Ladybugs

Ellie's Aunt Aundrea gave these PJ's to her for Christmas. They finally fit her, and she loves them. She is amazed by all the ladybugs...she is constantly looking down at her PJ's. :) I caught a few pictures of her in them.

Checking out my PJ's

Finally got her attention Playing with my cellie :)
Some other happenings in the Daughetee household:

I have been planning on making a quilt out of Jeremy's old t-shirts as a personal inquiry project for my graduate program. The only problem is that I have never sewed in my life! :) So, with the help of my great friend April I was able to reach my goal. April was a great teacher. She had me practice on scrap material and then guided me through the process. She never once tried to take over because I was going to slow or not doing something right. We did hit a few snags with the sewing machine acting up, but April was able to fix it using her trouble shooting book and we were able to finish!

Practicing

Sewing on the back of the blanket (look at the concentration on my face)

The best sewing teacher fixing the machine :)

My finished project!

San Francisco

We are back from San Francisco, it was a blast! We had so much fun walking around the city with Aundrea and Allison. It felt as if we lived in the city for four days. I took so many pictures of our trip it was hard to decide which ones to post.

Day 1- We flew in on Saturday night, Aundrea and Allison picked us up in a "hour rental truck" and we grabbed a small dinner. We then went back to their place to relax.

Day 2-Sunday morning we woke up early and hiked up to Turtle Hill. It is a beautiful view of the city from the top of the hill. It was also a great work out. It was very windy at the top, and I thought I was going to blow off a few times.

Here are some pictures from Turtle Hill:

Beautiful view of San Francisco

Beautiful mural on the stairs

After Turtle Hill we walked through Golden Gate Park on our way to Haight-Ashbury District. We were propositioned a few times to smoke or buy weed while in Haight (which Jeremy got a real kick out of) but enjoyed the culture and characters in the area.
We then took the train downtown. I bought a supper cute pair of shoes at DSW (I can't help myself). After shopping we walked to Chinatown...it was very busy there! I bought Ellie a "piggy bank" for a souvenir and we headed back toward Union Square.
It was very relaxing to sit in Union Square and "people watch". Jeremy and Aundrea drank a few beers and we all had a good time.
We then ate at Pasquale's for dinner...great pizza!
Day 3-On Monday Jeremy and I were on our own. Aundrea had to work, so she wrote down directions for the train...I'm happy to report that I was a very good navigator and we never got lost! It probably helped that I had been there once before.

We first took a train down to the bay and walked up to Pier 33 for our Alcatraz tour. The tour was very interesting...but being surrounded by tourist got very old! I took a ton of pictures on the island to show my students. We both enjoyed the tour of Alcatraz!

Alcatraz Island

Warning!

Cell with escape route

Let me out!
Scary

We then took the train to the Golden Gate Bridge. We had both already been there, so we didn't stay long. People were surfing below the bridge, and it was fun to watch them.

Golden Gate Bridge

People Surfing (brrrrr) Day 4-Tuesday morning Jeremy and I woke up early and grabbed some breakfast together. We then walked up to the San Francisco Botanical Garden and spent some time walking through the park and relaxing on a bench. It was a great way to start the morning. The park is beautiful!

Jeremy loved these huge trees

Beautiful We flew out of San Francisco at 1:45 Tuesday afternoon.

Uncle Mike picked us up from the airport...which was so nice! No cabs, no shuttles, no paying for parking :) We took off from his house and headed home. Unfortunately we got lost and ended up in Beloit..it was pouring outside and a bit stressful. We made it home around 12:30, and I had to go in and watch Ellie sleep for a bit. We missed her so much!!! Wednesday morning I woke her up and she was so happy to see us.
Finally Home! :)

San Francisco

We are off to San Francisco to visit Aundrea and Allison...be back on Wednesday :)

Pictures to follow!

First St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Today was Ellie's very first St. Patrick's Day. It was such a nice day she was able to wear her "St. Patty's Day Dress" without any tights or sweater. :)

Giggling

Playing with the remote Eating my dress
Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa!!!

You are our favorite Leprechaun!

8 months old

WOW...Ellie is 8 months old today! Time is moving so fast, she gets more entertaining everyday. Jeremy had to work all weekend so Ellie and I hung out. Saturday we did some laundry and made Daddy dinner and then Sunday we took a bath, and went for a long walk outside after her nap. Ellie has been a bit crabby the past week (which is very rare) so I was relieved to feel a tooth that had popped through on the top right hand side. She is back to her normal happy self.

Pictures from our walk today:

I'm ready to go

The sun is in my eyes mommy!

Updates:

Sitting: Ellie sits all by herself, she enjoys sitting up and playing with her toys.

