What's that saying about an apple?...

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right? :)

Check out my little genius.  She can sort colors!

Mia Jubilee- 21 months old

Straight Chillin'...

Ellie Grace- 1 month

Mia Jubilee- 21 months

He's training her early...

...to fend off all those boys! :)





I think she's got a few years before she has to worry about that though. :)

Happy "month" bday!

I LOVE that Mia and Ellie Grace were both born on the 23rd.  Not only is it going to help me remember when they were born, but now we get to celebrate their month birthdays together!

So...Happy 21 and 1 month birthdays to my fabulous girls!!!!!

This is how we started the morning...snuggling in our jammies.



Then we headed outside for their "month" birthday pic...

Don't you love their matching shirts?  (I need to take a better picture of them.)  I was going to put "big sister" and "lil' sister" on them, but I kind of ran out of steam when I was making them.  (I made the shirts the week before EG was born, so all I was focused on was meeting her.  I was done with nesting and projects. haha!)

Happy Month-day to my sweet girls! :)

I can't stop smiling...

I literally feel like I have been smiling/ laughing (out loud) for the past two days!  Here's why...

There aren't many things cuter than your kids in their footie pajamas!  

(I'm glad the weather is finally getting colder!)

Ellie Grace is packing on the pounds!  See those chunky thighs?...

...and how about that chin!...

This girl is stealing my heart...

Mia Jubliee and I have so much fun hanging out!  She LOVES to help me cook...

Don't you love how kids dress themselves?  I just want to squeeze her!!!!

Dancing on the table!...Con quidado! (Is that right?  My spanish is a little rusty.)

And then this morning, we each took showers, made some popcorn and (per Mia's request) sat on pillows and watched Elmo.  It was a pretty fun/ productive morning in my book.

"Smile, Mia!"

My family is so precious to me.  I love that Caleb and I get to laugh so much at our girls and their fun personalities.  As Elf would say, "I like smiling.  Smiling is my favorite."

Bonding in Our Boots...

Have you looked out the window today?  

It's cloudy, raining, and absolutely the PERFECT weather to take a trip to the mailbox in your rain boots.  So much FUN for a toddler!  (And her mommy!)

It's in the near future!...

Potty training.  An exciting thought and one that I also dread.  I think about it often, asking myself questions such as:

1. Will I start her too soon?  I've heard if they're not "ready" potty training can be a pain.

2. Should I wait until after Christmas?  Ellie Grace will be older then, PLUS we will have already traveled to Indiana for Thanksgiving.  I can't imagine the pain of stopping every 15 minutes, scurrying in to those ever so clean gas station bathrooms (or any public restroom) all to hear that she has just had an accident.

3. Should I use a potty her size or the insert that goes on the big potty?

4. Will this increase the number of times I am up in the middle of the night?

5. Will I have to do MORE laundry? (sheets, underwear, clothes)

I bought a Potty Time with Elmo book and a potty at a yard sale Saturday.  Mia reads that book over and over and over.  (I'll post the video of her reading it later.)  Needless to say, we've talked about the fact that she will use the potty in the near future.

So today I go in to get her up from her nap and guess what?  Her diaper was dry! (I've heard that once they start waking up with a dry diaper they are getting close to being "ready".)  So I thought I'd just give it a try...let her sit on the potty.  After all, she's been telling us for months every time she goes in her diaper, AND thanks to Elmo, she's an expert on the subject now.  haha!  So how did it go?

This sweet little girl was not successful.  She sure did have a good time though!  She was so proud that she got to sit there, but eventually Ellie Grace needed to eat which meant potty time had to come an end. We may have not gone pee pee in the potty today, but hey...it's in the near future.

P.S.  I still can't believe how much my life has changed!  I am now a mom of two, and I am now blogging about my child going potty.  WHAT?!!!!!

Any advice on making this experience easy/ enjoyable?  Share what's worked/ hasn't worked for your kids!

Nifty Idea (organizing your cords)

Check out this nifty idea!

via Living Locurto

We have a laptop, so we unplug the cords frequently.  I always try to tuck the cords under a lamp or the computer speakers.  Hello!  Problem solved!  (And since I was a teacher, I just so happen to have some of those clips on hand!)

Daddy to the Rescue!

Some days are crazy!  

So crazy that Mia and I are still in our pajamas at the end of the day. (see pic below)  Thankfully we have Caleb.  Just when things started to fall apart with the girls last week, Caleb brought out the bike trailer!  

Mia had the time of her life!  

When they got back home, Caleb informed me that every time he pulled on to our street, Mia would scream "NO!  I want more, Daddy!"

Well, how can a daddy say no to that?  

And how can I not absolutely fall head over heels in love AGAIN and AGAIN with a man like this?....

:)

The raisin test...

I bet you'll never look at a raisin the same after taking this test!  

Which one would YOU choose?  A or B?

