Our First Halloween

The World's Cutest Pink Ladybug

One would think that a six month old might constantly pull at a fuzzy hood. However, Ella didn't mind it a bit. I have so much fun with headbands and hats.

The kiddos all together. We went to O'Fallon to trick or treat with the Freeds. Max was a super cute un-scary skeleton. He glowed in the dark thanks to some super comfy jammies from Baby Gap. Ellie was a pretty pink Princess. She loved that she matched Baby Ella and insisted on sitting beside her all night.

As you'll notice, Ella now sits up all by herself. She occassionally falls over when she's reaching for something far away (like a stray binkie), but for the most part she does great.

When it was time to trick or treat, we bundled up the babies in the wagon and set out. Max and Ella are both pretty chill babies. They did great just staring at each other and watching all the big kids running around. When it got a little later (and darker), Ella fell asleep first. We didn't notice her sleeping until she fell face down when we hit a bump and didn't even try to sit up. She was sleeping pretty soundly. We're great parents.

Isn't this a sweet picture? Daddy pulling the kids off into the sunset. Nathan and I say to each other daily how we much we love our life.

You've Come A Long Way, Baby

It has been so long since I've updated. Here are the major events since the last post.

Isn't this the saddest picture you've ever seen? Our sweet baby girl got so sick a couple of weeks ago. She had high fevers, then this rash. It was horribly itchy, which kept her up all night, which kept us up all night. It got worse over the next few days, and we eventually took her to the pediatric dermatologist because we were worried about a serious infection. Turned out to be just some dang virus. When Mommy is a pediatrician, every little virus "might" be something really serious. I'm trying to stop thinking medical thoughts about my own child. It was a miserable few days, but she's all better now. Thank goodness.

Now on to happier times...

We've started a potentially bad habit. In the mornings, we bring Ella into bed with us. It actually makes things easier because we can get ready for work and keep an eye on her. A few days ago, I caught Ella and Daddy snoozing. Right before I took this picture, she had her fist up against his cheek. It looked like she was punching him. It was so funny.

Later that day. My happy girl playing on the floor.

On our way out in the morning, I just had to snap this picture. It's just a little fleece jacket, but she looked so cute.

Tonight, playing with Daddy. She is such a big girl now. She loves sitting up. She occassionally tips over, but that doesn't bother her a bit. She just thinks she's way too big.

Playing tonight. I hate that this picture is so blurry, but she just looks so darn cute. Seriously, couldn't she be a model? She's way cuter than the Gerber baby.

Other updates:

Ella now has two teeth. Her two middle bottom teeth have broken through, and man are they sharp!

As of 3 weeks ago, she is 15 lbs, 3 oz - 70th percentile for weight. She's also 80th percentile for height, which, obviously, she gets from her Mommy.

Rice cereal is the greatest thing since breast milk. I'll have to try to get the video uploaded. It's funny.

Green beans, however, was not a happy experience.

I think that's about it for now. Stay tuned for more cute pictures after our trip to the pumpkin patch next week with Aunt Sarah and cousins Lizzie and Noah.

CHUBBLES

This is Ella's new favorite spot. She loves her Bumbo. It lets her sit up and look around and be part of the action. We love it, too, because we can just move it around the house with us and get things done while she happily watches.

However, we did have some Bumbo drama. Just after this picture was taken, Miss Ella got stuck in her Bumbo. Not catastrophically call the fire department stuck, just wiggle the legs and shimmy out stuck. How does a baby get stuck in a Bumbo you might ask? Scroll down and see.

When a girl has thighs like this, they tend to get wedged in. Couldn't you just kiss those thighs? We love our rolly polly little girl. She is so happy and chubby. She loves to smile and will do it for anyone who will smile at her.

Our Little Redbird

Two weekends ago we had the rarest of all events - Nathan and I were both off work, the weather was beautiful, and my dad got tickets to the Cardinals game. Could there be anything better?Not only did my dad get free tickets, they were sweet tickets. His company has a luxury suite at the stadium, so that's where we were. It was so nice. A nice comfy room (with a private CLEAN bathroom with a large counter perfect for changing diapers), sofas, plenty of food and air conditioning. The front of the suite opened completely to regular stadium seating, which we all took advantage of because it was sunny and 80 degrees. Ella loved her first trip to Busch. Hopefully, we'll have many more to come.

The man responsible for this fun trip showing off why he is so happy. Not only did we get to go, but Katie, Jason, Ellie, and Max all came, too. So fun. If only we had Granny and the Arizona Marlers...

Catching Up

Here are a few recent events. Nothing major, just what's going on in the Hesemann household.

