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....

My Angel

An angel indeed!!!
Ella has earned her wings up to now. From the moment we left Atlanta, Ella has been a perfect little lady. She has been nothing but smiles and giggles for everyone she meets!!


Ron and I found a cute little coffee shop down from Karen's with wireless internet so we came down for some coffee (and I get to get a blog in...take a seat, it's a long one!). We left Saturday morning at 3am for Roanoke, VA and arrived around 11am. We stayed the night at Ron's family, Aunt Gloria and Uncle James (here with Ella) and made a quick visit to Shirley, Denise and Gene. We really enjoyed the visit and it was wonderful to finally meet them.

We left Roanoke on Sunday morning at around 9:30 drove up here to Philadelphia. We got into Pennsylvania and decided to avoid the interstates (as they were all tolls and Ron is great at saving money). :) It was soooo beautiful! We drove through Gettysburg and took rural highways all the way to Philly. We went through gorgeous Amish county and saw a few horse and buggies on the highways. It didn't take us any longer and we arrived at Karen and Robert's at 5:30.


I just want everyone to note, I drove the WHOLE way and didn't feel sleepy or bored at all! I'm great at driving to a holiday...not so great driving home from one. I'm building my drive hours so Ron can't complain on the way back. :)

Yesterday we took Ella and Maddison to get some portraits at Babies R' US. (Amy we'll have to make a trip to Marietta or Duluth to get pics of the babies). Ella, I can't even describe how good she was. The last two portrait attempts were horrible, and Ella screamed the whole time.


Yesterday, she loved the photographer and giggled and laughed even when he wasn't doing anything! I was in shock! Maddison was a little shy and so we didn't get a portrait of her and Ella together. (Maddison is 2 and I think she's feeling a little overlooked with a baby in the house. She looks as if she is wondering why everyone has to hold and pay attention to Ella.) She has been so good with Ella and is being very nurturing to "Baby El".




Last night we gave them a bath and Ella loved it. She is totally in love with Maddison! She follows Maddison with her eyes and has the biggest grin on her face. When Maddison plays with her, Ella just starts giggling and shrieking with joy. Ooh! I love babies! Hopefully I can get another chance to blog before we head to Niagara Falls on Friday.

And we're off...soon

I'm not sure if I'll get any blogs in while we're away but with all the pictures we're bound to take, I'll try to get a post in as much as I can. Ron and Ella are in bed and I need to finish packing and hit the pillow. Ron's plan is to leave by 3am so that we're in Roanoke, VA around noon or shortly after. By Sunday, we'll be in Philadelphia, Friday in Niagara Falls, and Saturday in Toronto for 5 days. I can't wait!!!!! Good thing Ron is doing the driving tomorrow, I'm too excited to sleep.

Ella has been on anti-biotics for her UTI and her fever is gone, and she's not waking up 2 or 3 times in the night. The medicine is working but it's been a struggle. We started on Saturday and by Wednesday, I realized that the pharmacy had made a mistake and not given us enough (only 55 ml not 75). So I drove all the way back to the pharmacy by the house to get the rest of the medicine. They were great, I had no problem other than the 25 minute drive over.

Then tonight as I was giving her the medicine she knocked the bottle out of my hand and it spilled everywhere! I have to give her 3 mini doses during her feeding, basically when she opens up to get milk I shoot the medicine down her throat and then nurse her real quick so she doesn't have time to spit it out. It takes 3 times to get the full dose and while I was getting a second dose ready she flailed her arm and the bottle went flying. Aghhhhhh! I had to call her pediatrician so she could phone in some more of her medicine to the pharmacy.

Note to doctors and vets: when it comes to babies and pets, extra doses are necessary! Giving Ella medicine is about as easy as getting a cat to swallow a pill! It takes a lot of skill to get it down and not have her spit it out til it drips down her chin. And how do cats manage to eat the food you disguise the pill in but spit out the pill? This is my cat, Abu, I got in college. Now he lives with my brother in Toronto. Isn't he cute!!!

One and a Half Sleeps

Whoo-hoo! Only one and a half sleeps left until we leave for TO. (I say half as Ron has the notion we will leave at like 3am Saturday morning.) We can't wait to see everyone!
Tonight we went to visit Great-Grandma Beasley and had dinner at Chili's. Ella was in a new outfit (my new favorite one) and was a perfect lady. Everywhere we go, people are always smitten with her and tonight, Ella had smiles for everyone!

On a serious note, please check out the links to the right. These causes are close to my heart and please, donate if you can...

Good News....

