6 month updates

 The youngest with the oldest of our family :) 14.11lbs, 25 3/4 long

Another month has passed! I know it's very cliche to say but the time is really going by fast. However, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't tell you that at some points I wish that time would go faster and I'll say "Man I can't wait til this phase is over!" And boy am I guilty of saying that this past month.

Ever since Elizabeth started her 6th month (5 months old), it seemed she forgot how to sleep through the night! She was doing so good and then she took 5 steps backwards. It seems worse when you thought you had the whole sleeping thing down to then have your full nights sleep pulled out from underneath you, rather than if all this time she hadn't been sleeping good--I think I would've just gotten used to it by now. Not sure if it was teething, needing more in her tummy, just wanting attention, not knowing how to go back to sleep on her own, or a combination of everything. I remedied all of these options on their own and still NOTHING worked, she still woke up 3,4,5,6 times a night! Not to nurse, just fussy like she would need her binky back in her mouth or even sometimes she just woke up talking! I even tried the whole letting her cry bit but after a couple 20 minute sessions you get to a point that if you know what will make her stop, the sooner the better!

Ellie the non-sleeper!

Well I have good news, ever since she started her 7th month (turned 6 months 4 days ago), her sleeping patterns have gotten much better! It's like a switch was flipped. I better be careful in saying this but I think we are back to normal. Woo hoo! But if it isn't this, it's something else right?

What else is new? Well we have started purees. I have been dabbling in the baby bullet system and pureeing some foods on my own. It's actually a lot of fun! So far we have tried carrots and sweet potatoes. She enjoys sweet potatoes, carrots not so much. We have a lot more veggies on our list to try and then we will start fruits.

 

Other tricks she can do? She has started to army crawl (or should I say marine corps crawl)

 She has started to sit up, but only with support. (I have to buckle her in to everything!)

she is rolling all over the place

and talking up a storm!

She is becoming very mobile!

Other updates? Well we only have 2 weeks left in MD!!!!! Then we move back to NC and wait for daddy to come home. Still unsure as to the exact date (more for security purposes) but they are still going with the "they'll be home BY October 6" time frame. His unit was given their leave dates for when they are allowed to spend some time with their family for a couple of weeks. It will be the end of October so we will be spending a night or 2 in MD and the rest in NJ. We've planned her Baptism during that time as well as a romantic 4 night getaway for just the "two of us." So I've spent most of the last month attached to a breast pump gearing up for that! Also, we just traded my car in for a new crossover SUV type of vehicle. It was definitely time for something a bit bigger. But how easy is it to buy a new car in your husband's name while he's in Afghanistan and have him totally finance it but be able to you yourself drive it off the lot? Not the easiest thing to do but after tons of logistics and power of attorney papers I made it happen. So needless to say, we've been staying pretty busy. These last two weeks we'll be wrapping everything up, making our last visits with family and friends in MD, and packing up our life once again! This time for a much happier reason :) Can't wait to be home!

Fantastic Five!

Can you believe it? Ellie is already 5 months old! 

Let's see, at 5 months Ellie...
-smiles and laughs a lot (just chuckles, no belly laughing yet)
-grabs for EVERYTHING and puts EVERYTHING in her mouth
-is eating cereal twice a day (she moved from once a day to twice a day today!)
-goes to bed between 9:30 and 10 and sleeps til 5, 6, 7, 8, or sometimes 9am!
-is still nursing 5-6 times a day (without supplementing)
-LOVES to talk and squeal
-is teething but still no sign of any teeth
-has moved from the sink bath tub to the "tub" tub and loves it!
-takes 3-4 naps a day
-rolls over from front to back and from back to front, constantly!
-is always putting her feet in her mouth
-LOVES pool time
-is friendly towards everyone and will let anyone hold her
-still wears size 3 month clothes
-and still has a head full of red hair!!

As for her weight, we have to wait til the 6 month check up for that but I would guess around 15 lbs. She was 13.9 lbs and 25 in long at her 4 month check up.

As for an update on Daddy, he is still projected to leave Afghanistan around Sept. 28 and be back in the US by Oct. 6. So we will be going back to NC around Sept 28 to settle in for a week before he gets back. We can't wait! Less than 2 months left!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dear handsome husband of mine and the father of our lovely daughter (and dog),

It is under unfortunate yet heroic circumstances that we cannot be there with you to celebrate your birthday today. However, comparatively it is not so bad because there are other special occasions and holidays that we will have you in our presence for such as Thanksgiving and Christmas and our daughter's first birthday, that we are quite grateful for. And with that thought, it occurs to me all of the men and women out there that are serving for an entire year plus that miss all of these holidays and more with their families and I am reminded of how blessed we really are that we only have 2 more months apart.

