We Have a 2 Year Old!

Well, it is official. Ellie is 2! We had a great day. We had birthday waffles for breakfast, and then I spent most of the morning decorating her birthday cake. I'm pleased with how it came out. We did her party in a Noah's Ark theme since that's the cute table we got for her playroom from Aunt Pen and because she turned 2 so what year could be more appropriate?! We had 10 children and 20 adults here to help her celebrate. She was extremely blessed with some great gifts and was so happy! I think her favorite part was when everyone sang her Happy Birthday. She just seemed over the moon that everyone was singing just for her. Enjoy the photos below as well as her 2 year video montage. The video is about 12 minutes long.

Ellie opening toys with Fritz.


Ellie with Daddy, her Uncle Mark and Fritz

This was a few days ago on the boat. Ellie just sat in that chair for a while and just enjoyed the view.

And not to be left out...a few of sweet Emerson...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Are We Ready for 2 years old? Not sure...

First of all, do you like my new header?! Thanks so much to Brittney for designing it for us - I LOVE IT!

As we approach the two year birthday of our sweet Ellie, I've wondered what the next year has in store. 80% of the time, Ellie is a gem and super sweet. While we've been fortunate to avoid any tantrums to date, the other 20% can definitely be frustrating. Will it get worse? I'm thinking it might, but don't burst my bubble just yet. :) Here's a fun video I took of her yesterday. It's 2 1/2 minutes long - enjoy!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our sweet Emerson is growing big and changing everyday. I'll upload some more photos of her soon. She continues to be an amazing sleeper only getting up once a night. She's getting some major forgiveness from me for that on the grudge I was holding regarding her being 11 days late. :) She's also very accommodating with our schedule and (mostly) happily attends church and our FPU class and goes to dad's boat or whatever we have going on. I suppose that's part of the plight of the second child, though.

As for how we're getting along with two children, it is definitely harder. So far with me on maternity leave, James hasn't had them alone much and I only have them alone on Mondays and Tuesdays. We're super blessed for our schedule and how much family time we have. I'll also admit that it's much harder to get out and run errands by yourself with two kids. I make myself do it anyway, but it is a challenge. Yesterday, I needed to go to an office supply store and then I just needed to get stamps. The office supply store went fine, but it was so tempting to just forget the stamps. That's ALL I needed, and I had to take both kids into the grocery store just for the two minutes it took to get the stamps. I've decided they need a drive through for stamps (and SO many other things). In fact, I'd like to fax my grocery list ahead to Target and then just go through a drive through line where they load my groceries. I don't want to pay more for that service, though, so therein lies the dilemma. Hehe.

Pictures, as promised

Ellie is on the left and Emerson is on the right.

James and Ellie had a really fun time washing the Explorer together. How cute is our little helper?!

This was her favorite part - getting the water out!

Through some actually unfortunate circumstances, Lori was in town briefly and was able to come see us! We were so happy she got to meet Emerson when she was still so little, and we are looking forward to their visit in late June.

Pretty sisters ready for church

What up, homeys?

This is an early birthday present for Ellie from Marmi (Aunt Pen). I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. It's so cute, and as you'll see below Ellie loves it, too. Thanks, Marmi!!

Two Girls vs One Mama - Tie score

So, this week was our first "normal" week where I was on my own on Monday/Tuesday while James was at work. The girls won on Monday. Both were more whiny than usual, and Ellie in particular really got the best of me. Fortunately, James came home by 7:30, so I had help with getting them to bed.

Tuesday, they were both great and we had a great day together. I went to our moms group at church that morning, and Emerson was kind enough to sleep through all of it. She did cry in the car on the way home some as I was pushing her feeding time a bit. Ellie was funny, because she shushed Emerson in the car. (Emerson didn't take heed, though!)

I managed to get them both bathed and put to bed on my own as James had clients until 11 last night. Ellie was super funny after her bath. She normally likes to run out to whoever is in the living room (usually just whichever parent isn't doing the bath) and basically bask in her nakedness. We always make a big deal out of it and then she runs back to get her diaper and jammies on. Well, tonight, James wasn't home so there was no one to show. I told her this and she said "Emma!" knowing that Emma was in the swing in the living room. LOL. So, she ran out to show Emma that she was indeed naked. Emma didn't give Ellie the attention she was wanting, I don't think!

