A busy day at work.

Driving to the office...


An important client meeting...


Working lunch...


Reading the mail...


Working remotely...

We go Utah?

Last week the girls and I went on a road trip to Utah with my mom so that our extended family could meet Ella. We had a fantastic time.

Ella with Nate's mom

Ella with Randall, Nate's step-dad

Ella with Kristen, Nate's sister

Ella with my brother Sam

Evidence of how much fun Savannah had on this trip came in the form of a conversation I had with her this morning:

Savannah: Where's Gwamma? (Nate's mom)
Me: Grandma's in Utah.
S: Where's Gwampa Rando? (Nate's mom's hubby, Randall)
Me: Grandpa Randall's in Utah too.
S: Where's Kiki? (Nate's sister, Kristen)
Me: She's at school in Utah.
S: Where's Sam? (my brother)
Me: He's at school in Utah too.
S: Where's Aedan? (son of our friends, the Kitchens, who dropped by for a quick visit)
Me: He's in Utah with his mommy.
S: Oh, he's with his mommy.
Me: Yep.
S: Where's Gwampa George? (Nate's grandpa)
Me: He's in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa Randall.
S: And with Kiki?
Me: Uh huh.
S: Where's Gwamma Dot? Oh, she's in Utah too. (Randall's mom)
Me: Yep, that's right.
S: We go Utah?

I was really impressed that she was able to remember all of those names! The timing of the trip was perfect and we were able to see a lot of family,

Savannah with my Grandma Cannon

help celebrate my Grandma Kenison's 83rd birthday,
wish my cousin Matt good luck before he left on his mission to Chile,
meet up with my childhood friend Krista,
and see Jackie and Aedan, who happened to also be visiting at the same time!

Happy, happy birthday Nathan dear!

"Happy, happy birthday, children dear..." I've had that Primary song running through my head all day today as I've been working on Nathan's birthday cake. I tend to get lots of Primary songs stuck in my head...I think that's a product of having been the Primary Chorister so many times! So yep, a birthday cake, which I'm sure you've already guessed means that today is Nathan's birthday! His THIRTY-SECOND birthday to be exact. Wow sweetie, you're getting up there. :-) I'm so lucky to have married such a great guy, and thankfully, he's been willing to put up with me so far for 7 1/2 years of those 32. He obviously has an incredible amount of patience and a very good sense of humor. I obviously got the better end of the deal here--a best friend, a kind husband, an amazing father to our 2 girls...
He's even an amazing cook!
Happy Birthday Nathan! We love you!

"Where's Gwamma?"

Things have been busy around here. Though with what I'm not entirely sure. The end of the day comes and I'm always a little bit surprised, wondering where the time has gone and then wondering what in the world I've been doing all day!

Last week was a fabulous week because Nate's mom was staying with us. Savannah was in absolute heaven having "Gwamma" around to play with all day. They had lots of quality bonding time and Savannah became Grandma's little sous chef in the kitchen. Savannah's favorite was definitely the time they made sugar cookies.
We definitely enjoyed the quality meals that kept coming out of the kitchen and onto the dinner table--we definitely got spoiled!
It was also wonderful to have an extra pair of hands.
Savannah still asks, "Where's Gwamma?," every time she wakes up.

Savannah continues to be the model big sister, showering Ella with kisses and always being concerned about what Ella is doing.
Ella has definitely grown and has some fabulous fat rolls on her thighs already, though she is just now fitting into the newborn size (0-3 month clothing still drowns her).
For the most part she is very pleasant, though she has her moments like all babies.
All in all, life is moving along!

Nut-ELLA

Important things seem to slip the cracks occasionally when you are trying to recover some semblance of normal brain function after suffering from Placenta Brain for so long. However the thing that I've let slip most recently may be unforgivable. February 5th was World Nutella Day and I missed it.
I realize that this is even more unforgivable in light of the fact that this is a very special day for Ella, as her name is embedded in the Nutella name. I'm repenting now and heading for the jar of nutella in the cupboard with spoon in hand . . . . Sorry Ella, better late than never!

