Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Ella's new bestie


Christine, a sweet blog follower and friend/co-worker in LA, sent Ella the sweetest new toy- Sophie! She is the sweetest little giraffe that Ella immediately started "talking" to and put directly into her mouth. She gnaws on and laughs with Sophie all of the time.

Thanks, Christine. You are the best =)

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Ella's Happenings


Ella knocked out from the Halloween festivities...


Ella and friends....she was gunning for the bee's wings..







My happy little pumpkin...

Thumb suckin' pumpkin






First Halloween family picture!



hello!



checking out the babies...really, the toys...


Ella is doing a good job at sitting!



Mommy and Ella...


Erica, Ella and me...



Ella looking pretty happy!



The girls and baby Ryan!






Babies close up...






Ella and her great grandmother! Such a sweet picture...



Sweet cousins....



Ella and her pal, Savannah.....


Aunt Becky and Ella's new pink uggs!!






Uncle Keith and E!


She has had a lot of stuff going on lately! We have loved traveling and having our families in town. Starting in late September, we had family in town and we have also been out of town and are finally in town this weekend. It has been really nice to get back to our routines and relax...a little.



Aunt Becky and Uncle Keith came to meet Ella and we had a blast! Our sitter watched Ella for a few horus while we all went out in Bucktown. By the time 11 rolled around, I was exhausted! It was so nice to get out and spend time with Becky and Keith! They got married in late April and I wasn't allowed to go to the wedding because I was only a month away from having our little Ella. Becky and Keith seemed to be glowing and so happy! We loved having them here. We can't wait to see them in November when we travel out to SF for Thanksgiving!



We also went to Atlanta a couple of weekends ago. We had such a good time with family. Ella did amazing on her flight to/from Atlanta. We had not been back to Atlanta since our baby shower in March when I was 6.5 months. I couldn't believe I hadn't been back in that long. Honestly, there was no way we could have put our little nugget on a flight and subjected 100 other passengers to a wailing baby for 1.5 hours. Wow, what a difference a couple of months make! She was a trooper in Atlanta. She loved hanging with her E-Pa, Gram, Auntie Ash and cousin Grayce. She watches her cousin's every move; it is the cutest thing. I don't think that the south's allergy infested air was very kind to Ella or to us. We came back congested and feeling a little gross. Daddy is fighting a sinus infection and we are keeping a watchful eye on Ella's stuffy nose.


This past weekend, we were on the G-O. We finally got to meet Kristen and Joe's little one, Ryan! He is just 8 weeks old and is the cutest thing. He already has killer dimples and his mother's style as he was all decked out in his polo onesie! We will definently have to get them together again soon (along with the parents!). Kristen hosted such a fun night at her beautiful home with appetizers and drinks (did I mention she has an 8 week old baby?!). We can't wait to meet up again really soon. Auntie Beth was also there and Ella just LOVES Beth. Beth has such a natural ability with babies. Good thing she will be teaching littles in the fall =)


We were also able to meet up with Erica and Ryan for dinner on Saturday night! Ella was such a good baby while we all had dinner! She loved watching all of us talk. I wonder what she is thinking as we smile and coo at her? She is probably thinking, "when can we start some solids up in this joint?". We all had such a good time! We can't wait to see Erica and Ryan again soon...


On Sunday, Ella got all dolled up in her Halloween costume. Miss E was a pumpkin. Yes, a pumpkin. I was really hoping for a more original costume but Daddy was pretty adament about his little one being a pumpkin for her first Halloween. I think you'd agree that she was the cutest pumpkin ever. She loved seeing all of the babies dressed up. Check out our the photos- she kept gunning for the bumble bee's wings. She was truly fascinated by them! She was tuckerd out by the end of the party. A girl's gotta get her beauty sleep, I suppose...


She doesn't get to see her friends from a moms playgroup much b/c I am back to work full time.....it is very sad and we feel like we have missed a ton of the babies growing up! It is really hard being a working mom! Ella loves her friends at Alex's. They are so cute when we come to get her at the end of the day. Ella has a friend named Beatrix who looks so much like my best friend's baby, Kendall! And wouldn't you know, Beatrix and Ella love each other. Hmmm...I wonder why? We will have to get a picture of Beatrix for Sara.


There is another new addition in our building! There was definently something in the water this past year in our building. Our friends, Lori and Tim, welcomed Reagan a couple of weeks ago and we were able to go up and meet the little one and to also drop off some dinner for the new mom and dad. We can't believe that we were just "those parents" just 4.5 months ago. It has really flown. All of the changes that Ella has gone through is just amazing....


We truly feel like the luckiest people. Ella is the sweetest, happiest baby. We had quite a tough start. There were days when I didn't even know how I was going to muster the strength to get through another day of screaming. She was in such pain. Our lives have changed so much for the better in the past 1.5 months! She is laughing all of the time and smiles for just about everyone. She never cries anymore unless she is hungry or a little tired. She wakes up cooing and talking to her mobile every day. It is the best way to start my day! That is the sweetest sound in the monitor first thing in the morning....


We have a little less to do this weekend which will be very nice! There are a ton of things to do before the holidays. Can you believe that it is almost Thanksgiving? It is a little bittersweet for me that it is almost November. I was 3 1/2 months pregnant and had no idea what was ahead of me! It is amazing how fast your life speeds up when you have a little one.


