My Renovation Blog

Friday, February 26, 2010

Friday Night Fun

This is what G and I did after Ella went to bed...


 Macs are so fun!  I keep finding cool stuff like this.  Ok, maybe we're nerds.  You gotta get creative when you're stuck at home every night with a baby!

We had Koji Truck tacos (and sliders) for dinner tonight.  We have been obsessed ever since we saw the truck featured on Food Tv's "Best Thing I Ever Ate".  Poor G left the house at 6:10, and didn't get home until 8:00...and we live less than 10 minutes from where the truck was tonight!  Koji tacos are VERY popular.  I liked the sliders best.  The tacos were very good, but IMO, not necessarily worth an hour wait.  Check it out for yourself!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

21 Weeks Old

Ella is 21 weeks old today.  Even though she'll be 5 months in less than 2 weeks, I wanted to do a little update before then so I don't forget.  As you can see, Rylee is always right by her, and Ella is finally starting to notice Rylee and even laugh and smile at her!  Today was the first time she ever "pet" Rylee.  It was more like patting Rylee, grabbing her fur and then pulling, but it's a start. ;)

She is talking and laughing all the time.  She gets a big smile or laugh every time we go get her from her crib.  I can hardly get her to take her bottle anymore because she plays with the nipple in her mouth, pushes the milk out with her tongue, smiles, tries to turn over on my lap...much more interested in what's going on around her!  People told me things just happen overnight, and it's so true.  Besides petting Rylee, this morning, she starting grabbing her little stuffed frog rattle and holding onto it, pulling it to her mouth, etc.  I swear she's going to be in college tomorrow.  I'm sure it still feels to our parents like we were just babies yesterday!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I'm Having One of Those Days...

So after our lovely lunch experience, I foolishly decide to practice my photo skills (lighting was terrible).  First I get this...
So I try to get out from behind the camera to get a smile, but instead, it gets worse...
 So I keep trying to at least get this...
Clearly, the photo session was not going to go my way today, so I pick her up out of her exersaucer, and she gives me a gift...
Up her entire back, down her pants, somehow on the outside of both booties, all over my shirt, on my pants, and I think in my hair?  She started laughing hysterically after this happened.  At least I know why she was cranky today.  She's in a great mood now.  ;)

I just have to edit this post to show how her mood changed after she got all that junk out of her tummy:
Apparently that sun is HILARIOUS.

Lunch with Grandma & Grandpa

Ella had lunch today with grandma and grandpa at Cheesecake Factory.  What started out like this:
Ended with Ella screaming at the top of her lungs uncontrollably, causing complete embarrassment on my part.  This is so out of character for her that I know something must have been wrong.  She had just woken up an hour before and eaten within 45 minutes, so she wasn't hungry or overtired, and she doesn't behave like that when she's tired or hungry anyway.  The only thing I can think of is that her stomach hurt because we recently switched from Nutramigen formula to regular formula, and she might have a milk allergy like daddy.  I reeeeeeally hope not since Nutramigen is $1.67 an ounce, and regular is as low as $.39 an ounce!!  Everyone please pray that Ella is not allergic to regular formula. :)

Friday, February 19, 2010

E & O...Shopping Again

Today we met up at the mall with J and Olivia (please ignore the fact that I am a slob with no make up, sweats and a hat, and J looks all cute and put together).  Ella is finally starting to be interested in Olivia...we can't wait for them to actually play together! 

I think our days of mid-afternoon outings may be numbered.  Ella gets very fussy after being awake longer than 2 hours, and she will no longer sleep in her pram, and even though she'll sleep in the car, the second I open the door, she's awake.  I can't wait until we are down to just a morning and late afternoon nap!  Or better yet, just a late afternoon nap. :)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Grammy & Pop Pop Visit

Grammy and Pop Pop visited this weekend.  We had a nice Valentines dinner at home on Sunday night, then went to the dog park and had breakfast at Mimi's Cafe on Monday.  Ella had so much fun with Grammy and Pop Pop that this is what happened after they left:




Saturday, February 13, 2010

Before & After (Living Room/Dining Room)

I've been meaning to post before and afters of our LR/DR, but I've been putting it off in the hopes that I'd get some better photos...alas, I cannot figure out how to get quality photos in that dark room (w/o using my 50mm, which won't get wide angles) so I've given up and will just post what I have!

