Life with a 2 year old

Life with a 2 1/2 year old is interesting to say the least. Some days we don't know which Ella is going to wake up. The sweet, lovable one or the terrible two's one that frequents time out. And sometimes it can change from minute to minute and hour to hour. While most of the time, she is sporting a smile, oh we have had some moments lately that test her Mommy's and Daddy's patience to the limit. I know it's a phase and she is testing us but I am just hoping it passes quickly since in less than a month, it won't just be about her anymore.

One thing is for sure though, sitting around the house is no fun for anyone. So, despite the rain and cold weather we had last weekend, we had to get out of the house to play so we went to our favorite children's museum where she rock climbed...

and played with Lego's (something that made her Daddy very happy.)
This week, Mommy got a little spoiled. I got to have 2 girls nights out and 2 yummy meals to celebrate the soon to be arrival of Baby #2. One night while I was away, Daddy and Ella had a date night at our favorite pizza place. He said she was great and I know it was fun for him to spend one on one time with his little girl. When she is eating pizza, she is all business!
I didn't manage to take any pictures from my nights out except this one. We had a special guest at our dinner, little baby Braelyn. I don't think Adam was ready to tackle all 3 girls by himself, especially with bath and nighttime so this little one got to tag along with the Mommy's. She was so good during dinner, alternating between watching us talk and eat and doing a little snoozing. Can't wait for Baby Hennessy to meet either her new best friend or his future girlfriend soon!
She comes home from school and learns so many new things and tells us about them all the time. This month they are learning about flip flop or opposites. So, she will put her fingers on her cheeks and do "happy face" and then frown and do "sad face." One particular afternoon, it was happy face complete with her bling!!
Now, for something fun and new! I have been dying to try out my new camera outside but last weekend was cold and rainy so this morning after going to Starbucks, we went to a local elementary school to play and run around. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and 60's and I played around with my camera.
There are so many things I have to learn about it but I figure one of the best ways to learn is by practice. I took over 150 pictures and I won't bore you with most of them but below are some of my favorites.







I love the fact that there is no shutter lag and how crisp and clear the pictures are even in motion. I already can't wait to take out my zoom lens next time for even more close-ups. Thanks Mike for a great birthday present!

Hope you all are having a great January, can you believe it will be February next week?? And my due date will be here in about 3 weeks??? Ahhh, time to finish everything up and start freaking out a little bit about having two little ones!!!