Heart Walk and Super Hero Status

My mom has a quote posted on her fridge that I love:

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."
-- Elizabeth Stone
I think I gain more insight into that quote as each day passes, and I'm sure that I have much to learn in the future. There's nothing like adding a new child into your family to further deepen the meaning of what it means to be a mother. I realize much more how quickly each moment passes. Ella is already 12 days old and I'm wondering where the time has gone. If only we could freeze moments in time so that they could be revisited and further appreciated!
Ella and I were released from the hospital on Wednesday, January 28, just 2 days after Ella's birth. I was given a big "lecture" by my doctor about how normally they do not release c-section patients from the hospital before 3 days, but that I was doing so well that they had no reason to keep me. She went on to add that even though I was being released from the hospital I really needed to be careful and take care of myself. Yes ma'am! I think one of the reasons I am doing so well is that in relation to how I was feeling before Ella was born, I actually feel a bit better now. I guess you know things were bad if you feel better after having had major abdominal surgery than you did while still pregnant! I'm actually able to get up and walk around quite a bit more and I'm getting WAY MORE sleep (yes, you read that right). Granted I still have lots of restrictions on what I can and cannot do (like not being able to lift anything heavier than Ella), but wow, life is good!
We spent the first 6 days home from the hospital at my parents' house because my doctor wanted me to avoid stairs for as long as possible.
Savannah had a blast getting to play with Nana and Papa so much.
Can you see why they might be fun?
One highlight of our stay was a big fire truck stopping across the cul-de-sac (one of my parents' neighbors is a fire fighter) and one of the fire fighters coming over to give Savannah a Redlands Fire Dept. hat.
We came home to our own house this past Tuesday (February 3) and have been enjoying sleeping in, hanging out with the girls, and getting a few things done. I'm so grateful that Nathan gets paternity leave because I don't know how I would do this without him! He is a phenomenal dad and husband. Seriously, if they were handing out super hero capes, Nathan would be the first to get one.
He has taken on all of Savannah's care--getting her up, changing her clothes, doing her hair, feeding her, and putting her down for naps and for bed at night. He helps me maneuver around the house and gives me breaks by holding Ella and helping change her diapers.
He has been making sure that we have food in the house by doing the grocery shopping, going out sometimes and picking up stuff for dinner, and even doing a bit of cooking.
He has also been keeping the house clean and orderly which tends to be a major project since he has to clean up after hurricane Savvy several times a day.
See what I mean? If that doesn't qualify for super hero status then what will?
Ella has been a wonderful baby so far. We haven't seen any signs of the horrible acid reflux that Savannah suffered from and we're keeping our fingers crossed that we never will!

(If you've seen the movie Zoolander, this is Ella's "Blue Steel" look.)

Savannah is adjusting beautifully to being a big sister. She loves to give Ella kisses, and would most likely take over being the mother if we let her.
All in all, life is good!

Oh, and by the way, the answer to Nate's little photo quiz in the last post is: Ella is the baby in the first picture, and Savannah is the baby in the second picture.

Ella and Savvy Comparison

Ok, thought I would do something fun here and see if anyone can tell which baby is which. Here are pictures of Savvy and Ella, but can you tell which one is Savvy and which one is Ella? They both look so much alike...........

Baby Ella is here!

Yesterday at 11:41AM at Loma Linda Hospital, Eleanor Mae Hutchings was born. Rachael and I got to the hospital at 9:00 and waited for a bit while the nurse got Rachael ready for the c-section.















At around 11ish, Rachael was rolled into the operating room where the anesthesiologist got her ready with a spinal tap. Then, they brought me in and I sat by Rachael while they performed the operation. Minutes later, out came little purple Ella crying. She weighed 7 lbs, 0.4 oz. and was a little over 18 inches long.

Here is little Ella right after they cleaned her up a bit and where I got the chance to hold her while we were waiting for Rachael to be stiched up.















She looks a lot like Savannah when she was born!














Rachael with Ella. She looks good doesn't she?


The whole family with their new member!


Savannah was sure cute with her..........


More to come later!