Baptism

Ella was baptized on December 23rd, 2005, at Resurrection of Our Lord Catholic Church in Pocahontas. She slept during much of the sacrament. Her Godmother is Brenda Hagen (Charles' sister) and her Godfather is Charles Hohensee (Alyse's uncle). Father Merle Kollasch presided over the baptism. Much of our family was present and their love and support is greatly appreciated.

First Christmas -- Santa Baby

Ella celebrated her first Christmas on Saturday, December 17th, 2005, with the Anliker's at our home in Urbandale and the Hohensee's and Spurbeck's the following weekend, December 23-26th in Pocahontas, Ayrshire, and Newell. She's our little Santa Baby.

Ella in her Bouncy Seat

Ella continues to keep me busy during the day, however, she has decided that she enjoys spending time in her bouncy seat, allowing me to get some Christmas baking done.

Family Picture #2

Ths picture was taken on December 3rd. Ella continues to be a very good baby sleeping from 4-7 hours at a time each night. During the day, she sleeps and plays with mommy while she is home from work. When daddy gets home from work each night, Ella is usually sleeping, allowing us to eat supper together and discuss how the day went.

Family Picture

Our first family picture -- taken on November 27th. Since Alyse's mother, Ellen was down to help with Ella, we were able to put up the Christmas tree a little sooner and a little faster with some additional help.

New Addition

On November 20th, 2005, a beautiful baby girl blessed our lives and was welcomed into the world. We named her Ella Ione after Charles' maternal grandmother and Alyse's maternal grandmother's middle name. She weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz, and was 21" long and made her first appearance at 1:53 AM. We got to take her home on Tuesday, November 22nd, to meet her faithful canine friend, Duste.