These Are a Few of My Favorite Things!

Remember the wonder & excitment of Christmas when you were a kid? Waking up every morning with butterflies in your stomach because you knew you were one day closer to Christmas. Going through Toys R Us making a list of everything you want Santa to bring. Making sure your room was clean so your parents couldnt tell Santa you were bad. Checking the mailbox for Christmas cards and maybe a gift or two. As great as those times were, every year the warm fuzzy feeling seemed to shrink just a little.
And then I had Ella. The anticipation for Christmas has hit me more than it has in the past 10 years combined! One Christmas tradition I'm looking forward to the most- Christmas cards! Not just any Christmas card. This will be our first as a family of three! Dressing up a little girl in all things Christmas for a family photo, picking the right style for a photo card, making a mailing list, buying Christmas stamps... Just the thought makes my skirt fly up! I love browsing the styles & deciding which design matches the picture. Maybe it's a girl thing.
As soon as we get a decked out family picture (and as soon as I can convince my husband red tights are a good idea for a 6month old), I'm hoping to jump the gun & get our cards made through Shutterfly. I'm surprised how many cute religious cards they have to choose from.Then I get to sit back & wait for the influx of snail mail as we receive cards as well. I'm sure we'll get a few extra this year since the generous people at Shutterfly are giving away free cards this year! Maybe with the money we save on Christmas cards, we can get a calendar for the grandparents! Or maybe we can spring for white tights instead of red :o)

How Time Flies!

I cant believe i was so newly preggo the last time i posted... My life isnt anywhere close to the same! Ella will be 20 weeks old this week. She does something new everyday! She's recently started growling at people. It's cute at home, but when you're at the mall and people stop to comment on how adorable she is with her little mohawk... well that makes for an embarrassed Mama! She rolls over like it's nothing. She let out a little laugh the other day. It touched my heart so much i may have teared up. She's starting to sit up too. We got her a Bumbo and she loved it instantly.

Ella had her 4month check up last week. She's weighing in at 10lbs 10oz! that puts her in the 2nd percentile haha she's 23 3/4" long (27%) and her head is 15 1/4" (3%). She's been in 0-3month clothes for about a month. She's been in size 1 diapers since she was 1 month old. She's the light of my life! I couldnt imagine doing anything besides staying home with her. We have the joy of joining a MOPS group in town. i'm so thrilled to meet other moms in the area. It was totally a God thing that we were able to join. I've also started making & selling bows in my spare time.

My spare time has increased drastically in the past few weeks. September 12th we started sleep training. Yes, until then I'd been holding Ella for all of her naps AND through the night. I'd mastered the art of a breastfeeding buffet without waking myself up :o) It was a tough few nights letting her cry it out a little and get used to sleeping alone. It didnt help that we were at the hospital all day sept 14th for Jess to have her gallbladder removed. and then she stayed with us a week. Yeah, kinda made sleep training a little harder but thank the sweet Lord she's got it down now!

We havent really been traveling with Matt since then, but I think we might give it a go soon. He's been working so hard lately. i know he misses her terribly when he's gone. Sometimes i feel guilty that i get to stay home with her and he doesnt. It makes me sad all the things i get to experience with her that he misses. It scares me when i get used to handling everything on my own. It's not something i want to get used to. I know God has major things in store for us. It's just been a trying time.

Hopefully i'll be able to keep up with posting regularly. As fast as Ella's growing, i know i wont be able to remember it all otherwise!