The Herrins from Scratch: June 2011

It's hard to believe it's been six months since we first met our little Ella Grace...when I say little, she was little. Weighing 5lb 150z she was the tiniest thing we'd ever seen. Then, she had trouble learning to eat and dropped down to 5lbs...merely the size of a bag of sugar! Well...she's not so teeny tiny now! It's crazy to think that time has flown so fast. If we had to pick three adjectives to describe Ella we'd choose: HAPPY, VOCAL, AMAZING. She is oozing with personality and we can't wait to see what she'll do next. Whether it's typing on the lap top with her toes, rolling here to there to get stuff, yelling at the top of her lungs for amusement, or talking "seriously" to her toys...she provides us with constant entertainment. I can honestly say she has added so much to our lives in these six little months.

Ella's actual 6 month "birthday" isn't until next Friday...but Brent and I will be at a wedding in New Orleans that weekend and Nana will be keeping Ella. The Tuesday we return from the wedding, our move begins...so I decided to blog about six months early, so I wouldn't forget when everything got all CRAZY with the move.

You may remember, Ella was born on December 17th...8 days before Christmas. She was suppose to be born January 15th, which would have given her more time to not feel like her birthday is overshadowed by Christmas. But, she came when she came...so we have to be creative. I approached Brent with this idea. At first I think he thought I was being over the top, but, after I explained myself, I think he agreed with my reasoning. When you are a little kid, Birthdays are EVERYTHING...your special day. I was worried that Ella would feel jipped that her special day fell right in the mix of the Christmas season. Don't worry, we will make her feel special on her actual birthday no matter what...but, I thought she might need something extra. Ella's "half-birthday" falls on June 17th...right during summer. We are going to start a small tradition of celebrating her half birthday...something little...like a special dinner or a small cake. As she gets older, maybe she'll take a couple of friends to do something special. Of course, no gifts are expected. This way, she has something in the middle of summer to look forward too...and it makes up for sharing that special day with the Christmas season. Call my crazy, but I think this is a great idea! So I'll let you know how the half birthday thing goes as time goes on...hopefully she'll enjoy it as she gets older.

Here's a list of things about me on my first half birthday:
-I have beautiful blue eyes
-Still don't have much hair, but what I do have is a strawberry blonde color
-I love to smile for the camera....which is good because my mommy is like a paparazzi
-I can almost sit up straight on my own
-I can still wear 3-6 month clothes, but I'm starting to grow into some of my 6 month clothes too.
-I love my Jumperoo and can move all by myself to play with all the stations
-I love to babble...but I really love to SCREECH at the top of my lungs to get people to notice me
-I laugh hysterically when my mommy and daddy blow strawberries on my stomach
-I love to eat and have been trying to steal food off my parents' plates. Definitely ready for baby food.
-I have to be holding a lovey in order to fall asleep. I rub it all over my face because it soothes me
-I can roll over stomach to back and back to stomach
-I prefer to be in a standing position facing outward when people hold me in their laps
-I am OBSESSED with Dolce...I love Baxter too...but I constantly want to grab Dolce's fur...Dolce is not a big fan of this, but she puts up with me.
-I have quite the wardrobe that includes a range of fabulous outfits compiled by my Mommy, Nana, and Mimi!
-I will only take a nap in my swing
-I HATE to be put in my car seat. I cry and try to wiggle out while Daddy and Mommy strap me in. Then, when they are unstrapping me, I slide downward and wiggle my body out of the car seat before they have time to lift me out. This often results in me getting tangled in the straps or ending up on the floor. **Needless to say, we always take her out of the seat somewhere safe...she's a determined little one.
-If I don't want to do something I will "scream" and look at my parents to make sure they got the message.
-I have the sweetest smile in the world (my parents think so at least) and I am a HAPPY BABY!! You heard it right...the colic is gone and Ella is a HAPPY, FUN LOVING baby!

This list could go on forever, but those are the highlights. We love you Ella...Happy Half Birthday!!

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE:

Newborn!

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

THREE MONTH PROFESSIONAL PICS:
We were definitely over-charged, but couldn't recapture
these moments if we didn't buy them.....

3 Months

4 Months

FIVE MONTHS: SOME OF OUR FAVORITES

Ella's got a new trick...she can roll over from her back to her stomach!! It happened a little over two weeks ago. We'd been "practicing" rolling over for a few weeks and I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to want to do it. Yes--we "practice" rolling over--I thought she needed a little boost. Up until a month ago, Ella had NEVER had tummy time. She would become absolutely hysterical anytime she was placed on her stomach, bury her face in the blanket, scream and cry, and refuse to move. SO, we'd pick her up (per her doctor's recommendation). Because of her lack of tummy time, her upper body strength was rather weak. The doctor said that she would "likely" catch up. Then, about a month ago, she finally realized tummy time wasn't so bad. That's when we began to practice rolling over front to back and back to front. At first I helped her roll from her stomach to back...she HATES rolling this way, even though she can do it. Then, we would practice rolling back to stomach. She'd grab my finger and pull herself over with it. After a couple of weeks of this, I knew she was almost there. We could tell that her upper body strength was improving drastically.

That Sunday, I called Brent into the family room and suggested that he watch us practice rolling over because I had a feeling she was almost there. And she was!! She rolled over right then and there...UNASSISTED!!!!! I was so excited that Brent got to see it the first time she did it...most of the time she has her "firsts" when he's at work. But, not this time!! We were cheering like she'd just won an olympic gold medal...in rolling over of course. It's amazing how proud you feel as a parent about the things your child does. The smile on her face said it all. She knew she'd done something big...she was beaming and we were beaming!!

Now she's a rolling over fiend. When we put her in her crib, or playpen, or jungle gym, the minute we walk off, she's rolling this way and that way. She gets sooo proud of herself. It's REALLY cute. I've shot a couple of videos of her rolling on our Flip video camera. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to convert them to put them on the blog. I've spent a couple of hours trying to figure it out...and no such luck. Brent's been too busy to take a look at it. I hope I can post it another time. :(

She really is on a roll...I think she'll be crawling now before we know it. She extremely interested in being in motion since she realized she could move herself!! It's just so much fun to watch her bloom and grow and we can't wait to see what she does next!! :)