One last hurrah as a family of three....

We took our last vacation as a family of three this past week. I begged and pleaded with Adam for months to go on one last trip with just Ella. He finally came to his senses back in January and said we could go. We decided to go back to our "happy place" and vacation in the Ft. Walton/Destin area. My friend's parents have a condo right on the beach, and they were kind enough to rent it out to us. 
We decided to take Ella out of school for a week to go in this trip. Let's be real, it's just kindergarten. I don't think any real harm was done missing a week of school. She was thrilled to have no only one but two weeks off since this week is spring break. 
We loaded up our new minivan (that we were so excited to drive to Florida) and hit the road. This was our first trip to Florida minus my parents and our dogs. We missed them all greatly and reminisced a lot of trips we have taken in the past. The nine hour drive down to Florida went perfectly. My back did hurt a little bit.  Ella did ask what town we were in 100x over, but other then that it went great. 
Once we arrived Ella had to check out the beach! 

The next morning we enjoyed our coffee and breakfast with a lovely view!

First up on our list (Ella's list) of things to do was the Gulfarium:
This is by far Ella's favorite part of the trip.  She loves dolphins.  Every time we go we tell her she should be a dolphin trainer when she grows up. I love them just as much, but my favorite thing this year was the sea lion show. 

 After the Gulfarium I was starving (of course), but Adam offered to take Ella to the Disney Store (another thing on her list). I went along with it in hopes that we would eat at the outlet. We did a little shopping and left without lunch. By this time it was 1:00 and everyone knows that a pregnant girl can not go this long without food. I ended up having a small break down over food that afternoon. The joys of pregnancy I tell you. :)

That afternoon I talked Ella into some beach time. I love the beach and could stay out all day. Ella is the opposite of me. She can only handle it for small amounts of time. She is always a afraid of the waves at first. Once I got her in I couldn't get her out. 

We had dinner at Harry's T's that night. It was so good. I love eating right by the water. I did miss having my usual margarita though. 

We stayed at the condo on Monday almost all day. It would have been relaxing, but there isn't much relaxing with a six year old around. 

I love staying right on the beach, because you can typically spot dolphins in the morning.  We watched a group of three dolphins swimming around for a long time. 

 I walked down to the pier and back, and then we played on the beach for awhile. There were shells everywhere so we had fun finding shells that morning. 

 I couldn't go without getting a picture of myself at 31 weeks pregnant on the beach. It was a first (and last) wearing a maternity bathing suit. 

Ella made about 10 trips to the pool daily. The water was a little too cold to swim in, but she had to try multiple times throughout the day. 

That night we got cleaned up to go eat and play miniature golf at the track. 

Nothing brings out Ella's competitive side like miniature golf. We never keep score, and Ella usually wins. 

Tuesday was another "lazy" day. We sat around most of the morning. We had THE BEST lunch at a place called Tijuana Flats. I was all about the food this trip, and we ate there twice. It's a little hole in the wall with the best Tex Mex. We ordered the biggest burritos I have ever seen, and I devoured the whole thing. Needless to say we didn't need dinner that night. 

That afternoon, Ella and I played on the beach for about twenty minutes before she was ready to hit up the pool again for about ten minutes. It was a beautiful beach day. It was hot enough to be out in our swimsuits but not hot enough to sweat. 

That night we attempted beach pictures with my tripod and self timer. It was so windy. They did not turn out as I had hoped. The Florida air makes my hair frizz up faster than you can even imagine. This was the best we were able to get. YIKES! 

On our second to last day we made plans to go back to The Track to play games, ride go carts, and the little carnival rides. It was a lovely day out, and we had a great time. 

Ella had a lucky day playing games. Adam won this ty beanie baby out of a machine, and Ella won a lot of tickets. 

 Ella and Adam went on the go karts. Ella was SO serious. She thought everyone was racing. I don't know who she gets her competitive nature from. 

On our last day we ended up at the Gulf Breeze Zoo. We had never been before or even heard of it. I just happened to google "fun things to do", and this came up. It was a short 25 minute drive. It was totally worth it. It was a small zoo, but there were a lot of things to do. We were able to feed a lot of animals and ride a train. 

