Friday the 13th Indeed

This pretty much sums up our day. Ella was up at 5 am and was up most of the day, cranky and irritable. Her rash has turned bothersome and she is constantly rubbing her face on my shoulder, my shirt, the bed, her blanket. She's rubbing her eyes and face like she does when she's tired, but she doesn't stop. I took her to the doctor this morning and she does indeed have roseola. I'm not sure how well you can see in the photos but her face is all red and blotchy and her body is covered with spots. Although totally harmless, occasionally it can be like having the measles. Aghhhh! We got some children's Benadryl for the itch and it is working slowly. Ella hasn't napped all day but 20 minutes here and there.

I gave her a bath tonight and avoided a major tub disaster by sitting Ella on the toilet...she pooped like a big girl and then it was back in the clean tub. Drinking water out of a water bottle, bathing by herself and using the toilet...what next for this little lady!

Ella cried a lot today so I had lots of time to capture her teeth coming through. (Can you see the little white bumps!) As I put her to bed (finally), her rash seems to be going away. It should be gone tomorrow I hope. After our day today, I'm ready to hit the hay, after a nice cold beer!

Mac n' Cheese

I forgot to mention....Ella had her first taste of real food. I gave her a few noodles from my mac n' cheese and she chewed them up! (Though I had to hand feed her as she couldn't pick them up off the tray herself). We also tried Chicken and gravy (baby food version) for dinner tonight.

And....

A tooth has popped through! One of them has pierced her gums and you can feel how sharp it is against the rest of her soft gums.

She'll be 7 months on Sunday and I'm still nursing; it's been such an accomplishment for me and well worth it. I love our time together and we've bonded so close. I'm so glad I've been able to up til now and will begin to wean her off closer to her first birthday. (Though we'll see what comes of the whole teeth situation :) )

Roseola

After a few errands this morning and a restful afternoon, we went over to Ron's Grandma's to help with a few house chores. Ron has her all hooked up with the computer and gave her a quick lesson on the internet.

(Hi Grandma!!!)

Ella enjoyed her visit as always and left with lots of love and kisses.

I'm not sure if you can see in the pictures but I think I figured out what Ella's fever was all about. She broke out in a rash today and her fever is gone. From what Amy has told me, it looks like Roseola; a harmless rash most babies get at some point. She isn't at all bothered by it, she isn't rubbing or itching at all. It's on her chest, across her back, her neck and the side of her face. Again, totally oblivious to the whole thing. (Amy - oh my goodness, no worries or apologies! It was a week after we saw Nolan. Besides, it's only fair as our pool could have given Nolan a lot worse! :) )

Woah! Did you see "Grey's Anatomy" tonight!!!!

Rollercoaster

Well, Ella's temperature went down to normal today. I checked when we woke up and again at noon. All's okay at 98.6. By 4 o'clock it was up to 102! What the ???????
I'm so confused! I gave her some Motrin and within an hour it was back below 100. She's taking her anti-biotics every night with no problem, maybe that's what's throwing us for the loop.

Dadadadadadadada

Yeah! Ella is talking.....sort of. She talks to herself using "ma" "la" "na" "da". Usually it's just a lot of nattering and repetative sounds. But tonight she answered when Ron was talking to me from the other room. She heard his voice and started "dadadadadada" and then paused to listen for him again. She had the biggest smile on her face and was so proud of herself. "Dadadadadada" to you too, Ella!

She's been using sounds for a little while now but this is the first time she seems to have related a sound to an object. I'd like to think "mama" was her first word as she'll start most of her cries, "Maaaaaaaaaaaaa" or "Mmmmmmmmmmmmum" but I think it's just the sound she makes when she's gearing up for a wail.

