Fish Face

So Ellie has a new trick....she sucks both sides of her top lip in and makes a fish face. It's hilarious, and I have tried over the past several days to get a picture of her doing it and the one we got was of half a fish face and the end of another. Here is a video too of me trying to get it. She sort of does it at the very end.

It's been a busy last 2 days. Friday Ellie, Nonna and I went shopping! We went to get Addi's birthday present and also found some really cute things at a little boutique in Patton Creek. We were pretty exhausted after a day of shopping and running errands. We went for a walk when we got home and then that was it! Lights out! Today, Nonna left .... after babysitting us for a week! Thank goodness she was here because I did NOT want to stay home by myself. Plus, she and Ellie got to spend some good time together. After she left, Ellie and I took off for Addi's birthday party. She had a great time watching all the big kids play. I got one picture of her while we were there in her party dress. She was pretty pooped after that and slept all the way home. When we got home she napped some more while I started packing for Mom's. Then we went over to Dad's house for dinner. After going to Emma's to get her mail we came home. Ellie is now in bed, I have finished packing (except for the few remaining bottles in the dishwasher washing) and I am getting ready to go to bed. Tomorrow will be another busy day...getting Sam settled in his dorm. He and Dad moved the big stuff today, but they haven't decorated or anything. After that, Ellie and I are BEACH BOUND! (But not before we see Jordan at Bid Day!) Ryan, we are sooooo ready for you to come home! We love you and miss you! We are also looking forward to seeing the pictures from London! Be safe!

Thursday

Well, I am a slacker and didn't post what we did yesterday. So I'll do it today. Nothing too exciting to report, just normal everyday things. Ryan, yesterday was my first day working in the office for Haven Homes. It went good, so that's a relief. Ellie did good during the night, only getting up one time, ending up in the bed with me though. She went over to Casie's while I was at work and your mom did some things around the house. I got home with Ellie about 6:45 and Same came over and we had tacos and taco salad for dinner. Your mom made it. Because Ellie has been staying up an hour past her bedtime, I thought it would be ok to take Sam shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond for some school supplies. Of course we get in the car and Ellie zonks out! Poor little thing, I felt so bad dragging her out. But she slept the whole time we shopped. We were there for about an hour and got lots of things for Sam. Then we came home and I put her to bed. Sam stayed over for a litte while and talked and then he left. I was pooped so I went to bed about 11:00. Ellie woke up around 2 am and then I fed her and fell asleep with her....I know I have got to stop doing that. I fully intend to do it every night and I think I am just out of it when she gets up and am not thinking clearly....I am GOING TO DO IT RIGHT TODAY! So anyway that was pretty much it for yesterday. Ellie's new thing is making a fish face. I am going to try and get a picture of her doing it and I"ll post it if I get it. It's so funny! She sucks the sides of her top lip in and she looks just like a fish! I'll post some pictures tonight so you'll have something to look at! We love you and miss you!!!!!

Libby and Ellie

Hey Daddy, We Miss You!

Hey Daddy! We miss you! Ellie woke up around 12:30 am (right before you texted us that you had landed). She took her bottle and then stayed in bed with me :) I needed company (no really I just fell asleep and was too lazy to take her back to her room - that's what you normally tell me to do). She woke up again at 4:30 and I think I might have woken her up and she was SOOO upset...screaming. I had to shut the door to our room so your mom wouldn't wake up. Anyway I tried feeding her the rest of the bottle and she took it and eventually went to sleep. But I was wide awake! We both ended up sleeping until around 7:30. We talked in bed for a little while, then changed her diaper and played in the living room. Your mom went for a walk early so she was just getting back as we started playing. I was supposed to be hearing from Marty today to start working for him so I was afraid to leave because I wasn't sure what I would need to be doing. I waited until lunch got a little info and then waited some more....Needless to say we never left the house and when we finally could it was storming. So I am stir crazy right now! We had a good day though. Ellie is trying so hard to crawl. Look at her in this video! She is starting to fuss but all day she was working on it and she start inch worming herself over to me. She can do it! Can you believe it!?! She has also started sucking in her cheeks like a fish face! It's so funny. I'll try and get a picture of it and post it. We really miss you! I have been showing her your picture on the calendar and our wedding picture (I don't know if that works or not, but it's worth a shot!) She ate some rice cereal for lunch and your mom got to watch her and it was really funny. Bathtime was the same as always- lots of splashing and smiling. And as always when you are gone, she knows something is up and she won't go to bed on time. She stayed up til after 9 again. She finally settled down, falling asleep on my chest and I put her down and she is currently sleeping. I have a feeling it will be an early wake up for more food since she only ate 1/2 her bottle. We are guessing you couldn't call us because you had such a busy day and probably didn't get a change to buy a calling card? I keep looking at the clock and wondering what time it is there and what you are doing. Right now probably sleeping. It's 10:30 here so I am thinking it's 4:30 or 5:30 there? We hope you are getting some rest and eating good food - you know I am concerned with what you are eating. I can't wait to hear from you and we are checking the blog constantly to see if any pictures have been added. We love you and miss you and can't wait for you to come home!!!! -Libby & Ellie