This may be a long one.  And please indulge my photography obsession (I'm not very good, but I'm trying!) by forgiving my attempt at "artistic" even though they really don't show anything of value.

BEFORE
 

AFTERS
 
 I couldn't find pillows I liked so I made these.  I heart the fabric.
 
 
 China cabinet.
 
 I also couldn't find chair covers that I liked so I had these made.

 
We recently switched out the DR chandelier, and I'm in love with this one.
 
 Once again, I couldn't find pictures that I liked so I bought a hard cover book with rose pictures, cut them out and framed them...inexpensive and beautiful!
 
 

Valentines Playdate

 
Today we went to a Valentines playdate at Grace's house with Audrey, Natalie, Ethan and Sophie.  This was our attempt at trying to get a photo with all of them together...not an easy task!  It was nice to get some mommy time with girls, and the delicious champagne sprtizer with strawberries that T made.

And because Ethan is usually at the playdates, but somehow seems to get left out of the pictures, here is a picture of just Ethan and Ella...K actually got a very sweet picture of Ethan holding Ella's hand, but I don't have a copy yet (maybe I'll change this photo out when I do).

 
BTW, Ella actually has her Valentines jean skirt with hearts as pockets on, but it rode up to practically her neck so you can't see it!  Good thing she was wearing the little matching panties so her diaper didn't show...blush. ;)

Friday, February 12, 2010

Cousins

 
  
Tonight Ella met her adorable cousin, Brooklyn (Brooklyn's dad is my cousin), for the first time.  We had a BBQ at my grandpa's house with my cousin and his wife, my aunt and uncle, my parents and my grandpa.  It was so great to see everyone and have the cousins meet.  I think Brooklyn thought Ella was a doll...she wanted to play with her...how cute is Brooklyn putting her hands in Ella's mouth?  She also kissed her, hugged her and tried to crawl all over her!  Very sweet.

My cousin and I with the babies...

Sleep Training

Now that Ella is 4 months, we can officially begin sleep training...yay!  I've read Weissbluth twice and even took notes in the hopes of molding a good little sleeper.

First, on the day she turned 4 months (2.8.09) we moved her from the pram in our room, to her crib in the nursery (she had already been taking naps in her crib).

Second, we are now doing scheduled naps.  Three times a day...morning, noon and late afternoon.  They are typically running sometime between 8 and 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon and 4 p.m.-ish.  One of the morning or noon naps is usually about an hour, and one is usually about 2 hours.  The late afternoon is pretty much always an hour or less.

Third, we are trying to make sure she is not awake for more than 1-1/2 to 2 hours at a time.  So if she wakes up from the morning nap at 9:45 a.m., she's down again by 11:45 a.m.

Fourth, she is always in bed by 7:30 p.m. (and usually by 7), and her routine never changes...bath, swaddle, bottle, bed. 

The downside of this sleep training is that I'm kind of stuck at home again (and we have a playdate this weekend so I'm hoping her nap schedule works out at the right times!!), and I can never make concrete plans because her schedule depends on what time she wakes up that day.

Hopefully, this will pay off, and she'll start sleeping through the night soon so we can relax on the nap schedule.  Wish us luck!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

4 Month Pediatrician & Vaccines


Ella had her 4 month pediatrician appointment today and had to get the same vaccines as last time...2 in each thigh and 1 orally. :(  My poor baby.  She did do a little better this time- the screams were a tad quieter and for a shorter amount of time.

STATS
Weight- 12.4 pounds
Height- 23.5 inches
Head- 39.5

She is in the 55th percentile for her adjusted age (which is 2 1/2 months) and 25th percentile for her actual age.  That's great because she was only in the 5th percentile for actual age last time!  The doctor was very impressed with her neck control and ability to already roll over, but because she has a flat head in back and is not yet batting at toys, we have to take her to see an OT, who will give us exercises for both issues.

We asked about starting solids, and he said because she was so early, we need to wait until 5.5 months to start rice cereal.

Overall, she's doing great!

