Our Utah Adventures

We have been in Utah for a few weeks now and have had a busy but very fun time with family and friends. We arrived the end of May and were able to celebrate Aunt Emily graduating from Viewmont High School! Go Vikings!! We are proud of her and her hard work. We wish her luck in her next adventure at BYU.

Emily is on the end looking at the Camera...not a very good picture!

Salt Lake Temple

June brought bridal shower parties, yard work, pedicures, more yard work, and hanging out with family.
Darrin and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary on June 10. We celebrated on Friday night and Saturday. Grandma and Grandpa and all the aunts watched Ella while we stayed in Salt Lake for the night. We stayed at "The Inn on the Hill." We were able to walk through the new City Creek and took a tour of the Conference Center. We loved spending time on Temple Square and an evening together but we missed our little Ella.


Conference Center

On June 14 we were able to celebrate Grandpa Burnham's 80 birthday! It was a fun evening with family and friends in the park.

June 15 was the big day! My little brother Patrick got married. It was a wonderful day! They were married in the Salt Lake Temple by Elder Kjar (the same sealer who sealed me and Darrin). They had a luncheon at the Joseph Smith building and then a great wedding reception in my parents backyard. We were so glad the weather cooperated!

Father's day came and Ella gave her dad a cute picture and a hiking backpack so she can go with him on hikes!

That night we took Ella to Primary Children's Hospital. She woke up on the 15 with a fever and we thought maybe she was teething. As the weekend went on, the fever went away but she had a really runny nose and a cough that was getting worse. They were checked her and decided that she had the start of RSV. The doctors were not too concerned as long as we watched her and brought her back if anything changed. She is slowly getting better. Her cough is not as bad and she is becoming her happy self again. We are so grateful to family and friends who prayed for her! Thank you!

 We also got to go to the zoo with Aunt Becca and Aunt Emily. Ella loved the bears! We also went to our other Aunt Becca's work and got to hold the kangaroo Mady.

We head off for Lake Powell tomorrow and then back home to Ohio next week. We have loved our time with family but we are looking forward to seeing our "family" back in Ohio!

6 Months Old!

Ella is now 6 months old! I can't believe how fast it has gone.
She is now:
*25.5 inches (34 percentile)
*13.7 pounds (10 percentile)
*Head circumference is 43.3 cm (80 percentile)

She has one tooth that has poked through and one on the way.
She is rolling all over the place, laughing, talking, and sitting.
She just had her first experience of baby food. She ate green beans. She seemed to like them at first but as she continued to eat them, she would get a sour face- we think she has moms taste buds!
She loves:
*looking at pictures on the walls
*talking walks in her stroller
*playing with her friend Cole when he comes over
*giving kisses and getting kisses
*sucking on her toes

She is such a joy to have in our home. It is such a neat experience to be able to watch and raise this little girl that came from our Heavenly Father just a little while ago.

5 Months Old!

Ella is now 5 months old. She is weighing in at 11 pounds 15 ounces. It is amazing what a little bit of rice cereal can do!

She is able to sit up with support. She has found her toes and loves to suck on them and pull off her socks. She laughs, talks, and smiles all day long! Everywhere we go everyone always comments on how cute she is and how much she looks like a real baby doll.

Easter and Rice Cereal

We had a wonderful Easter weekend here in Ohio. Both Darrin and I had Friday and Monday off of school. It was nice to enjoy a long weekend together.
On Friday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at a local restaurant, Bob Evans.
The Easter bunny brought Easter baskets for us on Saturday. Ella got some sunglasses, bowls and spoons, and some outfits. Darrin and I got a food dehydrator to dry fruit. We have been doing a wellness challenge with some friends for the last 5 weeks which means we are trying to eat healthier. We have been eating fruit but it seems to go bad before we can finish it. So, we thought that drying it and snacking on the dried fruit would be yummy. We are excited to use it!

On Sunday after church we took a walk over to the park and took some pictures. Sunday night we were invited to a friends house for Easter dinner. It was great to be with friends! We feel so blessed to have moved into such a great area and ward. We will sure miss them in a year when we are finished with school.

RICE CEREAL!! Ella has not been gaining weight like we would like her to. So, the doctor suggested we start her on rice cereal. If she liked it, we were suppose to give her some every day. We gave her some on Saturday night for the first time and she LOVED it! She tried to suck the spoon at first but once she learned that she didn't need to suck, she did really well. On Sunday night when we put her in her high chair, she opened her mouth waiting for the spoon with yummy goodness on it! :)

Miss Ella is 4 Months

Another month has gone by and our baby girl is now 4 months old! She had her 4 month check up today which meant another round of shots! She does really well with them, especially when dad is there to hold her!
She weighs 11 pounds 1 oz (which is in the 2 percentile....we are working on weight...), and she is 24 1/4 inches long!
She is now laughing and still smiles all of the time. One of my piano students told me that she is "handing out smiles" because she is always smiling! :) She LOVES to suck on anything that comes close to her mouth, especially her hands!

We took Ella across the street to the pond to take some pictures my the pretty flowers. She is sure growing. We love her more and more each day! We love to see her personality. She is such an easy going, calm little girl!

Ella is 3 months!

Our baby girl is 3 months old today! She has been such a joy to have in our home.
She has several nicknames:
Dad calls her: Squeaker, Squirt, Squeaks, Baby Girl, Sweetie, Sweetheart, Cutie
Mom calls her: Little one, Pumpkin, Miss Ella, Baby Girl, Princess, Angel

Ella LOVES:
*to suck on her hands
*to be swaddled
*to talk to us
*her bath time
*to smile!

Ella has a smile that melts your heart! She is rolling from her stomach to her back and she tries so hard to sit up.

We sure love her and can't believe how fast she is growing!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love you all and hope your day is special!!