Ellen laughing

She had tired a bit by the time we got the camera out, but she was still having a good time.

Ellen chatting

Here's video of Ellen "chatting," as we call it in our house. As you can see, we have a very loose definition of the word. I tried to include this video in the last post, but it didn't work. Here you go!

The new routine

Before we had Ellen, Sean and I had a fairly regular routine during the week: go to work, cook dinner together, walk Brinkley, watch some TV, hit the hay and then get up and repeat the process again the next morning. The weekends might include a movie or a dinner out, but mostly just time to relax after a week at work. Although this routine was pretty nice, I like our new routine even more. While much less predictable, it's so much more fulfilling now that we have Ellen to share it with. Before, the end of the work day was just that...the end of a day of work. Now the end of the work day means we get to pick up Ellen from daycare and spend a couple hours with her in our new nightly routine: get home from daycare, feed Ellen, spend time with her doing tummy time or playing on her play mat or bouncy chair, maybe a short nap, sometimes a bath, another feeding and down for the night. Weekends are eagerly anticipated even more so than before, because weekends mean two whole days to spend with our little lady. She's a good sport, tagging along for grocery shopping, hikes up A Mountain, walks around the neighborhood with Brinkley, church and visits to friends' houses. One of her favorite activities to date is watching football with her dad on Saturdays. We've heard all too many times that we need to enjoy this time while we have it--it's fleeting and we'll never get it back. I can honestly say that we're savoring every moment of our new life--spit up, poopy diapers, crying, you name it-- while looking to the future with excitement. Life with Ellen is so amazing now, it's hard to think it can get any better, but I know it will! My next post may very well be a 180 of this gush-fest, at my wit's end because my baby won't sleep or I can't figure out why she won't stop crying. But for now, I have to say life is good, we are so blessed with the family and friends we have, and all I can ask is, what the heck did we do to deserve all this???
Below you'll find some videos of Ellen. The first one is of Ellen staring at her hand for literally almost two minutes. But if you love babies and you love Ellen, those two minutes will just whiz by! The second video is of Ellen batting at the toys on her bouncy chair...one of her newer skills. Enjoy!