Little Helper

Oh the first kiddo gets all the attention...as a baby, when she cries, Mommy and Daddy are right there.  The second one?  Not so much... But Big Sis knows just what to do.  I was in the bathroom and didn't hear Sawyer crying so I run out thinking Ella's shoved her Nilla wafer in his nose and find this....

Definitely not a cookie anywhere in sight.  Just lots of shushing and patting and love.

And when Mommy is sick and laid out in bed and Daddy has to watch the kiddos?  Well...he does what he has to do to make dinner.

Standing....on a chair....sans underpants no less.

Apparently she only thought it was fun at first.  When she actually had to keep standing there, it lost the cool factor.

(And mayjah props to Daddy for actually stopping his making of spaghetti to go get the camera and capture this moment)

Sh*t My Kid Says...and Does...and Wears

Contained in this post are the hilarious moments provided by our eldest child.  I feel I should set up a security camera in our house, set to record 24 hours a day, to catch all the things Ella does and says.  She has such an imagination and loves to repeat lines from movies and her favorite shows, word for word, just like Daddy.  She is flexing her acting (read: drama queen) chops.

The most recent example?  She wants to wear one of her princess/Tinkerbell costumes all.day.long. 

Yessssssss.....

Practicing her initial reaction at the ceremony where she picks up her 2nd Oscar (it's her 5th nom though)



Fierce ya'll.  Fierce.



There is no such thing as too much when you are this good

She put all this on herself...no help or encouragement from me.

How a toddler styles hair

Aaaaannnddd....May I present a tradition of playing with your food in the making...Tortilla Face.  Started by Sassy, kept alive by Tia and continued by Ella.

But the best by far (except that Ella built this awesome tower) was what she said while building a tower...........

"This bad boy is gonna be awesome!"

Almost 7 Weeks

Little man is almost 7 weeks old and smiling like a goober!  Anytime you talk to him his face lights up.  It almost looks like he wants to laugh.  Most nights he is sleeping 8-10 hours but it takes an act of Congress, a magic spell and a big glass of wine (for Mommy, not him...I can wish though) to get him to sleep.  Some nights are worse than others, but I keep telling myself not to complain.  I mean, I've actually been able to sleep long enough to dream.  Gasp!

Can you say Chubby Bunny??  I'm pretty sure our chunker is almost, if not already, 12 pounds.  But when I look at him I don't think he looks that big, I guess it's because I see him everyday.  He also can stand up on his own, with help for balance.  It's even earlier than Ella could stand on her own!  I think she was standing around 3 months.  While standing on Daddy's lap yesterday, Shaun asked him if he was going to do the Truffle Shuffle!  Starting our kids early on the Goonies love.

Apparently he gets a bit camera shy...errr..blinded by the flash.

Summer Fun

Ella's cousin Grace came over for some pool time.  These two girls are a hoot together.  They completely play off of each other, when one screams, the other screams and then they go back and forth before bursting into giggles.  It's just preparing Aunt Christa for her own two silly girls (the 2nd one is due in October!).

When I told Ella that Grace was coming over when she got home from school she looked at me and said, "Mommy, Gracie's coming to MY house?!?!"  And apparently Grace was wearing her bathing suit all day in preparation. 

I think we will be spending lots of time in the pool with these girls.  It wears them out which is exactly what a pregnant mom and a mom with a newborn need.

Bestill My Heart

Oh how this makes my heart smile.  All the possibilities that a wee little girl sized Coach purse holds.  Bows, Goldfish, letters to friends, Sawyer's pacifiers...so many things to carry.  However, on this trip there were crayons to be carried and proudly shown to Sassy and Poppy and Tia, done by dumping them all over the living room floor.

There are so many wonderful things that come with being a girl...awesome accessories may be the best.

All I Have to Say is OMG

All I have to say is OMG.  I have been looking forward to this day since I found out Ella was having a baby brother.  And a small, long lost part of me may have been looking forward to this moment ever since I was a little girl playing dress up....my kids....in coordinating outfits.

As Shaun is trying to get out the door to go to our nephew's graduation party I was trying to figure out what to dress Sawyer in.  As I was looking through his closet I thought how I'd love to put him in one of his Bailey Brothers rompers, but I figured they'd be too big since they were all 6 months.  But the longer I eyed it I knew I'd just have to try and it fit.  Shocker.  He's kinda a chunk.  Holy batman, this means I can put Ella in her dress, I thought, and omg the cuteness there would be!  So as Shaun is rolling his eyes and telling me he has to go and I need to hurry up, I tell him I have to put them in matching outfits and take a picture.  When he gave me a sigh I explained that I knew it wasn't a big deal to him but it was very special to me.  Yeah, as I started taking the pictures he totally got into it.

I love the look on Sawyer's face.  Like, really...this is the face of the sibling I will be forced to put up with the rest of my life???

Oh, I see Dad.  She clearly gets it from you. 

Ella picking up on the adorable-ness that siblings wearing matchy rompers and dresses is.  "I have a fishy and baby brother has a fishy!"

Being such a sweet big sis and "shushing" Sawyer.

"It's ok baby brother, it's ok.  Shhhhh..."

I'm sure he's all, "Pfftt..yeah right you boisterous, whiny person I am supposedly related to."

Just Playin' in the Rain

Oh my girl loves her some puddles!  It didn't help that from the moment she could walk I encouraged her to jump in every puddle possible.  But, hey, isn't that what kids are supposed to do?  Splash around in super cute rain boots until you are soaking wet and have to change clothes?  Though it took a lot for me to get over my neat freak ways and let her get all dirty in the first place, I hope she always splashes in puddles after it rains.

And out back to twirl in the rain with her butterfly umbrella, with a change of clothes of course.

Someone asked when toddlers stop making this cheese face and actually smile.  I hope she always makes this face, it's the funniest thing.  I mean, really...what better way to say CHEEEEESE???

And yet another change of clothes later...complete with Daddy's hat.

Just a Day

The 'hawk is getting a bit long.  I don't want to cut his hair just yet so I guess it's just going to continue to stick up.  Is he too little for gel??

I put this 3 month sized outfit on him for the first time and it barely fits him.  The shorts are pretty snug and his belly peeks out from the bottom of the shirt.  

When he was fussy later on that evening, Shaun said it was probably because his shirt was too small. Guess this outfit is done!

This picture is from a few weeks ago but I just love this shirt!  Such a little man and it's insane how much different he looks from the pictures above.