A Christmas Wish from Ella

PEACE!!

Let the Countdown Begin. . .

We are extra excited to say that in exactly one week from today we will be heading home to Utah to visit all our dear family and friends! Hooray!! It seems like it has been forever since we have been home among all of you and we miss you all so much!! With Ella being born in the middle of the summer we were unable to make our annual summer trip home and as a result have really felt the distance this past year. Our hearts are aching to be around those we love and we only hope we can spend quality time with everyone in the 2 short weeks we will be home.

We are, of course, extra eager for everyone to finally meet our 5-month-old bundle of energy who keeps us happy and exhausted at all times. At the same time I am incredibly nervous to take her on her first airplane ride and risk the comfort and happiness of all the other passengers for our 7+ hours of travel to Salt Lake City. I hope it all goes well. Any suggestions for making the traveling experience work? Or maybe I'm imagining it to be worse than it will be in reality? One can only hope. Wish us all luck next Tuesday. We can't wait to see you all.

Giggles

Ella has really started laughing a lot lately. It has been so fun to experiment with her and see what we can do to get her to giggle. Hearing her laugh is about my favorite thing in the world right now. . . it fills me with so much joy!! Usually when she is giggling we will grab the camera or camcorder to record it all, but as soon as she sees she's being recorded she stops and stares. Well, yesterday we were able to catch her in the act and she was having so much fun she couldn't stop the laughter even with all of the videotaping going on. It is a little long (Brad and I haven't made the investment into the more expensive DVDs that give us editing capabilities), but how can you stop filming a little girl who keeps on giggling? . We love this video and hope you enjoy it too!


By the way, I'm not sure who the weirdo is on the tape making all the weird noises and jumping up and down, shaking the camcorder to get Ella to laugh. I'm sorry you have to hear the voice on the other end it! :)

TaGGed!

All right, so I've been putting off doing this for a while because I never know what to say in response to these silly questions, but I always love reading others' responses so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Cary tagged me with these questions. Here it goes. . .

What I was doing 10 years ago: I would have been 16 and a sophomore in high school. I really enjoyed school and it was very important for me to do well in school, however, knowing it wasn't "cool" to care about school I would act like I didn't care and even talk out during class to show I didn't care. If the teacher caught me and I got in trouble I would secretly feel really bad. On a given night I would either be making music videos with Chaney and Maren, playing card games and talking about boys with Melissa and Lindsey trying to avoid Melissa's crazy dares, or running around the neighborhood with Spencer and Alan. I also would have told everyone I was over my huge junior high school crush on Matt Broadbent, when in reality I think I still had this crush well into my junior year when I finally swore off boys. (However, we all know that didn't last very long)

What I was doing 5 years ago: I would have been a junior at the University of Utah and finally deciding not to go into physical therapy but just get a degree in Exercise and Sport Science and then just see where the road would lead from there. I would have been in IC for Lambda Delta Sigma and developing some really close relationships there. I would have just gotten set up with Brad to go on our first date in 2 days to the Christmas Formal that I was planning. After this date I would develop a huge crush on him but keep it to myself (mostly) because I knew I had a good friend who liked him.

What I was doing one year ago: Keeping our pregnancy a secret because we wanted to tell our families in person at Christmas time (we ended up telling them early anyway). Working full time for a local school district here in Virginia teaching students with disabilities about fitness and how to play sports and stay active.

What I was doing yesterday: Anything to avoid cleaning up the house. . .I really did not feel like tackling that monster! Playing with Ella seeing how many giggles I could get out of her in a day. Talking on the phone with Maren about how it is so hard to let your baby cry, but sometimes it just seems like there is no other way! I spent probably too much time blog-hopping. I was also doing Christmas shopping for all of you (but I'm keeping my mouth shut on what I bought)!

5 snacks I enjoy: Fruit snacks, yogurt, sour watermelons, cheese, and animal cookies

5 places I would run away to: Hawaii, Tahiti, Cancun, The Virgin Islands, really anywhere with beaches, the ocean, and the warm sun. I would also run away anywhere there are no medical school final exams and where babies sleep through the night. Does a place like that exist??

