First Big Kids baths, Pulling Up and Story time with Daddy

Bath Time Baby!!!




On Sunday we had our first "Bid Kids Bath" with no bath seats! We probably could have done it a little sooner, but I wanted to make sure they were nice and steady on their booty's first. They love splashing and playing with their rubber duckies. Although it kills my back even more, we save a good 15 minutes each night by bathing them at the same time. Hooray!!!!



Pulling Up

Ethan and Ella have both gotten to be very good at pulling up. These pictures are of them pulling up in their "pin." Their pin is a big play yard we have set up in our bonus room. It is really nice because I don't have to spend all day chasing Ethan around the room as he goes after everything forbidden! I did have to get another extension to it though alst week to make it a little bigger. As big as it is, I still felt like the walls were caving in on me after a while! Now I can lay in the center and Ethan can crawl right over me and Ella can tug on my hair : )

It's Story Time with Daddy

Every night after bath time, we get in our jammies and have story time. Eric and I will alternate ights on who reads story and who runs around and gets bed time bottles together. In this picture, Eric is reading them their favorite Curious George book.

And just cuz it's cute.......

Ella was so proud of herself for getting her leg through the bumper and the slats of Ethan's crib. She just giggled and giggled!

Farewell Formula and Bottles!!!

Farewell Formula and Bottles!!! No phrase has ever sounded so sweet. 63 days until we can say that. (and be a couple of hundred dollars richer each month!!!!!!)

I love about 95% of my day with my precious, oh-so cute babies. The 5% that I hate is when I feed them their afternoon bottle at 12:45 CST every day. As with everything we do, we do it at the same time. They haven't been able to figure out holding their own bottles yet, so I do it for them. I sit in between them with them in their little seats facing me. Ethan is always on my left and Ella on my right. (Anal Mommy thing. Ethan was Baby A and Ella was Baby B, so I always put them in that order) So they are both on either side of me and I hold a bottle in each of their mouths........or try my darnedest to do so. Ethan is a little monkey. He wraps his arms and legs around my arm. And just to make it interesting, he hooks at least one of his big toes in the bottom of the bottle. Ella is a squirmy wormy. She wiggles around so she can watch the TV, Majors, the fan or anything that isn't right in front of her. Then so she can make it interesting, occasionally, she will bat at the bottle and knock it out of her mouth and my hand. Ugh. Serenity Now!!!!

Content and Curious

Content and Curious. Those are the 2 words that can describe Ethan and Ella. Ethan is a very curious little boy. Once I sit him on the ground he is off exploring. Anything and everything he can get to and into - he is there. Ella....she is perfectly content where I sit her. If she can reach some toys, great she will play with them. If not, her toes will do! I am starting to wonder if she will ever crawl. She really is perfectly content to be where she is and kick around there. I am sure that will be a quality that will serve her well in the future. Ethan's curiosity will lead to great things too (and possibly some bumps, bruises, and a few time outs!) They are both starting to pull up occasionally, so we have moved both of their cribs all the way down.

In addition to getting into everything he isn't supposed to, Ethan is also getting one of his top front teeth! You can barely see it, but you can definitely feel it and the nasty effects of teething. He has been drooling a gallon an hour the last week. He has also gotten into a nasty habit of biting......but only Mommy. He will learn the word NO before this is all said and done! Ella has been teething too and I am sure her's will not be far behind her Buddy's! Thank God she is so much more even tempered than Ethan! She barely fusses a bit. And she wouldn't dare bite Mama : )

Ella's exciting news is that she is saying Mama!!! I am thrilled. I was completely prepared for the first words to be Dada! (I am really working hard at not dancing and singing Na Ne Na Na Boo Boo to Eric!) She says it to Majors, the TV, her Linkadoos, and whatever else she sees. She may not realize that Mama is me, but nonetheless I am enjoying it!

We are continuing to try new foods and having fun with it. Ella has such good, healthy tastes. She loves steamed veggies, oatmeal and thanks to Mimi....sweet tea. Ethan is a true carboholic like me. He likes Pancakes, Grilled Cheese and Mac n Cheese. Don't worry I limit how often he gets them. But when he does, he inhales it! 2 chews and down the trap. And all the while he is grunting. Ella eats them well too, but she chews everything at least 50 times. Good girl. We have taken them out to eat with us a couple of times since they can sit in "big kid" high chairs. It is so much easier!! They just sit, watch the people, and munch away on their little finger foods. So much nicer than when they were in their car seats. Talk about a ticking time bomb.

I have kept trying to get a video of Ella because I feel dreadful that all the videos I have are of Ethan so far. We have 2 problems though. Number 1 - Ella likes to pose for the camera. She is an aspiring model. When she sees the camera, she stops what she is doing and gives you the most adorable grin. She doesn't quite get the whole video needs action thing. Number 2 - Ethan is just plain odd. Now I say that in the most loving, motherly way. But the kid is weirdo. He just gives so much good material! I finally got this video of Ella playing with the furry Triplet, Majors.

August 3rd - This day in History

Five Years Ago - 2002
This is the happiest day of my life. Five years ago, I was blessed enough to marry the most wonderful man in the world. We went fortunate to be surrounded by our family and friends as we exchanged our vows at Lyndon Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. It was the hottest day of the entire summer and we had to turn off the AC so the candles wouldn't burn out. I am sure there were a few groomsmen that had a few choice words for me : ) The ceremony was beautiful despite the sweat on our brows.
Four Years Ago - 2003
On the day before my best friend, Jodi, got married in Lexington, KY. We had such a wonderful time celebrating with her and Tobin. On our anniversary, we drove to a small Bed and Breakfast out in the horse country. It was so beautiful. That evening we went to Shaker Town for a very yummy dinner.


