The Story of Ellie

Aaron had been on OSP SWAT call-outs all week long. He was mainly across the state back and forth for the previous weeks which naturally stressed me out wondering (and praying!!) he would be able to be there for the birth of his child! The week Ellie was born, he was assigned to a local swat operation which took a few long full days worth of hiking, etc, but I was thankful he was local for that week and came home in the late evenings. He came home on September 11th at around dinner time. He had September 12th off from work and would be leaving September 13th for the entire week for an annual training several hours away. In my mind, I had ONE day to give birth where he could be there. And do you know what? God answered my prayers and Ellie Lu was born on that one day!!! (Of course if anything happened while he was away he could leave work immediately from wherever in the state that he was, but the thought of him rushing to make it to the birth was a fairly big stressor for 9 month pregnant me!)  God is so good & gracious...




The Story of Ellie Lu
Due Date:  September 19th
Birth Date:  September 12th...7 days early

Contractions began around 4pm on September 11th.  They were slight, but just like they say with subsequent labors, when you are in labor you will know.  This time, I knew.  They began around 30 minutes apart.  I knew I had time.  I decided to take little 20 month Audrey on a walk to the park.  As the old wives tale says walking can help increase labor, I suppose that was my goal.  It was a hot day and I loved our park date that day with my one and only, knowing it would be different tomorrow.  I was naturally nervous for what was ahead, but excited and so so so thankful that I knew Aaron would be home in a few hours and home the next day.  I continued to track my contractions...
By 6pm contractions were about 20minutes apart.  Aaron came home for dinner, we ate and then I called my Mom.  She would be coming to stay overnight with Audrey.  I let her know how far apart they were and that I'd call her later on to when we thought she should come.  We had a fairly uneventful evening together, I'm pretty sure I did household things like laundry & dishes again.  I called my Mom when the contractions increased some and she decided to drive over while it was still light out rather than the middle of the night.
I put Audrey down to sleep at 830pm.  I rocked her and sang to her and cried with her in my arms.  I sang songs I hadn't sang to her since she was a baby.  I felt like I was saying goodbye to the only baby I had ever loved and the unknowns of tomorrow made my heart melt for her precious littleness.  I didn't expect to feel saddened, but my emotions took over and I cried a little while singing.  Sweet Audrey hearing my emotions pulled away from me, clasped my face with her tiny hands and asked "Why you crying Momma?  You sad?"  I gave the typical Mommy response, "I'm not sad babygirl, I'm very happy.  I just love you so much"  "It's Okay Mommy. I luh you so much!"  It was going to be okay.  I just didn't know it yet.  She gave me a big hug around my neck.  I tucked her in and left the room with tear filled eyes. 
My Mom arrived just then.
9pm, contractions had gotten stronger but were still only 15 minutes apart or so.  I repacked my hospital bag making sure I had everything, then called Terese and talked to her for a bit in between contractions. 
Aaron set up the aero bed for my Mom in the living room.  He was exhausted from his week and having just gotten back that evening, so he was in bed by about 10pm.  I tried to sleep too...but couldn't and tried quietly (aren't I nice?) contracting in pain beside him at less than 8 minutes apart.  I finally gave up on sleep less than an hour later and left the room so at least one of us could get some rest.
11pm-2am contractions were getting increasingly painful and increasingly close together.  I spent these 3 hours going back and forth from the couch to the bathroom.  My body was naturally, ahem, clearing itself out.  My Mom was in and out of dozing on the bed beside the couch where I labored.  She would ask me how far apart they were, rub my back a little, and help with breathing.  I felt bad keeping her up since I knew she'd be getting up with Audrey.
I continued to time my contractions that had progressed from being 2 minutes apart to 7 minutes apart, to 1 minute apart to 5 minutes apart.  Because a lot of them were so close together I had my Mom call the hospital for me to ask them why they would be sporadic like that.  They asked if I was doing any activity and she told them I was up and down a lot contracting on the way to the bathroom and in the bathroom and coming back out of bathroom and on couch..etc.  I was basically moving around a lot. They said that the contractions can increase with activity...so to sit still for a bit and time them and then they would be more accurate.  We got off the phone at about 2:30.  They were consistently a little less than 2 minutes apart when I was calm.
3am, time to wake up Aaron, it was time to go to the hospital!  We arrived at the hospital and again, Aaron prayed over me, our baby, and the delivery that was about to unfold before we walked in.  We got into the triage room and after quick monitoring they quickly set us up in a room.  I remember having taken a very long time to get from the triage room all the way down the hall to our room.  My contractions seemed to be coming every 30 seconds at that point because I think I stopped about 6 times on the way to hold onto the desk, the wall or Aaron as I got through each painful contraction.  We finally got into the room. 

