane back home, this time I was sick, and can now say that traveling with a sick baby is easier than BEING sick and traveling with a baby. Now that we were back, it was time for nanny Diana to start. Ellie did great with Diana her first day. What a great feeling to know your baby is being loved up at home! I don't think Ellie even changed out of her pajamas that first day :) Ellie and Diana have a great routine, and Diana takes her on an hour walk every day. Ellie's skills are picking right up, too. She pivots on her belly all directions. She will play on her belly if it is her choice, but don't try to put her there! She is eating better, too. She loves to eat little cereal puffs, but she will not put anything thing in her mouth, which is both weird and wonderful at the same time, so we have to feed them to her. Oh Princess Ellie! This does mean that I can give her anything, like my phone, keys, etc., and she doesn't put them in her mouth. This is probably also why she has no teeth! We were also able to enjoy is back to sleeping through most nights! We are looking forward to a fun Colorado fall (although it is still been so HOT)! I promise to do a better job keeping the blog updated ;) Thanks for reading!
Ahhh...all smiles :)
Dad & Izzy
Tom & Bella
My mother was in heaven...Nettie (Gina & Kale's baby) and Ellie
She may need an IPad :)
Congrats to Ben & Danielle - Norah Francis, born September 1st
Auntie Erin came to visit!
Quack quack!
Breakfast with g-dogg
Thanks to Jill Riley for the amazing pictures...
Best dress ever!
Dinger comes to visit!!
Someone can drink from a straw now!
Ready for Fall!
Such a good little eater!
