Day 164

Ellie is 23 weeks and three days old today.  I worry that my reports become repetitive -- each week, she really does become more aware, seems to communicate more interentionally and shows us more of who she is.  I feel increasingly certain that she will have a "big" personality -- she is insistent and sweet and it is so charming to see that lovely smile warm her face when she makes a new discovery.

Ellie has hit some exciting milestones in the last couple of weeks and it has been exciting to see how much new developments delight her. Nitin remarked today that she always seems thrilled to become more proficient at doing "big girl" things.  Two weeks ago, Ellie was behind on rolling, but during the past week, she has been rolling over everything chance she gets and had become a tummy sleeper! (The first night, this phenomenon made me so nervous that I brought her back into the pack n play in our room, just in case, and slept six inches away from her.) She is also sitting independently now, although balance can be tricky, so we stay nearby in case she tumbles!

We took pictures of some of the sweetest and most exciting moments in the last couple of weeks...

We fit in a couple of walks during the past couple of weeks before the weather got chilly and rainy again! We are looking forward to more outdoor outings when the weather warms up again -- the zoo, hikes, perhaps some fruit picking?

One very important highlight of the last couple of weeks was our visit to Princeton last weekend! Emma and Ellie meet for the first time and it was tremendously sweet to see how gentle Emma was with Ellie and how excited she was to spend time with her.  Emma had also picked out an adorable pack of socks for Ellie with printed elephants on them!  This is the first photo of the cousins together.

The labradoodle cousins also met and needless to say, that was adorable.

Another sweet cousin photo, in which Ellie is wearing Emma's shades.

Ellie and I are still sorting out the best routine for the couple of hours we get to spend together on weeknights -- this week, we spent time on the floor so that she could practice rolling!

Ellie gets a huge kick out of her hilarious daddy, especially when he threatens to eat her fingers!

It was a shock when one day, I propped Ellie up to sit, gently let go and...she kept sitting!  Of course, that sweet fuzzy big head is hard to balance for extended periods, but sitting by herself was a pretty awesome breakthrough.

Here is one of Ellie's great big smiles -- I think, as I mentioned, she is just so excited to be able to sit on her own!  I wonder when she will start crawling...she clearly wants to, and tummy time can be so frustrating when she stays stationary despite all of her efforts!

"Who, me? I don't remember waking up at 5am on a Saturday... That was probably some other baby."

Ellie's first solid food was oatmeal this morning!  She was very excited when she tasted her first bite and then, of course, she became very serious and focused about eating more oatmeal.  Impossible to miss the Nitin microexpressions.

We had lunch downtown with Uncle Dylan today, and don't these two make a sweet pair?  

Time is still marching quickly and I cannot believe that Ellie will soon be six months old.  I am still discovering the ways in which our lives have been forever changed but the arrival of this little one.  I still spend time second guessing choices, big and small -- were we wise to choose to live here and how will my career affect Ellie, should Ellie start eating oatmeal of mashed banana first, which daycare is better, and the list goes on.  I cannot promise anything approaching perfection, but we do our best and we just adore her...