Nine Weeks

Nine Weeks Old

What a wonderful week! Even though we were stuck in the house because of all the rain, Mary Ella and I still had a good time playing, talking, eating, and napping. She took good naps this week and was a happy girl after waking. We are really getting into a good routine. She anticipates bedtime and slept longer than ever a few nights. Getting 5 hours of sleep in a row feels almost like a full night! :) We also had three nights of visitors this week. My cousin Sissy came and spent the night Tuesday night. We went out to eat with a friend of mine from high school Wednesday night, and Thursday Julie and Trey came to visit. Julie had a class in Little Rock Friday, so Mary Ella got to hang out with her cousin Trey. He was so sweet to her. Friday morning we were up, but she was still sleeping. He was watching cartoons, but kept looking at the video monitor waiting for her to wake up. He would tell me everytime she moved, and when she started crying, he took off running to the bassinette to calm her. He talked and sang to her, gave her her paci, and they even took a fun bath together. He counted how many times she smiled at him (4), and said she said, "Hi!" to him. We went to Fayetteville again this weekend, and Trey road in the backseat beside Mary Ella and had his hand on her almost the entire time. So sweet!

You're so funny, Mommy!

Exercise time

She loves her Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Tummy time

Head up

Hi Mommy!

Wild thing

I just woke up.

Yawn!

Do I really want to wake up?

Okay, I'm awake!

Getting ready to go out and eat with an old friend of Mommy's

Go Hogs! Beat Auburn!

And beat Auburn we did! What a fun game! It was great to get an SEC win. And I forgot to mention last week's win against Texas A&M. Take that Big 12! Mary Ella loves game days in Fayetteville because it means she gets to hang out with Gigi and all her cousins. Thanks Rita for letting the big kids go to the game!

Two Months

I'm two months old!

I have decided to do a flashback each month, so you can see how much Mary Ella has grown. My friend Kristy does that on her blog, and it is so fun seeing how Miles changes from month to month. Thanks for the idea, Kristy! Here she grows...

8.7.09


9.7.09


10.7.09

Baby Portrait Plan

We found a great photographer that goes to our church and has a great baby package. She takes pictures of babies at 6 weeks, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. I think that will be a great way to keep us on track and up to date with Mary Ella's portraits as she grows. We were very happy with our first session and have tough decisions about which ones to order. Here are a few, and if you would like to see the rest you can go to www.kellybittlephotography.com Enter the site, click on client proofing, and type in maryella. Enjoy!

Eight Weeks

Eight Weeks Old

It seems like Mary Ella has grown so much this week. Can you tell she is getting chubbier? She is such a happy girl. She is talking more and more. Her favorite thing to say is "ahh goo." It goes together like that over and over. So sweet! She loves to hear herself squeal and look at herself in the mirror. She's also really into sounds. Running water, the vacuum cleaner, shushing in her ear, and the hair dryer can stop her in her tracks if she's crying. She also loves to look and listen to her rattle. She will follow it all around. This week she found her hands. It is so fun to see her look at them and move them around. She's experimenting with reaching up to touch my face and hair, and sometimes she pats me when I'm holding her. She is such a busy girl sometimes she forgets to take a good nap. Really, you are still a little baby! Go to sleep already! Here's what we've been up to.

Future Razorback Cheerleader. We've been working on her try-out.


Go!

Hogs!

Go!


Yay!

High kick


How did I do?

One of my third graders gave Mary Ella this onesie. We think it's a little silly. Of course she can wear pink everyday. :)

Yes, adorable

Going for a walk

My snuggle bunny

Getting ready to go to church in Patmos

This weekend we took Mary Ella to Mia's house in Hope for the first time. She got to go down to the farm and meet her great-grandparents Nanny and Pa for the first time. My hope is that Mary Ella will get to experience some fun times on the farm like I did when I was growing up...getting dirty, riding four wheelers, making mud pies, playing with the animals, playing in the woods, jumping in the hay, picking wild berries, eating fresh vegetables from the garden, and more.

Mary Ella with Pa and Nanny

She also got to meet more family including her cousin Leslie.

If we had gone to the beach

No, I didn't buy swimsuits for my newborn in October. These are hand-me-downs from her cousins. I just had to see what she would look like as a bathing beauty. I think she pulls off the two piece quite nicely, don't you? Next summer I look forward to lots of trips to the pool and introducing Mary Ella to the beach and ocean. Stay tuned for more fall fashion shows of summer clothes she hasn't gotten a chance to wear yet.

Seven Weeks

Seven Weeks Old

Sweet eyes and lips

In action

Can't decide if she's happy or sad

Sweet talking Mommy

I see you!

Just another sweet week with my girl. We are getting into a little bit of a routine. Mary Ella is sleeping for 3-4 hour stretches at night. She gets up to eat in the middle of the night and again in the early morning. After that she gets in bed with me and we snuggle and snooze after Brad leaves for work. She wakes up a happy girl and is very alert, active, and talkative after her breakfast. She may stay awake or take a little nap until her next feeding, and then takes a good nap in the middle of the day in her crib on most days. That's when I get some Mommy time (AKA a shower, eat, and do a few things around the house). When she wakes up she pretty much wants to eat every 2 hours and be held or have my attention at all times. We exercise, watch some TV, and she loves to nap on my chest until her daddy gets home. When Brad gets home we juggle baby and dinner and hang out until bath and bedtime. Oh, and I almost forgot about changing about a hundred diapers a day. That's what's going on in our family these days! LOVE it! This past weekend was great. My mom came Friday because my house was in desperate need of a good cleaning. I didn't make her do it of course, but she watched Mary Ella while I worked and ran some errands. And she was nice enough to stay Friday night so Brad and I could have a date night. Every Friday night used to be date night in Mississippi, but we haven't had one of those in a while. Thanks, Mia! Then Saturday we got some family portraits made with Mary Ella and came home to watch a disappointing loss to Alabama and more college football. It was a lazy weekend, but we were due one of those. I think it was the first weekend we have been home alone together in our new house. Can you believe that?

Football and Five Generations

The real deal. Fayetteville, Saturday, Arkansas Football. I love the anticipation and excitement of the first football game in Fayetteville. The tailgating, fall in the air, the crazy fans, and the memories it brings back of my college days and dating Brad. This past weekend we traveled again to Northwest Arkansas for the Georgia game. As I'm typing this I wish I could say that we won our SEC opener, but it just wasn't so. It was however an exciting game, 41-52. I can't remember when I've seen a shoot-out like that from an Arkansas quarterback. I heart Ryan Mallet. Why can't we ever have a good offense and defense at the same time? Oh well, we are just happy to be there and have something to cheer about.

Mary Ella traveled beautifully again. She stayed with Gigi while we went to the game, and Sunday she went to church in Johnson for the first time. There was a line of friends waiting to meet her after services! Then she went to The Catfish Hole for the first time and out to Farmington to meet her Great Great Grandmother Dewey. Mary Ella is lucky to have two sets of Great Grandparents, but Dewey is her only Great Great. She has 15 great-great grandchildren age 5 and under!

Brad, Mary Ella, and Dewey

Five generations: Brad, Rita, Dewey, Mary Ella, and Oma Leta