Well, we have officially made it through winter storm Leon. I had an easier time of it than Drew, getting home this past Tuesday. 2 hours vs. a whopping 9. I could not be more thankful to have gotten out of work when I did. The roads were just getting bad, and everyone in the city of Atlanta had just been given the go ahead to all get in their cars and leave at the same time. My primary concern was just getting my baby at daycare and heading home safely before it got worse.

Being so close to home was a blessing. Here are some shots I was able to get just as we got home. (And of course, the shots in the car were taken at a standstill….I was 10 and 2 the whole way!)

Having an entire afternoon waiting for Drew to get home safely, Ellen and I watched the chaos on the news. So many cars in wrecks, people running out of gas, abandoning their vehicles. Kids and teachers all over the city were stuck at schools overnight. Some slept in their cars. A woman even gave birth on 285 because they could not get to the hospital in time!!

After leaving at 1:00 that afternoon, Andrew finally walked in the door at 10:30….making it the full 30 miles from Atlanta, smashing into a curb, and walking the last 1 1/2 miles home. Luckily, he was okay and the car is a little banged up. Could have been a lot worse considering the circumstances.

Wednesday we were still snowed in and Ellen got to experience her first snow!

Temperatures did not even get above freezing, so all of the ice and snow stuck around until this morning.

Perfect coffee and fuzzy sock weather right here. Thankful we were all home, under one roof, safe and sound.

We have officially started Ellen on some solids this weekend! I’ve been pretty stressed about starting for a good two or three weeks, and of course, did my research on how much, what times, what types, etc. Some say to start with veggies first. Some say fruit. Some say rice, some say oatmeal. And THEN, there is the whole subject of buying pre-made vs. making your own food….and do you bother with buying organic? Oy.

We did decide to start with a little rice cereal. Ellen has always had a bit of a sensitive tummy as it is, so we thought it might be a little easier on her to start with. We also added just a bit of homemade applesauce to help with the taste.

For now, I think I’m going to attempt to keep up with making her food. You know…the more simple things. Sweet Potato, carrots, pears, peas, squash, etc. It is really so simple……I just have to make the time! Depending on how that goes, I may go into more detail later.

We are definitely still using all of our favorites from the first 2 months, but these 3 and 4 month favorites have all been great additions! Over the holidays, Ellen has accumulated quite a collection of toys to keep her happy for a good long while!

1. Nose Frida and Saline Drops – These both have been a huge help to us since Ellen has gotten sick TWICE in the past 2 months. Not fun. We tried the bulb syringe, which works just fine, but I really just don’t like sticking that thing in her nose. The nose frida is large enough that it barely goes in the nose and removes much more of the boogies than the bulb did. The saline was good to loosen everything up a bit in order to suck it all out (ewww gross…i know)

2. The SnugaMonkey – At first, Ellen was too small to use this, but once she could hold her head steady, she loved it! We love to hang her Sassy links and Bright Starts Zebra from it in addition to the monkeys that are already there.

3. Rainforest Melodies & Lights Deluxe Gym – Fancy Schmancy. This thing plays music, has lights underneath, and has multiple loops to hang toys and rattles. It also has to be one of the cutest ones I’ve seen! She just got this for Christmas and is great for babies once they can really focus on stuff. She is now starting to grab at the toys and loves looking at herself in the little mirror!

4. Peek-a-boo Forest soft book – So cute, parts of it has that crinkly paper sound, and she loves to smush her face into the pages!

5. Sassy Ring o’ links – Loves to put these in her mouth and just have them in her hands constantly. Sassy also makes some other great products, like their little jingle bugs you can hang from the car seat.

6. Carter’s socks – These are my new favorite! So many different styles and colors and I always buy a bit larger so they will fit up over her pants (which also helps to keep the socks from sliding off)

7. Costco hand towels – These are great and we have about 3 packs. There are towels lying all over our house for the occasional accident or spit-up.

8. Disney movies – I don’t know who loves them more….Ellen or I. Our new favorite is the Princess and the Frog! I just love the whole style of the movie! Some other favorites of Ellen’s are Tangled, Mary Poppins, and Fantasia.

9. Bright Starts Zebra – This is great to hang from the car seat or the snugamonkey. She loves to tug at the little links.

10. Butt balm – We had our first horrible case of diaper rash this past month. We tried just about every kind of cream you could think of. Sometimes, 3 different kinds all at the same time! Desitin, Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, Dr. Smith’s, Aquaphor, and something my dad recommended….Bag Balm.

