Madelyn Elizabeth Lindbert

My cousin, Brooke, and her husband, Scott, welcomed their baby girl, Madelyn Elizabeth on August 15th! We're excited to have yet another girl in the Boyer family, and Ellie's especially excited to have a little friend to play with at family functions =) Congratulations Lindbert family!!

Baptism Weekend

This past weekend was Ellie's baptism, and we had a houseful of family and friends here to celebrate with us. Ellie was spoiled as usual with all the attention from her Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Friends. Saturday was a fun day with cousins. Wellyn, Sue, Brendan, and Aiden, and Grandma Donna, and Papa Herb were here most of the day, and we just hung around home and relaxed. The highlight of the day was Uncle Colin running through the sprinklers with the boys! And lots of cousin pictures too =)











Sunday was baptism day. We were up bright and early as church was at 8:30, but that's nothing new in our household! We had a whole crew with us to join in the occasion. Ellie was such a good girl in church - so preoccupied with trying to pull Dad's nametag off that she didn't even realize what was going on. Brendan was also a big helper, lighting Ellie's candle for her in the baptismal ceremony. After church we took some pictures, then headed back to our house for a breakfast feast! Ellie was ready for her morning nap when we got home, so I was tending to her. Thank goodness for all my helpers in the kitchen; otherwise, we would have never eaten! Thanks to both Moms, Sara, Sue, and Suzy for bringing and MAKING pretty much everything! At least I got the dishes out =)



Ellie with her Parents and Godparents, Uncle Wellyn, Auntie Sue, and Auntie Sara



The Pomeroy Family



The Boyer Family (back at home)



Colin and I seem to have issues with getting family pictures - we always seem to forget!! So, one with Dad...



And, one with Mom



I have a ton of Ellie smiling so nicely, but this was the best one of her cute little dress that Grandma Donna made - of course, Daddy's tie was in the way!



Ellie got a cute little tag bracelet from Grandma and Grandpa Boyer. It had her name engraved and a little cross charm. It was too big for her wrist yet, but was perfect on her ankle =)



Uncle Ashley flew into Chicago (from Alaska) early Sunday morning and drove up to catch the end of breakfast. He's home for about a week now, but this was his first time meeting Ellie!



The cake that was supposed to 'feed 30' that could have fed 50! It was huge! Everyone took cake home, I took a whole pan to work today, and there is STILL a little bit left! It looked really nice though and tasted great!



Suzy & Ryan lookin' cute in the kitchen =)



And, in addition to cake, Sue got all the kids some delicious cookies from a local bakery. They were all on a major sugar buzz after eating the 1/2" thick frosting on top, but they all just loved them! The boys got monkeys, and Haylie got a pretty flower.









Haylie's hands pretty much say it all!

Trip to Ypsilanti

This past weekend Ellie and I went to visit the Mayo family. Jamie and I were college roomies for 4 years, but we don't see each other often enough now unfortunately. Since our last visit we are now +2 babies between the two of us! =) The adventure started Thursday night when Ellie and I boarded a plane to Detroit. I was a little hesitant flying with her for the first time (by myself), but quickly realized that flying solo with a baby is a sure-fire way to get random strangers to help you do just about anything. I never had to fold/unfold the stroller/carseat or open a door once the entire trip. Thank goodness for kind strangers and flight attendants, because there is a lot to carry when traveling with a little one! Ellie did great on the flight. On the way over, a lady sitting behind us entertained her with peek-a-boo for I swear 15 minutes straight. Ellie thought it was just SO much fun. On the way home, we just played and she slept a little, and the flight attendants gave her lots of attention. We were in the Detroit airport for about an hour and a half before coming home on Sunday, all of which Ellie slept. So naturally, the minute we taxi away from the gate, she decided it was a good time to poop. I eventually was able to change her once we got up in the air, but airplane bathrooms are small enough as it is. Changing a wiggly infant in an airplane bathroom (on a changing table that isn't much bigger than her) wasn't so much fun. Ellie didn't like it one bit! Once that was over, things were all good again =)

