New clothes from Grammy Sweeney

Beautiful girl in a beautiful sweater Grammy Sweeney made for her- so cute!
Play time- - check me out in my new excer-saucer- I am a little small for it and haven't figured out how to bounce yet but I like all the cool accessories.. 

Hi!

Ella's other favorite past time- bathtime- lounging! 
Daddy and Ella in another outfit from Grammy Sweeney-this outfit has the cutest pants- Jake and I want a pair. The best feature the teddy bear butt! 

Mommy & Ella- pardon the desheveled mumma look- Ella always looks good-- her parents on the other hand... 

Hi!

Hello All

Just a quick update. Ella is doing great. We had a recent bout with constipation which was not fun. She went 4 days!! Yikes. But finally we had a blow out Wednesday morning and the system seems to have been reset! That is the big excitement at our house. Ella is also rolling a lot- she loves to roll back and forth on her back to side on her play mat. Hands are still the favorite thing to suck on but she is now grabbing things like crazy- toys- moms hair! All going straight to mouth! We are having so much fun with her- hope we hear from you all soon! This weekend we are going to visit with Grammy Bornstein, Auntie Steph and Grandpa Bornstein- it will be fun for this little girl to make the rounds!! Love, Sheila, Jake & Ella Jane xo

3 months old oh my!

Grammy and Ella
Ella = the cover monster- she loves to snuggle her covers

Ella and Daddy- smiles all around

Hello All, 

Well we can't believe it, our little girl is already 3 mo old! It is so crazy. She is doing so well. Enjoy the pictures below and our little video of her "talking". I love her little coos- as you can see she is way into her hands. Starting to be interested in grabbing things but hands are still number one in her book. Life is great, today had a moms day out with my girlfriend Abby it was awesome lunch out and massages. Felt great. Dad was on Mr. Mom duty and he did awesome- I am lucky to have such an awesome guy for a husband and father to Ella. He cared for her all day and made an awesome dinner to boot. Well I better sign off, this mom needs to get to bed! Love to all, Sheila 

pictures

Cutie Pie

Hello All

Ella is doing really well, we just completed daycare week 2 and she is really enjoying it. I miss her when I am at work but it is so great to know she is getting a lot of attention. Jocelyn sends me pictures of her via email during the day so it is a great pick me up. I have included some on this post. She tried the excer-saucer they have at daycare and loved it. She couldn't "jump" but kicked her legs pretty good in excitement! We will probably shop for one for home because she was enamored with all the toys on the saucer part. 

Ella is really into her hands right now- loves to suck on them which is great when we are in traffic and I can't reach her pacifier! She has also been sleeping really well- 5-7 hours a night- last week we got 7 hours every night- it was awesome- sometimes she falls back to 5 but then sleeps another few hours after nursing so that is good for us! 

Not much else is new here- I am still adjusting to work. Along with being back after 10 weeks we are moving our entire lab to a new part of the building so that is nice but definitely makes things a bit chaotic at work. Luckily the ladies I work with are great- we are finally all sharing an office which will be a lot of fun. 

Well just a quick post, it is Jake's week on call for work so we may not see him much so I better go downstairs and hang out with my favorite girl and guy! Hope everyone is well. Love, Sheila xo

Daycare week 1

Hello All!

Well this was my first week back to daycare and Ella is 11 weeks old tomorrow. The first week back was probably a whole lot more difficult for me then Ella. She had been to daycare trial runs the week before last and did great with our friend Jocelyn. Jocelyn is the sister of my friends Tammy and Derek who just had baby Timmy in August. So it is just Timmy and Ella at daycare- which is great, she gets lots of attention and it is about 5 min from my work and 10min from home! Jocelyn reported that she was wonderful all day so it was difficult to get fussy baby at the end of the day- her fussy period is usually from 5-6pm on to bedtime. So this weekend has been awesome with having Ella all day- seeing lots of smiles that aren't so frequent at night! I am working 4 days now Tuesday-Friday so that will help. So that was our big news for the week- I am getting adjusted to working & pumping and being a mom- my plate is pretty full- but I love it! It has been great to get back to work and see my friends and my boss has been awesome. 

Well I better sign off- Ella is enjoying her mobile and we are gearing up for superbowl tonight- not really favoring a team- but looking forward to hearing Bruce Springsteen at halftime if we can stay up that late! Love to all, Enjoy these pics of Ella at daycare her first week! Love, Sheila

10 weeks and growing!!