We hope that everyone has a great week!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Ella's first flight




So, this past weekend, Ella made her first trip on 1) an airplane and 2) to the A-T-L. She loved being with her gram and E-Pa. Her sinuses didn't love Atlanta, and neither did ours, for that matter. We are all kinda sickly today and congested. BUT, we had a great trip and will post more pictures soon....




Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Ella is a' rollin....


How in the world am I going to reach that fluffy thing??


Reality TV time with mommy.....

Gram buys me stuff that has my name on it for different seasons. I like this.

Smile, Ella! Act like you love your mommy!

Please!? Just one little smile?!

Me and Abbykins. I mean, her dress had pockets. How perfect is this?

Mommy and Daddy are out for the night. We even got in some dancing. Huge!


Close up...

Ella is sucking her thumb. A lot.

Hi. May I help you? You are kind of cramping my style.
Our girl is on the move. From going bananas in her jumperoo or playing on her play mat, one thing is certain- our girl is determined and strong! Her little neck and legs are getting so strong! She is already rolling over from back to front and is starting to roll from her belly to her back. It is so fun to watch her personality develop. She loves to laugh and smile while talking to people or looking at the doggies. She is also quite fascinated by the t.v. She watches only educational stuff, of course =)
This past weekend, Gram was visiting to watch Ella while mommy and daddy went to Abby's wedding! What a fun (and quick) weekend trip for Gram and for us. Ella was a sweet doll for her gram. I think that Gram might be a little smitten by our Ella bella...
Abby's wedding was a blast! You should have seen all of the details Abs took care of; from personalized navy and pink coasters/napkins, to pink wraps for the guests! She went above and beyond and it was the most beautiful wedding. Abby was stunning, as always. We think the world of the Bellgrau's and were honored to be a part of their wedding day! We will have to celebrate once they return from Cabo. Lucky ducks- they will be there for 10 days!
This weekend, Aunt Becky and Uncle Keith are coming to the windy city! We can't wait for them to meet Ella and have her show them around the city.
We hope everyone is having a great week. Love you all!!

Monday, September 21, 2009

SUCH a fun weekend until....


Look at those sweet little red lips!




Concentrating...






I am sitting all by myself!!



Me and Tiff.....



The Vajda Family at the Oyster Fest!



Ella is big enough to face out now!



Ella and Mommy.....Love my girl!

Birthday pints.... Happy Birthday, Daddy!





You are not holding it right, mom. Let me show you!

Bumbo and Ella....she loves her bumbo!

I got food poisoning this weekend at the Oyster Fest on Roscoe..I have been out of commission for 2 full days. This is killing me. I don't do sick. Far too much to do now....especially with a 16 week old. Yes, folks, Ella is 16 weeks old...we still cant believe our little nugget is cooing, laughing and rolling over! She is also sitting up now. She did it for the first time on Sat. night! She put one hand down to steady herself but she totally did it! (Picture above) And, our little independent love bug is holding her bottle, whenever she can, by herself! It is the funniest thing. Proof is in the picture (above). All of these little milestones and glimpses into her personality are the coolest things. I can't imagine not having her in our life. It is such an amazing thing to be a parent...

Daddy turned 32 on Sunday! Too bad we couldn't celebrate...he was too busy taking care of me and Ella! I am making a nice meal for him tonight; hopefully that will make it up for him. Poor guy...
We did get to go out on Friday to one of our favorite Italian places in the city in Old Town (we are big Italian and Mexican foodies) and then went off to the pub for a pint. Perfect birthday celebration for Scott. We found a fabulous babysitter and Ella loves playing with Iwona! I feel so good knowing that Ella is with Iwona....she might be more qualified than I am to watch a baby =) We topped off the night by stopping over at the Vajda's for a drink.
On Saturday, Scott and Marko stained a deck and then we headed to the Oyster Fest on Roscoe. It was so much fun! Ella had quite the time, I think. She loved watching all of the people. SHe is big enough to face out in the Bjorn now and she loves watching everyone and smiling at people. A lot of people stopped to say hello...Ella loved it! After eating my questionable chicken, we headed home. On Sunday, I started feeling sick. It went downhill from there....
I hope everyone has had an amazing week! We love y'all!
Francis Clan

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Mid-Week Ella posting


Look at this sweet face....falling asleep on Mommy after eating.....nothing sweeter than this!



Picking Ella up...she fell asleep on my shoulder the SECOND i picked her up..I think she was waiting for mommy to fall sleep.






The Ga/SC game was a real snooze for her, I suppose. She slept through the 4th quarter which was the best quarter I have ever watched! We need to get her more excited about the Dawgs!

Laughing at Daddy while he made funny faces. She loves her little blanket that G-ma Peggy gave her. She likes to rub things while sucking her thumb...Mom: where does she get that from???


So, my little nugget is officially the sweetest, most curious baby ever. I am told she is very observant during the day and is the most mellow of all the babies at Alex's house! She is becoming so much happier and WE couldn't be happier. I love to spend as much time at night with her as possible. I miss her like crazy during the day. It is getting a little easier but is still really hard....
She is smiling all the time now and "talking" away. She has the sweetest babble ever. She has also begun laughing which completely melts my heart. She loves tummy kisses and starts howling with laughter as soon as we kiss her!

I hope everyone is having a great week!
Xoxo,
Nicole