3 Years Old

I can't really wrap my head around it. How is my little baby, my sweet tiny tiny baby already 3 years old?? In my head, I still picture her as this little baby that was fashionably late.

I still picture her as this one year old, just learning to walk. The one who smashed her entire cake into face at her first birthday.

I still picture her as this sweet, curious two year old. Boy, I didn't realize what a big year two was and how much you would grow doing this year.

But, no matter how I picture you as a small baby or small toddler, there is no denying that you aren't small anymore. No, you are definitely my big girl and how proud are you that you are finally 3!!

Having an August birthday can be tough. We have been to all of your school friends and neighborhood friends birthday parties and after each one, you would ask me, "when is my birthday Mommy?" So, Daddy taught you that your birthday was August 13th and you would tell everyone proudly that you were turning 3 on August 13th with three fingers in the air.

And the day finally arrived, August 13th and you, my little big girl were lucky enough to spend your special day at our special place, Seabrook. What better place to spend the day than playing on the beach all morning, followed by an afternoon at the pool only to have an encore of chocolate cupcakes with 3 pink candles of course! And to be honest, it really wasn't just a single day celebration, we celebrated you and being three pretty much all week long.

I really can't believe how much you have grown over the past year. Just last night, we were looking back at pictures of you on your second birthday and when you started your first day of preschool last fall and you were still a small toddler and had a lot of baby still left in you. But now you are such a little person and you are nothing short of personality.

Two was a big, huge year for you. You started preschool just after you turned two and what a great experience that was for you. You learned it was not only ok to be away from Mommy but that you actually had fun and you had amazing teachers and met some fun new friends. You became independent with school and the teachers taught you how to communicate and share with your friends and also do many things on your own.

At two, you also became potty trained, hooray. You were actually the first in your class to become potty trained in your class and then your other friends wanted to follow your lead. And being a leader is something we learned from your teachers is something that you really enjoy.

At two, the biggest change to your life is you became a big sister. And while there have been a few moments of jealously, overall you have embraced this new phase so unbelievable. Your Dad and I are so proud of how much you love your little sister from the first moment you met her. And she just adores you and wants to look and laugh at you all day long. One of my greatest hopes in life is that you two will always share a close bond like you do now.

At two, your mind and vocabulary has just expanded more than I could have ever imagined. You have a memory like an elephant. You will remember someone you met 6 months ago or can precisely tell me the last time you wore a certain dress and what we did that day and what you had for lunch. You ask "why?" a hundred times a day. You want to know anything and everything all the time. Daddy and I have to be very careful about what we talk about and need to start talking in code because you are definitely on to us! I just love to see your mind work and your imagination go wild these days. At the beach, your favorite game was getting all of Papa's CDs and playing "store" with them. And luckily for Papa, all the CDs at your store were $4 so he could afford them.

Of course, two also meant tantrums and boy did you have your fair share of them (and continue to I might add) but I know a lot of that comes with the territory and usually about 5 minutes after having a tantrum, you are laughing again. Remember, Mommy told you were three now, so you can end the terrible two tantrums!! You definitely challenge your Daddy and I each day but when we look up at that sweet face and big blue eyes, we can't help but smile.

I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for you and us and can't wait to see you to continue to grow and learn. You are so loved little (big) girl and I hope you always know that. Happy 3 years old to our Ella James! (now, stop growing up so fast)

Summer Lovin

It's hard to believe that it is already August 7th, where did July go? And even harder to believe in less than a week, Ella will be 3 years old! Where did the last 3 years go? In the meantime, we have been having lots of fun and enjoying this hot, sticky summer!

Ella loves picking out her own clothes, no shocker there but lately also loves to pick out Maddie's clothes as well. And whenever they have something that matches, she wants them to dress just alike. Here they are getting ready for our next beach trip sporting their Seabrook turtle shirts.

A couple weeks ago, we went to meet Mike at work for lunch. We met at a spot that has a wishing well and Ella really wanted to throw in her own coin and make a wish. I am sure she wished for more Ariel toys!

After lunch, they love to ride the escalator or "alligator" as Ella calls it.

Can you say diva much? Ella got these new "hipster" glasses at her dance class and she made this pose all on her own. I mean seriously, is she ready for Hollywood and paparazzi or what? And the glasses look even better when you leave the sticker on them!

