I'm sitting on our living room floor with Ella on her play mat next to me and Charlie keeping watch close by. Ella is 4 months old today.

Ok full disclosure, the above paragraph was all I could write before Ella needed my attention again. I figure documenting that will be a funny reminder one day when I can actually do things independently around the house again. In all honesty, I love this age. It's harder, but the reward is sweeter...her giggles and smiles, the confidence that I can soothe her when she's upset, the more predictable routine, and watching her become this little opinionated person that we love so much.

The theme for the last four weeks has been catch up. When Ella was first born, I felt like Dustin and I were playing catch up, trying to figure out how to care for an infant. We read books, we created a plan, we got her on a schedule. The schedule was my favorite because let's face it, I'm not a very flexible person by nature so I thrived on the schedule. But alas, Ella caught up to the schedule and we've been playing catch up for a week or so. I bought a sound machine which promptly changed our lives. We started a little sleep training and two nights ago she slept 12 straight hours. That's right, 12 hours.

EJ is starting to really share her feelings about everything. Really engaging with her favorite toys and really listening/observing when we read books. She's also started arching her back when she's mad about something. In fact, we battled out nap time last week and when she finally fell asleep (after 45 minutes) I decided I would just give up my afternoon and hold her to let her sleep. I know there will be a day when she won't need me to do that and it was an exercise in being present with her when she needed me.

March 4th marked one year since the day I found out I was pregnant. This year I held my baby girl in her nursery and thanked God through tears in the very same space where I had prayed for a baby.

Ellagirl, you are so precious. Even when we have a long day and I'm so ready for you to take your nap, I am always delighted when you wake up, realize I am there, and smile out of excitement. Being your Mom is my favorite job in the whole world.