Ellie at 4 months...

Ellie is now 4 months old!  We went for her check up this morning and she is weighing in at 19 pounds and 11 ounces.  She is VERY far off the growth chart.  Well above the 99th percentile.  She was 26 inches long which is right at the 95th percentile.  Her head size was at 64th percentile.  She is a BIG girl!  She is bigger than Ben was at the same age. 

Now that she is 4 months old, we let her try some cereal.  She loved it!  Of course it seems that most of it is on her face and shirt and not in her mouth, but she is getting better and better with the spoon everyday.  She really likes playing in the excer-saucer.  It's even more fun when big sis entertains her!

Ellie is such a wonderful baby.  She is so happy all the time and just lights up when people talk with her.  She loves to sleep and has turned into a Mama's girl.  She won't let Daddy feed her a bottle.  She only wants Mommy to do it.  I'm going to miss her SO much tomorrow when I return to work, but I'm looking forward to seeing Hannah in the halls.

Happy Birthday Kenz!

This weekend we celebrated McKenzie's 1st birthday.  Ben was REALLY excited to go to her party and practiced singing "Happy Birthday" multiple times throughout the weekend to prepare.

Auntie Teri had a photo booth set up and a frame decorating craft.  Hannah was all about decorating her frame and continued to work on it after we got home.

This was also Ellie's first party that she has attended.  She was happy to sit back and watch all the action.  She was giving big smiles and stayed awake the entire time.

I was excited that all 3 of my babies took a picture in the photo booth.  They looked so cute in their silly glasses.

Ellie got a picture with the birthday girl and future BFF.

Yay Auntie Teri for throwing such a fun party!

Something I want to remember....

Hannah and Ben sleeping together on our vacation

Ben's prayers last night....

"Dear Dog,

Thank you for my friends Sammy, Will, Harrison, Miss Gloria, Fromant, (his list goes on for about 14 people).  I love you Jesus and Mimi.

Amen"

Our New Home...Part 1

I FINALLY have some pictures of the house to share! 

Hannah and I bought some flowers for the front entrance and found our scarecrow in the storage room.  Ben calls it the "scary crow".

This is our unorganized playroom.  Eventually I would like some shelves and baskets to store all the toys in, but until then the kids organize it their way.

The playroom is a formal living room, so one day, in the very far future, the grownups will take the room back.

Our sweet girl is getting so strong!  More house pictures soon....

Daytona Beach

After Joanna's wedding, we headed to Daytona Beach to meet Baboo and Grandma.  It was the first time they got to meet Ellie.  The big kids were so excited to play with them too!  Grandma taught Hannah how to boogie board in the ocean, and Baboo put the kids to sleep at night telling them Ranger stories.

We stayed at a place right on the beach which was great.  It also had a really fun kids pool and playground.

Grandma and Daddy took the kids to the top of the lighthouse.  Ben had to be carried the entire way up, but they both loved the view.

Ben fell in the ocean the first day we went out.  The waves came up over his head and he was very scared to get back in after that.  Luckily Daddy worked with him, and he overcame his fear and was back in the water by the second day.  He and Hannah loved trying to "touch the waves." 

Ellie fell asleep every time we went out to the water.  She likes the calming sound of the ocean.

The kids loved the pirate ship slide.  Ben stood at the top of the slide crying.  When I asked him what was wrong he said, "I peeing in my pants Mommy!"  Needless to say the remaining families took their kids out of the pool after that!  We had such a great trip and we can't wait to go the beach next year when Ellie can run and play in the waves with the big kids!

Joanna's Wedding

Last weekend we traveled to Birmingham for Joanna and Lee's wedding.  We stayed with Uncle Lee and Aunt Emily and their sweet baby boy Rex.  The kids loved playing with all of Rex's toys.  On Saturday morning, Daddy and Uncle Lee took the kids to Krispy Kreme, and they were really excited to get these special hats.

The wedding was at a park and there were lots of games for the kids to play.  Hannah and Ben had a blast trying all the different games.

It was also the first time that everyone had a chance to meet Ellie.  She loved showing off her sweet smile!

Aunt KK had a very special treat for Hannah and Ben.  She gave them a new alphabet puzzle.  Ben was SO excited to put it together.  We brought it to the beach with us and he played with it nonstop in the room.  He loves to tell everyone that "KK give me this puzzle!"

We were really excited to get a picture of Mimi with all of her great grandchildren.  They all did a great job posing for us!

I REALLY wanted to get a family picture of all 5 of us.  When I put the pictures on the computer, I noticed that Ben decided to stick his finger up his nose in my precious family photo!!

Ellie at 3 Months

We're about 10 days late with Ellie's 3 month old post, but I want to make sure it gets included.  Jay and I are planning on making a book of our blog and we are going to love having all the memories.  Ellie is the sweetest baby.  We can not put into words how blessed we feel with this child.  We had her medicine changed a few weeks ago, and it has made the biggest difference in her life!  The only time she seems to cry or fuss is when she is hungry or when she needs a nap.  She is always cooing, smiling, and laughing.  She loves to watch the big kids play and she lights up when you talk to her. 