Compared to my crying with Audrey's labor experience, I have to say I labored like a champ with Ellie :)  I knew what my body could handle.  I knew I had done this before and could do it again.  I knew it was difficult and was going to get worse.  I found ways to cope through breathing patterns and an exhale of moaning to get through the pain.  I felt more experienced and more in control of what was happening.  I did not cry once.

430am, Contractions continued to be about 1 minute apart.  The nurse informed us (like with Audrey's birth), that if I wanted any pain relief that it could take up to an hour to receive it being that, again, the anesthesiologist had to be called in from home.  The nurse stayed in the room trying to do some of the initial paperwork and as my contractions were still very close and I realized one more hour seemed like a long time to wait I told her "Would I be a wimp if I ask you to call them in now?"  She said something sweet like, "not at all, they are really close together!" 
5:15am, a different anesthesiologist than before came in.  She definitely looked as though she had to be woken up to come in and I remember wondering if she was awake enough to perform such an important crucial task.  She was very sweet.  She explained everything thoroughly and after placing the Epidural I felt temporary relief....but the contractions did not go away cocompletely.  She was to come back and check how I was doing soon.  Contractions stayed close together and painful.  I told Aaron it wasn't working and one of the nurses had the lady come back in to check it.  Turns out it was placed in crooked, which meant only half of my body was receiving (very, almost none) slight relief. 
5:45am, She replaced the epidural and it began working completely.  Aw, sweet relief.
My doctor had been called upon my arrival, but we hadn't seen her yet.  A nurse checked me just before 6am and (just like with Audrey) suddenly called the desk to get the Dr in because this baby was coming! 
6:10 the Dr and two nurses rushed in and got what they needed, scrubs and all... Although I had my epidural I felt a pressure down below like baby was coming out, so I felt with my hand.
"Umm!!  Something is coming out!!" I called to them.  They were all across the room getting ready and they asked me if it was hard or liquid (meaning baby or water breaking) I reached down and almost panicked said "Hard!!"
They rushed over and all gave funny amazed looks.  "Woah! We don't usually see this!! Here let me get a mirror so you can see!"  (yes, my husband loved having the mirror again.....) 
Turns out my water had not broken yet but the "sac of waters" as they call it, was coming out in a bubble form, totally unpopped.  It felt & looked like a thick water balloon!  They were all amazed :) haha.  Finally as the size of about a grapefruit came out then it finally popped.  And there was baby girl's head crowning!
6:13... Time to start pushing!  Literally 4 pushes later in 5 minutes, she popped out like no big deal!

Ellie Lu was born at 6:18am on September 12th, 2009

Weighing in at exactly 7 lbs, and 20 1/2 inches.

She was healthy and strong and beautiful.  She had long fingers and toes and cried a big hearty cry.  She was as pink as a little piggie fresh out of the womb.
The most memorable part about Ellie's entry into the world was that she cried a big healthy cry, they placed her onto my tummy and I began saying hello and telling her I love her, etc...but the second her Daddy made a sound saying similar things INSTANTLY, and I mean the second she heard his voice, she stopped crying and I am not kidding when I say she turned her head and looked up at him.  It was the sweetest most vivid memory I have of Ellie Lu at seconds old.  :)  She was instantly calmed by her Daddy's voice.  I will remember that forever.  She also had a very strong neck from day one!

A few stats of the birth:

14 hours of labor from very first contraction to birth.

8 hours of "hard" labor, contracting close together.

(Working) Epidural for 35minutes.

At the hospital for under 3 hours. 

