See What I Can Do!

Ella is such an awesome baby.  She is changing so much and so fast, it's hard to believe it's already been almost 4 months!  So for those of you who haven't seen her in a while, or haven't got to meet her, here is what she is up to these days. 

~ Ella now weighs 13 lbs 14 oz &  is 24 1/2 inches long
~ She is continuing to do well in daycare & likes to watch the big kids
~ Ella found her FEET!!  She's pretty sure they are the coolest things ever
~ She can stand supporting all her weight, although balance still eludes her
~ She is not committed to Tummy Time.  Sometimes she likes it, sometimes she hates it
~ Ella had shots this past Friday & did not cry until after the needle was removed & the band-aid was about to be applied.  She let out 2 wails and then looked around like "Okay, I said my peace....let's go"
~ She can hold up her head and shoulders while on her tummy
~ She refuses to roll over
~ Ella can carry on a lovely conversation, lots of "ahhoow" and "eehhheee" she has the best facial expressions
~ She is a little more into the TV than I'd like, but she just loves the bright colors & movement
~ ESPN & Animal Planet are her favorite channels.  Investigation Discovery rounds out her Top 3
~ Ella ate Rice Cereal for the first time tonight and she did really well!

The cutest feet ever

Ella thinks they're pretty cool too...

"What are you staring at.....have YOU ever seen anything like this?!?"

After her shots. She got LOTS of cuddle time after I saw that face!

Her favorite pose.

Not quite sure about the cereal or the Eat Seat

She decided it wasn't so bad.

Summer Fun!

We have had a lot of fun this summer with Miss Ella!  Over the 4th of July weekend we went down to Houston...I miss Houston terribly; I miss the myriad of great restaurants & things to do, health food stores and most of all I miss my wonderful friends who are still there.  So, I really wanted to get Ella down to H-town & introduce her to the dirty south and all our friends there. 

We went out to dinner with some wonderful friends, we actually all got married within a few months of each other last year.

We had a great time catching up & everyone got a chance to love on Ella.  Exciting to hear about the new accomplishments in their lives....never hurts to have a lawyer & a lawyer/judge on your side!!! 

After a great dinner we got back to our hotel room just in time for Ella to watch the fireworks at the Juice Box aka Minute Maid Park.  She was mesmerized!

The next day we had a great brunch with more friends, some good ol Nazarene folk whose baby boy is 4 months older than Ella.  Then headed south to stay with some friends from Norman who have since moved to Houston.  We had a great time just visiting and seeing their kids be so sweet to our little girl.  Wish we could have hung out with them longer.  I miss the long chats around the kitchen table.  Ella had a blast and was spoiled by Janice & Cha Cha, she also got to go swimming for the first time and LOVED it.  I was a little less thrilled about being in a bathing suit, luckily it was a judgement free zone! 

We've also spent some time this summer with my dearest friend & her kiddos, see this post, and loved seeing Bay Hope playing with Ella, she loved watching the big kids and apparently got a pretty good kick out of Jett. 

Ella still has a trip to Maryville & KC ahead of her this summer before we hunker down and prep for the start of football season.  Hope you enjoyed the update & the pictures.  If we haven't made it to see you I'm sure Ella will be in a town near you soon.  Until then.....hugs from the Courters!!!!!

Wonder Moms

I was told that I was not updating the blog enough, so here I am.  The funny thing about that is my dearest friend in the world told me this as she held sweet Ella; it doesn't sound funny but it is because this came from the mouth of the woman who, once upon a time, could barely get through a 10 minute phone call because her 2, then 3 very young children always seemed to need something at the very moment she wanted to do something for herself.  I remember thinking how crazy her life was as I lived the "pick up and go whenever I feel like it" life of a single college student.  Now I look at her with her 3 children who look so grown up that it makes my heart hurt, and she is a different lady.  She is still my Ash, but she is so much more relaxed and seems so comfortable in her skin.  It makes me wonder what Scott & I look like now.  Do we look frazzled?  Do we walk around looking like crazy people.  Please don't answer that!

I read something the other day and I think it's very spot on.  A woman was talking about how as she was walking with her 3 kids, one of which was a newborn, she saw a new mom still in her pjs going out to get the morning paper looking like a hot mess.  She started remembering when her first child was born she would go through an entire day and then realized she had yet to shower (yeah I can relate) but somehow with 3 she's up and ready for the day by 7 am.  She went on to say that parenting doesn't get easier, especially when you add more kids, but we as parents get better at our job.  With each day that passes God gives us what we need for that day...he meets us where we are and then, as time goes on, we become more confident in our roll as parents and in turn become better.  My best friend is the living example of that.  Please don't be mistaken, she has always been a wonderful mom but now she is a graceful mom that makes it look easy, especially to those of us newbies.  It is just so awe inspiring to see how she has grown as a mom, woman and wife.

I'm extremely blessed to have more than one of those "Wonder Moms" in my life....moms that should wear capes because they are truly superheros.  We have also been fortunate enough to spend some time with 2 of those ladies and their families the past few weeks.  One of those ladies (mother of 2 boys & 2 girls) has a wall hanging that I noticed years ago; I thought it was great then but now I think it is profound....it says, "Strong women...May we know them, May we be them, May we raise them."  I am happy my daughter will have these women in her life, God sure put them in my life for a reason!  Amazing Moms.  Amazing Women.  Amazing Friends.  Amazing Roll Models.