 One of our favorite things was feeding these Budgie birds. We thought Ella would be afraid, but she fed them like a champ. These birds really loved Adam. They were all over him. They also loved nibbling on our shoe strings. We had to be extra careful where we walked so we didn't step on them. 

A lot of the animals were sleeping. I can't say I blame them. It was a beautiful, breezy day. It definitely made me want to nap too!

That night, Ella and I, went out to enjoy our last sunset. I always hate the last trip to the beach. Even though we typically go every year, I never know if we really will go back the following year. I usually wonder what will be going on the next time we come. The last time we were here I was thinking of Ella starting Kindergarten. Now she is in about to finish up kindergarten, and I am about to have another baby. Things can change so fast!

I am so proud of Ella for taking this picture below. She does pretty good for a six year old. :) 

There you have it! Our last trip as a family of three. We have come a long way the past six years. We went from packing bottles, diapers, formula, a pack and play, and a portable high chair to Ella just having one suitcase of clothes. We have had some crazy car trips with her screaming and crying. She can now make it the whole nine hours with only a few stops the entire day.  We have come so far, and now we are starting all over again. I can't imagine what our future trips will hold, but I'm sure they will be nothing short of an adventure! 

SNOW much fun

Mother nature finally cooperated with my wishes and laid about 6 inches of snow Sunday night into Monday. Finally! I have been wanting one good snow storm, and now I'm ready for spring. 
Ella was already off on Monday for President's Day, and she was off Tuesday and today (Wednesday). We got one more inch of snow this morning which did not help road conditions around here. 
Monday was a beautiful day to just sit inside and watch it snow. I love those kinds of days. Ella and I did venture out to play in the snow for about 20 minutes. She loved it, and I froze to death. 

Yesterday, Ella and I picked up Autumn and my mom, and we headed to Chuck e Cheese. I had to get out of the house. One day is all I can handle. The girls had the best time! Ella had been wanting to go for awhile, and it was even better that Autumn was there too. 
Afterwards we headed to my parent's house to play in the snow. 

It has been a fun week so far.  I'm ready for school to be back in so I can take a nap and get my  house clean. :) 

Valentine's Party

Ella had her last party of the school year this past Friday for Valentine's Day. She LOVES parties. Ella was so upset when she woke up that morning, because she had to wait until after lunch and recess for the party. Luckily, she said her day went fast so it wasn't a major catastrophe. 
Adam and I both were able to go to her party. I have always been able to go to any school function so I am kind of old news. Ella loves when Adam is able to come to school. He also had to take her to school that morning, because I was not feeling well. That was a treat for her. 
The party was so cute. All the parents brought in food. They read a book, did a craft, and played a game. Ella was so excited to finally take home all of her valentines. 

Notice how genuine her smile is in the picture with Adam compared to the picture with me?! She is a daddy's girl through and through. She said she wants to marry him when she is thirty. :)

 Ella loved playing this game until the girls lost. They played boys against girls, and the boys had one more q tip than the girls. Ella is super competitive and about had a meltdown over it. She at least got two q tips in herself so that was a bonus. 

It was a great little party. I can't believe that was it for the school year. Only a few more months and kindergarten will be over. Time is flying! 

Pregnancy and such

I have been a terrible blogger lately. I'm afraid it may only get worse when May rolls around. I hope I have time to do updates and blog as much as I did when Ella was little. We will see!
My pregnancy has been going really well. I don't think I have talked about it since December. After seeing a soft marker for downs during my 20 week ultrasound, I decided to have a quad screening done. Luckily, it came back negative which was such a relief. I'm just trying to take this pregnancy in stride. This will definitely be my last pregnancy so I'm just trying to enjoy it while I can.  This picture below is months four, five, and six (left to right). 

I'm feeling pretty good these days. I was dreaming quite a bit and waking up 5-10 times per night which was getting really annoying. That has thankfully ended, and I am enjoying sleep while I can. I usually go to bed around 8:30/9. I'm guessing those days will be ending soon. 
I have been working really hard trying to get our house the way I want it before May rolls around. I have almost painted our entire downstairs, and I plan to move upstairs soon (I think).  Our upstairs is around 700 sqft.  so it's not going to be an easy task. I know I can do it though. I'm giving myself until 8 months pregnant, and then I'm going to quit doing my house projects. 
We have a name picked out for our little lady. We are naming her Paige Leigh. We have had the named Paige picked out since I first found out I was pregnant so as soon as we found out the gender we knew that was going to be her name.  I just love it!
This past Tuesday we purchased our first minivan. It's a Toyota Sienna SE. 

