A few cute pictures for Daddy at work

I love my daddy! Eliza got called a boy three times

on this day. I think it was the outfit. We tried out a bow

the next day!

This was hilarious...ella was trying to walk

in aunt jess' tall boots.

I just have to share...kev and I always

exchange an ornament each year that

usually pertains to the past year. This

year he made mine. I have one other that

he's made...he's quite crafty.He stitched it

and puffy painted it. He worked hard. He said

he had trouble finding one this year. He sometimes

has trouble picking out things when I am not

there to help him...like a birthday card...takes him

forever. Sometimes these issues arise in the grocery store. He

will stand and deliberate for 10 minutes over which

ketchup to buy (he is usually calculating the best deal.)

He needs my help to speed up the decision making

process at times. I can only image the number of

ornaments he looked at before deciding to "craft"

one. I told him we'd have to find a very"special"

spot next year on our tree. I really do love that he

always goes above and beyond for me.

I love that Kev reads my blog at work. I thought this might brighten his day today! We wish you were home with us, especially since ella just climbed all the way out of her crib and came walking out of her room during nap time. Scared this mommy to death...I wasn't expecting her! Fun times this week at our house... for sure!

Rough morning in mommy land!

Can I just start off by saying how blessed I am to have my two girls. It was not that long ago that I spent my days pleading to the Lord to bless our lives with children. I longed and wanted to have a family more than anything! I am so thankful for them. Now, I just hope we all survive to see them grow up!

WARNING: If you have perfectly sweet and always obedient children you may not should read the post below....it may cause you to feel prideful! (I am so kidding!)

I so lost my patience with ella this morning. God love her...but she about sent her mommy over the edge. It went something like this.

me-Ella, we are going to take a shower and get ready.
e-No mommy, I not like shower...I take bath.
me-Ella, we take a shower everyday... don't be grumpy! All your toys are waiting on you!
e-No, I take bath!
me-okay, you can play in the tub and mommy will wash you when I am done. I put about two inches of water in the tub and jumped in the shower (they are side by side in our bathroom)
e-(Screaming) Shower mommy! I take Shower!!!
me-okay, okay, hold on...I'll get you! Jump out and grab a towel!
e-No mommy...I bath!
me-(my blood pressure is rising by the second) Okay you stay! I jump bath in the shower. (Sweet eliza is an innocent bystander sitting sweetly in her bouncy chair!)
e-(Crying) mommy I take shower with you. Please mommy, shower!!
me-no ella you lost your chance!
e-(Crying and screaming) Mommy, SHOWER!!! SHOWER!
me-Okay! I get out (thinking this would help me out in the long run because I could bathe her with me and save a step!) I pick her up and put her in the shower as she goes crazy...trying to get out with all her might!
e-my bath, my bath, my bath!
me-bath is OVER...you are not getting out...this is ridiculous!! My blood is boiling and my hot water is running our by the second. Sweet little eliza is wondering what all this drama is about because it is really ruining her early morning nap!
e-Screaming trying to get the shower door open! (this went on for about two minutes)
me-You are done! I pick her up and put her in the bath and tell her to sit quietly and she is in big trouble!
e-crying
me-freezing water at this point. Finish shower. wrap my little drama queen in her towel and politely plopped her little self in time-out! I counted to ten..took deep breathes....and told the Lord I was angry and needed help!
e-after a lengthy little sit....was told to apologize, got diapered (I wasn't about to put panties back on her in that state of mind), dressed and deposited in her bed for a very early nap! I haven't heard a peep since!
me-sat on the couch with my bible in hand and looked desperately for wisdom from the Lord.

Proverbs 31:26"She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue."
Help me Lord....I have my work cut out for me....and it's only10am!

Diapers and a day at home!

Nothing too exciting is happening around our house this week. We've had two long days at home and I am wondering if going to buy groceries is going to be worth the hassle or if we can make do a few more days. I have been working on potty training ella some this week. I have been putting it off because in my opinion changing diapers is way easier than cleaning accidents, extra loads of laundry and running to the potty all day! I would definitely be waiting even longer, but the thought of saving on diapers is our motivation. We are spending quite a bit each month in diapers and it sure would be nice to not be throwing it in the trash...quite literally! (And no I would never consider doing reusable/washable diapers! I know they are nice and easier to use than they used to be...but I really do not want to mess with all that!