Last week was a big adventure for us. I drove down to Atlanta with both girls by myself for the first time. Mike had a busy week and we had been trying to find a time to go, so I decided that it was time to make the trip solo. The car rides went pretty well, there were some challenges like bathroom stops and what to do when both girls were crying and I couldn't do anything because I was driving but we made it. And the way home was great actually, mostly because Maddie slept for over 3 hours and Ella got new dvds which kept her pretty entertained.

While we were down there, we kept busy by checking out a children's museum. Uncle Court joined us while DeeDee stayed home with Maddie so she could take a morning nap. Ella had a blast catching fish, shopping for groceries, building blocks and even riding a big tractor.

The girls loved spending lots of time with DeeDee, Papa, Uncle Court and even Great Grammy who was there recuperating after she had a fall and dislocated her shoulder. I think seeing Ella again and meeting Maddie for the first time was the best medicine for her.

Maddie loved meeting her Great Grammy and luckily Maddie is a very laid back baby because even though Grammy's left arm was in a sling, Maddie sat there happy and calm in her lap in her right arm.

One way to beat the hot air is to jump into the pool. Ella is getting more and more brave each time we go to the pool and this day, she kept jumping off the side.

Papa getting some last minute snuggles and kisses from Maddie Grace. And check out that thumb, we officially have a full on thumb sucker and I actually love it. I am sure breaking the habit in a couple years will be brutal but now anytime she is fussy or wakes up in the middle of the night, she just puts that thumb in and immediately settles down.

Daddy definitely missed his girls while we were away. On Saturday, Ella went to Kayla's spa birthday party and this one was a kid only party so we had the rare luxury of only having Maddie so we took advantage and went out to eat.

When we went to go pick up Ella, this was the scene. How sweet are these girls, love them! And yes, Ella immediately had to put on a princess dress for the party.

Future rock n roller!

Below are just some fun pictures from the recent weeks!

Enjoying ice cream after lunch!

I could take pictures of these two all day long. Ella wants to hold Maddie all the time and Maddie takes it all in with a smile on her face!

We went to a splash ground that we used to go to all the time last summer but haven't been to yet this summer. Ella was her normal tentative self in the beginning but then quickly warmed up to it and had a blast.

Happy girl playing inside in the cool AC

Tiny Dancer

When you are pregnant, you have visions and ideas of what your children will be like. Since we both played sports all growing up and in college, we thought for sure our child would be very athletic and into sports. If you had told me when I had a little girl that she could care less about sports but very into dance, I would have told you were crazy. I never did dance and I am pretty sure my Mom would tell you there was no way I was putting on a leotard and tutu. I wanted to follow my older brother and do what he was doing. But our little girl is all girl. She wants to wear dresses everyday and dance dance dance! So, I signed her up for a dance camp this week and boy was she excited. Every morning, she would burst into our room and announce she was ready to get dressed for dance camp! I would drop her off and she would wave to me and then run off with the biggest smile on her face with the other girls. So, in memory of her first official dance camp, I made a little slideshow.

Side note: During the performance at the end of the week, when she saw us watching her, she immediately ran over to us and wanted to sit on our laps and not dance with her friends. It took some coaxing but she finally went over and sat with the other kids. As Mike said when we walked out, "well, I don't think she is quite ready for Broadway yet." But I am glad to know she had a blast all week and so we may continue with dance one day a week this fall. See, you never know how your children will turn out and I am sure she will continue to surprise us in the future. But I have to say, is there anything cuter than a little girl dancing in a leotard?!?!

4 Months

Our sweet Maddie Grace is almost 5 months old but I am just now getting around to blogging about her 4 month appt. With Ella, I was much more on the ball, I guess that is what happens with the second one (and I can only say that since I am a second child myself!)

Her appointment went well and she weighed 13lbs, 5oz  (34%) and was 24 3/4 inches tall (60%). To put it into persecutive, Ella was 14lbs, 7oz and 25 1/2 inches tall at 4 months so Maddie is our more petite girl. I don't think she will have the longs legs like her sister. She was so good during the entire appointment and thought the paper on the table was fun to grab and drool all over. She had to get shots which always breaks my heart but luckily the crying was very short lived.

Ella teaching Maddie her dance moves!

