Frozen in Time

We recently heard the idea of taking a family picture in the same place every year. Reviews from people who have done this, say it's really neat to see the family grow & change each year, and to see any new additions to the family. The question is, where should we take the picture? We don't want it to be in or around our home, as we plan on moving (it would be a bit awkward to knock on the door of our old home and ask a stranger if we can come inside for a quick picture by the stove). So we are asking you, blog fans, to submit ideas in the comment section. We think it might be cool to incorporate a city landmark as well, to see how the environment changes over time.

Also, as Ella approaches her first year, please let us know if your family has any other annual traditions, so that we can get it in for year 1!

The Windy City

Ella took a roadtrip to see Uncle Matt and Aunt Michelle this weekend in Chicago. They call it the Windy City, and Matt and Michele's dogs, Rusty and Clark, made it live up to its name...they need to quit feeding those dogs deep dish pizzas.

We had a great weekend, dined at some local restaurants and went to Shedd's Aquarium. As a good Uncle (and Godfather), Matt captured the weekend through a short YouTube video, which can be found below, along with some still frames. Some of the more priceless interactions with the dogs occurred off camera, but the video is great. Ella had no problem with the dogs, even when they licked every inch of her face and playfully barked at her. However the glow worm & doll had to hide to stay safe, and Ella's bib & sock fell victim to Clark's mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJz4SXo6wT

Noteworthy Developments (and other favorite pics)

Snacktime: Ella enjoying finger foods! Full concentration required. Introduction to the sippy cup as well!















Lower crib mattress. Although not technically able to pull herself up from a sitting position, she's close enough that Mom and Dad decided to be proactive.















Go Tigers!

Time for the Whaaaambulance

Sunday, September 19th started out as a great day. Ella's cousins were in town and we all went to see Disney on Ice. Even Dad thought it was a pretty good show. Many of the attendees were dressed up as princesses, which was cute. Ella behaved really well, even though she was still fighting the croup over the last two weeks. When we got Ella ready for bed, we noticed that she seamed to be wheezing a little with each breath. We chalked it up to her being a tired from the day's activities. However, things did not improve with rest, and in fact grew worse. Finally, around 9 pm, we called our after hours pediatric nurses. We were connected to a nurse, who asked us to hold the phone near Ella so she could hear the breathing. The news panicked us. The nurse thought that Ella sounded like she was in respiratory distress, and that we should call 911. While I was concerned, I asked if 911 was really necessary. The nurse responded that newborns can tire very quickly during respiratory distress and just give up. So 911 it was. The Affton fire department responded nobly and was there in mere minutes. After determining Ella was stable enough for transport, Mom hopped into the ambulance and Dad followed by car. During the ambulance ride, Ella was so distracted that her breathing actually got better. When we checked her into Children's (it was closer than St. Johns), we found out she also had a fever of 102.5degrees. She was given some Tylenol. Then, since she was breathing ok and we were in the ER, we got to play the waiting game. Ella was downgraded to non-emergency, which meant 3 hours in the waiting room before we got to see a doctor. At this point, Ella's fever had dropped and breathing was about normal. Still, we wanted to rule out pneumonia, so Ella had a chest x-ray done. When that came back clean, the Doctors wanted to rule out a urinary track infection (they were mystified why she had a fever when she was already on antibiotics for the croup). That came back fine, but we will spare our readers the painful way they obtained the urine sample. You just can't tell an infant to go pee in a cup.

With a peacefully sleeping baby and two very tired parents, we were finally discharged around 3am and told to go home and observe. "Observing" must have worked, because Ella recovered over the next few days and was back to her normal happy self in no time.

Paranoid first time parents, I suppose, although better to be safe than sorry.

Once upon time

Ella had a fairy tale afternoon with her Grandma Norma, Aunts Shelly and Jill, and cousins Mallory, Jayden & Jeslin. It was a family outing to see Disney on Ice at the Chaifetz arena. Admittedly, the show was better than I expected (Dad admitted it too!) It was super cute seeing all of the kids in attendance dressed in their princess costumes.

Here are a few pictures of us hanging at home before the show, where we had a casual lunch, the girls played, and the cats ran! We won't re-live Jill trying to get the truck unlocked.

A Fish Named Ella

Today Ella became a shrimp! A swim class-certified shrimp, that is. Ella started a 7-week swimming class at the YMCA to get more comfortable in the water. (Really it was an excuse for Mom to bond with Ella).

Mom and Dad both attended the first class, and Mom was the brave one to put on a swimming suit and jump into the pool. To say that Ella absolutley loved it would be an understatement. She had such a great time with smiles and giggles for the entire 30 minutes. The class consistented of singing a variety of nursery rhymes with motions set to them. Ella's favorite of the activities was being placed on her belly and splashing/paddling towards a colorful, floating ball. The only hesitation, on the parent's part, was dunking their kid's head underwater. Ella handled it quite well and only stared with a confused look on her face for a brief moment while she thought, "why did Mom just do that to me?"

Our little shrimp did great and we're ready for week 2!

Grandparent's Day

In case you weren't aware, September 12th is Grandparent's Day (be sure to call your Grandma and Grandpa next year). For our family, Grandparent's Day actually got kicked off the weekend prior when Ella was in Perryville. Ella thought extra hard about what to do for all of her Grandparents. She came up with a very creative idea to make them all garden stones! To top it off, Ella added her own footprint in the cement! Of course, this was after a failed attempt at a handprint since Ella thought it was more fun to grab the wet cement and play in it.

While Ella clearly enjoyed making the garden stones, this was only because she did not have to clean up the mess afterwards. Mom and Dad tag teamed the project and luckily did not turn any sink drains into concrete. The first gift giving was a success when Grandma Norma unwrapped her garden stone and liked it.

On the official Grandparent's Day, Ella started out with lunch at Panera with Mom, Dad, Grandpa Tim and Nana Renee. As an added bonus, Ella's Great Grandparents Papa and Nana were there as well! More garden stones for all!

Much to Ella's surprise she received a baby doll from Nana. Needless to say this has been her new favorite toy. Her face lights up every time we show her the dollie. We named her Emma (after Emma Schuck).

Ella keeps a full appointment calender, so after lunch it was back home for cafe and kuchen with the Germans. Grandma Elfi and Tante Gerda were there, along with Great Grandparents Oma and Opa. The weather was a pleasant mid-80s with sunshine. We sat on the patio for a while and took a family stroll through the neighborhood.

After such a busy day, Ella slept soundly for 11 hours. We are all fortunate to have such great family!