Ella's 8th birthday

We celebrated Ella's birthday the Sunday before Christmas. She wanted a shopkins party this year, and that is what she got! 

We had an eventful EARLY morning the day of Ella's party. Paige woke up puking at around 3am and didn't stop until around 9am. Adam got up to help me clean up her bed during the night and almost fell down the stairs. He scraped his food up pretty badly on our gate but luckily he caught himself. 

I was worried sick no one would come to Ella's party, because Paige was sick. I let everyone know and everyone still showed up thankfully. I was exhausted, but the party had to go on! 

I seriously blinked and Ella turned 8. I have noticed a big change in Ella the past year.  She has lost some of her innocence. It's hard to even explain it, but there is no doubt Ella is growing up. Sometimes I miss her being little, but it's also nice that she is self sufficient. I am so thankful to have spent everyday with Ella when she was a baby/toddler/preschooler even though some days it was HARD.  The saying, "the days are long but the years are short" is so true. I'm honestly not even sure where the years went. 

Ella picked out a "kooky cookie" cake. I ordered it from Gaylacake, and she never disappoints. 

We also had to have some "poppy corn" at the party. 

I hope Ella always knows she is my heart and soul. This girl made me a mom, and I have learned so much from her. 

I failed to take any pictures of Ella with any other family members besides Mammy. I'm thankful I at least got this one. Paige woke up from a nap mid party with a fever, and my picture taking went downhill from there. I ended up leaving to take Paige to the doctor before the party was even over. Never a dull moment. 

Ella wanted to blow out candles, but she does not like any singing. She gets that from her daddy. ;) 

It was an eventful day celebrating our eight year old. Ella is already busy planning her next birthday party!  

November | December catch up

Here it is almost January, and I haven't even blogged about Thanksgiving or any December activities (or lack there of). December was a rough month for us. We had over two straight weeks of illness. It was awful considering I got hit twice. We barely got through Christmas, but we have finally made it. I don't want to jinx myself by saying this, but we are all finally well. Hopefully I can play catch up now.

We spent Thanksgiving with Adam's family this year. We didn't eat until 4:00 so we had plenty of time to watch the Macy's Day parade. One of these years I would like to see it in person when Ella and Paige are a little older. 

I was only able to get a picture of Adam and I on Thanksgiving. Ella was a major grump (come to find out she didn't feel good), and Paige was running around like a nut. 

I went to the grocery store one day, and this was the grocery list Ella made for me. These are all necessities in her eyes. 

We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Adam did most of the work himself since someone had to supervise Paige. Adam did such a good job fluffing our tree, and I got the easy part of putting on the ornaments and decorating. I ended up redoing our tree three times. I put red ribbon on, and then red ribbon and burlap, and ended up with just burlap. 

Ella is usually my tree decorator/helper. She decided this year she was too old to help me 

and had no interest in decorating. Rip my heart out! I didn't think I would see the day. 

And then there is this thing.... 

Ha! Such a cutie but so wild!

Paige loves to sit in her rocker and read books. She points to everything and says "that"? 

Ella's second grade class had a field trip to the museum and Lic's. My parents watched Paige so I could go. I love spending anytime with her by myself that I can. 

Paige's hair is out of control and getting so long. It's finally long enough to wear pigtails but she of course won't leave them in. She looks so cute with her hair up, but she can not leave rubber bands or bows in her hair. 

Anything she wants she will find a way to get it. She likes to stand on this trash can to get things of the bathroom sink.

Bottom drawers are also a good way to pull things off dressers. I can not take my eyes off of her. 

Paige did exceptionally well around our tree. I was planning on putting a big gate around it but never had to. She pretty much left it alone and only pulled a few ornaments off. I was so glad we didn't have to mess with a gate. 

We made salt dough handprint ornaments again this year. Ella's ornaments just keep getting bigger and bigger as her hand grows. We have been doing these since she was 2 or 3. It's crazy to think she is 8 now. 

Sister bear had to get in on the action as well. 

I wanted to get one picture of Paige in front of the tree. It only took me a hundred tries, and I had to end up bribing her with chocolate. 

Ella had a Christmas program the second week in December. I had to miss it, and it was the first thing I have ever missed of hers. I had the worst cold and felt awful. She had also been sick and barely had a voice. She didn't even make it to the night performance, because she was so tired from being sick. 'Tis the season!! 