We went to the doctor today, and she now weighs 12 lbs 6 oz. She is no longer a tiny girl. In fact, she's over the 50% for her age.

Our friend Ruslyan (aka "The Russian Concussion") came over tonight to meet Ella. The week she was born, he and his girlfriend took a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas including a visit to the Little White Wedding Chapel. He is such a happy groom. You can see that he loves babies and can't wait to have one of his own.

This is what he brought when he came over. Aren't they beautiful? What a sweet guy.

Laid back, with my mind on my money and my money on my mind...

Straight out of the bathtub. Couldn't you just eat her up?

The unfortunate event of the night. I don't know if you can appreciate the brown spots completely up the back of her onesie or the smear all over the changing table. Time for bath #2 today.

The aftermath...

Blessed

Ella and her cousin Max were both blessed at church on Sunday. Yet another of the cool experiences of having babies just five weeks apart. My sister and I get to share a lot of milestones.

Don't they both look beautiful?
Ella's gown is the one her Great-Grandpa Ritterbusch wore when he was baptized in 1911. I'd call that a family heirloom.

Look how sweet Max looks. He's such a happy boy. If he's awake, he's smiling.

Nap Time

This is what happens around our house when Mommy has been at work all night. Thank goodness my baby likes to snuggle.

Notice the quilt we're snuggled under. Nathan's mom made that for us. The patterned piece in the middle is from a quilt that Nathan's Grandma Ritterbusch made and all the grandkids used. When she passed away several years ago, that was one thing that all the grandkids fought over, so Lynn cut it up and made a baby quilt for each of the grandkids. Isn't that a great idea?!

Baby Babble

I have no idea who this baby is, but she's so funny. You have to go to this link and watch this video.

http://www.snotr.com/video/2630

Ella Update

I actually don't have too much to update on the world's most beautiful baby. The biggest news on her end is just how quickly she's growing. We went this morning for a quick weight check (just to ease Mommy's mind a bit), and she now weighs 8 lbs, 9 oz. That means that in the month since she was born, she has gained 3 lbs already. That's over half of her birth weight. That really makes me feel so much better. She is a really fast eater, which has been stressing me out since you never really know what they get with nursing. Well, now I feel pretty confident that she's getting plenty to eat. Now if she would just decide to sleep a little more at night. We did have a routine of one good 5 hour stretch at night. She has decided to do away with that and is now reliably eating every 2 1/2 to 3 hours around the clock. Mommy and Daddy are getting tired.

Just to brighten your day, this is her yesterday, deep in thought.

My Flowers

This post is especially for Sarah Babbel because I know that you love lilies. Fortunately, we don't have a rabbit problem in our neighborhood. I planted these lilies two years ago and put absolutely no work into them since. Every year, they get bigger and bigger.

Meeting Grandma

Ella and I made our first trip home to Farmington this week. Thankfully, she did great on the trip. I fed her just before leaving, then we stopped at my sister's and ate again, and she slept the whole way.

On Tuesday, we made the rounds and went to see Ella's Great Grandma (Granny Nell) and Great Great Grandma (Grandma Rowe). Both of them cooed over her and said how beautiful she is.

Ella and Grandma Rowe

Max, Ella, and Grandma Rowe

Max, Grandma Rowe, Ella, and Ellie.

Three of Grandma's twenty-two great great grandchildren.

Grandma is 96 years young, and we feel so blessed to have her. She is such a wonderful grandma. When I was a kid, we used to love to go to Grandma's and play in her sandbox and run in her huge backyard. She always had strawberry soda and ice cream. She still does.

Mommy's Little Piggy

Today is Ella's 2 week birthday. It has been wonderfully uneventful. She is still trying to decide how she likes things. We change sleeping places and positions and times every day. Sometimes she eats fast, sometimes slow. She certainly keeps her mommy guessing. Our biggest news is just how big our girl is now. 2 weeks ago, she weighed 5 lbs 9 oz. We went to the doctor yesterday, and she weighed, get ready for this, 6 lbs 10 oz. That's right. She's done more than just catch up to her birth weight in the first 2 weeks - she's gained a pound. I'm not kidding when I say she's a good eater. We think she may even be working on some chubby cheeks.

Cousins

This is Ella with her cousin Max in a picture I stole from The Freeds' blog. In this picture, he is 5 weeks, and she is 3 days. It is somewhat deceiving since she's all curled up. But his 10 1/2 lbs compared to her 5 1/2 is pretty impressive.

Bringing Home Baby

In the hospital just before we came home.

The 10 minute trip home from the hospital will really take it out of a girl.

And out of a daddy.