Our time at the Mayo's was a lot of fun. A little busy already with 3 yr old Nathan and not quite 2 month old Ryan; add 6 1/2 month old Ellie and it gets that much more exciting! =) Friday evening we went to the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival for an Italian dinner at the church where Mike's Mom was a pastor. We walked around the festival for a bit, Jamie and Nathan went down a bit inflatable slide, and then we had dinner. After dinner Ryan had a massive diaper blowout and Ellie spit up all down my back, but other than that it was a fun time! Saturday morning we went to the parade where Nathan enjoyed the firetrucks, Ryan slept the entire time, and Ellie was happy as can be. Saturday evening we ordered pizza in and just relaxed a bit. There was even about an hour where all 3 kids were napping in the afternoon bringing the volume in the house down a whole level! =) We went for a few walks, talked and visited, and just let the kids play for the most part - it was a really fun couple of days. We also tested the storage capacity of Jamie & Mike's new vehicle. We now know that the Taurus X CAN fit 3 adults, 3 children, 4 carseats, AND 2 strollers!! The fourth carseat was a funny situation (not sure Mike would say the same after trying to cram everything in though) =) I brought Ellie's carseat to use in our stroller, but didn't have the base to use in the car so we borrowed the Mayo's extra carseat for the car. So, with every outing we brought both - we were packed in tight!

Sunday afternoon Ellie and I got home around 1:00, and by about 4:00 she was just not a happy girl. She was running a fever, rosy cheeks, and just clinging to both of us - no putting down AT ALL - deja vu from a couple weeks ago - I am fairly certain tooth #2 will soon appear. She was really not feeling well, so THANK GOD it did not start any earlier. So, after a great trip, we ended the weekend with somewhat of a long night on Sunday. She was running a fever of about 102 for most of the evening, we gave 2 baths to help cool her down, but then Colin and I took turns sleeping with her in our guest bed most of the night. Around 3:00 am I was able to sneak out and get a few hours sleep alone. Monday morning she was in much better spirits, but still running a little fever so I stayed home from work. Today she's pretty much back to normal, but chewing on things like crazy. Maybe she'll have 2 teeth by the end of the week - we'll see! She even bit my arm the other day! I didn't think it was possible to bite with one tooth, but I had the little tooth print in my arm to prove otherwise =)

Jamie and I with our babies



Ryan is a sleepy little one (unfortunately not so much at night though!)



Nathan and Ellie had a fun time playing with the peek-a-blocks



Ellie with her rosy cheeks on Sunday



Smiles and feeling better on Monday

Jumping, Playing, and a Tooth!

Ellie's first tooth popped through on Saturday! She's had all the signs and symptoms for months now, but nothing seemed to be happening until just mid last week. You could see the tooth under her gums, and by Saturday morning you could see the outline. I checked again in the afternoon, and there it was! It's not all the way in yet, but definitely through the gums and that's supposedly the worst part. She didn't even seem to notice so I guess that's good! I tried and tried to get a picture, but she just kept sticking her tongue out, so this is the best I got. It's more of a 'Mom, quit sticking your finger in my mouth look!', but if you look close on the bottom left, you can see the little white spot.



Rosy cheeks before the tooth came in



This tooth stuff is s piece of cake!



Ellie's new favorite thing now is jumping! She jumps on your lap and in her Exersaucer. We have an actual jumperoo, but she likes the saucer better. Here are some playing in the saucer shots and a jumping video.



Still lacking in the hair department, but at least I have pretty dark eyelashes!



So serious...

Just Some Recent Pics

This past weekend we took Ellie to the beach. It's actually a little man-made lake/pond about 20 minutes from our house, but it's really nice for kids and Ellie loved it. She really liked picking up the sand and splashing in the water, and she would not keep her hat on so it's a good thing it was a little overcast.







Fun times rolling around on the floor









Ellie also likes to 'help' when she's eating now...meal time has become major mess time!

6 Months

Ellie is 6 months old - WOW! She is growing like crazy and getting quite the little personality. She smiles and giggles all the time now. If she's not hungry or tired, she's a happy girl. She loves playing in her exersaucer, playing on the floor, playing in water, playing outside, just playing, playing, playing! She's liking her new foods every day - favorites are definately beans, applesauce, and bananas. She's very interested in grabbing anything that's within reach, and if it's out of reach, she's finding her way to get closer. She can get up on her hands and knees, but then just falls so no crawling yet. She does scooch (is that a word?) backward though and of course rolling! She rolled right into the kitchen the other day. She's sitting on her own, albeit a little wobbly at times. She is starting to babble a little bit, but spit noises are constant and so much fun! =) Things that make her laugh are kisses on the lips from Mom and tipping upside down with Dad. Ellie's a good sleeper once she finally settles down to go to bed. She likes reading stories at bedtime, and when she's having her bottle, she reaches her hand up and puts it on my cheek (which I love) =)

At her Dr's check-up the other day she was doing great and still growing big!!

Weight - 18 lbs, 13 oz (95th percentile)
Height - 26.7 in. (90th percentile)
Head - 43.5 cm (75th percentile)

We also got new pictures taken. It was SO hard to choose, because she was just a little princess, smiling a lot! These were the five I picked =)