We went to the doctor today. Ella's high temperature isn't going down much. It's not a fever yet, but it's hovering around 100.5. They tested for another UTI and the test came back clean; the doctor thinks she picked up a virus and she's just fighting it. It should be back to normal in a couple of days but until then it's Tylenol, Motrin, luke-warm baths and a whole bunch of nakedness. The good news, she's drinking lots of liquids to help fight this. She won't drink out of a sippie cup or her bottle, but she loves water and juice as long as it's out of the bottle it came in. She really does think she's a big girl!

I had the best news from my dearest friend. It made my day! Congratulations!!!!!!

Temperature's Risin'

Ella was burning up this morning. I gave her some Tylenol and her high temperature went from 101.7 to 100.9. I've been giving her Tylenol all day and gave her a cool bath tonight but she's still warm and her temperature isn't dropping below 100. I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow and take her in to make sure she's okay. Maybe another UTI? I'm not sure but this is how the last one was discovered.
Hawaii is getting closer and closer, 17 more days!

Sleepy Sunday

We met some of Ron's friends for a walk at Arabia Mountain this morning. It was so cool...temperature cool. Luckily I bundled Ella up but Ron and I only had short sleeves and burrrr it was chilly! I love the cool weather, I just wish we had bundled up a bit more.
This afternoon, I slept the entire afternoon away. It was so nice to be lazy! Grandma took Ella for lunch with her girlfriends and Ron went over to the house to get a garage door opener installed (they ran out of time on our neighbors house so we have to reschedule).
Happy Thanksgiving my Canadians! Wish we were there for some pumpkin pie! YUM!

Mmmmmm

Today was a lazy day. We went over to Victor and Tara's for dinner and they had fixed a wonderful Mexican meal! I love Mexican food. Any day, any time I would go over for a meal; Victor and Tara know how to cook up a whole spread! Sooooooo yummy!
It's always nice to visit with them, laugh and talk. We're really going to miss having such great neighbors and friends when we leave at the end of the month. Ella was a bit fussy, which is so unusual but she was rubbing her gums so I'm thinking the teething thing is getting serious. She ate and passed out just before we headed home. Such a lovely night!

**********************************

Dear Mr. Victor and Miss Tara,

Thank you so much for my book about reading.
It's adorable!
We are going to start reading tomorrow night.
I can't wait.

Love Ella xo xo :)

High on Thai

After getting my hair cut this morning, Ron, Ella and I headed out to the High Museum of Art in Midtown Atlanta. It was nice to wonder around some beautiful pieces of art and feel civilized. Though I think if it looks like something I could do, it shouldn't be called art. I mean, splashing some paint on a canvas or dipping a bicycle in paint, in my opinion, isn't art. Although I know plenty of people who would disagree with me. I'm not good at critiquing art, I either love it or hate it, no real rhyme or reason for it. I do really like female subjects in art, there is just something very beautiful and soft about women. I love this bright painting, and loved the sculptures.

We drove around midtown and looked at all the beautiful homes. Now, I would live in Georgia if we could live here! Gorgeous homes, tree-lined lanes, sidewalks, parks, lots of trendy restaurants, total yuppie-ville.
Then it was off to meet Ron's parents for dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant. Ron and I drove by it this week and decided we had to try it. It was sooooo good! This week has been busy, busy. Tomorrow I'm sleeping in!

Ooh, grocery shopping today, we got Ella some stage 2 foods, we had sweet potatoes and corn. We also sat in the shopping cart without the car seat. Such a big girl!!!

On Air

Ron and I, in our week of Atlanta sightseeing, went to the CNN center and did a tour of the studios. We saw a live broadcast and got a look behind the scenes. As we were watching the different video feeds, we realized one of them was down the street from the house (my in-laws house). A bank was robbed next to the grocery store we go to and the robber who fled on foot, left a bag that had to be detonated. Crazy! I guess they've been trying to catch this guy for a while, apparently he's been robbing banks all over.
After the tour we met Ella, Grandma and Great-Grandma for lunch and then we all went off to visit Portia, a close family friend. It was a nice afternoon. Now if this weather would just cool down and be fall like everywhere else in the country!!!