Nutella

Happy birthday Ella!

Oh Joey!  You are simply the cutest (and you know it) two year old around!  The way your hair now, after two whole years, barely fits into a pony tail on the top of your head just makes me melt and want to how you close longer.  The way you make your lips pout and bug your big eyes out could make my heart laugh forever.  And the way you cuddle in my lap….oooooh….don’t grow up sweet girl….not yet….

I have already seen one of my daughters grow into a precious little girl before my eyes.  I am not ready to let another.  Stay a baby just a little bit longer.  Stay cuddly and sweet and innocent for a few more seconds.

Each birthday I am faced with the inevitable.  Another year gone by.  Moments realizing that I could never hug and kiss and tell my babies that I love them enough.  Moments I can’t get back.  But I try to look forward at the sweet years ahead where I can do better.  Where we can do better together.

So Ella Kathryn, I pray that God uses your stubbornness for good.  That you would fall madly in love with your Savior and that you would be headstrong in what is right and good and lovely.  I pray that God would help you to be a leader for Him and that you would follow Him to the ends of the earth.  And I pray that you wouldn’t grow up too quickly.  That you would stay innocent for as long as possible.  That you would let us protect you.  Ella, you are a gift…a precious gift to our family.  We love you dearly!

She grew up on me too fast.

Going to be a great mama someday.

Ella and her best friend – paci!

Dusty

I hate dusting.  Like hate it.  Despise it.  I find cleaning relaxing and enjoyable but dusting…blech!

I forced myself to dust today.  Why?  Cooper pointed out dust webs that the sun was shining on from the corner of ceiling and wall.  Then Ella proceeded to hand our friend who came to visit “dust webs” she pretended (at least I am hoping they were pretend particles she kept handing over) to pick off the wall for probably a good 5 minutes.  Way to be humbled by a toddler.

The third child

When you first have a baby, everyone tells you by this age they need to be doing this, by this age they need to give up this, by this age they need to be eating this, etc…  And I think most parents, for the most part, try and follow said advice (taking into account their own personal parenting style thrown in).

By the third child, you are all “This stinks.  Like really stinks.  Who cares anyway?”

Ella is our third baby.  She sleeps through the night, except when she needs water.  She talks up a storm.  She is trying to potty train herself.  She is a freaking genius in book!  But she also sucks a pacificier like a chain-smoker smokes cigarettes.  Rarely is it NOT in her mouth.  She liked it that way.  And I didn’t mind it that way.

You see, I have a list of things that I would like my children to accomplish but life tends to happen and I have thrown “timing” everything out the window.  Right now there are four things on my list: get Ella into a big girl bed, potty train Cooper, take Cooper’s paci away for good, and take Ella’s paci away for all awake times.  They all seem easily attainable but they all come with fights and battles and I am just not willing to fight four battles all at once.

Since Cooper is potty trained most days (right now we are fighting Poop War II at our house and I was victorious over the first battle!), I decided to undertake another task – Ella and her paci addiction.  She has such a sweet little smile and cute little voice and talks all the time but that darned paci (although I have to admit I think pacis are cute and my heart melts at cuteness) masks all that up.

So here is to Paci War I and hopes that we all come up out the other side with smiles and sunshine!

Sesame Street Live

I took the girls to Sesame Street Live.  Here is a direct quote from Eden about the show:

“I watched the show and then it was done.”

And when asked her favorite part of the show:

“We got tickets and then sat down.”

Doesn’t that just scream AWESOME?

Don’t let her answers fool you.  She LOVED it!  I was supposed to take her and Cooper but Cooper has literally been a sick little dude every day this week.  Poor guy just can’t seem to get better (we just came back from yet another doctor’s appointment with a new medicine to clear up a brewing ear infection).  So we swapped out Ella for Cooper and she loved it too!

I totally recommend taking your kids at least once.  Get the cheap seats, bring your own snacks, and walk quickly past the stands selling overpriced cheaply made crap.  It will be worth this look:

Horrible, dark, grainy picture. But I think you can see her pure joy! (Especially since she was more interested in the show than the iPod)

Mama’s girl

When she is sick, she wants me.  When she is tired, she wants me.  When she is anything, she wants me.  Not hatin’ it!

The baby mullet

This is the baby mullet or the “skullet” as we refer to it in our house.  It was looking extremely mullety this particular night and I am sure McGyver, himself, would have been proud.

And I swear she just had her skullet trimmed within the week…poor girl needs some rogaine.

Oh croup how you mystify me

Last night was rough.  Like so rough that I think it has been since Nug was a newborn that I had a night that rough (can’t blame Nug that she had a dairy problem that caused horrible reflux that I was oblivious to).

Sweet Baby Jo has a case of the croup.  Poor thing!  But the thing I love about croup is that they aren’t really sick during the day and function normally.  Then there is the thing I loathe, the barking and strider that comes at night (along with the crying and snot and crabbiness).  I did take her to the doctor since her croup seemed to be worse than I remember Duder’s getting awhile back and after googling coughing at 3am, I started doubting that it was croup and was probably a tumor possibly whooping cough which has been going around pretty bad.  But the doctor confirmed what I originally thought and sent us on our way with a one time dose of steroids to hopefully make tonight a little easier on all of us (I think she had pity on me since I am hugely pregnant and have a total of three human beings to keep alive on a daily basis).

And today I would like to give a shout out to my Awesome Husband who stayed home for part of the day so I could take Jo in and make sure she wasn’t dying and so I could keep my normal OB appointment (all is well with me and Little G).  So thankful that he has the ability to work from home when needed and keep little butts wiped!

New Year goals

I have come up with what I believe realistic goals for our family should be for the coming year.  Starting from the littlest to the oldest…

Little G – Be born an average sized baby.

Sweet Baby Jo – Sleep in past 6:3oam on a normal basis.

Duder – Keep his nostrils free of any objects.

Nug – Not to try and get what she wants by asking the other parent after first parent says no.

Awesome Husband – Take his shoes off in the house more often.

The REAL Mom – Burn less food and make it look a wee bit prettier.

I am sure we have family goals but right now these are the ones I am dictating to each family member for the time being.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Big bed

My dad is making Nug and Duder twin beds that have storage space underneath them for Christmas.  I am super excited!  Duder can finally get out of the toddler bed he has been in for a year now and Nug can get a bed that fits her new shared room better.

It has been bittersweet.  I sold Duder’s crib/toddler bed and the changing table that matched.  I think the only child I ever changed on it was Nug and that was just for a few months before I realized the ground or my bed afforded a lot more space.  So now, we only have one crib.  One.  Uno.  And that makes me sad because my babes are growing up.  And by the time Little G will be ready for the crib (I am expecting another closet/room sharing child), Sweet Baby Jo will be in a big girl bed.  What?!?!

Back to the story…I sold his stuff and now he looks like a little mouse on his twin mattress instead of a giant on his toddler one.  My boy is growing up and I am sentimental over the fact that I now have two little people in human-sized beds.  But they are growing into lovely, spunky, and crazy shorties that I adore!