No teeth yet!!

So Ella's doctor explained that what looked like the tip of a tooth wasn't really a tooth but a harmless epithelial cyst.She said they see it with some regularity and it goes away on it's own-it did.She did say that Ella is displaying pre-teething behaviour.You can see teeth getting ready to pop up just beneath her gums.

On Tuesday, Ella weighed 14.8 pounds and measured 25 inches.She is just above average for both height and weight even though people usually comment that she looks bigger than she is.

This week I noticed that she is passing her little rattle from hand to hand and she likes turning the pages on her fabric taggies book...she can now also turn the thick plastic pages of her look book.Baby really enjoys having her hair blow dried and a good massage after her bath.Stephen says it's obvious she is our only child.

We are trying to get Ella used to an arlier bedtime...will let you know how that goes.

4 months and here come my teeth!!

I always thought that I would know when Ella started teething because she would would become incredibly fussy,maybe a little bit of a fever ad of-course all that drool....well, she definately drrola a lot but since she wasn't unusally fussy except for the usual before naps or bedtime.

Long story short-yesterday a cute little toooth started to poke through Ella's gums.Not the fron teeth you normally see as a babies first teeth..oh no, she went straight to the pre-molars!!

I can only imagine that we will see a few more teeth coming through soon. We have our 4 month check-up on Tuesday and will find out how much weight she has gained and how much taller she is.My guess is quite a lot-my arms actually hurt toting my chubster around. She is currently being entertained by her daddy-lots of movement and singing and she is a happy camper.

Ella has also recently developed a tolerance for her cradle swing;which means just a little over 10 minutes at a time. I really feel like she understands everything I say-well almost everything.

She is quite fascinated by watching us eating and I think we will be starting solids soon.Oh-she discovered her toes one night and she looked adorably stunned as she made the connections. So cute...we included some pics for you.

Ella at a quarter of a year!!

Clearly we are not doing a fantastic job of keeping you up to date...we hope to make it up to you by posting some new pictures of Ella taking in some afternoon sun and admiring herself in the bathroom mirror, oh and chilling on the couch.

New things include sucking on her bottom lip, a few more cooing sounds and most recently being able to pull herself up to a sitting position while holding on to our hands. She does also like to do these little stomach crunches;quite funny to watch. She focuses so hard, it's like she is willing herself to get up. Still no interest in tummy time but we're not worried that she isn't strengthening her back muscles. After seeing all her other antics;it looks like she is pretty strong.

We are graduating Ella to size 2 diapres this weekend as she turns 13 weeks tomorrow and an estimated thirteen and a half pounds. She looks quite a bit longer as well as you will see in her new pics.Enjoy.

It's been awhile

Hello everyone,
Today is January 8th and Stevie (Ella Grace) is now almost 10 weeks old. Yesterday was her two month check-up and she weighted 11 lbs 6 oz and measured over 22 inches long. She also got her two month shots and she took it like a thug;to quote Tupac, "busta's shot me 3 times, I took it and smiled". But no on the real, Ella got 3 shots and only cried for a quick second until daddy picked her up and then she just laughed. That's definetly a "detroit style" baby. I think Pearl cried more about the shots than Ella did. No seriously, after Ella's doctors appointment, Pearl had to take the day off becuase she wasn't feeling too well. I thought it was becuase she wanted to be at home with the baby to give her time to adjust, but it turns out that she needed time to adjust. Poor baby (Pearl that is)!!! Well, this has been a Stephen Cornelius Peter Detroit Diesel Daniel update on Stevie, Ella Grace, stay tuned for more on the most beautiful baby in the world.

i'll holla tickle tickle tickle

bathtime with ella

Make a Smilebox photobook

Make a Smilebox slideshow

5 week update

Ella has found her voice. At this point Sarah and Uncle Michael A. are the only ones who have had a somewhat substantial 'conversation' with her. Even her little baby cooing sounds like the cutest thing ever.
At her one month check-up last week, Ella weighed 8 pounds and 12 ounces which is a daily gain of an ounce and a bit. She also gained an inch and a half in length. Stephen thinks she is looking chubbier. I wouldn't call her chubby just yet but will agree that her cheeks seem fuller and some angles give her a double chin.
She has started enjoying her swing(which means more than 5 minutes at a time)-I am not sure if it is the movement, the music or the colorful mobile overhead; whatever it is, it gives me a quick break now and again when I need it.
She spends more time awake these days, playtime is longer and this morning it was playtime for Ella and Daddy at 4:45am, giving me a chance to sleep.

Ella went out in the snow on Saturday-we picked a nice snowy day for her first outing. She had a lot of layers on her for the short trips from the apartment to the car and the car to the house. It was great to be around people again. I love my husband and my baby and I really enjoyed having more people around me who I love so much.

Ella's First Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year; without question God's biggest blessing is our baby Ella. They say every parent thinks their child is brilliant and advanced for their age and we are no exception. I am not sure when all the different milestones are to be expected but, Ella is getting really good at holding her head up while on her tummy, she rolls over onto her side on her own and has started pushing off with her feet and moved all the way up Stephen's pillow this morning. We are just hoping that Ella will start sleeping in longer stretches at night...we have had a few 5 hour sleeps and are hoping for more!! Never quite understood why new parents always talk about sleep deprivation but we found out pretty quickly.

Stephen and I enjoyed our first Thanksgiving as a family of three today.....it feels really nice.We hope that you enjoyed your day.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Introducing Princess Ella Grace

To our family and friends,

Pearl and I have created this blog to share our precious Ella with you. Ella Grace Daniel was born on the 1st of Novemeber 2009 at 12:37pm. We were scheduled to be induced on Monday, the 2nd and our Princess Ella chose to make her debut in her own time. She weighed 7 pounds and 6 ounces and is in perfect health. She was 19 1/2 inches long but now that her cone head has gone down, she is only 19 inches. side note - Thank You GOD!!! I was a little worried there for a second. - I must admit, as the baby came out, my first thoughts were, "This can't be my baby! Who is this white, Chinese baby girl! Where's that mailman at?" But since I'm a "man of the cloth" I knew that this was my baby and I happened to witness the whole thing so, there was no denying the fact. My Princess is now two weeks and five days old and farting like her daddy. She is making me soo proud!! Stay tuned for more pictures and updates.

PS. Pearl thinks baby looks like me, Stephen Detroit Daniel (for those who don't know me). Please let us know what you think.