Ella...

Sometimes, I just stand in awe for which God has blessed our lives. Our girls are so much fun and so precious. And growing!

This weekend, as Ella and I were playing, I looked at her and had the weirdest feeling. I thought, "Oh my - who are you? I don't even recognize you." Of course, I do, but my little baby is just growing and I can't stop it! As much fun as it is to watch her grow and learn and laugh and giggle, sometimes, I wish time would stand still. We just need to be thankful for every moment we have and really soak it up and take it all in.

I know she is my child, so I am a little biased, but, she is so smart. She truly amazes me some days with what she knows, what she says, what she recognizes, what she asks. She has an active imagination, too. Dora and Boots have eaten lunch with us in her kitchen and her friend "Sammy" rode in her pink car the other day. She has a "pink boat" with a "pink steering wheel." I think my new favorite word from her is "hot hair balloon." She is a determined, persistent child. I gave her some scissors the other day and now that's all she wants to do. She is fascinated with how they go on her hands. If she can't get them on quite right, don't try to help her...she will figure it out on her own! She tells me, "I have to cut Mama." In this picture, she is playing with her new scissors. You can't really see it, but that pink string around her neck is her "rescue pack" (it's a pink string with a heart made out of red construction paper at the end of it).

She is such a sweet and loving child. She has decided that she doesn't want to listen to her night time music anymore. She told me last night that she was going to give it to Mary Catherine. She loves to read to Mary Catherine and give her kisses and hugs. When we are in the car, if Mary Catherine cries, Ella will tell her that "it will be okay" and she will start singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her. Here's a picture of daddy stealing a kiss from her.

Mary Catherine - 12 weeks

Mary Catherine turned 12 weeks old on August 27. Hard to believe that 12 weeks have already passed us by. Yet, on the other hand, I can't remember life without her. She is just such a joy. Her bright eyes, big smiles, and head full of hair.
She has lost some hair, although to the casual observer, you would never know it.

She has really taken a likin' to her hands. She plays with them all of the time. If she isn't playing with them, then she has them shoved in her mouth. She will clasp them together, especially when she is getting tired. She has started reaching for things too. The other day, she was having tummy time. Ella and I put Ella's pink doll comb out in front of her. It caught her eye and she reached for it. She even got it in her hand!

Weekend of family fun

We had a great weekend. Annette and Marvin came to visit us Friday and Saturday. Ella sure did keep them busy - whether it was talking or playing, she was non-stop. She (and the rest of us, of course) really enjoyed visiting with them; she was still talking about them on the way home from school today.

Saturday afternoon, we decided to take Ella to Jumpin' Jax, an indoor, inflatable activity playground. She was scared at first - even almost into tears. But, once she saw her daddy slide a couple of times, she was ready to try it. And boy, once she started, she was non-stop for about 2 hours. I think it was more than Clint had bargained for :) It sure was fun watching them though! To top the evening off, we all went out for pizza afterwards. It was just a great family afternoon.

Mary Catherine is just growing by leaps and bounds. I can even tell here lately how much longer she is. She loves her hands - she is completely fascinated with them. She loves to shove her fists in her mouth. She will also bring her hands together now and play with her fingers. I have noticed that she will do that more when she is getting tired. She also likes to stick her tongue out - as you can see in one of the pictures below.

Although all of my time with her is just a special as it can be, I had the most memorable moment Sunday morning. She was rustling around in bed and just couldn't get settled. I went in and picked her up. As soon as she was in my arms and her head was on my shoulder, I could feel her take a deep breath. Her movements instantly were less jerky and I could just feel her relax and take slow, soft breaths. It was such a blessed moment. I had tears in my eyes and just had to give thanks to God for that mommy moment.

Just a sweet video of Mary Catherine and Mommy hanging out. She doesn't really give you one of those big smiles in this video, but this one was Clint's favorite. She is just sweet laying there and looking around.

Ella writing??

Ella was sitting at the kitchen table today drawing. She said really loud, "That says Ella." Now, I promise I didn't write this and I know it was probably just luck of the draw, but if you look at this picture...it really does look like she wrote "Ella"!! She did this - all by herself, with no one around...I promise!! This child never stops to amazing me.

(turn your head to the left...can't figure out how to rotate the picture on the website).

Dreams and the big stage

Every morning, I ask Ella what she dreamed about. She always answers with "I slept like a princess." I just don't think she has really understood "dreaming." Well, I asked my routine question this morning and she answered,

"I dreamed I was on the big stage - in my purple dress. I was tapping with Elmo!" She smiled and giggled. Then she got all serious and sad. She said, "but the big kids wouldn't let me dance to the princess song!"

She is such a delightful child. Even though we butt heads a lot now (two independent, stubborn gals), she is such a blessing and I am thankful that God gave her to us!!!

10 weeks old

Wow! Mary Catherine is 10 weeks old! It's just going by way too fast already!

