Life With Our Little Ladies

Monday, January 20, 2014

Ella: 18 months

Ella: 18 months old
23 lbs. 14 oz.
2 ft. 9 in.

To our little baby,

It's official. You have become a real deal, big kid toddler right before our eyes. Our expressive girl. You light up every room you walk into with your squeals of delight and sense of humor. You wear your heart on your sleeve and express your emotions in big ways. When you are excited, a room can't contain your happiness. When you are mad, you throw wild tantrums complete with jumping, stomping and hysterical screaming that usually end with you running away and finding a corner of the house to be alone in until you calm down. When you are especially lovey, you give the biggest hugs.

Your sister is your best friend. You play for hours together. I often find the two of you having a picnic tea party in your princess tent, playing store, kitchen, babies or hanging out in Abby's closet. Just the other day, you were laying in there with Abby reading books together, when you decided the only thing missing were some good snacks. You came down the hall and asked me for snacks (specifically for the BOTH of you because you always make sure I include Abby) and delivered them back to the hideout. This continued for about 45 minutes. You kept coming out for refills and bringing it back to your sister. It was precious. You make the sweetest team.

We call you lots of names (Belly B., Bells-ca-bells, Ella Monkey, Ellie, Elle), but I'd say the one that sticks and comes out the most often is Bells. You are talking up a storm and communicating really well. Right now, your favorite new words are "mine", "my", "me", "cookie" and "candy". You learned those words quickly, just in case the world thought you were too young for some sugar every now and then. You clearly communicate that you need a cookie and some M&M's just like your big sister.

You love being chased and playing hide and seek.

You usually have little Mickey Mouse or Sesame Street characters in hand. Sometimes you are putting them to bed and sometimes you are feeding them breakfast, but you love your little characters.

I love to see you walking around the house and chatting away on your cell phone. You are also pretty fascinated with Facetime on Mommy and Daddy's phones. You like the idea of calling your family and see their faces while we talk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZxNFg0BQvY&feature=youtu.be

You love Sesame Street and know the names of every character. You also love watching Barney, The Fresh Beat Band, Strawberry Shortcake and Doc McStuffins. You walk around singing our family's special bedtime song (Choochee) to all of your babies and animals and can also be found performing "Favorite Things" in a band with Abby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvSKq4EM2zg&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHXXm3S2CH4

As soon as Abby even mentions coloring or a craft of some kind, you are climbing up on a chair to join in. If I am baking, you drag a chair over to the counter and climb up to help.

You love pickles!

You love to read books and are not only sitting for them, but for many books in a row. It makes your bookworm momma so glad! Before bed, you ask to read a book and to pray with us. You are just operating like a little big girl now!

Did I mention you have one of the cutest "CHEESE" faces I've ever seen?

This month, I started taking care of our neighbor's baby boy a couple of days a week while she goes back to work. At first, I was nervous about the challenges watching a three month old baby and an eighteen month old would present. I didn't know if you would be really jealous. Well, you love Joseph! The hardest part in the beginning was helping you set limits, so you didn't love him too much. You follow me around and tell me he needs a drink. When Joseph arrives in the morning, you tell me to pick him up and put him on the play mat. You stand in front of the swing and dance for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0JKeeVuC58

If Joseph cries, you tell him "Shhhhh". AND...you are especially fascinated when I change his diaper because Pampers have Sesame Street characters on the front and you love discovering which character will be on the next diaper. Last week, I let you help me feed him his bottle once. The moment we captured was priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biY1y1zb2GY

Years from now, not only do I want us to remember your sweet cuddly moments and adorable cheese face, I want us to remember your passionate tantrums that are very REAL parts of life right now. I happened to capture a few moments of one of your very long, recent meltdowns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZXy4yP0s-I

We love you so much Bells!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Snapshots and Quotables: The Start of 2014

The new year is off to a fresh and full start in our home. We ended the year with a little party at our house with some of our good friends. Ashley came into town for nice, long visit, which meant lots of fun, laughing until our bellies hurt while hanging pictures on the wall, DIY projects and talking about life. The girls love every minute of having Aunt Ashley here.

