The Pearsalls

Ella's second month was much better than her first. She learned to smile, and gave her first big grin to her silly daddy on November 2, 2005. Plus, she made her first long trip to her Great Grandma Mamie's house for Thanksgiving.

She cried a lot in those first couple of months. She began to be known as "grumpy Ella" instead of just plain "Ella." Friends and family would call and ask what was wrong when they heard Ella crying in the background. I would say, "She's just grumpy," as if her being in a sour mood was a fact of life. It was rough, but we got through it, and Ella is much more personable now.

We also left baby Ella with her Nana for the first time when she was about 6 weeks old. Chuck and I were going a little crazy, so we decided to go out to dinner and a movie. We haven't been to a movie since, and we've only been out to eat without Ella once since then (I think). Something tells me we are due for a date night!

At 8 weeks, Ella weighed 13lbs and was 23.5in long!