We've got a lot of work still to do. She is trying and so I am proud of her! We'll continue to work on it! Thankfully my sweet eliza is super content most of the time!
Ella just woke up and is calling from a three hour nap and it is time for her to eat some lunch!!! To bad I wasn't more productive when I had the chance!!!

Friday

Today has been a good day. We've been at home all day, but it's been fun. My older sister brought two of her four over to play and ella had so much fun! She was worn out when they left.

Ella is napping and eliza is asleep in my lap on the boppy pillow. I should be cleaning my upstairs and doing laundry but I am lacking the motivation right now.

Ella is 2 years and 3 months today and I thought I'd write this post about her. She is growing so fast!

-She is FULL of life and is spunky! She has her dad's temperament and when I say that I mean...she never meets a stranger, wakes up with the chickens, goes and goes until she crashes, loves life, is caring, loves animals, and loves to be outside!

-She is quite the little organizer! She loves to sort, classify, and organize! What can I say...she is like her mommy too! We keep finding things like this around our house!

(She always is trying to organize our shoes in front of the door

which makes it hard to open any doors!)
-She talks ALL the time.

-She says about 100 times a day, "Mommy, what you doing here?" and "Mommy, what is dat?" She is very inquisitive about everything and is learning so much!!

-She is so a two year old. Isn't it funny how these stages of growth and behavior just happen! Right now she is very ummmm egocentric! It is all about her and everything is hers! She also says all the time, "Mommy, dat's mines!" To which I reply, "No ella, that's not yours!" To which she replies, "Mommy, dat's ours!" To which I reply, "No ella that's not ours that's theirs!" To which she replies sadly, "Okay mommy dat's dares!" This occurs many times daily!

-She loves to have her nails polished and her "hair straight!" Oh my!

-She loves her sissy but seems to acting out in jealously more often lately! Taking turns is hard at two...so is sharing!

-She loves her dolls and stuffed animals. They ALL are her special friends and we better not lose one near bedtime!

She lines them up around her crib every night!

(I take them all out when she goes to sleep!)
-She likes to carry toys from room to room! So much for order and a clean house! I try my best to not let this stress me!

She keeps this mommy busy and I love her to pieces!!

And She's....

BETTER!!!!

We made it a full day without diarrhea and she woke up this morning with a ravenous appetite! Praise the Lord and thank you for your prayers.

How long does it take a two year old....

to go down a flight of stairs?? We do this multiple times a days. She always has her hands full of her most valuable possessions (right now it is her collection of Miss Pattycake DVD's) that she carries everywhere and would sleep with if we'd let her. It cracks me up because she always starts grabbing whatever her little arms can hold whenever I tell her it's time to go downstairs. I guess she is not sure when she'll be back up! I usually have my arms full with eliza and whatever else she has dropped! It's a wonder we haven't broken our necks!

She made it!

Parenting is not for the faint or weak of heart!

This has been a rough, rough month and a half around our house. Yes, we've had good days and glimmers of health, but our girls (mostly ella) have been so so sick! It all started with that mean, nasty, awful hand/foot and mouth that ella had a terrible case of right before Thanksgiving. On the heels of that they both took RSV (eliza's being much worse...ella's was just a cold). Then ella took a week long viral fever...high fevers and feeling miserably! We had six good days that thankfully were over Christmas and then she's been battling another virus...(fever for two days and diarrhea and one day of vomiting for nine days straight!!! I am end of my rope! I am worried and so ready for my girl to be her active, witty, and healthy self again. We have been to the doctor each time...sometimes numerous times and it's been all viral.

My doctor thinks her immune system is still run down and she has had bad timing on catching EVERYTHING!! I pray this is it and there is nothing more serious going on. I hate seeing her not feel good and she cannot afford many more days of not wanting to eat! Everytime she gains a pound or two she gets sick and refuses to eat! I know there are many parents who wish there child just had a viral infection and I want to keep perspective, but it's beginning to seem never ending.

If anyone has any good immune boosting products or ideas pass them my way! I want my healthy girl again!!

Why I blog??

I have been thinking about this lately and searching my motives for why I choose to keep a family blog. I have decided that I enjoy blogging for several reasons.