(They had to complete my initial paperwork after the birth since she came so fast!)
I again, could not pee on my own after the birth.  I tried for few hours but my bladder became so full and uncomfortable that they decided to do another straight cath.....and I laughed with the nurse as I completely filled up a 72 oz container.  Wow!  Such a relief! :)

First few visitors were:  Susie & Jacob & baby Truett came First!!!!  Then shortly after they came, BIG Sister Audrey was brought in by Gramma Lu.
Then not far behind came Aaron's parents, Tom & Julie!!!  And Ryan & Lily & Sweetie Pie Chloe!!

Ellie has been just like my labor and her delivery.  Strong, quick, manageable, surprising, easily calmed and funny (referring to the water sac).  She is such a sweetie pie and I love my little Ellie Lu to pieces!!  She is such a little helper and will be a great Big Sister.  Which leads me to wonder...



What will The Story of Hunter be like...... ?

Pre School, Changes & Ellie's Heart

Audrey's first week of Pre-school began a few weeks ago.

It was also....

Ellie's first week of transitioning from not having a playmate.

First week with our "new" truck.

Daddy's first week of being "home" for the summer.

Mommy's first week to try to adjust to all these changes....

Audrey was super excited even getting dressed in her "school" outfit she had chosen earlier in the day, shoes & backpack and all & waited by the door at around 7pm the night before her first day of school.... I finally got through to her that this would just be a practice and that tomorrow would be her first day of school. Eager as ever, she got ready first thing the next morning and waited by the door for the 30minutes leading up to when we were to leave... :)

Time to say goodbye to sister!

(who truly had no idea what was coming--look how happy she is to hug & say goodbye to Audrey...)

Her Daddy chose to come home one day early from a special road trip, so that he could take his darling little Audrey to school on her first day. And also, in part, because we both weren't quite sure how she--and her Mommy!--would do, emotionally on this big step being "away". (Literally, 5 houses away...)

She was so excited to start school that she apparently had to be told to turn around to say goodbye & wave for pictures her Momma requested. :)

First day of Pre-school! What a big brave girl!!

And then there were the other two of us.

Ellie & Mommy.

Crying our little eyes out on the front porch.

Not really....having Ellie sobbing her little heart out was probably a distraction from any emotion I could have had. Truly though..Ellie Lu was heartbroken!

It was one of those sad & sweet moments of motherhood.

I tried comforting...she cried harder.

I tried distracting...she cried harder.

I tried offering a snack (this girl likes food)..she ate it but continued to cry.

Then I suddenly realized...this would be the first day all Summer that I only had one child with me. Which meant I could do something I've been longing to do since last Summer! I could take my ONE child on my bike seat with me!!

So away we went, just she & I.

My baby Girl.

She finally stopped crying as we rode away, we talked about what we saw, what we heard and I kept telling her how much I Love her.

She seemed to enjoy the ride and I LOVED IT!

Then we got back to the house just in time for a little snack.

Then I noticed the time & said it was time to go get Audrey.

Ellie RAN to get her shoes & started getting whiny & crying again.

She just could not handle the change! She loves her sister so much!

On our walk back home, Audrey saw that her Daddy had begun the walk to meet us.

She started yelling to him:

"Daddy! Daddy! I'm all done with school now!"

And ran, jumping into his eager waiting arms.

PRECIOUS!

Can you bottle this sweetness up??

Then we decided to take Audrey out to celebrate her first day of school in style.

With Frozen Yogurt!

My Dad & Brother Mike just opened up a yogurt shop nearby--FroYo Nation--a few days prior, so what a perfect opportunity for us to see it for the first time & as a special celebration for Audrey!

Grandma Lu met us down there, of course!

A spoonful of sweetness, makes the tears go away!?

Daddarazzi.

Two big girls, one little spoon.

Wait a minute.

And here's what we were riding in style in!

Our "new" purdy Blue, 2nd vehicle with carseats stick shift which I am actually enjoying learning how to drive, Truck!!!

As of Today Audrey has attended 9 days of school! The first 3 weeks were "transitional" days, so they were only one or two hours.

Today was her first day of all 3 hours. She seemed tired, but said she "just loves school!"