5 TV shows I like : There aren't too many on I like anymore. Favorite all time would of course be Friends. I also like Oprah and Dr. Phil as well as the Today Show in the morning. Brad is really into The Office right now so we have a weekly date watching that. I really liked it last season when there was the whole suspense about Jim and Pam, now that that is resolved I'm looking for some more romance to cheer for.

5 things I hate doing: The dishes! That is definitely the chore I dread doing the most and the one I am avoiding right now by typing in these answers. I also hate letting a baby cry (can you tell we have been having troubles with Ella sleeping lately), I hate being alone, I hate it when you have to sneeze and you can't, and I hate taking the car in to the shop (I always feel like the mechanics take advantage of women who don't know about cars--me!).

5 joys of the moment: Ella's laugh, when Brad gets home from school, hearing Brad play with Ella, having a warm home and bed to sleep in, and our upcoming trip home to visit friends and family.

There you have it. Did I say anything that was really surprising to any of you? Probably not. My life is an open book.

Mom, Stop!

I got out the camera and wanted to take some pictures of Ella this morning as she was being super cute. At first, she showed a lot of interest in the camera and kept staring intently at it. However, before too long she decided this picture taking thing wasn't that fun after all and decided to let me know it! Does it make me a bad mom if once she started fussing it just encouraged me to take even more pictures as I thought too myself, "Cool, I'll get some pictures of some of Ella's different faces." Isn't it funny how we can show our children so much love one minute and then torture them the next?

I thought I'd share the pictures of Ella's transition from happy to sad to mad. The poor girl!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We were able to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend with family. We drove up to Christiansburg, Virginia and stayed with Brad's brother Stan and his wife Melanie. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, spent time catching up, and showed our true colors and supported our Utes on Saturday. We all had a great time. Thanks to Stan and Melanie for hosting the festivities this year!





Enjoying all the food

The beautiful fall colors

Ella watching Dad and Stan play the Wii

Ella with her Aunt Melanie


Decked out in red--Go Utes!

Anyone in need of a good plumber?

Ella will probably hate me a few years down the road for taking this picture but I just couldn't resist!

Gracias. . .Dunca. . .Merci. . .

Well it is obviously that time of year when we all try to reflect on the things we are thankful for. I know I have SO many things to be thankful for and because of this generally find it too exhausting to write a list of thanks. But today I am thinking that it is probably an important thing for me to do even if there is no way that I will be able to write them all down. I think that by just stating each blessing and giving it a name I will probably come to appreciate them all more. So bear with me as I express some of the things I am grateful for:

A husband who. . .
knows how to have fun, knows how to relax, holds the priesthood, laughs out loud, tells me I'm beautiful, is laid back, doesn't stress, appreciates my cooking, enjoys watching sports, is a WONDERFUL father, is humble, smiles often, loves to cuddle, keeps me grounded, kisses me and hugs me every time he comes home, is smart, is kind, is a good friend, always keeps a secret, always speaks kind words about everyone, encourages me in everything, is trustworthy

A daughter who,
is healthy, always smiles when I come into her room, has the cutest giggle, keeps me busy, takes naps, teaches me how to be less selfish, makes me want to be a better person, helps me learn patience, is so interested in the world around her, made me a mom

A family who,
taught me the gospel at a young age, always sacrificed for me, put up with my impulses, allowed me to be the center of attention, taught me how to love, taught me how to be loved, provided for all my needs, allowed me to develop close relationships with grandparents, taught me how to serve others

Friends who,
are dependable, know how to laugh, are there in good times and bad, came into my life at exactly the right time, I can talk to for hours even if we've been apart for a long time, are examples, encourage me to be better, know my history, will be there in the future

The beauties of the earth
The comforts of home
A warm bed to sleep in
The smells of chocolate chip cookies baking
The warmth of a good hug
Cars to get around in
Airplanes to travel in
The warmth of the sun
Saturdays and Sundays
Good neighbors
Good health
Wisdom that comes with aging (hopefully)
Experiences good and bad
An Education
Freedom
Women's rights
Modern medicine
The gospel
The Savior
A loving Heavenly Father
Never having to know want

And so much more. . .