-Some days it is therapeutic for me to sit down and sort through my feelings.
-I enjoy sharing pics of my girls for my friends and family who live far away.
-I enjoy journaling our life. As a child, I remember enjoying reading the things my mom wrote about me in my baby book. For example, I used to call the church nursery the "nubey" and the living room the "liv-liv." I have never forgotten those things. I want my girls to one day be able to read about their lives and what they were like at different stages.
-It is a place I can look back and see God working in my life.
-I want to turn my blog into a blog book so that my girls will one day have a hard copy! I just recently realized you could do this and I am so excited that it won't someday just be lost out in cyberspace!!

I enjoyed reading Mckmama's blog today on blogging boldly. I liked what she had to say about being authentic and real. It is so easy to portray the sunny sides of life on blogs or facebook so that others think you have it all going on. In fact, I have been thinking a lot about this throughout this past Christmas season as I strolled with my two cuties through the mall. It is so easy on the outside to "appear" all put together. For instance, I can have my two girls dressed in the cutest clothing, matching bows...I can have showered, straighted my hair smoothly, and tried to choose a trendy and fashionable outfit (which I am not sure ever happens even when I try). I can try to give off the impression of having it all together....but I so don't have it all together. While i don't think there is anything wrong with "cuteness," I want so much more for my girls than this. I want them to be real and authentic. (Don't worry right now ella has this one down. She has no problem sharing her feelings quite freely...in the middle of Target...in the car...grocery store...wherever and no matter who is looking! Guess that is a plus of being two!)

So all that to say...I enjoy blogging. I want to be a more authentic blogger! I want to share my life and what the Lord is teaching me. I want to store up memories for my girls and help them to learn about what our family life was like when they were small. So...that is why I blog!

A Look Back and a Look ahead!!

January-We celebrated Samuel's 3rd Birthday in heaven and

found out we were pregnant again which came as a big surprise!

February-We decked in red and pink and

braced ourselves as we waited for our little one to grow.

March-We visited Disney for the first time and

played at the park.

April-We finally shared our good news at 16

weeks that we were pregnant!

May-We went to the beach...not nearly enough!

June-It got hot...and mommy grew!

July-We were busy preparing for miss eliza...mommy

sewing and daddy painting!

August-mommy got put on bedrest...and we couldn't wait

for eliza to arrive!

September-so richly blessed by this healthy

bundle of cuteness!

October-We celebrated another Birthday!

November-We feasted and were thankful as we

survived a rough season of sickness!

December-We enjoyed a blessed Christmas with our

two girls!

I am naturally a planner and organizer and sometimes drive myself and others crazy. This is the way God wired me and I enjoy making list, crossing off lists, making goals and keeping my ducks in a row. As I reflect back on 2009 there are many things I can cross off my list...yet so many more things I want and seek to accomplish.

2009 was a blessed and yet difficult year at times. We started the year by finding out we were pregnant again right on the tail of a miscarriage. My doctor didn't even believe it was true and at 5 weeks we had a major scare and thought for sure this pregnancy too was ending...yet God had other plans for miss eliza. This year was more difficult as a mother. I found it challenging to be pregnant and HOT while caring for a toddler. I also found it challenging as my sweet and compliant baby turned into a toddler who had a mind of her own. I struggled to find my way as a mom in disciplining and being patient. I still have a lot to learn in this area. Kev took a much needed break in teaching Sunday School on a full-time basis and devoted more time to school work. He always seems to stay really busy!

This year was so blessed as we watched my belly grow and also watched our ella grow. It seems she went from a baby in Jan. to a big girl in December. She learned so much this year and talks all the time. She constantly entertains us with what she says and does.

My goals for 2010 are to read through my One Year Bible! This was my goal for 2009 and I was consistent through March and stopped! I really sense my need to be in God's Word on my own daily! I struggle in this area and want to experience God in a new and real way in 2010.

I also want to get outside more. I am not naturally and outside person. I am not sure why because I do like being outside! I want to get my girls outside (in the backyard, on walks, to the pool and to the park) more this year than I did last year! I think we need us more Vitamin D!!!

As a family I would like kevin and I to go on more dates and to spend time praying together...not just before a meal. I also want us to visit the Children's museum and the aquarium!

What are your goals for 2010?

some traditions are just worth keeping

2007


2008

2009

In case your wondering...it is kev's shirt! I realized last year that he'd worn it two years in a row on Christmas Eve. This year I suggested a different look...but you can see who won. He said this is his official Christmas Eve outfit! I may have to hide it in a few years!!

I love looking back at our pics througout the years. It's amazing how much growing and changing happens in 365 days! I wonder what 2010 will hold?