I really could not have seen it coming that she has so easily adjusted to this new change! She was truly ready for this! We knew she would like it eventually, but by day 3 when I took her and asked her to please come back to give me a hug before she ran off into the schoolroom...I knew that she really did love it, and that I'd be fine too. :)

Ellie.... has yet to have a tear-free day with out her sister. The first few days were rough :) I spent the majority of the time Audrey was away from us, comforting her sad little sister, Ellie. We watched Sesame Street & cuddled, we ate snacks, we did puzzles and built blocks, but there were stressful off & on tears. We visited a dear friend who just had a baby, we take walks around the neighborhood and we've spent a few of the days running errands. I can tell though, that we aren't in a good groove quite yet. Ellie is so emotional on Audrey's school days. My intention is that Ellie & I can have a sort of fun Mommy/Ellie time at home, maybe even doing our own school-at-home projects. Potty training was also on the to-do list this fall, but there seems to be too much going on to begin something big like that just yet. Maybe in another few weeks...

Audrey Lynn--your Daddy & I are so proud of you! On your very first day of school your two teachers told me you had "mastered it all & wanted to begin teaching the other children!" I was not surprised to hear that! :) And every day thereafter they have made similar comments about how well you are doing. You are like a little sponge, soaking all of the Goodness of the world in. And your Kindness to others is evident. I love that you love school! I pray for you every day you are away from me. Just know that we are proud of who God created--Beautiful You!!

Love, Your Momma who misses you.

Ellie Lu--We'll get there soon. I promise. We'll enjoy the time we have together before another big change comes and alters it for us. I plan to get to know you better and snuggle you up lots during this season. So please let me. My heart breaks when yours does, but we will be fine. Thank you for loving your sister so deeply! You are a Gift!

Love, Your Momma.

Silly Ellie

We love attending extravagent child birthday parties, but that's not really our style. At this point as the Mom, I don't feel any guilt trying to keep up with anyone else's idea of a party. It's not my area of expertise to plan, prepare, cook for, or host a large group "for my child". So I'm perfectly fine being on the attending side of things.

I'm sure as the children get older we will do more "themed" parties, inviting friends over, etc. For now, we like to keep it simple in this house.

Focusing on our child and who they are.

This year we joined forces with Ellie's cousins who's 1st and 3rd Birthdays are exactly one week & two weeks after hers. It was a triple birthday party! We had it at Sis-in-Law's house. Pizza, cupcakes, cake..and only us, one friend, and grandparents! We should hardly call it a "party" but it was a simple way to mark the occasion.

On her actual birthday I went & bought her a new blanket to sleep with, like sister's and a balloon.

Like I said.

Simple :)

Here she is in all of her adorableness with her birthday balloon.

Funny Ellie facts:

Instead of saying a simple

"Yes"

if I ask her if she would like something, she says

"Yes I do, Mom. Yes I do"

She never has just one bowl of cereal with milk.

Usually two, most days three.

First thing in the morning she says "I awake now. Can I Eat? I hungee".

She is hungry FIRST thing when she wakes up.

And every two hours thereafter :)

She will fall on her head and get back up, no tears.

She finds taunting the dog, trying to get her to nip, hilarious.

She will jump/flip/tumble onto people, with out them having so much as a warning to catch her.

She is fearless about most everything...

But is PETRIFIED if a fly gets inside.

Yes, houseflys are her weakness.

She has barely drank milk since 13 months. Just never liked it.

Gets plenty of calcium through diet instead.

When I tell her I love her she replies

"I lub you so much too Mom"

Although verbal, she is not as verbal as her big sis was at this age, but she still understands everything!

A favorite learning game lately is to look at story books & I ask her to "find" this or that. She is quick!

For awhile she would only say "I can't do it!" when frustrated with something.

With Mom's encouragement the phrase has now changed to

"I can't do it! ...But I try, okay?"

She is very interested in my belly. Kissing & hugging baby.

Resting her hand on me then saying

"He kick me!"

She breaks out in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at any given time of day.

Oh also, here's another fact: she is Beautiful.

And her mother is officially jealous of her

long curled dark eyelashes & green eyes.

EllieLu, my darling daughter.

I keep thinking you've maxed out your "cuteness" then another day surprises me with a few new words you've put together, an eagerness to help, a simple kind gesture towards your sister, or those darned beautifully long eyelashes grow--what seems like--another inch.

You make me laugh, frustrate me, and melt my heart all in a matter of seconds.

You are so very very very Loved.

