September Madness

Hello Family and Friends! I hope this post finds everyone well. September has come and gone. Like I say. . . "Time flies, when you have a kid!"

I meant to post on here awhile ago, but that didn't occur. So, let's catch you up on life with Ellie. . .
In mid-August, we had Ellie's second hemangioma surgery, which went REALLY well! In fact, her plastic surgeon said that we were done. Yipee! While Mimi and Oppa were in town, Artie and I decided to use the free babysitting services to celebrate our 6 year anniversary. So, we went to a swanky place called The Capital Grille. VERY yummy! So, as we go to leave the restaurant, Artie starts pointing out all the fancy cars in the front of the restaurant that the vallets were parking. But, where was our car? Evidently, my mom-mobile with the Fisher Price sunshades was not worthy of being parked by the vallets in the front of the restaurant! Ha ha!

Ellie's Baptism

At the beginning of August, Ellie had her baptism. It was in the same church that Artie and I were married in 6 years earlier. We got a bit nervous, since Ellie was supposed to wear the Christening gown that my mom made for me in 1975. For so long, we tried to get Ellie to gain weight. Wellllll. . .that is no longer an issue! But, it fit her like a glove! She looked so beautiful!

As you know, Ellie enjoys throwing up. I was a bit nervous that she would want to show off her skill during her ceremony. I thought that if she spit up pea soup, we might have to have an exorcism right then and there! But, she didn't spit up AT ALL!!! Yay!

Afterwards, we went back to Mimi and Oppa's for brunch. We were so fortunate to have so many of Ellie's friends there.

Ellie's First Date

Ellie had her first playdate in August. My friends from USC, Katie and Jamie, had Jack a few days after Ellie was born. Even though Ellie has played with Kieran and Connery many times, this was her first time seeing someone her size. You could tell she enjoyed being able to talk with someone who could actually speak her language.

It was so cute to see Ellie interact with Jack. Since she isn't in daycare, Ellie hasn't been around other babies. I took tons of cute pictures of their date.

The Men (and Women) in Ellie's Life

If you are ever looking for Artie, Mimi or Oppa, please check around Ellie's little finger. It is quite possible that you will find the three of them hanging around there. The night before Ellie's surgery, Oppa slept with Ellie on his check in the recliner in E's room. I'm surprised that Ellie recognized her crib after Mimi and Oppa went home! And, do you think that spoiling occurs only at our house? Noooooo, even when we are in Huntsville, Ellie gets spoiled rotten! When we walk into Mimi and Oppa's house, Ellie is snatched from our arms. We don't get her back until we head back home. It is a rare moment that Ellie does not have Mimi or Oppa right near her. I have never seen my parents fight, but they will re-enact an episode of Jerry Springer when it comes to whose turn it is to hold her! :)

And, please don't get me started about Daddy. Ellie as much coughs in her crib, and Artie runs to check on her. Mind you, this is the same man who is deaf in one ear and "can't hear me" when I ask him to take out the trash. BUT, Daddy rushes to Ellie if she even THINKS she might be the slightest bit unhappy. Yep, before she cries.

As for me, I'm as cold as ice and NEVER pull her on the couch to get some lovin'! ;)

Another Day, Another Surgery

On Aug. 8th, Ellie had her second hemangioma surgery. This time, Mimi and Oppa were here to experience it. Once again, we had to starve Ellie from midnight until 9am (surgery time). As you can imagine, this did not phase our "I don't want to eat" baby. The doctor said this surgery would be much easier, since he didn't have to cut her tongue this time. And, he was right! The surgery, from start to finish, took about 30 mintues. As the nurses wheeled Ellie into the recovery room, the doctor came in and said that he thinks this will be the last surgery! Whooo hooo!!!! Of course, Artie said it was because the doctor's new Jag was paid off. But, as I type this two weeks after the surgery, I really feel he was right! There is no cure for the hemangioma, so she'll have it on her face until she's about 4 (according to what the doctor said), but hopefully the laser treatment/cortisone injection will stun the cells into not growing. We use to call it her "strawberry" because it was so red and raised. But, now it's just a little discolored and more flat. In fact, from a distance, you can't even tell anything was wrong!

