PIZZA!

We are big fans of pizza (really who isn't?). It is definitely one of my weaknesses. This weekend Ryan asked "wanna order pizza?" when discussing lunch on Sunday. Of course I do! This is from a new little pizza joint right down the street from us. Ryan called in our order, and I hear him say "24" and I'm thinking what in the world do we need 24 of? There's only the two of us. He completes the order, so I ask him. He says "Pizza. It's 24 inches."

WHAT?

"The pizza size is 24 inches." To which I exclaim, "you got us a pizza that is two feet in diameter?"

Then it hits him how huge this is.

So when he goes to pick it up, he calls me from the car and says "dude, you are not going to believe how big this pizza is. It almost didn't fit in my car." I laugh and meet him at the door to the garage to see for myself. Indeed, it is huge. The box is almost too big to fit through the door from the garage to our utility room.

I had to take a picture. For reference, it is sitting on top of our stove. :)

We ate pizza for days. I cannot even explain how big the pieces were. Had to share.

Love Y'all,

Ellen

Day 2

Most of y'all know Elsie has awful reflux. She takes medicine five, FIVE, times a day. As soon as she started to show signs, we started solids. It's taken her a good five weeks of 'practice', but I think she may have gotten it!

Yesterday was the first day on no Bethanecol; one of the reflux medicines. She hardly spit up and slept well last night. We also started cereal at night. I mixed it with homemade apples and she loved it.

She is getting so big and may be outgrowing the reflux!

Similarly, but different, I'm always a little sad when she outgrows her clothes. Right now she is growing out of her 3 months stuff. Fortunately we got a TON of clothes from friends and family (who doesn't love to buy a little girl a dress?) so it's fun to look forward to the next size :)

Love Y'all,
Ellen

Summer is here again

If you live in Southeast TX, summer sometimes stretches from the beginning of May to Thanksgiving. This weekend is supposed to be one of the hottest yet. So what do you do when it is so hot? Get in the pool! Ryan convinced me that we needed a pool when we were discussing requirements for a home. When we saw the backyard on this house, with the pool, we were in love. I do not know how people in the greater Houston area survive in the summer without one. As my Dad, a former pool care taker, says :"it's a bottomless hole into which you throw money." And this is totally true; but goodness gracious isn't it worth it? To me it is.

So last weekend was Elsie's first official pool experience. We took her to the pool with the girls. She was not a fan of the cold water until she got used to the temp and figured out it would cool her down. When we got home I started looking on line for infant pool floats with a shade on them. I ordered one on Tuesday and it came on Friday. Gotta love Diapers.com and free two day shipping!

Yesterday afternoon I put her in it. She loves me pulling her through the pool as she kicks her feet! The pic is of her "lounging" while her butt sits on the first step. So funny. Nothing can keep her fingers out of her mouth....

Love Y'all,

Ellen

Back in Business

We made it to and from Conway to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend. Each year Ryan and his Dad play in a golf tournament and the girls go to the parties and lay at the pool. It's a tough job, but someone's got to officially welcome Summer. We had a great time. Team Bailey dominated and won their flight!

Elsie has been eating cereal in the morning for over a week now. She seems to have finally gotten the hang of eating from the spoon; but still insists the cereal is warm. Funny how even at only seven months infants can prefer warm food to cool/cold. I wonder, will she hate ice cream? So next week I think I'm going to add sweet potatoes to the cereal at dinner and see what happens.

I hate how spending several days in a row with your family (that lives out of town) makes you really really miss them when you get home. We love The Woodlands, don't get me wrong. Just every time we come home or they leave us to go home; we wish they didn't have to. We have a great time and I love seeing Elsie with them.

If it takes a village to raise a child; can my village include Birmingham, Conway, DC and The Woodlands?

Love Y'all!
Ellen

Overwhelmed and Sleep Deprived

Are not a good combo. I could handle the to do list; if I could sleep. I could sleep if my seven month old would sleep. My child has been such a good sleeper up to this point so I'm not exactly the best living in a constant haze of sleep deprevation.

We are traveling again for the holiday weekend. I am excited to go and see the newlyweds after the wedding. I was picking out a pool book and thought "I have a baby; will I even have time to read a book?" I did buy one. The Carrie Diaries.

Looking on the brightside: the cleaning ladies come this week. The house will be clean when we get home; and I won't have to do it. So I am not only packing but picking up the house so the ladies can clean. Don't you love multi-tasking? Even as I'm writing this I'm doing laundry and thinking about dinner.

So here's to a pool book and a nap :) and maybe getting a tan while I nap?

Love Y'all,
Ellen

7 Months!

Last Friday Elsie Lou was seven months! This is a pic Ryan took on Mother's Day. This has to be my favorite outfit we've received thus far. It is a blue and white zebra print with a smocked collar and flutter sleeves. Yes, that is a feather on her head! It's a little clip with a feather and rhinestones that you can put on any headband :)

I have a lot of fun dressing her up.

Lately, she's not been sleeping well. No idea why; just wakes up at about 3 am every fricking night. Maybe it's a growth spurt? I sure hope so because Mama needs her beauty sleep. It is tough around here most mornings. :) We are also starting rice cereal. I am putting it in her bottle in hopes she will sleep better; but also feeding it to her with a spoon. For those of you counting, her corrected age is four months. She is taking almost 32 oz of formula a day, and at seven months should be starting solids. So I am really trying to teach her to eat. I read online somewhere that if you don't get babies to start chewing between 7-9 months it could lead to issues down the line. What kind of issues? Who the heck knows....but I cannot find anything on teaching a Preemie to eat that is applicable to our situation. So we are starting solids...

In other news: Ryan is home sick today with a head cold. He came home early yesterday and got in the bed after taking meds. If any of you know my husband, you may also know that he rarely takes meds. So he must be feeling bad. Let's all cross our fingers that this sickness isn't passed to Elsie (or me).

Love Y'all

Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

Elsie and I returned from a whirlwind tour of the Southeast last week. We went to Conway first, to help with and attend Ryan's younger sister's wedding. If you were there, you know this was a great event and a great time was had by all. Elsie was an 'honorary' flower girl, and got the prettiest little Strausburg dress to wear. The collar is smocked with seed pearls. Unbelievable. I just open her closet to look at it. Thank you, Fancy.

From there Elsie and I road from Conway to my hometown of Birmingham, AL. Elsie had not been to the great state of Alabama yet; and the drive is shorter from Conway than it is from The Woodlands. It made sense. When we were planning the trip. Two weeks and two days later...mama and baby were grateful to be home! We had a great time seeing everyone while we were there.

While on our travels there was a common theme: people liked this blog. So I thought I'd better update it. I am still working Part Time and hating every single second of it. I need to find something that I like to do. I like writing this blog. However, it's not paying the bills. So in an effort to identify what it is that I like to do; I'm going to update here more often.

Also, Elsie had her six month check up last week (she is actually 6 and a half months). She is 11lbs 11oz, and 23 inches long. Still less than the fifth percentile....but definitely progress. We are trying rice cereal as her reflux is still awful.

Love y'all,
Ellen