Ellie is growing up....

I'm sure that opening title is a shock to all of you. It may seem basic, but we reached a particularly interesting milestone just today. Read on...

First, I'll update regarding our holidays. Ellie did great at Christmas. She was really interested in opening all of her presents and really seemed to enjoy getting them. We didn't go crazy, but we did try to wrap a bunch separately, so she had a few things to open. Her gift from "Santa" (which she still has no concept of) was a Dora the Explorer tent with a tunnel. She crawled through it to get her milk on Christmas morning, which was really cute. We also gave her one of those magna doodle things, which she also loves. Also some big paper that goes on the floor for her to color on. She got some Praise Baby DVDs from Cookie and Crouchburger and some other clothes and books from Fritz and everyone else who loves her. She made out very well.

She continues to be a complete joy. She does cry, but rarely in public and not even that often at home really either. We're scared that this new baby won't be as angelic, but we know God made her just for us and we can't wait to meet her, too. Ellie is speaking up more and more lately. Here are a few of her words: yes, no, peek-a-boo, Cookie, Mama, Daddy, Elmo (more like Melmo), door, nose, mouth, up, out, off, please, etc. She does a lot of dancing, and she's getting really good at understanding us. I asked her to go get her shoes and socks from her room yesterday and she made one trip for her shoes and another to get her socks just like I asked. How nice is that?!

James continues to enjoy and do well with his counseling. He's gotten a bunch of new clients in recent weeks that are keeping him busy. He and I are also going to be going through a financial training class that will allow us to counsel people who are struggling with their finances. This is a passion for both of us, so we're excited about that opportunity. My work is also going well. I have a few more weeks and then things will slow down. I continue to feel well, too. The heartburn is around but nothing Tums can't handle. Otherwise, I really don't have any pregnancy compliants. We did all get that nasty cold over Christmas, so that was particularly fun for me when I can't take much for it... But we're all over it now and are grateful.

As for the new milestone I mentioned, we've decided to evict Ellie from her crib before the new baby is born, right? Well, we got a safety rail this weekend and were thinking we'd phase her into it with naps first and then overnight. I was thinking it would be a work in progress that would last a few weeks or so. Anyway, I decided to give it a try with her nap today. I just told her she was going to sleep in her big girl bed, did our cuddles and gave her her blanket and then left. She started crying, but she often cries for a minute or two when I put her in her crib, too. As usual, she quit crying in less than 5 minutes. She has her white noise machine that is reachable from her bed, and I heard it change sounds a time or two which means she was standing up messing with it, and then all was quiet. I waited a few minutes and then went in and she'd fallen asleep on the bed! I couldn't believe it. First time and almost no reisistance. She slept a full hour and a half which is about normal. Then the best part - I'd told her to stay in bed and call for us and not to get out until we came in. We did go in pretty fast when we heard her, but she stayed on the bed! I'm thinking I might as well give it a try for the overnight tonight as well since it was so easy today. I actually put her down while I was typing this and she's just in there talking to herself right now. I'll let you know how it went next time. I just can't believe how easy this kid does transition!

We had an ultrasound on Monday of the baby. We didn't get any great pictures, because she wasn't quite cooperating, but her head is measuring right on track which is great news. I'm really hoping to deliver her naturally, but much of that will depend on her head size. So far so good...

Here are a few photos from recent weeks:

About to crawl through the Dora tunnel/tent on Christmas morning

Elmo book from Cookie and Crouchburger

Opening her stocking

Ellie's first real Christmas dinner (mac & cheese continues to be the big hit)

Cute new outfit from Uncle Dave and Aunt Jen

"Why did you leave me in here when you're having fun out there?"

Pretty dress for the Christmas picture

With Crouchburger at the trains at Northpark

Pretty dress from Aunt Pen

Ellie with Aunt Pen and Uncle Bill

Messy girl wearing Daddy's socks

Our Baby (yes, I can still say that) sleeping her big girl bed for the first time

The Verdict Is In

Well, it's official. We found out on Monday that we are indeed having another girl! While we had hoped for a boy, we know this is God's perfect plan for our family. Ellie will have a little sister to become close to, and we've had some practice on that gender already. :) The baby looked completely healthy, so we're excited and grateful for that. The head was measuring dead on, but my doctor is going to be keeping an eye on that.

Everything else is also going well. We're all healthy, and Ellie is as cute and fun as ever. She says more words everyday, but most of her language is pretty unintelligible. We don't have any new pictures of her, but I'll get some more for you soon.

In other news, we did decide to stop doing our neighborhood newsletter last month. We were sad to let it go, but the sales weren't consistent and weren't matching the amount of work we had to do each month. James' practice is going well. He's had some new clients from outside the church and continues to enjoy the work. My job is also going well. I'm still working part time and enjoying my schedule.

Baby James is home and doing well. Here's one of their latest pictures.

Halloween Pictures!

We've been dealing with some illness in the Wiebe house, but the adults are both back to full health. Ellie started off with a double ear infection and bronchialitis, but she's down to one ear infection that's hopefully gone or almost gone and some stomach issues that are also almost over. She says more words each day, but won't always say them when we want her to. (How dare her disobey already?!) A few on her list: Mama, Dada, Amen, Yes, Shoes, Apple, Cookie (also my mom's g'ma name), and she even said Georgie once. We haven't been able to get her to repeat that one yet. (Don't worry, Aunts and Uncles. We'll get her to work on you guys next!)

All is well with Wiebelet 2. We find out the gender on 11/19, so stay tuned for that!

