Ellie is 2 months old!

Ellie,

You are two months old.

You knowingly smiled for the first time on Valentines day. Now, I just sit and try to make you smile all day long. I've found you are smiliest just after you wake up and after you eat. You have the cutest smile too, it makes me giggle each time I see it. We are working on your laugh.

Yay! I'm 2 months old!

Your daddy gave you your baby blessing on Sunday, February 23rd, you were 6 weeks old. Dad was really nervous that you would be fussy during your blessing and he would rush through it. We got to church an hour early so that I could feed you before church. It took that whole hour too! Dad calmed you down and tried to put you to sleep the beginning of the meeting, but you did not want to sleep. When it came time for the blessing, the awesome men from our family circled around you, and you were silent. Both of your grandpas admitted to opening their eyes during the blessing and noted how you were just content, looking around, and soaking it all in. I wonder if the veil was especially thin for you in that moment, and you recognized your friends from before you were born.

Your dad spent all morning drawing close to the spirit so he could be inspired on what to say in your blessing. He is such a great dad. The spirit was so powerful during your blessing, you are such a special little girl. I was crying the whole time and have no recollection of what was said, just how it felt. Luckily, a sweet mommy friend of mine took notes during your blessing: He gave you your name, Ellie Nicole Kunz. You are a daughter of Heavenly Father, sent here during the last dispensation. He blessed you to learn to draw close to your Father in heaven, that you will overcome temptation and be quick to know good from evil. You are loved, and will be able to share that love with those around you. He blessed you to grow healthy and strong, learn with love, and be able to better the kingdom of God. He blessed you that one day, (in the distant future I will add), to marry in God's temple. Lastly, he blessed you to prepare in every way to work out your own salvation. It was such a special blessing. I will cherish that moment in my heart forever!

Ellie in her Baby Blessing Dress

You LOVE to be held. Like, you-don't-want-mom-to-get-anything-done-ever-again because you want to be held so much. Luckily, I really like holding you more than I want to get things done. 

We have to swaddle you tight for you to sleep by yourself. You make a pretty cute burrito.

Baby Burrito

The other night while I was rocking you to sleep, I was telling you to stay small and to never grow up. In that moment, you gave me the sweetest smile. I guess you took me seriously because you weighed 7lbs 10oz (less than 5th percentile) at your doctor's appointment. The doctor wants you to gain 1 pound in the next 2 weeks or we are going to have to supplement. You have barely gained 1 pound in the last 2 months, so we have some work to do! You are 21.6 inches long (10th - 25th percentile) and your head is 14.7 inches (10th - 25th percentile). You got 3 shots and were really sad. You were very fussy that night, so fussy you didn't even want to eat. You had a little bit of a fever, so we gave you some tylenol to calm you down. It was so hard to see you so sad. 

Skinny baby

You don't really like tummy time. We are working on getting you to like it more. I love you face in this picture. It's like your saying, "look Mom, I'm doing it!" You are already making me so proud.

"Look Mom, I'm doing it!"

You would sleep through the night if I didn't have to wake you up to eat every 5 hours. Once you gain some more weight, I should be able to let you sleep a little longer. You are still wearing newborn clothes and diapers, which is great because we were just given a lot of newborn clothes for you to wear.

You make life so fun, which is weird because you don't really even do anything yet. Your dad and I talk about how much we already love being parents. I'm sure we won't always feel this way, so we are just soaking it in while we can. Keep growing, my sweet baby girl.

Love,
Your mommy