noah&katie

is my two front teeth! Last week Noah was out of town and I was 'flying-solo' for the first time with Ellie. Of course, this is when her two front teeth decided to work their way through. She was in a lot of pain last weekend and definitely not herself, but I can now feel the tips of some sharp pearly whites and my guess is they'll be here by Christmas! 

Who knew we could be more excited for Christmas than we have EVER been thanks to little Ms. Ellie. Noah and I are looking for to our gingerbread house tradition this week... I don't think Ellie will be able to contribute much yet, but that's okay! I've been sooo eager to wrap her presents (and we finally did yesterday!). We're doing our best not to spoil her, but in my enthusiasm I wanted to fill her stocking... so she's getting a hairbrush, hair bows, Gerber Puffs, batteries, etc in her stocking. Anything she needs that will fit :)

The tree is up, the presents are wrapped, we've been enjoying a family advent devotional time each night before bed.... all we need is some SNOW! (We're hoping we can find that in Wisconsin!)

Time continues to fly-- it's hard to believe Ellie will be 8 months old on Christmas day! y. She is starting to roll over (without being coaxed) :) She continues to love her cereal, and hasn't turned down any of the baby food we've offered her :) She's generally very happy and laid back, but is starting to get a bit nervous around familiar places or unfamiliar people.  I tease Noah that we're just playing house as she continues to be a pretty laid back baby. 

P.S. For those of you who are wondering if you have been taken off of our Christmas Card list-- no worries! You'll still be getting your Christmas card, we're just more behind than we've ever been. Here's a "sneak peek" of the beautiful pictures you'll be seeing :)

and the other half UNPACKING! 

We have had quite the fall. Lots and lots of travel (far more than we had anticipated!) It has meant that every 10 days or so we are loading up for another trip. That being said, I have yet to really get into a good routine. Ellie has been a trooper through it all and we have thoroughly enjoyed all of the people we have seen and things we have done! 5 trips, 6 states. 7 weeks. Let me just say "There's no place like home!" Especially at Christmastime!! 

Time has flown which means an update on our precious baby is long overdue! Ellie is now 7 months old. She loves her cereal, and is continuing to try new baby foods. She is adorable when she eats- her legs just kick, kick, kick and her hands move constantly (it looks like she is driving/revving up a motorcycle). As soon as she sees the bowl she starts to move, and she doesn't stop until the food is done. It is so precious!

The last month has been eventful! Ellie can sit up on her own but only for a brief bit. We still put the boppy pillow around her and stay nearby. She has rolled over both from back to front and front to back, but she much prefers to just stay put. She loves her johnny jump up and looking at herself in the mirror. She has started trying to turn pages or lift flaps when we read books. She love to babble, I hear her babbling to herself a lot when she's in independent play time. She's starting to say one consonant noises like mamamama. And the cutest thing is that she has starting "singing" when we sing to her. It's absolutely precious! She's learning lots of new things, its been a joy to watch her explore her world! We laugh as she's still very content to just lay on her back and play with her toys. We'll see how long that lasts. :)

With all of the new people and new places, we've noticed that Ellie is consistently very reserved around new things. She doesn't cry, but she just looks and looks, taking it all in. When she's away from home she's much more quiet and much less smiley! Once we get som

I've never been more excited for Christmas than this year, everything is just more fun when we are doing it as a family of 3!