Carlson Crew: 2011

We tried the highchair but Ella can't quite sit up. Instead we have the gangsta lean!

Back to the Bumbo it is!

Ella at My Gym

Thanksgiving

Turkey Trot
Experimenting with solid foods has been so fun for the whole family! Ella can finish oatmeal cereal like it's nobody's business but don't think for a second she will try bananas or applesauce without making a face. I'm truly hoping that she has her father's taste buds and will be open to trying new things. My Baby 411 recommends eating solids once a day to start off with, but I'm thinking we may need to up it to two times a day because bottles don't seem to fill her. She has been randomly waking up at 5am this whole week and it's killing me so I need to get this child to sleep later. I'm thinking of waking her up around 7:30 (we put her down at 6pm which sounds too early but she can barely keep her eyes open) and trying to give her one more feeding. Should be interesting!

We had a great first Thanksgiving! Ella started off the holiday at 6am running in her first 10K with Daddy (Dana Point Turkey Trot, woot woot!). I was a little resistant at first (nervous she would have a meltdown), but it was the cutest thing ever to see Luke running with the stroller and making Ella laugh. She did so well and even slept miles 2-5. We watched the Macy's Parade together and had dinner with over 40 family members at cousin Suzy's house. She had two babies there that were close in age so it was really cool to see her interact with them (although she did slap one in the face :-). We had dessert with Nikki & Noah and couldn't have asked for a better holiday!

On December 8th, Ella will be 6 months old (where does the time go?!) She is so responsive now, I really have to be on my toes. She grabs at EVERYTHING. I am forced to walk down the center of every aisle when shopping and when we go out to eat, everything on the table has to be pushed back. I thought I had so much more time before this happened. It's so fun but also oh so tiring. So many people ask me if she's crawling (she looks much older) and this child barely sits up by herself. I'm secretly not opposed to keeping her immobile because I know how much more work she will be soon enough :-)

Monday, November 28, 2011

5x7 Folded Card

With Love Christmas Card

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Monday, November 21, 2011

5 Months

This month has been full of suprises, both positive and negative, and our focus has been to just take one day at a time. One new challenge is that our duplex sold and the close of escrow date has been a moving target. It looks as if we will have to be out by January 15th so the new owners can occupy the property. As much as I am not looking forward to moving with a 6 month old, I am a believer that everything happens for a reason and maybe this move will open up new opportunities for us. Luke's mother Sally stayed with us last week and it was really nice for her and Ella to bond since Ella knows my side of the family so well. She cooked and cleaned for us every day. I'd be lying if I didn't admit loving that my laundry was always taken care of. Ella had to visit the doctor several times last week due to her excessive spit up and heat rash. We now switched her formula to the Gentleease which has helped tremendously. We just started feeding her oatmeal cereal (at the doctor's request) since our little one is already 18 pounds 2 ounces and wearing 6-9 month clothes. This has been super exciting. We just ordered her high chair and I can't wait for it to come (oh how we love & appreciate the little things)!
Ella has changed so much this month and has become a little person! She is really reaching and grabbing at everything in sight (especially cell phones- she is one huge fan of the iphone!) She absolutely loved Halloween and we had so much fun taking her to the pumpkin patch and photographing every moment :) She talks constantly & loves looking at herself in the mirror (kind of like daddy! j/k) Her bumbo seat is her new best friend and she loves putting absolutely everything in her mouth. We just put her swing in the garage because we weren't really using it anymore and it really made me realize how insanely fast these past 5 months have flown by. I look at her and just cry out of pure joy all the time. Despite numerous challenges, I've never been happier and feel so unbelievably lucky.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