A little Thanksgiving humor . . .

Southern Fun

This past weekend our ward had its annual Chili Cook-off where everyone brings their best pot of chili and best apple pie for everyone to try. The judges (missionaries) then get to try all the entries and crown the best cooks for the year. Well since I don't like chili myself and I have never made an apple pie that I would write home about I just made our favorite cornbread recipe to share. Now they don't judge the best cornbread but if they did I'm sure ours would win. It is SO tasty! We like cornbread that is more cake-like and extra sweet. So if that's the way you like it try out this recipe and tell us what you think. (Those of you who have made it out here to visit us have already tried it as we make it for all of our out-of-town visitors with our homemade lemonade as a "welcome to the south")

Here it is:

1/2 cup butter @ room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl blend cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine creamed mixture, dry mixture, and milk. Blend. Bake in a greased 8x8 pan at 375 for 35 to 4o minutes.

(Note: Do not misread and substitute baking soda for baking powder. . .I did this once when I wasn't paying attention--didn't turn out so great. . .Brad hasn't let me forget it!)

Following the chili cook-off we had a talent show where Brad dazzled everyone with his saxophone blues. I love that I am married to a man with such musical talents! I hope it will rub off on our kids.

Is there any hope for the first born??

(Disclaimer: Do not read this post if you are a first born child or are pregnant with your first child--Please heed this warning. . .the content may be extremely frightening)

So lately I've been thinking . . .

Is there any hope for Ella to be a normal, functioning member of society in the
future? I ask, not because of who her parents are, but because it seems like the poor little dear is quickly becoming a constant experiment of science. (And to think, I always hated science!) As I have been on this journey of motherhood for 4 months now I feel I am no more prepared to be a mother than I was before this all started. I was one who foolishly thought I was "ready" to be a mom and although I generally don't have a whole lot of confidence in myself in most instances, I actually had a fair amount of confidence in myself and my abilities at being a mom. This was a challenge I thought I could easily handle. But what I have realized time and time again since becoming a mother was how selfish I was before, and how selfish I still sort of want to be. After I first had Ella I think I resolved in my mind that I would only be having one child. . .I could not imagine ever being able to handle more. I have since backed off of that statement to some extent. Motherhood has truly been a humbling experience for me as I have constantly realized that I cannot do this alone. That I need help in the worst way. I need Brad (and he has been there for me and Ella consistently. . .I am glad he adds so much stability to this family of ours). But mostly, I need help from above. I keep forgetting that. There is no way that Brad and I can raise this sweet little angel of ours on our own. I am so glad that we have someone else to look to for guidance and support any time we need it.

So now I go back to my first question, do you think that there is any hope at all for a first born child? Are we given them as a "practice" so we can get ready for parenthood before we actually have the ability to seriously mess something up? As I feel like I am trying new experiments out on little Ella on what seems like a daily basis, I keep wondering, could this, would this, should this, do permanent damage? Will she be scarred for life because of my cluelessness? I hope not. But I definitely think it would explain why first-born children are always such weirdos (if you are reading this and are a first born (Mom), I'm totally kidding. . .If you are not a first-born I am dead serious). I just hope and pray that Ella will not suffer in the long run because of her mother's poor decision making in her early life. She is too adorable and sweet. . .it would just break my heart if I totally messed her up! To you who are parents of older children. . .do you ever get wiser?? Is there any hope??

P.S. I think my next post will be a list of the mistakes I have made as a parent so that Ella can have it to take to her therapist years from now to explain why she has the problems she does!

Ella is sitting! Kind of. . .

I was sitting with Ella in her room today as we often do. (I was sitting with my legs in a "V" shape while she was in between my legs) All of a sudden I realized that I was not holding her up and she was sitting on her own supporting herself with her hands. She looked so big! She can only hold herself like this for about a minute and then her head slowly, slowly creeps towards the ground until she is on her belly. That head is still oh so heavy! Here's a picture I captured of her in the moment (the second one is of her head getting heavy and gravity doing its thing. . .don't worry I was right there to catch her!).

Happy Halloween!

