Ella is becoming more and more independent. That being said, I don’t always get to pick out her clothes or shoes anymore. I pull out an outfit and she tells me she doesn’t want to wear that. I pull out another outfit and she doesn’t want to wear that either. She has something in mind and she’ll find it. It’s fun to see her personality come out in deciding what to wear. She has to match her shirt and pants but the shoes don’t typically match. Most of the time I let her wear whatever shoes she wants but on Sundays I make sure they do match. This past Sunday she had on brown pants so when it was time to put her shoes on I pulled out her brown shoes. Well that was not what she had in mind. So Ella puts the brown shoes away and starts to put on her fancy high heel black shoes.  The black shoes are cute and all but one of these days she is going to break her ankle if she doesn’t stop running in them. I tried talking her back into wearing the brown ones but it wasn’t going to happen. I ended up changing her whole outfit so that her fancy black shoes would match. I eventually get her completely dressed shoes and all and she puts her foot next to mine and says “just like mommy.” Yes, our shoes looked very similar, both with high heels and a bow on the front.  And my sweet little Ella was so proud that she looked “just like mommy.”

1. My brother is now officially engaged! We are all so excited. Ann is a very sweet girl. I think they are planning a fall wedding. It still seems a little weird to me that my little brother is getting married…guess he isn’t as little as I thought. I’m hoping that they will live somewhere in the mid-west so we can see them frequently.

2. We found out last week that our 2nd baby is going to be another girl. We are excited, although Adam is a little nervous about a house full of girls :).

3. I think we’ve narrowed down our list of baby names and maybe even decided on one but I’m not ready to share until we know for sure. One hint - it does not start with an E.

4. Check out where we are going in June here. I am so excited and hoping I get to go. I’ll be 36 weeks pregnant so my doctor is a little worried about me going but I’m determined to find a way.

5. We are trying to plan a family trip (just the 3 of us) before the baby comes and we though we would go to The Smoky Mountains. Anyone have any suggestions on where we could stay that is cheap? We have thought about camping but I’ll be 7 months pregnant. Maybe we’ll just take an air mattress.

6. I am loving this warm weather and wish it would stay around longer. Ella and I have been loving hanging out at the park. She loves to swing. I spend 85% of my time pushing her when we go. I love hearing her laugh and telling me to push higher. I am thinking that maybe she is worn out from the outside air because last night when we got home from church she told me she was ready to go “night nights” and went right to sleep…very weird!

7. Adam and I are both continuing to love our jobs. Adam stays very busy and is great at what he does. I’m still working at the YMCA part-time and my most important job, taking care of Ella. Here recently I started teaching tumbling to preschoolers at the YMCA which has been fun.

It’s hard to believe that 2 years ago today Ella made me a mommy! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital and losing  hours upon hours of sleep. Adam and I are so lucky to have such a sweet little girl be part of our life. I am amazed each day at how much she is growing and learning. Ella has changed our lives forever.  I am so thankful God chose us to be her parents.

Yesterday we had an elmo birthday party for Ella. It was awesome to have both sides of the family here to celebrate. She got so many wonderful gifts and seemed to love them all. I’m looking forward to playing with all of her new toys with her this week.  This week as I was getting ready for her party I realized I don’t think I spend enough time with Ella each week and time is flying by so quickly. I work part-time so I can stay home with Ella during the day but sometimes we get so wrapped up in going places and me trying the keep the house clean and cooking all the time I don’t actually sit down and play with her very often, although we are together. Beginning this week we are having more “Mommy and Ella time.”

Check back tomorrow for pictures!

10 reasons why I love being a mommy

In no particular order…

1.  I love the greeting when picking her up from church nursery or from a friends house….”mommy” (with a huge grin on her face)

2.  I love watching her sleep so peacefully

3. I love how everything I do is the most amazing thing in the world

4. I love giving up my food for her when she wants more

5. I love to hear her sing with her high pitched little voice

6. I love that she wants and likes to pray and remembers even we daddy and mommy forget

7. I love her wet kisses and her 1 second hugs

8. I love when she helps me with small chores around the house and thinks she is so big

9. I love to watch how much she adores her daddy and starts showing off the second he comes home from work

10. I love when she crawls on my lap when I’m trying to do something important and gets right in my face and says mommy over and over until I give her the attention she is looking for and I stop what I’m doing

I am so thankful for my mom.  For as long as I can remember she has always been a godly role model and always been there no matter the circumstance. Over the years she has become more than just a mom but also one of my best friends. Although I wish at times we lived closer sometimes I think because of the distance between us we are actually closer. It makes the times we are together more special.

Happy Birthday mom! I love you!