Father's Day 2014

I realize that Father's Day was over a month ago, but I'm trying to get caught up on the blog!  Our Father's Day weekend was relatively relaxing.  Scott requested that we not do any housework on Father's Day and we somewhat stuck to that (we painted our bedroom, but luckily it didn't take us too long to finish it).  

We went to the zoo on Saturday….the kids loved riding the camel!

On Sunday, we went to church, met up with some friends at the park, and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool.  That evening, Scott and I spent a few hours painting our bedroom.

Scott is attentive, kind, funny, and helpful!  The kids adore him!  He might not know how to part Elli's hair or even come close to putting it in a ponytail, but he's the best Dad these kids could ever have!  

Elliana 4.5

She's sweet, silly, full of energy and officially turned 4.5 years old yesterday!  I can't believe we are halfway to Elli's 5th birthday.  She is growing up so quickly!

Elli still continues to be our good eater.  Very rarely do we hear her complain about the food we put on her plate; however, it has happened more lately than it ever has.  Elli is always full of questions and these days Scott and I always….I mean, always have to watch what we're talking about.  We spell things out we don't want her to hear, but those days of being able to do that are coming to an end.  She continues to be a Daddy's girl and thinks he is the funniest thing on this planet (he can get her laughing like nothing else can).

She enjoys writing and often writes various letters on a piece of paper and asks what they spell!  She loves books and I can see her spending many hours reading in the future!

 Elliana loves, loves, loves watching T.V. and movies.  I think if I let her, she'd watch T.V. most of the day.  Her favorite show continues to be Jake and the Neverland Pirates; however, I've encouraged her to branch out lately and try some other shows.  She still loves all the Disney princesses.  However, she is not playing dress up much anymore…..instead she likes to wear 3 different outfits in a day.

 Elliana is becoming extremely independent.  She gets herself ready on most days.  Typically, she'll ask me what we're doing and ask me if there is anything specific she needs to wear.  She will then go to her room, pick out her clothes, get dressed and brush her hair.  She would also brush her teeth by herself, but we still like to be there with her to make sure she's getting all her teeth (Dentist's orders until she's 8).  She often always squirts some perfume on and occasionally will put lotion on.  And she very rarely leaves the house without her lipgloss and purse.

 Elliana loves being outdoors playing!  Just recently we found out that she's pretty good at playing softball!  She loves swinging, riding her bike and driving the gator around.  She has also become quite the little swimmer and we can no longer get her to wear her puddle jumper.

She is still taking a nap on most days.  Typically, she is up until at least 9:30 on the days that she naps, so I know soon we will be getting out of the naps.  On days where she doesn't nap, she is passed out usually by 8:00 and has no trouble going to sleep.  She wakes up anywhere from 7:00 to 7:45 in the morning and is usually the happiest person to be around.  (She takes after Scott and is a morning person.  I'm the complete opposite and typically choose not to eat breakfast with them because of how talkative they are in the morning….I know that sounds bad, but I need some time to myself in the mornings).

The next 2 pictures are some of my favorites.  We went grocery shopping at Meijer awhile ago.  Before we left, Elli had taken money out of her piggy bank, so she could pay for Sandy rides for herself and Connor.  As soon as we got to Sandy, she got down, and got out some pennies for Connor to ride and then some for herself.

 She was so excited and so proud of herself that she was able to pay for something with her own money!

Elli, you make everyday more fun! Only 6 more months until you are 5 (which you are already planning your next birthday party).

1st Night Camping

The kids experienced their first night of camping on Friday night.  Scott had originally planned on golfing for his birthday on Saturday, but we started a project a few weeks ago that needed to get done this weekend.  So instead of golf for his birthday (which he did get to play on Monday), he decided to go camping with the kids.

He came home from work and took the kids to the store to get the necessary camping supplies (sugary drinks, glow sticks, gum….you know….all the essentials).  The kids apparently talked to everyone in the store and told them that they were camping (and also ask them their name).

This girl was so excited...

 They cooked hot dogs, made s'mores, watched a movie (Fox and the Hound), and caught lightening bugs.  Elli decided to let the lightening bugs go after watching a sad part of the movie.  Fox and The Hound always makes her cry.

We think they fell asleep around 10:30 (Bella also slept in the tent with them) and Elli woke up around 6:30 to use the restroom….which Connor then woke up.  They laid down for another 45 minutes and then were up for the day.

Those 3 had so much fun!  They both ended up taking over 3 hour naps the next day! And while they were camping, Scott told me to take the night off.  So….I ended up doing touch-up paint for 5 hours….I know I'll regret not taking the night to relax, as things are about to get really busy with this new baby!  Oh well….I got things done and the kids and Scott had fun….it was a successful evening for everyone!

Baby #3 update

This Sunday marks official full-term status!  I've done a horrible job documenting this pregnancy, so Elli snapped this picture before we headed to the park yesterday morning.  

I'm actually feeling great and have been feeling really good this pregnancy with the exception of the first 15/16 weeks of morning sickness.  I had one day this week with no energy, sick to my stomach and really uncomfortable (Scott and my parents can attest to that, as they called me and I was boohooing over wanting to be done with the pregnancy because of the way I felt…a little Red Robin and huge mile high dessert that night helped…thanks Scott)….other than this day, I've been feeling really good and I've had so much energy….Scott thinks too much (you should see our house :)  )  I don't sleep much at night…I'm up at least 4 times to use the bathroom and then the baby is extremely active where I can't fall asleep.  I slept for a whole 3 hours last night, but I always manage to get a million things done in a day.  (It's currently 11:40 and I'm still running on the 3 hours from last night :) )  I'm sore, but I love how I've been able to keep up my energy for this long!  

