Movie Date!

Yesterday, Ella J and I went to the movie theaters to see the movie (500) Days of Summer. You must be thinking, "What??!!! You took a baby to a movie"! Yup. And, two other baby friends came too!
In Austin, we have this great movie theater called Alamo Drafthouse. On Tuesdays they have BABY DAY! All babies are welcome to shows and you don't have to leave if they're crying, you can get up and rock your baby, nurse your baby, etc. all while watching an adult movie.
Ella J, whose recent favorite thing in the world is the TV, was in hog heaven. She loved watching the movie and can probably summarize it better than I can because she wasn't trying to hold a baby, monitor the pacifier, and eat a burger simultaneously.
I'm really enjoying these baby/mom dates we have together. Can't wait for Friday baby and mom yoga!

Ella J and baby friends at the movie theater!

Mom and Dad get a break

Mom and Dad out on the town

Saturday, Clay was the best man in his friend Aaron's wedding in Dallas. We dropped off Ella J at her Grandma and Grandpa's house and headed to town all dolled up. Ella J did great over at Grandpa George's and Grandma Liz's. This was the longest we were away from Ella J and I was very nervous before hand but everyone did great. The dogs loved her!
Ella J had so much fun and so did Clay and I at the wedding. It was really nice to get away with Clay for awhile and act like big kids. The wedding was really nice and the reception was super fancy with yummy food. We got home around 11 and Ella J had such a great time with the relatives that she slept the whole night without waking up (which was great because Clay and I were very, very tired after the road trip and the partying)!
On Sunday Ella J met her soon to be favorite Great Aunt, Aunt Diane. We had a great brunch with everyone, went swimming in the pool, kissed the dogs good-bye and headed back to Austin. Ella J had a wonderful time and slept most of the way back to Austin, catching up on all the rest she missed because she had so much fun in Mansfield and not because of the champagne Mom drank the night before :).

Ella J in Mansfield

Ella J and Aunt Diane

The 4th!

We had a great holiday this weekend.
We celebrated over at the Pratt's house. Clay and Michael cooked up the food and drank beers at the house while the girls and kids swam over at Gigi's.
Ella J went on her first swim and loved it! Later we had some burgers and spent time with our Austin family. We were home by 6 and in bed before the fireworks even began...we had some much needed resting to get to this weekend.
On Sunday Clay and I took Ella J for a second swim at the pool near our house. Here's some pics of her second swim (which she loved as much as her first). Ella J was so pooped from swimming she fell asleep around 6pm and slept until this morning! We're going swimming every day!

bath time, part 2

Bath time continues to be one of our favorite activities around the house. When Ella J was a newborn, I was in the tub with her and would hold her so she could float in the water. It's crazy how much things change in just a few weeks! At some point, Ella J told her mom to 'get out of here and let me have some fun'. Now she plays in her little tub for a good 20 minutes every night just splashing and kicking away. This is one of the places where you are guaranteed to get a few smiles and coos. It's so funny to watch the video of Ella J in the tub for her first bath versus this video of her filmed at 8 weeks. Wow! She grows so fast!

A new house for Ella J!

Clay and I have been looking for houses for sometime. Yesterday, we put an offer on a potential home for our new family. This type of 'adult stuff' is very new and exciting to both of us!
The house is a foreclosure so it's kinda junked up, but nothing we can't handle with a couple of weekends of work and lots of friend's help (hint, hint :). It's in a super nice neighborhood filled with really nice houses in south Austin. This would be a great opportunity for a first home. Things take a little longer when dealing with bank owned properties so we won't know about our offer for a couple of days. I feel pretty good about it though and if it was meant to be it will happen and if not there's plenty of other houses out there!

BOO :(

ella j got her first little shot today at her two month doctor visit. it wasn't nearly as traumatic as I envisioned it. our doc is pretty cool and doesn't frown at me with dismay when i mention 'alternative vaccine' schedule and look at her like she's crazy when she mentions a chicken pox vaccine. when did chicken pox become so bad!!??
at the doc's office she had fallen asleep in my arms and stirred just a little bit as we layed her on the table so the nurse could administer the shot. she got it in her leg and cried for about 1 minute and was done. she's a tough gal.
clay and i feel pretty strongly about all this vaccination business. a good website to check out is: www.generationrescue.org for information on the bad side of shots.
so ella j will be getting most of the shots recommended for kiddos, but at a slower rate. she'll only get poked once or twice each visit instead of three or four times.
enough of my soapbox, now for the stats that everyone wants to hear about....
ella j weighed on the high side of 12 pounds
she is in the 90th percentile in height at 24 inches
she is in the 90th percentile in weight
and in the 75th percentile for head size.
this last bit is very good news as her dad and I have two jinormous heads. maybe ella j will have a small enough noggin to be able to fit into the cutesy girl hats they sell at those stores for normal sized ladies :).

Pool Party!

where's the pool?

Ella J and Grandma Jeanie

Ella J and Great Grandma Mareck

Last Sunday we went to Nanny's Annual Pool Party in Temple. Ella J finally met: Great-Grandma and Grandpa Mareck, Aunt Marilyn, Aunt Linda and Uncle Grady, Cousin Meghan, and Cousins David and Dereck, and John Michael. She also got to see a bunch of folks she's met before and goes way back with ;). We had a really good time and good food (when else do you get to eat KFC chicken?!). Ella J didn't do a lot of swimming, but did a whole lot of sleeping, eating, and getting loved on by her family.