16 weeks!

How did this happen? Wasn't she an itty bitty just yesterday? I absolutely adore the little person she is becoming. She makes my heart smile every single day.

Just like her mama...

...this girl loves her sleep! This little bug has slept for 10.5 hours straight the past two nights! I am fully expecting (and am fully ready for) a sleep regression at some point soon as we're inching closer to the 4 month mark, but holy cow, I'll take this while I can get it! (And she always wakes up SO HAPPY. Going in to get her in the morning is the best part of my day.)

Videos from Banff

A couple short snip-its from our time in Banff. (What is it about videos that makes the memories so much more vivid, even when the videos are really of nothing exciting?)
The first was me and baby girl hanging downtown just enjoying the amazing chill (but not too chilly) in the air while mom had a late lunch. The second is from our gondola ride back down the mountain. Simply gorgeous!

Desert Baby in the Sunlight

And FINALLY getting this whole tummy time thing figured out! She'd do it before, but only lasted about 3 minutes before deciding it was for the birds and she'd rather be on her back. Today, she held herself up on her forearms and played for about 15 minutes! 

It's still incredible to me every time she proves she'll get things done in her own time. 

And Penny, supervising :) 

Kiesling, party of 3, does Banff!

We took Ellie on her first vacation to Banff, Canada and had an INCREDIBLE time. I am continually amazed at the resilience of this little girl - she rises to every single occasion. I hope that's a trait that follows her throughout her life.

We left on Tuesday, March 24 and her first flight could not have gone better. I was pretty nervous to say the least - we've all been on flights with the baby that won't stop screaming and I was pretty sure it would be worse to be the parents of said screaming baby than those having to listen to it. But she was an angel. Feeding times coincided perfectly with take off and landing, and so there were no ear issues or fussing there. She played a little, napped a little (I even got to play Sudoku!), and then like that, we were in Calgary.
After all THREE of us got our passports stamped (woohoo!), we embarked on a 2 hour drive to Banff, and again, I was nervous as she'd never taken this long of a car ride. No problem for this girl. She was wonderful - awake and happy and then snoozed a bit towards the end.

Banff is picture perfect - snow capped mountains in every direction, a charming downtown - it was this winter loving girl's dream. The resort was beautiful as well, with a huge two-sided fireplace in the main area where we spent most evenings relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine (well, Brad and I did, at least).
We learned the only "crib" the hotel had was a pack and play, in which Miss E had never slept. I was worried enough that our first night there would be rough between the time change and being in a new place in general, but then when I learned she'd also have to adapt to a pack and play, I was sure we were in for a rough night. I have never been happier to be wrong. She slept like a champ (9.5 consecutive hours every night we were there!), and even learned to nap in the PNP, which has made napping now that we're home even easier (we were still in nap-in-her-swing mode before we left).
Brad had work the first two days we were there, so Ellie and I explored on our own, figuring out the local town shuttle, enjoying delightful cafes and restaurants, checking out a museum, and doing some shopping.

Friday we had our only full day as a family and made the most of it, taking a ride up 7,500 feet in the Sulphur Mountain Gondola and taking in some breathtaking views, driving to Lake Louise and enjoying a spectacular lunch with more breathtaking views, and finally finishing up some shopping in downtown Banff.
On our way out of town the next morning we made the obligatory Canadian Tim Horton's stop (or so I'm told), and trekked the 2 hours back to Calgary to catch our flight home.
We were upgraded to first class (yay!) and while she was still overall pretty darn good, she was a bit fussier on this flight. But as the flight attendant said, "there's a big difference between a fussy baby and a wailing baby, and you were no where near that line". Phew.
What a special trip to be able to take as a family.
A link to our album of trip photos is here.

15 weeks!