And your life is a complete blessing to me and our family.

We are so glad you are ours!!!

I was going through some recent pictures and found a few of my favorites to share with the world on your 2nd birthday (yesterday)....

Nothing but an "E" thang baby.

Sweeter than sweet!

This is the quirky smile given lately when asked to smile, with your teeth.

It's adorably forceful.

Oh Ellie Belly Lu-Lu,

Your Momma Loves You Oh-So-Very-Very-Very Much!!!!!

Can't wait to see what year TWO brings us!!

Ellie Lately

Sweet Ellie Lu.

Almost 18 months old. A Beautiful girl with a growing personality. She is my baby and my little helper bee. Ellie is both sweet and sassy.

Her new favorite phrase is:

Why?

Her new favorite skills are:

Trying to go on the big-girl potty! Going from one chair to the next scoping out food left on anyone's plate, pushing chair to the snack cupboard, climbing onto chair to reach snacks, getting small bowl to pour snacks...(seriously, this girl loves her food~!)

She likes to:

Color on paper, build blocks, follow Sister, make sure she knows where her Momma is, hold my hands for small periods of time while walking, be held. :)

My sweet face crumbles. Crumbles! If I don't get to go with you out that door.

(Even if you were only going to take the trash out...)

Thumb sucker & hair twirler.

Never separately. Always simultaneously.

Never wanting to be left out of anything, including reading stories with sister, even if it means just looking at the pictures.

Upside down.

Smirks and half smiles, ever-expressive eyes.

Did my Momma already say I'm beautiful? Because I am.

Truly a Beautiful Beautiful girl.

And I Love YOU!!!!

First Day (2nd time) ever saying "I love You"

YOU MELT MY HEART!

Just Another Ordinary Day!

I'm not sure whats funnier...

a. Ellie walking around raising the roof with a pair of mittens.
b. Ellie walking around with a plastic ball zipped into the belly of her footie pajamas.
c. Ellie's stoic look as she nonchalantly sports the above two mentioned, like it aint no thang.**

**She brought the ball and gloves to me and sported this look for a good hour. Maybe longer for the mittens... The ball kept getting in her way as she would bump into something then bounce back onto her tush. No matter how many times I laughed, she eventually decided the ball had to go. :)

Also...coming in close second for funny, yet ordinary, parts to this photo:

1. Hand prints on the stove glass front, to match my windows!!!

2. An empty DVD case...

The many faces of Ellie Lu

I can't get over all the many faces of Ellie. She is such a little doll. And getting prettier with each day, which I keep thinking is impossible. But, her greenish eyes, pink cheeks, wispy hair, dark eyelashes, and pink lips are to die for, coming from this Momma. I could kiss her all day if she'd let me!! But she wouldn't, she's got things to see and people to meet!

She has many smirks that I especially love. A few looks that make me instantly foresee the future of a little stubborn, yet wise, teenager. She has a joyous smile that is as if she's saying, I like being in this family! She's got the looks that make me believe she's totally over this baby stuff, and just wants to grow a little bit so she can do EVERYTHING big sister does...not just most things.

I have been trying to purposely capture a few of Ellie's looks lately. What a little busy bee! It's hard to capture anything "in the moment" because each moment for her is so fleeting, as she runs off to do something else. It cracks me up how "business-like" she seems at times. GREAT sleeper, but when she is up--she's up!!! Going from laying down to instantly jumping up from crib awake, and as soon as I get her, the moment her little feet touch the ground she goes a-running! I envision her saying: "well, today's a new day, time to get to work!" :) And she goes and goes and goes and goes and then BAM, she's tired again and instantly will burst into tears until she is placed back into her crib and with as suddenly as she cries from exhaustion, her thumb is in her mouth and she's fast asleep. Phew. Tiring at times, yes. But So, so, so, so fun to see her little self coming through as she grows :)

One week ago I asked her to say the word "water", as she always refers to any cup of liquid as "Jewsh" (juice..), and she did it. May have sounded more like "Wat-ah" But, none-the-less she tried it!! And then later that night it was her turn to sit on my hip and accompany me out to check dinner on our BBQ and again after telling her what we were doing I asked her if she can say "Barbecue?" And she said "Buh-que" !!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!! :)

I was SO proud of her, and what has followed is me and Audrey finding silly words or objects around the house to ask her if she can say them....and for the most part, when we all aren't giggling, she is trying to say each one!!! I love it. So wonderful to see her excited to learn something new, and yes, very wonderful to see that she and I might be able to communicate things easier soon!

