Our life

Time to catch up!

2010-08-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since our last full picture posting. This latest video is actually her at her most recent, but we wanted to back up and share what has been going on this summer. Enjoy the pictures!

She loves, loves, loves bath time! (part of the reason we started swim lessons this summer but more about that later). She could sit in the bath tub and splash for hours!

We had taken this picture with the intention of posting right away to show her first two teeth which came in almost simultaneously. Now, not only are those two teeth getting bigger but any day now she will also have her top two teeth poking through! She's been a tro0per through what I'm sure has been a pretty uncomfortable process for her.

This is a picture of Mary Ann and Ella. Mary Ann was one of Ella's nannies who was just here temporarily as her other nanny Teresa was finishing up school for the year. We loved Mary Ann and miss her lots!

I thought this was a good shot to include to show one of Ellas most favorite past times- sitting out side and pulling (and eating) grass! She loves to be out doors (as do we all) and usually sits in her Bumbo (chair) in the grass while dad takes care of the garden (for me :). A lot of the time Puma will throw her the ball in hopes of her picking it up and throwing back.... one of these days she will!

4th of July- she's definitely a daddy's girl!

A hot July day at the Mississippi Street Fair

She loves to drink out of (regular adult) cups- we've tried sippie cups but she doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with them... she'd rather drink out of a big cup (and let half of the water soak she and I both :) ).

Getting ready for a walk with the dog :) There's more and more resemblance that shows up every day between Ryan and Ella!

She loves her books! Normally she's usually eating them though

A little swim in the backyard- Puma was kind enough to share his pool ;)

Splashing around, again soaking both mom and baby but having so much fun!

That only takes us through the middle of July, we have lot's more pictures that we will post by the weeks end. She's almost 9 months old! She is developing more and more personality each day (as witnessed by the video :) and we are really loving being parents!

Ella at the Symphony!

2010-07-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

Ella Enjoying the Symphony!! from Ryan Nowell on Vimeo.

With no prompting from us at all, she started to listen to the music with interest and was moved to clap on her own.

The Portland Festival Symphony was playing at Cathedral Park tonight. Had to leave a little early to get home for bedtime but it was still fun.

Oh and we have a bunch of pictures since May that we will start posting tomorrow!

Talking and Blowing

2010-06-10T06:48:00.001-07:00

Ella Talking and Blowing from Ryan Nowell on Vimeo.

Ella's Piano PLay

2010-05-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

Ella's Piano Play from Ryan Nowell on Vimeo.

She's sitting on her own!

2010-05-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

She's apparently not too excited about avocado!

I'll sit her on the kitchen counter and give her something to play with :)

Ella's first playdate (first of many :). Sammuel was holding her shirt and at first Ella was ok with it but after a few seconds she changed her mind!

And she sits on her own!

Getting ready for a walk in the sun :)

Of course we had to get more pictures of her sitting!

Thanks to Kristen for such a cute skirt!

Skyping with the grandparents :) Before we know it she'll be calling grandma and grandpa on skype without us knowing :)

Trying her hat on for grandma.

Ella's front two teeth are starting to poke through! She's growing so much by the day!

Rolling Over (Slowly)

2010-04-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

So Ella rolled over for the first time yesterday. I laid her down on her back and after a short while she managed to get on her side and then completely rolled over. Of course it's a VERY SLOW roll but she did it!! Emma didn't even notice it when I showed her the video for the first time!!

Since then she has done it 2 more times.

Ella Rolling Over from Ryan Nowell on Vimeo.

Also, last night was Ella's first night spent sleeping in her crib in her room!!! She did great and only woke up once during the night.

