Baby Wearing

Hey there blog world!! I am posting from my phone today so I can't do my links how I like to. 

My friend Elise that I met through Wifessionals

 Cara Box exchange is doing a series on baby

 wearing. Here is a link to her first post and I 

loved it!! Hopefully you will learn a lot from it!!

http://beexthree.blogspot.com/2013/09/babywearing-basics-benefits.html

Five on Friday

Hey there!! I am linking up with "The Good Life" for a Five on Friday post.  I have seen many bloggers do these posts but haven't quite gotten into it.  Then my dear friend Meagan started doing these posts and I just had to join in this week!!

::ONE::

I finally got some Fall decorations up around the house.  I love fall and its such a nice change to have a season to decorate my house with.  I find a struggle within myself about decorating for Halloween.  I love all my halloween decorations and having them up but I always find it difficult to find a good time to put them out, I don't think they should be out longer than my Christmas Decorations so I think that the first weekend of October is a good date. I will do a Fall Decor Home Tour here pretty soon.

::TWO::

Ellie had her 4 month appointment and was a stellar patient.  It only took her a few minutes to calm down after her shots and her Doctor said she is one of the cutest babies!!  I can't help but agree. Ellie also got her first fever this week and has some serious nose congestion.

::THREE::

Fall is in the air and we started up Soup Sunday's again in our house.  It was something that I thought I would try all year but it just gets too hot in the summer, and to be honest soup gets boring after a while.  This week I made Cream of Carrot soup again.  You can find the recipe here and it is delish!

::FOUR::

I posted about our adoption finalization and finally got it online on the blog.  The official date is September 6th.  We are so happy that Ellie is officially ours and love seeing our names on a birth certificate.

::FIVE::

It's finally Friday and we are looking forward to a relaxing weekend and recovering since all three of us are feeling under the weather.  We also have started doing some food prep on the weekends and it makes it pretty nice for lunches and meals/snacks throughout the week. Why have I not done that before??

♥ Ashley

{weekly update} week 18

It feels like I just wrote Ellie's 16 week update but here we are two weeks later. Ellie is now officially 4 months old and we have the go ahead to feed her solids when we are ready. I think that I will wait until she shows interest in our eating before we give her anything. We have had a total blast this week with little munchkin becoming more involved in her world!

Diet: Girlfriend I eating about 5 meals a day with 4-6 ounces each. We have been able to get her to eat 6 ounces at least twice a day and moved her up to a level 2 nipple and she is much happier!!

Crying: same old same old. When hungry, tired or bored. And if she gets some sort if owie. 

Sleep: EF is sleeping about 10 hours at night and then a few naps throughout the day. 

Clothes: Ellie Pie is still wearing 0-3 months clothes. Sizes are weird though some brands they barely fit and others she is swimming in them. Most clothes are Carter's or Old Navy. 

Social: Pie went to Costco, Toys R Us, Target and then to her Nanny and Papa's house on Saturday. She also got to go on a few walks with Miss J around our neighborhood and I took her on one too. She is a super good girl and a little trooper!

Baby Gear Love: Little Miss E is in love with any sort of blanket (bib, burp cloth or blanket) to hol on to. She also really likes her OBall rattle and her Exersaucer. The mirror we got her for tummy time is still a big hit as is her Skip Hop Activity Mat. She also gets so excited when she goes in her crib to see her "friends" dance and fly in the mobile. And the puppies have become a new fave. Much to my surprise Cooper is way better with her than Sakari. 

Milestones: level two nipple. Splashes in her baths. Sticking her fingers in her mouth for chewing and many other things are being discovered that way too. Passed her rattle from left hand to right hand!!! 

Mama: I had a bit of a rough week personally and then I got sick in Thursday and am still recovering.  But this sweet little one just made me smile!

Little Ellie we love you and are so happy we get to have you in our lives!!

-Ashley 

{monthdate} four months

To our dearest Ellie Faith,

Yesterday you turned 4 months and you wanted to celebrate the whole day!! You took three power naps of 15 minutes each and just wanted to be a part of the entire day!!  We celebrated this milestone of a day with your Nanny and Papa by having a dinner party at their house last night (just the five of us)!!

We have done quite a few things this past month and we feel so blessed to be your parents and to be experiencing these things with you. 

Mama found out that she would be going back to work so we had to find someone to watch you. We are so lucky that God directed us towards Miss J and you have done fabulous with her. Nanny also watches you on Fridays. 

We finalized our Adoption on September 6 and you were so good while we were on the phone with the court. 

You have shown great interest and progress towards sitting up on your own and playing with your toys. We got you an Exersaucer and you think it's totally radical. 

You also are staring to enjoy your baths an like to kick and splash in the water!! And you got to attend two Fairs!! The Evergreen State Fair in Monroe (mamas fave) and The Puyallup Fair (our hometown fair). 

Stats: official stats will come tomorrow at her 4 month appt. 

Height: guessing around 23"

Weight: somewhere in the 12-13 pound range

Head: larger than 15 1/4"

Food: eating 4 to 6 ounces at each feeding about five times a day. 

Diapers: size one. 

Clothes: 0-3 months are fitting well. 

Sleeping: pretty well through the night 7-10 hours. And then still has a few naps during the day. 

Cries: when hungry and sometimes when she is tired or unsettled. 

Loves: eating, diaper changes, her crib mobile, holding her blankets, making funny faces, her exersaucer, tummy time and "talking" with us. 

Hates: still not a big fan of getting her boogers out and being hungry. 

Mama's proudest moment: that she smiles when she sees me when I get home from work.  

