4 Months

Our little Elizabeth is officially 4 months old!!

Here are her stats from the doctor's office-

     Height: 24.5 inches (54% percentile)
     Weight: 14 lb 12 oz (61% percentile)
     Head Circumference: 16.34 inches (74% percentile)
     Temp: 97.7 F no fever :)

Eating the mail..and everything else that gets near that mouth

What I call a gully washer

The doctor said that since she has really good head control, we are in the clear to start introducing solid foods now. This will be an adventure I'm sure! Another fun thing about being 4 months old is something called the 4 month sleep regression... yay. Basically her sleeping patterns are changing which really means that she wakes up about every 1.5 hours in the night because she doesn't know how to put herself back to sleep without assistance. Any advice on how best to teach this skill? sleep - oh how I miss you.

It seems a small thing, but my testimony of prayer and Heavenly Father's love for us was strengthened recently. Last Saturday night was particularly bad for Ellie; and neither Ellie, Brett, or myself seemed to get much sleep. We had church early the next day and as soon as we came home we began preparing dinner for our friends who were coming over. We were tired, hungry, and a little frantic and as I placed Ellie in her swing for a nap, I said a prayer that she would sleep through our meal so that she could get the rest that she needed and so that we could enjoy our dinner and not have to take turns eating which is the norm. She slept the whole time and as soon as we finished woke up. tender mercies.

Being a stay at home mom is a new experience for me. Well, being a mom at all is still a new experience for me really, but for the first couple of months we were surrounded by family. Everywhere I turned someone was offering to hold Ellie and entertain her while I ran off and had fun. Now our days pretty much go something like this-
Wake Up - Feed Ellie - Change Ellie - Talk to Ellie - Rock Ellie - Repeat. You get the idea; Ellie, Ellie, Ellie. And I'm kind of loving it :) Don't misunderstand me, it would be much easier to sweep the house with the use of both hands instead of just one; it seems like everything takes twice as long to do, but I love being a mom. I feel like I'm doing something important when I read and talk to Ellie, and when I help her stand up and explore the backyard. I love how excited she gets when I sing to her and all the giggles I get at bath time. She and Brett are pretty much my life these days; and that's OK :)

Other random things I do:

•  getting the 4096 tile in the 2048 game (it's just too perfect for occupying yourself while nursing...) 
  
•  watching "So You Think You Can Dance" - Personally, I think Ricky and Valerie should go home. I really like Casey.
• I made a wreath for our door :) I've always admired the crafty DIY people in the world and I'm trying to learn their ways (Kristyn Bevans, Ally Larson, Claire Falco etc. I'm talking to you...) 
  
• Made my first Sunday roast: I used Helen's pot roast recipe and I think it turned out pretty well! I did the roast and rolls while Brett did the potatoes and gravy. Throw some fruit on the table and we're good to go. I don't know how I made it this long without cooking a roast considering my family has had this meal every Sunday for multiple generations and it's a frequent flier in Brett's family as well.  
• Quizzing Brett of course :) (the stuff they have to know is crazy) - Brett's first test is this Monday and he's mildly freaking out. He's been working really hard since day 1 and still finding the time to be with me and help with Ellie. I don't know how he does it but I love him for it. Wish him luck if you see him!

 

4 Month Old Photo shoot with Mom :)