Starting School

(Grandpa Winter got little Ellie some U of U gear to support her daddy)

Brad started his pharmacy program last week at the University of Utah. Brad kept saying that he felt like a little freshman on a new campus. He didn't know where anything was, and felt like everything was new. It soon became pretty apparent that he didn't have to worry too much. All of his classes are in one building, and he has all of his classes with the same 57 people. Once he started going to class, he said he felt like he was in grade school because everyone in his class just migrated single file to another room in the building for the next class. Ok, not really single file, but no one really knew anyone so they just walked silently through the halls. He found it kind of amusing. He has been taking the Frontrunner train to school, so that has been a new experience too. There are 2 other girls that went to Weber with him that commute from Ogden, so they all sit together. They also discovered midway through the week that another student hops on in Kaysville, so they will have a pretty good study group going to and from school every day. The ride is about a half hour longer than driving, but it is going to be some great study time for him, and he doesn't have to worry about parking, traffic, or weather very much which is a huge bonus in my opinion.

He had his white coat ceremony on Friday afternoon. It made me quite proud to see him receive his coat. He has worked so hard to make it this far, and I know he is very excited at being one step closer to becoming a full fledged pharmacist. We were able to leave Elinor with Grandma Winter so that we could go on a short dinner date after the ceremony which was probably a first since Elinor was born. Hurray for Brad! Only 4 more years to go!

More on Ellie

Well, it's hard to believe, but Ellie has reached 8 weeks! Yesterday she had her doctor's check-up. She is doing well and growing like a weed. Her height is now in the 90th percentile (don't ask me where she got her height from), and everything else has stayed pretty constant. I also had to experience the dread of giving my little one shots. I give immunizations on a daily basis at work, but let me tell you, it is a very different experience when it is your own child. She screamed bloody murder, like I have never heard her scream before. It was quite traumatic for the both of us. Luckily I know that in the long run this will help my little girl. OK, so I usually don't get on my soapbox when I blog, but here's my nurse's plug for immunizing. Here's just one example why everyone should immunize. My doctor told me that the newest routine immunization, the rotavirus vaccine, which has only been used for about 3 years, has made it so he has only seen about 3 cases of rotavirus in the past 3 years where he had over 50 each year before the vaccine. My point? Vaccines work. Vaccinate your kids. I digress...back to Ellie. She was quite grumpy all day, but let me tell you, Tylenol is your friend after shots. It made Ellie feel so much better when she had Tylenol in her system.

Here is a comparison of how much Ellie has grown. Here is the dress that Ellie went home from the hospital in:

And this was her wearing it on Sunday. Look at that adorable smile!

On another note, I have tried on more than one occasion to take some cutsie, more "professional" looking pictures of Elinor. I am not very good at it. There is definitely an art to it. Don't get me wrong, Ellie is always cute, but my pictures just aren't very professional looking. Two weeks ago my sister-in-law was in town, and she took some very cute pictures. I wasn't expecting much after the photo session because I felt like Ellie cried through the whole thing, but Kristen is a miracle worker. So here is a couple of the pictures she took. Even the one of Ellie crying is cute. Thanks Kristen.

A Month Plus Some

Our little Ellie reached her one month mark on Saturday. It is hard to believe that it has been a month, we can't really imagine life without her. It is so fun to see her grow and develop. She was such a skinny girl when she came out. We were happy to see the formation of a cute little double chin after about a week's time. She now has a lot more beef on her arms and legs than she did initially and has quite the chubby little tummy too. We measured her crudely last week, and she is at least 23 inches long. That is 4 inches more than the hospital measurements. She loves to explore the world and look at everything around her. Her neck has been strong from the beginning, but every day it seems like she is more stable with it. She has made it through the majority of two weeks of church. The first week she slept the whole time, while last week she showed off her beautiful eyes to the ward a little more. Last week Ellie started grasping things a lot more. This unfortunately brought on the discover of her hair. Often times, when she is angry, she will grab a chunk of hair and hold it in a death grip. This of course makes her more angry. It is a viscious cycle until will can release it.

This is a picture of Ellie after a bath. This is a good picture of her considering she is usually screaming bloody murder after tub time. She has yet to learn how relaxing a bath can be. She looks pretty cute though, doesn't she?

I've been meaning to post this picture for a while. This was taken about a week and half after Ellie's birthday. This was Ellie's first encounter with a cousin (Ellie is the one on the right, if you can't tell....hehe). The cute girl on the left is cuzzy Ainsley. Ainsley is only about 6 months old. I can't believe that Elinor will make such drastic changes in just 6 months. I just think the contrast so funny.

I am sure that this will not be the last post completely dedicated to our cute little girl. We are such proud parents, and so happy to have as part of our eternal family.