Talk it up

Elsie is really starting to be a chatter box. She makes all sorts of noises, and I'm doing my best to get her to say "mama". I'm pretty sure she's almost there!

Elsie has also started doing a lip sucking thing, which she thinks is very funny, and I have to agree!

Happy Thanksgiving, Easter Bunny

Elsie made it through her first Thanksgiving, and although we didn't cook a turkey today, we had some great leftovers! Mike and Teisha had us over last night for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, and we had a great time celebrating the holiday with their family and another family from down the street. I even managed to hold myself together for most of the day. It was hard for me to be away from our family, but Chris, Elsie, and I had a wonderful day, and it was special for us becasue it was our first holiday together as a family in our new home. We had a lazy morning toghether, and we took a nice long walk together. It is SO easy to see God in all of the beauty out here, and it is SO easy to be thankful for all that He has blessed us with! This time last year we were just starting to get use to idea that we were going to be parents, and today we got to spend a wonderful day with our little angel!

No more avocado...

Well, Elsie's love of avocado was short lived... We started giving her a few bights (twice a day) on Thursday, and today we noticed that she had a rash all over her body. After speaking with a nurse, we put a stop to the avocado, and we decided to wait a little while before starting little E on other foods. Sorry, kiddo, no guacamole for you for a while!

Elsie's First Walk in PC

Today we bundled Elsie up to take her for her first walk and she loved it!  It was so nice to be outside (and not hear the constant sound of cars like we did in Atlanta).  Looks like we have an outdoorsy-girl on our hands here!

 

Meet the Doctor...

We went to meet Elsie's new doctor here in Park City today. Chris has been battling a cold all week, and we were a little worried that he might have passed it on to Elsie. The doctor that we met with was nice, and she didn't make fun of Chris and I for being worry-warts. She assured us that Elsie looked great, and she sent us on our way with instructions to use a dehumidifier and lots of lotion to help with Elsie's dry skin and chapped lips. She also told us we could start giving Elsie a few ounces of water a day to help with dehydration, and he gave us the go head to start trying new foods with Elsie. Aunt Courtney recommended that we start with a Big Mac, but we though avocado might be a safer bet...

Go West...

We're home!

Elsie, Judy and I flew out to Park City on Monday, and the Lawsons were nice enough to let us crash at their house for the week. The flights out here were fairly uneventful, thanks to Gramma. It is SO much easier to travel with a baby when you have "backup", and Judy-Mom was the perfect travel companion. It also helps that everyone LOVES Elsie, so no one looked too angry when she got a little fussy...

I started working with my client on Tuesday, which went pretty well. Here's to hoping that everything works out with this job. He is a great kid (17 year-old), and it feels really good to be back working again.

Judy gave me the most awesome "gift" this week- she took Elsie in her room two nights in a row so that I could get some sleep. I can't even remember the last time I got more than 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep, and I am so thankful that she did this. I feel like a new woman! And if that wasn't enough, she also watched Elsie every day while I worked. Boy, I am sure am going to miss her when she's gone!

We had a great week with the Lawson family, and we were super excited when Chris and Joe pulled in with the rest of our earthly possessions on Thursday night! I know Chris was excited to see Elsie, and we were just as excited to see him! Joe, Judy, Mike, and Teisha helped us move stuff in all weekend, and our house now looks a lot like our house looked in Atlanta before we left- messy and all boxed up!

Today was a hard day- we drove Judy and Joe to the airport to say goodbye, which was difficult to do, but we know that we'll see them soon when we're back in Atlanta for Christmas. We are so blessed to have such a great family, and it is going to be tough getting use to living so far away...