Ellie is 2 months old!

Eliana is growing far too fast in her mommy's opinion! She is learning things so fast and will carry on a "conversation" with anyone who's willing. She's also getting better at holding her head up (she has her daddy's big head!) and doesn't seem to mind tummy time quite as much as she did early on.

On Thursday, June 18th, Ellie had her 2 month check-up at the doctor's office. She had to get 3 shots and one oral vaccine, but handled them pretty well. Her measurements were as follows:
Weight: 10 lbs 10 oz - 63rd percentile
Length: 23.5 inches - 92nd percentile
Head: 44cm - 90th percentile

We took her to the hospital 10 days later where Grandma Bev measured her again.
Weight: 11 lbs 3 oz
Length: 24 inches
Needless to say, she's growing very well, and I'm already getting a little sad when I look at her newborn photos! They aren't kidding when they say it goes so fast!

June 2009

It's hard to believe that it's already been 2 weeks since Sarah and Brad's wedding, and yet here we are - getting ready to head home to Minnesota for wedding #2! But before we leave, I thought I would catch you all up on what's kept us busy since we got home.

June has been a bit of a crazy month for Nick and I. We left behind some beautiful summer weather in MN to come back to snow in Montana. Yes - you read correctly. SNOW IN JUNE. So Nick's garden got put on hold for another week. He was able to get it started after work a couple nights and it seems to be growing well now.

For those that don't know, Nick started running shortly before Ellie was born and he's quite good at it. He's run a few races now and finished a 10K this weekend with our friend Moe.We took a little roadtrip to Rexburg, Idaho this last weekend for the race. It was another long weekend in the car, but Ellie did really well again. We pulled into Rexburg late Friday night. Nick and Moe ran the race on Saturday morning while Ellie and I cheered them on (Ellie cheered in her sleep, obviously). Then, finding that Rexburg didn't have a lot of things to offer us in entertainment, we decided to drive to Bozeman, MT and spent Saturday night there, instead. It was a relaxing weekend and we enjoyed some beautiful scenic drives through the mountains.

Ellie has grown considerably the past few weeks - we even noticed quite a gain during our last stay in MN. She is 7.5 weeks old now and has been giving lots of smiles and is cooing! She is turning into quite the little chub. We're not sure what she weighs (she has her 2 month check-up with shots (so sad...) this coming Thursday), but she is gaining a lot of little rolls on her arms and legs, and is now sporting a double chin. :) All of the 0-3 month clothes that were once falling off her, are now being filled out and I can see that she won't wear them real long.

The Meichsner Wedding!

So the main reason we went back to Minnesota this month was because I was asked to be a bridesmaid in my double-cousin Sarah's wedding (our mothers are sisters and our dads are brothers!). The weekend was filled with lots of fun wedding festivities and we all had a great time. I'd just like to say thank-you to Nick for being such a doting father to Eliana all weekend and also thank-you to my parents for all their babysitting help! And of course, Congratulations to Sarah & Brad! Here are a few photos from the weekend:

The Marcus Family!

Rehearsal Night

Mr. & Mrs. Brad Meichsner!

The Hoppe Sisters: Cindy, Vicky, Karla, Karen, Barbara (my grandma), Doreen, Janelle, & Stacie

The Wyffels: Gary, David, Rick, Patricia (my grandma), Bill, Bonnie, Shirley, & Daniel

Grandpa Dave & Grandma Vicky with Eliana

Sarah, Brad, & Jonikka

Eliana, Jonikka & Sarah

The Double-Cousins: Jonikka, Amanda, Heather, Jenna, & Sarah!

Eliana's First Trip to Minnesota

Eliana will be 6 weeks old tomorrow - can you believe it? It's gone so fast, especially when we have spent the last 11 days traveling to, around, and from Minnesota. She had lots of firsts on this trip - the first time seeing grandparents and aunts and uncles (not to mention all the other family members that got to hold and love her!); her first roadtrip; her first overnight away from both Mommy & Daddy; and her first time in a hotel (of many that will occur over the next several months).

Here's a review of our trip: We drove 12 hours on May 21st and made it to Casselton, ND where we spent the night with my best friend, Brandy, and her family. It was great spending time with our 3 beautiful godchildren, even though it was a short trip. The next day we traveled the last 4.5 hours to Willmar, MN. Grandpa Dave and Grandma Vicky fell in love with her immediately (Nick and I were quickly forgotten once Ellie was spotted!). She also got to visit Grandpa Daryl quick at work.

On Saturday, we had Heather and Amanda's bridal shower which turned out beautiful. Ellie enjoyed being passed from one person to the next when Grandma Bev wasn't holding her. Later that night, Nick and I both left to go to Minneapolis for Amanda's bachelorette party and Steve's bachelor party. Ellie spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa's and was so exhausted that she slept all day and night (which was a good thing since Grandpa Dave didn't want to keep her up in the evening...)! Nick and I had a great time at the parties, though I was glad to get home to see Ellie on Sunday afternoon. Nick spent another night in the Cities so that he could see a Twins game this season, but was excited to see Ellie when he got back to Willmar on Monday!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ellie and Nick spent some time with Grandma Bev, Grandpa Daryl and Great-Grandma Marcus while Jonikka went to St. Cloud for her cousin Sarah's bachelorette party. Nick had his first overnight alone with Ellie that night. On Wednesday, Jonikka got back and enjoyed her Mother's Day treat: a pedicure, spray-tan, and eyebrow wax. That night we had pizza with both the Marcus and Wyffels families.

Thursday was finally a laid-back day where we stayed at home all day and spent quite a bit of time enjoying the beautiful weather out on the deck. On Friday, we packed up all our stuff (a LOT of it as those with newborns know!) and headed to Alexandria for the wedding rehearsal. (More to come on the wedding in another post.)

After the wedding festivities, we had the long drive back to Montana on Sunday. Again, Ellie did FANTASTIC in the car. She was again exhausted from being held so much on Saturday! However, Monday was another story as Ellie soon learned that she wasn't getting the attention and holding that she had received in MN!

We're adjusting to being back home - getting unpacked and everything cleaned and put away. However, it won't be long before we head back for Round 2!!!

Eliana's Second Week

Ellie had her 2 week check-up with the pediatrician yesterday on base. She now weighs in at 6 lbs 13 oz! As the nurse at the hospital said, "Mama's got the groceries!" :) We've gotten a bit of a routine down now and Ellie sleeps great during the night - waking up only to feed every 3 hours. Nick is back at work, while Jonikka has started her new full-time job: Stay at home Mom! Here's one of our favorite snapshots of her smiling in her sleep (notice the dimple!):

This last Sunday, a friend of Jonikka's came over to take some photos of Eliana. She did a great job and we love how well she captured some of Ellie's looks! Thanks, Heather! (Photos courtesy of Heather Richardson Photography.)