Daddy's in England

So for the next two weeks it's just us girls! Ryan has gone to England, along with Aunt Emma and Uncle Justin and the UM soccer team for their pre-season training. It's an awesome opportunity for everyone involved and we are so excited for them. But we will also miss them very much. Because it's so expensive to call and text from overseas, I have promised Ryan to update the blog daily (we'll see how i do with this)so he doesn't miss so much. For anyone else you reads these posts besides Ryan, I am just forewarning you...they will probably seem very dull and boring to you. But for me and Ryan, even the tiniest things that Ellie does are news worthy.

Day 1
Sadly, there are no pics from today. Ellie and I began the morning after Ryan left. She woke up for a bottle at 2:30 just when Ryan was getting ready to leave. She stayed in bed with me until 7:30 and then we woke up and played. As usual, she was in a great playful mood. We hung out in the den for a while and I had toast and coffee while she played in her bouncy thing. Around 8:30 she was getting a little sleepy and I put her in her swing and she slept until 10:00. After she woke up we headed over to Papa and Sam's house to help (do it ourselves) Sam go through his college stuff to make sure he had everything he needs. Tootie, Bailey, and Casie came over and played for a while and then Casie and Bailey left. Ellie and I took a great nap (much needed for Mommy) and woke up around 3:00. We stayed a little longer, finally leaving around 5 to head home. Nonna was on her way to babysit us (because I am a chicken and don't like to stay by myself). Ellie took a cat nap on my chest (she's back to liking that again) and then we went outside, came back in and took a bath, and waited for Nonna. She got here around 8 with Jim-n-Nicks in tow (yum!!!) Ellie normally goes to bed around 8 or 8:30, but not tonight! Excitement was in the air and she stayed up til around 9:20. Now she's in bed, I've had a shower, Nonna's getting ready for bed, and we're settling in for the night. Ryan should still be in the air right now. He's probably got about another hour and a half until he lands in Manchester. We are praying for a safe flight and landing. I am looking forward to hearing that they've made it safely. Aunt Emma will be the official team photographer/blogger during the trip. If you want to follow them just log on to www.umfalconsoccer.blogspot.com I can't wait to see and read about their trip. We love you Daddy - be safe and we miss you!

announcing Stella & Dot

Hello to all of my precious friends and family and blog readers I've yet to meet!!

I am beside myself with excitement to announce the launch of my new business with Stella & Dot. I have started my own franchise with the fabulous Stella & Dot Jewelry company! Designed in New York and San Francisco by award winning designers trained at THE Parson School of Design in Paris , France .


As many of you know, I have had the blessing of working in the real estate industry for the last year and a half. While I am ever grateful to have a job in this crazy mafket, I have longed for a creative outlet, a way to make some extra spending money, have fun, and meet great women! I wanted something that was truly my own. I wanted a business that I was proud of, and if I worked hard I could enjoy the rewards of my own effort. I took one look at the ADORABLE jewelry and accessories that Stella & Dot has to offer and knew that I would be proud to wear it myself and excited to share it with friends, family, and women all over the country! I was so excited to see that not only are the accessories unique and well made, but the product is so stylish and affordable, it sells itself!

You may have already seen Stella & Dot jewelry featured in fashion magazines, like Instyle, People, Oprah!





The in-home party opportunity is such a great way to meet other women, have a night with the ladies, AND shop for amazing accessories. I am so excited about this opportunity with Stella and Dot. I hope that it brings you some fantastic additions to your accessories wardrobe. Please contact me with any questions, if you are interested in hosting a party (lots of exciting perks await you), or if you are interested in owning your own business selling the fabulous line of Stella and Dot jewelry. Thank you so much for visiting my site~ My official Launch Party will be coming soon!!!! In the meantime, feel free to shop my website and let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to have your own Trunk Show!

www.stelladot.com/libbypratt

Practicing...

Ellie is practicing putting her teether in her mouth. Sometimes she gets it....sometimes she knocks herself in the head. Here is a video -please ignore the red-neck talking...I don't know who that is :)

Coming Soon...

Ellie and I just returned from a 4 day mini vacation to the beach. I will post about all our adventures soon. I must wait on Aunt Emma to send me some of the pics she took while we were there. Stay tuned...

Fathers Day Projects

This Father's Day was a special one because it was Ryan's first! It was also my Dad's first as a Grandfather! So Ellie and I got to work on their Fathers Day presents. We had to be sneaky so Ryan and Papa wouldn't know about their presents and she had such a good time helping me with them. Here are some pictures of all our hard work!

