Baby Talk

4 month doctor appointment

Elle weighed in at 13 lbs 4 oz and was 23 1/2 in. in length! These stats put her in the 46th percentile for weight, and 29th percentile for length. Our doctor said her weight gain was perfect. He said we could start introducing her to cereal once a day...videos to come soon! When we were talking with our Dr., Ellison joined right in on the conversation. He could see she had developed quite a personality since the last time he saw her (2 months). When he checked her ears, eyes, mouth, and heart/lungs, she was so good, she sat very still and observed. He said he would give her an 'A' for her check-up! Her shots also went well, she only cried a little when each shot went in (Jonathan and I held it together the best we could while singing the ABC's to her). We are so proud of her. She got a Tinker Bell sticker for being such a good girl!

Hanging out with Natalie

Elle and Natalie (8 months) got together yesterday to catch up! Ashley (Natalie's Mom) and I had a great time watching the girls interacting for the first time. They exchanged a few happy screams and attempted to hold hands...their friendship is really starting to blossom!
While Elle napped, Natalie tried out our new little princess cart (courtesy of the Weilands). She really seemed to like it, and figured out all of its bells and whistles very quickly!

Fun with the Staniak's

group huddle under the jungle gym

Elle and Chase are very similar in size...Chase's hands are a little bigger, though Elle's thighs take the cake. Their age is the biggest difference: Elle is 4 months, and Chase is only 3 weeks!

Jenny, Reese and Chase gather for a quick pic!

Ellison and I had a great time hanging out with Jenny, Reese and Chase, plus it was our first time meeting Chase. He is such a special little guy (it was fun having a newborn in our house again). Reese (21 months) really takes the big sister role seriously, she wants to give Chase (and Elle) pushes in the swing and MANY hugs and kisses. Reese always asked "where's Baby Elle" whenever Elle was asleep in her crib. Jenny said Reese is a big fan of our blog and loves seeing pictures and videos of Elle over and over. Jenny and I enjoyed catching up, though it was a challenge to keep any conversation going amongst the business and noise of the kids. All in all, we had fun and look forward to our next play date - hopefully our husbands will be able to join us!

New Entertainment

Elle was needing another option (besides her jungle gym) to work out in...you know, you have to mix it up if you want to see results!!! For real though, she needed another way to exhaust some of her energy (and to work her thighs), and something that she could do on her own, so we purchased this bouncy seat (a.k.a. jonny jumper). She hasn't figured out how it works yet, she mostly twirls around on her toes and eats at the attached toys. -Please disregard the messy closet she is hanging out in, it's the only open space with a door frame to hang the seat from.

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

Our Little Swimsuit Model

check out those thighs

look how her toes want to grip...

big smile (toes are relaxed)

Watch Elle's arms/hands when food comes into play...

too cute!!!!!

Visiting Powers

Ellison was so lucky to meet her 2nd cousins and great aunt/uncle, Craig, Janie, Nancy and Michael Powers, who were visiting from Florida this weekend. If you can't tell from the first picture, it was an extremely well documented event - Nancy and Michael couldn't get enough of Elle, and Elle loved meeting more of our extended family.

Chicago Wedding Weekend

College Roommates : Kellen, Jonathan, Kyle, and Me

DePaul Men's Soccer Alumni + Bride Mo Kruse

Bob (Groom) & Me

The Ingram's and Matta's

The happy couple

E&J

Kyle & Teresa

Jonathan & Jen

P. Vynckes

We had a blast this weekend at the wedding of our friend's Bob and Maureen (Mo) Kruse. Bob and I played soccer together (along with all of the other guys you see above) at DePaul. The wedding was at the River East Arts Center (http://www.rivereastartcenter.com/) in Chicago; they put on quite the party, and it was absolutely beautiful. Erin and I had a great evening spending time with our friends Kyle and Teresa Ingram, Jonathan and Jen Foley, and all my other friends and past teammates at DePaul. Thanks again to Bob and Mo for such a great time!

Once she starts, she just can't stop!

As soon as we put Elle on the floor she immediately rolls to her tummy. While on her tummy, she will pull her arms out and prop herself up and look around, however she isn't a huge fan of being on her stomach and will fuss until we roll her to her back again...but then it starts all over! Next, she will have to learn how to roll from her tummy to her back, or just start crawling (which we don't think is too far away, kinda scary).

Elle and Grandma Marcy

Rolling over!