Crawling: Ellie has not yet crawled. She scoots backwards, army crawls forward and rolls to get a hand on what she wants. Today I noticed that she was starting to go up onto her knees...so hopefully crawling will come soon.

Eating: Ellie eats a bottle when she wakes up, cereal and bottle before her morning nap, lunch is 2 veggies (half of each) and half of fruit, with a bottle before nap, she takes another bottle around 3:30, supper is the same as lunch, and then a bottle before bedtime.

Diapers: Ellie is in #2 diapers...she poops 3-5 times a day (typically during the day, which is nice because she is at the sitter :)

Teeth: Ellie now has 3 teeth, two on the bottom came in at the same time, and then one on the top right hand side just came in!

Sleeping:Ellie takes a morning and afternoon nap and is in bed by 7:00 at night. She now sleeps through the night and is awake around 6ish (on a good day...5ish sometimes on other days)

Laughing: Ellie loves to smile and laugh, she thinks that we are so funny...which I'm sure will change in about 12 years :)

Jumping: and of course she is still all about jumping!

Weight: 15 pounds (still :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARISSA!!! 26 today :)

Pictures of Ellie and her buddy Bear:

Scratching Bear's Belly

Hanging out with Bear

Little Miss Attitude

Well, little Ellie is developing quite the "attitude" lately. She knows what she wants/likes and she better get it now! Last night I was talking on the phone (she loves our cell phones) and she wanted it. Once I got off the phone I gave it to her to play with while I changed her diaper. I then took the cell phone away from her to put her skin medicine on her hands and she screamed bloody murder until I gave it back to her (may be a sign that she is a bit spoiled:) It was like an on/off switch...take the phone away and she screams...give it back and she is all smiles.
It was neat though to see her show such a preference for something and care when it was taken away...she is growing up so fast :)

Why does all the excitement end up on the same weekend?

We had a very busy weekend! Ellie is pooped! Thursday I worked and then had class until 9. My mom came down to watch Ellie, I had Friday off so the 3 of us went shopping for summer clothes for Ellie. Friday afternoon Eric and Rachel came down to visit. They were in town for a wrestling tournament. They were here for a few hours and then we went to visit Lyle, Julie and the boys...we ate some pizza and hung out for a few hours. We got home around 8, put Ellie down and Eric and Rachel came back over for a bonfire and to spend the night. Jeremy and Eric's cousin Josh also joined us! This all happened on Friday!

Then on Saturday Mary and Tom came down to visit us (probably more Ellie then us:) We visited went out to lunch, came home put Ellie and Jeremy down for a nap and then had to be at a friends house for dinner at 4. We went over to Josh and April's house to visit and eat dinner. They made us a gourmet meal...it was delicious! We got home at 9 put Ellie down, and she didn't make a peep until 7:30 this morning.

Finally, we get some rest and relaxation on Sunday...perfect thing to do on such a rainy day!

Newest pic of Ellie and Mommy (look at her eczema...looks great after only one week)

Eczema Update

I took Ellie to the dermatologist this morning to get a specialist opinion on her eczema. Well, it was the longest morning of my life. We waited for over an hour in the waiting room and then another 30 minutes before we were able to see the doctor. He did prescribe her a new cream that we can put on her face...and no steroids in it like the last one. But, Ellie was pretty ticked off by the time we left the place. It was sooo hot in the waiting room, her little face was beat red, and all she wanted to do was get on the floor and cruise around (not sit and wait on my lap).

Here are a few "before" pictures of the eczema on her face and hands, hopefully the "after" pictures will show that the new cream was a success.

Before:

Mommy is home from work :)

Eczema "oh my"poor little fingers :(
Squeaky Clean

Weekend

Unfortunately Jeremy worked nights this past weekend. When he is on nights I always try to keep busy, and this weekend was very eventful for the little one. My parents came down on Friday to watch Ellie, so Jeremy could take a nap before work. They stayed the night and left early Saturday morning. Ellie loves having her YaYa and Grandpa around, they are convinced that they taught her to say DaDa. (what about MaMa...where is the love:)
Randi came to visit us Saturday afternoon. We went out to eat at the "Irish Democrat". Ellie sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time. She looked like such a big girl pushed up to the table playing with her toys. People commented on how she was "such a good baby", and I was very proud :)
On Sunday we went to the "Jam Session" at a nearby coffee shop. Roasters has these jam sessions every other Sunday and a lot of people come to play music and enjoy music. Ellie loves listening to music, she jumps up and down the entire time we are there. Everyone loves her!
Ellie and I had a great weekend! And now it is back to Monday :( But we only have a four day school week! No school on Friday!
Today we will bring Ellie into the Dermatologist to see if he can prescribe something for the eczema on her face..hopefully we will be able to get rid of it!