Decorating the tree

Ella had such a good time decorating the tree!

Our little baby girl has such a blooming personality. She is an INDEPENDANT WOMAN!!! She wants to do everything and anything NOW and BY HERSELF! She is reaching for and trying to drink out of "big people" cups, forget sippy cups, those are for babies! Her newest endevor along with learning to roll over from her back to her belly and to her back again is to SIT-UP!!! She can sit by herself for a minute of two and then she falls over. She has not learned how to brace herself if she is starting to fall, but she LOVES to sit!

Our New Blog

So, I was getting grustrated with not being able to personalize this more...so I found a new blog!! SO come find our new page at www.themcgrathfamily.squarespace.com !!!!

Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER DADDY!!! WE MISS YOU AND HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

Happy Easter to all, from the McGraths!!

Ella did great during the church service, she was pretty noisy taking her bottle, but other than that, she did great. We spent the day at home and had an awesome dinner.

Here is Ella in her Easter dress...thank goodness we went to Florida...with it being so cold in Indy, she wouldn't have been able to wear her pretty dress!!!

The Maxfields!!

Off to warmer weather...

Ella and I decided that it had been too long since her Grandpa and Grandma Maxfield had seen their granddaughter...so we hoped a flight to sunny Florida!!! Ella did great on the plane. She slept until about 20 minutes before we landed, and had a bottle. I flew by myself with her, and was worried it would be tough, but it was great! Grandma Jenny borrowed a car seat, stroller, and pack-n-play from Scott's football coach who has a one year old, so we didn't have to bring any of that which made traveling a breeze. I hope that the cool weather doesn't find its way down here!!!

A Game Well Played!

Well unfortunately the Bulldogs lost a hard fought battle against the number one ranked Florida Gators. The team played great and even led by 9 points during the first half and was leading by one with 2 minutes left. We, as Bulldog fans, feel as though the officiating may have been a little one sided with the Gators shooting 28 free-throws to the Bulldogs 13. But...we are still SO proud of them!!!! Ella, "Team Baby" as she was called by the Cheerleaders in NY, of course was in attendance in St. Louis. She was again a great little traveler and even managed to catch a nap on Aunt Sally's lap while the Bulldogs were ahead!

We are sad to see the season end because it was such a fun thing for us, as a family, to do. Ella was born the day the Butler played Valparaiso and won, the day she can home from the hospital BU played and again won. When she was one week old she attended her first game at Hinkle Fieldhouse. From then on she attended every home game, two trips to Wright State in Dayton, OH, a long weekend in New York and a short trip to St. Louis!!! All for her beloved Bulldogs!!! So we will say farewell to this season and look forward to next year when she will be running up and down the halls of Hinkle Fieldhouse and Grandpa Jim's office!!

A Special THANK YOU to Grandpa and Grandma McGrath for helping us attend all of the great basketball games!! We have enjoyed every minute and could not have been able to enjoy ourselves without all of your help. Thanks to Grandpa Jim for all of the FABULOUS tickets to the games and Grandma Judy for all of her help with Ella and driving to NY!!!

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO FOR US!!!!

Ella's New Toys

Dr. Gollnick suggested trying to start some rice cereal and that getting her used to sitting in a high chair is a great first step. So off to Babies R' Us we went in search of the perfect high chair. We decided on this one because it had some great features such as height adjustment and 4 different recline settings which is great for a little one that isn't an independent sitter yet. So here she is in her high chair...I think she likes it!!While we were at Babies R' Us we just couldn't help ourselves and also got this jumper toy. Ella has decided that she loves to lay with her head turned to the right so she has gotten a little bit of a flat area and her Dr. said that the more she is upright as opposed to laying down, the better it will get...so by Dr. Gollnick's order we got this...

She loves it!!!!

On To The SWEET 16!!!

We can't believe that the Bulldogs pulled it off!!! What an exciting game!! We sat right next to the student section, which means that we stood almost the entire game, but it was worth it to see Butler get to play in the Sweet Sixteen.

These are the students we were next to...so we were right in the thick of the Dawg Pound!!