OK---back to the surgery day. The nurses told us not to wake Ellie up, because she would be fussy. They encouraged us to just let her wake up on her own from the sleeping gas. Well, as the nurse was giving us this order, I looked over and there was Ellie. Wide awake! No kicking and screaming this time!!! It was almost like she was waking up from a nap. Right after we picked her off the gurney and they unhooked her from all the machines, we had to give her a bit of Pedialyte to make sure she was a-ok; she downed it! So, about 15 minutes later, we got the green light to go home where Mimi and Oppa were waiting patiently.

If I haven't mentioned it before, Mimi and Oppa are SO good for Ellie (and us). When we got home, they cuddled and kissed her, so Mommy could sleep (and Daddy could mow the lawn---ha ha!).

The rest of the weekend was spent spoiling Ellie (scroll up and read the part about Mimi and Oppa being in town) and relaxing.

Happy 4th of July and Beyond!

One of my favorite holidays is Independence Day. Obviously, a holiday celebrated by grilling out and swimming is a-ok in my book. But, this was Ellie's first time with fireworks! So, I was REALLY looking forward to the Fourth this year. Unfortunately, she really didn't look to the sky with awe and amazement. She actually fell asleep on Neighbor Judy's shoulder!

But, this was a remarkable weekend, because we started putting a little cereal in Ellie's bottles. Yes, it's a SMALL milestone, but Ellie really took to it. Has it helped her NOT spit up all the time? Hmmm, not so much, but it HAS helped her increase her intake. She was at about 25 oz on a good day. But, now, we are at about 30 oz.

Artie takes Ellie to the GI for a weigh in every two weeks (stupid lack of weight gain). Since we've added cereal into her bottles, she gained 2 pounds in 2 weeks! Whooo hoooo!!!!

In July, we also took Ellie to the pediatrician. At the beginning of the month, she was at 26.6 inches long. Unfortunately, she has Artie's LONG torso and short legs. Poor kiddo! She was at the 59th percentile in weight at the beginning of the month and is now (July 26th) at the 75th percentile. Thanks, rice cereal!

Another visit we had in July was to the plastic surgeon. Unfortunately, we need to go in for another surgery on Ellie's hemangioma on 8/8/08. We're hoping that this surgery will be very successful. They will probably use a stronger laser to attack the hemangioma. Naturally, we are afraid that it will burn the skin, so please keep your fingers crossed. We'll keep you posted on it.

Sweet Home Chicago!

Don't you love it when things work out? My national conference for work was in Chicago during the last week in June. Soooo, that meant that Ellie was getting to meet the Chicago family for the first time. It also meant that Ellie was going to take her first trip on an airplane. Unfortunately, it meant that I was going to fly alone with Ellie. Hmmmm. When I booked my ticket, Delta didn't really give any instructions on how to fly with a 4 month old. If you know me, you know that I like to have everything all planned out and don't like it when I don't know what the master plan is for a situation. I think I obsessed about this 2 hour flight non-stop for MONTHS. Seriously, I had dreams where I left Ellie somewhere at the airport or plane and had to go to "Baby Lost and Found" (evidently lots of mothers also left their babies somewhere) to find Ellie. But, I couldn't recognize her! (Yes, I remember this episode of Friends that was based on roughly the same situation). In fact, the night before the flight, I was sick just thinking about flying with Ellie! The day of the flight (after tearfully saying goodbye to daddy), we checked in and had the most helpful folks at TSA get us through security (no, I'm not kidding). As I was checking in, the nicest passengers offered to help carry my diaper bag. . . fold down the stroller, etc. I had a very helpful gentleman seated next to me that enjoyed talking to Ellie. But, you will be very impressed to know that Ellie was an angel on the entire flight! So tears or screaming. She slept the entire flight!

Ellie LOVED getting to meet her Nana and Papa, aunts and uncles, and cousins! Mimi and Oppa were there to take care of Ellie while I was at my conference. Was Ellie spoiled by all the attention? Um, yeah!!! But, she had a great time. I felt bad for her when we got back, since she didn't have tons of people to watch her every move---ha ha ha!

The flight back home went just as great as the flight to Chicago! I sat next to a colleague of mine, so I was able to actually breathe and enjoy flying with Ellie. Thanks, Anna!!!!

When we got back home, Daddy missed Ellie MORE than words can say. While we were gone, Daddy cleaned house, did major yard work, cleaned the carpets, and did laundry. Hmmmm, maybe Ellie and I should go on MORE trips!