  

Look closely!

I hope you chose A, because the other is Ellie Grace's umbilical chord.  Gross, I know.  But it's crazy how much it looks like a raisin, isn't it?  haha :)

No words necessary...

Now go ahead...scroll back up to the top and look at those sweet faces again...

Ellie Grace's Arrival...

Warning:  There are A LOT of pictures.  If you are not family, you may find this post a little boring.  Then again, you may be like me and just like to hear people's stories.  :)

After an encouraging visit to the doctor Wednesday morning, the doctor thought we'd probably have Ellie Grace sometime Wednesday night.  If not, I was scheduled to be induced Thursday morning @ 7:00 a.m.  Here we are...ready to leave for the hospital Thursday morning!

Unfortunately they were slammed with people having babies!  They sent us home and said they would call to let us know if they had room later that afternoon.  Turns out they didn't.  The induction was rescheduled for 5:00 Friday morning.  Here we are at about 4:30 that morning... (I know my belly looks ginormous.  That isn't a maternity shirt, so it looks a bit funny.)

We got checked in, they started the pitocin, and the contractions began!  The doc originally wanted to break my water at 7:00 a.m.  She was in surgery all morning though, so she changed her mind.  She didn't want to break it, have things progress too quickly, and get called out of a surgery.  No prob though...things progressed on their own (an answer to prayer) and I was ready to push by about 4:30 p.m.  Caleb documented it all...

It was almost 4:30.  Doc comes in, says we'll start pushing in about 30 minutes.  The delivery crew came in, started setting up the room, and the doc left to go check on another patient.

What?  Ellie Grace didn't want to wait 30 minutes!  Five minutes had gone by and we were all waiting for the doc.  They could already see EG's head!!!!!  The delivery crew was so calm though.  So we waited...

THERE she is!  Hurry up, Doc! :)  I want to meet my baby girl!!!!

This next picture was taken while I was pushing.  I included this as a praise to the Lord!!!  I had a horrible experience with Mia, but had specifically prayed (along with friends and family) that this one would be totally different.  And boy was it!  I was actually smiling while I was pushing.  (So THAT's what epidurals are for!  haha)

Caleb was so excited!  He could see her!!!!!! :)

She's here!!!!  I couldn't believe it!!!!!!  AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

She was born at 4:44.  (4 is my favorite number, by the way.)

Ellie Grace Dather!!!  ("Someone give me a bath!!!!")

Caleb is so good at documenting everything.  I love to watch the videos when I get home.  You forget so much.  Plus, the mommy doesn't get to watch them tend to the baby directly after she is born.  Pics and video "fill in the blanks" for me. :)  (Thanks Caleb and Christi!)

Stamping her footprints in the baby book!...

More documentation of her first minutes of life...

She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz.  

She's still waiting on that bath!

First moments with Daddy...

 No bath yet, but at least she's warm and cozy!  Now we wait to go to our room...

The Doc.  Great job!!!!!

Proud Daddy of TWO girls...

Brace yourself...This next picture is pure sugary sweetness...

Looking into each other's eyes.

Yay!  Ellie Grace is here, and we are in our room!  I think it was about 6:30 by now.

Brand new...

Noni and Papa came to visit!

And so did the Danners.  And guess what?...

...they brought me a bubble tea from O'Chai!!!!!!

Proud...

Yay!  We are the parents of two beautiful girls!  I still can't believe that I get to be MARRIED to this man, let alone raise a family with him! :)

FINALLY!!!!...time for a bath!  I love that they do all of this in the room now.  It was fun to watch. :)

Ahhhh....

The next day my parents brought Mia Jubilee to meet her new sister!  She LOVED her!

She kept saying "Hey Ellie!" and waving to her. :)

Then she started pointing out all of her features: nose, eyes, toes, ears, etc...

Mia and HER new baby are sitting with Mommy....

Papa time!...

I love this next picture for a couple reasons:  1. Mia climbed up and gave me this big hug all on her own.  2.  Caleb is feeding Mia's baby.  :)  He is such a good daddy.

First family pic?  Nope.  That is Mia's baby...not Ellie Grace.  We did get a family pic though!

Still getting to know Ellie Grace...

Now for those family pics...

 "It's soft." Mia was so gentle with EG.  She still loves to touch her hair.

She and Caleb are checking out Ellie's tiny toes.  They are so cute!  

The start of a great relationship...

Peace...

Justin and Amber came to meet Ellie Grace too! 

Getting dressed so that we can go home!  She liked the paci at the hospital, but she has already given it up...

 Ready to take my sweet girl home!!!!

Waiting on Caleb to pic us up in our new swagger wagon!

So sweet...and I love how she sometimes holds her thumb like Mia Jubilee used to do. :)

Yay!  We're home!  (See...I told you I like the number 4. haha)

 Welcome to our family, Ellie Grace!