1 Month Old

Ellen is officially one month old! Lately, she's been busy:

• Kicking her arms and legs
• Tracking objects with her eyes
• Cooing and making other cute noises
• Learning how to use her paci when she's fussy
• Starting to smile in response to our voices

Ellen is such a good baby and we can't seem to remember life without her.

Ellen's First Turkey Day

We were lucky enough to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with both the Benscoters and the Flynns, which also meant we got to eat twice (woo hoo!). Ellen was able to spend time with her grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. What a great day!

Our first Thanksgiving as a family of three ...

Little Turkey!

Bath Time

Ellen loves her whale bathtub ...

After her bath, Ellen enjoys wearing her duckie robe and curling up with a good book.

4 Weeks Old!

I can't believe Ellen has been part of our family for four weeks already!

Here's what Ellen looked like one month ago today (on Oct. 24)!

Lunch with Daddy

On Thursday, Ellen and I met Adam for lunch and then went to his office for a visit. It's hard to see in the picture, but Ellen wore her "I heart Daddy" onesie for the occasion. Adam had fun introducing Ellen to his coworkers and I thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the house for a bit!

3 Weeks Old!

Hard to believe, but EVB is already three weeks old! And, she seems to be changing more and more each day. While I'm not sure of her current weight, she appears to be filling out quite nicely ... I'm especially proud of her chubby cheeks and double chin, as well as the impressive rolls on her neck, arms and upper thighs.

Homebody

Ellen has been spending more time hanging around indoors the past few days...

Teddy and Patrick who are 11 days older than Ellen came over last week; however, all three babies slept through the majority of the visit.

With more time spent sitting around the house, we were finally able to catch Ellen's "poop face" on camera.

Tummy time!

Ellen all tuckered out after reading the latest issue of mom's People magazine.

Newborn Photos

Ellen's newborn photos are available online. Visit www.kellyhesli.com. Under "CLIENTS" enter the following password: abenscoter

Ellen's First Two Weeks

Aside from her brief stay at Children's Hospital, Ellen has had a rather relaxing first two weeks of life. Highlights include:

• First Halloween
• First walk around the neighborhood in her new stroller
  
• First visit to the pediatrician
  
• First trip to Target
  
• First photo session
• First visits to her grandparents' houses
• First bottles from dad
  
• First use of a pacifier (not sure if she's a fan yet)
  
• Plenty of visits from family and friends (Ellen is one popular little lady!)

Some things we love about Ellen so far:

• Her chubby upper arms (they look like turkey drumsticks!)
  
• Her long fingers and toes (her big feet remind us of E.T.)
  
• Her discovery of her arms and hands
  
• How she constantly rest her little fists on her cheeks
• How she sometimes goes cross-eyed
  
• Her sweet little noises
  
• The way she lifts her neck (she's already very strong!)
  
• Her poop face!

The First Few Days

Ellen had many visitors at the hospital and once we were at home. Day 4 of life proved to be especially eventful for little Ellen as she had to be admitted to Children's Hospital for dehydration ... The entire ordeal was much harder on mom and dad than it was on Ellen (she was a champ) and we were glad our stay was only 24 hours. Ellen is much better now and eating, pooping & peeing like crazy. :)

Introducing Ellen Virginia

Adam and I welcomed Ellen Virginia into the world on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7:27 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long.

We headed to the hospital at about 7:30 on Monday night after my water broke at home. I wasn't having any contractions and hadn't started to dilate yet, so they gave me a shot of morphine and a sleeping pill and encouraged us to get some sleep to rest up for the big day ahead of us.

On Tuesday morning, they started me on Pitocin at 6 a.m. and I got an epidural around 11 a.m. I labored throughout the day, but my progress was pretty slow until a little after 6 p.m. when we discovered that I had fully dilated and was ready to start pushing. After about an hour, our little Ellen arrived. We were thrilled (and I was a pleasantly surprised) to learn that we had a daughter. It was a whirlwind of an experience, but by far the greatest day of my life. We are so blessed!