We've got some catching up to do!

We are just a LITTLE behind on our blogging....OH NO!!  We hope you will forgive us!

To begin...pictures of Ella at 2 months!  She didn't quite feel like sitting up for pictures but we gave it a shot anyway.

2 Months Old

Someone found the kitty!

We got quite a bit unpacked within the first week but still have some things left to go.  Most of our pictures are hung up and it's looking like home!  We will keep working on it but we not as fast; we like spending our family time snuggling!  We also have internet, landline, and cell phones working again!  It took about a week to get it all sorted out...ugh!  It was quite a hassle but at least it is all up and running again so we can stay in touch with the outside world and not be cut off ;)  We are a bit out of practice on our smoke signals so it would have been rather difficult to communicate.

Ella
Ella's congestion turned into Bronchiolitis :(  It is basically the baby's version of a viral infection for adults.  She has been on an inhaler since the 11th but has been getting better and isn't coughing as much.  Despite her being congested and coughing, she is still sleeping GREAT (6-11 hours at a time)!  We try and give her as much rest as possible to help kick the cold but really, she needs to be able to blow her nose.  At least we can use saline and suction as much as possible to help her in the mean time.  We hope she continues to improve and use the inhaler less each day.  When we went back to the doctor to find out she had bronchiolitis, we found out that she is in fact 23' and NOT 21"....oops!  The nurse measured correctly the first time but remeasured because Ella was being a wiggle worm.  So when we went in on the 11th, she was 11 lbs, 10 oz. and 23 inches.  Despite being sick, she's growing and gaining weight!

Ella is still doing great at daycare!  She continues to adjust and has been napping better but it still takes some effort.   Miss Julie, Miss Luci, and Miss Agnes are our favorites :)  They have done such a fantastic job taking care of Ella during the day and have really made our first daycare experience amazing.  Miss Luci is absolutely in love with Ella and is always telling us great stories about their day.  We really did luck out!  Ella gets lots of loving because the ladies  love to come over and say goodbye to her when it is time to go home.  Ella is still the quiet and good one of the group!  A few times all the other kids around her have been crying and she just lays there playing with her toys.  She has been VERY interested in everything around her and is always watching her friends at daycare.  Ella is still very talkative and we  enjoy hearing her "stories" that she has to share.

Ella's room is still a work in progress but we made a LOT of headway on it!  Don't mind the mess (we are slightly embarrassed by it) you see in some of the pictures (or the poor quality due to lighting)!  The decals alone have made a huge difference since are aren't painting and we love them!  (Thank you Boeckelman Family!)  We still have some things to put up and away for Ella's room but this has been huge progress from what she had back at our old place.  There are still some pictures to hang but also room to grow!  I am missing pictures of the door and the short wall when you come in.  The door has a sign on it and there are pictures on the short wall.  Perhaps once everything is complete and put away we can do an updated series of pictures.

Here are some other pictures we took of Ella over the past couple weeks that are just too cute not to share!  We went to the beach for the FIRST time with our friends Sarah, James, and their son Alex.  It was the first time for Alex and Ella at the beach.  Of course the day we went was the coolest it had been all week, 72.  Nonetheless, Ella got to put her toes in the sand.  :)  We didn't get to stay as long as we wanted but still a fun experience!  I bet if it had been warmer and she would have gotten to get her feet wet, she would have enjoyed it.  She kicks around during bath time and still loves the water!  

Happy Baby!!

Drama Queen

1st Beach Experience!!

Testing out my little blanket pod!!

Watching a movie with Dad

Julie
Julie has been busy at  school but she wouldn't have it any other way.  They will hopefully be getting the new circulation desk in two weeks and she is VERY excited to have something a little bit closer to the librarians and more permanent.  She is currently in the front of the library while the librarians are towards the middle and it seems like they are very far apart.  Sometimes it makes it difficult to communicate.  Julie has been taking on various projects in the library and she just loves that she can help the new librarian collaborate with other teachers in the building.  Freshman orientation just ended in the library and students were doing an iPad scavenger hunt to get to know the policies, procedures, and features of the library.  Julie got to test it out on her iPhone before they started and it was fun for her.  Julie has gotten to do some book talks with students who were looking for suggestions and one that made Curtis proud was getting a student to check out one of the Timothy Zahn Star Wars books!  Banned Book Week was this week...go read a banned book!!  Do you know some books that have been banned or challenged??  Did you know Harry Potter is on the challenge list?  Where the Wild Things Are is on the list as well.  How about the banned list...Grapes of Wrath, For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms, Catch 22, The Color Purple, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn...

Besides school, Julie is doing well.  She is about 10 pounds away from pre-baby weight!  She is still trying to figure out what she wants to do for a workout routine because she likes to get Ella right after school and spend time with her before it is time to get Ella ready for bed.  It will get figured out but no rush when you get to have snuggle time!

Curtis
Curtis' eyes are doing great after surgery!  He got cleared to stop taking the medicine eye drops and just keep doing the moisture drops.  He is enjoying his eye freedom! ;)  Curtis is actually in Key West for a couple weeks for training and qualifications.  He got there Thursday afternoon to assist in the setup before the jets and everyone else arrives on Saturday.  Every trip there is a small group of people that get sent early to do this and for Key West, Curtis was selected.  This will be the shortest of the trips that Curtis takes over the next year as his squadron begins their work ups for deployment next August.  As of right now, they are scheduled to deploy for 9 months.  We are currently focusing on the present because changes can always happen.  We also think spending the time we do have with one another and Ella is more important than worry about something almost a year away. 

Congratulations Chief Spencer!!
Jim is officially a Chief now!  They had their pinning ceremony on the USS Truman and we were able to get pictures off of their facebook page!  We are so proud of him and we know he worked very hard to get to this point.  Bravo Zulu Chief Spencer!!

We may have forgotten some things but hopefully nothing too big!  If we did, guess what!  We can tell you about it next time.  :)  We hope everyone is doing well and thank you for your patience with our posting delay.  Hopefully the extra pictures won you over and you completely forgot about how long it had been between posts! 

Until next time, which hopefully won't be as long.  We make no promises though!