"That was not a foul Ref!!"

Off to the Sweet 16...here we come St. Louis and the Florida Gators!!

We decided to leave after the game to head home. We left at about 7:30pm and made it home around 4:30 am. Once again Ella was a trooper, especially because we took Grandpa Jim and all of his stuff in Grandma Judy's already full car and put Ella in the middle in the back and Mommy right next to her for a very long 9 hours!! Mommy was sure glad to stretch her legs when we got home!!

Luck O' The Irish!!

Hopefully the luck of the Irish is with the Bulldogs today as they prepare to meet the Maryland Terrapins (a snapping turtle thing).

We wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day from the McGrath Family!!!

IT'S COLD!!!

I can't wait for SPRING!!!! BRRRRRRR! It is about 30 degrees, cloudy and windy! Grandma Judy, Ella and I decided that we would spend part of the day at an awesome outlet mall and bought Ella some adorable spring clothes while we waited for Grandpa Jim to be done with his meeting so that we could go and visit Niagara Falls. So we had Ella all bundled up ready to go and low and behold...it started snowing!! There is now 8 inches of that awful stuff and we didn't get to see the falls. Boohoo!! So a long night of sitting in the hotel getting ready for the big game tomorrow!!! Keep your fingers crossed!

B-U..T-L-E..R U A BULLDOG!!

OH YEAH!!!!

Butler Wins!!! Butler beats Old Dominion!!!

We are so proud of our Butler Bulldogs!

On to the second round of the NCAA Tournament!

Go Bulldogs!!!

Mommy, Grandma Judy and Ella at the game.

Ella sleeping through the last 3 minutes of the game! The excitement tuckered her out!

The Bulldogs on the court celebrating after the game.

Mommy and Ella after the game in the media room waiting on Grandpa Jim to get done with the interviews!!

We're Here!

10 hours later we finally arrived in NY. Ella was a great little traveler, sleeping in her car seat most of the way. We stopped twice to feed her and once because we hit an bad thunderstorm with sideways rain that made it almost impossible to see. We also hit some wicked fog...but that didn't stop us...just slowed us considerably. The current temperature is 28 degrees and snow is expected tonight! You gotta love NY!

All But The...

Well I think that I have packed everything imaginable! From 60oz of frozen breast milk in a cooler, a whole pack of diapers and wipes, 10 bottles and 2 bags full of clothes for both Ella and I...I am not sure what I could have possibly forgotten except the kitchen sink!! We are all packed and ready to go to NY!!! We can't wait to see those Bulldogs beat Old Dominion!!! Wish us luck!!!

4 Month Check-Up

Ella got to see Dr. Gollnick today for her 4 month appointment, even though she will actually be 4 months a week from tomorrow. We did the usual and got weighed and measured and of course the dreaded shots again. 4 total, 2 injections in each thigh!! Poor Baby!!!! She now weighs a whopping 11lbs 10oz which puts her in the 24th percentile for weight and she was 24 inches long which is the 57th percentile. Maybe she will be tall like her daddy??? The funny part was that I always thought that her head was small, although I will admit that it was looking a little bigger lately...but her head size is in the 61st percentile! I just thought that was funny. She has been a little sleepier than usual today and a bit of a fever, but nothing Tylenol hasn't seemed to help. Off for NY tomorrow, so hopefully she is feeling better!!!

All tuckered out after my appointment!

At least they gave me cool cartoon bandaids!!

Buffalo, NY Bound!!

We just got word that Butler is the 5th ranked team in the Midwest Division of the NCAA Tournament, which means that Butler is going to be playing in Buffalo, NY on Thursday. It is not where we were hoping to be playing...but it is only an 8 hour drive that Ella, Grandma Judy, and Mommy are excited to make to watch the Bulldogs!!! Now...how do you pack for a 3 month old???

Butler Bulldogs in the Championship!!!