Mama and her Hershey's Kiss

Petting a rabbit at the petting zoo at the Fall Festival at church

My sign says "We Have a Bun in the Oven" and James is wearing an apron that designates him as the "Baker". We ended up winning a group prize for our little joke.

Also thought I'd add a couple of my two nephews as well. Baby James is doing well and set to go home any day.

Georgie as Elmo

And Sweet Baby James

A Trip to the Best State Fair in the Union

All is going primarily well in the Wiebe household aside from some illnesses running around. Ellie has bronchialitis and a double ear infection, poor thing. She's on medication, though, and seems more like herself again everyday. James is also sick with what his doctor termed "pre-pneumonia". And I cough about every 30 seconds. So we all have something... But I'm sure we'll be over it soon.


We took another trip to the State Fair of Texas yesterday with Cookie and Crouchburger. We had a great time as usual. Ellie had a lot more fun this year than she did last year (when she was only 5 months old). She got to see the animals up close in the petting zoo, and she rode some of the kiddie rides on the Midway.


In other exciting and a little scary news, my sister had her baby boy (who we thought was going to be a girl!) a month early last week. He weighed in at only 3 lbs. 12 oz. and is still in the NICU due to his size and some other minor issues. It's been a tough week, but he does better each day and they're hoping to take him home in the next couple of weeks. So, meet James Owen Brady below as well.

Ellie is so cool she has to wear shades.

Ellie's first fair ride - the kiddie swings. She loved it!

This is the big slide she went down with Daddy.

Finishing the slide

First carousel ride!

Introducing James Owen Brady, my newest newphew. (While James likes to think he's his namesake, he's actually named after both each parent's maternal grandfather.)

The One Year Montage

So, yes...it's true. I'm almost 4 months late on this. But better late than never, right? The below montage is about 10 minutes long, so you'll want to make sure you have some time. I've added some video that you've not seen before, though, so I hope you enjoy it half as much as we enjoyed living it.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

On a separate note, I had my monthly OB appointment for the newbie. All looks good, and I even got to sneak another peek. Baby was moving around and had all four appendages, so all is well. It looks like we'll get to learn the gender sometime near Thanksgiving, so stay tuned!

Guess What.....

Well, that and that I took my first few steps in the last couple of weeks. I still prefer crawling, but at least Mama and Daddy know that I'm capable now. Maybe they'll get off my back!

Mama and Daddy saw the heartbeat on Friday. The baby is making Mama feel pretty yucky, but nothing she can't handle so far. I'm going to be such a good big sister, don't you think?

(Oh - and Mama wanted me to tell those of you that work at PwC that it's too early to tell work yet. So, keep it on the DL, yo.)

Time with the Cornwells and One Year Photos

Man - I take SO LONG to update this sometimes, huh? I left you all hanging on the rest of our trip.

Well, let me just say that we had a fantastic time with the Cornwells. While we didn't do anything super touristy or exciting, the down time was just what we wanted. We had a great time just going to the community pool, shooting off fireworks, and even doing a little Dance Dance Revolution. (Paul smoked me...)

Ellie had such a good time climbing the stairs and playing with the Cornwell kids. Ironically, Ryan seemed to enjoy Ellie the most of the three. They were really cute together.

I did get to see Reagan in her ballet class, too. She was so cute, and she did so great!

Things have been busy as usual in the Wiebe home, but everything is going well. Ellie is doing great and is as fun as ever. She nods yes and no, waves hi without prompting all the time, gives lots of kisses, babbles a ton. She's a great swimmer. She doesn't like going under water, but she loves splashing and being thrown. Some of you may be wondering about the walking. She's just a little chicken when it comes to walking. She does great when she holds a hand, but as soon as you take it away that bottom hits the floor. As I've said before, we're not in a hurry. And, she holds her own just fine in the 1 year old room at church with all of the other walkers. She'll do it in her own time.

Enjoy the photos (below)!

The Photos

All the kids swimming in the Cornwell backyard

Mama and Ellie on July 4th

The whole bunch on 7/4

Sweet girl...

Reagan and Ryan ready to get candy at the parade.

Mamas and Babies

Ellie and Riley bathing

All the kiddies ready for bed

Goofy kiddies

Pretty girl

Sitting in the grass

Cheeky smile

Silly face

Blowing kisses (okay, she really wasn't, but she knows how, ok?!)

Precious...

Yep, she's big enough to go down this slide - by herself!

Classic Ellie... "I'm playing here...did you need something?"

Sweet face...

She may not look happy, but she sure looks cute, right?

Fun in the pool!

Kisses for Mama! My favorite!!

Ellie Goes to Chicago

Hey, everyone. James, Ellie and I are currently in Indianapolis visiting our very good friends the Cornwells. We spent this last weekend in Chicago meeting up with some of the girls from my Babycenter bulletin board I've been on since I found out I was pregnant with Ellie. All the girls on the board also had due dates of May 2006 for their firstborns, so we've all shared a lot together. There are over 30 girls on the board, and 9 of us were able to make it to Chicago.

We drove again (this was nothing compared to New York!), and Ellie did well again. Here are a few pictures for you:

Ellie at the table at Rock Bottom (most of us wore the matching shirts...)

The group at Rock Bottom

Babies about to ride the El (We were quite the site walking there...)

Happy Ellie at the aquarium

Ellie looking at the fish

Ellie's new mad face. (I don't even think she knows it looks mad....)

The Chicago skyline from aquarium

All 9 babies on one couch

The moms and babies

Hope everyone has a great fourth of July! We're looking forward to celebrating Ellie's 2nd one tomorrow with the Cornwells. We'll post pictures of that soon!