Maddie continues to love watching her bis sister Ella. She immediately turns her head whenever she hears Ella's voice and will give the biggest belly laughs while watching Ella. Her latest fascination is watching Ella on the trampoline. Ella will jump high and then fall on her bottom and Maddie will start laughing so hard. They both think it is best game ever invented. I love watching them interact and just know as they grow, the fun will also grow.

Baby laughs and smiles have got to be the sweetest things ever and we are very blessed that this little one gives us both all the time. She is just the most laid back baby and usually happy most of the time. If she ever gets cranky, it is usually because she is hungry or tired, there seems to always be a reason.

We just recently started feeding her rice cereal but she has decided that it is not yummy at all. We can barely get any in her mouth and when we do, she usually just spits it back out. So, I am going to wait a little bit and try again and maybe she will be more interested then. Definitely not like her sister who ate it right up but maybe that's why she is our little one.

I don't want to jinx anything but the sleeping is going really well and that's all I am going to say and now I am going to knock on wood immediately. 

We love this sweet little girl so much and she has added so much joy to our lives the past 5 months! Now, stop growing up so quickly.

Leaving on a jet plane

This past week was a big week for us, our first time flying as a family of four and this little ones first flight! We flew up to Connecticut to Mike's grandparents house for a couple of days. Flying is stressful enough but adding two little kids in the mix makes it even more crazy. But I am happy to report the flights went well. Our flight up was during Maddie's nap time and she fell asleep right when we took off and I thought, great, she will sleep the entire flight. Well, the nap only lasted for about 5-10 minutes but at least she woke up happy. She didn't want to miss her first flight! And it didn't hurt that our flight actually landed 30 minutes early, yay for fast pilots.

And who doesn't love to fly when you get to eat 2 lollipops and watch a movie on Mommy's kindle. Yes, we totally bribe her with whatever she wants on a plane to keep her quiet and happy and so far that means candy and movies!

Once we got up to Connecticut, we had so much fun hanging out in Great Grandma and Grandpa's pool and screened porch.

Maddie Grace in her cute new fourth of July suit! She was pretty excited about it!

Ella relaxing in her ladybug towel!

Ella and Maddie had so much fun with all their relatives. Most of them were meeting Maddie for the first time. Mike's grandfather is 92 years old but you would never know it. He is so active and just loves all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren so much. He loved holding all the babies and making them laugh.

Ella getting some loving from Aunt Kelly!

Ella had such a fun time playing with her cousins and second cousins. She especially loved playing with Connor. She would follow him everywhere and this night, they pulled their chairs up and decided to have their own little party!

And then sharing grapes by the pool! I wish we lived closer to them because it was so sweet to see them playing them together but at least they picked up right where they left off in December.

Maddie even got in on the pool action. She still doesn't love the pool but after a lot of time getting adjusted to the pool temperature, she finally let me put her in the airplane float.

 Ella is still a little hesitant around the water, she loves to be in it but she wants someone holding her at all times. Her favorite thing to do at the pool was jumping off the ladder while holding onto our hands. Mike was able to convince her to let him throw her in the air.

Grandma with Ella and Connor!

The kids table!

Ella and sweet Andrew!

There were a lot of adults and children that made the trip up and many who were just meeting for the first time. I think we counted there were 12 kids all under the age of 6. The newest 4 little ones were haming it up for the camera.

Noah and Owen (twins, 7 months old), Maddie 4 months and Max 6 months

There was a tradition started a long time ago where every year when all the grandkids came up to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the fourth of July, they would line everyone up on the diving board oldest to youngest. Since it had been so many years since they were all together, they had to re-enact the picture.

As you can tell, it was fun weekend and the weather really cooperated so we spent a lot of time around the pool. The pool sometimes got very crowded with all the adults and kids.

Great Grandpa with the sweet little twins. Owen was checking out Great Grandpa!

But sometimes the heat and sun were a little much for the little ones so we escaped inside into the air conditioning.

The return flight home went well also, it was very late and we were all tired but we had such a fun trip. There was a professional photographer that came and took group pictures so once I have those, I will post them so you can see everyone. It was so great seeing everyone and meeting new little additions and having everyone meet our new Maddie Grace.

Now back to home and our regular routine. We are staying busy the next couple of weeks with Ella in a couple different camps. Now, only if this extreme heat would break a little bit so we can enjoy some time outside!