First Month

Elli's first month of life was a whirlwind for her Mommy and Daddy! But we all survived! Don't get me wrong, it was awesome, but it was also crazy!
I am going to try and keep record of a few things each month to track her growth/development! That is just how my brain works:)

Watch Elli Grow!

Height: 21 1/5in
Weight: 9 1/2lbs
Sleeping Patterns: Elli slept great through the day, night was a little harder for her to stay asleep :)
Eating Habits: She ate about every 2-3 1/2 hours all through the day and night.  Sometimes at night she would go for a couple of 4 hour stretches.
New discoveries: She began to find her tongue.  Elli is a very curious little girl!
Special Memories: She met her all of her wonderful grandparents the day she was born, except for her Papa, who she met when she was 2 days old!  She also met her Aunt Bethany, "Aunt" Bethany, and "Aunt Heather" and "Auntie" Resa this first month!  She enjoyed her first Thanksgiving with the Klinect side of the family.  It was at Thanksgiving that she finally got to meet her Uncle Josh!!!  Elli loves "tummy time." She also loves to be held!
Nickname: Squeakers-because of the squeally, squeaky noises she first made when she was starting to "talk"

Now for the pictures...

Our first outing just the two of us since Elli was born... I think we were a 5-6 days into the whole parent thing. I was so nervous to leave her, but I really wanted time alone with my husband.  So we drove circles around Wake Forest.  It was great.  We laughed a lot.  And I cried a lot.  Those darn hormones! We came back after a 30 minute drive refreshed and more in love.  I thank God for blessing my life with Matthew Bishop! There is no one else on earth I'd rather be on this journey with!

The beautiful woman who watched our baby girl so we could go on our first "date" mention above:) She loves Elli almost as much as we do!

The fall is our favorite time of year! So it was really cool having our baby that time of year!

We can have her all swaddled up like this but....

Elli Faith Bishop

.....She ALWAYS found a way to get her hands OUT of the swaddle and by her face

So peaceful

Elli and her  sound machine aka my iPod touch.... which is now pretty much hers :)

Many faces of Elli Faith! I LOVE THIS GIRL!

Hohoho! And a Merry Christmas to all! Her cute outfit from Uncle Dustin and Aunt Amy!

Yes Elli is in the middle of all that! This was the only I could get a nap one day...

Yes I love you... Forever and Always!

First Trip to Wal-Mart!

First walk!

For everyone who keeps asking... Yes she does cry!

 Elli's Daddy is in love all over again....

Nose to nose, eye to eye, heart to heart

Matthew is such an awesome Daddy! Right from the beginning he has jumped in and done whatever was necessary, even changing poopy diapers! I am so proud of him! Being parents together is so cool. I have a whole new appreciation for this man!

Matt didn't like me taking a lot of pictures of him studying because he didn't want it recorded like that is all he did.  But it wasn't.  The end of the semester was tough! He had a ton of books to read, papers to write, quizzes/exams to take, however, he never, not even once, neglected me or his sweet baby girl.  Sometimes I had to "force" him to stop serving us and go do his work.  He is an incredibly hard working man! I have seen God's grace evident in him in new ways as we are adjusting to this new season of life! I am so grateful to be his wife! Thank You Lord for blessing my life with Matthew, my "gift from You!" (That is what his name means... "gift of the Lord")

I put this picture on Instagram and got some great captions....

 Mommy Time

We didn't get a lot of pictures together because I was pretty much always in my PJ's (pictured above) and rarely was "presentable" :) But here are a few....

close up and personal.... What we did a lot....

Movie Night with Mommy! One of my all time favorites! Never seen it? go rent immediately and enjoy with popcorn, ice cream, and a few friends:)

Visit from Nana and Pa!

Elli and her wonderful, sweet Nana!

 Not sure where all the other pictures got to...A lot of them are up in the "Elli" section that Mom B. took! Maybe she has some more of her and Dad with Elli from this visit! But I couldn't find one of Elli and Pa! I think I did better taking pictures at the next visit:) We are always so glad to have them visit! Elli loves cuddling and "talking" with her Nana and Pa!  They take such great care of her!

 

Thanksgiving with Klinect Family/Meeting UNCLE Josh!

Grammi Time!

Sweet Aunt B and Elli

I love this picture! Mom, you are beautiful! Daisy was SO jealous!

Grandparent love!

It was love at first sight for Elli and her Uncle Josh

  Josh set up his camera on a tripod so we could get some family pictures!

We are family

The new grandparents

New Aunt and Uncle

The new parents:)

The new baby... lot of "newness" going on around here ;)

Nothing new about how crazy and goofy our family is! We have so much fun together! Welcome to our world Elli Faith:)

Doctor Appointments

2 week appointment

1 month appointment

 We Are FAMILY

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time with "Aunt" Heather!

Thank you so much for coming and staying with us for a few days! We really needed you! Especially when Elli pooped all over Matt at midnight and I was catching so zzz's... Thanks so much for helping him clean that up:) And for helping with everything! You are so wonderful! I miss you! So come again soon!!!! We loved having you and I'm so glad Elli got to meet you so early on in her life:)

Best friends for life!

 Meeting "Auntie" Resa

 Teresa is my dear, dear friend from college.  She and her sweet husband moved to Cary (about 30-40 minutes away from Wake Forest) the May before we moved.  Now we try to see each other about once month.  Or more if we can work it out:) The last several months of my pregnancy Teresa made the drive to me since I wasn't up for the car ride.  Since Elli was born Teresa has continued to make the drive.  But I think Elli and I will be up for it soon:)  Her friendship is such a gift to me!

Random Ending....

This is silly... but for my own memory purposes... this was the first meal that I cooked after Elli was born.  Stuffed acorn squash. May not look like much, but it was a huge accomplishment! It symbolized that, yes, life would indeed have some normalcy again:)

Our sweet friends! Dawn and Eve Jeffords!

Ahh... a moment to just hold each other:)

Month two and three coming soon to a blog near you....