Three Years Ago - 2004
Neither Eric or I remember this anniversary. Obviously we didn't do anything too interesting. Probably our standard dinner at Carrabba's! Perhaps there was too much wine and that is why?

Two Years Ago - 2005

For our 3rd anniversary, we were both out of town. But fortunately, we were in the same town! Indianapolis. It was actually quite nice. We worked during the day, then pretended to be on vacation that night. We ate at Maggiano's and pretended our hotel was at the beach and not the burbs of Indy.

One Year Ago - 2006

I was 22 weeks pregnant with Ethan and Ella. I had to go to a follow up Ultrasound because my cervix had started to shorten the week before. After a week of bedrest at home, I felt sure that my condition had improved. After my Ultrasound, I was sent to my doctor's office where they immediately sent me to her private office to lay on the couch. (Never a good sign) I was admitted to the hospital and found out that I was having contractions every 6 minutes and never even felt them. They pumped me full of liquids and drugs to get them under control. Eric stayed with me in the hospital the whole time. (although I did excuse him to go get my Wendy's for lunch and Chili's for supper!) It was a scary day. Dr Blake just kept saying that we had to get the babies another couple of weeks so the babies were viable. We were scared, but we knew that God was watching over all of us. One of the funny memories I have is of my IV Pole. I was in a really big Labor and Delivery room because the High Risk floor was all full. The bathroom was a long way away from my bed, so I had to unplug my IV Pole every time I went to the bathroom........which was a lot since I was pregnant! Apparently the battery was low, so the whole time it was unplugged it would beep really loud and get quicker the longer it was unplugged. It reminded Eric and I of either a bomb or the theme to 24. Nonetheless, it stressed me out every time I had to pee : )

Today - 2007

Eric took the day off so we could spend the day together. We just finished a big pancake breakfast. We don't have any big plans for the rest of the day......no trips to KY or IN or even the hospital. Just going to spend the day as a family and count each one of our blessings. God blessed me when he brought Eric into my life 10 years ago at the University of TN. Then he doubly blessed us when He gave us Ethan and Ella. We may go on a family date to dinner. Sure it will have to be at 5 so we can get home for bathtime, storytime, bottles, then bedtime. And sure there will be Diet Coke and Water instead of a bottle wine. And there probably will be a little more baby talk than about what is the next trip we will take. But it will be absolute Heaven for us. (Plus our trip to Florida was our anniversary gift to each other ; )

A visit from Great Grandparents!!

We had some very exciting visitors this week. Great Grandma and Papatch came to visit from Missouri! It was so good to see them and for them to finally get a chance to meet Ethan and Ella. They stayed with Mom and Dad, but we were sure to go visit each day. On Friday, we all went to the famous Loveless Cafe for breakfast. It was a real treat. Ethan and Ella get to sit in "big kid" high chairs for the first time and did very well. They got to sample the biscuits and LOVED the pancakes. It was great to be able to visit with Grandma and Papatch and show off my little munchkins.

On Saturday we made a day trip to see Nana and Papa (Eric's parents). Nana's birthday was on the 31st so we had a family bar b q. It was great to be able to see Eric's extended family. We hadn't been able to see them since Christmas 2005 so it was long over due. We look forward to seeing them again this Christmas at the big family dinner if not before!

We have been busy trying new foods and continuing to practice using our fingers to eat. They are getting better every day at it. I still have quite a bit to clean up after meals (with the help of Majors of course!) This morning when I was changing Ella after breakfast, I found a pancake piece in the footie of her PJs! I tell you that takes some real talent to do that!

Ethan has been burning up the carpet with his hands and knees. He has reached the level of "expert crawler" pretty quick! He loves to crawl to Majors room and the mini fridge best. Or anything BESIDES his toys. Buddy has definitely kept me on my toes. Actually, I can blame my posting late because. I simply cannot do anything but play in the carpet with them when he is up. If I turn my back for a second, he is in Major's room. So my computer time is now limited to only when they nap.

Ella is perfectly content doing sitting or laying on the blanket. Sure she might roll over a time or two, but not often. She will play for hours with her gumball machine, linkadoos, phone rattle or just her oh so adorable toes. I have tried to move toys a little further away to try to coax her to crawl, but she wants no part of it. She will either reach and reach until she can get it or just forget about it and grin. It is amazing how she can reach some things. She will be sitting up and then just lean over so her belly is flat on the ground so she can reach it. She may be a ballerina or gymnast someday with that flexibility! We aren't worried about her lack of crawling. She will do it when she is ready. My only concern is that in the church nursery, Ethan will be "graduated" to the next class of crawlers. Ella won't care a bit to be away from him for a little while. Ethan will have a tough time though.

Eric had a great trip to Chicago. He went to a training class that teaches accountants how to establish the net worth of a company. It is something he would like to be able to do in his job more going forward, so it was a good seminar for him. I think he enjoyed the Cubs game and catching up with his friend Ty more though! We were very happy to have him home on Tuesday night. We took the picture above this weekend when we realized that we have almost no pictures of us with the kids.

Things are about the same for me. Just keeping humming along. I have gotten quite nostalgic about the last part of my pregnancy lately. Yesterday was the year anniversary of when I was put on bedrest at home. It seems so long ago but like yesterday at the same time. One of my best friends, Kristin, had a beautiful little girl last week. I went to go see her in the same hospital I lived in for almost 3 months then went to every day for 5 weeks when the babies were in the NICU. It was like no time was lost. It is funny how that was probably one of the hardest times of my life, but that I look back at it now with a sense of fondness. I think that is only by the grace of God. Only He could help us through it, and only He could make me not want to hurl every time I think of living in an ugly hospital room with NO privacy and awful food : )