No way….was that the Lacey’s….

Well if any of you were out in Alberta on Thursday night (1/28) you might have thought you saw a ghost. Ok, maybe not a ghost, but maybe a couple that looked a little pail from not seeing the light of day for awhile… Or at least the light of a neon sign.

We finally made it out on a date that included more than just walking around the block. We have been out a few times with Ella, but not without her. It was actually much easier than we thought it would be. That could be because of the great care we knew she was in (Thanks Anna!!! You are the best!!).

We had dinner and actually got to talk about things beyond the little bubble we have been in for the last few weeks. It was great!! Once we finished dinner, it was hard to figure out what to do with ourselves. The thing that sounded the most exciting was to lie down in the car and take a nap. 8) But at the end of the day, we were missing our little Ella so we head home. All and all a great night!!

Hope you are all well!

With Love,

The Lacey’s

“hello_world.”

For most computer programmers, the first computer programs they write are simple. The goal is for the programs to simple display the phase “hello_world”. I am sure you are thinking “where the heck is he going with this” or “oh no Jason has found the blog…please bring back Amy..”, but yesterday evening around 8 o’clock Ella said “hello world”. Ok, so she didn’t actually say it, but in an instant something clicked inside her and it was obvious she had a new realization of things that were going on around her. Amy and I happened to be sitting watching her (ok, we didn’t just happen to be watching her, that is what we do with most of our time these days and we love every minute of it) and it happened. We both looked up and said “whoa, what just happened?” She was obviously looking at herself in a mirror and then at a mobile dangling above her and obviously processing “what is this, that’s interesting…” or as much as a 1 month old can. You could just tell her world was growing around her and she was screaming “hello world” from the expressions on her face!!! It was just crazy!!! Amy and I were speechless.

Other things continue to improve. Sleep is a little more plentiful and the cries are a little less constant. But we are very cautions to not think we are “over the hump”, but instead that this is just a break. If we are entering a new phase where she will sleep for 5 hrs at a time and not cry the majority of her waking hours we will take it as a happy surprise. That way it won’t be hard if doesn’t stick. Our philosophy is “Pray to be over the hump, but live like it is going to get worse…” Call us pessimistic, but we call it survival…

Even with a pessimistic view on the next few weeks, we can not say how much we love our little Ella!! It is more than either of us could have ever imagined! Holding her tight in the middle of the night still melts both of our hearts!

With Love,

The Lacey’s

PS...Here are a few more pics!

More of Ella

Whew! I'm tired. But here are a few more pictures of Ella. We have a lot more cute ones, I just need to get them off the camera. Baby steps are what I take with these tasks right now.

My favorite picture below is the one of Ella and Jason with matching haircuts. :)

I think that every day I feel the full range of emotions. Today is Ella's one week birthday and we are having a little birthday party for her - just us and some mini cupcakes. :) We went to the hospital today and she was weighed and she has already regained all of her birth weight plus some more! It was encouraging to hear how well she is doing, and that we should just keep doing what we are doing.

Welcome Ella Valentine!!

recent pictures

Here are Erin and I! We met for coffee the other day, each of us pregnant, and each of us carrying our new diaper bags just for the fun of it. :)
We had Christmas brunch with Amber and David in our pajamas, and got a few good shots in....guess whose belly is whose....

And we had Christmas Eve dinner with the Satterfield family! Here is a nice family portrait of them....

Christmas at Cannon Beach

We celebrated an early Christmas with Mom, Jay, Deedee, and baby Benjamin. It was wonderful to be at the ocean - I think Cannon Beach is one of my most favorite places on earth. It was mostly rainy and stormy, but it was nice. A nice friend of Mom's let us stay there for three nights free of charge! It was right on the ocean and we had a great time. Here are some pictures of our time.

First, a delicious salmon dinner cooked by Jason. Mmmm.....the man doesn't even like salmon himself (we cooked him a steak instead), but he sure can cook it up well! This is a recipe of Salmon stuffed with crab, shrimp, and brie cheese. Growing up, we always had salmon chowder on Christmas Eve for dinner, so this fit in nicely. :)

Here is a view of the ocean, and a puzzle that kept the men occupied for many hours.

Amy and baby Ben, who is sitting on his cousin in my belly....my belly provided a perfect little shelf for him to sit on.

Grandma Gretchen:

A big belly side shot:

Haystack rock:

I love love LOVE this picture.....

Beautiful Deedee with her son....

Jay and his mini-me. :) I think Ben looks just like his Dad.