I said I would never be a minivan mommy, and I am eating my words. I really appreciate all the room it has. It will be so much easier to get two kids in and out of this compared to my other car. Ella loves it so much she named "her" "Beauty". Ella loves to sit in the very back. 

We are going to Florida in March, and we can't wait to test it out on a long drive. My car was not the best at road trips. Yesterday, Adam drove my car (which will be his car) to Terre Haute for the first time. Keep in mind for the past six years my car has never failed me. It has always started and gotten me where I needed to go. Adam got right outside of Vincennes and had to pull over due to car problems. Once he turned it off it would not turn back on. He had to have it towed to the Nissan dealer in Vincennes, and that's where it is right now. Poor Adam. 
Ella is continuing to grow and prosper in Kindergarten. They celebrated the "100th day" of school a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe her first year of school will be over in three months. In some ways it has flown by, and in other ways it has not. She was having some trouble speaking in class. Her teacher and I discussed it, and after a few weeks of a reward system she is no longer having problems. It has just become her routine now so we no longer have to reward her for speaking in class. Sounds simple to most, but Ella is not a fan of speaking in front of people. I can't blame her! She will probably always be a little bit quiet, but she has definitely come a long way. I am so proud of her. She is growing and learning and seems to love school.

Ella is also still doing swim lessons. She was terrified to go under water, but she has recently conquered her fear. I'm amazed at the progress she makes each week. She can jump in the water and go completely under. She can float on her back by herself. She can pick up rings at the bottom of the pool on her own. It's amazing how far she has come!

We have been busy lately, but I know our life is not going to slow down anytime soon. We are just trying to enjoy each day as a family of three until Paige comes and rocks our world. It will definitely be a change, but it will be a change I know we can handle.  

9 years

Adam and I have been married for nine years today. Crazy! Looking back we were so young when we got married. Adam was 25, and I was 23. We were practically still babies. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but I actually had no idea. 
Marriage is not easy. It takes work every single day. Adam and I have been through some tough times together. Some of those tough times could have easily tore us apart, but somehow we always come out on top. I definitely think we are stronger today because of the tough times we have endured. 
Adam and I are completely different in almost every aspect. It seems to be a perfect mix though. Thank goodness Adam has a lot of patience. He has needed it the past nine years. 
So here we are 9 years, two houses, two dogs, two kids(almost), and a minivan later and still as happy as the day we married! We are blessed to have each other and the life we live. 

The biggest surprise of 2014

We ended 2014 with a bang! We found out the gender of baby #2!!
I thought it was a girl for awhile, but then I changed my tune. I swore up and down it was a boy. I told everyone I would be shocked if it was a girl. Ella thought it was a boy too. She wanted a brother SO bad. Adam never really said what he thought, but I knew he would love another girl. 
On December 30th the three of us headed to the doctor for the ultrasound. It didn't take her long to see that baby #2 is a GIRL!!

We could all see plain as day there was no denying this baby is for sure a girl. Ella started crying, but quickly got over it when she said she knew it was a girl. I still can't believe that I will have two girls. I never in a million years thought we would ever have another baby or another girl for that matter! I can only imagine how different they will be. 
We already had her named as soon as we found out. Her name is Paige. We both really love that name. We are still debating on a middle name, but I'm sure we will figure that out soon. 
Mostly everything looked great with the ultrasound except one little thing. They found a Choroid Plexus Cyst. It's most likely nothing to worry about since everything else looked great, but I will still worry. I had some blood work done so hopefully those results will be normal. 
We are so excited to welcome this little girl into our family.  I just hope and pray Paige is healthy, and I stay healthy as well throughout my pregnancy and after delivery. 
I can't imagine what 2015 has in store for us, but I'm pretty sure it will be a crazy year!