Over the river and through the woods...

We're headed to Grandmother's house this weekend! (Well - Great Grandmother.) Packing up the car and driving to south Georgia to see the Fords. We're hoping we'll find some time to recuperate from a long week, but looking forward to seeing family in Albany.

Ellie's conversation skills are really blooming. Mainly some good grunting. She can be such a flirt sometimes, especially in the mornings. When she smiles her eyes are so bright. She's also doing a lot of exploring with her hands, working on those fine motor skills. She's been grabbing my nose, cheeks, and hair during feedings. She'll be four months old on March 3rd. Crazy! Her next check up is around the corner and it's another one filled with immunizations!! I'm already dreading it. My poor little pookie :( We are beginning to have consistently good reports from Ms. Betty. Of course Ellie has her off days, but she must be finding a new routine with Ms. Betty and getting used to the new surroundings. Hearing that she's had a good day makes a long day with my students evaporate.

No bites on the house, though I'm not too worried yet. It's hard keeping the house in immaculate condition, but not as bad as we'd thought. We've had fun looking online at houses near Chattanooga. Can't get too serious until we sell!

I'm sure we'll take some good pictures this weekend. Look for some new ones to be up the front of next week. I hope to catch her in a talkative mood and sneak a video! Cross your fingers.

No turning back

Seth signed his contract on Friday! Chattanooga here we come! We've had a very busy weekend getting our house ready to put on the market. There is now a sign in our front yard to make it official. Exciting and scary wrapped into one.

Ellie's appetite has spiked recently. She's a little piggy! Ms. Betty asked us to look into cereal to help meet her increasing demands. I called Dr. DuBose to get his thoughts. He said cereal by spoon was fine so we gave that a go on Saturday. Ellie was interested, but still has her tongue reflex that pushes foreign objects out, so not much luck. She ended up pushing most of the mixture out of her mouth, sending it slidding down her chin. A book I'm reading says that reflex will subside here soon. We'll continue to experiment. The book also says that the next few months are going to be a delight. That Ellie will laugh even more, squeal (which she's done a handful of times), explore, want to have cooing conversations, and best of all, still stay right where you put her. We'd better enjoy that while we can!

Here are some pictures from this weekend for you to enjoy. Love you all!!



Lucy, getting a little jealous of Daddy's attention toward Ellie.


Her very first taste!

Cutie Pie

Not just yet

Interesting...


but give me another month or two!

Celebrating Cousin Cassidy's 14th Birthday

My Valentine

Daddy's little sweetheart

Peek-a-boo

Bath Time

Saturday in Atlanta

We had a terrific time visiting with family this weekend in Atlanta. Lots of loved ones stopped by on Saturday to see us. Well, really to see Ellie :) It seems like we put the camera down for a bit when Gamms and Papa came. We were just so excited to see them! Luckily they snapped some shots with their camera, which we hope to upload soon.

Loving on ReeRee.






Hanging out with her cousin, Jackson. Where's Owen???




Good to know that we can use the mat for at least another two years.


On the back porch.






Testing Auntie Heather's patience.


Snuggling with Daddy Bill.


Without our monitors we had to find a quiet place close by for Ellie to take her nap. The pool table seemed like the logical answer :)

Road to Recovery

Ellie has received lots of TLC over the last few days, and now seems to be turning the corner. She is now breathing at a normal rate, but still with some mild wheeze and "lung junk". Her coughs are more productive, though, and her feeding is almost back to normal. For now, we are keeping our plans to travel to Atlanta this weekend to see all of our wonderful family there who are chomping at the bit to meet her/see her again. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers these past few days. They were just what the doctor ordered!

Hanging in there

Ellie's cold has gotten worse over the last few days. We took her to the after hours pediatric clinic last night because her breathing was very labored. She tested positive for RSV - bronchialitis. She's taking a little breathing treatment when her respirations are more than 60 per minute and we are driving her crazy suctioning out her nose. The suctioning business is especially torturous for Seth, who hates making her so upset. She's supposed to get worse before she gets better, so we are hunkering down for the long haul. Seth stayed home with her today and plans to be home again tomorrow. She has a 9 a.m. appointment with her pediatrican, who will see how she as progressed (hopefully not regressed!). I'm a little concerned about dehydration today, as Ellie has eaten very little. She is, however, sleeping like a champ. Say a prayer for our little pookie.

Sunday at the park