First, I am so excited about our upcoming trip to Toronto. We are leaving in the wee hours Saturday morning and stopping in Virginia and Philadelphia (can't wait to see how big Maddison has grown and catch up with Karen!) Then it's a night in Niagara Falls to visit friends I met in Korea. We'll be in Toronto for 5 days, then we are stopping in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina on the way back.


I've also heard some good news from my brother, Stephen. He's going to fly us to Vancouver for a week at the end of September, beginning of October. I can't even contain how excited I am!!!! I can't wait to see everyone, and have them meet Ella. What I've learned from my childhood: if I pout long enough, I eventually get what I want. :) Naw, I'm just really lucky my brother works for Air Canada.


We finally found a bike trailer and jogger combo. Ella is soooo tiny in it but she loves that she can look out ahead of her. Usually she's in her car seat and stroller and facing me. Ron and I went for a walk the other day and to a park the other evening. Ron loves how it feels and steers when he was jogging with her. Once we're in Hawaii, we'll be able to attach her to our bikes and all go out as a family. I love it!!!

Homesick

We haven't posted because there hasn't been any news. I am sooooo missing home and wish we could sell the stupid house so we could visit the west coast. I hope that I get to see everyone in Vancouver and Victoria before we leave for Hawaii but it doesn't look likely and that makes me very sad. :(

On a positive note, Erin is an new Auntie!! Congratulations Amber!!!!! See, just another reason I want to go home!

I'd like Ella to meet all the friends I grew up with and meet my Mom's friends. It's always nice to go back to the friends I call family. Here are some pics from my home. I grew up 5 minutes from the park, the beach, the forest... everyone always said how beautiful the coast was and I just took it for granted. It really is amazingly beautiful and I miss it! I'm hoping Ron feels bad enough to let me buy us plane tickets to Vancouver. Keep your fingers crossed :)

Sweet Potatoes

Ella and I went to the pediatrician today. They wanted to check out her high temperature. We saw the newest doctor to the practice, fresh out of med school, I think he was like 12! I'm kidding! He was great and diagnosed Ella's UTI (urinary tract infection) which often goes un-noticed because there aren't any clear signs. Her ears and sinuses were fine so he decided to take a urine sample "just to be safe". Sure enough, it's a UTI and she's on anti-biotics. We go back to the doctor when we get back from Canada for another urine test. They need to make sure her UTI (which is very common) isn't a "structural" problem, meaning a problem with her kidneys.

Tonight we gave her sweet potatoes for dinner. Yummy! Ella isn't quite sure what to do with food. She makes faces, looks stunned and generally spits it out. We'll keep up with the sweet potatoes for the next few days and see how she adjusts. Nice thing about her Bumbo is that it can be hosed down and cleaned, no seams or cracks to get food lodged in.

Solid Food...Sort Of...

Tonight I gave Ella some rice cereal with a spoon. It all started because I made dinner for the boys (Daddy, Uncle Joey and Granddad) and we were all eating while Ella sat in her Bumbo and watched. I really began to feel bad as she sat mesmerized at my plate and drooled excessively as I ate pasta. I got the feeling that she was thinking, "I see y'all eating...where's my dinner?" So solid food it was. Though I wouldn't exactly call it "solid"; it was more watery than anything. She ate most of it and did very well with the spoon, not making much of a mess at all until she was bored and started to spit it back at me. Enough food for tonight. I am going out tomorrow to get her some veggies to try this week. So fun!!
I snapped this picture of Ella taking her nap...I usually don't as the flash wakes her up but it happened to be bright enough today. She likes to sleep on her side with her thumb in her mouth and the other arm over her face. She's had a high temperature off and on for the past couple of days and we've given her a bit of Tylenol which has brought it back to normal but it's back up again. I'll call the pediatrician tomorrow and see what she says. Maybe just a teething symptom?

Moe's and More Moe's

Ella and I met Amy and Nolan for lunch again; at Moe's...again. I love that Amy likes Moe's as much as I do so I have someone to use as an excuse to go there often :) We had lunch and chatted for hours. It's always great to see her and Nolan. Ella behaved very well once she woke up. When she saw Nolan she went kind of odd. She screeched at him and her body went stiff. She shrieked so loud at him once that she actually startled herself. It was hilarious! Nolan didn't know what to make of her but continued to flirt and smile at her anyway.

Ella and I did a bit of shopping at Old Navy before heading home. All these clearance summer sales are perfect as we'll be wearing summer clothes for the next three years! Look at how good she is, posing for the camera. Lately her tongue is constantly sticking out, it might be part of her teething but it's so funny to watch her. Look at her cute little booties she got from Suzanne. I'm glad they finally fit her and she can wear them with all her pretty sun dresses.