Our Christmas

Christmas Eve...we didn't get a dog...our neighbors did
and we got to puppy sit! Guess who wants a puppy now!!
Everytime we leave our house and drive past our
neighbors ella says, "No Whit-nee dat my doggy!"
Of course she is two and thinks everything is hers!


Oh how she loved the puppy!

Opening her new pj's!

Me and my eliza

Daddy and his girls and the puppy!

Daddy and Eliza

The girls!

Ella on Christmas morning by her tree!

She looks so excited! (note the miss patty-cake

dvd cases that she carries everywhere!)


Eliza's tree

Ready to begin!

Eliza's loot!

Dr. Ella checking out sissy!

We had such a fun and busy christmas! We are blessed with so much..more than we need!

Merry Christmas!

We've shopped
We've crafted
We've baked and gingerbread house constructed

We've wrapped
We've seen the lights
We've movie watched and we've cookie decorated.

Christmas clothes have been worn and ornaments broken
Cards have been mailed and Carols have been spoken
We've decked our halls and waved at Santa from afar

Yet there seems like something is missing
There must be something more...

Tonight we will worship with both young and old
We will sing Silent Night and remember so long ago
How the King of this World left His home of Splendor
For rags and a cross
Oh Lord Let Help us to Remember

For without your Great Sacrifice
There would be no Christmas Glow
No Candle Light, No Merry Night
No presents, cheer, or mistletoe!

So on this Christmas Eve with my to-do list almost done
I find the one thing left that I must do
Is to worship the King in Heaven above.

Look who is already 3 months

This post is a little old. I have been slow on uploading my pics,

Little miss Eliza is growing so fast. It definitely goes faster the second time around... which is so sad.


At 3 months
-eliza is wearing 0-3 month clothes but is almost ready to start trying on some of her 3-6 month wardrobe! (I love that I have two girls that were born in the same season. She can wear all of ella's clothes and I love getting to see them on her and reuse them!)


-She is now wearing size 2 diapers! We have come a long way from those teeny tiny preemie diapers! (Last week after several diaper explosions,I decided it was time to go to a bigger size! Now, I really think it is just the huggies! I hate huggies for (breastfed babies)! I feel they are just not absorbent enough for runny poo! Is it only me or has anyone else had this problem? I love huggies for bigger babies! And why does huggies put out a ton more coupons than pampers??? Okay...off subject but that has been a big issue lately!


-eliza weighs about 11lbs 4oz. as of today! That is a gain of 5 lbs 3oz. in 3 months...so she has almost doubled her birth weight!


-eliza only likes to eat for about 10 minutes at a time! This is great, but I always hope she is really getting her tummy full enough! I always worry about my girls not eating enough...probably because they both started out tiny and I feel like it is my job to "beef" them up!


-eliza is a SUPER sleeper! She is sleeping from about 9:30pm until 6:30 or 7:00am. She needs no paci and doesn't even cry! I swaddle her and but her in her bassinet and she looks around until she falls asleep! Oh how I love her (i'd still love her ...even if she was waking all through the night..but this mama loves her sleep!)


-eliza is so sweet! She gives the best smiles! All you have to do is talk to her and she can't hold back! She is especially smiley after getting her tummy full! She seems to have a sweet and calm personality...so far (i do know they can change!)


-eliza loves her sissy and loves to smile at her. She pulled ella's hair for the first time yesterday and ella looked like she didn't quite know what to do! The beginning of the sister wars!!


-she loves to be held! She will stop crying immediately when mommy or daddy pick her up!


-she likes her bath


-she finally found her fingers and can't decide if she wants to suck her first two or the two middle ones. She is still alternating between the two. I am still trying to talk her into being a paci girl because they seem like a less germy option and an easier habit to end...but I think she will win!


-she is growing a full-on spike! Her hair is coming in stick straight and sticking straight up! It is def. going to be light brown or blonde. She's got her daddy's hair and hairline for sure!


-She is really changing in her looks. I still think she favors her cousin landon the most. She has a def. look of someone in my family and I just cannot figure it out!



A year ago this past Saturday...Dec. 19th was when we had a miscarriage at 10 weeks into a pregnancy. I never understand the "why's" of all that but I would never want to trade my eliza anne! If we hadn't had a miscarriage then we wouldn't have her. God is good when we don't understand or even like what is going on. He always knows what we need and has a bigger plan than we can see! I have seen this over and over in my life and I know that it is true. Happy 3 month Birthday!