A day early, as we'll be in the air headed to Canada on her official 15 week birthday :)

Eleanor Claire meets Aunt Claire

A very special weekend introducing Claire to Miss E. It was so special to see them together - two girls I love so much.
I was able to celebrate Claire's engagement by seeing her wedding dress in person, and I even got a girls night out sans baby with Claire and Lindsay! A fabulous weekend all around, that, as always, went too fast.

This is the face...

...of a little girl who slept for NINE AND A HALF HOURS STRAIGHT last night!!

And I know I'm biased, but I am fairly certain I have the most expressive baby on the planet. 

And I adore her.

When daddy's away...

...the girls miss him! 

Brad went on his first business trip since Ellie has been born, thankfully just an overnight. Mom is trying to make herself feel better by indulging in a little post E bedtime treat :)

14 weeks and First St. Patrick's Day!

Two fun days coincide!

Puppy love

Uncle love

An unexpected joy has been how special it is to see Ellie with Evan. He's so wonderful with her and she's pretty calm when he holds her. Maybe she senses the connection. Brad has been saying it from day 1, but it's also crazy to see them together - they look A LOT alike (she has his toes and hairline)!

Bug's first baseball game

Uncle Evan is in town and we spent a fabulous Saturday cheering on the Royals at spring training. Ellie did so great at her first game!!

13 weeks!

And proof she isn't always happy 

We did it!

(And I say "we" because it was probably harder on us than her - this was a tough milestone for mom and dad)

She slept in her crib with a totally acceptable number of wake ups (and acceptable amounts of time in between said wake ups)! I think this photo sums up my thoughts best - bless you, child, for figuring out the self soothe!!! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a thumb sucker :)

The wheels are turning...

I absolutely love watching her play. You can practically hear the wheels turning. So much to absorb and learn!

Proof that mornings are her best friend

I don't need much more incentive than this to turn into a morning person.

Three months old!

Our darling girl turned three months old on the 9th (how is this possible!?). No pediatrician appointment this month so no stats, but a list of what's making her special these days is listed below:

As of 3/9/15...

Loves: facing out while being held so she can see the world, her chime/dangling toys on her carseat bar, fans and lights, her swing, when people make funny faces at and talk to her, the morning
Hates: very little. she really only fusses when there's something specific going on - gas, needs to spit up, is overstimulated, etc
Size: firmly in size 0-3 clothes, and still wearing size 1 diapers

-Very smiley, happy girl - we get tons of comments about how good she is when we're out!
-We also get tons of comments on how much hair she has, her skin tone and her eyes/lashes
-Starting to "talk" and coo. Makes all kinds of funny noises.
-Neck control is getting better, and has started really using her legs to push up
-Working on transitioning from rock and play to a flat sleeping surface (her PNP bassinet and/or her crib)...the first few nights have been ROUGH
-Has slept a seven hour stretch!
-Drool machine - we go through bibs like it's our job!

Dad's favorite things about Ellie:
-Her smiles
-Her cooing sound
-That she's playful, even though she doesn't know it
-Amused by her pouty, dramatic whimper that is clearly a call for attention
-"Having her around is a joy"

Mom's favorite things about Ellie:
-Her gutteral sqeak when she's happy
-Her HUGE smiles first thing in the morning
-Her varied facial expressions
-Being out and about with her - she makes everyone smile!

Poop face

Caught this gem the other day...ah, the always unmistakable poop face :)

Spoke too soon...

The night started off well, but about 2.5 hours in, we started on an every two hour wake up routine. Needless to say I didn't sleep much last night, and by 5 am, E was happily snoozing on her bassinet next to me. Sigh. 

The crib transition will clearly take some time, but when this is what you wake up to, it's tough to be too upset. 

12 weeks - and a big accomplishment

I can't even believe my baby girl is 12 weeks old. Where has the time gone? I make it a point to try to soak in the little moments everyday - I feel so blessed that I get to stay home with my peanut. 

But as if it isn't crazy enough that she's 12 weeks old, she went down, fussed, but then fell asleep in her crib for the first time tonight. Sigh. Getting so big so fast.