Another cute story from yesterday... I've been teaching Ellie to say "sorry" when she has disobeyed. Up until yesterday, she only said it when I asked her to. She went over to Emerson in her bouncy seat and started trying to lift her up. I (loudly) told her to stop and she did and walked towards me and said sorry on her own for the first time. So sweet... (Her sorry actually sounds more like "sose", but I knew what she meant!)

More pictures soon...

Fun with Ellie

We have a great indoor pool in Allen (and to someone I love who shall remain nameless, they call such places Natatoriums). We took Ellie there the other day to play while Emerson slept and I finished her cross stitch. (I'll take a photo of the cross stitch once we have it framed.) Anyway, we took some photos for you to see how much fun she had - and how cute she is in her little swimsuit!

I also had my first outing with both girls yesterday to a fun park also in Allen. We met up with my friends from church and had a picnic lunch and let the kids play. Getting both girls fed at the same time was a little challenging, but we did it! They both came back in one piece, so it was a success. It was fun hanging out with the other moms (and dad) and kids, too. I wish we'd taken a group photo, but alas... We were too busy chasing kids around, I guess. Enjoy the photos!

Here's the whole toddler structure. Ellie goes down the slide by herself and LOVES it!

All of those steering wheels turn the water spouts on and off. How fun for the little ones!



This photo was taken before we let the kids loose in the water. Can you tell that they're all itching to go in the water?! LOL.

So, I finally let Ellie go in the water in her jeans and t-shirt (poor thing). She loved it, but she was so funny when she was done. She didn't like the feeling of the wet clothes on her, so she'd just stand there kind of whining holding her arms out. I finally had to go grab her by the hand to get her to walk to where I could change her into dry clothes. Too funny! Glad I had a change of clothes with me, or I would have had a little statue the rest of the afternoon!

Two Week Update

Emerson is two weeks old today! We had her two week checkup at the doctor this morning. She was supposed to be back at her birth weight of 8 lbs. 4 oz. or more. Well, our little piggy weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz., so she's eating well. She's 50% on weight and 75% on height and head, so she's growing nicely. They did her heel prick test, which she was SO not a fan of, but the nurse did a good job and it was over quickly. (Ellie's was awful - she wouldn't bleed and they had to prick both heels. It was the only time of all her shots and pokes that I cried.)

Emerson continues to sleep well. She consistently does 4-6 hour stretches at night and one time even did 6 1/2 hours. She's generally pretty happy during the day and has a lot of content awake time. We're so happy that she seems to be another content happy little baby!


Ellie is doing great also. We've definitely been able to tell that she's noticed the changes in her home. She had a few days where she wasn't quite as obedient as usual, but nothing major at all. She loves her baby sister and showers her with kisses and likes to hold her whenever we'll allow it.

I was a little crazy and decided to take Emerson to the women's retreat at church this last weekend. James really encouraged me to go, and I wanted to so I just went and did it. Emerson was 10 days old! My sweet friend Libby offerred to room with me and Emma, so we went for it. Several of us met up in Canton to shop a bit before the retreat, and then we all went to the retreat and had a great time. I had lots of people to help me out with Emerson, and she slept pretty well that night. I think Libby will still be my friend. :)

Emerson and I also went to Brooke's bridal shower on Saturday afternoon. Brooke is my oldest friend. We met and became best friends in preschool when we were 3. I'm so happy she got to meet Emerson and that she's found Mr. Right!

Enjoy the photos!

The girls in Canton. From top, Jen, Kylie, Brittney and Shannon and Libby, Jen and me and Emerson.

Brooke holding Emerson

How cute is that onesie?!

Emerson and Marmi

Proud big sister!

Looking at at her swing

Enjoying bathtime

Super cute in the froggy outfit from Marmi

Daddy and his girls