Her favorite words are

(among others I know Im forgetting and won't mention here):

Au-Dee

Daddy

Mommy

Loo-shee (Lucy, our doggie)

Okay.

Potty

Bankey (blankie)

Shoe

Coat

Ball

Nanna (Banana)

Apple

Cookie

Brock-key (Broccoli)

Meat

Car

Hat

Down

Up

More

Peas (please)

Ah-que (thankyou)

Hungee

Favorite little phrases lately:

Where Au-dee go? Auuuu-deeee!!!

Where bankey go?

Where Loo-shee go? Loooooo-sheeee!!!

Mine! (yikes...learned that from BIG sister...)

I want it.

I do!

I wan go.

Baby doll

Ellie Lu tidbits.....
She loves everything Audrey.

She is about the only one in this house who enjoys cleaning up! She thinks its fun to put all the books back where they belong when asked, and helping to switch the laundry and unload the plastics from the dishwasher, and sweep....keep it up little girl, I hope you always find helping Mommy, fun!!! :)

Ellie insists on kissing anything, anytime you say phrases like "Ouch!" or the like. She will walk over and grab your hand to pull it to her lips for a kiss. I ADORE THIS.

Ellie gives the best hugs!!! She has been such a Daddy's girl for awhile now, always loving to greet him in the morning, or at the door as he's coming or going, and the occasional burst into tears as he leaves for work... She loves hugging and kissing her Daddy. He doesn't have to ask for the kisses....unlike me :) I love watching her watch him. She truly lights up.

She & Audrey sleep in the same room at night, but they cannot settle down during naptime, she they sleep separately during their naps. On most days there is usually 30-60minutes of time I just have with Ellie, as Audrey goes to bed a bit earlier, and before Ellie lays down for her nap. The time is usually spent following her into her world, as we discover books she likes, blocks she enjoys building, unloading the plastics from dishwasher, pushing kitchen chairs around the room, taking the garbage out and doing some porch sitting when the sun is out...all sorts of fun little simple things. If, during this time she finds a favorite stuffed animal, or babydoll, or blanket of Audrey's...she will immediately say "Where Au-dee go? Auu-deee!!!" And go storming towards her bedroom. I quickly remind her NOT to go in there and that we have to be quiet. Today she barged right into the room, handed her the baby doll and leaned in to kiss her sister, before barging on out of the room. PRECIOUS.

Speaking of being quiet...another favorite "activity" of Ellie's lately has been to put her baby doll to sleep. It is beyond adorable how she does it. It's always the same baby, with the same blanket (just like her!). She places the baby onto Audrey's bed, covers just her body with the blanket, kisses her softly and slowly, pats her tummy a little, then leaves the room. I've been there to watch her do it, but when I happen to be out of the room and she goes to do this by herself, she always comes back out of the room covering her mouth with one finger saying "Shhh... Baby's seeping...Shhh..." Then, she runs back in there, wanting me to follow, and she shows me where baby is "seeping", kissing the baby again.

I could go on and on and on about Ellie Lu!! She eats like a little piglet, which cracks us all up, since her sister is 3 years old and has been 28lbs for two entire months... Ellie is most likely nearing that poundage, although we won't know for sure until her 18month appt in a month. 18 months!! It is hard for me to believe she is already almost 18 months!!

It seems like just yesterday I gave birth to this tiny little thing that mesmerized me from the start as she cried her eyes out for a mere few seconds then INSTANTLY stopped and looked up as she heard none other than her Daddy's voice. :) What a beautiful little doll face she has turned into since that wonderful first day so many months ago...

Blogger Guilt

I am so behind on blogging.