STATS:

Weight: 13.6 lbs.   (Update: this measurement was taken 12/27/13……1.5 weeks later at her 4 month appointment, she weighed in at 14.11 lbs. on 1/8/14!)
Height: 24.5 inches

LIKES:

Still loving those hands, sitting up, chewing on anything she can get in her mouth, Peek-a-boo Forest Book, talking

HATES:

Being burped, the nose frida, diaper rash, waiting for a bottle

MILESTONES:

{Sleeping} We had a little set back with Ellen being sick for so long. Middle of the month, she came down with an awful virus. Fever, congestion, and vomiting which turned into diarrhea and a horrible case of diaper rash. So with the congestion and lack of appetite, her sleep schedule has been a bit messed up for the past 3 weeks. We are slowly getting back to our 7:30-7:30 schedule!

{Movement} Loves sitting upright and being lifted up on her feet. We are almost to the point of rolling over from our back to our front….still working on that one. She is not very good at tummy time. She does well with a pillow, but if flat on the ground, she just kind of flips around like a fish.

{Eating} We started this month out with 5 ounces every 3 hours. When she got sick, it turned into 2-3 ounces every 2 or 3 hours if we were lucky. We were just happy if she could keep any liquid down. Once we got over the sickies, her appetite came back and THEN some! 5 ounces every 2 hours quickly turned into 6 ounces every 2.5-3. And we also graduated to the next size nipple! Seems it might be time for little girl to start on some cereals pretty soon!

{Teething} Chewing and drooling on everything! Starting to see those two bottom teeth starting to reach the surface. Should be any time now when those break through! Can’t wait for that day. She’s been a Fussy McGee here lately.

{Talking} Making all sorts of noises! Babbling, laughing, cooing, and she has recently discovered a high pitched shriek. She is definitely loving that one.

Happy New Year!!

2013 was a very good year for us! New Years Eve last year was when Andrew and I found out we were going to be welcoming little Miss Ellen into the world! And 8 months later, she was born (on LABOR day!), healthy and screaming! Our lives have definitely changed SO much since then, all for the better of course, and I can not wait to see what 2014 has in store for our little family!

I have never been huge on New Years Resolutions (most of the time because I never really keep them). So, I will make my list of things I would like to accomplish by the end of 2014 and we will see where things go! I guess one of my resolutions would be to follow through with the rest of my resolutions! HA!

1. Blog more. This is one I think I did pretty good at in 2013, but then once Ellen was born, I have kind of pushed to the side. Finding time to do anything else on top of working, designing, and Ellen has been a struggle. Just need to find my groove!

2. Read more. I’ve never been much of a reader anyway, which is why I have ZERO vocabulary. But it’s definitely something I enjoy doing whenever I get the time. I have a ton of books to start with…just have to make the time! Even if it’s one chapter a day.

3. Sewing. Guess what I got for Christmas? A SEWING MACHINE! Yes! I see lots of pillows in my future. Maybe I’ll make a pillow reading nook for all that reading I’ll be doing this year! (see above)

4. Healthier lifestyle. I mean, cheez-its, beer, and ramen aren’t a food group? I would love to say I’d like to lose 30 lbs. But I think the healthier lifestyle sounds a bit more feasible. And the lbs. should start to come off as I keep up with it (I hope). But looking at a scale and counting calories each and every day just sounds like torture. Better eating and getting out more sounds a whole lot better!

5. Be more positive and a good role model. This is one I definitely struggle with on a day to day basis. It’s easy to get upset and frustrated at the little things. But in the grand scheme of things, how much does it really matter? I have a wonderful husband, with a healthy BEAUTIFUL daughter. We both have great jobs and family and friends who would do anything for us. Everything we do now is especially important, too, now that we have a little person running around. I can always see her watching our expressions and even sometimes trying to mimic them. I would hate Ellen to grow up to be a Grumpy Gus with a scowl on her face all of the time.

6. Build my personal business. Which one? I’m not sure yet, but my plan is to make at least ONE of them into something big! I do so many things ON TOP of my full-time job at Ross. I design stationery (wedding invites, save the dates, party invitations, printables, etc). I do custom “fake” calligraphy. I do designs for marching bands, winter guards, drum lines, and performance ensembles around the country. I enjoy doing them all!

7. Cook more weeknight dinners. It’s easy to get into the habit of getting home and just grabbing whatever I can out of the fridge or pantry. Our weeknight dinners usually consist of anything you can make in under 10 minutes most of the time.

8. Learn to say “no”. If only I could add more hours to the day or even freeze time. Then I’d be set! But unfortunately, I can’t. I always find myself stressed out because I feel if I say “no” to someone or something, I am letting them or myself down or I feel like I’m being selfish. I think if I let things go and learn to say “no”, I will become WAY less stressed, will be able to devote more of my time to the things I am already currently doing, and it will also allow me to try new things! (see numbers 1-7.)

I think these 8 are a good start! I mean, there are so many other things I would love to put on this list, but let’s be honest. I think I will have my hands full with these for now!