What's going on around here . . .

Things have not been very exciting around our house lately . . . which I consider to be a good thing! We have been busy going to the YMCA, the library, trying new recipes, playing with old and new toys, and visiting with friends. One exciting piece of information: Ellie now has enough hair to wear a bow! I have had a lot of fun with this! Here are some pics from the past week or so.

9 week ultrasound- the heartbeat was strong and we could make out the head, rest of the body, and umbilical cord. Amazing difference from just two weeks ago! Ellie loves to climb on our backs and ride us like a horse!
Drawing pictures

Lunch with Ryder

Playdate with Gage

One of Ellie's favorites: building towers with her blocks

There is something wrong with this picture . . .

Doing laundry while wearing Daddy's socks!

Heading out for lunch with Nana and Nini

I LOVE this pic and am so sad it's blurry!

So cute I can barely stand it!

Ellie at 20 months!

Ellie turned 20 months last Saturday. She is getting to be such a big girl and is enjoying doing things all by herself. She likes to put on her own clothes and shoes, feed herself, open/close everything, and she even peed in her potty for the first time last week! Her new famous phrase is "I'll do it!" Here are some other things Ellie is up to at 20 months:

-She weighs 26.6 pounds.
-She wears size 5 diapers, size 18-24 months clothes, and size 5 shoes.
-Her favorite toys right now are her baby dolls, baby stroller, kitchen, blocks, books, and soccer ball
-Her favorite books are Just Me and My Dad, Dora's Halloween Adventure, and her 3 Look and Find books
-Her favorite foods are sausage biscuits, cereal, macaroni and cheese, fish sticks, vegetables (broccoli, snap peas, carrots, celery, bell peppers) and ranch, fruit (apples, oranges, grapes, and strawberries), corn, and beans
-Her favorite snacks are fruit rollups, fruit snacks, peanuts, chips, goldfish, and animal crackers (but she'll only eat the last two at the YMCA!)
-My favorite part about this age is how much she is talking. She's talking ALL THE TIME and saying 4 and 5 word sentences. Here are some of her most common phrases:

"I'll do it" (We hear this A LOT these days!)
"I got you fool"
"Cook it"
"Baby cry"
"Poor Momma" (daddy, baby, etc.)
"Wash your hands" (She LOVES to wash her hands. She'll do it over and over. When I won't let
her do it in the actual sink anymore, she pretends in her kitchen.)
"Up here" (when she wants up on the counter to pick out a snack)
"Sit in that" (when she wants you to sit in a chair or next to her in the car)
"Another one"
"Just one" (She says this after she asks for a "rollup" or a sucker. She knows I'll say it if she
doesn't!)
"Strap in" (She likes to be buckled in in her carseat/booster, etc. and straps her babies in, too)
"Naked baby!" (At bathtime or when she undresses her babies)
"No, Momma" (daddy, Wylie, Pistol, etc.)
"Jacket off!" (She doesn't like anyone to wear their jacket in the house.)
"No way!"
"Don't want it"

Some other things she's done recently:

-Cut a new tooth. Her top right canine came in this weekend. I knew it was coming! She'd been cranky and crying a lot and requested "medicine."

-Got a new booster seat so she can sit at the table with us. She loves it! No more highchair!

-Had her first timeout. She drew on the couch with a black Sharpie. Luckily, it came out, but she was heartbroken that she had to sit in the recliner for a timeout. She would cry and every once in a while say, "paaaapppperrrr," (paper) to let me know she knew she was only supposed to draw on paper. I had to turn my head away so she wouldn't see me laughing. I think she learned her lesson!

I haven't taken a whole lot of pictures of her lately . . . she's hard to catch! But, here are a few!

Eating Spaghetti-Os in her new booster seat

This is what she does when you say "show me your mean face!"

She fell asleep in her chair while she was waiting for me to come play! I didn't take that long!


Serving Bullet some tea and cookies

Happy 20 months Ellie! I can't believe you'll be 2 before we know it!

Ellie's Exciting News!

Ellie is going to be a big sister! As you can tell by the photo, she is super excited! She knows there's a baby in momma's tummy, but hasn't figured out why she can't see it when she lifts up my shirt!

We found out this great news the week before Christmas. It was TORTURE not being able to tell anyone in my family because we wanted to surprise them on Christmas. I made a slideshow of pictures of Ellie from last Christmas until this Christmas and ended with the pic below and one of my positive pregnancy test. Everyone was surprised and excited!



We went for our first doctor's appointment yesterday. We saw the heart beating and Dr. Hager said that everything looks good. I'm due on August 31st . . . seriously . . . the very last day of the hottest month ever! I believe Ellie and I will be doing lots of swimming this summer!

We are thrilled! Can't wait to meet this little boy or girl!

Conversation with my 19-month-old

Ellie has begun speaking in 4 and 5 word sentences now and it is cracking me up! I love to hear her talk, and she says things so clearly. Even strangers can understand what she's saying. Last night, we had a full conversation that went something like this:

Ellie: "My soccer ball?"

Mom: "It's in the gameroom in the pink basket."

Ellie: "I'll find it."

*She ran into the gameroom and soon returned.

Ellie: "More bright in here! More bright in here! No lights!"

Mom: "Is it too dark?"

*I got up and went to turn on the lights.

Ellie: (holding her hands up in annoyance) "No lights."

Mom: "Your ball is over there in that basket."

Ellie: "I'll get it."

In one way, I'm kind of sad that my little baby is growing up, but in another, it's so much fun to be able to communicate with her. She is so funny! She already gets sarcasm, teasing, and joking (which is a good thing in this family), but she's so sweet at the same time. I love her so much!

Chuck E. Cheese and A Happy New Year 2012

Last Friday night we took Ellie to Chuck E. Cheese. She'd been twice for birthday parties, but it was a year ago and she didn't quite know what was going on. I pumped her up for it all day, and she was running around screaming, "Chuck E. Cheese!" like she knew what it was! When we got there, she was so excited! She kept saying, "kids!" However, she soon decided she'd rather watch all the other kids play than actually ride anything herself. Every time a ride would start up, she'd reach for us and want off. She did enjoy handing us the basketballs and skee-balls for the games we played to use up all her tokens! She has mentioned Chuck E. Cheese everyday since we went.

Riding a horse and holding on for dear life!

Playing basketball with dad

Playing skee-ball with mom

She was dead asleep standing up!

On New Year's Eve, we went to the casino for dinner and some gambling with the Vanderbilts, the Whites, and the LaFevers. Afterwards, we went to Hayley and Jordan's to ring in the new year. I was exhausted, so it wasn't long after midnight before we headed home! How things change when you become a parent!

I brought this home for Ellie and took her picture on New Year's Day. Both were so cute, I couldn't decide!

Here's to 2012! We're looking forward to it!