Ellie is growing so fast!

A couple weeks ago, March 10th, we celebrated Ellie's 100 day birthday. In Korea, being a 100 day old is very significant. It is a tradition to have a big party and celebrate the coming of the baby. I guess the tradition comes from how a lot of babies didn't really make it to a hundred days, and if they did, their chance of survival was very high, and it was very likely that they'll live long. Most babies now survive well past the 100 day mark now, but the tradition still continues and we like to recognize the new addition to the family. We don't have baby showers in Korea (and you don't even get to see the baby when you go to a shower), and we didn't have one when I was pregnant w/ Ellie. So we got to celebrate Ellie joining our family that day.

My mom ordered a bunch of chinese food from a buffet, and we had dessert, fruit, and cake. A lot of family came to the party, as well as friends and some of Joe's co-workers. Joe's mom got work off that day and came down early with Sophie. Alden, Ellie, and I met up with her at Walmart, and bought a whole bunch of fruit for the party. Alden was so excited that Sophie came, and they were going crazy at Walmart, running around and chasing each other. Towards the end, they both got so tired but they both refused to take naps (neither of them slept all day..). We even went to the mall to find a dress for Ellie, and Sophie and Al behaved really well. After we got back from shopping, we got a table ready for Ellie. I decorated a table with some balloons and ribbons, put plates of fruit and cake on the table, and put a high chair behind it with a slideshow going on on the tv as background. Joe was able to get off early from work to help out.

Ellie did so well through the party and the picture taking sessions. She looked great in her new dress that Joe's mom bought for her. A lot of people took turns holding her (except me because I was busy hosting the party. lol), and she was just a doll.

So, she is approaching 4 months now, and she is such a good baby, I sometimes forget that she is even there. She is just so happy lying down on her play mat thingy, and when she wakes up in the morning, she just lies there quietly and waits for me to come get her (this morning I thought she was still asleep and found her with her eyes open in her bassinet). She now sleeps in Alden's room, and she will sleep through most nights. Rarely does she ever wake up before 6 am. She usually averages 7 hours of sleep, eats and goes back to sleep for another 4, 5 hours. When I go in the morning to get her from the room, she looks up and makes the cutest smile!

During the day, she will just lie on her mat and look up at the toys or look around and puts herself to sleep. She still loves to be held and be talked to, and she tries to talk back when I talk to her. She is so curious about everything and looks around at her surroundings, even when I am nursing her. Sometimes, it becomes a problem when i nurse her, because she will turn her head around and not eat very well. While she eats, she likes to look up at my face and smile. She is just sooo cute!

Shortly after she was born, she had congestion for almost a month and a half, but since then, she's only been sick once. She is very healthy and happy, and she makes everyone around her very happy. The other day, I went to the mall with the kids, and as I was holding her and walking around in the department store, the store clerks kept stopping me to ask me about Ellie and wanted to look at her.

She also started giggling, and although she hasn't giggled at me yet, our babysitters never fail to make her giggle. Since Joe is studying for the GMAT, and hiring a personal tutor costs anywhere from $30 to $50 an hour, we decided that it was best if we got a babysitter instead so I could tutor Joe. So we have a young woman in the ward named Kelli come twice a week to babysit while we study, and she brings her little sister Anna to help out. They are so good with the kids, and Alden just LOVES to play with them. If we mention Kelli or Anna's name, he will stop whatever he is doing and do what we ask him to do (like eat food, wake up, change clothes, go to church!). It's gotten to a point that he is now starting to almost cry when they have to leave... lol. Anyway, Alden likes to play ball with Anna, and Kelli watches Ellie while they play, and Kelli tells me that Ellie always giggles when she sees Alden throwing or kicking a ball with Anna. The other day, Joe also got Ellie to giggle at him while I was trying to put Alden to sleep. We were able to get some her laughing a little on video and I will post that sometime.. (it's on facebook already).

Ellie has been such a big blessing for us, and it has made having a second kid so easy on me and Joe. I don't even notice that having two kids is any harder than just having one, maybe even easier now because Alden is more independent and Ellie is so easy to take care of. I just have to remember to give her as much love and attention as I do to Alden even if she doesn't cry for it.

At the party