Adventure #3

We have a big adventure coming up in a couple of weeks. We're moving to the Phoenix, Arizona area!


Then, right before Ellie was born Matt decided he was bored and needed to be busier. So, he decided to go back to school and get his Masters of Engineering. The good thing is it's a distance learning type program so he can submit class work online and watch classes from home. The bad thing is it's made him a lot busier and it's been rough trying to do group work all through Skype and with people who also have to work and travel and are not there in person. Somehow he manages! (He's pretty super ;)

Study buddies

 Back in April Matt rotated to a new position within Boeing that had a possibility of a business trip to Oklahoma City. Since my sister lives there he pushed for it and October 24th we went to Oklahoma for 3 weeks! (That to come in another post.)

Right after he committed to going to Oklahoma he accepted a job offer with Boeing in Arizona. So, needless to say, these last few months have been quite exciting and busy!

We are sad to be leaving this beautiful area, and more importantly be leaving our friends and our adopted family, the Davis family! We're going to miss them.

Davis family - our adopted family :)

I'm going to really miss the beautiful trees!

But we're excited for a new adventure and hope that Arizona is as good to us as Washington has been!

Month Four

Our little Miss E completed four months of life on the 25th of October. Not to get all mushy and lovey dovey, but she makes us so happy! Our love for her is always growing. It's been a wonderful four months being her parents!

Anyway, at her 4 month appointment (which was much better than the 2 month appointment because no tetanus shot was given) her stats were:
Height: 25 inches - 75th percentile

Weight: 14lbs 8oz - 75th percentile
When she was born her stats were in the 25th percentile. At two months she was in the 50th percentile. So, she is growing excellently!

As of her 4 month birthday, our little one has:
-really giggled a couple of times (we love her little giggle, she has a laugh were you can tell she's trying to laugh, but it's not the real deal),

this is when she first giggled! daddy made her laugh by putting her feet in her mouth

-discovered her toes,

-rolled a couple of times from tummy to back,
-tries to wiggle out of her swing!,

I probably should've been locking her in all along...

-really loved to sit (and she can now do it on her own for quite a while before losing balance), and

-has learned to grab.

this exersaucer helped her tremendously with grabbing!

I'm not sure if I'm missing anything, I have it written down in a journal at home, but we are on the road so I don't have it with me.

It's lots of fun watching a little person discover new things and develop a personality and mentally and physically. We love being parents!

this cute photo shoot brought to you by my good friend Emily Davis

All I Want For Christmas...

Is a NAP!

Every year my family and Matt's family rotate names for gifts. This year I'm planning on asking for 4 hours of babysitting from whoever (whomever?) gets my name! All they have to do is take the baby outside of the house so I can't hear her peep. Ahh, I can't wait! :)

*NOTE: Ellie isn't that bad at night. She just wakes to feed one or two times before 6 in the morning. And I'm not very good if I don't get a 7-8 hour block of sleep. Those 15-30 minute interruptions are no good.*

Month Three

Another month has come and gone. Time is going too fast for me. I was watching a video of miss Ellie doing tummy time at just 2 weeks old and it makes me sad seeing how quickly she's grown in just a couple of months. But I love her more and more each day and she is as cute as can be!

She's as curious as ever with all that is going on around her. She's learning to roll, and can make it from her belly to her back probably 50% of the time. Other than that not much has changed since month two update.

You've Had a Birthday...

Shout Hooray!

Matt's birthday was 2 weeks ago! (I'm very behind in blogging! These past two months have been busy!) We were able to finally go see a movie (thank you Davis' for baby sitting!) and get some sushi (Matt LOVES sushi). Then we had some cake and ice cream. I didn't really get any pictures of us celebrating, except this one:

Happy Birthday! This is the only one he'd let me take :)

I'm so grateful for him in my life and Ellie's life! He's a wonderful husband and father. He just started his Masters in Engineering, so he's been much busier, but he still tries his best to make time for us. There are so many things I love about him. One, since the baby has come into our lives, is that he loves to give her baths! It's fun to watch them interact and have that bonding moment. He's a great dad!

