The stats...

Ella's 9 month check up went great. She was happy to not get shots this time! She wont go back until she is one year old. (less than 3 months!!) Her doctor is very pleased with her development (especially since she was a preemie). She was 17 lbs 11ozs (35th percentile) and 28 1/4 in height (75th percentile). Our girl is tall & skinny! She is wearing size '9 month' clothes and size '3' diapers. She isn't crawling yet, but boy can she roll or stand anywhere (pictures below). Her doctor said she will probably just walk and that is totally okay :)

"Oh hi Mommy!" :)

"Man, when I figure out how to move these legs... I am gone!"

Have a great weekend everyone! I start my new job in Salem on Tuesday!! I am very excited for the next adventure! :)



Easter Weekend

Saturday was beautiful... we loaded Ella up and went for a nice long walk in downtown Salem and by the waterfront. She enjoyed the sunshine and people watching :)

Daddy & Mommy enjoyed a great BBQ dinner Saturday. We had caramelized onions, filet mignon and grilled potatoes. DELICIOUS!!

Ella sporting her handmade Easter outfit from my friend Kim Wells.

Onesie & Leg warmers by 'Eggo in the Oven' :)

"okay mom... no more pictures?!!"

Her 1st Sunday Easter dress... a little annoyed?! haha

Sweet little face :)

Salem job & 9 month update

I have an exciting announcement…. After 6 ½ years with Peterkort I have given my notice. Starting May 3^rd I will be the new Member Services Administrator at Valley Credit Union in South Salem. I will be at the front desk, greeting all the members when they come in and pointing them in the right direction, answering the phones & any questions as well as providing administrative support to all of the executives upstairs. I am excited for this new experience & there is a lot of potential for growth. Not only will I now have company provided medical insurance but we won’t have to spend an extra $450 a month on gas for me to drive 100 miles a day to Portland!! I don’t even have to get on the freeway to get to my new work. Everyone I have met there so far is very motivated and positive, I am looking forward to joining the team! :)

Ella is 9 months old today. She has her 9 month exam on Tuesday the 26th. (I will update everyone on her weight & length after that)

Boy has our poor little girl been through a lot. Monday night I took her to the doctor and she had an ear infection (her 2^nd). So they put her on antibiotics. After 24 hours of those antibiotics she started getting really sick. She was vomiting and having horrible diarrhea 24/7. She started eating less, wouldn’t even take milk or pedialite and started getting very dehydrated. Cody was home with her Tuesday afternoon, Grandma Sherie was home with her Wednesday and then Wednesday afternoon she went back to the doctor because she was not improving. The doctor checked her out and they found she now had a double ear infection. He was concerned about her reaction with the oral antibiotics so he approved for her to get an antibiotic shot (it’s a 10 day treatment in one big needle). Boy did that hurt!! :( After they gave her the burning shot…. They observed her for 15 minutes for an allergic reaction. Once her crocodile tears dried up and she got snuggles from Grandma Sherie, she was fine.

Today (Thursday) I spent the morning with her (pictures & a video below) and she seems a lot better. She is taking her normal full feeds, the vomiting stopped and the diarrhea was significantly reduced. She should feel much better tonight. Poor girl! :( So mommy headed to work and Ella is spending the afternoon with Auntie (& nurse) Kristiina :) Hopefully we will have some calm weeks in our future…. These last 4 weeks have been a blur! Welcome to parenthood and a high maintenance baby!!

In her crib video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq3RgMaK2e8

Tissue Paper Video (from last weekend):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2HyndGfPYw&NR=1

Happy Friday!

You’d never know that little cutie was in the ER Monday night! Love those pictures of my happy girl! :) Ella is doing good. She is a little congested but still happy as a clam.

It’s been a hectic and busy couple weeks. So glad it’s Friday. I finally went to the doctor yesterday, I have been sick off and on since last Monday (sore throat & severe congestion). She gave me a Z-Pack of antibiotics and I think I am slowly staring to feel better! :( Like I always say…. Just so ready for sunshine & summer time!!

Have a great weekend!

ER Visit

Monday night when Cody picked Ella up from daycare she had thrown up on her clothes. Later that night she began breathing irregularly, gasping & developed a fever of 101 degrees. After talking to grandma (& nurse) Teri about her symptoms we were concerned that she had aspirated. (inhaled her throw up) Cody called her doctor’s office and talked to the triage nurse who then called the on call doctor. They wanted us to go to emergency room right away. Any fluid in her premature lungs would be really dangerous. I of course went into “freak out Mom mode”! I am really bad when anything happens with her, I always think worse-case scenario. (thank goodness Cody stays calm) We loaded her up and headed to the Salem hospital. Upon arrival they checked her vitals and sent us to wait in the waiting room. Grandpa & Grandma Sitton came down from Portland to be there with us. After 3 hours in the waiting room (with mostly uninsured non-emergency patients – don’t get me started on that topic!!) we finally got called back into a room. But that only meant more waiting… a nurse checked her out and took her vitals again & said her lungs sounded good… her temperature was down at that point. After the doctor saw us at 1AM we did the chest x-ray which the staff called “baby torture”… boy was that an understatement!! :( Ella had to sit tightly in a clear contraption with her arms above her head (I got to hold her fingers) while they did the x-ray. She screamed like we were killing her. It was the longest couple minutes for all of us! Then we went back to our room and waited. The results came back good on her x-ray. It’s more of an upper respiratory issue. If there would have been more fluid they would have had to get it out. Thank goodness that was not the case, it could have been so much worse! So no treatment was needed and we were okayed to go home. We were told to watch her closely for the next 24 hours to insure the fever didn’t return and her trouble breathing didn’t increase and they hoped she would cough out anything else. I am happy to say she is doing a lot better. She took lots of naps and got a full day of snuggling with Mommy & Daddy Tuesday :) She is not making the gasping/wheezing noise anymore. A BIG thank you to my parents for keeping a 8 month happy for 3 hours in a waiting room with nothing to do!! I am sure this won’t be the last heart attack she gives us!

Wednesday night giggles :)

Pictures... what else?! :)

Sammy snuggled in Ella's blanket :)

Ella dropping her fruit puffs to Sammy... and so it begins! :)

Eating her puffs... yum!

Watching the clothes in the dryer...

Wow that is cool mom! haha

Love this!! Cute hair Ella! :)

Cody at 13 months (Left) Ella 8 months (right)

Look a little alike!!