Miss Annie

Hi- How's it going? 

First Smiles... 

Ella "talking" with mom.. 
Like my shades? I got all decked out for new years.. 
Ella & Grampy Bornstein
Maybe I'll just take a little rest here dad.. reading really takes it out of me.. 

The Bornsteins- 8 weeks
Ella & Mommy 7 weeks 
Ella and "aunt" Lori
Ella, Cathie & Keenan Sweeney Christmas
Ella & The Sweeney's Christmas 

Ella & Daddy- snooze time
Uncle Brian & Ella hanging out: Christmas

Grammy Sweeney & Ella - Christmas

Christmas baby
peaceful angel
Bath time at Grammys! 

Hello Everyone!

Sorry it has been so long since our last post- 6 weeks have flown by! A lot has happened since then- Christmas, New Years & Ella's 8 week check up! WOW! 

First things first Ella is now about 10 weeks old and how time has flown- too fast- tomorrow I go back to work! Yuck! But I know it is time, I will miss my little girl. But we have found a great daycare situation- our friends Derek & Tammy have a little boy Timmy (5mo old) who is lucky enough to have his aunt living with them to take care of him. They have generously opened their house to Ella as well! It is a great situation because there are only 2 babies and Ella will get lots of attention and it is only 5+ minutes from my work and 10 minutes from home. To ease the transition I am going to start by going back 4 days a week, so that should help and give me 3 full days of Ella & Mommy time! 

Ella is doing great as far as growth as well- she had her 8week check up 2 weeks ago and did well with her first shots! I think it was much harder on Jake and I! She weighed in at 12lbs 4 oz, 23 inches long- so she has really shot up! We really noticed her growth after we got back from NY for Christmas- she suddenly didn't seem as small in her bassinet! Her next visit to the doctors is in March for her 4 month visit- more shots eek! Oh well! 

The holidays were great, we headed to NY to bring mom back from her long visit with us and stayed for a week to visit with family and friends. This Christmas was extra special with Ella and she had a special holiday gift for us- lots of SMILES! Many new introductions for Miss Ella- she met her Uncle Brian, Uncle Jim & Aunt Cathie and Sweeney cousins. Of which Keenan was very entertaining for her- it was a great evening visit. Christmas was quiet at mom's with just Jake, Brian, Ella, Mom, John and I. A few days later we had our annual visit to the DeFonce's where Ella met "Ma" & "Pa" D , Lori, Dave, Robyn & the boys. It was a lot of fun! We can't wait to visit again soon! We were sorry we didn't get to visit with the Lockes while we were in town but a stomach bug kept us apart!But next time we are in Scotia for sure we will hook up and Ella will meet her cousin Ava! 

We came back to Maine for a quiet New Years Eve with some of Jake's old friends- we can't believe it is 2009 already! WOW- this year is going to go fast we are sure and Ella is going to grow like a weed! 

Some sad news though, we lost our dear dog Annie last week. She had been suffering from a neurological condition- we think she had a brain tumor. She got sick very fast and the best but most difficult decision was to end her suffering. We miss her very much, but know she is in a better place now. Maybe sometime we will get another dog, but right now we have our hands full with Ella. I  miss Annie's companionship, she was such a comfort during my entire pregnancy- she was there to cuddle and for my many walks to stay active and she was a gentle companion even in the last few weeks when I knew she wasn't feeling well she would always follow me around with Ella. Poor sweet girl we will miss her. 

Well time to check on Ella. Hope everyone is doing well, hopefully we'll talk to you soon! Enjoy these pictures from over the holidays. Love, Sheila, Jake & Ella Jane xo

4 week doctors visit!

Hello All

Just a quick note. Ella and I just came home from her 4 week doctors visit! She is doing very well- weighed in at 10 lbs 5 oz, 21.5 inch long! So she is growing like a weed! Today is also her first snowstorm- we have gotten several inches of snow. So it is safe to say winter has finally arrived here in Maine. Ella doesn't seem to mind it as she is bundled up for outings. But Annie our golden retriever (imported/adopted from Arkansas) isn't too impressed with the white wet stuff! 

Anyhow.. just a quick note, back to making cookies! Love to all, Sheila, Jake & Ella Jane