Right now the baby seems to be growing right on schedule.  I was 1 cm dilated last Monday and will be checked again this Monday.  My blood platelets have been continually dropping this pregnancy (it's a condition that happens in some pregnant women and I'm lucky enough to get it), but there is nothing the Dr. can do at this point to increase them.  Because of this, the dr. has told me to prepare for a natural delivery, as I probably won't be able to get the epidural because of the decrease platelets.  So, that's what I'm doing!  

I still feel like I have a good couple weeks left of this pregnancy, but finally feel ready if the baby comes anytime.  No, we don't have a name, don't have a hospital bag packed, haven't installed the carseat, haven't washed bottles, but I still feel somewhat ready if it'd happen sooner than the 3rd.  My mom got me a package of diapers and I'm glad she did….otherwise I would have completely forgotten to start buying diapers (baby now has 3 packages of newborns….I'm sure he/she will go through those in a week).  

And this picture has nothing to do with the post, but he insisted we take a picture of him after Elli took my picture.  Um….how cute is he??

Dance 2013-2014

For the 2013/2014 school year, Elli took a dance class every Thursday evening with her friend, Siena.  Elli loved it, but doing a class every Thursday evening for a full school year at her age was a little too much.  Still, she learned a lot and had fun doing it.  

First dance class...

Elli and Siena after their first dance class

Kensley came to visit towards beginning of the school year and was able to take a class with Elli.  I look back at  this picture and think….Did we suggest that they hug? Kensley was sick and had a fever this night.  

We gave her a choice of whether she wanted to be in the dance recital at the end of the year or not and she decided she wanted to.  We had to turn in all the money and forms in October (yeah….the recital wasn't even until June).  I didn't know what to expect going into the recital and laughed when they suggested we put make-up on the girls. But we ended up doing make-up and she was so excited about it!  Afterwards, Scott told me he read in one of his books to never put make-up on your daughter before they hit their teenage years (oops….yep, he reads a few pages out of his father/daughter book most mornings….to say he's a bit more nervous about raising a daughter vs. a son is an understatement, but I love how serious he takes his role as Dad).

You were only supposed to take pictures and video during the rehearsal, but I ended up sneaking in a video of the actually performance….one day I'll post it (ha….lets be honest….I can barely keep up with posting pictures on here….)

Um….my favorite picture.  See which one Elli is?  I'm not sure what she was doing on stage….but it was a long evening of rehearsals.

Elli and Siena

Her biggest fans!!  See her roses?  Scott and I might have scored those dozen roses for $2.00 the night before at the grocery store….she loved them!!

Elli did an awesome job this year at dance and during her recital!  We were so proud of her and it was so much fun to watch her up on stage!

Gulf Shores 2014

We went to Gulf Shores with my family the week of memorial day!  It was our first vacation with all my family since Elli and Kensley were just months old.  We were a bit nervous at how it'd be with 5 kids, 4 and under all sleeping in the same condo, but it wasn't as chaotic as we had originally thought (now, add 1 more kiddo to the mix next year and it might be a bit too much).

My parents rode with us on the way down there and on the way back.  We left in the evening and drove straight through the night.  The kids did awesome, but we were all exhausted once we got to the condo.  The kids were so excited to get there!  Here are some highlights from our trip…

Playing at the beach

All dressed up alike to go out to dinner.

I love these next 2 pictures of Elli.  She had such a fun week with Kensley.  Here they are dancing and playing in the sand while we waited for our table at dinner (yes, a huge sandpit AND live music while we waited for dinner….genius)!!

Connor playing in the sand!

Swimming in the pool!  The kids spent every moment possible in the pool or hot tub!  Both kids made great strides with swimming!

Scott and Connor looking at boats while waiting for dinner at another restaurant….

Swinging!  The kids even got some balloon animals while waiting on their food.

After dinner we watched the light show at the Wharf and the kids danced like crazy.  I think this was their favorite place….we ended up here twice that week.  

Notice Avery and Connor….they definitely became best friends that week.  They were so sweet and I loved watching them play together.  Avery definitely has ideas of what they should be doing at all times….he's always being bossed around by the ladies ;) (something he should get used to!!). 

Scott and my dad took Connor to the Airforce museum and Blue Angels airshow.  This was definitely a highlight for Connor and Scott.  Connor (and also Scott) still talk about the Blue Angels and how they flew upside down….in fact, every airplane he sees he refers to a Blue Angel!

Elli putting some lipgloss on Avery before going out….

Dinnertime!  He's such a stud!!

And we were back at the Wharf riding on the Ferris Wheel…..the kids loved it!!

Swimming!  Elli is now no longer swimming with her floaties.  Since Gulf Shores, I can't get her to wear them in the pool.  She does great, but needs to learn how to take a breath while swimming, so she can keep going!

Connor swimming…..he loved putting his face in…(Mom is in the hot tub soaking her back…..Maddy is getting a little to heavy for her).

Playing in the waves at the ocean.  

We had a really great week despite the weather.  It rained for a few days (luckily we had an indoor pool also) and then was sunny for the rest of the week.  We went to a waterpark in the middle of the week, which the kids absolutely loved!  They love going down the big slides!  

Unfortunately, Amber, Scott, Connor and I all ended up getting sick that week.  We decided to make the trip home in one day.  Scott drove the whole way….it took us 13 or 14 hours.  We only made 4 (maybe 5 at the most) stops and our last stop being the longest at probably 10, maybe 15 minutes.  I'm crazy when it comes to travel and don't like to stop.  Hey, I was 30 weeks pregnant and traveling gives me contractions….I was ready to get home!  The kids did awesome on the way home though!

We had a great week and the kids still continue to talk about their week in Gulf Shores.  They want to go back!