Ella and Paige | Week 23

Last week was an exciting week full of firsts and tooth drama!! 
Let's start with the tooth drama since we dealt with that almost ALL week. Ella had a bottom tooth hanging by a thread that was driving her nuts.  I don't blame her for acting how she did, because I know it was making her miserable. She didn't want the tooth to fall out, because she was afraid of the blood. Ella would not let anyone try to help her. She would not eat since her tongue was hitting it. Her teacher had to talk her into eating lunch one day at school. She couldn't concentrate. She would come home from school and cry. It was making her miserable and everyone else miserable too. She wrote this on the patio "No tooth is going to fall out." 

By Thursday we knew that tooth had to go! I told her teacher at lunch (I was volunteering) that we would have it out that night. After crying for two hours after school Adam finally assisted her in getting it out. It practically fell out of her mouth. It ended up being no big deal for her. Once the tooth was out life (and Ella) returned back to normal. Thank goodness!

Paige has blossomed in the past couple of weeks. She started rolling from back to belly, grabbing her feet, and sitting up for small periods of time. She is growing up way too fast. 

Paige loves to roll onto her stomach and whine until you put her back on her back. She can roll from her belly to back, but she always seems to get stuck. I think she likes to just keep me moving. I have to watch her like a hawk these days. 

Paige is officially out of her swaddle blanket and into a zipadeezip. Whoever comes up with this stuff is a genius! I was worried Paige might not sleep well in this thing, but she loves it. It hasn't helped her sleep all night (as some people have raved about), but at least she is happy in it. 

We have been out enjoying the weather as much as possible. I love that Paige can sit up in her stroller now. She enjoys watching the dogs walk, and they especially love getting out of the house! 

Last, but certainly not least, Ella has been acing her spelling practice tests. If you get a perfect score on the practice test on Mondays you don't have to take it on Fridays. She is on a roll and aced the practice test for six weeks now. She is so proud of herself, and we are proud of her too! 

Boo at the Zoo

This past Sunday we met up with the Ice's at the zoo for "Boo at the Zoo." It was the perfect fall day to be outside enjoying the weather. 
We thought it might not be crowded going on a Sunday, but it was packed. There were different activities set up around the zoo, trick or treating, hayrides, and food. Although it was fun,  I don't think we will do it again. They had a lot of spots in the zoo closed off, and there wasn't a lot of trick or treating. I'm not sure it was worth the $30 we paid, but I'm glad we did it once. We always have fun with the Ice's so it was a great afternoon spent with them. 
My little pumpkin head. 

The hayride was interesting. We actually sat in the hay which I'm pretty sure made Ella's allergies go crazy! 

Bertrams, party of four! 

A typical family picture these days... At least Adam and I are looking 

Holiday World Halloween Weekend -Paigey's First Trip

I wanted to make the most of fall break and plan some fun stuff for Ella. I was feeling adventurous and enlisted Lacey to take Ella and Paige to Holiday World with me. I knew that taking Paige with us could be exhausting, but I was up for the challenge. Lacey is always a big help to me when we are out so I was confident I could handle this with her help. 
We ended up having the best day. The weather was perfect. Paige was better than I ever expected.  We never heard a peep out of her all day. She was perfectly content to sit in her stroller and watch Ella ride rides and play games. She napped during both shows we watched. It was a SUCCESS! It gave me the confidence I needed to tackle future trips with both girls. 
We started out with the obligatory picture with Santa. I can only imagine how many pictures Paige will have in front of this Santa in the future. I have a ton of these of Ella, and it's so fun to see how she grows each year. 

Lacey got one too since this was her first trip with us. 

Paige was this happy almost all day. I hope she is always this happy at Holiday World. 

This was Ella's first time riding the swings. She was barely tall enough, but she made the cut! 

It wouldn't be a Halloween weekend without seeing the Graveyard Smash. It's my favorite part and a must see every year. 

Ella is always nervous during the show, because they look scary to her.  She mustered up the courage for a picture with one of the performers this year.  

We took the hayride back to the corn maze. We have yet to be brave enough to do the big corn maze. We weren't about to try it with Paige in tow. Maybe next year! 

Nothing like a $12.00 face painting that came off as soon as we got home. :) 

We barely caught Holidog before leaving for the day.  

This year was different in that we didn't get to go as many times as we usually do. We did make the most of the times we did make it there.  I am looking forward to next year when Paige will be big enough to ride the little rides, and Ella will probably be big enough to ride the big roller coasters. Hopefully Ella can show her the ropes! 
It was a great ending to another fun season at Holiday World. 

Ella and Paige | Weeks 21 and 22

Get ready for an enormous photo dump. I am so behind so I figured I would group two weeks together. 
Do you know how much fun I am having dressing a baby girl again? The headbands, hats, bows, cute outfits... I love it all! My checking account doesn't love it, but it's fun dressing a child that doesn't have an opinion yet. :) 

I have already posted about Ella doing the kids half, but I wanted to make sure I got this in my weekly posts. I also signed up for the half marathon and didn't do it. I was so BUMMED. After being up with Paige twice I decided running 13 miles and being tired and sore all day was not worth it. It was a lot more disappointing than I expected. I will definitely be doing it next year no matter what! 

Ella and I ran to Sam's to get a few things, and Paige woke up from her nap while we were gone. Adam sent this while we were out. It cracks me up how much they look alike! 

Paigey loves the boys, and they love her. One of them (especially Brody) is always around her. 

Ella is really starting to take interest in Paige. She tries to include her when they are playing. Ella was helping her jump on the mattress in this picture, and Paige was loving every minute. 

Ella's kindergarten teacher got this for Paige when she was born. Only five more years until she is an ECS eagle. 

We went to lunch at the fall festival last week. It was Paige's first fall festival. She did SO good. She sat in her stroller the entire time smiling at everyone that passed by. 

Paige sometimes falls asleep holding my shirt. These are sweet moments for sure. 

We have been taking advantage of this nice weather. Paige loves to swing. Ella took Paige down the slide for the first time last week. It was so cute. That was a huge step for Ella. 

First day of fall break calls for coloring in pjs. Ella typically will color all morning at home during breaks from school. She loves to be home. I sometimes can't believe I used to be home with her everyday. That seems like a lifetime ago. 

We went to Gattitown for the first time with Ella's school friends and had so much fun. Their mom, Anna, is so sweet and can always put Paige right to sleep for me!

Friday night, we played games and ordered pizza. Ella loves to play "Googly Eyes" and seems to always win. Imagine that!

Ella found this caterpillar on Saturday and played with it for a long time. She wanted to keep it as a pet. She was waiting for me outside the bathroom with it, and I about had a heart attack. 

We had fall family pictures taken on Saturday afternoon with Captured Stuidos. I am SO excited to see them. I have wanted her to take our pictures for a long time so I figured now was the time. I have had these scheduled since June. 

I love these sister pictures. I can not wait to see the finished product. 

Ella wanted to camp upstairs on Saturday night but ended up in her bed where it's not so dark and more comfortable. I was not complaining. 

We went to Holiday World on Sunday. It was Paige's first Holiday World trip. She LOVED it. We never heard a peep out of her. I will post more about that later.