Home Sweet Home

We moved into our new house four months ago, and we are finally feeling settled. I immediately loved this house as soon as I saw it online. As soon as we walked in I knew it felt like home. This was the only house we looked at and put in an offer on the same day. There was a contingent offer on the house, but we got lucky and snatched it up! 
Four months later we are settled, and it feels like we have lived here forever. I love this house so much and can't wait to make lots of memories here. 
Here is a little tour of the main floor of our house. It's pretty much done, but I still need a few things. It looks like of bare right now. I do not like clutter so I have a hard time finding a balance between the two. 
Welcome to our home! 

This is a view from the front door. To the left is our dining room and to the right is my office space.

We just got this furniture so I'm still working on final touches to the room. 

My office space. 

I love this room. I sit in here during Paige's nap, and it's so nice and quiet. 

Living room

I love the tall ceilings in our house. At our last house the ceilings were very low so I knew at the next house I wanted them to be really high. This was one of the things I loved about this house when I initially saw it. 

You can usually find Brody parked on the couch. That is his favorite spot.

Kitchen

This is where I spend the majority of my time. 

We bought a new tree this year. I love all the ornaments on our tree. We always buy an ornament on trips so we have quite a few from over the years. We also have homemade ornaments and things Ella has made at school. 

Thanks for visiting our home!!

Paige || 18 months

I can't even believe this sweet girl is a year and a half old. Paige was such a quiet, easy, laid back baby.   These days she is loud, energetic, wild, opinionated, and full of life. She knows what she wants, when she wants it, and will figure out a way to get it. She is on the move constantly. Don't even think about trying to get her to sit for more than five seconds. It's not going to happen! She enjoys doing things she shouldn't and is full of mischief. She is also incredibly sweet and loving, and the biggest mama's girl you will ever meet. Paige has rocked our world, but it's hard to imagine our life without her now.  

This is such hard age. I remember it being hard with Ella, and that definitely has not changed the second time around. Paige has the attention span of a gnat. She bounces around from one thing to the next destroying whatever she can in her path. Right now she just doesn't know any better so I can't say I blame her. She is all about exploring, which means she will probably make a mess doing it. I like calm, quiet, and order but life with Paige is anything but that. Life with an 18 month old is messy, loud, and exhausting. Some days I'm not quite sure I will make it through, but I'm obviously still here. 

Paige loves to throw whole roles of toilet paper into the toilet. If you come over and wonder why all of our toilet paper is placed up high and not on the holder that would be why.  She also enjoys opening the lid and sticking her hand in the toilet to splash around. She is really good at unravelling the entire roll of toilet paper into a huge pile. One of her favorite things to do is climb on our kitchen table. She also LOVES to throw dog food all over the kitchen floor or throw food off of her tray. This girl is an absolute mess! 

Paige is so happy all the time. She flashes a smile to anyone that walks by her. People always comment about what a happy girl she is. Although she enjoys interacting with strangers she better never be left with one. I thought Ella was attached to me, but Paige has taken that to a whole other level. She is a mom's morning out drop out, and she can only be left with my parents. I am lucky to get a shower before she comes to find me. She loves her mama! 
 Paige is quite the talker. I have had many strangers tell me she has a lot to say. If her body isn't moving you can guarantee her mouth is. She knows all kinds of words. She is starting to put two and three words together. Her favorite word is definitely Ella. She loves Ella and thinks all little girls are Ella. 

We just went to the doctor last week for Paige's 18 month appointment. Paige weighs 21 lbs. and 12 oz. She is 31 1/4 inches. Paige loves going to the doctor. She enjoys playing in the waiting room and enjoys interacting with the doctor. This is such a change from Ella. Ella was the total opposite. 
Paige has brought so much life to our house. I have always said she is just filled with joy, and that is true to this day. Paige is and always will be our unexpected little blessing.  We love you so much little lady!

Christmas Card 2016

Since our cards were sent out last week I wanted to share it here on my blog. I sent them out way early this year so everyone would have our new address. I love love love how our cards turned out. I ordered them from mint.com, and the quality is unbeatable. They will even address your cards for you for FREE. So nice! I did it the old fashioned way, but next year I think I will take advantage of that service.