Worth the wait

2010-04-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry to those of you who have been waiting for new pictures, but we've posted a ton and they are worth the wait! She's transitioned to Mom going back to work really well and has really been enjoying her time with her nannies- we have found some special people who care about our daughter which means so much to us. Ryan is still at home with her quite a bit and I come home at night to stories of how happy and content she had been during the day. She's starting to laugh when tickled which is fun to see her react more to us. She loves being outside, whether it's on a walk with Puma or in the garden while I've been starting our summer garden (after all of Ryan's hard work prepping the boxes for me!). I have a feeling this is going to be a great summer filled with picnics, mornings in the garden, hikes with the dog...

I love when she sits on the couch with Dad, she's so content to be in his arms doing whatever it is he is doing!

The quintessential chubby baby smiling picture :) I think we were playing peek a boo!

Normally she takes showers with me, but that week everyone was improvising in the kitchen sink as we were having our tub refinished...

This picture was just too cute not to post...

Here she is in her cute pink fleece vest!

Here she is at Easter, we're on the edge of the kitchen at Kristen's and she's watching all the action- one of her favorite places? The kitchen! She takes after her mama :)

A photo shoot with dad while I was at work

This is a little hard to see, but Ryan had her outside in the bumbo chair and ran in to get the camera, and this is what he saw from the window... she's sitting in the chair with her hands crossed just looking straight ahead!

Such a little human!

She's not short on personality!

2010-04-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

Tummy Talk Time! from Ryan Nowell on Vimeo.

I'm on my second day back at work and dearly miss my baby! So Ryan took this video for me today- and for you all (grandmas and grandpa especially)! We have more pictures to post but wanted to share this for now :).

All sorts of firsts!

2010-03-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

Ella went for her 4 month check up and everything looks great, she's right where she should be. The doctor said we could start to try to give Ella solid foods... so we tried some rice cereal, and as you can see below, it didn't go over very well! We're going to wait a while and try again...

On Sunday and Monday we went to an infant massage class that was a test run for some students working towards a certification in teaching infant massage... it was free for us and we got some great techniques to use. Both days were the same class, and the repetition was welcomed and needed. Turns out for the students to complete their certification, they each independently need to teach the full 5 week coarse (again free of charge), not a bad deal! So we will be able to continue to work on our technique. Ella LOVED it! She was a star baby for both days she went a long with everything and seemed to enjoy and respond to it all and by the end of each session she was completely relaxed and smiley!

She's really getting better and enjoying tummy time as you can see above and then also down below! I'm sure it helped that I was rubbing her back :)

On our way out for our walk, I loved her little hat!

After our shower, she loves the water!

We just noticed today how long her hair is getting, but it's not quite long enough to lay down yet

I only have a week and a half left before I go back to work, I'm going to miss her so much!

Growing and Changing Everyday

2010-03-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

making progress with tummy time...

The rest of these pictures we took while hanging out this afternoon... she is constantly getting stronger and LOVES to stand up, she always looks so proud of herself when she does!

Random Pictures

2010-03-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

We went to Cannon Beach two weeks ago, the weather was supposed to be nice and we're taking advantage of our time off together since it is slowly coming to an end. Ryan is studying to get his insurance agent license and then he will be at work every day. I am going back to work on the 5th of April. My leave has been great, but has gone by soooo fast! I'm not sure how I'm going to leave Ella...

sunset at cannon beach

Puma loved the trip, unfortunately Ella was a bit fussy (thus no pictures of us on the beach) and it cut Puma's time on the beach short... he got in a few good runs though.

This is what happens when Ryan is left alone with Ella and the camera!

She's starting to get quite a bit stronger and is standing up a lot these days without too much assistance from us. Here the couch is helping with a little velcro action.

I can't get enough of her!

Last weekend we went up to Washington to visit my aunt Kari and my cousin Clarissa. We had a great visit with them, on Saturday we took a quick trip up to Snoqualamie Falls...

Snoqualamie Falls

Ella did great, it was drizzling a little bit and she was happy and content... she's definitely from the Northwest, rain doesn't phase her!

