What we've been up to

It's a rainy, dreary day here in Germany. A day that would make it easy to stay in bed...that is if we didn't have a little munchkin that makes sleeping in (or at all) rather hard these days. When we first came over we heard so many people complain about Germany's lack of sunshine that we were a little concerned that it would always be overcast. That hasn't been our experience though. It does rain quite a bit during the summer and it has it's share of cloudy days, but there are quite a few really beautiful days too. I actually rather enjoy the rainy days.

I'm still trying to figure Ellyanna out. At this age I feel kind of bad some days because it seems like all I do with her is nurse her, change her diaper and she's sleeping again. I know most of that is her age, but I still feel like I'm not interacting with her enough even though when she's up I'm talking to her and holding her. She sleeps alot, but not generally with long naps. She sleeps for 30-45 minutes at a time then wakes back up. A couple of days she's taken long naps and that's really nice so I have a block of time to do things around the house. I'm trying to get her to start taking naps in her crib or the co-sleeper in our room, but her favorite place to sleep in on the couch. I'm not as comfortable with her on the couch though because I have to watch her more closely. I put pillows out in front just in case she would happen to roll, but still check on her all the time.

For now she's still sleeping with us, but we're going to start trying to have her sleep in the co-sleeper. A part of me wants to keep her in our bed. It's so sweet to have her snuggled up close to me and watch her sleeping so peacefully. She's such a doll baby. I know all parents must have the same thoughts, but I could just watch her sleeping for hours on end. I'm just amazed that this beautiful, perfect little baby belongs to us. What a gift!

Two weekends ago the changing table finally came in at the PX. It took so much longer to put together than the other pieces did. Everything takes so much longer when you have to stop every so often to take care of a baby. I'm still getting things put away in the nursery. I'll post pictures when it's done. I know Mom will want to see it.

I have two doctor's appointments on Thursday. Sam won't be able to go with me, so I'm a little nervous about taking Ellyanna to both of them by myself. One is with the kidney doctor. He wants to just check my kidney now that I'm no longer pregnant. Once I'm finished breast feeding Ellyanna I'll have to go back for more in depth testing, but it involves having dye injected and that wouldn't be good for the baby so for now it'll just be an ultrasound. Also, I'm going back for my checkup with Dr. Van de Castel. Next week we have Ellyanna's first well baby checkup. When Sam called to get the appointment he was reprimanded for calling so late. I guess we were suppose to have her in by 5 weeks, but it took us awhile to find a pediatrician. Our midwife gave us the name of one that speaks English. Hopefully we're happy with him.

Well, I started this post several days ago. It's now Wednesday and I'm just getting back to finishing it. We had a milestone with Ellyanna last night. Two actually, if you count this being the first day her hair is not sticking up at the top of her head as a milestone :) I think it's getting a little longer and able to hold itself down better down. Anyhow, the milestone I was originally talking about is that she slept in her co-sleeper last night! Yea!!! I've been concerned about how we would transition her out of our bed, but it just happened very easily last night. She was very fussy and kept throwing her arms around, so I decided to swaddle her (which she normally does not like) and when I laid her down in the co-sleeper she was asleep in minutes. She slept for 3 hours and woke to nurse. When she was done I swaddled her again and put her back in the co-sleeper and she slept for another 3 hours. I was so proud of that accomplishment.

In just a little while we're going to Panzer for the New Parent Support Group and the PX. I really enjoy getting out of the house these days even if it does take a lot longer. This past weekend I started using a carrier with Ellyanna and it makes going into stores a lot easier. Her car seat is so heavy, but carrying her in my arms is hard while shopping. Using a carrier which leaves my hands free has worked out much better.

Well, that's about all that's going on with us. Here are a few pictures of Ellyanna over the last couple of weeks.

Tummy time!

Ellyanna's been having a little problem with cradle cap, so in the mornings I put oil on her scalp before bathing her. She was sleepy so I put a little hat on her so oil wouldn't get on the couch.



One day last week we walked to the Apoteke to see if there was anything we could get to put on her face. For the last 4 weeks she's had a lot of skin problems which started with baby acne. At this point her face is just very dry, but the cradle cap seems to be getting a little better. Anyhow, this is Ellyanna in her stroller.

This is the first time she fell asleep in her crib. She didn't sleep for a long time, but it was a milestone.

Her favorite place to nap is on the couch.

These little shoes were given to Ellyanna by Cheryl. They are so cute and I was trying them on her and had to get a picture.

Daddy and Ellyanna after church on Father's Day

Seems like she's always sleeping for her pictures

She was getting very fussy at this point