Friday, February 25, 2011

Bloom and Grow

During this nap time I am sitting amongst loads of laundry that need to be folded with a dishwasher that needs to be emptied and a floor that needs to be spot cleaned just to name a few things, but it has been way too long since I blogged so I don't care about the housework. I don't want to look back months and years from now and wonder what Ensley was doing at six months old. I want to remember how precious and big she is so let me tell you...

Today she is six months and two days old...that is what happens when you blink! I can't believe it! At her well visit three days ago she was 15lbs 1oz, 26 inches long, and her head circumference was 17.5 inches.

About a week ago we moved her upstairs to her room and she has been sleeping even better than she was in our room. This has also allowed us to get ready in the mornings without tiptoeing around which has been nice.

She has an excellent appetite and has been tearing up some 2nd foods for about a month now. She eats a whole tub of 2nd food with cereal and a 4 oz bottle twice a day with nursing and a couple of 6 oz bottles as well. She has never spit a food out or rejected anything we have given her, which is such a blessing! She opens wide for each bite and smiles and talks during mealtime...we are still working on not talking with a mouthful :)

She has always been interested in our meals watching as we bring a fork/spoon/cup to our mouth so we gave her a sippy cup last week to see what she would do with it. She grabbed the handles and turned it up. She still doesn't drink much out of it but she definitely knows what to do with it. I think the cold water in the spout feels good to her sore gums.
Yes she is teething. But she has not been irritable. She is such a sweet doll baby! She rubs the edge of her pacifier back and forth on her gums and you can hear it squeaking. I know as the tooth gets closer to breaking through she may sing a different tune but she has been so good so far. I just can't believe what a sweet baby we have!

She is still sitting supported most of the time. She can sit up by herself for longer bits of time and is very close to sitting up by herself all the time. She will be crawling before long. While playing in tummy time if she sees a toys on the mat she wants, she rolls and squirms until she gets it and just hasn't quite figured out how to get her feet and arms to work in sync.

She is a very vocal child and listening to her is so funny because she uses facial expressions and different tones and you know she is telling you something incredibly important but you just have no idea what she is saying. Here is a clip of her talking to daddy while getting ready for bed. It starts out slow because she was mesmerized by the light on his camera phone for a bit but then she starts really telling you about it.

She and Kala are making friends. Ensley lights up when Kala comes close to her and nine times out of ten she talks to Kala if she sees her. Kala is not so smitten with Ensley. Kala is extremely protective of Ensley with strangers and even close family when they are holding Ensley or anywhere near her. However, after a couple of encounters with Ensley's strong grip on her ears and big jaws Kala doesn't get too close to Ensley anymore.

This update was brought to you by nap time from a sweet pretty girl.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Looking Back

As we were walking through the airport in Hawaii Thursday morning we were talking about how incredible the past twelve months have been.

One year ago we made a spontaneous once in a lifetime whirlwind 36 hour trip to Pasadena to watch the BCS National Championship. We watched from our seats which were practically on the field as EJ's Alabama Crimson Tide won their 13th national title.

In February we sold our house to a cash paying customer after being on the market only about a month in a terrible market.

In April we found out we were having a precious little girl.

In June we moved into our new house and began making it a home for our little Princess.

August 23rd our world was shaken when Ensley arrived. Nothing has been the same and everything has been so much sweeter since her birth.
Now we are coming home from a dream vacation in Hawaii which was another spontaneous trip of a lifetime.

God has richly blessed us and we are not worthy of any piece of it. What an awesome loving God we serve!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Aloha-Day Five

Today we just went shopping for souvenirs and ate lunch downtown Waikiki before telling everybody Aloha and Mahalo for letting us stay. I know I've said this the past four posts but I love love love those kiddos and hate hate hate that we won't see them for five months. My brother's family lives about 6-7 hours from us so we don't see them very often either and it's just awful. I think in about two months I will be going through niece and nephew withdrawal.

But anyway we had such a great time! Mahalo Harrisons!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Monday, January 17, 2011

Aloha-Day Four

This morning we went to church and sat outside under a tent to watch the sevice on a screen on this beautiful Hawaiian morning.

This afternoon EJ, Brian, Jack and Liam went to the Sony Open PGA tournament while the girls went to the beach to take pictures of Ensley (more to follow).

Then later in the afternoon we drove to the North Shore to see some huge waves! There were about ten surfers out there to help give perspective to the size of the waves. The lifeguards had the beach blocked off so you couldn't even get in the ocean because the waves were so powerful. I sat on the beach feeding Ensley listening to the waves and watching their power and was reminded of what a mighty God we serve. Wow! He is so good and so worthy of our honor and praise.

Afterwards we drove over to Matsumoto's for some shave ice and shopping but when it started to rain we decided shopping wasn't necessary.

I can't believe we have to go home tomorrow. I love Jack and Liam and Connor and Meg (and their parents too) so much and hate to say goodbye. I have missed them so much. It has been fun watching them with Ensley. She will change so much before they see her again but I am glad she will be too young to remember the year without her cousins...by the time she's old enough to remember anything they will all be nestled comfortably in their house less than an hour from us.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Aloha-Day Three

Day three has been amazing. EJ and I went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay this morning. It was absolutely beautiful
and a perfect day!

We are on our way home from Paradise Cove right now where we attended a luau. Our oldest nephew Jack went with us and we all had such a good time. We saw a native climb a coconut tree then he showered us with flowers. The guys each got tribal drawings on their arms and I got a crown...Ensley was too small for the crown so we just put a flower in her headband. Then after dinner the hula dancers put on a great show with a Samoan fire dancer but Ensley wasn't impressed (she fell asleep through the drums and hollering and all). We bought Ensley a coconut bra and grass skirt...pictures to follow!!

Thinking about going home makes me miss this sweet family already. I am teary eyed typing this because I know it will be 5-6 months before I see them again. All the kids have been soo sweet with Ensley...it has been fun to watch them interact with her. I am so thankful we were able to come out here to visit with them and they have been such gracious hosts...what a way to vacation!!

Now off to finish a load of laundry and go to bed to rest up for our last full day.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Aloha-Day Two

How sweet is this picture of Ensley with her cousin Connor! We are having a blast with the family. I love love love these kiddos so much and can't believe how much they have changed in the last four months. They are all so sweet with Ensley...I think Connor might even try to keep her here when we leave.

Day two I woke up with the breeze blowing through our room while listening to the birds singing praise to God and watching Ensley play with her feet. Ensley adapted to the time change like a champ waking at 730am and 630am on days 2 and 3 respectively. We are so blessed!

After the kids went to school we went for a drive around the coast. Around every curve was another breathtaking view. We saw some whales spraying from their blowhole but never got to see them come out of the water. We also had our first shave ice...which is nothing like the snow cones back home. Then we were driving around downtown Honolulu and Ondrea was showing us some of the places you see on Hawaii 50. When we got to the gold statue they were filming an episode so we got out and took some pictures.

For lunch we ate at Duke's overlooking the water. They had a great lunch buffet with Kahlua pork...yummy!

After Brian got home, EJ, Jack, Meg, and I headed to Waikiki for EJ to try surfing. In the 30-45 minutes they were out there he never got up but they saw a huge sea turtle and an amazing sunset. Meg and I made a Sleeping Beauty sand castle while watching the gorgeous sunset.

Day two has been another day in paradise!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

My Favorite Sound in the Whole World

has always been the laughter of a child, but I can't express in words how much I love to hear the laughter of my child. Listen to how sweet she is.....mmmmmm, I love her so much!