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.