In The Mirror

2010-02-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

There isn't much that we do during the day, the majority of our day is consumed with entertaining Ella. Although I have managed to take Ella on a few errands on my own. Up until now Ryan and I have gone everywhere together whenever we were taking Ella out. Things are a lot easier with two people than one, I feel lucky that we have both been there to witness our daughter awakening into a little person and also for day to day life which is so much easier when we can both be there to help each other (one will hold Ella while the other does chores, takes a shower, ect.) I feel pretty comfortable now with her on my own, which is good since it looks like I'll be on my own for my last month of maternity leave. Ryan had his second interview with Farmers Insurance today and was offered a job as an insurance agent. We are both very excited about it, this job will give him the challenge and opportunity that his jobs in the past have lacked. It also offers a more promising future career for him as well.
So when we are at home entertaining Ella we often will bring her in front of the mirror, she now recognizes herself and will smile at her reflection (the first two pictures below). Tonight she took it one step further and was talking with herself in the mirror :). Another activity she is liking more and more every day is sitting in her bumbo chair, we'll hold up toys for her to look at, she's almost at the point where she will actually grab onto them and hold them, but for now all she really will grab onto and hold is fabric (burp clothes, blankets, shirts) and of course my hair!

New world, so much to learn...

2010-02-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

Every day (unless it's raining) the three of us take Puma for a walk. Recently the weather has been really nice, making the walks even more enjoyable. Regardless of the weather though I love the walks because I love to see the look on Ella's face as she closely studies her surroundings. It is amazingly refreshing to watch Ella experience the world. This is something I am really looking forward to as she get's older, to be able to teach and expose her to so many new things and experiences.

Getting ready for our daily walk. She looked so cute in her jacket and hat!

She definitely has a range of faces and emotions, here she's closely watching dad. We have yet to teach her to smile for the camera- but just wait....

We have been witnessing many firsts lately... She has just started sitting in her bumbo chair (the green seat in the picture) and in this picture she grabbed onto the monkey on her own and put it in her mouth! She also has started to make more voluntary eye contact with us...

Enjoying Life

2010-02-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

When Ella was born I kept getting the question, "don't you just love being a mother?" While I most definitely loved my baby, parenthood was a bit of an adjustment for both of us, so my answer wasn't always the emphatic yes it is now! Since we've been back from our travels it has been so much fun being home with Ella, settling into a routine. She is changing and growing daily and Ryan and I are so in love with her and really having fun in our new rolls. It doesn't hurt either that Ella has become a pretty mellow, happy baby!

This is a sweater we received from my moms friend Hannah, and it is so cute. She's all bundled up and ready for our daily walk.

Ella is so talkative these days, I just had to capture a moment between she and Ryan where she was carrying on a full on conversation! Sooo cute! I'm also trying to take more photos these days :).

All of the sudden she started sitting on her feet. I love this shot :)

Her smile melts our hearts! We'll have to capture when she goes from a serious look to a smile that lights up her whole face when she looks at one of us- it's one of the great joys of parenthood that no one can possibly prepare you for :)

Ella Talking

2010-01-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

Finally managed to get Ella talking on film. She always seems to stop once I pull the camera out but not this time. We can't get enough of it!!

Ella "Talking" from Ryan Nowell on Vimeo.

Maui

2010-01-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

On to Maui!!! We went to spend some time with my mom, enjoy the weather and celebrate our anniversary! We arrived on our anniversary- we hadn't been back since we got married three years ago... Ella did great on the plane, the trip there was a marathon flight- we weren't expecting that going into it. If you heard anything about a flight from Portland to Maui that had to turn around so a threatening passenger could be escorted off... yeah that was our flight! A flight that was supposed to take a little under 6 hours took 11! And that was Ella's first flight- she was still a champ and slept almost the whole time! Probably her biggest accomplishment in Maui is she started sleeping through the night- her longest night so far was 10 hours! She's averaging nightly about 8-9 hours- we LOVE it! It's amazing what a difference a full night of sleep makes!