We painted our living room wall a bold new color (something in the berry family), which kind of signifies my theme for the year. New year, bold changes. A lot of people start the new year and pick their word. The theme of their year summed up in one word. Well this year, our family's word is EMBRACE. I pray that we would embrace Jesus in new ways, embrace His love for us and the freedom we have in Christ, embrace the moments He has given us, embrace relationships (new and old), embrace each new day and embrace the unique way He has made each one of us. There's so much freedom and joy in embracing God's truth, His plan and His design for our lives. Oh the possibilities are endless and I know that the results can only be beautiful!

So, we will walk step by step with the Lord and choose to EMBRACE. Here's to another new beginning!

Joe got a popcorn maker for Christmas. This guy won't stop making popcorn and using up all of my butter! The girls love to be a part of the popping process and of course we all love to eat it! We had a movie night with Abby last Saturday and Daddy popped lots of popcorn for us to eat while watching Charlotte's Web.

Ella is a little mommy. She spends a lot of time with her babies. If you aren't sure where Ella is, you can find her downstairs feeding one of them in the highchair or singing them lullabies to put them to sleep.

Abby is really enjoying her ballet class. We found a lovely school with wonderful teachers who make learning dance as sweet and fun as it should be!

One night last week, I wasn't feeling well, so Joe took over the whole evening routine while I laid on the couch under a blanket and rested. After their bath, the girls ran out to the couch and covered me in hugs and kisses. I'm thankful for my sweet husband who captured the moment.

Six little girls ringing in the new year together. Until 8:00 at least!

Ella loves Miss Heather and any opportunity to climb in her lap.

The girls love their quality time with Ashley. She always spends time playing with them and really engaging in their world. She takes them to pick out a craft to do with her each time she comes and it makes them feel so special.

We did start the year with some fevers and sickness, but thankfully they were short lived. Two things are true about this picture: 1. Ella is all snuggles when she is sick and healthy. 2. My girls love their Daddy!

Furniture was rearranged and wall hangings were on the floor because the wet paint was drying. The girls found some new ways to entertain themselves.

Yesterday morning, I was doing some ironing BEFORE 7 am. Joe came out and said, "Wow, Mommy is a rockstar!" Abby's sweet response: "She is! She is a beautiful rockstar!" Nothing like a little girl's words to encourage her mommy's heart.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

The Sound of Music

When NBC first advertised The Sound of Music Live event, I put it on our calender right away as a special family movie night. Not only would our family live in a musical if we could, but we also love Carrie Underwood. At the time, Abby had only known her for her performance of "How Great Thou Art". I've been a fan of her music since her American Idol days. Joe and I grew up loving The Sound of Music. It was the perfect chance for us to share it all with Abby.

Abby got just as excited about our movie night in the days leading up to it. Never mind the treasure that is the Sound of Music, all she knew was that she was going to watch Carrie Underwood sing on TV. This is why while people were heavily criticizing the performance on every form of social media that existed, our family was thoroughly enjoying every minute of it together. Imperfect? Yes. Different than the Julie Andrew's classic? Of course. A treat to have a live three hour musical on a channel that wasn't PBS? A definite treat. We loved it and we loved Carrie Underwood.

As a kid, I loved the original Sound of Music and loved watching it with my Nagymama and Nagypapa. I remember being most engaged in the the first half of the movie, because at that age I couldn't appreciate the historical value of the movie's setting which really unfolds in the second half. For the same reason and based on her regular bedtime, I thought Abby wouldn't make it past the first hour and a half. Abby stayed up past 11:30 watching the entire show. She did doze for a few minutes and Joe and I tried to take her to her bed. She woke up panicked as soon as we left the room screaming that she didn't see the ending. So, she came back out and was completely engaged until the very end of the show.

Some of Abby's most memorable quotes from the night:

"Mommy, why are they calling Carrie Underwood, Maria?"

In reference to Liesel at the end of the movie: "Is she 17 yet?" :)

"I just love all of her dresses. She keeps changing into pretty ones."

When Carrie Underwood came out in the beginning dressed as a nun: "Why does she look so different?"

At the end, when the Von Trapp family is trying to escape: "Where are the bad guys going? Are they coming back? Is the family safe?"

The next morning, we immediately looked up the soundtrack and that marked the day our home became a non-stop Sound of Music sing-a-long. AND we love it!

You can find this happening in our home at any given moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHXXm3S2CH4

New Jersey Christmas (in pictures)

The day after Christmas we headed down to visit the rest of our family in New Jersey for Christmas #2. We celebrated and enjoyed spending time together for a whole weekend.