4 Months

Ella's first storefront

Ella

Jenny

Luke

Our little baby is getting bigger by the second! She had her 4 month check-up and weighed 16lbs 12oz and was 26 inches long. (She is now over 17lbs!)Ella was over the 95th percentile in both height and weight. The doctor assured me that because she was born in a high weight percentile it was likely that she would remain bigger than most babies her age for awhile. Her height was average when she was born (20.5") so we might have a tall little munchkin. I love watching her change everyday. She now loves sitting up and consistently attempts to lean forward in her carseat. She coos all day long and laughs hysterically when we sing to her. She is resisting nap time now and knows when we are trying to get her to nod off. She is still drinking 6 bottles a day, 6 ounces each and sleeps for about 12 hours a night. Her naps can often vary but we have 3 a day with the noon nap lasting about 2 hours. Ella has had some fun outings recently going to a USC game, Grandpa's country club, the petting zoo (thanks Mikayla) and many restaurants ;-)
I recently had to take a job working part-time at El Morro Elementary in Laguna Beach. I was devastated at first to leave my little baby, even if only for 3-4 hours a day. The first week I cried the whole way to work. Some of my coworkers knew how emotional I was and introduced me to some other teachers who are also working moms. They were all so sweet and convinced me that working is actually a nice break sometimes and we all have to do what we need to do for our children. It's so special that women share this special bond whenever they talk about their kids. I love that about our sex! Now I actually love going to work. I miss Ella but I feel like myself again and love that time away. Not to mention, the drive from Dana Point to Laguna on PCH is perfect therapy. It makes me excited to see her again and I don't put her down for at least an hour when I pick her up. I've decided that I want to try and make some of my own surf-themed onesies for her just to see if I can do it. Drew is going to take me to the fabric mart in LA. Yippee! We'll see how this goes. To all of the mommies out there, come to the Boo Blast at my school from 2pm-7pm, October 28th. They have all kinds of activities and everyone says that there is even stuff for babies & all of the community comes ;-)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

3 Months

I never thought I could love anything as much as I love my baby girl. She makes me the happiest mom ever. She definitely has her moments where she is no little angel, but I wouldn't change her for the world. This is such a fun age because she is responding to me and the world around her. She has started to follow people, cars, and the little toys dangling from her carseat. She displays her huge, gummy smile anytime someone talks in a high pitched voice. She loves to coo and hear herself talk. She is growing into quite the big girl. Everywhere we go people always think that she is at least 6 months old (she is wearing her 6 month clothes) and they are always shocked to hear that she is only 3 months. This may sound super lame and sad, but she really is like my little best friend. We spend every moment together and I even miss her when she naps (although I have trained myself to be super productive during these times). I have now become an official "diaper expert" and we have had no more leaks. She loves her onesies and can't stand her adorable cut-off jean shorts and sparkly shoes. Go figure! If there is one thing I've learned this month it is to not spend money on baby clothes, they grow way too quickly. Along with Lindsay, Nikki & Kathleen, I have become obsessed with Children's Orchard because you can get clothes for $1 and they're super cute. I've really been trying to budget effectively and find a way to make some spending money by working part-time. If anyone has any ideas let me know ;-)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

10 Years

These past 10 years have gone by so incredibly fast. I can't believe that Luke and I have been together for a decade. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how far we've both come and the different paths that have lead us to where we are now. When we first met the last thing either of us wanted was to get into a serious relationship the Saturday before school even started. Needless to say, that's exactly what happened. It was a very bad time in my young teenage life. My parents were starting a very difficult divorce (my dad had just moved out) and I was in the midst of ending my relationship with my boyfriend of 5 years and was heartbroken about it. I didn't really know what I wanted out college, or even out of life at that point. Little did we know, the world would change forever on 9/11 and give everyone in America a new perspective. Luke turned my world upside down in every positive way possible.
Here is our story!

Luke and I first met on August 25, 2001 during 80's Casino Night at Chapman University. My friend Meggie and I only went for 30 minutes because we were really nervous and too cool for school. Within 5 minutes we met Dan (Luke's roommate)and about 10 minutes after that Luke approached us. The first thing Luke ever said to me was, "Wow, you must really like Hurley". I happened to be wearing a Hurley tank and pants but I definitely was not in love with the brand. He proceeded to tell me some lie about how he thought he had seen me on the beach that day in Huntington. I believed him at first because I had been at the beach, but in Newport. He invited us to have coffee at the Ugly Mugg that night and the rest is pretty much history. School started Monday and Luke just happened to be in one of my broadcast journalism classes even though he was an advertising major at the time. I was totally impressed with his confidence and loved hearing his stories about traveling and exploring (I had barely ever been outside of OC). I knew I was in love when I openly told him that I still had strong feelings for my highschool boyfriend and he laughed and said, "Don't worry, not for long." He was the first person I had ever met that asked so many questions about me and wanted to know absolutely everything. Within a week, he was definitely the cool the man on campus because the Mandy Moore music video he was in had climbed to #1 on TRL and played every day at 3pm for like 2 months straight. We went on our first "official" date September 1st and had our first kiss that night on Sunset Blvd. so we consider that our anniversary :)

Luke, I can honestly say that you have made my life better than I ever thought it could be. Since the moment we met, you've been my best friend. I know that without a strong relationship, you have nothing, and I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for the bond that we have. Our lives have definitely not been perfect, but I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for being passionate about everything that you do and for making me a better person :-) Here's a look at the last 10 years!

First photo we ever took Sept. 2001- Disneyland