That being said, it is still your birthday and I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how thankful I am for the day of your birth, for without it my life would be a bit different. 26 years ago today, a young boy was born and he quickly grew up to be a fine gentleman, a caring husband and a wonderful father. I am so lucky to have found you and thank God every day that I am able to claim you as mine. 

Ever since I met you I became very aware of life and death--for the thought of spending my future with you makes me greedy for life and more time. And though it is hard that you're there and we're here, it is all considered bliss to me because it is still "our" life together. I cannot wait for you to get home and celebrate the next 79+ birthdays with us. 

P.S. I also cannot help but reminisce back to your birthday weekend last year when you came home from work and I broke the news to you that I was pregnant. Your parents surprised you for the weekend and you came home from the shark fishing trip (a little tipsy) and you blurted it out to them in a very unendearing way. SURPRISE! And on your actual birthday was when I got the blood work done and they confirmed that yes we were indeed going to be parents. What a great present! A lot has changed since then :) Happy Birthday!

I love you,

Your wife 

We're celebrating!!

Ellie and the Elsbernd's

Sounds like a good music group huh? So in case you were wondering, we made it back from Minnesota and Wisconsin safe and sound! We had ourselves a great time at the Elsbernd family reunion--I mean as great a time as one can have with a 4 month old nursing child :) The weather was beautiful there, I mean the best weather one can dream of having for a week of vacation at a lake. But then again, we were traveling with my grandma and when you travel with her, luck is pretty plentiful. We had a weekend at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, a week at the cabin in Wisconsin, and then a couple more days back in Minneapolis since we were flying out of there. Our week at the cabin was full of LOTS of outdoor time--card games, fishing, paddle boating, a bonfire every night (with occasional musical performances) and lots of water sports! No water sports for me though, although I did venture out on the jet ski a few times and we went on a couple of boat rides. It is beautiful up there not to mention it doesn't get dark until about 10! Everyone was so nice, it seemed like it was just yesterday that we saw them even though for me it had been 10 years! And of course, everyone was so welcoming and embracing towards Elizabeth. My Dad, Mary, Alex and Grandma were especially glad to have so much time with her so she was definitely fawned over to say the least! There were about 50 family members total that came and went throughout the week. Here are some pics!

Sunsets at the cabin were beautiful!

Mommy, Ellie, and my Grandma

Cousin Jerry with Ellie

The Elsbernd Family! We're the last on the right.

View from the cabin

Coming back from a dockside restaurant 

Ellie and Grandpa

Ellie with Mary

Ellie with Uncle Alex

We thought about Daddy a lot while we were there. He would've loved being able to fish every day. We also celebrated the fourth of July while we were there which obviously brought him to mind as well. It's definitely different when your husband is one of the "troops" that we're supporting at home and that he's actually away sticking up for the things that we celebrate that day: our freedom and independence. The reason why we have the day is because of men like him. I mean this isn't the first year he has served but to have him away serving on this day makes it hit a little closer to home.

We also had some milestones happen while we were gone this week. One little one is that Ellie finally found her toes and thus is now always putting them in her mouth. And one big one is that she rolled over for the first time!! The video below isn't of the first time but it's probably the third!

She has definitely become more hands on. She is grabbing everything (and putting it in her mouth), very alert and interactive. She can focus in on you even if you aren't in front of her and she will follow you as you move from side to side. Right when we got back from our trip she turned four months and had her check-up. She weighed 13.9 lbs and was 25 in long. We started rice cereal that night and have been eating it ever since. Since she nurses, she doesn't drink out of bottles ALOT, and when we started the cereal I would pump one breast and mix a tablespoon with it and feed it to her in a bottle and then nurse her on the other afterwards. Well she hadn't had a bottle since she started this grabbing phase and the first night she had the cereal in a bottle she just grabbed the bottle and started holding it like a pro, as if she gets a bottle all the time! She likes the cereal a lot, though I was hoping it would help me get her to bed earlier. We are still at an 11-midnight bed time which I still haven't fully gotten used to. Daddy and I are usually 9pm people and when he gets back, he will expect that routine to resume. She's a good sleeper, she sleeps 6-10 hours a night but it just doesn't start til Midnight. So I have 2 months to work on that!

She fell asleep like this in the car, holding onto her toy!

As I am writing this we are in NJ for our second visit of the summer and I have realized that tomorrow will be the halfway point for John's time over there. They are telling him that he will be back in the States by October 6th-God willing!  I didn't think it would be going by this fast but still, it's not fast enough!

Elizabeth can fly!

