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....

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 :)