Daddy entertaining baby while I make birthday breakfast. He likes to think she's ready to walk and stand already!

He loves to snuggle with his little girl!

My favorite people :)

Hopefully this year is as fun and eventful as the last!

**In case anyone is wondering, I put up 4 posts with lots of pictures today, so you may have to keep scrolling down!**

Month Two

Ellie finished two months outside the womb on Thursday, and I'd say she's doing a great job so far! She passes with flying colors :) With a smile like this, how could she not?!

Matt and I are so in love with her. She is a pretty mellow baby. Yes, she does fuss a little when she's hungry or tired, but overall she's wonderful to be around! She's growing so quickly!

Some of the developments so far in her life include:

At two months she weighs 11lbs 6oz (50th percentile) and she is 22.5 inches long (50th percentile). She is growing great!
Talking - she coos all the time. I love it when she tells me stories.
Smiling - she has a beautiful smile and will smile for just about anyone, except probably the nurses. After her shots today, I don't blame her!
Sitting up - if we prop her up slightly in her boppy she tries so hard to sit straight up. When I put her in the car in her car seat she tries to pull herself forward; she's just excited to see life! But she is doing an excellent job learning to support her head. She can pretty much do it all on her own, with a little bit of bobbing around. I told Matt we have our own life size bobble head doll. :)

Rolling - we're working on this. She can roll from her back to her side. And she's rolled from her tummy to her back once, BUT she had the help of having her arm under her.

She's also recently discovered her hands and chews on them all the time. She drools like crazy. I think my favorite thing is that she appears to recognize Matt and me. When family was here and would hold her she would watch us walk around. It gives me some satisfaction knowing she recognizes her parents! And, I think she is like her mama and likes to dance...or just be in that upright position. But last Friday I was dancing with her and tried to set her down and she complained.  It's especially sweet when she dances with her daddy :)

Ok, I know everyone really just cares to see pictures of babies, so here is her two month photo shoot:

Two months old!

**I'll try to figure out collages to avoid these long posts... Sorry!**

Blessing Day

August 7th was Ellie's blessing. It was a great day, and Matt did a great job! We had all our family here so we took everyone to the park and had dinner there.

Frisbee and football

Katelyn could not get enough of the park and swings!

A little croquet

This picture cracks me up; AJ loves to try to sneak into pictures.

Aunt Kari and Ellie

Katelyn loves her Uncle Ike!

Two weeks later we finally took pictures of the three of us with Ellie in her white dress!

Family Matters

Three weeks ago we had the privilege of having both our families in town! It was so great to finally have visitors and see family. It had been 8 months since we'd seen our family (excluding my mom who was here in June). I've never gone that long without seeing them, and the last time Matt went that long without seeing his family was on the mission. We were both very excited to see our families! And felt blessed they could all take time off work to come be with us for Ellie's baby blessing.

Matt and I played tour guides for our families. Pretty much I saw all the same sites twice, but it was still fun!

First time Grandpa!

Uncle Kody

Aw :) I love capturing couples without them knowing.

Walser kids (minus Brittany)

Went to the Seattle Air Show

Great Grandma and Grandpa Van Ry

Walser Family

My silly siblings with the Billy Goats Gruff

Jensen Family and the Troll

Nathan pretending to change a diaper

Morris kids and Katelyn :)

Snoqualmie Falls

Seattle temple

Base of Mt. Rainier

Daddy keeping Ellie warm

Morris Family

Uncle Isaac

We had so much fun! I can't wait for future family reunions/vacations. By the time everyone left I was pretty tired, but I'd say it was worth it! :)


Side note about title: I used to love the TGIF shows on ABC! Family Matters, Boy Meets World, and Step by Step. I may have re-watched all of those my freshman year of college everyday on ABC Family... :)