Workin' 9 to 5

I brought Estelle with me to the office on Friday. A baby in the office is always a show-stopper and this was no exception. She got lots of hugs and cuddles from many of my colleagues and she loved every minute of it.

Laundry Time

How do you carry both baby and laundry basket from the bedroom to the laundry room (or in our case, laundry closet)? Put baby in the basket!

Attempt at a Holiday Card

On Sunday we took Estelle out around the neighborhood attempting to get a picture for our holiday card. Unfortunately and unexpectedly it was a gray cold day...unlike the beautiful sunny days we had been having. Just like the sun, Estelle's brilliant smile did not want to make an appearance while we were out so we didn't come up with a holiday card-worthy picture. We did, however, get some beautiful shots. The pictures above were taken at our neighborhood playground.

Because the meaning of Estelle is star, Jake thought it'd be a great idea to take a pic of her with the Star Bakery sign in the background. Great idea but pretty much impossible to pull off. Jake and I were no match for the passersby, the traffic, etc. And when we did manage to get her attention, it was only for a split second with a look that said, "What's with all the racket you guys? You're really embarassing me. Be cool."

One night Jake was playing with Estelle and one of her dolls and Estelle was giggling her head off. I ran to get the camera to capture it but of course once I started recording she stopped giggling. What I did capture is still really cute.

New Stroller!

After 7 full months of riding around in her carseat and Snap n Go, we finally got Estelle a real stroller. UPS didn't deliver it until late Wednesday evening...long after we had already put her to bed. So even though I was tempted to get her out of bed to take the stroller for a test drive, I fought those selfish mommy urges and waited until Thursday morning. We went for a quick stroll around the neighborhood and Estelle talked the whole way in excitement as she rode down the sidewalk in style. The stroller is a Peg Perego Pliko P3 and so far we all love it.

Welcome to Estelle's Blog!

Estelle is changing every day! We're starting a blog to keep friends and family (especially the grandparents!) up to date on her growth and development.

At her shots appointment last week Estelle weighed 11 pounds 5 ounces and was 25 1/4 inches long. She now laughs and smiles and talks. She bats at toys held very close to her face and grabs onto and holds things placed in her hands. She still loves seeing her mommy a couple times during the night, but we're hoping this changes within the next few weeks.

The family is headed to Oregon this week. Bethany and Estelle are flying to Portland on Wednesday and Jake is joining them Thursday. They will stay with Bethany's mother (aka Nana) until Sunday. Then they are off to Bend for the week where Jake has a conference. Bethany's sister and niece are also in Portland this week. Everyone is very excited to see each other!