The Herrins from Scratch: It's been a while

Hello! It's been a while!! March has been a busy month at the Herrin house--busy in a great way! We took a week long trip to GA and had two of my dearest friends visit this past weekend (a blog entry about the weekend is soon to come). We also went to the blooms at the Dallas Arboretum and had family photos on Sunday! We have found that the more Ella is on the go and the more people that are making over her, the better her colic is! Ella loves to be held so much that we literally can't put her down or she hysterically cries. This makes day to day life when it's just the two of us a little less productive then we'd like. The doctor says we can't let her "cry it out" until she is four months old...so we have no choice but to pick her up when she gets too upset. I keep saying to myself, "Before we know it, she won't be a baby anymore--just hold her and enjoy this time." So that's what we've been doing. We left her in her swing last night while I made dinner and Brent tried to study for boards. All of the sudden, we heard the most pitiful little cry...it was Ella and she was lonely. As soon as Brent picked her up, she was as happy as she could be. She just loves to be cuddled and held--she's a sweetie!

Here's a brief recap of our trip to GA: Our trip to Georgia was great!! It also marked Ella's first plane ride. She did an excellent job on the flight there and the flight back. She didn't cry at all and slept very peacefully. We landed in Savannah, GA where the first leg of our trip began. For those of you who don't know, Brent will be associating with a wonderful pediatric dentistry group in Savannah this summer. We will be making the move from Dallas to Savannah in June. We stayed at Si and Suzanne McCaslins' beautiful historic home in downtown Savannah. Si is one of the dentists in the practice. They were so gracious to have us stay. We had a lovely visit the McCaslins, their daughter Carey and her wonderful family, and the other dentists in the group. It was so great to see everyone and it made us very excited about all the wonderful things to come. We truly feel blessed.

Ella and I left Savannah while Brent stayed to work in the practice until Thursday. We had a wonderful visit to Dublin, GA. That is where her Mimi and Papa (Brent's parents live). They had an adorable nursery set up just for her! Ella doesn't have her own nursery space here in Dallas, so it was really wonderful to see a little nursery created just for her. It was super cute! She also got to meet many of their wonderful friends which was really special. Ella had a fabulous time getting all her Mimi and Papa's attention. Ella left Dublin feeling very loved and with some adorable outfits her Mimi picked out for her.

Next, we headed to Roswell to see Nana and Uncle J (my mom and brother). It was a great visit. Ella got to visit our neighborhood park on a beautiful, spring day. I spent many days playing there while growing up. It was surreal that I was now bringing my daughter there. Time really does fly so fast. Ella got to meet her great aunt and uncle and so many wonderful Roswell friends that have been special to me for a long time. It was great to introduce her to everyone. Nana and Uncle J enjoyed every minute they got to spend with her. Ella "talked" up a storm and enjoyed playing with both of them. She loved spending time with them.

Ella also got to meet my Dad. We met him for lunch at PF Changs (yummy). He brought Ella an adorable owl stuffed animal. He enjoyed holding her and got lots of pictures. I was really glad they got to meet. It's times like these I really wish he was still living at home and not missing out on family time especially now that Ella is in the picture. But, I can't change it, so I have to be content that Ella got to spend some time getting to know him. I know he was excited to spend time with her too.

Ella also got to go to dinner at "Aunt" Lindsey's house in Atlanta to meet my best college girlfriends. I need to stop and give props to Lindsey. She is the reason I started Ella's blog. She begged me to do one when I was pregnant. I decided not to, but told her I would do one once Ella was born. So, it's because of her that I've been doing the blog. I had forgotten how much I love to write...not to mention how fun it is to write about little Ella. Thanks, Linds!!

Back to dinner--we were an hour late--Ella had a meltdown day that day--but it was a wonderful night. I have a group of college "besties" that I met through Alpha Chi Omega (AXO) sorority that still keep in touch and get together whenever possible. Our group has expanded in recent years. Mary Catherine has two little girls, I have Ella, and I wouldn't be surprise if some of the other girls didn't have new additions soon (just a hopeful hunch)! We had a delicious dinner and I was so excited that Ella was able to meet them. They are like family. I just love them so much and was so happy that they could spend some time with our little bundle of joy. I know we have so many more memories to come and I can't wait for Ella to grow up around them.

Later in the week, Brent and his parents met us back in Roswell. We spent the last couple of days hanging out and spoiling Ella--of course. She was just in heaven with her grandparents and uncle making over her! Of course, the week went much too fast and it was over before we knew it. We would definitely say our trip to GA was a success. Ella met so many people who care about her and spent valuable time with family that adore her. She's a lucky little girl. She really is. We are so blessed to have her in our lives and we get so excited to share our little joy with the people we love. Ella--you're a good little traveler!! You made mommy and daddy proud!

We didn't get as many photos of the trip as we would have liked. We tried to relax and let all the grandparents take care of Ella. I'll do better next time--I promise!! We have so much more to catch up on...stay tuned!