Daddy's proudest moment: getting our adoption finalized. 

Oops of the month: washing her bottles in the dishwasher with a pan of spaghetti sauce and dying the bottles and all their parts orange!!

Things we are looking forward to: Ellie sitting up and making progress towards crawling and talking. 

Oh sweet sweet Ellie Faith we love you so much and just can't get enough of you. Your little personality is so cute an you are such a good and easygoing baby. Thank you for being a sweetheart!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

Pioneer Woman 12-5-2013

I LOVE the Pioneer Woman and I had the opportunity to meet her last time she came to "Seattle" for her book tour in April 2012.  You can read about that celeb encounter HERE.

She is coming again!! You can read the announcement post HERE and then the places/locations she will be visiting is posted HERE!!!  Not only is the PW doing a book signing for her new Holiday Cookbook (out on October 29th) but she will also be doing a presentation!  And let me tell you, she says she ain't that good at public speaking but I sure think she is swell!!!

So you can sure bet your butt I will be in Seattle on December 5th to meet up with this incredible lassie!!

♥ Ashley

{weekly update} week 17

Little Miss Thang, how are you already 17 weeks?  This week has flown by (probably has something to do with working five days a week) and here we are again another Tuesday. 

Diet: Ellie Pie is still totally loving her food. She is eating 24 to 28 ounces a day and sometimes she will have 6 ounces at her feedings twice a day!!

Sleep: Girlfriend is such a good sleeper she takes 3 to 4 naps a day and then she's going nine hours at night!! Way to go girlfriend!!

Crying: Same as every other week when she's tired, hungry, or sometimes bored or we are not doing what she wants us to do. Although we did have a meltdown at Subway on Saturday and is completely unknown we changed her diaper we tried feeding her but every time we went inside subway she just lost it when I took her outside she was calm as could be. 

Social: Ellie Faith went to the Washington State Fair, previously called the Puyallup Fair.  She also went to the house that I grew up in!! She got to spend time with Miss J and she got to spend time with her Nanny and she got to see her Grandpa this week. 

Clothes: I am proud to say that this girl is wearing 0 to 3 months clothes.

Baby Gear Love: We got baby girl an exersaucer and she loves it. We also got her a few more toys that light up and she is just fascinated with them. She also really likes her Oball rattle. 

Milestones: E. F. loves to help hold her bottle and stand with assistance. She is also doing really good at sitting up and tummy time. 

Mama: It has been an adjustment going back to work and I miss my little girl but I just love it when she smiles as me when I get home!! What a little love. 

Sweet sweet little Ellie, I love you and you are growing up so fast. 

-Ashley

Proud

9/11/2001

9/11/2013

I am a proud American today. Actually I am everyday. Today marks 12 years since the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon.

 I am proud of our country and our resilience. 

I am proud that we have the freedoms we have. 

I am proud that we can openly practice our faith. 

I am proud that we can vote for our rights, beliefs, and for the leader of our country. 

I am proud of the many men and women who fight for these freedoms everyday and risk their lives so that I can have mine. 

I am proud to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world. 

I am proud of the USA. 

The lives lost on that tragic day and the days since have not and will not go forgotten. We will always remember and educate our children an future of how GREAT our country is. 

Thank you to our troops. Thank you to all of our service men and women.  Thank you. 

-Ashley

{weekly update} week 16

How can we already be at 16 weeks!? It certainly does go by fast!  It has been so much fun seeing Ellie grow and become more interactive and able to "play" with her toys this week. Parenting sure is rewarding!

Diet: Girlfriend has increased her formula intake to 24-28 ounces a day. She does love her food. Usually she insists on eating right after she wakes up from naps, but in the morning she loves to cuddle and have a little bit of morning time before she eats (so we get a leisurely morning with her and she isn't super loud when we make her bottle)

Crying: Same as previous weeks, usually when tired or hungry. Although we have noticed she is really mouthy and gets a little fussy so we might be teething. She has had a pseudo tooth since she was 6 weeks but we are feeling some bumps on the top. 

Sleep: OMG Little Miss E has been a great sleeper this week!! She has been sleeping around 8-9 hours at night and we moved her to the bassinet. She does get fussy around 2am so I just bring her into the bed and cuddle her back to sleep and she finishes the night in our bed. I think part of this has to do with her increased food intake. 

Clothes: I boxed up all of her newborn clothes and organized her dresser and closet so that all that is available is 0-3month size. I went through the GIANT bag of clothes I had from our baby shower and found a few more outfit options for her in this size range. We do have a pretty good setup for the 3-6 month size and I am looking forward to some of those cute clothes. 

Baby Gear Love: The Pie is in love with this new light up seahorse we got her-totally mesmerized by it. She also loves her mouse "Clarence" and giraffe "Geoffrey". Sophie the Giraffe is getting a little more action as is her Oball rattle. He loves to grab it and swing it all over the place. 

She loves her "best friend" in the mirror

Sophie isn't the only teething giraffe in our home!!

Milestones: Ellie is doing great with her head and trunk control. She can kind of sit up and loves to play with her toys. She had her first few visits with her nanny Miss J and has been a total sweetie. E also got to sit in an Exersaucer at church on Sunday (with some blankets for support) and she squealed with delight. So we are going to invest in one -suggestions please!!!

Mama: I had my first week back a work/school and am making the adjustment to being a working mama. I admire working moms so much, I am grateful for my profession as it allows me for time off at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and the Summer. 

Sweet baby girl I love you so much. You are a light a joy in my life and you bring me so much happiness. It has been so fun watching you explore this week and I know it's going to just keep getting better!!!

- Ashley