We had fun celebrating Halloween last night. We invited a bunch of friends over and enjoyed some delicious fall treats including pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin cheesecake, mummy fingers, and dracula bites! All the kiddies went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and the adults got to spend time catching up with each other! It was a lot of fun. We found a monkey costume for Ella on clearance the day before Halloween and we (Brad) couldn't resist. We decided to do the family theme and Brad and I dressed up as trees that Ella could swing from. What do you think? When we put Ella's costume on her she would lay on the ground squirming like crazy, not really being able to control her large body. It reminded me so much of Randy in Christmas story when he gets all geared up for the walk to school and then can't move. So funny . . . We hope you all had a wonderful Halloween too! (By the way, I know in the picture of all of us it looks like I am just holding a stuffed animal, but believe it or not, Ella is actually in there somewhere!)

Four Generations

My mother and grandmother were able to make the trip out here this past weekend and visit with us. It was so much fun to have them here. I was especially thrilled that my grandmother was able to come. She has had what has seemed like endless health problems lately and faced surgery after surgery. However this last surgery, a hip replacement surgery, has left her feeling better than she has in a long time. Before I thought there was no way she would be feeling up to traveling--especially when it takes a full day to get here by plane. So ever since I heard that she was able and excited to come out here with my mom I have been eagerly awaiting their visit. We decided we had to take a picture of four generations of women in our family for posterity's sake--Bull, Thomas, Draper,and now Holbrook. It was nice to have more family out here to visit with and it was so nice to just spend time catching up. All the visitors out here have made us feel like maybe we are not so far from home after all!

A few of my favorite things. . .

I thought I'd share some of Ella's favorite things right now . . .


Cuddling under my favorite blanket (Thanks Uncle Chad!)

Going for a ride in the laundry basket

Swinging with my silkie

Getting wrapped up in a towel

Sitting in my bumbo (Thanks Uncle Stan & Aunt Melanie)

Studying with my daddy

Good friends, great times

Our friends Conrad, Courtney, and their boy Weston came out from Colorado and visited us this past weekend. It was so fun to see them and have them meet Ella. We really miss our good friends and were super excited for them to make the trip out here! We enjoyed great weather and were able to hit the beach and the Botanical Gardens while they were here. We had so much fun with them, and especially enjoyed just spending time catching up with each other. Weston and Ella seemed to hit it off pretty well as Ella would just look at him and smile while Weston offered her his favorite binkie by the last day of their trip. (We would all love a Holbrook-Stutznegger match to be made down the road someday) Here are a few picture highlights of our time together. We look forward to seeing them and all the other friends we miss so much come Christmas time--only 2 more months to go now!

Almost forgot. . .

I almost forgot the REALLY exciting news. Last night for the first time in probably 5 months or so (including the last few of my pregnancy)I was able to sleep through the night! And no, it wasn't because someone else took care of Ella for me--she just didn't wake up until 7 am! Now, I did wake up to Brad's alarm at 5:30 and snuck in her room to make sure she was still breathing. As soon as I confirmed that she was, I went back to my peaceful slumber. I forgot how good it feels to sleep uninterrupted. I definitely have more of a spring in my step today. Hopefully, this will be a new pattern we can enjoy into the future!

We love grandparents!

Brad's parents have been out visiting with us this past week. We were glad to have them see little Ella and how much she has grown up already. What fun it is to have visitors out in our edge of the country! Ella was able to spend a lot of time looking at new faces and talking to different people--a real treat for her as I think she gets really bored with only having mommy around sometimes. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Holbrook for coming out and spending time with us! We know Ella will definitely be looking forward to catching up at Christmas time.

We are also VERY excited for the rest of our visitors coming out this month! Can't wait to see you all!