Monday, February 8, 2010

4 Months Old


Ella is 4 months today!  She seems so big to me even though we still get, "Is she a month old?"!  We think she's about 12 pounds now.  She is still eating 7 times a day...BM during the day, and Nutramigen or Alimentum formula for the bedtime, dream feed and middle of the night feedings.  She rolls over like a champ from tummy to back, but she's still working on rolling from back to front...she's so close!  She gets her legs, tummy, shoulder and arm completely over, but can't figure out how to swing the arm she's laying on over!  She loves the car, and almost always falls asleep when we're driving.  She loves people, and she'll smile at anyone now if she's in the mood.  She's loving grandpa lately, and he can always get a smile and a laugh.  She "talks" to daddy all the time, especially in the morning, and has big belly laughs.  She is truly the joy of our lives.

I thought of a few more things while we were on our walk today that I'll want to remember...E is still sleeping in her pram in our room (but we plan on having her sleep in her crib tonight for the first time).  She also still takes walks in her pram, but we hope to put her in the regular seat soon so she can look around!  She is in a size 1 diaper, and depending on brand, she typically wears a size 3 month or 3-6 month in clothes.  In some brands, she can still wear 0-3 or even 6 months.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Super Bowl XLIV

Today we went to J & K's for a little Super Bowl party.  It was so fun!  J & K had tons of food, which we weren't shy about gorging on, and Ella loved playing with Olivia and Paige.
 
Precious tiny feet...

Sleep Regression?

Ella has been sleeping from about 7/7:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. (with a dream feed at 10:30 a.m.), eating and then going back to sleep until about 7 a.m.-ish for weeks now.  Well, for the past 3 days, she's been waking up between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. to eat and being very restless until 6 a.m. when she wakes up.  I heard babies tend to regress around 4 months, but I'm hoping it's just a very brief setback. ;)

Last night after she woke up and ate at 3 a.m., she did not want to go back to sleep.  It took both of us taking turns rocking her for quite awhile before she went back to sleep.  This led to a very tired mommy, daddy AND puppy.  So this is what I found when I got out of the shower...
Luckily, Ella slept for almost 2 1/2 hours during her morning nap, which led to a very happy baby...I was able to capture this sweetness...

Friday, February 5, 2010

My Little Rylee

 

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Playdate with Logan

Ella had a playdate with Logan today. Logan is such a doll and so good!  She LOVED Rylee, which means Rylee LOVED her!  Rylee's barking didn't phase Logan at all...amazing.  Logan was a preemie like Ella and actually born almost exactly as early so it is SO great to talk to Logan's mommy, L, about developmental things and general life with a preemie.  We can't wait for the next playdate!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Ella Rolls Over!

I caught it on video this time!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I Missed It!

Ella rolled over today from her tummy to her back, and I missed it!! :(  I put her on the floor on a blanket on her tummy, and I went into my closet to change.  I came right back out, and she was on her back!  She was out of my sight for like 4 seconds!  I put her back on her stomach and watched her for about 15 minutes, but she wouldn't do it again.  Boo.

On tonight's menu...cannelloni.  And I will admit that I got this idea from watching that reality show "Gulliana & Bill" because she made it, and it looked so good!  I had to find a recipe that doesn't contain ricotta (which was very hard to find) because G will NOT eat anything with ricotta.  Sad, I know.  I'm going to change it up a bit, and I'll post the recipe if it's any good!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Visiting Ava


Today Ella met her new friend Ava at Ava's house in San Pedro.  Ava is 10 days old, but she has a full head of hair (10x more than Ella!)...isn't she adorable?!  The girls are only about 15 weeks apart so we know they'll be good friends. :)

Master bathroom Remodel

I feel extraordinarily lucky to have a dad and a husband who might as well be professional contractors.  I have to give them most of the credit, as they did almost the entire bathroom themselves!  The only parts we contracted out were fabrication and installation of the marble countertops and installation of the floor.

BEFORE
 

AFTERS

  
  
My Vanity
  
G's Vanity
  
Countertop
  
Shower and Closets
  
Sink Faucet
  
Bathtub Faucet
  
Water Closet
  
Looking out from Water Closet