On the plane, keeping busy

Grandma taking her for her first dip in the ocean.... for the most part she loved it...

until she was dipped too far in!

this is Baby Beach- the beach just down the street from Mom's house

The view of a rainbow from my mom's front porch

On a morning walk. We have tried so many different baby carriers and this is the only type she'll tolerate! She likes to be faced forward with legs free and hanging down!

Hanging out on the beach while Ella napped in her car seat.

The humidity made the hair on the top of her hair curl! It was so cute!

And now we are back home and back to layering clothes... :( we would have loved to spend more time in Maui, we had a good time and REALLY enjoyed the warm weather. The trip back on the plane was a breeze, only about 1/3 of the time it took compared to the way there.

Road Trip!

2010-01-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

For those of you who follow this blog, I'm sorry for such a delay in posting, at a time when you probably want to see more frequent posting! Time has flown since Ella was born and we've been gone for half of that time. We're back now and really settling into our new life and slowly coming out of the fog of first time parents! I will make up for my absence with two blog posts FULL of pictures. Those of you on facebook may have seen some of these already. (and you are also more updated, so for those of you who don't use facebook... sorry) I, Emma, am writing these two posts and will be (hopefully) contributing more regularly to this blog as well :).

To start off, we went on a 3 week road trip down to Tucson Arizona to spend Christmas with Ryan's parents. When we first made these plans, I was only about a third of the way through my pregnancy, by the time Ella was born and we entered parenthood, we started to second guess the length and mileage of our road trip... it was going to be a bigger undertaking then we first thought. Luckily Ella loves the car, and as it turns out loves to travel! She did awesome and we had relatively few problems. She has grown and changed so much in our time away. That was really apparent once we got home and realized how different our routine and baby were when we had left, compared to where she was when we got home.

Our first stop was in Pleasanton for a few days to spend some time at my step moms house. We had a great time hanging out and seeing family.

Ingrid holding Ella and Steve holding Willie- who was very curious of Ella!

After some time in Pleasanton, we were on the road again with a quick overnight stop in Southern California and then onto Phoenix to see my cousin Chad for a few days. We had a great time being shown around and really enjoyed our stay- thanks Chad! These few pictures were from the top of a ridge that looked down on all of Phoenix.

Finally we got to Tucson and Grandma and Grandpa were really happy to see us (Ella mostly!). We spent a majority of our time here. Lance and Suzanne (my brother and sister in law) came for a few days over Christmas and we had a great time catching up and they got a chance to meet Ella and spend some time with her. It was nice to be in warmer weather and for us to spend some time with Ryans parents and for them to have some time with Ella. It had been too long since we were in AZ to visit them and even longer since both boys were home for Christmas.

This picture was taken on her makeshift changing table on top of the washer- all the sudden she began to love diaper changes and this is where we usually would see all her smiles. It was great once she started to smile all the time at us and not just in her sleep.

Puma loved the warm weather! He also did such a great job in the car and all the different places we stayed!

I loved once she started to make more eye contact and smiling at me- it was awesome!

After Tucson, on our way home we went up through Las Vegas, and stopped in Reno for a couple of days to see my sisters and for the two cousins to meet each other. My niece, Taylor was very excited to see Ella and wanted to touch her all the time... Ella didn't really pay much attention to Taylor but soon I'm sure they will be great playmates for each other. They are only about 5 months apart which will be great as they get older! Right now it's amazing what a difference 5 months makes :)

Ella still isn't smiling for the camera :) so this was the best we could do!

Ella loves to hang out on Dad's lap and practice holding herself up!

Taylor is such a bundle of energy! She is also such a happy baby!

These last few pictures were taken on our way home. After 3 weeks we were ready to be back in our own beds... but it was only going to be for a few days since we had booked tickets to Maui (my next post). The price was too good to pass up and with neither of us working, it made is very easy to get away!

This is Mount Lassen in the background, on our way home.

Ella Saige Nowell

2009-11-22T16:02:00.001-08:00

Ok so I know it's been too long since my last post but I guess I have been busy!