Where to begin? What we've been doing this entire Summer? Well it's not quite summer anymore, so that seems silly. Our big fantastic trip away, childless, for 10 days across the country? Too much to write about, I have no idea where to start on that. My thoughts on our upcoming vacation away with best friends & their children to one of our favorite Oregon spots (if not our actual favorite), for a long weekend getaway??? Our soon to be 2nd vacation of the month!! Before I know it Ill have adorable pictures from that & will have plenty to share :)

How about writing about Ellie having taken 5 steps earlier today and 11 steps tonight for the first time!?!?? Yay!!!!!!! So exciting. Well no pictures on that one, so that post would be just exactly the length of my previous few sentences. Sooo.... I guess I just accomplished that one?

Hmm...so Im feeling overwhelmed by how behind I am. Not for the sake of my 6 faithful viewers (thank you Mom, Dad, Brother, MIL, FIL, Husband.... ). But for the sake of trying to break old habits. I always start journals. I have had approximately 12 journals in my life, all of which are heavily filled with words and emotions on every first through eighth page of each book. I wish I were better about keeping a journal up. I really do. The small timeframe I have been "blogging" as a means of journally, I have loved it. I have loved it so much I have re-read over posts I've written time & time again. Not because of my writing, necessarily, but because I love re-calling memories as recent as they are. It reminds me I've "gotten through" things...as silly as poopy diapers posts may be. It reminds me, even while I am in the middle of this stage of my life, that it is moving so fast and to really, truly pay attention to the details no matter how small. It reminds me how quickly our precious little girls are growing up. When I look back, even a few months, I am reminded how far Audrey has come in language, understanding and even art skills! I am able to laugh at the differences in Audrey & Ellie, where I once was a bit cautious of.

I am able to look back & think things like "I probably shouldn't have (fill in the blank)" And look back & truly believe, "I am doing things right by doing or teaching (fill in the blank)". I enjoy seeing the reflection of God's handiwork in my everyday care and guidance for the girls. And looking back on previous posts remind me how far we've all come, how much we've each learned, and how much I really do enjoy posting our little live's happenings. So for none other than my own sake I will continue this blog and try to keep up with it a little better. But I am taking all pressure off myself for this ongoing guilt I always have with a battle for time. In other words, all these "I should have"s are DONE. I will blog when I can. I will write when I have time. I will now allow myself to post short little writings, rather than feel like I need pictures, a long explanation, and time to do it all. It will be for fun, for my little Mommy-heart to release, express and document life through my eyes.

Life really is going too fast right now!!!

I can't afford to just skip through it with out jotting a few things down along the way!

Ellie Stats

Taken one month ago. Crawling, pulling herself up, getting more curious. Then one month later:

Getting into all sorts of things, pulling everything out, trying to climb, such a busy little bee. So it prompted me to post some stats so I'll remember, since you are hardly slowing down at all for me to get used to any stage!

Ellie Lu: One week before age ONE.

Favorite foods: BANANAS, Corn, Wheat Bread, Applesauce, Cous-cous, Squash, blueberries...

Least favorite foods: Most green vegetables, avacados & recently has started rejecting eggs.

Enjoys: All things Audrey, crawling/climbing, eye or sunglasses, bathtime, Lucy-Puppy, peek-a-boo, throwing things.

Dislikes: Lukewarm bottles, when doors are closed & being told "no" (although enjoys saying it & shaking her head back at us...so bad...so darn cute..).

Words: No, Uh-oh, Hi, Momma, Dadda, Sissy, Loose (a.k.a Lucy), Up.

Beginning to say: Dow (down), Ah (on), Dadada uh-tee (Daddy), Ba-ba-ba-ool (bottle).

Words she can sign: Milk & Please.

Nicknames: Scoopies, Ellie Bells, Lu Bears, Lu Bells, Eatle Beatles, Baby Beluga.
Special talents: Waving, saying "Hi"to everyone, clapping, shaking your head "No" & lots of constant baby babble.

Sleep schedule: Nap...10am-12pm. Nap...2pm-5pm All night from 9pm-8:30am.

Poop schedule: Usually twice a day. :)

Roth Mullet Watch: No sign of mullet. Possible bob.

Teeth: Two bottoms, two widely spaced top ones (sorry sweetie I just think it is SO darn cute & funny!), possibly one more coming on top.

Mommy Loves: Your dimple, your sleepy face in the mornings, when you chatter baby babble, when you ride on my hip all day & when you say "Hi!" in my same high-pitched infliction each time you see me.

Mommy Likes: You! A lot. :)

How could you already be ONE?