Three days ago, Elizabeth and I, along with my dad, stepmom Mary, my brother Alex and my grandma, embarked on a flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota! We are here for the weekend, staying at the Mall of America, while my grandma has a college reunion and then Sunday we are driving a short distance to Amery, Wisconsin--more importantly Lake Wapogasset. We are visiting with my grandma's nieces and nephews (my dads cousins) and spending the week at their lake house for just some good family time. We haven't seen them in years!! Realizing that this is her 5th state she has traveled too (Wisconsin making 6!), Elizabeth is one traveled kid so far. Regretfully, Daddy was not with us to experience her first flight but mind you, she will never remember this one and that he wasn't here! We were missing him dearly though. It sure is hard to do these type of family things without him, well first because our family is missing a key component--him! and two, knowing there is bound to be some "firsts" that he will miss. I've noticed going anywhere with a baby brings traveling to a whole new level with all the stuff you have to bring (diapers, wipes, breast pump, bottles, toys, blankets, burp rags galore, clothes, binkys, crib sheets, not to mention car seat, the base and the stroller). But we made it, and I had lots of help! That being said, she did great! I nursed her during take off, she was up talking and smiling and looking around for about an hour, then she slept, and by the time she woke up we only had 15 minutes left! It was a 2.5 hour trip which wasn't bad at all.  Hopefully, we have the same luck coming back! Here are some pics!

Mommy or Daddy's girl?

Everyone keeps saying "she looks like her dad" or "she looks like her mom." I think the consensus is that she looks more like daddy which I didn't realize how much she looked like him until we saw his baby pictures of when he was around 3 months. Then I found mine...see what you think!

Mommy

 Daddy

 Elizabeth

NJ bound!

Elizabeth, Oliver and I got to NJ Friday June 7. We drove up thru the tropical storm so it rained the whole time and added an extra hour to the trip. Baby and Dog slept the whole way though! I was greeted by John's Mom and Dad, sister Kait and her boyfriend John waiting for us in the driveway with an umbrella and camera. Excited would be an understatement. It feels so good to be here with them because it brings John a little closer to us all without him actually being here. And because this is his home and therefore has a piece of him in it, it will always feel like home to me, though it comes in third place to NC and MD (soon to change though.) And it definitely does feel weird without him here especially sleeping in his old room, in his old bed, amongst all his books and pictures and yankee memorabilia. Not to sound too morbid but it almost feels like he's passed away. But then he calls on facetime and the whole family gets to talk to him, which is great! It especially feels weird bringing our child into his childhood room. Like we're still kids and shouldn't be responsible for something like her yet.

Every day Elizabeth met someone new. Among them were John's Aunt Kim and Uncle Jeff, there son Peter and other cousins Jimmy and Alex. All of John's Mom's family (she is one of 9 so that's a lot!). John's best friend Andrew King, family friends Mr. and Mrs. Greig, and Judy Beidelman. Tuesday John's Grandmother threw a party for Elizabeth so all of her extended family and friends could meet her. Then the rest of the week we saw John's sister Kaitlin's college roommates, family friends Mr. and Mrs. Decker, Timmy Costantino, Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard, Maureen's friend Karen Toole and Jeanie Kassis. And then we saw John's friends Alex Tolotta and his fiance Angela, Matt Walsh and his girlfriend Bri, Matt Billera's girlfriend Heather and last but not least, the last night we saw his friends Joey Hassick and his girlfriend Gina and Adam and Brittany Socrates with their 1 year old daughter Mea.

All in all, it was a great trip. It was pretty packed with people to see but luckily it was enough time to see everyone with a little extra for some down time. It felt sort of like a mini-vacation because I didn't have to be tending to her 247 since we had so many visitors and the grandparents and aunts wanted their fill. Ellie did pretty well with the new place and all of the strangers holding her. She fell asleep and everything, no matter who was holding her. I hope she will stay that way and be an adaptable child (like her mama!!) She turned 3 months while we were there! Time is going by so quickly. She just started grasping for things which is exciting and she is so close to belly laughing, it's not funny (pun not intended?) I keep trying and all I get is a few giggles and that's it. I guess Mommy just isn't that funny.

John is still doing well. He got my package just in time for father's day, in which I sent him Elizabeth's handprints on a small piece of paper so he could "hold her hands" while he was over there. Father's Day was the first day I hadn't talked to him since he's been over there, which was hard and worrisome.  But it was because they're communication was down all day for certain procedures to be carried out properly. I talked to him the next day and he and his unit are safe and that's all that matters!

Here are some pics from the week!

morning stretch!                   Ellie meeting Mea (and joey)          Brittany and Adam!

 The best part of waking up!

In daddy's bed with Aunt T    Andrew King, a natural      Angela playingwith her 

playing with john (kaits bf)             3 months!!                      asleep in daddy's room

 

Bella meeting Ellie                      water aerobics                     Ellie with Aunt T

        Look, it's daddy!              Having fun with Aunt Kait       So happy too see Pa