Goodbye to Gainesville ;(

It's hard to believe that we are saying goodbye to this chapter of our lives. This was our last full week in Gainesville and we have spent some good time with friends. We will miss G-ville very much and will forever be thankful for the friendships we have formed here. This morning our church family had a goodbye blessing/sendoff for us which was sad but very sweet.

Miss Ella Grace is now three weeks old and is keeping us very busy! We think she is having some stomach disturbances which is causing quite a bit of fussiness. It is definitely creating some sleeplessness and frustration on Mommy and Daddy's part. Despite this, our love for her grows each day! She is begining to focus her eyes more, loves being in her mommy's sling, still eats up daddy's pinky finger, makes lots of strange snorting and squawking noises at night, has an unbelievable amount of dirty diapers, and her cheeks are filling out and becoming more irresistable. At the doctor this week Ella Grace weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. which means she is getting plenty of nutrition. Oddly, her newborn clothes are still a bit big. Her eyes are still big and blue and we are anxious to see if they will begin to change.

Here are some snapshots from this week.

Dinner in Ocala with The Jones and Millers

Matt, Nathan, and Dan enjoying their purses :)

UF Natural History Museum trip with Mel, Daisy, and Isaac
Isaac inspecting the large turtle shell
Auntie Mel with Ella Grace


Daisy gets to hold the baby! Daisy did a fabulous job and Ella was a super trooper at the museum!

Isaac wanted in on the action. He enjoyed tickling her little toes.

Sweet baby girl in her car seat

Visiting with Auntie Debbie
Our last Sunday here

I fly to Charlotte on Wednesday with Ella Grace to do the closing on our new home and Nathan arrives on Saturday with the moving truck. Thanks in advance to Uncle Josh, Aunt Melissa, and cousin Madison for coming to help us with the move! Uncle Dave, Aunt Donna, Jamison, Grandma & Grandpa Hollinger along with a group of very servant hearted members from Justin and Kelly's church in Charlotte will be there to help, too!!

Coming Home

We have had a very full first two weeks with little Ella Grace as both sets of grandparents and Auntie Daphne and Uncle Ryan were here to visit. Coming home from the hospital the Tuesday after c-section was so exciting! Since being at home we have been spending quality time with family, going on some fun outings, and of course enjoying and getting to know our little baby. Today the Grandmittens left and this is the first time we are just the three of us at home.
Here are some pictures of the first two weeks.


Leaving the hospital



meeting our little friend Lissy Gill for the first time.
Mimi :)

going out for ice cream
getting our footprints done at Do Art
Farmer's Market
little angel


after first bath
with Poppy Mitten


First doctor's visit



the lady of leisure
Daddy putting his daughter to bed. She loves to be tightly swaddled and he has the magic touch!

Mommy is getting better!

This is my first chance to write on here since the start of the weekend. I still can’t believe she is actually here! Having Ella Grace, getting to know each other, breastfeeding, and being together as a family of three has been an amazing experience. Nathan has been the best husband and daddy anyone could ever ask for. He takes charge in changing her diapers, swaddling, helping with feedings, and taking care of me. My recovery is going well but it has definitely been painful and difficult to get around to help with the baby.

We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers! Tomorrow we will get to bring our sweetie home. Grandma & Grandpa Hollinger and Auntie Daphne will be here for the rest of the week and we can’t wait for Mimi & Papa Mitten to arrive.

Here are a few pictures from today :)

Ella Grace: Here by Grace

We are officially the proud, proud parents of a sweet baby girl! Ella Grace came into this world last night at 12:32 am. She is healthy, beautiful, and quite vivacious already!

So, you may be surprised she came this quickly according to my last update. It ended up that she was to be born by “C” section. Several times yesterday her heart rate decelerated immediately after Naphtali would be up and about to go to the bathroom or do some moving of the hips. It began as a very isolated event that the midwife wasn’t too concerned about. It then happened twice in a matter of an hour every time Naphtali would move and one of the episodes lasted almost two minutes. Clearly, this was quite frightening for her mommy and I while it also changed the level of concern for the staff here. Our midwife came and discussed the situation with us at about 11pm. With all things taken into account including her very slow progression into the birth canal, being overdue by a week, and the increasing occurrence of the decelerations we made a decision to get her out of there. It was much better to plan for an orderly C section then to have to do it in an emergency situation later down the road. This was not what we were originally hoping for as you know but the decision seemed to be pretty easy given the circumstances and at the recommendation of people we trust.

I went with my girl and helped to take her vitals and give her a first bath. Grandma and Grandpa Hollinger and Auntie Daphne were able to rotate in shifts helping, holding, and taking pictures. Two hours later, after Naphtali was more recovered and awake, the three of us were reunited in our room together; mommy was extremely tired but absolutely thrilled at the sight of her precious baby girl!

Today, we are working on the breast feeding which is going quite well, getting rest, and just soaking in the miracle. Thanks for bearing with us on our inability to answer all the calls and texts. I am a little busier with the fact that Naphtali can’t get around too well yet. We know Ella Grace is loved dearly and we thank you for all your support. I will keep trying to update the blog. I may go try to shower and change…it’s been a while ;)

She is an angel.