Can you tell that Nathan is completely enamored?

This is pretty much what she does. Her wakeful times consist of about 5 minutes after she eats if she makes it that long. Most of the time, she falls asleep while eating.

Ella Grace Hesemann

Our little angel made her debut on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 9:40 pm. 5 lbs 1 oz, 18 inches.

She was wide awake and very calm as soon as she was born.

This is what happens in the nursery when your daddy is a doctor.

This is what happens in the nursery when your daddy is an eye doctor.

My mom was video taping all of this from behind the glass. When the nurse brought out the tape measure, the grandpas were joking about how it looks like the conservation tapes for measuring fish. She measured in right at 18 inches, to which they both said, "She's a keeper." It's pretty funny on the video.

Overall, we're doing well. We're all adjusting to each other and trying to get into a routine. I've been a pretty nervous mommy so far and really thankful to have my mom here to help me. I don't know how people bring babies home without having help.

We really feel blessed that Ella is doing so well. We didn't mention it to a lot of people before, but we knew for a while that she would be very small and at risk for complications. We and lots of people around us have been praying very hard, and our prayers have definitely been answered. So far, she's acting very much like a normal baby, just small. She is very strong and has great head control as if she's telling us all that we worried for nothing. Somehow, I don't think the worrying will stop anytime soon, though.

A Bit of Advice

Having a baby just before your birthday is fun. What a great birthday present. However, this particular birthday just happens to be the one when my drivers license needs to be renewed. I completely forgot about this until about 2 days ago. So, knowing that when my license expires 3 days from now, I'll be a bit too busy to go to the DMV, off I went today. Now, my last license picture was taken the day after we got back from our honeymoon. That was the thinnest and tannest I've been in the last 10 years, not to mention 5 years younger. Fastforward to today's picture. Approximately 40 lbs heavier, a little swollen, and haven't seen the sun in, oh, about 9 months. To compound the problem, I decided to get my hair chopped last week. I got about 5 inches off the bottom layer and a lot of shorter layers. It will be fine, but it always takes me a while to get used to a new haircut and to figure out exactly how to style it. Now, you're getting the idea of what my new picture looks like. It ain't pretty, folks. My advice is to get out your drivers license right this second and see when it expires. Plan ahead for your new picture. Months ahead if need be. I'm now stuck with choppy hair and 39 weeks pregnant until I turn 35.

The Newest Portrait

Another cute profile. She was doing a lot of puckering and sucking so her little lips are all pooched out.

That's her foot right in front of her face. And, yes, she did eventually get it up to her mouth and suck on her toes. It was funny to watch, but I think I'll have to try to break her of that habit fast. Those of you who know how I feel about feet can only imagine how I feel watching my daughter with her own foot in her mouth.

Now for the awesomeness. Unfortunately, she was hiding behind the placenta so we couldn't get a great picture of her face, but this is pretty cool. Look at that sweet little mouth.

I think she looks like her daddy.

Dualing Bellies

My mom, sister, and niece came to Columbia this morning to visit. As you might imagine, we weren't exactly wild - 2 preggers, a grandma, and a 2 year old. It was fun, though. As you can see, Katie is 38 weeks pregnant. We're looking forward to meeting Max any day now.

Up until today, we actually didn't have any pictures of the two of us together. Unfortunately, today was not a great day for pictures. My regular camera has a dead battery, so we had to use my phone. And, the lovely Missouri spring is catching up with me - allergy time, so I didn't even bother putting on any makeup today. My watery eyes would wash it away in about 5 minutes. But, you get the idea. Of course, my mom is so excited, she can hardly stand it. Ellie told me several times about how she is going to hold her baby brother and snuggle him and says she will play a lot with Laura's Baby Girl. We're still working on who is a cousin and who is a sister. That one's a little hard for a 2 1/2 year old to figure out.

Girl Time

Last weekend, I went to Kansas City for a big combined shower. My friend Carie and her husband, Jonathon, are expecting a baby girl (Riley Marie) any day now, and my friend Monique is marrying her sweetheart of a fiance, Adam, in May. My college girlfriends are the best. We still have about 15 or so of us who were all sorority sisters (Emily is an honorary ADPi) who still get together a couple of times a year. Every time we're together, it's like we just saw each other yesterday. We just pick up right where we left off. It was so much fun. We spent the weekend doing what we usually do - eating and laughing. I love these girls, and I am so blessed to have them in my life.

I'll try to get a new belly picture up soon. I just keep forgetting to actually take one. Just picture me the same as last time with a bigger belly. I've actually started to outgrow some of my maternity shirts. Scary. I have 8 1/2 weeks to go!