Since my last post, Ella was born!! Of course most of you already know that but not all may have access to the facebook photos.

She was born on 11/11 at 7:54pm weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz. and 20 inches long. Emma's labor lasted 21 hours and she did such a wonderful job!!! The long hours ended with us both in the small pool that we filled up with water for the water birth. It really was amazing to see Emma work so hard for so long and all of it on her own, without what our birthing coach would call "intervention". At the end I was able to help the midwife deliver Ella into my hands and bring her up out of the water and give her to Emma. It was extremely scary and the most amazing experience I have ever been through.

Here are some pictures from the past 11 days of our lives as a new family.

35 Weeks!!

2009-10-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a quick update since I haven't for a while.

Went to see the midwife this morning and all is well. Mother and baby are doing great and everything is as it should be. She is kicking and stretching all the time and its really fun to watch.

Doesn't she look amazing!!!!

Time to Go Get Mom!

2009-09-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would test out the upload of a video to see how it looks on blogger using Vimeo.

Test Video from Ryan Nowell on Vimeo.

And here is the new floating "desk". Built it with scrap wood by ripping the wood, using biscuits and glue and attaching it to the wall. It worked!!

Baby Bump Update

2009-08-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well I guess you really wouldn't call it a bump anymore!!

Everything is going well. She is now just over 27 weeks along and the little one is really moving now! You can see her tummy move and at times she really is active. I believe we have an appointment next week with the midwife.

I will write more later about the projects I have been working on around the house.

24 Weeks!

2009-07-20T07:48:00.001-07:00

Ok so it's 24 weeks tomorrow but close enough. Emma is doing great! She is slowly getting used to growing and having her wonderful belly stretch each day. I know I have said this before but it really does seem to grow every time I see her.

Tomorrow we have another appointment with the midwife but will really only be a quick check up.

Still Working

2009-07-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, since my last post I managed to get laid off. Its been a week and a half and at first I was bummed that I had lost my job. Not that I really liked the job at all but it was an easy job with ok hours and good pay. But now that's its been a while and I have been busy with projects around the house, its actually kind of nice. Granted it will be nice to find a new job but for the moment, being off during the summer and getting a ton of work done is really a blessing.

I have been pretty much busy each day since being let go. I re-stained the fence in the front yard, built a new compost bin to replace the temporary one that we have been using for too long, and started with the baby's room and getting the outside of the house ready for painting.

I've only taken some pictures of the new cabinets from Ikea of course that we custom installed into the old closets. It was a bit sad to rip out the crown molding that I worked so hard to get in the first time. Oh well it's worth it!!

First One Installed

Getting ready to install the second cabinet

Had to custom modify the bottom for the crawl space

New Doors!!

Crown and molding installed

Baby bump update coming soon....I promise!!!

21 1/2 Weeks & Garden Harvest

2009-07-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well it hot out and we are trying to stay cool! 90 is just a bit too hot for me lately! The dogs are all passed out and I would have to say that it sounds like a nice idea!!

Emma is now 21 weeks and 3 days along and I am happy to say that I finally got to feel the baby kick last night. Crazy amazing feeling for me...and I'm sure for Emma too. It only feels like a heart beat once or twice but it was really wonderful to feel it.

Here is an updated picture!

Also managed to build the trellis that Emma wanted for the tomatoes and beans on the back of the first box. A second one is coming once the cucumbers and melon get bigger. Was a pretty good deal in making it too and was quick to build and install.

Here's some pictures of the recent harvest in the backyard.

Reno Visit

2009-07-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed on down to visit with Rosie and Mike and the newest addition to the family, Taylor Dianne Hope. We mostly hung out at the house and enjoyed a relaxing time doing nothing but holding Taylor.

I managed to get some photos of her...mostly sleeping of course but she is such a cutie!! We miss her already!

I will post more later when I get a chance and post some pictures of a short day trip up to Lake Tahoe with Camille.