Love It

Okay, I got this off Amy's Blog and it took me a minute to figure out how to get this placed. Hopefully it works. You should be able to see this "ticker" on the top of the blog. It will tell you exactly how old Ella is every time you log in. I thought it was soooooo cute!


We got the Jetta appraised at CarMax today and they offered us more than we owe on it. Awesome! We are going to ship the Honda to Hawaii and sell the Jetta this week. It is enough to get rid of the car note and give us a little extra. We'll get a rental car until we leave. This way, we no longer have to make payments on a car and once we get back from Hawaii, we'll succumb to the suburban trend and get us...ahhhh, a minivan! I can't wait! After our road trip, we definitely need something to carry all our (and by that I mean Ella's) stuff.

Oh So Close

Ella is doing so well and growing so much but she still can't roll over. She gets this far and then lays back. She seems totally uninterested in the whole thing and would rather try to sit herself up (she looks like she's doing crunches) than learn to roll over. Hopefully soon she'll get it.



Ella had her doctors appointment this morning and all is well. Her UTI has been totally cleared up and her little body took the antibiotics perfectly. We are going to have the ultrasound to check her kidneys just to be 100% sure. We really love our pediatrician, Dr. Ahn, and I'm glad she likes to rule everything out. She is sure the UTI was nothing out of the ordinary so not to worry.



We've started feeding Ella baby food again. This week we've had oatmeal and applesauce for breakfast, sweet potatoes and prunes for dinner. I've been mixing them and that seems to work. Today we had peas for lunch and dinner and Ella loves them. She's finally getting the whole food thing and actually opens her mouth rather than stick out her tongue. She's also able to sit up on her own as long as she's not distracted by anything. Once she looses concentration, she tips over. Such milestones today!

Computer Geek

Okay, Okay. Ella is her father's child. Could she be anything else looking at this picture?? I know they say kids these days start computers early and learn quick but the computer geek gene must run strong in this family. She looks like she'll take after both her father and grandfather. Ella loves to bang away at the computer like she knows what she's doing...smarty pants.

Tonight we had dinner with some old friends of Ron's. I can't believe Ella's almost six months and this is the first time Lorene and Megan have met her! It was nice to have dinner with them and Liz.

Tomorrow it's off to the pediatrician to check on Ella's UTI. Hopefully the tests come back clean and she is totally cured. Otherwise they'll have to check her bladder to see if it's refluxing into her kidneys and causing the UTI. All these things to worry about with babies!

We're Back!

Here we are at the Smithsonian.

Finally, we are home! It was a wonderful trip through the eastern US up to Canada. I am so happy to have seen everyone and have met some of Ron's family. It's nice to be back but sad to spend such a short time with everyone and then say goodbye.

We arrived in Silver Spring (just outside Washington, D.C.) last Thursday afternoon just in time for Ernesto to hit the D.C area. We had a great visit with Ron's Great-aunt Jean for two days and did some sightseeing in Washington. It was raining and miserable so we just drove around and went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We did walk through Arlington cemetery and saw JFK's grave and the changing of the guard but it was wet and had to use an umbrella to shelter Ella (later we would learn you can actually drive through it!). Look at what a big girl she is holding her own umbrella!


We really loved D.C. It's so beautiful despite the weather we had. We had dinner with Ron's Great-uncle Jerry, his son Tony, Tony's wife Karen, and Karen's son Christopher and his new fiance Kelly. Ella was so good the whole time...and so good the whole trip.

We left Washington on Sunday morning and arrived in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to visit Mary (Ron's grandfather's wife). We spent the night and headed back to Atlanta early Monday morning.

