The Schmidgalls

I can’t believe it has been FIVE MONTHS already! Ella’s keeps achieving milestones and, of course, I think she is brilliant!

• She is a champ at controlling her head now and can play on her tummy for extended periods, reaching for toys.
• She chatters away and has all sorts of new sounds. She makes this one sound that sounds exactly like she is saying “hi!” We love it!
• She sleeps on her side now, no matter how hard I try to put her on her back. She wakes up happy, talking and singing to herself and, when I go to her, she always welcomes me each morning with a HUGE grin.
• As long as she is fed and rested, she is the happiest baby! She is very social and offers a smile to anyone.
• She can’t sit unassisted just yet but she can prop herself up on her arms, like a tripod.
• Her favorite toy right now (besides Mom and Dad!) is this butterfly on a ring. She is still loyal to Mr. Toucan on her bouncy seat but she also he loves the walker/exersaucer that a friend lent us (it has a steering wheel and she can honk the horn!). Oh, and she LOVES playing with water bottles!
• When you hold her, she often chews on your shoulder. People have been asking me if she was teething since she was two months old!
• She does not like the car much at all. Who wants to sit back there alone, staring at the seat? Though, she can see herself in the little mirror we have and that entertains her.
• She holds her own bottle now and starts grabbing for it with an open mouth whenever I prepare it.

These pics are for you Aunt Karen! Ella still lovin’ the grass! Yum!

On Father’s Day Joel and I had the opportunity for our first date night since Ella was born. Since I work part-time, I am never anxious to hand her off. My hubby was starting to push for some date time so I surprised him with a date night for his first Daddy Day! We went out to dinner with Mark and Lora to a Brazilian meat FEAST. They serve 15 cuts of meat and you have a little coaster - when you put it to the green side they come running up with all kinds of goodness. It is Joel-heaven!

Ellie had a special night too! Parenting tip: When you want to have someone come over to babysit, ask you friend who is also a professional photographer! Thanks Allison! You blessed us!

I am still just a baby but I have lots of friends already. Meet some of my extra special buddies!

This is my friend Violet. She is my fastest friend, running and running everywhere. She will take me on many adventures when I am bigger. Her Mommy calls her a bully…but I don’t mind that she always steals my pacifier.

This is my friend Taylor. Taylor will teach me lots of words - she knows so many! And she can crinkle her nose and “hop, hop” like a bunny. Here she is eating one of her favorite foods, a “ba-berry” (strawberry).

And this is Giovanny, or “Baby Go-Go” (as Taylor named him). He must not like girls too much because he just likes to sleep when we are around. He can’t hide from us forever though! As you can see, Baby Go-Go already lifts his hands in praise to the Lord.

My mommy tells me I am lucky to have so many best friends, that they are a gift from God. That is why we always play nice and give kisses and love.

Thank you, God, for such good friends. We will make many memories together!

Ella does this hilarious thing where she sticks her legs out straight in front of her, hanging in mid-air. She does it ALL THE TIME. Sometimes she does it in between kicking episodes, like she is taking a little kick break. Other times, she just holds them out there, at full salute. We are convinced she must have the strongest abdomen muscles ever! Seriously, try it. It is hard! It keeps us laughing though!

Attention!

Ella may be a winter baby but she is all set for summer! We went swimming and tried out her new shades!

What a babe!

Momma needed to cool off too!

Look at this big girl! Unfortunately, she gets stuck on her tummy and can’t get back over. This isn’t too fun in the middle of the night when she rolls over and then cries. The other night, I had to get up numerous times to go roll her back over.

Want to know the best part of Ella’s day? Waking us up at 6am. Want to know the 2nd best part? That’s seeing her Mom after she’s been gone!!! Check it out…

I took Ella to the doctor on Friday and she is doing so well! She was rolling over again and again, trying to show off! Actually, I think that crinkly paper they put on the exam table was entertaining her. She kept wanting to get over on her tummy to take a look at it.

Okay, so drumroll please…

At a whopping 13 pounds and 5 ounces, Ella is in the 50th percentile in her weight and…100th percentile in her height/length! Woo-hoo! We are so happy that Ella is starting to even out. (Even though we are told that these numbers don’t mean much.) Joel was happily telling everyone about his super-tall baby this weekend. He would start the story with, “You know, Ella had all those weight problems when she was newborn…” I finally had to say, “Stop saying she had weight problems! She had trouble GAINING WEIGHT!” It sounded like she was eating too many whoppers or something. Haha!

The nurser ruined all of our fun on the crinkle paper when she gave Ella big boo-boos in her leg - her four month shots. Poor baby was sad and sleepy after all that drama. Because she didn’t feel good, she sure was cuddly though.