You Guys! I Did It!

Okay so I'm finally posting some updated pics! For the sake of time and not boring you to death...I'm just gonna smash all these in here together. And...just so you know...I have internet at home now! Thanks to Kevin for getting that set up, because I now have the means to blog more often!*

*DISCLAIMER: Please let it be known that because I now have the capability to post pictures does not necessarily mean I will. It also does not obligate me to do so...even when I have promised to.

Okay, JOKES! I really am going to try to get better now that it's quick and easy. And I am resolving to keep my camera battery charged! And I love you guys and I hope you enjoyed the pics. There will be more to come. :) If you can believe that!

A General Apology To Those Who Love My Kid:

I am quite aware that my blogging skills have been somewhat/completely lacking lately! Ellie looks so much different and does so much more since I last blogged! I will say...Ellie walks, is starting to "talk" (I can understand her words sometimes!) and eat all kinds of random junk. She especially likes to put things like pieces of carpet and plastic in her mouth.

I have some Easter pics I'm going to upload soon...so be ready! And Ellie turns one on April 15th...so I WILL...hear this...WILL! post a blog about that. I'm sure I will be like most of my friends who end up crying because their baby is so big! I think it comes with the territory.

So...my sincerest, deepest apologies to those of you who have begged and demanded and bribed me to blog. I will make it up to you. Maybe I should just come visit each one of you...that apparently is easier for me to schedule...and so much more fun! Ellie would love to play with your hair. Or pull your kids.

Love you all. Thanks for your friendship and love and support!

The Zoo!

I haven't posted in forever! Ellie is 9 months old now and really ready to walk! She's babbling like crazy and has such a hilarious personality! I took her to the Gainesville Zoo a few weeks ago when it was really nice outside, and here are some pictures! She wasn't as excited as I had hoped, but she did get a real kick out of standing up and holding onto the wooden rails, her toys, and the people that walked by. I think the only animal she was even remotely interested in was a turkey! We could have gone to my parents backyard for that...

Hope you enjoy the pics! I have a few from Christmas to post soon!

Update!

I just thought I'd briefly catch everyone up...since I'm a super slacker!

Ellie and I moved into a rent house right off the square in Decatur...and it is WONDERFUL! Our new address is: 203 S. Trinity Street, Decatur, TX 76234.

Ellie is crawling like crazy and pulling up...and has started letting go of my hand trying to stand up all by herself! She's absolutely adorable! I will be sending out a Christmas card with Ellie's picture, so if I don't already have your address, or you want to make sure I do, email it to me!

christie_sherrell@yahoo.com

I promise to upload the pictures from my digital camera THIS WEEKEND so I can post some of Thanksgiving and other stuff next week. I am making an early New Year's Resolution to be a better blogger! And just so you know...I have been keeping up with ALL of your blogs...just not posting!

Thanks, Logan, for making me feel guilty for not posting. Shout out!

Random Baby Time!

Here are some random photos I thought you might enjoy! This is after church on Sunday. The floor is REALLY exciting!



This is a swim suit that Meghan & Kattie Foster gave Ellie. We tried it on...and it fits perfectly! Now I have to take her to the pool! She's such a model.

Random Mommy & Ellie photo. This might have been my birthday dinner night or something.

Ellie and I went to eat with our friends Candice and Kattie at Yesterday's Texas in Decatur. This is Ellie laughing in her carseat. I think she had a good time!

This is Candice and Kattie. Little can you tell...Candice had stepped off the tractor from rake-ing? raking? / bale-ing? baling? hay only an hour before! What a trooper. And lookin good!

Birthday 2007

Now that I've posted all about Ellie's Birth Day...I thought I'd post some pictures from mine! On my actual birthday, July 7th, my friends and I went to a Ranger game and got to hang out in a suite! It was a blast...here are some pictures from that!

The goofy guy in the white visor is Leddy...and the Asian next to him is Mark. And the blonde next to him is Alexis. And I have no idea who the rest of the people were!

This is me, Candice and Ellie. I was forced to wear a crown. The shirts we are all wearing say "Still the Same Ol' Cindy, After All These Years!" And have my beautiful sophomore high school picture on them. Both things are jokes...the Cindy is a joke because a lady at work calls me Cindy. Sometimes she calls me Christie. But mostly Cindy.

Mommy and Ellie!

BLUE EYES! #1 is smiling and #2 is...frowning?

Luke, me and Ellie. It appears Luke is about to put my crown on!

On Sunday, July 8th, we had my family birthday...which was made extra special because Ellie was there! We went to eat at Joe's Crab Shack, and Ellie LOVED looking at the huge shark hanging from the ceiling.

Travis and me. Man he's a cutie!

Ellie sitting at the table...just chillin!

Dad and Travis

Mom and Ellie...apparently deep in thought.

Mom and Travis...her eyes are OPEN! This rarely happens! It was a great birthday present.

All in all it was a great birthday! I had SO much fun with friends and family. Thanks to everyone who celebrated with me! I love you!

The Arrival: Part 2

While Ellie and I were in the hospital...we received lots of well wishes: cards, phone calls, a balloon bouquet, and visitors! Here are a few highlights from the rest of our time in the hospital! And thank you to EACH one of you who sent a text or card or called or came by...it was so special to us!

