Halloween with Ella!

Ella and Daddy trick-or-treating at Towne Mall.


Ella and Mommy


I just hold out my bag and people put in CANDY!! Check out all my loot!


Trick-or-treating is fun!


Well, gotta go get a sugar high!


Happy Halloween!!

Hi to all the Pres Girls! Thanks for visiting my blog!

I was very happy to see Anna B., Cece, Kathriena, and Ringo when I was in the hospital!

It also brightened my day when Cece, Ringo, Lisa, and Sydney came to visit my new school - Thanks girls!

Also thanks to Cece and Jessica C. for emailing me to keep in touch. :)

What a cutie!!


Cutie again!


Ella's hair really gets out of control sometimes...


But she really loves her baby sister!

My mommy finally found a paci I like! Thank goodness!!

My first big smile!! Actually caught on camera!


A little fuzzy, but still a cute smile!



Nana and Anna (Anna modeling the dress mommy wore home from the hospital 28 years ago!)

Anna's heart is almost all better! She has a murmur that is abnormal, but it is not a problem. Her atrial septal defect (the hole between the upper chambers of her heart) has turned into a patent foramen ovale, which means the hole is extremely tiny and no problem. She still has the ventricular septal defect, but it is also smaller and will likely not cause any problems. Basically, all that means that she is fine!! Yeah!!

We went to the zoo. Ella loved the animals. The real ones - the fake ones were a little scary (as shown by her expression in the picture). Her favorite were the naked mole rat babies.

Ella learns the value of breastfeeding. (She did this on her own - we didn't tell her to do it!)

Anna's umbilical cord came off last Wednesday (10/3), so yesterday she had her first real tub bath!

Naptime for silly girls:

Ella wants to be just like her mommy!!


She loves her new bath paints! She also apparently likes looking like she is stoned...

Doctor Visits!

Ella and Anna went to the doctor yesterday for regular checkups. Here are their stats:

Ella - 28 lbs, 35 inches tall. She is doing great!

Anna - 8lbs 9oz, 20 inches tall. I tried to get advice about Anna's gas problems and the nurse practitioner basically said to burp her more and give her gas drops. Wow...that's helpful. However, after searching the internet, I found info about hyperactive letdown and gas issues. I think this is what is causing Anna's pain. So, I'll try some things that deal with the hyperactive letdown. If that doesn't work, I think we'll unfortunately try breast milk from a bottle (or formula) to see if that makes a difference.

Because of Anna's gas troubles, I've barely been able to get 2-3 hours of consecutive sleep at night. Needless to say, I'm tired, cranky, and going a little crazy. Add a needy two year old to the mix and I feel like a zombie just trying to keep everyone happy.

After the birthday party, Ella needed to rock out a little.

Ella's birthday party was a huge success!! She had a great time, ate yummy cake, and got lots of great gifts!

She liked the rings and bracelets on her feet better than her hands!



She especially likes her animal hospital (of which she received 3)! She carries around her "Beow" (Cat) and "Woof" (Dog), and treats all their various ailments. Thanks everyone who got her that! She also likes her fridge magnet letters. However, that one is a little maddening to mommy. I can only listen to the alphabet song and "B says buh, B says buh" so many times in one day before I go a little crazy. I will admit it is really helping her with her letters, though.


Nana helped Ella blow out her birthday candle!

Anna got into the festivities...


Thanks everyone for the great gifts and your wonderful presence at the party!!