We traveled to Wright State University (Dayton, OH) for the Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship game yesterday night. The game didn't start until 9pm, so you can imagine how tired our little lady got. She was such a trooper though, she had her last bottle at 10PM and slept through the last agonizing minutes of the game! I'm not sure how she could...it was SO LOUD!!!! She had everyone in the rows around us in awe! Unfortunately, the Bulldogs lost a hard fought battle by 5 points!! But...we are anxious to find out if we will be traveling with the Bulldogs to where ever they are bound for the NCAA Tournament....Ella can't wait!!

Grandma and Ella are excited to root on the Bulldogs!Grandpa took a few minutes away from the team to say "Hi! to his Ella-belle"!

Daddy and Uncle Chad are getting ready for the big game!

3 months old already!

I can't believe she is 3 months old already. It seems like just yesterday! We can't get over how blessed we are to have her. She brightens every single day!!

Ella in her Bumbo seat, she can't decide if she likes it or not!
" Ok, I guess this is kinda fun!!"
"Look at me!!!"

First Day Back

Today was my first day back to work! I started a new job...I will be working at all of Clarian's Hospitals in their Pediatric Intensive Care Units; Methodist Hospital in downtown Indianapolis, Riley Children's' Hospital (I will be in the Burn Unit, the Stem Cell Transplant Unit, the PICU, the Infant ICU, and the ER), Clarian North which is in Carmel and University Hospital (their Special Care Nursery) which is also in downtown Indianapolis. I will float between all of those hospitals and work 3 12 hour shifts from 3pm to 3am. Grandma Judy will be helping with Ella until daddy gets home! For this first couple of weeks I am orienting to the units, so the hours are different. Great Aunt Amy is coming to stay with Ella and then Great Grandpa and Grandma Cheely are going to stay a few nights! We are so thankful to have family that is so willing to help! We can't thank them enough!!!

Today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not sure that I am going to stop holding her though...

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all!! We celebrated by taking Ella to visit Grandpa and Grandma McGrath while Scott and I had lunch at Maggiano's...it was great as usual. Then we had a nice night at home!! I'll try to get the other pictures of her in her V-Day outfit, an adorable dress she got from her friend Izabella Maines!! But here is a picture of Scott and Ella on V-Day!!

2 Months Old

We saw Dr. Gollnick today for Ella's 8 week check-up. She is 10lbs 7oz and 22 1/4 inches long. When she was just a few weeks old she was in the 25th percentile, she is now in the 50th percentile for height and weight! Maybe she will be tall like her daddy! Ella had her first round of shots today...she did better than mommy and daddy! It was so hard to see her in pain. They had to give her 4 injection...2 in each thigh. She seems a little more sleepy...but other than that she is doing well with them. Hopefully we will have an easy night sleep!!

One month check-up

Ella had her one month check-up today with Dr. Gollnick. She now weighs 8lbs 4oz and is 21 1/2 inches long! She is getting so big!! She has great head control and is smiling! We just can't get enough of her!

We really can't believe that we have had her for one month already, that just a little over a month ago, I was still pregnant with her. Each day that we have her, we realize how much she fills our hearts with so much joy. SHe truly is the light of our lives!!

4 weeks old already

Ella had her first tub bath that she didn't scream!!! It was so fun to watch her look around and try to figure out what was going on. She really seemed to enjoy it! Hopefully she will sleep well tonight after her bath with Johnson's Bedtime Bath lavender scent!! We will have to see if that is just a gimmick, or if it really works....we will keep you posted!

Christmas Eve

The Cheely's came over today for our Christmas dinner. We had great food and lots of gift giving and recieving! I guess, technically, this is Ella's First Christmas!!

Ella totally unaware of all the fun!

The McGraths and Hughes

The Hughes were all over tonight for some Kanasta!

Butler Bulldogs

Tonight we went to another Butler game at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but this one was extra special because Collin got to sit on press row with Scott, and Grandma Jenny, Grandma Judy, Aunt Sally, Uncle Steve and Brad all came to the game. It was so much fun. We, of course, saw Claudia again, it was so neat to see how both of the girls had grown! The Bulldogs won again...they are on a hot streak!!!

Brad with Blue, THE Butler Bulldog