Another Week Without Daddy...

STREEEEETCHHH! - doesn't she look like Ryan?!?!

What we gonna do today mom?

Sleepy noodle! (I don't see how she doesn't break her back arching like that!

Ryan was gone again this week to UAB for a camp. It was Ellie and me in the mornings. These are some of the pics I took to send to Ryan. Today we also had Ellie's 4 month check up. She is now 12 lbs 7 oz and 24-1/4 inches long. Dr. Andy said she is doing great and we can start giving her rice cereal at night in her bottle. I guess I will attempt that tonight and see what happens! I am hoping that it will help her sleep through the night. She had to get 4 more shots today too and I HATE it! Ryan obviously couldn't go with me so I had to go by myself and hold her arms down while they stuck her. I felt like a traitor! She was just looking into my eyes the whole time like "Why Mommy? Why are you letting them do this to me?" It was pretty pitiful. But I was so proud of her because she only cried for a few seconds and then she seemed ok. I gave her a dose of Tylenol right before the shots so it kicked in quickly.

War Eagle!!!

Ellie loves her new Auburn onesie and pink sunglasses!

She was so excited and was laughing and smiling!

She is just wanting to scream WAAAARRRRR EAGLE!!!!!

Daddy's Out Of Town

Ellie & Papa at the pool

Day 3 - Yay! Daddy's coming home tonight!

Day 2 - Laying out by the pool

1st night - 2 hours past my bedtime & wide awake!

Day 1 - first thing in the morning

Day 2 - still a little sleepy

This week Ryan was out of town at a soccer camp. It was the first time Ellie and I have been on our own. It didn't take her very long to figure out something was up. I sent Ryan pictures daily of her since I knew he would miss her! The first night she stayed up past her bedtime by 2 hours - she could tell something wasn't the same. The rest of the week she went to bed on time but she was restless and would wake up in the middle of the night. By about 3 am or so she would just end up in the bed with me. Most of these pics are first thing in the morning because that's our favorite time of the day with Ellie. She's the most alert and playful right when she wakes up.

Going to Church

Today we took Ellie to church with us for the first time. Last week Ryan and I got there early so we could check out the children's center and nursery. There were kids EVERYWHERE!!! and I have to say it made me really nervous. The nursery for babies was small and we talked to the man in charge and he seemed really nice. So this morning, off we went. I kept telling Ryan how nervous I was that she was going to be upset the whole time. Sometimes I think when she gets really upset and crying hard it freaks people out and even scares them because they don't know what's wrong with her or what to do. The alternative was to take her into the worship service with us. Which wouldn't be a problem except that I was afraid we would end up looking at, playing with, worrying about her and not pay attention to the sermon...in which case, why go? So we arrived at the nursery and there was the nice man we met the week before. There were a few other babies in there all being so good and plenty of nursery workers. I told the nice man where her things were and that I was afraid that she would get really upset b/c she's only 3 months old (I'm such a first time mom!). He said, don't worry, I am ready for high maintenance, bring it on! (Little did he know that my precious Ellie can be the QUEEN of high maintenance!) They have a system at our church (since it's so big) for when the nursery workers need you. They flash your child's number up on the big screens in the sanctuary. Ryan and I were placing bets on not IF, but WHEN Ellie's number would flash. (Aren't we terrible! We didn't even give our little girl the benefit of the doubt that she would be happy in the nursery) The service came and went and no number flashing for Ellie. As we walked toward the nursery I kept listening for her distinctive cry. (I always thought people were "Koo Koo" when they said a mother can tell her child's cry.....but now I know how true that is) I didn't hear anything. Looking into the nursery there she was sleeping in the nice man's arms. I asked him was she sleeping the whole time or did she cry? And he gave me this look.....those of you who have ever been with Ellie during a meltdown know the look I am talking about ....and he said "Oh, she cried....she REALLY cried. She was NOT happy, but we eventually got it worked out and she fell asleep" The look on his face was enough, there was no need for an explanation. I felt for him, I really did. It's hard enough to get her calmed down when you know what she needs and how to calm her. But this man had no clue! I am impressed that he got her to calm down. He said she cried for 15 minutes. It breaks my heart to think she was upset for that long. He did say that she was invited back next week - so she must have done something good :) Sweet Baby!

P.S. I am a slacker Mom and forgot to take my baby's picture of her first day in church - in her sweet pink eyelet dress. Maybe we'll get dressed up this week and take it and pretend we took it on the real day!

Rolling Over

Before.....
After...

BEACH BABY

For Memorial Day Weekend, we loaded up and went to the beach. We left Wednesday night and Ellie slept the entire trip! She was such a good girl on this vacation and even though it rained almost the whole time, we still had lots of fun! Here are some of the pictures we took of her