There's no place like home!!!

Long story short... we left for Philadelphia on Thursday, with Nanny and Grandpa, to attend Uncle Bill and Aunt Dani's wedding. I'm thinking I'll try to do a day-by-day summary of the trip in the days to follow; but, for now, I just wanted to check in and note that everyone is safe and sound and AK showed great restraint by not killing our dogs.

-ED

Ferber

As has been documented elsewhere, Ellie has had some sleeping problems. It hasn't been constant or predictable and, therefore, we have been somewhat lax about addressing it. However, after two three-hour sleep interruptions this past week, we finally resolved to employ the Ferber method. The first time through was rough. The next time was a bit better. And so we are committed to continuing this effort. One problem: we've got a major schedule/routine disruption coming soon, so we are a little concerned about losing momentum, etc. As such, we may waiver a bit in the short term, but I am confident that once "normalcy" returns we will finally get a handle on little miss Ellie and her sleep issues.

-ED

Another first

We took Ellie for her 9-month check-up on Thursday. Everything is fine; but, I'm embarassed to say it took Dr. Betsy to discover another first for Ellie... her first tooth... it's just starting to come through. So we need to savor her toothless expressions as much as possible:





For the record, her weight is 19 pounds, 4 ounces, and her height/length is 28.5 inches.

-ED

9M

Out of rhythm

This has been a different kind of week; one without it's normal rhythm. I've made the move from second shift to third shift, and we've had our bedroom and bathroom painted. As such, I've had to try different sleep patterns and our sleeping venue has shifted. Thankfully, through it all, Ellie has maintained her good spirits and has helped tremendously by not making an uncomfortable situation worse. Keep doing what you're doing, Ellie.

-ED

She finally put it in drive

After 5+ weeks of scooting around in reverse, Ellie finally figured out how to put it in drive and go forward! When she does it, it is brief and full of uncertainty; but, make no mistake - she is moving ahead, and we are in trouble. Yeah!

-ED

If at first you don't succeed...

...try again, right?

I had plans to take Ellie clothes shopping this morning, but she's been pretty miserable the whole time so I scrapped that plan. She's napping now, and if she wakes up in a better mood we might give it another try.

UPDATE: Ellie woke up refreshed and in good spirits so we dashed off to the sale. After an hour of sifting through the racks of clothing, we left with nine items. Not bad at all. Ellie handled it very well, too. Thank you, baby girl.

-ED

Whew!

We're pooped.

Ellie was all over the place today... gabbing, twisting, grabbing. It was so much fun to be a part of.

For example, we took her to the grocery store and sat her in the front of the cart. I pushed the cart... and fed her Cheerios... and tried to keep her out of trouble as she turned around to grab everything EM put in the cart. I took so many things from her that just when I thought I had a handle on her and her grabbiness, EM found Ellie with a cucumber on her lap leaving us both to wonder how she did it without me realizing it.

Anyhow, as much as I am enjoying this, part of me can't help but think about how we've just scratched the surface. I'm going to go take some vitamins because this girl is going to wear me out!

-ED