She started cooing yesterday. It is the sweetest sound!! It is just such a joy to watch her smile and then to hear her "talk" - it's just amazing. She isn't rolling over yet, but she will roll up on her side pretty good. She isn't too big of a fan of tummy time unless she is on the boppy pillow. She is sleeping great. She started sleeping in her crib when we got back from the beach and she has been doing wonderful. She will usually eat around 8 or 9 pm and then sleep until 4 or 5 am. She hasn't gotten into any routines for naps during the day yet. If she gets up around 8am, she is usually ready for a nap by 9 or 9:30. That is about the most predictable nap. Other than that, she will eat, sleep, play and then we will do it all over again. I have been reading to her for awhile now, but she hasn't really responded to much. But, today, I read her "Fluffy Chick" for the first time (a bright, colorful cloth book) and she just cooed and smiled. What fun!! Maybe she will be another book worm like Ella!

She can sure poke her lip out though...and let out a cry! :)

Happy Birthday Paw Paw Ace!

Ella, Mary Catherine and I made our first long journey together - we went to Byron to see Paw Paw Ace and Mimi. It is about a 3.5 - 4 hour drive from our house. We stopped at Annett and Marvin's on our way over there. That was a wonderful break for us. All in all, we had a pretty good drive.
Once we got there, Katie and Pearce were there. It was wonderful to have all of the grandbabies together. We ate hot dogs and hamburgers. Ella really enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to PawPaw and helping him blow out his candles.

One of my favorite moments of the trip was listening to PawPaw and Ella play. They had their purses and had a pretend car in front of the refrigerator. They buckled and unbuckled their seat belts and they traveled to K-Mart, Bi-Lo and McDonald's. What a joy to see how much Ella loves to play with PawPaw.

Here is a video that Ella made for PawPaw for his birthday.

Hilton Head beach trip

We went to Hilton Head Island, SC for a couple of days. We had a nice (but semi-long) drive down. Once we got there and got unloaded, it was kind of late. We decided to just go to Hilton Head Diner for dinner. Below is the view from our villa. It was nice and relaxing.

Our first day at the beach was on Sunday. Ella was so excited. She all of her shovels and pails ready to play in the sand.

She was scared of the ocean at first. She wasn't really sure what to think. Of course, daddy had to hold her while they waded out there the first time.

We had fun playing in the sand. She and I collected "sticks" and put them in our little sand castle.

The first day on the beach, she wouldn't go anywhere near the water without her "floaty" on. This picture of her is priceless! :)

Of course, she thought she was big enough to go out into the water all by herself...

umm...maybe not.

Mary Catherine napped a lot at the beach. We kept her pretty well covered up. No trips into the sand for this little one just yet!

Parker and John got there on Sunday and boy did Parker and Ella have a great time playing with each other. They were fast friends. They would have stayed out in the sand and water all day if we would let them!!

Look closely - Ella is in the air. Her feet aren't touching the ground.

This was so funny. Ella just adores Parker. Everything that he did, she mimicked. If he giggled, she did. If he shivered like he was cold, she did. If he drank water, she did.

No, nap, all day at the beach - boy was she tired! She feel asleep sitting up! Clint having fun in the pool. Can't get any better than this! A couple of days at the beach, crown, a balloon and Dora on DVD!!

Sweet sister moment

This morning, as I was getting dressed, Mary Catherine was on the floor playing. On the top of her play mat is a sun that lights up and plays music. There are several colors on the sun. She loves to her the music an see it light up.





Ella wanted to give her some love, so she got down beside her. The next thing I knew, Ella was whispering to Mary Catherine, "This is green" as she pointed green. "And this is purple" as she pointed to the purple. "And this is red" as she pointed to red. She told Mary Catherine about all the colors on the sun. Sweet, sweet!!

2 Months old!!

I can't believe that Mary Catherine is two months old today! She has grown so much. She weighs 11 lbs 4 oz and is 22 inches long. She is in the 50th percentile in both height and weight. She is smiling a lot and is starting to coo. Her face will just light up - you can just see the joy coming thru her eyes. Such a humbling experience seeing the pure and innocent joy beam from her.

Ella started running a fever yesterday, so she stayed home from school today. She went with us to the doctor. When it was time for Mary Catherine to get her shots, I asked Ella if she wanted to stay in the room or go out into the hallway. She opted for the hallway. I explained to her that she would hear MC cry really loud but that the nurse wasn't going to hurt her - it was all so that she wouldn't get sick. She covered her ears and I walked back to the room. As I held MC's hands, Ms. Tiffany, the nurse, gave MC her shots. She cried really loud, tears were burning my eyes. Then I glanced over at the door. Ella was peaking her head thru, hands on her ears and pain in her eyes from hearing her sisters cries. She said that she was sad that her sister was crying.

Mouths and screwdrivers...

Anyone who knows Ella, knows she talks non-stop. She explained it brilliantly the other day as we had the following conversation.
Mom: Ella, do you ever stop talking?
Ella: No mom. I have a mouth, so I just HAVE to talk!


One of mine and Ella's special treats is to buy M&M's when we are at the grocery store and we share them on the way home. The other day, we had the following conversation.

Ella: Uh-oh, mommy. The M&M is broke. (as she held up a cracked M&M)
Mom: Well, honey. How do you think we can fix that M&M?
Ella: With a screwdriver.

Favorite words of Ella's (translation):
ester-today (yesterday)
fisk (fix)
lellow (yellow)
motor-bicycle (motorcycle)
favs (favorite)