Firsts

Ella had 2 "firsts" this past week. She had her first "real" bath last Tuesday, and then celebrated her first 4th of July on Friday!

Up until last Tuesday, we've been giving her "sponge baths" with a washcloth and a small bowl of water with baby wash. This has worked well, because she doesn't really get that dirty. Plus her body is so small that it doesn't really take long to wash everything. But since her umbilical cord stump fell off almost 2 weeks ago, we figured it was time to take the plunge and give her a real bath. So I put her special baby tub in the kitchen sink and filled it part-way up. The tub has a little hammock in it so that she couldn't accidentally slip under the water. I put her in, thinking that she would like the warm water... and I was very wrong. She screamed the whole time. I had to wash her quickly because her screaming was loud and shrill, and clearly she was not happy. So, sadly, I didn't get any pictures. But I took some afterward, when she was drying off and starting to settle down.

...Ahh, much better!

And then of course, Friday was the Fourth of July! It was a very long, tiring day for all of us. My parents offered to buy me some new clothes (because sadly, my pre-pregnancy clothes still don't quite fit, and my maternity clothes don't really, either...) so we all took a trip to the mall. Afterward, we went to a cookout at a friend's house with the rest of my family. While it was fun, we were very worn out. It was really our first outing other than Dr. visits and going to a quick lunch (so it was another "first!"). Ella was great. She slept through the entire trip to the mall, and woke up only long enough to get a diaper change and eat while we were at the cookout.

I was so tired and busy that I really only got one picture. Maybe one of my sisters can give me the pictures they took of her that day. I've also thought about putting her back into that outfit and taking more pictures... because what's a few day's difference? 20 years from now, when she sees pictures of her first Fourth of July, is she really going to notice (or care?) that the pictures were taken a few days later? :) We'll see. It just may happen. Anyway, here is the picture. Sleeping on Daddy. :)

We're all starting to finally adjust to this new life. Yes we're tired and somewhat cranky sometimes. But I think that both Wes and I are feeling more comfortable as parents, and Ella seems to be doing well also. She definitely has her cranky times where she cries and we don't know why, and have trouble consoling her (especially in the evenings), but we really can't complain. She's still sleeping a lot, and she's eating well and gaining weight (we haven't weighed her, but her growing thighs and chubby cheeks tell us that she's growing) and overall, life is starting to settle down (although we're still definitely trying to figure out how to do things on her schedule! Trying to get out of the house in-between feedings has proven to be quite tricky!)

Hopefully the next several weeks and months get easier and better each day. We feel incredibly blessed and love our little family. :)