We drove straight though and got home safe and sound about 4 o'clock. Just in time for dinner. Lee grilled and we had potato salad, corn on the cob and BBQ chicken. So yummy! It was great to see Lee again (he goes to Georgia Southern University near Savannah) and see Dawn before she headed to San Francisco this week. I spent today sorting and getting the last of our things ready for Hawaii. They come tomorrow to take Ella's things and most of our clothing. As of tomorrow, we'll be living out of the suitcases we're taking on the plane. We leave mid-October (between the 12th and the 18th). I can't wait to get to Hawaii and get settled again so we can start to have you all visit us!

Au Revoir Canada

Tonight we had a farewell dinner at my Dad's. It was nice to sit in and relax. Tomorrow we head back to the US and onto Washington for a couple of days. Here's Ella with her new Baby Einstein book from my Dad's friend, Marilyn. It's been a nice visit up here and the weather has been comfortable with a nice breeze... it feels like fall and I love it! Up before the sun tomorrow... bien nuit, Toronto.

Pictures

I realized I never posted a blog on Saturday. We met up with friends from Korea in Niagara Falls for breakfast before we headed up here to Toronto. Here are some pics of Kelly, Erika and Ella at the Flying Saucer....



Tonight we went for dinner with my cousin, Lisa and her husband, Chuck and baby Amina. What a sweet pea, that one! Amina is so small, I can't believe how big Ella is now. I always think of Ella as such a little baby, but now that I see Amina, I realize Ella is getting to be such a little personality. It was a wonderful night and a great visit. I didn't get any pictures but here's one of all of us from Sunday at Ella's Christening.

Grandpas

Ella and her Grandpa



I spent the day at the spa, Dad dropped me off at 10 for a massage, facial, lunch, manicure and pedicure. It was heaven! Ella spent the day with Ron and her Grandpa so it was an especially relaxing one. When they picked me up at 3, I was like jello, my hands and feet feel like butter and all those kinks are gone.






Ella and Great-Grandpa


We headed to my Grandfather's for dinner. He cooked stir-fry with corn on the cob and even made a lemon meringue pie... so yummy! It's been such a relaxing day. Now that Ella is asleep, it's time to hit the pillow.

Christening

Today was Ella's Christening at the All Saint's Anglican Church in King City. The church is part of Ella's maternal great-grandfather's family history. Some members of the family donated land and helped co-found the church and settled in the area around it, known as Richmond Hill. The history is long and rich, and it was an honor to have Ella become a part of it. The Reverend was wonderful and performed a beautiful ceremony. Ella was so good! She sat quietly in her dress, well, eating it actually but didn't fuss at all.

During the actual baptism, Ella sat in our arms and didn't cry at all when the Reverend took her and blessed her. I am soooo proud of her and how she behaved.

We all went to brunch and got a chance to visit with my Aunt Susan, my brother, my cousin, her husband and new baby, Amina, as well as my Grandfather and family friend, Michelle. It was such a lovely day. The congregation was very welcoming and we enjoyed the service. Tomorrow is a day at the spa and then spending some time with Ella's great-grandfather.

Exhausted

We left Philadelphia this morning at 4:45am...we only had about 3-4 hours of sleep last night and we're exhausted!! It was really sad to say goodbye to Karen, Robert and Maddison. We'll be seeing them in Hawaii soon enough, and we'll go see Karen and Maddison in Korea when they make a visit to see Robert. It's always bittersweet to see my girlfriends...at one point it's always goodbye.



Ella is sleeping according to her schedule and seems to be totally unscathed at the miles she's stuck in her car seat. Ron slept a bit while I drove and eventually finished the last 4 hours as I was too tired. We made really good time and arrived in Niagara Falls around 1:30.

We met up with Steph and Matt and walked around the falls. They are stunning but the mist is soooo cold.
By the time we had dinner and headed back to the car, I was wearing an army fleece jacket...IN AUGUST! How acclimatized to Georgia have I become??? (Thank you Robert for hooking us up with the gear...the running jackets and fleece came in so handy!!!)
I'm so exhausted I'm just going to hit the pillow, dirty feet and all.

Girl Friends

How cute are these two???? Still in Philly....