The Baby Mullet: To cut, or not to cut

Ella was blessed with a beautiful head of hair when she was born (as you can see from the first picture taken in the hospital). It was long and thick. . .and I often bragged about her hair to my friends with bald babies. However, now I see there is a down side to all this hair, at least in Ella's case. Now that Ella is 3 months old, her hair is not looking so great to be honest with you. She has rubbed off the whole middle portion of her hair leaving her with, what her daddy calls a baby mullet! It just looks so silly. It has been looking like this for the past month or so, but believe it or not, it is actually getting better. There is FINALLY some new growth underneath that will hopefully start filling in the bald areas. However, it may still be awhile before our sweet little one starts looking "normal" again as the new hair seems to be considerably lighter than her dark,newborn hair. I keep going back and forth with the dilemma of whether or not to cut off the extra long hair to make it more even or whether to just let it naturally grow out and grow back in. So I decided to see what ya'all think. I have posted a poll to the side and ask for your votes on just what to do with the baby mullet! Let me know what you think!

Summer, Summer, Summertime

I've noticed many of my friends have posted recently about how they love the fall and the cooler temperatures. Well, we haven't even come close to enjoying fall yet. It has still been in the 80s out here, and even 90 today. The weather said that it looks like this weekend we would finally begin to get a taste of fall as the temperature is supposed to finally drop into the 70s. So yesterday Brad and I decided to take advantage of what may be the last few days of summer and take Ella out to the beach and enjoy the ocean one last time. Even though the water is cooler than last time we were out there, Ella still seemed to enjoy it. I think the sound of the waves crashing on the shore is really relaxing for her. So after playing in the water Brad made a "lounger" for her by digging an Ella size hole in the sand. I was skeptical at first, but she seemed to enjoy it. She is already a beach lover--yeah!

Ella's 3 month birthday

I cannot believe that our little one is already 3 months old! Time sure does fly by! I thought I'd post some pictures today (taken with our new camera) of Ella on her 3 month birthday. I also thought I'd share some of the "big girl" things she has accomplished lately.
*Ella is sleeping about 7-8 hours most nights
*Ella is now reaching for and playing with toys
-one of her favorites is her seahorse rattle, however, she keeps hitting herself pretty hard in the face with it and that she doesn't like!
*She "sings" along with us when we sing to her
*Ella does what our physical therapist referred to as "the four month roll"--she essentially pulls her knees into her chest and rolls to the side!
*She has also shared a few giggles with us. . .we can't wait for more of those to come!

We love her so much and are excited to see her continue to grow!

A minor success

I am excited and overjoyed to announce that this morning for the first time I was able to fit into a pair of pre-pregnancy pants!! Now, I know for some of you who were blessed to look "normal" again immediately after giving birth this may not be a big deal, but for me it is amazing. I thought this day would never come. Now I have to admit that it is only one pair of pants that currently fits, and no, it is not a pair of jeans, so I have a long way to go. They also don't fit the way they used to. . .I definitely fill out the booty a little more than I used to and there is a bit of muffin top action going on, but I am still going to wear them today and wear them proud!! Seeing how this means I have in fact made some progress I will let out a celebratory cheer. Just thought I'd share my excitement with ya'all today. I just hope there are more successes to follow. . .

(And no, I will not post any pictures of me in my pants--I don't look that good!!)

No more Physical Therapy!

Exciting times!! As many of you know I have been taking Ella to physical therapy on Wednesday mornings every week for her torticollis. She actually enjoys it--there are always a lot of cool toys to play with and cute kids to look at--but I have mostly just thought it was a pain. Beyond the weekly PT sessions, I have had to do a TON of stretches with her every day. The instructions were to do 3-5 reps of each stretch (there are 2) at every diaper change (about 6-7 times per day). Well, she hates the stretches. . .not because they hurt her (I don't think) but because she hates being forced one way or another (much like her momma). I even got creative on multiple occasions and tried to "trick" her into doing the stretches without realizing it. It worked a time or two, but fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I do not have a dumb baby. She may have been fooled once. . .but she never fell for the same trick twice! Needless to say, since she hates them so much, I have come to loathe them as well. Regardless, I have still done them faithfully! But, at our physical therapy session this morning I was told that she has made so much progress that I no longer have to do the stretches with her and I no longer have to bring her into PT!! All I have to do is play with her, encourage her to use her neck muscles on the weaker side, keep an eye on it and make sure I don't notice any regression. Hooray!! I am so excited. . .and I am sure Ella will appreciate it as well (that is what really matters after all).