Did you know they have people who come around and force you to take pictures of your baby? Honestly it wasn't that bad...but as a new mom (and new grandparents)...we were all a little weirded / freaked out. A REALLY peppy lady came into our room with a cart and slapped a bow on Ellie's head:

She handed Ellie to her Papa and made him hold her several different ways for pictures:

Please note that the Picture Lady stuck her finger IN Ellie's mouth (I don't remember why)! She did have on gloves (which made me feel safe until her Papa said he figured she probably used the same glove for all the babies....WHAT!?!?!?!). Here's a picture of me from the "photo shoot" with Picture Lady. I figured this one wasn't too bad.

Two of my good friends from college and work at DBU came to see Ellie and I! For those of you who did not ever work in Apartment Life or hang out with me after I graduated...the following will not make any sense to you. For those of you who did: you're welcome. ("Hull-ew?" "What doing?" "Ahhh yes." "Biggie Smalls!" "YEESH!" "Logan." "HO-kay peace out!" "D mi-NUS!" "The Trustee Show.") Those are just a few good memories. Oh...and let's throw in a "Christmas Bush Lighting" for any DBU'ers out there.

Here's a picture of John (aka: "Sam") Adams holding Ellie:

And here's a picture of Andy Maier holding Ellie:

The Spence's sent us an AMAZING balloon bouquet to welcome Ellie! It was precious to me that they were so thoughtful, not to mention the fact that DeAnn's doctor used to be Dr. McAlpine! God gave me a peace about using Dr. McAlpine the day I came to work and DeAnn and I talked about him. She was a great support during my pregnancy and always seemed to tell me how good I looked...even when I felt like a whale! Here's the balloon bouquet (it's actually much bigger than the picture!) and Nana telling Ellie about it!



This should be it for the Arrival posts unless I find more pictures hidden somewhere else! :)

Sleepin!

This is just a quickie post to tell you Ellie slept through the night last night! I think she really just wore herself out (we went to dinner last night with Candice and Kattie)...but I'm still going to count it! This is the first time ever! I don't expect this to happen every night, or even again for a while, but I was really happy for her. I definitely freaked out a little bit around 2 a.m. when I hadn't been woken up yet, but I think that's normal. I was even a little sad that she went through the WHOLE night last night and didn't really "need" me at all! But it is what is supposed to happen, I know!

Anyway...I had to document the occasion. I'll get another post up this weekend with some pictures!

A Flashback: Ellie's Arrival!

I am going to make an attempt to re-create a little of Ellie's arrival through some of the pictures my family and friends took that Saturday and Sunday. And Monday. And Tuesday. :) I have several pictures that I may add later on here when I get them on the computer...so if I do...I will let you know in another post! I will try to keep all the "Arrival" stuff together. I also want to say that some of these may be a little blurry...so forgive me!

Although I had said all along that I thought she was going to come early, it was still a bit of a surprise when I realized I was actually going to HAVE her! Six days before my due date (April 20th), I began having contractions and went to the hospital. Below is a picture of the Emergency Room I entered through at Baylor Medical Center Southwest in Fort Worth. I have to say that I had the most WONDERFUL delivery room and the most INCREDIBLE nurses. I am a huge advocate for two things: epidurals and Baylor Southwest. I recommend both!

I was admitted to the hospital at some point later on Saturday evening...they waited a while (HOURS) to tell me if they were actually going to keep me...and if I was actually going to have Ellie or not! My contractions were right on with timing, but not much was changing physically. Fortunately I had an AWESOME nurse who talked my doctor into keeping me overnight. When Toni (my first nurse) came to tell me I was going to stay overnight...she also told me that I would definitely be having Ellie one way or another the next day! Dr. McAlpine decided he would induce me the next morning if I still had not progressed enough. I was SO excited and SO nervous! And in SO much pain!

Below is a picture of my two besties! Coach Candice is on the left and Hootie (Alexis) is on the right. This picture was taken post-epidural on Sunday morning. They made me lay on my side a lot!

Everyone was so tired on Sunday - Mom and Candice stayed up with me all night before I got the epidural. It was exhausting for everyone...and I have to say they both were amazing! They literally stood up with me and swayed back and forth all night during EVERY SINGLE contraction! As you can tell from the previous picture, they also had me on oxygen to help Ellie. I got in a lot of trouble from my second nurse, Kim (pictured below), for taking these pictures without my mask on!

At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, my nurse Kim told me it was time to start pushing! With the help of Mom, Candice and Kim...it only took about 45 minutes of pushing before Ellie arrived (1:11 p.m.)! Dr. McAlpine showed up just in time to take care of a few things and deliver Ellie quickly and safely. He was such a blessing to have throughout my entire pregnancy...and I have one thing to say..."pushpushpushpushpushpush" (He is South African and VERY soft-spoken! I had to get Candice to interpret some of what he was saying to me during labor!). So below are some of the first pictures of Ellie and Dr. McAlpine, me and Ellie, Ellie, and the Sherrell family!

This is Papa, Uncle Travis, Nana, Ellie and Mom!

This is Ellie and her Uncle Travis. I think they like each other!

And finally here's one of Ellie in the nursery. She looks so long! She was 5 pounds 13 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

That's it for the Arrival...be looking for the Arrival Part 2...Coming Soon!