Ella's First Kickboxing Class, My 27th Birthday/Ella's 9 week Birthday

Ok, so I meant to work on this last week, but time has just gotten away from me. So, first thing...last Tuesday I took Ella to the Y as I usually go daily. Most days Tim watches her while I go work out, but that day he had to work on a presentation for school. Now for those of you who don't know, I usually do kickboxing on Tuesdays. I had originally planned to forgo the class because I had Ella, and go upstairs to use the elliptical machine instead. However, the instructor is my good friend and she convinced me that I should stay and that Ella should stay too. Her reasoning: "You came to class your entire pregnancy...she knows the music...she'll be fine." So I put Ella in her car seat just in front of me. I am ALWAYS in the front row, and I have my spot, so it worked out well. She tolerated the class very well and it was great to be able to exercise with her there. I was a crazy exerciser during my entire pregnancy so it was nice to have her with me again...just on the outside this time! Ella wore her super cute Nike outfit that my friend/the instructor of the classes I attend got her. So that was fun and exciting!!

My 27th birthday was on Thursday (May 20th), and Ella turned 9 weeks that day as well. It was a beautiful day. Tim got me a sweet locket with Ella's picture and our family picture in it so that when I go back to work next week, they are with me. I am sure that you can guess that I am having a ton of anxiety about going back to work and leaving Ella. It really stresses me out and makes me sad to think about it. My only comfort is that Ella will be with Tim and that they will come to see me during my lunches! But, back to my birthday. Tim also took me to coffee and to do a little bit of shopping, which was fun! Ella had to have her shots that day which was horrible. I will give you her growth statistics as they are great. She weighed in at 12 lbs 13 ounces (90th percentile for weight), 22 1/2 inches long (50th percentile for height), and 15 3/4 head circumference (75th percentile). So, she is growing nicely! She had 3 pokey shots and 1 oral shot. Once we got home Ella went to sleep, and I went to the Y for my Body Attack class. She slept all through class (she was home with Tim), and on my way home she woke screaming. Tim was so worried because she wouldn't open her eyes and she just shrieked. Once I got home I was able to calm her, but she wouldn't let go of me. In fact I was unable to shower that night because she only wanted me to hold her. I thought we'd have a bad night, but she slept through the night. She was cranky the next few days.

My wonderful parents came up on Friday to watch Ella so that Tim and I could go out for my birthday. We went to Gino's and it was lovely. Tim surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The food was awesome and the restaurant a lot of fun! My mom made my favorite dessert, Strawberry Trifle, for us to enjoy once we got home. After dinner we went home to bathe Ella and put her to bed and hopefully get to a movie. Unfortunately, it took us a while to get her to sleep so we didn't make it to the movie. Instead we went on a freezing walk and to bed. My parents hung out the next day until 1:00 when my dad took my mom to the airport to fly to North Dakota to see my grandma and drive with Katie back to Idaho for her wedding next week. Tim's mother, Addie, and Parker came up to visit and arrived shortly after my parents left. Unfortunately, Ella was still cranky from shots, and usually naps from 1-4, and the weather was awful. They had to drive through a horrible blizzard. It was nice to see them for a short time though. Some friends from high school stopped by to meet Ella that evening. Becky and Michelle Hazen, Michelle's husband Chris, and friend Jessica, came by for about an hour to visit. It ended up being a long day with a lot of company. Ella was cranky that evening...probably due to overstimulation. She seems to get overstimulated easily.

Well, that's about all that has happened. I'll hopefully start posting more often, but we'll see.