We just got home from the beach, and while we were there Ellie loved to relax and watch the ocean from her chair.  She would cat nap on the beach while the kids played in the waves.  It took us about 9 hours to get there and she was a champ throughout the entire car trip.  We can't get enough of her!

We used to have to rock her for hours to get her to go to sleep.  She recently found her thumb. Now all we have to do is lay her in the bed when she gets tired and she puts herself to sleep.  We are SO in love with this little girl!

Halloween Dance Party and a day home with Mommy!

Yes, I realize that Halloween is a little less than 2 months away.  It also happens to be Hannah's favorite holiday, so when the weather starts cooling down the costumes start coming out!  We had invitations on our night stands a couple weeks ago inviting us to a "Halloween Dance Party".  On Friday after school, she decorated with signs and spider webs. 

Of course it couldn't just be a party where the kids dress up.  The grown-ups had to wear costumes as well.  I'm actually kind of surprised that there wasn't a theme that we all had to follow with specific costumes picked out by the party planner. 

Ben hates dressing up, and cried during the "party".  We decided it was better for him to just be the DJ.

Ellie decided she wanted to be the pretty bride.

Today Miss Gloria was under the weather, so Ben stayed home with Mommy and Ellie.  He slept until 9:45 which is always welcomed in this house, and spent the morning watching Sesame Street and playing with his baby sister.

I'm loving spending everyday at home with my sweet baby....I wish it could last forever!

September already?

I feel like my time off is flying by!  I still have about a month and a half, but it seems like it's going by too soon.  Hannah and Ellie wore their Auburn t-shirts this weekend, and looked so sweet together.  Hannah adores her sister, and Ellie is starting to notice Hannah more now too.  Ellie LOVES looking at faces, and will smile nonstop when you talk to her.

Jay and I started September with a nasty stomach bug.  We both got violently ill within hours of each other.  Luckily Nana and Gigi were able to come to the rescue and help take care of the kids.  I don't know what we would have done without their help.  Gigi stayed for several days until we were both back at 100% which was so helpful.  The kids did not get sick, so I'm starting to wonder if Jay and I ate something funky.

Ben found some letter flashcards and has been all about playing with them.  He loves telling us the letter on each card and then he organizes them in his own special way.  We went for his follow up eye appointment this week, and, because the drops aren't working, the doctor ruled out allergies as a cause for the intense blinking.  He referred us on to a neurologist.  We visited with our pediatrician to make sure we were doing everything we needed to do, and Ben actually started doing the blinking in the office with the doctor.  We got lucky that the doctor was able to see it in person.  He said that Ben has a benign tic disorder, and gave us the name of a neurologist that specializes in that type of thing.  We have an appointment scheduled for the end of the month.

The kids helped Jay rake some leaves this morning.  We have also been enjoying some nature walks together as a family.  Ben's favorite story at Miss Gloria's right now is The 3 Billy Goats Gruff and decided to call everyone we passed on our walk a troll.  Never a dull moment with that boy!  We are looking forward to the weather getting cooler and taking advantage of the walking trails more often.

Daddy and Ellie were worn out after our hike!

Conversations with my Son...

Me: Ben, we need to do your eye drops before bed tonight.
Ben: NO
Me: It won't be too bad buddy, we'll put them in quick.
Ben: No you won't Mommy....I will close my eyes (he closes his eyes as tight as he can and puts his hands over his face)
Me: Come on Ben, it's not that bad.
Ben: You can put them in my mouth.

Jay: Ben, I think it's time to go potty.
Ben: Go back to work Daddy!

Me: Benjamin James, get over here now!
Ben: No, my name is Ben.
Me: Your name is Benjamin, now come over here.
Ben: No, my name is Ben.
Me: I don't care what your name is, get over here now!

Me: Hannah it's time for dinner, come down stairs
(No reponse)
Me: Hannah let's go, it's time to eat!
(No response)
Ben: HANNAH CAKE GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!

Ben: Ellie has a bow in her hair. (touching the bow)
Me: Yes, Ellie looks very pretty.
Ben: very pretty
Me: Do you want to wear a bow and look pretty too?
Ben: No, Mommy (pause) I have a penis.

Ellie at 2 Months Old

Ellie turned 2 months old on Sunday.  We went for her well check up and first round of shots on Monday morning.  She is 15 pounds 6 ounces which is well above the 99th percentile.  She has gained 3 pounds since last month.  She is 23 1/2 inches long which is at the 90th percentile.  She did great with the shots and only cried for a few seconds.  Luckily she takes after Ben and had no reaction to the vaccines.  She slept most of the day on Monday and seemed to be back to herself by Tuesday. 

She is really adjusting to being on a schedule.  She eats around the same times everyday, and sleeps pretty well almost every night.  I have had to wake her up every morning this week to feed her before I take the kids to school.  She is really good about going right back to sleep which is nice on the weekends when I don't have to drop anyone off.  We feel so blessed to have such a sweet baby!