Ellis Party of 7: November 2008

Friday, November 28, 2008

2 month and other news

hey all. we've been terrible about updating, but decided we'll do a minimum of once a week or more. sorry if you'd been checking without any updates. here's a few snapshots in her new little hoodie. taylor's smiling a lot now and starting to be more interactive. she's got down hooking her passie with her finger and yanking it out to an art form. we got our 2 month shots a little early since we're going to be in colorado during the 4 month shots. so we'll have a merry christmas with sore little baby legs. she continues to eat well and hit the 90% for weight at her 2 month visit. all is well thus far.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Ellis Updates!

Its been a while since I've posted- so be sure and scroll down since I put lots of more recent pics up. Well- Taylor will be 8 weeks on Monday! I can hardly believe how fast she is growing. We had our 2 month visit at the pediatrician today and found out she weighs 12lbs and 4 oz- putting her somewhere between 85-90th percentile- we dont know for sure since she's not quite 2 months. Shes a BIG girl! We got her first series of vaccinations too and she did great. I'm pretty sure it was harder on Mark and I than it was on Taylor. I did have to shed a few tears when they pricked her though. She has found her hands and she sucks on them to soothe herself now ( hopefully that wont last too long). Also she's discovered her tongue and has progressed from grunts and noises to little coos and more purposeful talking. Its so neat to watch her learn about herself and the world around her.

On a non-baby note Mark and I are praying about our next step in life. Please pray with us too-Mark will be finished with residency this summer. We are applying now to a bunch of different wilderness medicine and EMS fellowship programs all over the US. This more than likely means another move for us somewhere far away from family- maybe even as far as California. Mark will be interviewing in the next few weeks and we'll probably know more by the end of the year. The next move could be soo crucial to Mark's career and fulfilling his dreams and for that I am thrilled! I am also sad and unsettled to think about moving in a time when the economy stinks, we've just made close friends, and of course leaving my family.

As much as it hurts me to think about moving away from my parents- I know God is sovereign and I'm just trying to trust that. I've been meditating on this verse in Philipians 4 for a couple of weeks-

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again REJOICE!Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about these things. Whatever you have learned or recieved from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

This tells me I not only need to trust in the Lord's plan for my life- but I need to focus on the truth of His character. He cares about the details of the Ellis household. He is always faithful, and even though he doesnt promise life to be easy- He is always there in the struggles. And I am trying to focus also on the sweet and lovely things He's got in store for me and my family- rather than the scariness of a move, or the sadness of leaving loved ones. The Lord has never failed me - and thats what is giving me hope and keeping me joyful. Of course having a sweet newborn to take care of helps to perk me up too! Anyway please pray with us so we can be wise and discern what we should do. Thats the end of my ramblings. More pics to come soon!

Baptism November 2nd

Taylor Grace was baptized and marked as Christ's own on November 2nd at St. Philips Anglican church. It was an awesome day! Great service, a killer sermon, and my dad got to baptize his first grandchild! She wore the christening gown that both Mark and Elaine wore at their baptisms -it was very sweet. AND- My little chatterbox decided to be silent for the entire service. She slept through the whole thing except when she was baptized she decided to wake up f0r a few moments. She did great. We are very proud parents! We got a few good pics from the service but for some reason they all turned out redder than normal. Anyway here are a few of the better ones.

Halloween

Little pumpkin

This week Taylor smiled for the first time on October 22nd! I am ruined forever because of course my days are now spent trying to see that gummy grin over and over. She smiles the most in the morning especially after a diaper change. I love this girl so much! Its amazing how I can stare at her and talk to her all day. So many things have changed for me since she came- its ALL about her!

So she was still too young to take her to a germy pumpkin patch- we decided to bring a mini patch to her. So we set it all up and of course she decided she was not going to be happy! I think these pics are cute though so I posted them anyway.