little e & sister jackie

many of you have asked how jackie the cat has been doing since ellery was born. it's pretty common knowledge that jack may not be the most friendly cat in the world. she's got quite a bit of...how should i put it...sass. more than one cat should have. we adopted her while we were in chicago, so we like to think she was rescued from the city. and she's just so tough because she had to survive the mean streets of chicago. call us crazy. but we do love that cat, sass and all.

and really, she's been great with ellery. only a few hisses or growls. most of the time, she's just a little curious and will peep at her while she's in her car seat or her swing. or she just totally ignores the fact the e is here and snoozes away. lately though, she's been inching closer and closer to ellery, testing the waters to see if it's okay. jack even let ellery touch her a few times.

so all in all, jack's been taking this all pretty well. i think she sometimes even enjoys having a babe in the house. though she will always still be jackie. and will always be a bit territorial (see pictures on play mat as proof). we still love her. and so does the e babe.

"love you sister jackie!!" - ellery :)

these boots were made for...

...a baby with bigger feet! i didn't realize that they were just a tad too big until i took a pic of ellery at church. she definitely has room to grow into them! still cute as a button, though :)

ellery's first babysitters

i never thought i would be able to leave ellery with a babysitter before the age of... let's say... 18?? it's hard enough sometimes to lay her down for a nap without missing her (trust me, there are many times where all i wish i could do was lay the girl down for a nap!) really, many many friends & family put the offer out there, but in my mind, i just thought no way i'll be able to leave little e!

but God had other plans... specifically plans for monday nights. since having ellery, i wasn't sure what i'd do about volunteering with young life. i love it. but balancing being a momma & yl, especially just going to club on mondays, seemed like a challenge. but then kyle said he wanted to volunteer too. and my heart was still with serving yl, doing life with those girls, and hanging with the awesome leaders. now with kyle on board, we committed to at least trying, to see how it would go.

we have been blessed by many great friendships since we moved to milwaukee. it's like God hand-picked those we've met so far, each person placed in our lives for a purpose. and as silly as it may sound, He placed some special people in our lives to watch ellery. and not just watch her, but love her, so well. and give her momma & dad peace of mind!

so at the young age of 2 months, e had her first babysitter. ellen, who basically runs young life in tosa though she would never claim all the work she does, said it would be her honor to watch ellery while we went to club. really, she is one of the most genuine, giving and sweet women i know, and her & her husband tom are such amazing examples of Godly parents. we knew ellery was in great hands, and though i pretty much ran to the door when we picked ellery up, i can't tell you the peace kyle & i both felt knowing she was being lovingly cared for by the frens family!

so having survived her first babysitter (ellen said she did so great - took her bottle, snoozed, played a little), k & i felt more confident committing to being leaders again. and then another blessing - katie & jonathan offered to watch ellery at our place on mondays. and let me say, ellery already loves katie. every time e sees her, either when we go to baby yoga or small group, ellery just stares at katie, and puts a big smile on her face! so sweet. and even sweeter, the first night they watched ellery, we came home to find jonathan dancing & singing with ellery in her nursery. melted our hearts.

being a nanny, i always loved being able to be a part of childrens' lives, and getting to know their families too. but now i truly know how important it is to have someone to not just watch your child, but to truly care for them, to love them, to keep them safe. so so blessed to have found friends that do exactly that and more. thank you thank you thank you frens family and katie & jonathan!! ellery loves being with you! and we absolutely love it too :)

e's first hockey game

taking after her daddy, ellery is becoming quite the sports fan! she's already been to an nba game, and now, she has been to her first hockey game. though this wasn't a professional hockey team, we had a few good friends playing - including ryan from our small group and our pastor, danny - so we had a great time cheering them on!

e was asleep in her car seat for half of the game. and then i turn around and see her big cutie pie smile. she was so excited to be there, cheering the team on. and she must be good luck, because they won :)

boo baby acne!

ever since e was born, she had this beautiful skin. not a blemish or scratch in site. her coloring was so pretty. some one asked us if she had a tan :)

and then attack of baby acne hit poor ellery. those big cheeks were covered in bumps. her face looked red and agitated. and with that chilly wisconsin wind, soon her face was dry & chapped. anytime she drooled or her face got wet, it would get even worse. poor little girl. washing her face or using any lotions seemed to make it worse.

well thankfully, i live with not only 1, but 2 doctors. leah, who lives in the upper unit, is also a resident. more specifically, a pediatric resident. how awesome is that? so after a quick visit to dr. leah & dr. kyle, a call to our pediatrician, and talking to other moms, we bought some aquaphor. and it worked wonderfully! e's skin is still a tiny bit bumpy, but nothing compared to what it was like before. and though the acne & dryness never really bothered her, it still bothered me a lot because it just looked so painful. now that it's gone, i'm one happy mama - of one cutie pie, chubby cheek babe :)

2 month photo shoot

here are some pictures from ellery's 2 month "photo shoot". we thought they were pretty cute :)

happy 2 months ella belle!

(be sure to click on the photo to enlarge it so you can read all about ellery's favorite - and not so favorite - things from this past month!)