8 Months Old!

Ella is 8-months old! It was such a beautiful day so we decided to have a little photo shoot in the park.  Of course, Ella was excited about it :)

Ok I'm ready…what are we doing?

Hooray for getting older!

Can you see me?

What's Out There?

Ella is beginning to pull up in her bed to see over the bumper pad.  Clearly her next move is to stand all the way up! We've already had to move her mattress down 2 notches...

NICU Reunion

Today we attended an annual event at Centennial Hospital for all former NICU patients.  Since Ella spent the first 2 weeks of her life there, we got the invite! Though we did not get reimbursed for those expenses (as I was expecting) we still had a great time!

There were tons of activities (mostly for bigger kids) and lots of freebies. 

Ella did participate in a "crawling contest" to which she took first prize (of course). As you'll see in the video, she left her competition in the dust (poor fella)...

  

Ella got to meet one of her doctors while there. I think she even unbuttoned his shirt when we weren't looking…

Another highlight of the day was meeting Fred Flintstone, though he didn't have any buttons on his shirt…

After an hour, it proved too much for Ella, as she passed 

out in my arms.  A great time though and we look forward to attending next year!

Dallas!

On Friday (9/16) we flew to Dallas to see Jason & Kelly (Julia's brother & Sister'n law).  Even though it wasn't a direct flight, Ella did great on both the flight to Houston and connecting flight to Dallas!

First stop for us was IN-N-OUT Burger! We got hooked while in San Francisco a few years ago and couldn't wait to try it again in Dallas. If you haven't had it, and are ever near one, get one…you won't be disappointed…

Then it was back to the Whitely cottage to check our blood pressure (a family tradition).

She likes to pose.

Ella also got to meet Carra for the first time.

Ella likes the close-up shots.

Saturday it was off to Oktoberfest in Addison….

Lots of interesting things to eat…we didn't stop here.

Ella being tempted by some German Sausage

Meeting new and interesting people.

Sunday, while Julia, Kelly, & Ella went shopping, Jason & I took in the tour at the Dallas Cowboys' Stadium.  Absolutely incredible place!  Well worth the time and money, if you're in the area.

Before we new it, it was time to head home.  Though Julia & I weren't ready, Ella seemed anxious to get packed…

Fun on the plane.

Meeting new friends - Ella was very excited.

And…she's out. 

Ella did so well traveling and we're excited to take her to other places.

AW

Ella's New Trick

Ella is finally starting to crawl!  We noticed on Tuesday night (9/13/11) while some friends were over that she was starting to "Army crawl" and on Thursday we were able to entice her with the crinkly sound of a bag of chips to crawl towards us!  While we're excited about this new milestone, it comes with mixed emotions, as we now have to watch her even closer...

First Vacation!

It was a big week for Ella: on Saturday (8/20) she turned 6-months old! Apparently the days of placing a note with her age info next to her are over, because anything she can reach now goes straight to her mouth...

1 more bag and we'd have to charter a cargo plane.

A good book helps pass the time.

Also on this day we flew to Destin, FL for a short vacation.  After packing a few (small) items, we hopped on a plane and flew to the beach.  Ella did better than expected on the plane ride as well as the hour drive to our condo.

Upon arrival, we wasted no time walking down to the beach...Ella barely allowed me to take this picture...

She settled in and really seemed to enjoy herself throughout the trip.

Go ahead, take a picture.  I'll just sit here.

who dat?

mmm, tasty.

 

Do these shades make me look fat?

Looking for sharks...

Stop taking pictures - I've got work to do.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and before we knew it, we were headed to the airport for an early flight back to Nashville for her 6-month checkup.  Again, Ella did great on the plane, except we did have a slight disagreement over who should get use of the in-flight entertainment...

So long, everybody!

Ella's doctor said she is very healthy and, despite being in the 11th Percentile for height, is growing proportionately.  Maybe we'll mix in some protein shakes in-between feedings. -Adam